IBM has released a free office suite called Lotus Symphony. It runs on Windows, OS X, and Linux and includes a wordprocessor, presentation software, and a spreadsheet. If you are looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office, it is worth checking out along with Google Apps, Open Office, and iWork (OS X only). We will do a review of it in the near future once we've had more of a chance to play with it. … [Read more...] about Lotus Symphony
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SugarSync Review
Ever felt like you were tied down by carrying around too many gadgets? For those that use both Macs and PC's, transferring files across platforms can be time consuming or downright difficult, causing many to cart around two different machines to have access to both sets of files. However, the developers at SugarSync have come up with a better way of doing things. Staying connected There are a few programs out there that sync mobile devices with your computer. SugarSync not only does this, but also syncs files across the Mac and PC operating systems and automatically backs up those files to your own, personal SugarSync web site. This web site is secure, and allows the user to … [Read more...] about SugarSync Review
Career Renegade
Jonathan Fields sent me a copy of his brand new book to review called Career Renegade. I've skimmed it and am now working my way back through reading it. The book looks at how you can turn what you love into income. Jonathan knows what he is talking about. He used to be a NYC attorney before he quit and started a string of businesses doing things he enjoyed. The book is divided into four sections: 1. What Makes You Come Alive. This section encourages you to figure out what you actually enjoy doing. It also helps you get past the idea that you need to be at the top of a particular field in order to do what you enjoy. I was impressed by how practical Jonathan is. No matter how … [Read more...] about Career Renegade
Coffee and Hallucinating
A study has linked coffee to hallucinating. They think it is caused by the caffeine. Seven cups a day makes you three times more likely to hallucinate than the average person and as little as three cups may make you start hearing voices in your head. … [Read more...] about Coffee and Hallucinating
Password Resolutions for 2009
Our passwords give us access to a number of very valuable resources. They control access to our bank accounts, photos of our families, email correspondence, and all kinds of other information. As valuable as all this information is, it is amazing how little effort most people put into making sure they have good passwords. Here are six password resolutions for 2009 to help protect your data with more secure passwords. 1. Resolve to use different passwords on each website. There are a few ways to do this. The most secure is to use a completely different randomly generated password on each site. If you use a password management program like 1Passwd this isn't too difficult. Another … [Read more...] about Password Resolutions for 2009
Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
Though many people don't give a second thought about getting adequate rest, those that struggle with insomnia know that lack of sleep can have a very detrimental effect on one's productivity. According to this article from the National Sleep Foundation, "about half of Americans report sleep difficulty, at least occasionally." With this many people being affected, sleep deprivation may be the cause of some things we never would have associated with it before. Effects of Sleep Deprivation Many of us have walked into work and seen sleepy or irritable co-workers struggling to concentrate on their daily tasks. However, one of the things that we often miss is the loss of productivity … [Read more...] about Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
LiveScribe on OS X
LiveScribe is a pen that records the audio as you take notes. You can then click on each section and hear the audio that was recorded when that part of the note was written. They have released a beta of their software that now works on OS X. The concept is pretty slick and I could see it being a very nice tool for students. … [Read more...] about LiveScribe on OS X
drop.io Review
In today's business world, it is very important to be able to share information in a safe and secure fashion. While email attachments can take care of some kinds of file sharing, there is a limit to the size of file attachments. This is where a tool such as drop.io becomes useful. However, drop.io is far from being a simple file sharing service, although it remains simple to use. Some of the abilities this tool possesses are the options to view the uploaded files in a media, blog or system view, record voice mail for the drop, and many others. How drop.io works Drop.io works by creating specific information storage spaces for information uploaded through "drops." Users can share … [Read more...] about drop.io Review
Mathematics – Best Jobs
CareerCast rated 200 jobs. Five of the top 10 are careers that involve the study of mathematics including actuary, statistician, and software engineer. Lumberjacks, dairy workers and EMTs made it into the bottom 10. WSJ has a nice article about it and you can read about the methodology here. Personally, I've found that mathematics is one of the most rewarding fields to study. Regardless of what you do, math is essential in making decisions and analyzing data. … [Read more...] about Mathematics – Best Jobs
Habit List
As we enter the period of New Year's resolution, I wanted to republish the Habit List which is my most powerful tool in developing new habits. Happy New Year! Note: The PDF mentioned in this post is now available as part of the Habit List Course. You can enroll using the form below: Name: Email: Earlier I talked about the "Habit List" I've been using. I wanted to walk people through the tool and show you how it works in this post. First lets revisit the theory behind it. This tool was created with the premise that "habit" type tasks should not be on our regular todo list. There are several reasons that keeping these types of items on … [Read more...] about Habit List