Remember the Milk

I recently discovered a task manager that is making me become more efficient with my horrible ‘to do’ list habits. Read more

Free Bible Software for Your Phone or PDA

OliveTree Bible Software provides Bible versions and study tools for Palm OS, Pocket PC, Smartphone and Symbian cell phones, and BlackBerry devices. Scores of free downloads are available.

Review: Running Windows XP/2000 on my Mac with Parallels

It’s time to buy a Mac. There are no more excuses. This year, two great solutions emerged to run Windows on Mac hardware for those who hesitate to switch to a Mac.

Bootcamp vs. Parallels

Apple’s Bootcamp and Nova Development’s Parallels Desktop for Mac are specifically for Intel-based Macs. During 2006, Apple switched its entire line of desktop and notebook computers to the Intel chips. You cannot use Bootcamp or Parallels on an Apple PowerPC iBook, iMac or Mac-mini.

	Bootcamp	Parallels
OS Support?	“A bona fide installation disc for Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Home or Professional (No multi-disc, upgrade or Media Center versions.)”	Supports Windows Vista/XP/2000/NT/95, various flavors of Linux and other operating systems
Boot:	Dual boot. You can only run Windows XP or Mac OS X at one time.	Run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously!
Create a drive partition?	Yes	No
Cost:	Free	$79

The investment is well worth it to me. To me, the benefits of running Parallels instead of Bootcamp are:

• I’m not locked into running only Windows XP SP2
• It’s easy to make a backup copy of the virtual OS file to roll back to if something becomes corrupt.
• I can switch easily between using my Windows and Mac applications.
• Data can be copied to the clip board in Windows then pasted in OS X and vice versa.

Run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously!

My Situation (work-at-home scenario):

I typically run on the Mac desktop: Photoshop, Thunderbird (personal email), iChat (Instant Messaging), iTunes (music/podcasts), Transmit (FTP) and Skype (VoIP), Toast, iMovie, iPhoto and Garage Band.

I launch Parallels and run my “business applications” in Windows XP: Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Visio and Project. I use VPN to access critical files at work.

In the Windows environment I run both Windows Media Player and Quicktime Basic so I don’t have to jump back to Mac if I encounter media files. Rather than use the default Web browsers, I exclusively use Firefox 2.0 on both Windows and Mac OS. It allows me to manage my bookmarks in a central file. A Firefox plug-in also allows for integrating del.icio.us bookmarks in the same manner.

I don’t bother installing Photoshop in the Windows environment or the Office suite in the OS X environments. They’d just be redundant and take up unnecessary file space.

Parallels isn’t perfect, but it’s extremely close and hasn’t let me down.

The most annoying things I experience using Parallels are:

• Getting used to using Shift-Ctrl to simulate a right-click functions.
• Switching out of Parallels full screen desktop to access Mac OS desktop — the Ctrl-Option shortcut sometimes doesn’t work the first time. There is also a delay before it does.
• Sometimes I can trigger an open Mac application to appear over the full screen Windows Parallels desktop. Usually by using Command-Tab.
• To copy text from Windows and paste to the Mac, must use Ctrl-x in Windows then Command-v in Mac.
• Even after near daily use for two months, my fingers haven’t instinctively gotten used to which keyboard shortcuts to use when jumping back and forth between OS. That might be a legitimate benefit of working exclusively via Bootcamp.
• For convenience, I was able to easily set up a Shared folder so all the files you touch whether from within Windows or Mac OS are saved in same Mac Documents folder.
• Using the CD player is sometimes frustrating. If I want to install software from CD to the Windows environment, I’ll usually reboot my Mac (without any CD in the drive bay), run Parallels, log into Windows and then insert the application CD.

Productivity-wise:

Waiting to reboot between OS X and Windows is time waster when using Bootcamp. When using Parallels, all apps are accessible at the same time–a huge time saver!

Toggling between the operating systems can get a bit confusing, especially when recalling keyboard shortcuts. For example, in OS X you use Command-Tab to cycle through open Mac applications, while in Parallels, you use Option-Tab to cycle through open Windows applications.

Regardless of whether you use Bootcamp or Parallels, installing any Windows OS is a huge time waster. Be ready to spend 1-2 hours of installing, rebooting, downloading security updates and patches, and rebooting over and over and over again. Then you can start installing your anti-virus (Norton or free AVG), anti-spyware (Windows Defender, SpyBot, AdAware), then finally your daily use software (Office, Firefox, etc).

By the way, Apple warns:

“Word to the Wise — Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC. That means it’ll be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes.”

I’ve had flawless installations of Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000 Pro and Ubuntu Linux.

Ultimately, I think Parallels is the better solution over Bootcamp.

So switch to Mac and run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously!

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and NewMediaSandbox.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Save time when trying to schedule a meeting

I learned about this time saving tip from Merlin Man and think it’s brilliant.

Normally, in your office environment, you might be able to schedule a meeting with coworkers using MS-Outlook’s calendar to see when they appear to have available time. Outlook permits users to accept, decline or recommend alternate date/time. Unfortunately, these features typically don’t work when arranging a meeting with a group of people outside your network (i.e. clients, partners, vendors).

The simple solution is Doodle. Doodle allows you to structure a simple poll based on the dates/times you recommend. Then you send the link to your team mates and they vote on when they are available to meet. Finally, you review the results and issue your meeting invitation the way you normally would, knowing that the participants are less likely to decline.

Benefits:

• Simple interface.
• Anyone can access it remotely, via a Web browser.
• It’s free.

Limitations:

• You can only vote on date/time. It would be great to have flexibility to turn the columns into poll topics to vote on.
• It doesn’t integrate into your calendar application.
• Keep in mind this is a third-party, insecure tool, so don’t post anything too confidential.

In summary, Doodle is great, free tool for arranging meetings with your distributed work force, teammates, family, friends, etc. It’s not just for the office. Use it to schedule the best day to meet your friends after work. Find out the best day to have family come visit. Poll your friends to pick a date for a get-away trip. Check it out for yourself.

Enjoy!
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Mobile Solution: Google Maps

Your always on the go and Google can go with you to make your life a bit easier.

In my experience, looking up driving directions using the Palm Treo Web browser is a bit tedious. I’ve also tried to create and save MapQuest directions as a channel for Avantgo.

Google made getting directions a whole lot easier with it’s new Google Maps for mobile devices. It’s available for various models of the Treo, Blackberry and many more popular handsets. (Check out the compatible device list.) The install is under half MB and can be downloaded directly to your mobile device or installed during a sync with your desktop computer.

Once installed, you can get detailed directions and even real-time traffic for roughly 30 cities. You can zoom in and out of maps and view the locations as satellite images. Google also tries to enhance the experience with integrated search results (local business locations and contact information appear all in one place on your map).

It’s definitely useful and worth checking out, especially if you’ve been frustrated by other solutions. You can even view satellite images of your house as easily as if you were at your computer.

Download Google Maps: www.google.com/gmm

Compatible device list: www.google.com/gmm/devices.html

I hope you find it useful.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional and a Palm Treo fanatic. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Professional Chaos: Dump Microsoft

Thank you Microsoft, for moving the microcomputer generation to where we are today. Now, it’s time to step aside.

Let’s face it, there are better hardware and software alternatives available. Think of it… no more blue screen of death. No more plug-n-play compatibility problems. No more boring, over architected, bloated OS and software. Free yourself from stagnation and explore alternates that are better than before.

I know, your defense mechanism is kicking in. “Give up Windows? No way–that’s crazy, liberal, hippie talk.” I used to think that way, but I was so frustrated and made a leap of faith. Looking back, I wish I had done it sooner.

My recommendations:

• Hardware: Intel-based Mac
• OS: Mac OS X
• Office Suite ($0): OpenOffice.org, gOffice.com, Writely.com, Spreadsheets.google.com (Mac or Linux)
• Browser ($0): Firefox (Mac or Linux), Opera (Mac or Linux), Camino (Mac or Linux)
• Email Client ($0): Thunderbird (Mac or Linux)
• Photo mgt ($0): iPhoto (Mac)

Plus, with a bit of research, you’ll discover freeware for all the utility applications you may need (FTP, VNC, chat/voip, etc.)

I hesitate to recommend Linux. It requires an investment of time. Sure, it can be extremely satisfying, but if you need out of the box, ready to run solutions, the Mac platform is the easier route. If you are adventurous, check out Ubunto for the easiest Linux install available.

Take inventory of your hardware and software.

Is it time for an upgrade anyway? Think about what you truly still need and what you want to be able to do. Then spend a little time looking into what is available. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I’ll wrap this up with a video you may enjoy. It’s a bit long, and yes, it is biased, but it reinforces a message. Don’t stick with something just for legacy sake. If you’ve out grown it, don’t be afraid to move on. It’s not as hard as you think.

What are your thoughts?
-Roland

10/13/2006 Update: Writely and Google Spreadsheets are now collectively known as “Google Docs & Spreadsheets.”

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional who has been abused by Microsoft Windows for way too long. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Cool Tip: Free clock for your Blog

Check this out, free, customizable clock faces for your Blog or personal Web site.
I bit cheezy I admit, and more useful to put on your computer desktop. But a fun distraction nonetheless.

You can customize size, color and time formats. There are also countdown styles. Checkout ClockLink.com.

What do you think? Please post a comment. Thanks.
-Roland

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