Fresh Focus On Productivity!™

Welcome back!

As stated in my previous post, here is my review of the Levenger Circa Notebook.

Rating:

I anxiously awaited my package to arrive at my work: I had the tracking information and had tracked it all the way. When I knew it had arrived, I went downstairs to retrieve it from the shipping department. It was in a plan looking cardboard box that had the Levenger logo imprinted on the side.

Up to my desk I went, as quick as I could, to open it. I was excited to begin my journey on ultimate organization! Upon opening the box, I carefully removed everything from it’s packaging and started to assemble my letter size notebook. Circa Notebooks are easy to put together, and took me just a few moments. I put everything where I wanted it, worked with it for a few hours, then changed it all again to be more productive for me.

Placing the smaller pages in front, it was easy to access and write down the things that I needed to most frequently. The larger pages and pocket folders went towards the back, because they were not used as much as the smaller pages. I didn’t think that I would like have multiple page sizes in my book, but I really do. I can see things at a glance and flip through them rather quickly

I have also created some of my own templates for use in my notebook: I wasn’t quite satisfied with what I was able to find. Currently I have a yearly calendar, monthly calendar and also a weekly planner page. Others to be added soon are projects, to do lists, goals and time tracking.

Creating a cover that was aesethically pleasing to me was important: if something is pleasing to be I am more likely to use it. I have quite a few vectors on my computer ( I guess that you could say that I collect them) so I picked on that I liked to create my cover. Since the Circa cover is translucent plastic, the cover shows through and is also protected.

On my wishlist for my Circa Notebook are some sheet protectors from Rollabind as well as some reinforcements.

I am a big fan of my Circa Notebook, but has a watch set up in eBay so that it alerts me of all Circa or Rollabind items that come up for auction. Being frugal at heart, I have a hard time justifying the prices that these items demand.

I do recommend the Circa or Rollabind system to anyone that needs to get organized: it has made a huge difference in my life and I will use it for a very long time.

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You've read the series, now get the E-Book! Special EXTRA material not included in the blog series, plus three FREE templates!! Templates included are Time Management Matrix, Goal worksheet, and The Completion Journal. Only $24.99 for the book!


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Rating:

Having been a beta tester for Windows Vista, I have been using it for over a year now. I’ve watched it evolve from an OS that could barely run any drivers, to a robust and attractive operating system. So enamoured was I with Vista when it first came out that I actually upgraded my video card so that I could experience 100% of what Vista had to offer.

When Vista first came out, it had a definite learning curve. User Account Control was a challenge (until I disabled it) and all the running services had me puzzled. It took me about three weeks of stumbling around, reading lots of articles and posting in forums to feel completely comfortable with it.

Upon each upgrade, it got better and better with compatibility of drivers as well as software compatibility. I can remember when I loaded the first beta, there was only one burning software that supported Vista: that was Ashampoo Burning Studio. Being as they were the first mainstream burner to work with Vista, they earned my business and I have bought other products form them since (but that’s for another post).

The release of Vista SP1 was something that I greatly anticipated. Newness of Vista had worn off and I was anxious to try the “NEW” Vista. I have not been disappointed!

Looking at the picture below, you can catch a glimpse of my desktop in the wild. Originally I hated the Vista Sidebar, but after I saw what gadgets were available and how I could have information at my fingertips, it has a permanent place on my desktop.

My Sidebar contains a gadget for shut down options, a CPU usage gadget, a rotating picture slideshow gadget (which is linked to my desktop wallpapers folder), a weather gadget, a mouse mileage gadget (yes, I am a geek), an Adsense gadget as well as a GMail new mail notification gadget. I love having all this information at a glance: in the mornings it’s my weather station and in the evenings my solace.

SP1 feels much speedier than the original. I run applications that are taxing on any system, yet SP1 handles them with ease. I can have three Adobe apps running and it flies along as smooth as anything. My system isn’t the beefiest of them, but is adequate with a 3.00 Ghz Pentium D processor, 2GB of ram, Asus server motherboard and an Nvidia GeForce 7300 GS video card. I am quite happy with it’s speed.

All the applications that you could ever want are available for Vista now: firewalls, burning software, antivirus, the whole gamut. And now that you can seamlessly run Linux apps from your Windows desktop, it will truly be an all-purpose OS. What I do not like is the price tag: it’s steep for all the bells and whistles. But it is dependable and quick: but with Windows 7 right around the corner, you may want to wait to purchase your newest OS.

Please check out the attachment here for the full changelog of Vista to SP1.

Vista SP1 Technical Data

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You've read the series, now get the E-Book! Special EXTRA material not included in the blog series, plus three FREE templates!! Templates included are Time Management Matrix, Goal worksheet, and The Completion Journal. Only $24.99 for the book!


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Rating:

Upon looking for something to add signatures in my GMail composition and replies, I ran across this great Greasemonkey script! It is MUCH better than the Gmail – Insert HTML Signature 2.0 that I had seen previously – that script requires you to edit code manually, while this scripts has a GUI that is sweet and simple to use. Even works with my painted black gmail & google style! A BIG thanks to Jerome Dane for this awesome script!

Gmail HTML Signatures

Automatically inserts HTML signatures into your Gmail messages based on which address you are sending from. Works for Compose Message and Reply/Forward.

Current Version: 1.07 – Last updated January 30, 2008 - Version History

Download / Install Script

Details:

This is a script for the Greasemonkey Firefox add-on that will automatically insert an HTML signature into your Gmail messages based on the email address that you are sending from. You can create one signature for each account you have set up under “Accounts” in the “Settings” tab.ld work for both compose message and reply/forward.

Features:

• Works for Compose Mail, Reply, and Forward
• Support for single or multiple email addresses
• Create a different signature for each email address you use in your gmail account
• Signature automatically inserted into message above quoted text
• Signature is automatically replaced when you change the address you are sending from
• Easy setup interface

Future Versions (suggestions & to do):

• Otpion to have signature inserted after quoted text instead of before
• Real-time signature preview while editing signature HTML
• Multiple signatures per email (friends version, business version, etc.)
• Fix reply/forward for users that only use one address
• Fix for gmail google apps for domains (thanks Blaine Moore)
• Fix for gmail premiere accounts (thanks Paul Dillinger)

Setup & Installation:

The first thing that you will need to do if you have not done so already is install the Greasemonkey Firefox add-on. Once you have done that, go to the download/install page and click on the grey “Install this script” box in the upper right hand corner of the page. Now go to your gmail page, or reload it if you already had it open.

You can tell that the script is loaded and running by the “HTML Sigs” box in the left column of your gmail window. Clicking on “Setup Instructions” in this box will provide you with up to date setup instructions.

Click on “Compose Mail” to go to the page that allows you to send mail and look for the “Create Signature” link. If you only have one email address set up in your Gmail account, this link will say “Set default gmail address” instead, and will then change to “Create Signature” once you have entered your Gmail address. Clicking on this link will open an interface that allows you to enter your signature. Remember that this box takes HTML, so make sure that you include
at the end of the line if you want to create a new line.

It is always best to include any CSS in style attributes as in the example above. External

tags are often not recognized by email clients. When you are done editing your signature, click “Create Signature”. Your signature will be inserted into the message and the “Create Signature” will change to a blue “Edit Signature” link.

Upgrading:

Make sure you save your signatures in a text file somewhere in case they do not automatically carry over to the new version. If you have any trouble, uninstall all versions of this script and perform a fresh install.

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You've read the series, now get the E-Book! Special EXTRA material not included in the blog series, plus three FREE templates!! Templates included are Time Management Matrix, Goal worksheet, and The Completion Journal. Only $24.99 for the book!


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Logitech MX Air

Three, two, one — we have liftoff! Er, wait a second, liftoff of what? A
mouse? Yes, Logitech’s latest wireless mouse works fine on your desk, but
with a bit of practice does the same in midair — tracking smoothly through
MP3 tracks or Web pages while you make waves from across the room. Add a few
nifty stunt-flying maneuvers or gesture commands, and you might almost
forget the pointer’s high-flying price.

This Magnificent Mouse Is a Flying Machine

Logitech’s latest top-of-the-line mouse boasts breathtaking design — a
sleek, low-slung, black-and-chrome wedge that looks like a flying car from
“Blade Runner” or a half-sized, sexed-up TV remote. It also features
breathtaking versatility: In addition to gliding gracefully about your desk,
the cordless MX Air works when held in midair and pointed at a PC across the
room, whether for multimedia playback or couch-based Web surfing.

Oh, and it has a breathtaking price: $150. Yes, that’s for just the mouse
instead of a mouse-and-keyboard bundle, though the MX would be a great
partner for Logitech’s hyper-styled diNovo Edge at a combined $350.

Still, once you see the MX Air it’s hard to resist it. The symmetrical,
low-profile shape keeps your hand — whether left or right — flatter or
closer to your desk than most mice, with seamless left and right buttons
falling naturally beneath your index and middle fingers.

Between the buttons, instead of a scroll wheel, is what Logitech calls a
scrolling surface — a touch-sensitive, vertical strip that moves the cursor
as you move your finger forward and back …

From Eric Grevstad
HardwareCentral
See complete text at http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,3s6s,1,3bqw,ihhs,5q1n,hp0i

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You've read the series, now get the E-Book! Special EXTRA material not included in the blog series, plus three FREE templates!! Templates included are Time Management Matrix, Goal worksheet, and The Completion Journal. Only $24.99 for the book!


__________________________________________________________

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