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- Productivity Nirvana
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- No Nike+ for iPhone (e71 musings)
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Productivity Nirvana
In running a small consultancy, I'm always looking for ways for everyone to communicate more effectively, use our time more efficiently and just reduce the mental energy and frustration that we all expend on 'preparing' to get work done. Our team has been expanding both in number and in geography and the importance of keeping projects organized and communication streamlined has become a major issue in a very short time.
I've been thinking more and more lately that if the tools we're using are properly chosen, maintained and used effectively, it makes us all happier, more satisfied in our work and better at what we do. Which is what everyone wants, right? The virtuoso in any field is not encumbered by the tools, but just executes.
In working with new members of our team in Austin, we recently ran into the simple, yet complicated issue of scheduling through a shared calendar and having the ability to see blocked and available time for everyone on the team.
This certainly is straightforward requirement for anyone in business, more so if the team is geographically dispersed. It turned out to be quite a problem.
Clearwired is a Mac shop and we have been for quite some time, but out of the box, iCal does not support calendar sharing. A CalDav server is required to be running. After researching the options for getting CalDav up and running, I was shocked that such a necessary tool is not available out of the box on the Mac. This is one of the many shortcomings that I have been encountering as we set about to streamline our operations and where I have been disappointed at the lack of business support on the Mac.
Without droning on about Spanning Sync, BusySync, Daylite, etc. All of which we have used at some point in time, as fully invested solutions or complicated, error-prone workarounds, we have settled upon Zimbra Collaboration Suite.
It's been three weeks now, and so far so good. It does not solve our CRM needs (future post coming on that topic), but it certainly has taken the pain out of coordinating calls and meetings, email management and of course "light" document sharing. We have run into some annoyances, namely the issue of not being able to email or upload any files with the .plist extension (Pages, Numbers, Omnigraffle files). All file types using property lists must be zipped prior to uploading or attaching. I do not necessarily pin this on Zimbra, but more on Apple for building a productivity suite that is not compatible with the rest of the planet.
One bonus of using Zimbra, which is running Exchange server, is that I am now using the new Nokia Mail for Exchange s60 app to keep contacts, schedule, email and tasks synced between Zimbra and my Nokia e71. And this has been absolute productivity nirvana.
I'm always interested in hearing how others are solving these issues, if you have solutions that work for you, spill the beans.
Company Love
Quick link to a BusinessWeek book review "How Great Design Makes People Love Your Company". I've been gravitating toward the concept that traditional marketing is (dare I say) dead. And the age of customer/user experience is upon us. Philosophically, I cannot think of any slice of marketing or business strategy that cannot be absorbed by big User Experience.
No Nike+ for iPhone (e71 musings)
Looks like some people are a little bit upset about this. My attitude has been changing toward Apple a bit over the past few months. I'll try to get a longer post up about where I think Apple is headed. It's quite an interesting time for service design. I think companies like Apple and Nike are definitely forging new ground.
I recently did my due diligence and settled on a Nokia e71, running the Symbian s60 platform. I replaced a Blackberry Curve which was working out okay, but like many users, I just wasn't feeling that I was getting everything that I wanted in my smartphone.
What to say about the e71 without gushing. It's been like an extension of my hand for the past three weeks. What have I been using it for specifically? Here is a short list:
- email of course - there are two modes, so when i check out of work (rarely), I can switch over and check my personal accounts, and not work. Simple, but it's actually a nice to disengage from the office sometimes... sometimes.
- internet radio - that's right. the e71 is 3G, GSM, WiFi, so i'm when I connect through a WiFi hotspot, I'm streaming music down. Connection management is not so great, but there is Psiloc Connect to take up the slack.
- following up to the WiFi and 3G, I can use JoikuSpot to set up a WLAN hotspot that other users can connect to - can you say - KILLER!
- Bluetooth syncing with iCal - right now in the office we're using Daylite as a CRM, synced to iCal, and Spanning Sync to sync iCal with Google Calendar - everything is on my phone. If I haven't synced, I can just check Google Calendar through the browser. The benefit of syncing is that I have alerts on the phone home screen.
- Fring - again, can you say KILLER! I'm making Skype out calls over the phone when connected to a WiFi network.
- Google Maps - GPS is baked in. Works fine for free.
- The browser is passable when reading nytimes and cnn for mobile. Flash will run through the Flash Lite - Realplayer is also built in and there is a mobile version of YouTube if you need to get your G4 fix. (not to fan the flames, but Apple is being sued for claiming that all web content is viewable through the iPhone - the e71 closes the deal on that claim)
- Media player is way ahead of the BB media player. Moving away from iPhone/iTunes will really make you think hard about all that DRM music you bought from iTunes. Yes, I'll admit it. I'm crying in my beer.
Those are the big benefits that I see of the e71 so far (other obvious ones being full qwerty keyboard and a massive replaceable battery). To bring this hurried post full circle. I recently downloaded Nokia SportsTracker. I'll post in a few weeks once I've used it on some runs and share my thoughts.
Some links:
http://sportstracker.nokia.com/
http://www.skyfire.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4VkGs_pXm0
http://www.joiku.com/
http://www.s60.com/life
http://www.fring.com
Olympic Medal Map
There's just something so very simple and yet compelling about the New York Times' interactive map of Olympic medals.
The Fold
I love the fold on a web page. Especially it's sense of mystery of what's beyond the viewable area of the page. The possibilities. But the fold remains controversial because we always wonder if users actually scroll.
From Research to Personas
One of the most recurrent questions asked of us is how we create personas. Everyone wants to know the secret sauce. Before I spill the beans, it's more important to ask, "Why even create a persona?"
Read My Mind
One of the challenges we sometimes face is explaining how search works and what results should be returned when users search a site. Oftentimes if the search doesn't return the exact result the user is searching for then the search is "broken".
I Feel Your Pain
It's amazing what people tell you when you're conducting user research. It can be a virtual outpouring of angst, desire and need. I recently experienced this while conducting user research for a large web application redesign project.
Interactions 08 | Thoughts
A few weeks back, I attended the first ever IxDA international conference, Interactions 08. This wasn't a hodgepodge conference. It had a singular purpose: to discuss and promote the discipline of Interaction Design.
IxDA Interaction 08 | Savannah
This friday I leave for Savannah to attend the first ever Interaction Designer Association conference.