I am huge fan of "smart work". If there is a faster, better, way to do it, I’ll find it. I believe in making the most efficient use of my time, in every sphere of life and work. Each day must be spent fully. Having interests in a hundred different fields, provides the necessary motivation. Not to mention, it is a fascinating way of putting Technology to work!
It’s not just about having access to the Internet or having Google at your fingertips, though that contribution cannot be overstated. When I think about it, I am simply amazed at the amount one is able to get done in the same old "24 hours", thanks to advances in information technology!
- Today, I subscribe to over two dozen feeds (updated daily) via Bloglines, saving me countless hours in scouring thru websites looking for updated content.
- A separate email account helps me track email-based subscriptions, which no longer get mixed with my personal emails.
- My browser – Firefox – has a number of plugins (extensions) that make any browsing session a pleasurable (and productive) experience.
- A nifty little service from Netvibes provides a very useful Start Page, using which I keep track of all kinds of miscellaneous content, as one big aggregated feed
- At work, I use a TiddlyWiki to keep an eye on my "To Do" items without much fuss.
- A variation of the same wiki helps my entire team track over 40 simultaneous projects and update all constituents concerned, with minimal effort, thereby eliminating hundreds of emails exchanged simply to find out the "status of the project"!
- Google’s new calendar app lets me export my Outlook calendar online, so I can access it when I’m out of town, or from home on the weekends.
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del.icio.us service also ensures that my favourite bookmarks (from both IE and Firefox) are available online, accessible from any cyber cafe in the world!
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Nokia 9300 smartphone helps me access my emails on the move, thanks to inbuilt POP3/IMAP support.
- A full-blown GPRS subscription with my mobile service provider not only lets me access Google in my car, but also enables me to connect my laptop to the Internet when the office server is down!
- A USB connection cable also ensures that my Outlook contacts and appointments are synced with my phone, so I am never in the dark for a phone number or misinformed about an appointment.
While some of you may be unfamiliar with a few of these terms or services, all of the technologies mentioned above are easy-to-use and fairly idiot-proof. Most of them are also free!
I cannot help but wonder, if all this is reality today, what will tomorrow bring?!
Anand
You surely fill your day with much to read,write and learn.Now the word ‘busy’ does not sound negative anymore.The Internet clearly has made our lives richer. Did you miss mentioning Flickr ? I would like to read about your opinion on podcasts.
Daniel Jackson
Crawling my way through your list of handy tools I see that the death knell has been sounded for desktop applications.all your data is tucked away in servers the upkeep of which is not your care.gradually we may care less and less for everything but the browser.Google’s acquisition of Writely software(http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/writely-so.html) is a harbinger of the model to take shape in the future..
Living in the Cloud « GreyMatter
on 4 October 2009 at 5:53 pm
[...] couple of years ago, I had blogged about the Technology I use, in a post entitled “Tomorrow’s World“. As an astute commenter soon observed, “I see that the death knell has been sounded [...]