Back after a quick refresher...

Heading back to work after giving myself a few days off during the Thanksgiving break.  Well, almost "off"...

• Computer shopping again...Looked at a couple of possible computers to get my mother for Christmas. (Browsed online, of course. Not a chance I'd go near a store during the Black Friday mayhem...)  I haven't found a better buy than the Acer I bought myself last month, so it looks like I'll be getting another. My plan is to get it, load it with the appropriate software, test it, and pre-load it with her files, which I'll snag remotely via Hamachi.  She'll have a computer ready to go, tested, and customized the way she likes it.  (Don't tell!)

 

• TV shopping, too...I also looked at some of the super-cheap flat screen LCDs that are on sale for the holidays, since I'm thinking of getting a new set for the bedroom.  Haven't seen anything I'm ready to jump for yet, but looking at a few models gave me an idea:  I ought to think about getting a set that allows for a computer-in, as well as HD and other TV ports.  With relatively cheap computers available (including those with Media Center options), it might be worthwhile to consider getting a small CPU to stow in the bedroom.  It could replace my Tivo, act as a PVR, run Slingplayer, and extend access to my network, the Internet, and all my media files.   My Tivo already does a lot of that, but this definitely would extend my capability.

 

• TV viewing...Speaking of Tivo, how did I live before I got one?  One of my big projects over the last few days has been forced rest -- no computer, no phone, no errands, no thinking, just vegging out on the couch.  As a result, I've caught up on about 10 weeks of fall shows that I had Tivo'd.  It was less than inspiring, but highly conducive to not thinking.  Best tech on TV:  NCIS and Criminal Minds.  I wish my computers ran that fast...

 

• Slingbox online...Those placeshifting fiends at Sling have launched a new service that looks to me like a big winner: Sling.com, where anyone can watch shows (similar to Hulu) and where Sling users can view their home TVs through a web interface. This second feature is especially interesting -- essentially it puts placeshifting "in the cloud" without any software needed.  Previously, Sling users had to use Slingplayer software to watch their programming remotely.

 

• New PDA phone...Last Wednesday, I bought Verizon's new HTC Touch Pro Windows Mobile phone. After five days of use and tweaking, I've got to say I'm unimpressed and frustrated.  Verizon has crippled the phone -- locked GPS to their fee-based service, removed Internet Connection Sharing, reduced RAM to half the levels of the AT&T and Sprint versions, etc. Very disappointing, because this has the potential to be a GREAT PDA phone, with a form factor smaller than the iPhone.  My hope is that the mad modders at PPCGeeks and XDA-Developers will have this puppy unlocked and re-ROM'ed in the next couple of weeks. If not, I have a decision to make before the 30-day return kicks in:  Do I return the phone and return to using my three-year-old PDA phone until a (hopefully) better choice comes out or live with it.  Watch for more details on modding a "phone for all seasons" over the next few days.

 

• Cranking up the GTD machine again...After a mid-week holiday, I always feel a little confused about "what day it is," so I spent some time this afternoon doing a GTD review to get myself back in fighting trim for the week ahead. (Is it a "review" or a "preview?" Hard to tell sometimes...)  Nothing focuses me better, calms me down more, or reinvigorates my thinking more effectively than doing this.  Tomorrow morning when I sit down at my desk, I'll be able to get right into action: I've already figured out my next actions, loaded them onto my lists, and set myself up for getting stuff done.

 

• And, a thought on goals...CNN founder, entrepreneurial genius, and all-around convention-buster Ted Turner was a guest on this morning's Meet the Press, where he offered some typically unconventional wisdom drawn from his new book.  He attributed his father's suicide to reaching his goals in life too easily:  "He set his goals too low, and he suggested to me that I don't do that.  Set goals high enough so they can't be achieved in your lifetime, then you'll always be motivated to keep working and keep engaged."    I love it -- totally sets all the talk of keeping goals "doable" on its ear.

 

I'm refreshed and ready for the new week.

Another new tool in the digital lifestyle arsenal

As much as I enjoy having a 24/7 system in the kitchen, one thing that has continued to bug me is having my flatscreen sitting on the kitchen table. It's a small table, so even the small monitor took up a lot of room. Plus, it made the kitchen look too "office-y" -- I wasn't going for a second desk, just a way to access electronic data and info instantly.

I found a clamp-on swing-arm for the monitor, but, alas, the 2001-era 15-inch HP flatscreen I was using wasn't VESA compliant, so I wasn't able to attach it to the swing-arm.

Time to give up? Not a chance! Last week, I got a 19-inch Samsung Syncmaster 920NW. Fits great on the swing-arm and the wide screen makes viewing multiple windows (and the Windows Vista Sidebar) much more pleasant. Getting it up off the table also lets me re-claim all the table space, too.

Tonight when I was cleaning up, I snapped a couple of pictures. Here's what it looks like when I have the monitor turned so I can sit at the table and view it:

Here's what it looks like when I push it back to the wall so it's out of the way. (BTW, the cable you see in both pictures is actually a power cable, not anything to do with the monitor. For some reason, the kitchen outlets in this building are all halfway up the wall, rather than in the normal position closer to the floor. All the monitor and system cables are hidden.)

All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. I think I've been able to avoid an "office" look pretty well. What do you all think?

GTD and Maslow

The other day, a client and I were talking about how economic and social uncertainty might affect the way some of our target audiences perceive messages.  The discussion turned to how needs and personal status affect perception and action -- the same ideas that psychologist Abraham Maslow first offered in his Hierarchy of Needs theory.

Maslow envisioned a five-level pyramid that represented how an individual's motivation changes depending on various needs:

1. Physiological -- basic needs, like food, water, sleep, and shelter

2. Safety -- feeling secure in terms of health, employment, personal safety, etc.

3.  Love and belonging -- having friends, family, intimacy

4. Esteem -- confidence, achievement, respect from others, respect of others, etc.

5. Self-actualization -- where an individual is "growth motivated," rather than "deficiency motivated"

As we were talking about some of the traits and needs related to people at various stages, it occurred to me that many of the factors that define self actualization are also good predictors of success in using GTD.

Maslow and others noticed some specific identifying traits in people who are "self actualized:"

• They are independent
• They are autonomous
• They don't seek outside approval or validation
• They embrace reality and basic truths
• They are spontaneous and flexible
• They enjoy solving problems
• They transcend their circumstances, rather than merely "coping with" them

 

Sounds like a great description of a successful GTD user to me.

I've seen people comment that GTD is only applicable "for executives" or "for people who can control how they work."  Others suggest that it doesn't have enough innate "motivating tools" or that it isn't "structured enough."

Although I believe these criticisms are off base, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if what GTD's critics are actually getting at is the degree to which a user is self actualized.  After all, if someone is at a point in life where they need approval or they don’t feel comfortable being autonomous, they may not be entirely comfortable with operating in the self-sustaining way GTD requires.

The good news is, using GTD could put someone on a path to self actualization by offering a framework where they can learn to operate in a new way.  For example, it’s a lot easier to “transcend” your circumstances and embrace reality if you’re experienced in casting your activities in terms of “context” and taking action based on current reality.

Similarly, GTD supports spontaneity and flexibility by weaning users off the artificial structures of task scheduling and teaching them to assess their options in the moment. 

I’m curious to know: How do GTD users feel about their own efforts and the degree to which they are self actualized.

No BlackBerry in the White House

The following people are allowed to use BlackBerrys: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This man is not:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d demand a recount.

GTD and showing up

Woody Allen once said that “80 percent of success is showing up.” I was reading a thread in the Getting Things Done Yahoo group today and thinking that applies to success in using GTD, too.

Getting Things Done (GTD) is the personal productivity system management spelled out in the 2001 book by management guru David Allen.

Allen’s process has users plow through everything in their lives, distilling their commitments and projects (both big and small) down to two questions:

1. What is the outcome I desire from doing this?
2. What is the next physical action required to move forward?

Doing this takes the uncertainty and ambiguity out of the working -- since you’ve already defined how you’re going to do things, you can sail through the work of “getting things done.” It’s also incredibly energizing, since it gives you a sense of having everything squared away at all times.

Allen also offers some guidance to help keep the flow going and leverage efficiency, such as organizing your next actions according to the resource you need to do them (such as having a “calls list” for the phone calls you need to make).

Seems simple enough, and, for most people, it is. But a noisy few complain that GTD’s approach doesn’t work, because of their “unique situation.” They make very elaborate cases for being “different” and sometimes create complex “alternative” or “hybrid” GTD systems to accommodate their “needs.”

A casual observer might be inclined to say that’s understandable, since everyone’s different. But, as someone who has been more than a casual observer for a few years now, here’s the fact: About 99% of these complaints are a total cop-out by people just can’t or won’t own up enough to their own commitments and actions to succeed.

GTD asks users to cut through all the systems, structures, piles, and debris they’ve built around them to confront basic truths about their lives:

• These are the projects and commitments I have
• These are the desired outcomes I want
• These are the resources I have available now
• These are the actions I must take to reach my desired outcomes

Reaching those truths requires a fundamental willingness to face life with “no bull” and an openness to finding out that, when it gets down to bare metal, your desired outcomes may not be what you’ve been telling yourself they are.

Then, once you do sort out your desires and commitments, it’s time to do the work. Since you’ve already identified the resources you need and the actions you’re going to take, you have no excuses for not acting.

I believe that’s why some people are so dedicated to maintaining the myth that GTD’s two fundamental questions – what do I want and what’s the next action – don’t apply to them. Their systems complicate what they do just enough to give them a way to avoid thinking or acting in a new way. Their approaches subtly sidestep facing reality. And, if all else fails, they fall back on blaming David Allen for not (somehow) accommodating them in his book.

So, for those who passionately defend their flawed (and failing) approaches to GTD, here’s some advice: Cut out the all the approaches, tweaked systems, and other nonsense. Just ask yourself what you want and what’s the next action to get there. Then, try showing up.

(Hmmm…now that I think of it, I wonder if David Allen and Woody Allen are related…)

Good e-news from Wachovia and advice for Congress

Last week, I got a message from Wachovia (soon to be Wells Fargo) that they’ve added the ability to download securities account statements automatically in Quicken and Money.  Banking and credit card customers have been able to do this with Wachovia for years, but Wachovia's securities side has lagged behind. 

This made me think about how much banking has changed in recent years.  For Wachovia and the rest of the financial sector, the last decade has involved a huge shift as customers have demanded more online access and the federal government has pushed policies that encourage "e-banking." 

Yet, discussion about the banking crisis has included almost no mention of changes brought about by the electronic-based banking model.  Although the upfront costs for online services is high for the banks, they should be seeing consider able benefits now, as customers shift away from paper and away from transactions that require human interactions.

They also should have access to more information than ever before: about one another, about their customers, about their holdings, and about the entire sector.  Plus, with electronic communications, they have unprecedented options for conveying messages to customers, the markets, regulators, and the rest of the industry.  Despite this, they're failing for many of the same reasons banks failed 70 years ago: Overextending credit to risky borrowers, inability to meet reserve calls, dwindling confidence in equities markets, and so on. 

Before Congress starts pulling apart and re-regulating the banking industry, I hope they'll look at this:  Why hasn't the banking industry been able to use the information it receives through electronic innovations more effectively?  What role can electronic commerce play in ensuring better transparency throughout the sector?  In a world where any amateur can Google someone for an hour and get at least a *sense* of whether they're nominally creditworthy, the banks should not be in the position they are today.

Similarly, Congress should take a look at how technology can drive operational improvements across the auto industry before even considering a bailout there.  We're hearing a lot about encouraging Detroit to make more energy efficient cars, but they could save a helluva lot of a resources just by reducing the paperwork involved in shipping, selling, and/or buying a car. 

Rather than propping up 19th-century commerce models to keep these sectors limping along, use this crisis as an opportunity to turn them into the 21st-century successes they could be.

Rant-to-Own: Comcast Round 2

Ah, Comcast, you find new ways to annoy even when you're trying to please.

The day after my recent post about the lousy Internet and TV service I've been getting (for several years), I got a very nice message from someone at the company saying that they'd like to get the issues resolved.

I was impressed.  Obviously, they're making a pro-active effort to look for customer issues mentioned on on the Internet and taking fast action to get them resolved.

So, I responded with details about the problems I've been having.  The Comcast rep immediately responded that he'd put me in touch with a local rep, who would get back to me that day.

At 5:30 p.m. that evening (Wednesday), I received an email from the local service rep, who asked me to contact her to set up a visit for a technician to come out.

Since I didn't get home until quite late Wednesday night, I didn't have a chance to answer the message, much less think about when I want a technician to come out. 

Thursday morning, I left my house at 7 a.m., didn't return until around 5.  As a result, I missed the local rep's 4:30 phone call, which she pointed out in a 4:32 email:

"I just left a message on your answering service as I have not heard from you.  If you are still experiencing service issues, please contact me.  I will schedule a visit  with our Technical Resolution Technician at a convenience  [sic] time for you to resolve the service issue."

(Sounds like the technician will be coming out to watch me resolve the issue, doesn't it?)

Although I was a little annoyed at the "if you are still experiencing service issues" -- I mean, did she think they miraculously resolved after four years? -- I figured I'd call her today (Friday) and set something up.

But, life intervened, and I was out most of the day and didn't have time to call.  At 5:05 today, I received the following email:

"Thank you for contacting our executive office with your questions and concerns.  We value your business and would like the opportunity to resolve your issue as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, our attempts to contact you have been unsuccessful. 

"Please contact our office, at [phone #] at your earliest convenience if we can be of assistance, between the hours of 8am and 5pm.  In the event that we do not hear from you by 11/21/08, we will consider your issue resolved. We look forward to hearing from you."

So, now Comcast puts me on a one-week deadline because I didn't respond to THEM within two business days?   Gimme a break.  I'm still waiting to hear back from them about an billing error in 2004.  Heck, I've spent 48 hours ON HOLD waiting to talk to Comcast service reps over the years.

(OK, I'm exaggerating.  My record was 3 hours, 22 minutes on hold with Comcast in January 1996.  I'd have hung up, but after the first hour, I became fascinated to see just how long it would take to reach a service rep.)

Just for fun, let's parse this model of customer service a bit:

1.  "Thank you for contacting our executive office with your questions and concerns." 

Actually, YOU contacted ME.  And, it wasn't a "question or concern," it was a complaint about lousy service. 

Moving on...

2. "We value your business and would like the opportunity to resolve your issue as quickly as possible." 

Mmmm-hmmm, I'm listening...

3.  "Unfortunately, our attempts to contact you have been unsuccessful." 

Your attempts to contact me have indeed been successful; your attempts to get an immediate response from me have been unsuccessful.

4.  "Please contact our office, at [phone #] at your earliest convenience if we can be of assistance, between the hours of 8am and 5pm." 

How should I know if you "can be of assistance?"  (The track record is not good.) 

BTW, my "earliest convenience" is unlikely to occur "between the hours of 8am and 5pm." But whatever...

5.  "In the event that we do not hear from you by 11/21/08, we will consider your issue resolved." 

You're giving me a deadline and a threat?  Guess you don't value my business that much. 

It's no wonder that Verizon trucks have been circling this building like hungry jackals for months now...

Mygazines RIP

Just wanted to note the passing of mygazines.com, the magazine uploading site that appeared to aspire to become the YouTube of magazines.  Turns out that legal woes and financial troubles got the best of the service, just a few months after opening its doors.

Too bad, because it was a great idea, despite its copyright problems.  I wish more publishers would catch on to the idea that many of us would prefer to read magazines electronically -- and might even pay a little to do so.   (Ask Zinio -- we really do!)

Below is the message now posted on the service's homepage.

Google reaches deal with publishers over ebooks

Spotted some good news in today's New York Times.  Turns out that Google was able to reach a deal with publishers over including out-of-print/in copyright books in Google Book Search.  This will open the door to a treasure trove of information being unlocked in these hard-to-find books.  Awesome!  Read Google's news release about the deal here.

The Times also noted that several major publishers, including Penguin, are looking at new ebook models, including monthly subscriptions that would allow electronic access to best sellers.  Sounds a little like Netflix for books.

The article also notes that while traditional book sales are falling, ebook sales are up 55% over the last year.  It suggests, probably accurately, that Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader are responsible for at least part of this increase.

Despite this, my bet is that tying texts to a specific device or platform won't prove a sustainable model.  Ultimately, the device -- whether it's a Kindle, Reader, mobile phone, iPod, laptop, or whatever -- is merely a storage tool and viewer.  Users are going to want to be able to move their data to wherever it suits them, just as they do with music. 

The faster the publishers and ebook vendors realize that the same unfettered access that has made digital music work applies to texts, the faster the ebook market will grow.

Rant-to-Own: Comcast? "Triple Play" or "Three Strikes You're Out"

Since I'm in a ranting mood today, here's one regarding one of my favorite whipping boys: Comcast.

Comcast is the largest cable provider, second-largest Internet provider, and fast-growing telephone provider in the United States.

Note I use the word "provider" in its modern sense of "electronic gatekeeper, irritant, and extortionist," not in the bygone, service-oriented sense.

I have some beefs with Comcast, such as its new 250GB cap on monthly data usage, the way it keeps moving my favorite TV channels to higher-tier (more expensive) packages, and its "load shaping" tactics.

But, that's not my rant today.

This week, my Comcast service went down, knocking out my cable and Internet. This happens about every other month, with outages lasting anywhere from 5 minutes to several days.

Living in an urban area, literally steps away from the capital of one of the largest, most industrialized countries in the world, where we've had cable television for several decades, this has always struck me as a little suspect, but again, that's a matter for a different rant.

Anyway, I called Comcast's service line. During the 35-minute hold to talk to a service rep, I got to listen to two things: A Muzak loop montage of Mozart, Bryan Ferry, and Wham! and ads for Comcast's "Triple Play" service, where they can provide my cable, Internet, AND phone.

Good idea! That way, when Comcast's service goes down, I won't be able to call and complain. Think of the time I'll save and the cost-cutting they'll be able to do when they reduce their customer-service center even more!

Help me, Obi-Wan

I couldn’t let the election get too far behind us without commenting on CNN’s holographic reporter.  That comment is:  “[Sigh…].”

The idea of holograms is great, and good for CNN for bringing them to TV.  But, let’s think about the wisdom of using them in news:  CNN spends millions of dollars each year to send reporters and technology around the globe to report “on the scene” and “take us to where news is happening.”

Now, CNN is spending millions of dollars to create the illusion that the reporter is back in the studio.  How do they do this?  By surrounding the reporter by a few dozen HD cameras set up in a tent…that screens out whatever is taking place at the scene. 

Reality, it turns out, is much too noisy, visually busy, and chaotic for television.  Much better to create a fake reality that blends better with the newsroom.

So, American TV now offers:

• Synthetic news, presented by holograms of reporters inside cocoons that filter out the annoying reality of reality
• “Reality” programs that send privileged people to sets on distant corners of the planet to suffer fabricated hardship and humiliation for sport
• Sports, with electronic football grid lines, electronically enlarged pucks, and ads digitally superimposed onto ballpark walls and fields
• A few dozen channels in languages I don’t speak.  (Ironically, I speak enough French to enjoy the French channel, but it broadcasts in English…)
• Assorted crap and Law and Order reruns.

 

Plus, just last week, Fox cancelled King of the Hill, a cartoon show far more true to life than 99 percent of the live shows. 

Coincidence?  I think not.

(Sorry, I’ve been in a bad mood since Mad Men ended its season last month.  All my Tivos can find for me to watch is Frasier reruns.)