Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Office 2007 Themes

  I really like the new Office 2007 themes introduced in Beta 1 Technical Refresh compared to previous versions using the temporary gray skin. It took me awhile to find where to change the theme in Outlook - it's under Editor Options. The theme looks a little different in Outlook, though it's possible (probable) that this may change in the future. My only complaint is that the the title bar is a littel paler than the toolbars (since it doesn't have the left icon giving it weight there). It's almost as if the application doesn't have focus - I think these two colors should be reversed, giving the toolbar more weight. I was initially excited about the new black theme. It looks very nice here, although it does feel a little harsh in use. It also appears that not all of the application has been skinned - see the status bar with black over dark gray text. OneNote, the only other Office program which I really spend significant time in, doesn't yet have themes. It's not getting the ribbon so not... Posted Apr 03 2006, 05:28 AM by Tim with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Productivity, Outlook Tips, Innovation

• My Crusade Against Cubicles

  Cubicles are just awful . It is often thought that the openness contributes to team building, but I still insist real relationships are not built in the office. The openness is also a huge drain on productivity especially for work that requires contiguous blocks of time. (Context switches are expensive, after all). My manager recognizes this, and although it's clear the cubicle farms aren't going away entirely we recently discussed strategies on how to address the productivity issue. Some of us already use some of the empty offices when we need to really buckle down, and it would be interesting if this was a bit more formal. (Call them office shares). Another suggestion was to have "work hours" such to guarantee uninterrupted blocks of time. Now there's a report that they're also a security risk . The British security service MI5 is warning business leaders that their offices are probably badly designed against terrorist bombs. The common modern office consists of large rooms without internal... Posted Apr 01 2006, 09:14 AM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Rants, Productivity, Innovation