Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• The Problem with Multitasking

  A recent NYT article discusses multitasking and the impact of interruptions on the quality and speed of our work. In a recent study, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment Web sites. "I was surprised by how easily people were distracted and how long it took them to get back to the task," said Eric Horvitz, a Microsoft research scientist and co-author, with Shamsi Iqbal of the University of Illinois, of a paper on the study that will be presented next month. This should not be surprising - as any CS major knows, context switches are expensive. In this case, literally - as Matt suggests, someone is paying for those 18 minutes . And the cost of interruption doesn't discriminate by age. Conventional wisdom is that younger people are good at multitasking, but according... Posted Apr 30 2007, 03:28 PM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Productivity

• Windows SideShow in a bag

  This is very, very cool, and I want one now . Imagine, as Kevin puts it, seeing e-mails, contact info or RSS feeds without removing your device from the bag. Simply awesome. The only thing that concerns me is that the Eleksen Wearable Display Module will apparently "offer a gigabyte of memory". Personally, I would rather something that communicated over WiFi and/or Bluetooth with Vista's Away Mode . Posted Jan 17 2007, 09:18 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Gadgets, Productivity, Tablet PC, Vista, Microsoft

• Blackberry 8700g, T-Mobile Dash and a leak in my system

  In July, I switched from my beloved Audiovox SMT5600 to a Blackberry 8700g. Part of the reason for the switch is that I wanted EDGE and I wanted a keyboard, but I wasn't happy with the phones out at the time on either GSM network here. I bought my slightly-used 8700 off a friend for a very reasonable price. I haven't written much about it here because I really didn't expect to be using it very long - but overall, my experience with that device has been very positive. The Blackberry just works, and as anyone who has ever used a Blackberry in the past knows, RIM has really nailed the one-handed clickwheel operation (something I've heard many complaints about with the Motorola Q). The other thing I learned is that I really like having a QWERTY keyboard. The 8700g is a bit clunky for my tastes, but it's a nice device and I can't imagine going back to a standard keypad. I've also tried the "split" keys on the Pearl recently and thought that was even worse than a standard keypad - though I assume... Posted Oct 23 2006, 05:30 PM by Tim with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Gadgets, Productivity, Blogging

• Tips and tricks for Outlook 12

  Melissa MacBeth, who designed task and time management features in Outlook 12, discusses how she uses those features . It's a great read for anyone doing GTD or something similar, and shows how Outlook 2007 can help you be more productive. (As I've said in the past, I'm definitely a big fan. If you haven't gotten the beta yet, I strongly encourage you to check it out). Tags: productivity , Organization , GTD , Lifehacks , Microsoft , Office 2007 , Outlook Posted Jun 18 2006, 06:11 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Productivity, Outlook Tips

• Synchronizing OneNote 2007 data across machines

  I've discussed at length my problems with keeping OneNote in sync across machines . I've finally settled on FolderShare which has worked almost flawlessly for my personal machines but unfortunately is blocked at work. Chris Pratley discusses a few of the options for keeping your OneNote 2007 data synchronized across machines . OneNote 2007 allows you to have shared notebooks - for one project, I'm sharing a notebook with four others hosted on a Sharepoint site. Unlike OneNote 2003, it's actually pretty efficient and (generally) works when you're disconnected as well. (I've had a few hiccups, but this was with early Beta software, so hopefully it is ironed out by release). I actually just finished setting up a test server with, among other things, Groove Server and Sharepoint 2007 Beta2. I'm hoping to spend some time with it this weekend and see if it brings anything additional to the table. The good news is that the OneNote team seems well aware of these problems and has done some good... Posted Jun 08 2006, 12:27 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Productivity, Tablet PC

• Office 2007 allows you to paste unformatted text

  Using Word as your e-mail editor in Outlook 2003 is nearly impossible... it's just SOOOO much slower. Of course, in Outlook 2007 you don't have a choice, but it's much faster than in the past. One of the best new features though - something which may exist now, but I certainly can't find it - is the ability to have "Paste Special -> Unformatted Text as the default. No need for, say, PureText (which, by the way, I recommended back in 2004 ). Under Editor Options -> Advanced, you'll see the following options. So you can finally - at least within Outlook and Word - have Paste Special -> Unformatted Text as the default option for paste! Tags: Office 2007 , Office , Office-2007 Posted Jun 07 2006, 06:46 AM by Tim with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Productivity, Outlook Tips

• Blogging from Office 2007 (Beta 2)

  Well, I finally got Office Beta 2 downloaded and all of my machines upgraded from Beta 1 Technical Refresh. So far, so good. Performance is still not ideal, but it's much improved from previous builds (especially in Outlook). I was going to write this in Word, but I can't seem to get it working. When I try to configure an account, I get a popup that asks me for a password, but clicking either Ok or Cancel doesn't close it. I guess that's why it's still a beta, right? Like most of the new Office, I absolutely love the interface in Word 2007. I've been using it since the alpha last September, and I've used it for 5 papers over the past two semesters. It's wonderful. That being said, it's sort of weird to say that Word supports blogging. Is it sad that this might be what people use Word for most? (Well, and writing e-mail in Outlook, since Outlook 2007 now forces you to use Word as the editor). Personally, if I wanted to blog from one Office product, I think it would be OneNote. It looks like... Posted May 25 2006, 04:20 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Rants, Productivity, Web 2.0

• Windows Desktop Search 3.0 beta released for Office 2007

  Microsoft has released a beta of Windows Desktop Search 3.0 intended for use by those in Office 2007. This version is just a preview of the engine and doesn't include the desktop search application. Searching is now integrated into the Office 2007 search tools - no more additional toolbar. It is very fast even compared to the much-improved Outlook 2007 search. The search are updated in real-time as you type, but without the flicker of the built-in search. If you are using the Office 2007 beta, I encourage you to check out this beta. Posted May 10 2006, 06:46 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Productivity, Outlook Tips

• Addicted to EVDO

  If you listen to Mobile Tech Roundup , you'll know I picked up EVDO a few weeks back. (And if you don't listen to MoTR, well, why aren't you?). I am addicted to EVDO. It might not sound like such a big deal, but it's incredible when you no longer have to think about having a high-speed connection. It's a life-changing event the first time you sit in the doctor's office and you're online. Suddenly, the wait isn't such a big deal. I take the bus instead of the subway now because it's no longer "lost time" - I can sit there the entire time checking e-mail, etc. As much as I hate the idea of carrier lock-in with my laptop, it's making me think long and hard about a lot of the notebooks released recently with embedded WWAN support. The ThinkPad T60 and X60 are both available with embedded EVDO receivers (there is a slight bulge though). If the new ThinkPad tablet has EVDO, I might be willing to overlook the lower resolution screen. Of course, an always-on EVDO connection is a great complement... Posted Apr 10 2006, 04:36 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Rants, Gadgets, Productivity, Tablet PC

• 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