Keyboard Karma ~ by Helen Crozier

Tungle puts your calendar on steroids to seriously help!

I'm so loving the latest answer to scheduling nightmares - a free website called Tungle. I've not seen such a feature rich service with all the doodahs and gadgets in a long time. Sign up for free at www.tungle.com.

The complete feature list is below:

Calendar & Contact Syncing
Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple iCal and Entourage for Mac (beta).

Calendar Sharing
Share across calendar and company boundaries. Your choice of free/busy or full details.

Create a personal link to your public free/busy calendar where others can schedule meetings with you.

Propose multiple meeting times
The more you propose, the easier it is to get your meeting booked.

Double-booking prevention
Schedule over times proposed in other invitations. Tungle will adjust to prevent conflicts in your calendar.

Invite anyone – No sign up required!
No matter what calendar or platform – all they need is email and a browser.

Quick links (Outlook & Google)
One-click start from your calendar or email inbox.

Time zone auto-adjust
Propose times and relax. Tungle will auto-adjust for invitees in other time zones.

Auto-add to calendar
A meeting gets booked and it’s added to your calendar. Simple as that.

RSS feed
Get your meeting updates in real time

I can't tell you how easy it is to set up and use. There are now widgets that you can add into your blog (as in above) or Facebook - the green 'light' indicates that you are available and Tungle keeps an eye on your calendar in real time turning red when you are busy. You can have your own 'tungle me' link which in my case is www.tungle.me/helencrozier. I chose as well to buy an easy to remember domain so now whenever I say "go to www.bookhelen.com" clients and friends will be taken to my tungle availability page as I've set up a redirect.

Bliss! I'm just waiting and hoping patiently for a working hours box to set up in the options. I don't like the calendar showing me as 'available' when I am actually asleep -people in other time zones might not realise that and could give me a call in the middle of the night!! Tungle promised me it would be possible to specify availability hours in the next major release.

Until then jump on board and enjoy the freedom of not playing telephone/email tag when trying to get someone to commit to an appointment!

Inbox Zero is sticking!

If it takes 30 days to make a 'habit' I'm so close that I'm nearly cracking out the champers for this one! I've tried lots of systems and tools in the past but to be honest after 2-3 weeks those systems and tools start to wear thin and the backlog builds up. THIS TIME seems different and the reason is clear. I have some serious synchronisation going on - where ever I'm working. Previously I was downloading emails into Outlook because it was my preferred method of dealing with email. I tried and liked Taglocity for sorting the emails and putting them into folders but it truly wasn't the simplest system around. More and more frequently I was finding myself out and about and needing to deal with emails - yes I could read and answer emails on the iPhone but then when I got home the emails would be downloaded again into the desktop. Double handling (yuck) and I didn't have the facility to be able to sort the emails into their appropriate folders.

Now since I've signed up to Google Apps for my domain all that has changed. This costs $50US per year to host and what a bargain. Sometimes it's a little fiddly to set up but once it's done you are in for a treat. I collect all my email into one google email bucket (personal and business). I can use google's coloured labels which replicate in Outlook as 'folders'. I'm going for minimal folders however to keep it simple:-
@action
@data entry
@print
@read
@reply
@waiting.

I then have a folder for each of my top 5 projects and one for expenses (which probably isn't necessary - I could do a 'search' for invoice, receipt and that would bring up all emails accordingly - it just feels safer!)

Now here's the great thing. Whenever I handle an email in any of the three places - Outlook, Google Mail or the iPhone a magical synchronisation happens and I never have to double handle anything!! If I have spare time and I'm with my iPhone I can check AND process email at the same time - either replying or filing or reading and deleting. When I'm at my desk and feel like a bit of Outlook work I can get in there and click on the @reply folder and knock of some answers to people. Finally if I'm on anyone else's computer I can log into gmail and work from there.

To think we had to deal with Microsoft Exchange etc before this was happening - at a cost of thousands of dollars... (Of course calendars, contacts and documents are also available to work with in this way.... bliss) I'm putting together documentation on how to put this all together very soon so stay tuned!

When is good? An easy way to see when everyone is free for your next event or meeting

"When is Good?" is a free site that makes coordinating an event or meeting so much easier! After the demise of www.iwantsandy.com I'm a tad reluctant to 'sell' similar online services. I particularly feel for the devotees of that particular site - the learning time involved, getting used to a system and then having it pulled from under your feet. Not GOOD!.

"When is good" is hopefully not in the same boat. It doesn't require long hours to learn how to use it. It's a sort of get in, do the job then get out site. I do like it though and am determined to make use of it for future scheduling issues.

Here are the instructions......

 1.  Visit www.whenisgood.net
 2.  Click the grid for all the times that are good for you
 3.  Email the link to your invitees.
 4.  They see your proposed times and click on when they are free.
 5.  You visit your results page and see when everyone can do.
 No sign-up form. No password to choose. No fuss at all. This is a brilliant tool to overcome those backwards & forwards emails - use it for your next marketing meeting or book club dinner.

Organising help from the Calm Tech Coach and A Little Elf starting this Thursday!

SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISING

A Little Elf and The Calm Tech Coach can help you get organised in your office!
Climbing over stacks of paper?
Is your current paperwork covering your desk?
Don’t know how to get started?

Agenda / Program

• 2 different ways to manage your Action/To Do paperwork - also known as the papers currently covering your desk

• Using Outlook to manage your Action/To Do items electronically- task list, calendar, email methods

• Filing methods and what every office needs to be functional and effective

• Questions and solutions time - please bring photos and specific questions, plus your laptop

Presented by
Karen Koedding is Australia's first and only Certified Professional Organiser. Karen is a member of NAPO and AAPO, the professional associations for Professional Organisers. Her background includes degrees in Accounting and Interior Design along with 15+ years of experience as a licensed CPA. www.alittleelf.com

Helen Crozier is known as The Calm Tech Coach. Helen is a technology coach and a member of AAPO. She is passionate about helping people find simple but smart ways to use computers, software, digital devices or websites in order to make their lives easier in these crazy hectic times. www.thecalmtechcoach.com

Home Ideas Centre
61 – 63 O’Riordan Street, Alexandria, Sydney
$98.00 +GST (includes afternoon tea) 10% discount for 2 attendees 15% for 3 attendees
All seminars: 2pm - 5:30pm
Thursday 22 January 2009
Wednesday 18 February 2009
Thursday 19 March 2009

Book Online Here!

Taglocity + Outlook 2007 = inbox zero

Taglocity has recently revamped it's services. I did purchase the program back in version 1 days and was quite impressed. Something stopped me from using it permanently and I cannot recall what that was. With a bit of a reinvention they now provide an easier user experience. I've downloaded the trial account and am so far loving it. For almost two weeks I've maintained 'inbox zero' as a result of reinstalling taglocity.

There is a small learning curve with setting the system up however this is well compensated for with the results.

What are these results?I am able to with one click of a tag on my tag bar assign a category to an email (it is possible to assign multiple categories).

Each tag can have associated actions. For example if I tag a file @read it will immediately put it into the @READ folder for me. If I tag it @Data it sends it off to my @ACTION folder but has the category '@Data' so it is grouped together with other emails requiring me to do some data entry. Nice!

If I tag an email @Call it creates a task in the @ACTION folder with the @Call category making a nice list of people to contact on the telephone.

If I tag an email @Archive180 it removes any other action tags that I have created and stores it in my 6 month archive folder.

I am now down to FOUR email folders and loving it.

My @ACTION emails are categorised within that folder with very little effort at all thanks to Taglocity.
@Call
@Computer
@Data
@Errands
@Home
@Office
@Pay
@Reply
My current @ACTION email folder when sorted by category looks like this!

What I try to remember to do is to 'flag' all the emails that go into @ACTION with a 'no due date flag'. If an email as been 'flagged' it will show up in the task 'to do list' view which is just wonderful. In that view I then have a mixture of tasks AND emails requiring action all in the appropriate categories.

This 'to do list' view in Outlook doesn't force me to convert my emails to tasks - it just treats them as a task because of the flag. On the other hand, items that are captured on the fly via Chapura's Key Tasks on the iphone are also seen in the lists.

The result is a system which is the merger of two different workflow inputs. The things I have to do result I think roughly from 75% emails and 25% other (meetings, calls, brainstorming, weekly review etc).

If I am still happy with this system after 30 days of constant use I will mark it as a complete success but in the meantime if you are having problems with email overload consider giving taglocity a go.

There is a free version but I will be upgrading to the professiona versionl. My main reason for that is with the professional version you can take away the 'travelling tags' at the bottom of your emails. It is not a feature I particularly embrace! Email support is provided for professional users and more premium features are promised. Currently there is a special offer - until 31st December you can purchase Taglocity 2.0 for $60US - 40% discount off full retail of $99US.

I will be writing about other benefits of taglocity soon but there is more information available on the taglocity site - eg Benefits for Individuals.

PS My inbox was persistently clogged at around the 200 email level - not huge but not what I was happy with. Since using Taglocity I've gone to sleep almost every night with an empty inbox. Do I sleep better? You bet!

Chapura Key Task issue resolved

I had crashing problems with my task list on the iphone! Chapura support were very prompt in getting back to me with the solution. I needed to remove any & or < > symbols in the category names. Yes.... something quick and simple...what bliss that it works and now my lists are synchronising and keeping me sane.

Chapura Key Tasks adds Outlook category support for iPhone

Thank goodness. I swear to you I've been almost checking  my iphone three or four times a day waiting for this update. I was in bliss when Key Tasks appeared for Microsoft Outlook but without category support it was next to useless. Now it's there and it works I'm in heaven. Thank you Chapura... my only suggestion would have been to wait until you had it before you released. In plain english..if you have separate lists (like David Allen from GTD fame suggests) you can now have those lists appear in proper order on the phone - my lists are simple but necessary.

Here are mine....
@Calls
@Errands
@Home
@Work
@WaitingFor
Projects
Someday/Maybe

Now I can abandon all the other todo applications I had to use until this was sorted... yay!!!

Clients! Sometimes they do listen!

Busy week with work and trip preparation but had a pleasant experience when I caught up with a client on Wednesday. Had not seen her for several months and the first thing she wanted to do was show me her empty in box and neatly organised Outlook Task lists. She was very proud but also happy that the system was still working for her that we initially implemented some 3-4 years ago.

Her business had grown and we spent a solid session linking calendars & task lists between employees and computers using a variety of synchronising technology.

Very successful and satisfying for the both of us!

Outlook Tasks on iPhone with Key Tasks from Chapura

One of the things that gave me a heart attack when I picked up my iPhone was the realization that there was no synchronization of tasks from the desktop! I tried a few replacements but was not so happy that I had to stop using Outlook to manage my to-do list. I had been doing it for so many years - it was kind of hard to stop! Anyway I was working with toodledo - which synchronised at least to the web - meaning I didn't have to solely enter and manage the lists on the phone (I'm still pretty slow at typing on the phone ... please please please Mr Steve let us have a bluetooth keyboard!). It was working ok but didn't feel right to have to use something outside Outlook.

However.... on Friday night I discovered a little surprise! Chapura had released keytasks for the iPhone. Woohoo!! I was downloading it faster than the speed of light - excited about going back to my nice Outlook 2007/Getting Things Done lists!

I was unfortunately a little premature with my excitement. This version does not support categories. Oh dear!!! I find it impossible to work from one big long uncategorized list but tech support have promised that category support and a date problem fix will be coming asap in the next update. Can't wait.....

One nice benefit of the keytasks is that your tasks are synchronized to the 'cloud' on Chapura's server. You download free software for any of the computers you are using Outlook on and in a couple of minutes you are synchronizing away on auto pilot every 15 minutes. So technically I could have a computer at home and at the office plus a phone. When-ever I change my task lists by adding, deleting or completing etc the next time I use a computer it will synchronise and bring in the changes. Vice versa as well. This is what you pay $12.99 (in Australia) per year for.... The advantage is that if you dash out the door before synchronising via iTunes, you can still synchronize on the iphone itself and it will bring any new tasks down through the air. Bliss......and thank you Chapura - once the category support is here life will be restored to better than normal.

ps I've been a big fan of Chapura's Keysuite for Palm for many years - it gives you a much better interface and many more options than using just the inbuilt Palm calendar/contact/task & note applications

Ikea Laptop Station - on the wall solution

I had to rub my eyes when I found this advertised on Unclutterer. $69(US) for this snazzy wall mounted workstation for a laptop. I loved it and it's so exactly what I needed for my kitchen. My ex-office is being transformed so we can have a proper dining room and a lovely window seat with fold back windows. Still need something like an office and this fits the bill perfectly. Comes in white or red and when I looked up the IKEA store website they said they have them in stock!! Of course they are dearer $99 but still that's not too bad. Even the residential project manager gave it the nod of approval. Great thing about it is you can lock it shut when you've finished your computer work. Hooray!

Ikea Australia link to product is here.

SplashID - one place for all your codes, serials & logons

I've been a big fan of SplashID for years (since I started with the Palm handheld devices 6 years ago. It's a simple but sophisticated piece of software that enables you to carry all your codes, sreials, logons, identification info with you where ever you go. Enter the information on your desktop if it's easier. Set up categories and different 'types' of data. Icons can be used for visual clarification.

Happy to see that an iPhone version has been released. With the luxury of more screen real estate it will be much more useable than it was on the Treo. Even though my laptop did a crash a couple of weeks ago I had backed up the data and have just restored it to the returned laptop, then synchronised to the phone.

The application for the phone has cost $12.99 - a small price to pay to be completely organised with these tiny bits of information often used on a daily basis but not often enough to be memorised!

Information Overload Tip: Use Google Reader to capture news/blog articles & have a life

I am a huge fan of Google Reader for  RSS (really simple syndication) - in other words a place that captures news/blog articles as soon as they are published thereby saving you a trip to that particular site to see what's been written. Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won't miss a thing.  It also shows you all of your favourite sites in one convenient spot. It's like a personalized inbox for the entire web. You have the added advantage of the Google search facility. Save all the articles - even if you don't have time to read them all you will be able to search for a particular item when you need it via the all familiar Google search box. Google Reader is a free tool that comes with every Gmail account. You don't have to use the gmail part of it but I'd strongly suggest you do - even if it is just to keep a safety deposit box to store all your emails thereby a handy backup facility.

Palm Centro: pretty, smart & affordable!

 
Hallelujah! Last week Palm released a snazzy 'smart phone' with Telstra for the absurd price of $299. I've been a fan of the Palm Operating system for years - mainly due to it's simplicity and stability. I've been a little irritated by the dominance of Windows Mobile Palm phones being released. Prematurely there were nasty rumours that the Palm Operating System was on it's last legs. Hopefully with the Centro making a well-received appearance that rumour is just rumour!

Reviewers on the whole have been favourable. There's a lot of 'smart' in the phone for the price. What they didn't like is the small keys - I've had that complaint about my Treo 680 as well but for female users I'm thinking that should not be such a problem!

Sydney Morning Herald Review

APC Mag Review

Currently available with Telstra on a pre-paid deal the Palm User's group have said they imagine post-paid Telstra clients could also take the phone. One user reported that to unlock is $100 now, $60 in six months time. Not too bad.

In terms of keeping your digital life organised it's a very useful and affordable device, synchronising to Microsoft Outlook.  I'm not in the market for a new phone right now but I'll be happily pushing clients in either this direction or that of the soon to be released iPhone.

Here's the blurb from the Australian Palm Website...

Your life, all in one place.

The Palm® Centro™ smartphone gives you a complete organiser and still fits right in your pocket. It's amazing what a little organisation (and a little Centro) can do.

Contacts

Keep your friends' numbers, addresses, and more with you wherever you go. Even enter a friend's birthday in Contacts and it automatically shows up in your Calendar. (Very cool.)

Calendar

Carry your calendar so you never miss a meeting, event, or party. View your day, week, month, or year at a glance.

Tasks

Make a to-do list and take it with you. Then check off items when they're complete, so you can keep track of what you did—and what you still need to do.

Memo

Store random information like hot spots in Vegas or names of movies you'd like to rent. Say goodbye to carrying around crumpled scraps of paper in your pocket or purse!

Sync

Save a copy of all those names, numbers, appointments, photos, and videos by syncing with your computer. You know, just in case.

If you purchase one and would like a 'get to know your centro' session - you know who to contact!

Taxstar - so simple & cheap for personal/family taxes

Now there's no excuse not to sort out all your tax 'stuff'. No matter how tempting it is to shove it all into a shoe box or two and dump it on your accountant's desk I put it to you that there is a better way!!

At last week's AAPO NSW Chapter Meeting our terrific leader Sarah Cottman (Heavenly Order) invited Warren Seeto from  Taxstar to demo his product. This is a fabulous system for typical households and will without a doubt cure all tax paperwork headaches/sleepless nights. A mere $50 per year gets you the software program which is a joy to use AND a very stylish folder for storing all the documents. This is way, way easier than using an excel spreadsheet, Quicken or MYOB - I can't recommend it enough for getting that part of your life organised & your accountant will love you!

One package will cover all family members and keeps historical data in the file should you need to refer to it. Simple wizard's walk you through the process of setting up tables for properties, shares, medical expenses etc.  You can of course print hard copy reports to deliver to your accountant but it's far easier to send them by email. If your tax consultant does not already use the software Taxstar will provide it to them free of charge.  Enter, file and deliver then relax because your tax is sorted! Unfortunately this system is not suitable for businesses registered for GST but that's ok because they have Saasu.

Note: Software requires Windows 98 or above - MAC version coming very soon - order online from www.taxstar.com.au

Saasu - sensational web financial software

With the financial year-end looming it's time to evaluate the systems you use to keep your finances in order.  Tonight I introduce Saasu - a refreshing alternative to MYOB which might appeal to business owners wanting to enjoy the freedom of being able to manage their financials on the web where-ever, when-ever.

Saasu provide a superb online accounting software solution for businesses of any size - from solo to mega-corporates. I had a chat with Founder, Marc Lehmann  and Development Leader, Jusa Chin at CEBIT Australia (where I might add they collected the Business Advantage award for the second year running) and I'm so impressed by the attitude of these guys. You get the feeling that no matter what you ask for they will move mountains to provide for you should there be something missing in their product.

I've had a free account with Saasu for over a year - I am very attracted to it and just need to sort out some background accounting issues before I change over from the ancient and very unfriendly MYOB. I can't wait to move over to Saasu. You pay quarterly or annually and enter your financials onto your file on the web. No more panic regarding computer crashes. No more emailing data files backwards and forwards to your accountant (he/she will have access to the live file when ever required). No more angst over whether or not to upgrade to the latest version (is it worth it, do I need to???) - Saasu are constantly updating their software and finding new features to add to the service.

I LOVE the Saasu 'Catch' for instance.... a genius way to capture little pieces of financial information/action items....

The new data capture tool that is as easy to use as internet search. Just type a few words and hit go and your information is saved in Saasu as a To Do.

From the To Do screen you can turn that snippet of information into a contact, a note, an invoice, a payment, an expense claim, a time sheet or more.

If the convenience of an online accounting system is appealing to you I'd strongly suggest you sign up for a free account at www.saasu.com - it really is an astoundingly simple way to manage your clients, inventory & financials.  Saasu's angle is to help business owners save time and I really think they've totally achieved this to the 'nth' degree so are very deserving of the CEBIT award.

Tomorrow I will write about Taxstar - the brilliantly simple book keeping software for individuals and families which will save money on accountant's fees (no more shoe boxes!!).

Declutter tip: take digital photos of your momentos

Just getting over a shocking cold (why did winter HAVE to come so early this year?) but before that attacked me I spent a solid couple of days attacking Poppy's bedroom. She wanted to finish her redecorations - walls were painted in October,  double bed purchased, white venetians.... all nice and fresh but her book case was heaving with nick nacks and teddies and as for her built-in cupboards - there was not a millimetre of space. Like a lot of us my Poppy exists more happily in an ordered environment. I used to do an annual clean-up with her but I suspect this has been forgotten or avoided for two years. Teenagers can collect a mountain of stuff in that period!!

Anyhow I was able to bribe her because she desperately wanted a television for her bedroom. I said there was no way that could happen unless there was a huge declutter session on both the bookcase (where the tv would live) and inside the wardrobe.

I lost count with how many bags of 'stuff' left the room in that weekend. It was exhausting but as always liberating for the two of us. I was ruthless and she said it was great that I was there with her because she didn't have the courage to get rid of a  lot of things. We got it down to one large plastic bag and one very large plastic box of 'precious things'.... the barbie dolls, bratz, stuff toys with sentimental value (given by Nana who is no longer with us, or given by ET god bless him - would he do that now?)...., netball trophies etc. One idea I came up with was to take photos of the things she could cope with getting rid of as long as she had a visual memory. She could put the photos into a digital scrapbook even if she wished.... This will be next week's project...

Interestingly found this article on unclutterer with tips on  how to go about this....
Photographing your momentos

Last.fm radio: your musical taste completely organized

Last year I visited last.fm and liked what I saw. It's a social networking site for music with free/paid membership - so very useful and inspiring. On my blog (just below the zen habits info there is now a 'player' "Helen's Calm Playlist where I've tagged some of my most favourite tracks and they are available now to listen by clicking on the 'play' button'. Feel free to listen while you explore my blog or just keep the window open while you work! I've found some great new bands/vocalists in the last week or two - Duffy, Phoenix Foundation, etc. Go check last.fm out. You can sign up as a member, download the free software and then every time you play a track on your computer or ipod your music profile will be added to - you will then receive recommendations - a great way to broaden your musical knowledge/library beyond iTunes. After an hour or two on here you will be able to compete with your teenagers & their MySpace I promise you!

Adobe Photoshop Express: wow!!!

Yet another online photosharing/editing application introduced this week but look who it's from! None other than the professionals - Adobe Photoshop Express. How wild.... in September I purchased the update to Adobe Photoshop Elements and I loved the interface/ease of use. Now you can sign up and get a basic version of what they offer for free.

I've grabbed a few accounts - work, personal, one for each child :-).... just in case they want one. When you register it says "United States only" but it didn't seem to stop me being able to register. I find it quite stunning and potentially a good replacement for Picasa if you can cope with 2g storage (I suspect you will be able to add to this further down the track at a cost).  Picasa is great but can be confusing. This looks easier for the digital photography novice and it's such a great price!

Links to photos sent by email arrive looking like an old-school polaroid. You can play around with "pop colours". Albums and rating systems are all straight forward. Have a play - join and upload a special project - you've got nothing to lose!

https://www.photoshop.com/express/

Google Docs: collaboration cuts down on emails

At our school reunion in February there was a scrappy blue piece of paper being passed around with contact information and email addresses. This was a very valuable piece of paper because a lot of us had been out of touch for THIRTY years and we were really quite emotional about being back together. I put my hand up and said 'Yes leave it to me, I'll take care of it!" It's in terrible shape - this paper - wine/coffee stains.... I could barely read it so I kept postponing the job of typing it up and distributing the list.

Two emails came today saying quite rightly "Hey where's the list?" - so I took the plunge and after much squinting and guessing put together a spreadsheet. I decided to use Google Docs. Why is this good idea? Well I'm figuring my translation may leave a lot to be desired and there will be corrections. It has 17 contacts on it and if there are mistakes I could potentially get 17 emails back asking for things to be fixed. By using Google Docs I have been able to send it out to the 16 other girls as 'collaborators' who have the power to do their own changes to the spreadsheet online. No backwards and fowards of documents with revisions - we just keep it there and update it as we move or change email address. The spreadsheet doesn't move anywhere -  the  collaborators all just receive a link to it where they can view, make changes or print.

How can you use Google Docs? All you need is a gmail account. Once you have Gmail you have access to a lot of google applications - Google Docs is completely free and gives you online access and storage of word processing, spreadsheet & presentation docs without the complete bells and whistles of Microsoft Office but with more simplicity. I store frequently used documents in the google account in case I ever need to access them when I'm on the road and for some reason without my portable hard drive. Perfect!!

Inbox Zero: I made it thanks, Gina!

Look at that! Yes I clocked it in at 2hrs 45 minutes and there were actually closer to 400 to start with in the 'inbox' because I found another folder that I had dumped everything into stupidly.... It was't too bad. What I liked best about Gina Trapani's method was the suggestion of marking all the emails in 'FollowUp" and "Hold" as unread. That way when you see the number next to the folder name you know exactly how many items you've got to action and can see the number getting smaller each time you attack it. I know 253 seems like a lot of action items but a lot of them can be dealt with in batches so I'm confident that by the end of the week that number will be way smaller. Useful shortcuts for marking emails as read or unread. CTRl+Q = mark as 'read', CTRL+U = mark as 'unread'. Oh... any super urgent things that needed my attention on a certain day or time I just dragged straight onto the calendar... simple!!

Calm Tech remote support + two workshops available

I am offering until 30th June 2008 my 1 hour phone/web support service using Yugma for $75 (50% off normal rate).

We will set up any software you need to use the service plus also tackle any burning issues you have with your own system. This is one on one personal time with your Tech Coach. Location is absolutely no limit but you do require broadband.

Normal price for this service would be $150 per hour - however packages of three lessons will be available at $360 (saving $100).

A post will follow with instructions on how to use the online booking system but in the meantime if you want to look at it please go to this link and click on 'sign up' to add yourself to my database. (it is important to do this to keep track of your bookings and payments).

Two workshops will be held in Brookvale during April - Blogs 101 & Tech Tips for AAPO Members - 10 places in each class so book now to avoid disappointment. On the booking calendar, click on "Teleclasses, Workshops & Seminars"  for dates, costs and times or regularly check back here for updates.

More products and workshops will be arriving soon.

Pingg - now I am motivated to become more social!

Had a return visit to Pingg tonight and loved it so much I signed up straight away and sent out an invite. It seems so difficult to track people down these days and get them to commit what with such busy lives etc so I'm over the moon about this gorgeous tool.

Similar sites do exist eg myinvites.com.au but in my view Pingg is far superior to anything I've seen - here are some of the highlights

• Stunningly beautiful design and interface - despite the fact that email invites are free there are NO BANNER ADS!! (hallelujah.... have you noticed by the way how I refuse to put those on THIS blog!!)
• Very easy to use for host and invitees (you can check out who has opened your invite, who has responded yes, no or maybe)
• Option to add location google map as a link so your guests don't get lost
• Possible to upload your own images and pdf files
• Each event gets its own web page where the host and guests can communicate to each other (less email clutter)
• After a guest has responded they can download the invitation to their desktop or web calendar (how easy is that?)
• Reminders & thank-you notes quickly & effortlessly sent with just a couple of clicks
• Import contacts from any existing address book

SMS & print facilities for postcard invitations seem to be available at a reasonable price but I've yet to determine from the FAQ whether or not this would apply to users outside USA. It will be possible in the near future it seems to collect payments via paypal which will remove the headaches often associated with organizing any events with money involved!

Here's a little snapshot of an invite I just sent out .... 

I just can't wait to use this to the max.... Think of how simple it will be now to organise book club meetings, dinner parties, movie nights, board game tournaments.... thanks so much Lorien Gabel for such a beautiful web tool!

Iomega 160gb Ego Portable Drive

Want to carry your files in cherry red style?
No... it's not a hip flask but a portable drive big enough to store years of digital photos, music & files. Why do I like it apart from the stunning colour? It's compact, very durable (Dropguard Feature), doesn't require power and backup software is included.  Seen for $140.73AUD at Don't Pay Retail.  Read more about it at the Iomega site.

Copernic Desktop Search still a favourite

Copernic Desktop Search is a free  & useful tool for Windows XP users.   After installation it will index your emails, files, music, pictures, video contacts, favorites and history. From the taskbar you will be able to type in your search query and it will very quickly locate all items with those words in it on your hard drive. Turn the Preview Pane on via 'View' and you will be able to see the contents of the items without actually opening them. Similar to Google Desktop Search but more efficient - download it from www.copernic.com.  The last client who installed it after my recommendation called it 'a dream'.        

Mytickets.com.au - save time planning your entertainment

I like this search engine for things that are on in Australia. Nice interface - great place to start if you've heard a 'whisper' of someone touring but you weren't sure who the promoter was. Don't know if it's the 'orange' that hooks me but it's where I go to find out what's happening. I quite like their 'cheap thrills' section for under $25.  Signup is free and you can register an alert to find out when George Clooney's coming to town or whoever else takes your fancy :-) - with over 1000 registered ticket sellers it's got to be a big time saver.

MyTickets - Australia's Only Ticket Search Engine Over 8000 Events Online Register Now - It's FREE!