Google X is a cute little way to access googles services in a very Mac OS X Dock sort of way. Click on the link below and then roll over the icons above the search bar and you will see what I mean. Yet another fun little innovation brought to you by Google Labs. Even the tagline at the bottom is cool. It reads, “Roses are red. Violets are blue. OS X rocks. Homage to you.”
Author Archives: Patrick Rhone
Monday Mac Tweak #7
Post Subtitle:How OmniOutliner Saved My Wretched Life
We continue highlighting the applications I use on a daily basis to keep my busy life organized. This week we feature:
OmniOutliner Professional is a very powerful outlining tool. Besides simply being able to make hierarchical lists of all types, it also can be used for many other purposes as well. For instance, I use it to track expenses, track my bills, build Keynote presentations and much, much more.
It’s simple and straight forward interface easily unfolds to reveal a vast power underneath. Smart checkboxes, customizable pop-up lists, a powerful styles system and the ability to attach graphic, audio and video files (all viewable in the document) are just a fraction of the options at your command. Apply styles to rows, create multiple columns and column types, batch find specific words via the handy slide out drawer and export it all to Rich Text, HTML or Apple Keynote… Go nuts!
There is a “Standard” version of OmniOutliner that contains all of the features heretofore mentioned but I use the “Professional” version. Why? Well the additional features of course. For instance, the built-in audio recording allows one to record voice notes, meetings and lectures. With Pro, you can save your documents as templates to avoid having to reinvent the wheel. The sections drawer allows one to view the entire document framework at a glance. It really was worth the extra money to get the Professional version.
I have used OmniOutliner since version 1.0 and have never looked back. It really is the centerpiece of my organizational life. As a matter of fact, it has so many of the features that NoteTaker has, if not for a couple of key ones I could use OmniOutliner for everything. The two serve different purposes for me so I never really find them “overlapping” each other in my usage. OmniOutliner saved my wretched, unorganized life and it will save yours too.
Also of note, The OmniGroup is a great bunch of folks that have been committed to Mac OS X since day one. They provide really good and fast support and listen to the feature requests of their customers. Their other products are worth a look as well. They are deserving of your hard earned dollars.
Upgrading to Paper: The Moleskine Reports
Jeremy Wagstaff writes a column for WSJ.com called Loose Wire. Besides being a talented columnist he is also a big fan of the little notebooks I have mentioned here before. Jeremy’s LOOSE wire blog is running a series of posts he is calling “The Moleskine Reports” that are actually the full text of interviews he did in preparation for a feature article he wrote for WSJ.
The Moleskine Report Part One is an interview with Marc Orchant and it struck me the most. Marc said something that really hit home for me:
“I spend a good amount time in the Getting Things Done discussion forums and there seems to be cyclical pattern to the adoption of, tweaking of, and abandonment of electronics like PDAs. I’ve been using a PDA since the original Newton MessagePad and have probably owned at least a dozen different models over the years. Right now (at least), I’m at a stage in my personal cycle where I don’t want to put up with the hassles a PDA presents. Whether it’s battery life, readability in direct sunlight, a cramped and frustrating text entry UI, or the myriad other things that “suck” about PDAs, the Moleskine has none of these issues.”
I could not have said it better myself. Since my post of a few weeks ago, I have been using my Moleskine quite a bit. I love it. I currently have it integrated into my workflow to jot action items down while on the go and to “core dump” other items (i.e. bits of info like quotes, recommendations, addresses, etc). When I have the time I then process these items accordingly. The “action items” end up on myOmniOutliner action list. The “core dump” items end up where they need to be routed to. I am sure I need to tweak this paradigm a little but it is working for now.
Jeremy has a number good posts, especially about using Moleskines. Check them out.