notes and views on crm, social media, and the human side of information technology

Apropos Presently

I NEED TO ADD a few more comments to my earlier post, Presently Unimpressed.

The trend towards webbifying desktop apps is certainly there. I used Writely a couple of times and I could get the job done. In fact, if I really wanted to perform all my daily tasks in Firefox, I probably could. Why not?

I consider the act of creating a highly personal, even intimate, one. I need to be able to lay down on a couch with my laptop resting on my legs, unplug the LAN cable and shut down WiFi so that I can shield myself from interrupts. Some call it the Flow. I may need to share what I’ve done later but not before I am ready. For this very reason, I cannot live without desktop apps that don’t rely on the internet for functionality.

Writely and its ilk make me stay connected. You can suggest that I shut down Gaim and log off my email account but that’s not the same as being completely offline. The tempation to just check something up is there, luring in the background to cut into my Flow. Can’t have that.

So I am not modifying my earlier verdict; I am eager to see, however, what the business case for Google Apps is and whether there are uses I, a lone wolf, cannot see.

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March 3, 2007 | Filed Under Me & You, But Mostly Me, Presenting & Public Speaking, Software delivery | Leave a Comment 

Presently unimpressed

HERE’S A SCOOP on Google’s upcoming addition to their Apps portfolio:

I’m sure many people wondered if Google will release a presentation tool, after building Google Docs&Spreadsheets. Well, the answer is yes, and the code-name of the tool is Presently (a play on Writely, the name of the online word processor bought by Google).

I am not surprised - Google has the ball rolling pretty well - and at the same time, I feel conflicted as to what to think. Technological marvel? It may as well be. But is it a step in the right direction? Office apps have matured to such a degree than any effort to start over would be gargantuous. Aren’t there other goals worth pursuing than re-doing what already works? I would hope so!

(via Pivotal Public Speaking)

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February 25, 2007 | Filed Under Presenting & Public Speaking, Rants, Software delivery | Leave a Comment 

The dilemma of choices

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU but whenever I come to a restaurant for the first time, I dread the moment I’ll be presented the menu. Unless it’s a single sheet of paper with five items per category, I find myself unable to resist the temptation to make a perfect choice; 10 minutes and several apologies to the waitress later, I ask for the house special.

For me, the perfect restaurant would have no menu at all. I would ask for “something good”, and the staff would know right away what I mean.

Telepathy hasn’t gone mainstream yet, though, so I am forced to make choices. Whether it’s picking the right suit for the occasion, figuring out which hotel in the area is best, or going through the avalanche of Open Office menus to get to the functionality I need. And the discussion about how many choices are practical is going on in the software and restaurant industry without ever arriving at the right answer (though I am still waiting for a “Daily Menu” option in a desktop app - so perhaps the restaurant industry has a slight edge!)

Kathy Sierra elaborated on this topic. She asks, “But even when users do have the expertise to make good decisions, do they want to?” Obviously, it depends, and she acknowledges as much. It’s one of those questions that make little sense unless you limit the context. Mine is custom software development for a single enterprise client (hers is packaged software if I read it correctly).

The advantage of developing for a single client is that you get to know him pretty well. Hence, you can analyze his level of competence and adjust the application complexity accordingly. Does that eliminate the dilemma of choices? No, but answering it is a lot easier than when you’re developing for untold thousands of users you’ll never meet.

February 22, 2007 | Filed Under Software delivery | Leave a Comment 

Taking Notes

I DO LINUX. It reminds me of the days when computing was fun (~ 20 years ago). Linux is playful and conductive to experimenting.

If you feel a connection here, you may find BasKet Note Pads just as useful as I do. It’s a KDE application that lets you to take notes (gasp!), attach files, images, etc., all that without forcing you to follow a pre-determined metaphor - such as folders and files. Nope - you create a so-called ‘basket’, specify layout (free-form or columns), and off you go. Drop notes, files, photos in the basket, move it around, and tag it for easy categorization. [screenshots]

Why and when use this instead of a Web 2.0 application such as stikkit? Apart from functionality that no Web app can give you (such as taking a screenshot and dropping it into the basket), BasKet is most useful when you gather ideas, analyze them, put them in context … and before you are ready to share them. Your desktop is a natural place for that to happen.

What I would like to see in the versions to come is a way of sharing the information once you are ready to do so. Now, you can export your basket as an HTML page. How about exporting it to a wiki? That would make the transition between, say, creating a draft and perfecting it with you team, a smooth experience. And that’s the point: desktop apps don’t just have to cooperate with one another, they need to build bridges to the Web 2.0 world to stay relevant.

February 20, 2007 | Filed Under Me & You, But Mostly Me, Software delivery | Leave a Comment 

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