Good Post. Just a few weeks ago, I moved from Things to OmniFocus for the sole reason of having subtasks to get things done. But to your point, the tool is not as important as actually having a system in place. I consider the "brain dump" the most important step in the process (outside of actually getting the task done of course). I schedule some time in the late evening or early morning and just dump everything that is in my head and into my OmniFocus inbox. Then I go through my inbox and those items that demand attention (such as pay bill reminders, etc..) get added in as well. Then I just organize into due dates, projects, context, etc.
There is nothing more satisfying than getting that check-mark on a task or project. Great feeling.
I also got one on day 1. What you failed to mention on your post was that you can also read Kindle books on the iPad with the Kindle app. It is a gorgeous app and the reading fits right in. This way, if I decide to take my iPad and not my Kindle anywhere and I want to read, no fear, my Kindle books are near. I have read more from the Kindle app on my iPad than the iBooks app.
Also, remember that this is not a device that will replace your laptop or main computer. It is aimed at something that fits between the iPhone and the Laptop (or desktop). Personally, I like to have it with me when sitting in my couch and browsing the web, or in bed checking email, listening to Pandora, or playing a quick game of Scrabble with my kids. By the way, just like the iPhone, the apps will determine whether the iPad succeeds or fails.
I think this is a very important point. As we embrace social networks, many people misunderstand what they are meant for. Some people find value in having thousands of friends. This may work if you are trying to reach people for marketing purposes, but for personal "friendships" it is a total fail. I don't accept everyone's "friend" request on Facebook. I will only accept if you are a friend, colleague and family. I have no interest in running the "who has the most friends" list. With that said, what you have done with the fan (public) page is a well worth effort.
It's nice if you are really into using groups. I'm still in love with Tweetie and I have no use of groups... yet. I only follow about 60 folks and have around 45 followers.
I have Vonage and they have a feature that sends you an email when someone leaves a voicemail and if you decide, you can sign up for another feature that will send you the text of the voicemail via email. This is a neat feature, especially when I'm not home and it should be implemented to mobile phones and businesses. However, once my mother called me and left me a voicemail in Spanish and the text I received was "not able to capture message". So it may not work for multilingual messages.
My sentiments exactly Mike. Good way of putting it in perspective. I live 10 miles away from the NYC Queens school which has the most cases of Swine Flu in the country. Though I am careful, I refuse to let the media dictate that I live in fear. And to think that Egypt demanded the slaughter of all living pigs in the country. Talk about exaggeration and lack of knowledge.
Safe trip to Africa. We are praying for you and Gail.
I think it's convenient to have Kindle in iPhone form. However, my iPhone, while great strains my eyes when read for long periods of time. Kindle2's e-ink technology doesn't strain your eyes. It's like reading a real book on paper.
I love books as much as the next guy, but I bit the bullet and I love my Kindle2. I have read more since I got it and I love the convenience. Also, we can never forget that it is also an amazing tool when you want to subscribe to newspapers and magazines. I did the whole 15 day free trial of the NY Times and it was always ready to read as early as 6am every morning.
I still think there are some things that need improvements:
1. Large library of books. Publishers need to embrace technology, not fight against it.
2. Keep the price at 9.99 or lower. I refuse to buy a book for more than 9.99. I keep thinking that the publisher saves on printing costs and delivery, so why try to squeeze the readers (Mike, you being a publisher, maybe you can enlighten me)
3. Turn the reading experience into a "social network". Imagine, highlighting a few sentences that inspired you and have it sent to the cloud to share with your contacts (sort of what you do in Twitter, where you quote from "The Noticer"). I think that's a perfect example if it can be integrated with Twitter and/or Facebook along with an Amazon service
I think, books will always exist and they are special in their own way, but the Kindle has really shown me what the future should be. It's great, but it can be so much better.
I'm reading it on my Kindle2 and I am flying through it. I have highlighted lots of great quotes. I do agree that many times we blow things out of proportion and we just need a little perspective. For example, today all the news we are getting is fear of the swine flu. I live in Queens and though it's alarming about the 8 cases not to far from my home, I think the media is making people scared. I refuse to live in fear. I am aware and will keep my radars up, but I will not live in fear.
For a second there I thought you weren't going to mention Gail. It is very clear that you both have a wonderful bond and relationship, so she should be in a category of her own.
Great post Mike. I'll definitely create my list!
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