Thanks for dropping by!

While I have played with Subversion, its problem is the inherent “geekiness” level. Just not appropriate for the masses, but a great idea.

If you have been playing with Evernote, do let me know what you find. I have a problem with the fact that it has its own search function, but doesn’t play well with my desktop search (google or otherwise.)

As to FuseCal, I am right now, quite pleased with it. If only I could convert the rest of our team… My issue with FuseCal, if any, was that it took a while to get it up and running. i.e. the initial setup. Subsequently, it has been running like a dream.

Cheers!

With regards to the folder synching issue, one possible (geeky) solution would be to set up a centralized version control system like Subversion. Each copy of the folder would be a checkout of the repository, and you’d commit your changes in each location, and be able to update the others to receive those changes as well. It’s not automatic, but it does give you the added bonus of being able to revert to any past version of the files, at any point in the future.

That said, I’d be very interested to hear about any solid, more automated systems you discover.

Anyways, great list- I’ve been meaning to check out Evernote for a while, and think I finally will do so now.

Thanks for including FuseCal in the roundup. Don’t hesitate to drop me a line if there’s anything we can improve, etc.

cheers,
Matt Gillooly
Product Manager, FuseCal.com

I will definitely check out RTM & Jott. Jott sounds like it may be particularly useful for my lifestyle. I didn’t understand from your post if it only works with a phone with email, or even with a “regular” cell phone (for those of us still in the dark ages

-Shaul

Glad the post was found to be useful, and thank you for your valuable link and inputs.

In direct response to your question, I rarely use my calendar as a task list for two reasons:
1. I dislike as a personal preference, mixing scheduled dates and to-dos that have flexibility. Although, I will place deadlines for to-dos in my calendar.
2. My calendar is shared with co-workers, friends, and family - I do my best to keep clutter off of it.

Due to the above reasons, I use a separate to-do management system - RTM (Remember the Milk.)

However, RTM is deserving of a trial, even if neither of my two reasons given above are applicable in your case. In no particular order, a few of the really cool features that make my life immeasurably more pleasant are:
1. It integrates perfectly with JOTT - i.e. when I am driving in the car, I hit my JOTT speed dial, and dictate a to-do item right into my list, without doing anything but hitting one button and talking. When one is stuck in Chicago traffic (seems to be daily) and has a thought (I would hesitate to call my thoughts - inspirations) it is immediately captured.
2. Generally things pile up in a backlog in my Moleskine or on post-its over the course of a day. When this happens, and I want to import multiples into my to-do list, I just send an email to my private RTM email address, and it gets posted.
3. It has a widget that appears on my iGoogle homepage. I like having an all-in-one dashboard, and this integrates well for me.
4. It makes life easy by allowing me to assign tasks to other people.

In short, check out RTM for a few day trial run. I use the free version and love it!

Thanks Ari for taking the time to type up your productivity tips.

A few brief comments:

I have the MSOffice 2007 suite on my laptop, but my desktop is still running 2003. You probably know this, but this is useful information for others as well: If you are running an older version of Word etc., files don’t have to be back-saved for you to read/open them. You can install an upgrade to your older version of Word which will allow you to open 2007 files (losing some of the newer features). The download can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en, and like all other annoying MS products, can only be downloaded using IE (which I can’t stand - Firefox is obviously the way to go, as you note).

I am unclear what is the difference/advantage of Remember The Milk over the regular Google calendar. I use the calendar, and when necessary, set events to send me an SMS text message reminder. I find it works well for me, since I am not really interested in carrying any device other than my small cell phone.

I also use Carbonite, but also have an external harddrive backup (they are no longer expensive).

I have a third, older laptop running the Ubuntu operating system. The Open Office is fine, but the main problem I have is that it is not that common, and therefore not all programs (esp. a few that I really rely on, like my custom database) will work with it. But it’s fun to play with sometimes

Thanks again for the post!