Slow going computer recovery

Well, the process of restoring my data seems to be going quite slowly. I uninstalled a bunch of things and then slowly started re-installing. I've got Outlook installed along with Activesync and I wanted to get my iPAQ syncing and charging normally first. However, Activesync doesn't seem to want to work for me right now. It had issues finding the device at first. Now that it has found it, it seems to hang while trying to sync the data up. I'm not 100% sure that it is hanging because I'm too impatient and just stop it when I don't see much progress. However, tonight I'm going to my friends' wedding and I'm not bringing along a purse. So, this is a good excuse to leave it behind with a lot of time to sync. We'll see how it is when I get back tonight. Or, if we party hard enough, when I wake up tomorrow morning.

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Data loss

Something bad happened today. I lost all my online calendar data. Well, not all of it - I still have my BC Lions schedule. All the other info, my plans, important birthdates, husband's hockey schedule (including the record of wins and losses), recurring payments, all got zapped somewhere into neverland this morning. I haven't been able to find a single place from which I can restore it. So, I get to start over from scratch. I'm using it as opportunity to streamline my system so that I have fewer duplicate events and better syncronization between my online calendars, computer calendars, and handheld calendar (because all three got completely wiped out).

Part of the computer problem was my lack of patience since I think I 'ok'd myself through a couple screens that I shouldn't have on one of the new programs I'm trying out for data syncronization. I started working on a weekly rotating computer maintenance system a while ago and I think that I really need to step that up into crisis mode and get my computer back into shape. I'm a physical and electronic packrat. The physical clutter is a lot easier to get rid of because it's very easy to see how much space it consumes. Electronic clutter is much harder to notice and tends to stick around a lot more. But, this might be a good kick in the pants for me to get that into shape. I have a long to-do list for the computer and I've decided that I won't download anything new until I've got the existing stuff under control. I've even uninstalled some of my Firefox add-ons that I wasn't using regularly to try to speed up that program.

I think my data loss has momentarily fried my brain. Despite not being very busy at work, I've only really managed to work on one file and haven't even completed the work that I need to do to my satisfaction.

Obsessions and Collections

Today inspiration comes from a post at my sister's blog (and work is very slow this afternoon too).



She recently blogged about her impressive sock collection. She has a bit of an obsession with socks and has over 100 pairs. They are one of the defining elements of her personality. Her obsession is what makes her fun and unique. I always try to see if I can find a good pair of socks for her for part of her Christmas present each year.



Her blogging about her sock obsession/collection prompted her to do an assignment with her students about their obsessions/collections and it turned out very well. I thought it would be fun to do a bit of blogging about my obsession/collection.



But, then I got stumped. I couldn't think of anything I really obsess about or collect. Well, obsess about, yes. I have many obsessions. Like I am obsessed with personal productivity. I am also obsessed with how perfect my own feet are, but I don't really collect anything to do with that. (I'd love to collect outrageous nail polish colours and sexy shoes, but I can't afford to). I do have a lot of books, but that isn't really a fun and sexy collection or obsession either.



Then it dawned on me that I do have a collection of sorts. I am totally obsessed with free software/web apps/extensions/add-ons, etc. In fact, I recently purged my collection when my computer started responding much more slowly than my husbands, older, less powerful machine! (Yeah, I have a bit of an ego about my computer too). I love my open-source programs like Firefox and recently downloaded jGnash among others. I've even loaded up Firefox with a bunch of extensions and Greasemonkey scripts (half of which I look at guiltily because I don't use them). One of my frustrations at work is that I don't feel as though I can customize these machines (otherwise this post would also be brought to you by Scribe Fire and posted through Firefox instead of IE). Here, because we deal with customer information on the machines, I really don't want to mess with any technology settings since one little slip, a virus or a hacker let through, could mean losing or breaching a client's private information and is a potential lawsuit.



Anyway, I'll try to do a list here from work about all the different little programs and such on my home computer. Unfortunately, I'm lazy and won't be digging up links for them. However, if you really want a link, email me or leave a comment (or do the non-lazy thing and start googling).

• Firefox - web browser
  
  
• Opera - web browser - this one recently got axed. It's beautiful, but I'm not doing enough web development stuff to really need to test out work on different browsers.
  
  
• Songbird - this is a media program that is open source. It's still in beta mode and was very sluggish on my computer. I recently axed this one. I'll probably check it out (or hear about it via Lifehacker/Geek News if it gets better or is re-released).
  
  
• jGnash - an open source double-entry accounting system. The Geeky accounting stuff is rubbing off of Lance as he takes his CGA courses. It took a whle for me and the program to generate any chemistry, but it looks like things are smooth sailing now!
  
  
• Volumouse - turn down your volume with your mouse without needing to click open the actual volume thing
  
  
• Picasa - photo management. Sadly, won't be using this for a while since my digital camera is broken *sniff*
  
  
• Google earth - anytime I need to drive somewhere unfamiliar, I need to look it up. Then I add it as a location and save it. Then if I need to get between two places I've ever been before in an order in which I've never done it, I can generate driving directions and a map. Unfortunately, I don't go that many places so it hasn't been used in a while.
  
  
• Winamp - media player
  
  
• Juice - podcast aggregator - Love podcasts too! Time prevents me from collecting/listening to more of them
  
  
• Workrave - because I spend so much time at the computer, I need a program that reminds me/forces me to take periodic breaks. This one lets you schedule micro-breaks as well as longer breaks. Plus, they prompt you with some stretches and eye-exercises.
  
  
• OpenOffice - free office suite similar to (and superior in my opinion) Microsoft Office
  
  
• Thunderbird - free desktop email client like Outlook
  
  
• Trillian - IM client aggregator - you can use your ICQ, Messenger, Yahoo, AOL all through the same interface - haven't used it in a long while though.
  
  
• EPrompter - monitors your email accounts and prompts you when you have new email. A bit buggy still with its integration to the new beta accounts for Yahoo and Hotmail.
  
  
  
  Oh, and let's not forget the little add-ons, bookmarklets, and extensions to Firefox . . .
  
  
  
  
• Greasemonkey - to allow website customization and further add-ons
  
  
• Scribe Fire - blogging and tagging within the browser
  
  
• Clippings - saving snippets of text
  
  
• Google notebook - saving bits and pieces of the web
  
  
• Co comment - keeping track of your comments on various blogs
  
  
• Toodledo - an extension that allows you to add you things to your Toodledo to do list
  
  
• Del.icio.us bookmarks - they just upgraded this so you have access to your web-based del.icio.us bookmarks through your browser
  
  
• Gmail notifier - it pops up a little message whenever you get mail
  
  
• Lifehacker search box - I added a customized search into the little search box that's integrated into Firefox
  
  
• GoodTree search box - same idea as Lifehacker, except it's for GoodTree, a search engine that donates some of its add revenue to charity.
  
  
• Gmail This bookmarklet
  
  
• My Del.icio.us bookmarklet
  
  
• Post to Del.icio.us bookmarklet
  
  
• Add to Wishlistr bookmarklet
  
  
• Clipper bookmarklet - to add images to Polyvore
  
  
• Subscribe to blog with bloglines bookmarklet
  
  

Note: This list does not even include any of the free web page services that I use/belong to.



EDIT: I almost forgot AVG free virus protection software!

Organizing Tool: Shelfari

Drum roll please! Here it is! A long-overdue post reviewing the online organizing/sharing book site cleverly called Shelfari.

I'd been looking for a site like this after finding a similar app/website for DVD collections (which I've decided to review in a separate post, so I can go into depth the way I want to) called DVD profiler. Most of the book oriented apps/programs were ok but had some major flaws. While Shelfari is far from perfect, it's the best one I've been able to find so far. Plus, it's in beta so they are still actively developing it to improve the features. (That's also a downside since you're going to get all the bugs associated with a beta project). Now, let me jump right in to the review . . .

Features I Like

Here's an overview of some of what I consider the more valuable features . . .

1. Tags
   Ok, if you have a site like that and DON'T integrate tagging, you're just asking for failure. Not having tags in this day in age is like being without teased hair in the 80's! I really like this because it allows you to put books into multiple categories. I know I've always had a hard time sorting books into just one category in the past because many books have more than just one thing going on that you might want to reference them by. Plus, you can make your own categories. Plus, if you are a fan of a particular genre, you can see what other people are tagging with this category. Unfortunately, for the time being, actually tagging all your books is time-consuming with a bit of a clunky and inelegant interface. Hopefully, that will improve over time though. I submitted feedback about this and got a reply that it was something they were working on.



2. Reviews and Discussions
   This feature I think is great for it's potential, and not necessarily what is actively happening. You can read Amazon reviews as well as reviews from other Shelfari users. You can also submit a review from a book. Then there's the separate option to start a discussion on a book. So far, it doesn't seem as though people are really using this option to its full potential since it could form the basis for an ongoing book-club type of meeting place. This is something that I might try to explore a bit more in the future by starting some discussions about the books I'm reading.



3. Blogging and Bucks
   Another cool feature they've integrated, is they allow people to create a widget to add to their blog so that they can share part of, or all of the books on their shelf. Not only does this allow you to share what you're reading with people who visit your blog, but it also allows people who affiliate with Amazon another way to earn some revenue. It's actually made me consider being an Amazon affiliate, because this seems an easy way to potentially earn some revenue without subjecting my readers to advertising. You'll probably be seeing this little widget sooner or later on my blog. I don't want to put it up quite yet since I don't have enough of our books entered on Shelfari yet. Plus, I'd like to go through and have some tags up there first too.

Now I'd like to show you a bit of what Shelfari looks like . . .



This is your homepage. One of the things I find kind of frustrating right now is that not all of the books we own have the cover art uploaded. It looks really cool when they all have the appropriate covers on because it's like looking at a book display. I'm also finding it difficult to find the same edition that I have. You can add your own edition to their list, but chances are you won't have any cover art for it. Hopefully more cover art will get added as the service expands. As it stands right now, you can't scan in your own cover art either.






This is how you build your bookshelf. I have several issues with their interface. You can search by several different factors: ISBN (what I use most frequently), title, author, or subject. But, you can't combine any of these into a more advanced search. So, if you don't get it by ISBN and enter author name, you could get tonnes of search pages that you need to click through to find your book. Plus, one of the things I've found is that the same book could have multiple publishing companies, binding types, etc. But, as it stands right now, you can't search by any of these methods. I've found that my particular edition isn't often found, so I have to add it. But you usually don't have any cover art associated with it then. I'm really hoping they improve this feature soon. It'd be really nice to search for a bunch of books at once too. I've gotten quite a few uploaded, but I'm not even through one bookcase and we have four (not to mention a few boxes of books still). This project may take me years, especially with all the tagging aspects of it. But, I still think it's worth it.

Once you've added a book to your shelf, there is no way to immediately tag the book at the same time. You have to go to your shelf, view the book details and add tags from there. Then go back to your shelf and start building to get the next book. In my opinion it takes way too many clicks. It'd be really nice if once you clicked the button to add a book to your shelf, a box would appear for you to enter the tags quickly, without ever really leaving the search/build screen. Hopefully they are also working to improve upon this feature.




When you are looking at the books on your shelf, passing your mouse over one will bring up a menu for actions for that book. Here you can add tags, assign books to lists (top 10, reading, or wish list), start a discussion, or read reviews. You can also see if a book has any activity surrounding it, either a discussion or some opinions on it. Unfortunately, the menus sometimes stick open making it difficult to navigate around the site or get to the book menu you want.

Now, as you can see, it still has a long way to go before being a truly awesome site. However, there are a few important reasons why I'm toughing through the early stages and getting my collection input on the site.

• I'm really hoping the discussion aspect of the site will open up once people start using it like an online book group. I want to join a book group, but it's too difficult logistically to get everyone to meet regularly, not to mention the time constraints and differing opinions on what everyone should read. This may be a way of connecting with people who are reading what I am and discussion different aspects of literature with them.



• I want people to see the kind of books I'm interested in. If I have a book that one of my friends wants to borrow then they'll be able to find out and ask for it. Shelfari also has a feature that allows you to 'lend out' books on the site. Basically you can track which books you've loaned out and which ones you actually have at home. Also, if people see what I'm interested in, they may get ideas of books to recommend to me.



• I'm very paranoid and obsessive compulsive about lists. But this serves a practical function too. Imagine you are one of the people who had their house burn down. There were several I heard about this year alone. Yes, you'd be worried about your immediate necessities first, but wouldn't it be nice to be able to have a list of all the books you had, so you could replace some of them at least? This makes it ultra simple, as you'd only have to log on and place an order from Amazon.

Well, I think this post has been long enough. If you've made it to the end, thanks for sticking around. If you decide to try out Shelfari, or already are on board with it or another book organizing program, leave a message in the comments.

Firefox FTW!

Yet another reason why Firefox rules over IE. If you're too lazy to click, the Washington Post did an article that took a look at how many days Internet Explorer was considered vulnerable. The short summary is that IE was 'unsafe' for 284 days in 2006 compared to Firefox's 9. No, that's no typo, just nine days it was deemed 'unsafe.' Have I convinced you to switch?

[article via Geek News Central]