Updates on my world of Tech:

1696 days ago

My ridiculously large workload says I shouldn’t be blogging right now… but I’m sticking it to the man! Update 1: Podcasting I failed miserably, I really just wasn’t interested in listening...

My ridiculously large workload says I shouldn’t be blogging right now… but I’m sticking it to the man!

Update 1: Podcasting

I failed miserably, I really just wasn’t interested in listening to lectures again and thus just didn’t remember to record lectures. Also I felt uncomfortable sitting in the front. It’s funny how that is actually… it seems that the third row in any lecture theatre is dynamite!

Update 2: Google Calendar

Right, on this one I succeeded. Not only has it become essential in my life… but I have converted some other people around me! Being able to layer calendars on and off is amazing. I still need to work on making my use of Google Calendar efficient (there is an art to creating the right amount of calendars and dealing with stuff like deadlines) but for now, my life has been changed. Once I have all the kinks in my system worked out I will post some handy tips for Google Calendar users.

Update 3: Netvibes wins!

Yes that’s right… I’ve chosen Netvibes… and I’m not looking back. Why is that? Firstly they have fixed many of the issues that I had with them, like not allowing me to access my Live Hotmail. As of yesterday they completely upgraded their widgets and widget browsing. It is so much easier and all my widgets just look better. Plus they have a new Google Calendar module which works amazingly! Well done Netvibes, you are my winner!
netvibesWins.jpg

Update 4: I’m giving a “get Teched up” presentation

It is on Wednesday at 8PM in the 1st floor lounge of Sherwood Lett in Vanier. If you want to come check it out please do. One of the best things to come out of this is that I will be able to monitor my success because I will be presenting to people in my house and can thus actually track how “Teched up” they become. Exciting times!

Cheers,

Andre.

The RSS aggregators are fighting over me!

1705 days ago

Well no, they aren’t really fighting over me, I guess they are fighting over the world, but still they are making it very hard for me to organize me life. But...

netvibesvspageflakes.jpg

Well no, they aren’t really fighting over me, I guess they are fighting over the world, but still they are making it very hard for me to organize me life. But let me start at the beginning.

After starting with iGoogle, I moved on to Netvibes and loved it. Then one day after reading a post by Novak I tried pageflakes… and loved it even more. I switched… well… half switched… and have been milling around in the middle ever since.

Here are a few of the reasons I can’t decide between the two of them (in the form of what I love/hate about one which automatically implies the opposite for the other:

  1. I love the “change layout” option of Pageflakes
  2. I love the little falling snowflakes in Pageflakes!
  3. I love that you can just embed a Javascript version of a Pageflakes “flake”
  4. I love the huge amount of options that Pageflakes gives for displaying a feed
  5. I hate how I can’t read my hotmail in Netvibes
  6. I love the way you add modules/widgets in Pageflakes
  7. I love that you can share a single page in pageflakes
  • I love/hate Pageflake’s RSS reader mode
  1. I love that Netvibes lets you change the feed location within the module
  2. I love that you will be able to keep and share an entire alternate universe in Netvibes
  3. I love the greater range of OPM modules in Netvibes, like Rugby World Cup 2007 and Facebook
  4. I hate the way you add basic feeds in Pageflakes
  5. I hate how the default in Pageflakes is “summery view” and “read in original site”
  6. I hate how Pageflakes takes longer to load
  7. I love the fact that clicking on the title of a feed takes you to that site

Great! My list ends up being completely even! What do I do?

For now I think I’ll switch back to Netvibes (seeing that the Rugby world cup is my priority)… but I’m still up in the air and waiting for a truly compelling argument one way or the other. I long for the day when I can just choose one and just forget completely about the other!

Update:
I just figured out how to share a whole page in Netvibes. Now Netvibes is really winning!

The Plan:

1715 days ago

Ok, so first day of class is done. I’ve seen all of my professors, had a bit of a hint of how class is going to work and taken some time...

Ok, so first day of class is done. I’ve seen all of my professors, had a bit of a hint of how class is going to work and taken some time to figure out how I am going to manage it all.

So here goes, my grand master plan for tackling all of my courses:

Microsoft Office OneNote:

To organize everything and take notes. Its ability to keep information fluid, yet organized should be invaluable for all of my classes.

Mind Mapping:

I’ve toyed with using online mind mapping applications, but FreeMind is the best package that I can get for free. Plus the ability to copy and paste from OneNote will make connecting the things that I take notes on a breeze. I know there are varied results on the effectiveness of mindmaps… but lets give them a whirl and see where I get. This should at least be essential for Statistics where many of the things that you do is looking at the same problem in a different way and figuring out how those ways fit together is incredibly important.

Podcasting:

I’m going to record one of my Computer Science Lectures to test podcasting lectures. I’m still not convinces that re-listening to a lecture is the best way to spend your study time (a lot is said in a typical lecture that really doesn’t need to be memorized). I’m also thinking of recording myself reading my notes so that I have short 10 minute snippets to listen to whilst walking from A to B on this huge campus.

Time Management:

As I said in the previous post, I’m going with Google calendar, using the layers for my timetable, due dates for assignments, Residence Advising in and out nights etc.

Flashcards:

For all those times when there is a long list of things and they just need to be drilled into my head. I’m going to go with Quizlet, it’s collaborative and super easy to use. The added feature of creating neat little tests is a nice bonus.

Collaborative Projects:

Zoho Wikis and documents (very soon Zoho docs will work on and offline… pure awesomeness!) For Programming Projects I’m thinking of using Gliffy, just because of their ability to do UML diagrams.

Well that’s a start, we will see how these work for keeping my schoolwork together for the next few weeks. If they don’t work… I try something else.

Cheers,
Andre

Google Calendar… the journey begins…

1716 days ago

Wow, what a hectic couple of weeks. Advisor training was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life, made even more so by the fantastic group of people that choose...

Wow, what a hectic couple of weeks. Advisor training was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life, made even more so by the fantastic group of people that choose to go into residence life. It was stressful to be pulled away from my beloved technology for so long, but now I have so many opportunities to spread the tech gospel that I think I might explode with the sheer happiness of it all.

The first thing that I am doing is testing Google calendar (and yes those of you with macs, I know that iCal is probably better… but not all of us are rich enough to afford those sexy MacBook Pros) for arranging things with my advising team and scheduling house events. I have admittedly never used an online calendar (gasp, shock, awe) simply because I’ve never had that many people to collaborate with. I also have a massive 4 month calendar sitting on my wall displaying the details of my life to be in all its glory). The 4 month calendar works perfectly as that is how many months there are in a term. I will however give Google calendar its fair chance… so stay tuned for news of what I find.

calendar.jpg

Sorry for the lack of depth this time… as soon as my feet get back on the ground I can commence with the groundbreaking blogging.

Cheers,

Andre.