outlook

Another great tool for improving email – this time, Outlook

November 19, 2008 By Dan Thornton

I’ve already shown how to improve your email experiences with the Remember The Milk gadget for Googlemail, and OtherInbox for filtering signups and other email detritus. But, like many people, I’m tied to Outlook for my main corporate email – but there’s an easy way to improve it with Xobni, that just got even better.

It’s an add-in for Outlook which search funtions, email anlytics and more, including a useful list of which documents have been sent to other people in email conversations. Plus it also already featured integration with LinkedIn for more details about who is emailing you.

Now the latest release includes integration with Yahoo Mail!, Facebook, Hoovers and enhanced Skype functionality.

If you’re using Outlook, Xobni is highly recommended.

Web 3.0 – More like Web 3.wtf!

July 12, 2007 By Dan Thornton

I understand that a lot of people find it easier to collect groups of websites together under the Web 2.0 banner, and save time explaining every facet of social networking, tagging, rounded edges etc.

But web 3.0?

So far, it seems to be the holy grail of turning the internet into a Tron 3D world where everything is accessible by an avatar floating around.

I’d debate whether 3D really is the next step. There seems to be very little which has an advantage to being in 3D besides gaming. And I think that’s probably proven by the discovery of 3DMailbox.

It’s a free email service which merges Second Life with your email account to allow you to send emails whilst your avatar relaxes on beach.

Aside from the fact my first attempts to actually run the program have been scuppered by the fact I’m on a work spec PC, rather than high-end gaming rig (Apparently my graphic card doesn’t support pixel shading in the right way, causing 3D Mailbox to crash), the trailer and information doesn’t seem to offer any reason why using an avatar to surf my email is in any way quicker, easier to better than using a traditional email program.

And if it doesn’t make my life easier, less stressful, or more productive, then that just leaves the enjoyment factor. And call me cynical but I’d rather be outside in the real world, or immersed in the likes of Rainbow 6: Vegas shooting terrorists, than playing a mix of Outlook and Second Life…

Having said that, if you do get it to work, and you do find it a revolutionary way of enjoying your email experiences, do let me know.

Remember kids. If you can’t justify what you are doing in a couple of simple sentences which explain why it’s great, then go and do something else.

Finding the work/life/web balance…

March 9, 2007 By Dan Thornton

I’ve written in the past about internet schizophrenia resulting from signing up to too many sites.

But recently I’ve suffered the same problem from committing to too many projects, and a compulsion to be online, contactable, and working on all of them.

Recently I’ve worked on:
The relaunch of motorcyclenews.com.
The relaunch of disposablemedia.co.uk.
Becoming Editor of the Dipsosable Media PDF magazine (Issue 6 out now!)
Freelance writing for Strategy Informer.
Freelance writing for Gamestyle.
Freelance writing for Eurogamer.
Blogging here.
Blogging at BadgerGravling
Blogging at Updated Sayings

*phew*….I think that’s the lot. Oh, and there are plenty of things going on in my personal life, including one of the biggest and most stressful things people can ever experience (It involves putting things into cardboard boxes, then unpacking them again somewhere else)

So I’ve had to take some time to evaluate which of these gives the most pleasure, the most reward, and the most benefits to either myself or my career. It’s something I don’t do enough, because I want to get involved everywhere and do everything.

Step one is to file emails as soon as they arrive, and be honest to myself about which ones I’m never going to use/reply to.

Step two is to clear out bookmarks and particularly RSS feeds for sites I never read or use. I’m paranoid that one day someone will be discover the secret of wealth, happiness and eternal life and I’ll miss it, but if it’s truly an important story, it’ll end up on one of my other RSS feeds anyway.

So, anyone got any tech tips for step three in making me less stressed, and more organised?