andrewnicol.net

224 |365 Intuitive (Mac OSX vs Windows)

People who have grown up with Apple computers think they are intuitive, easy to use and everything makes sense. People who have grown up with Windows computers think the same.
 
Intuitive is a word that describes learned actions. It is really hard for something that someone has never used to be intuitive.
 
My Macbook, as a Windows user is counter-intuitive. It does some cool things in really difficult ways, that take all of the fun out of them.
 
Windows = Alt-Print Screen
Mac OSX = Control-Command-Shift-4
 
The Windows version is easier to remember. The Mac version is harder to use not intuitive at all, but is way cooler.
 
A reminder that when we create processes or web or tools, we need to make them both cool and intuitive.

Once a geek, always a geek (some cool tech tools I am using)

Playing around with a few tech toys recently and a couple of them are very cool.

Evernote 

I used to use google notebook (which was in beta and they are no longer developing). Evernote is tool you can use for making notes about anything. You can be on a website and send a part of the text to evernote. You can email notes to it. I can take a photo from my phone of something I want to remember and it uploads. Or you can type a new note directly.

Whats more, there is a desktop version that syncs to the web version which syncs to my windows mobile (phone).  Its free and very functional, or you can pay $45 US per year to have additional features and secure syncing.

Dual Monitors

Old technology, but have just set it up. I have been getting annoyed with the amount of paper I print out, just so I can compare to something else on the screen. This solves it and allows for much more.

Sure this looks really geeky, but it is awesome and don't know why I didn't do this a long time ago.

One small problem, I stole the second monitor off someone elses desk, will need to sort that first thing Monday. 

iPod Nano

Watched my first video postcast on my Nano. Had it for a year and only listen ever listened to music, audiobooks and audio podcasts.

The quality was very cool and watched a podcast from TED. It was Jacqueline Novogratz from Acuman Fund talking about a third way to think about aid. Cool to see the images and the quality was remarkably good.

Persistence

Persistence isn't using the same tactics over and over. That's just annoying.

Persistence is having the same goal over and over.

From Seth Godin's Blog

www.fishpond.co.nz - online books & dvds

You may have noticed the “Buy Now at Fishpond” button at the bottom of my book posts.

Well I must admit that I didn’t hold out much hope for a NZ based book affiliate programme, but I have actually earned commission off the 4 books I have linked to www.fishpond.co.nz.

I earn 10% on any purchases you make after clicking the click. So far I have earned the grand total of $4, but that is $4 more than I thought I would earn. Cynical I know.

I have also brought a number of books from Fishpond, and to date there has not been a book that I have looked up that I have not found. Historically I would import books direct from the US, but fishpond does it for me and gives me a GST receipt.

Very cool.

Oh. And they also do music and dvd's.

Check it out and don’t forget to click my link.

Load Images from Other Sites

OK, so now the closet IT geek side of me comes out. The image below is a link to a tool I created that builds HTML code for images that you may want to load off other websites. I use it quite often at www.viewpoint.net.nz for images relating to news articles. It saves having to upload the image myself.

Yip. I'm a geek, but I'm still in the closet!

What is your website worth?

An interesting website that summaries your website and values it.

My Site is worth $60 How much is your site worth?

viewpoint.net.nz is worth $40, and agoge.com is worth $145.

Kiwiblog has a PR5 rating and is worth $26,950.

Getting the best people

So you have a goal to build a strong employer brand. Great idea, but as you know that is easier said than done.

How does a medium sized company in the transport and logistics industry compete for great people against what can be seen as more sexy and edgy industries?

Well I am reading Jack Welch's book at the moment "Winning: The Answers". In the book Jack details the six critical factors for getting the best people.

1. Preferred employers demonstrate a real commitment to continuous learning.
2. Preferred employers are meritocracies. Pay and promotions are tightly linked performance, and rigorous appraisal systems consistently make people aware of where they stand.
3. Preferred employers not only allow people to take risks but also celebrate those who do. And they don't shoot those who try but fail.
4. Preferred employers understand that what is good for society is also good for business.
5. Preferred employers keep their hiring standards tight.  They make candidates work hard to join the ranks by meeting strict criteria that centre around intelligence and previous experience and by undergoing an arduous interview process.
6. Preferred companies are profitable and growing.

It's that easy! Well maybe? Interestingly enough though, this checklist could be applied to warehouse staff, truck drivers and senior managers. Have another look.

Oh, by the way he says it will take years, if not decades.

If you are interested you can listen to a podcast from Jack & Suzy on the same topic here.

Those simple steps are never so simple

This from a cool little blog that just does index cards like this one.

Hat Tip : indexed