Working Smart

MenuMaster Now Available for Mac Intels

Unsanity has finally released a public beta of Menu Master, one of my all-time favorite utilities, for Mac Intel computers. I have been checking their Website daily since I got my MacBook Pro. It had become so much of my workflow that I found it difficult to get along without it. I installed the program with no problems and it appears to be stable.

Menu Master is a system enhancement that allows you to change or remove menu shortcut keys in any application with a simple press of the key. Pull the menu down, navigate to the menu item you want, and then press a keystroke combination. It is automatically assigned to the menu item and instantly appears on the menu item itself. Don’t like your choice, just press the backspace key and delete it. Very cool and very easy to use.

Menu Master is on my must-have list of Mac software. At $10.00, it’s a steal. Grab a copy and give it a whirl.

Technorati Tags: apple, cool software, macbook pro

Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Improve Your Productivity

I have never met anyone really productive who relied on the mouse. It’s just too inefficient. For example, consider the following two methods for saving a file in Microsoft Word. Imagine you’re typing a report. You realize you need to save your file.

Approach 1: You take your hand off the keyboard, grab your mouse, move the cursor to the File menu, move the cursor down to the Save menu item and then click on the mouse button. Your workflow is interrupted and it takes you a few minutes to get back in “the Zone.”

Approach 2: You simply press ⌘S on the Mac or Ctrl-S on the PC and keep working. This takes a fraction of the time and has the added advantage of not interrupting your workflow. And, because it is so easy, you do it every time you pause to think. This ensures that you are frequently saving your work in the event your computer crashes.

Which makes more sense? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it. Yet few people take the time to really learn the standard operating system shortcuts (Mac or Windows). If you haven’t learned these already, I would urge you to do so. Over time, you will see a major boost in your productivity.

But in this post, I want to focus on creating keyboard shortcuts for common, non-operating system tasks. Whether you are using Microsoft Entourage or Outlook, the concept is the same. If you are going to use either one as your workflow “dashboard,” you can vastly increase your productivity by creating one-keystroke shortcuts to create new email messages, tasks, events, and notes. To do this, you need a third-party macro processor. This software will allow you to perform a series of actions with a single keystroke.

When I had a Windows machine, I used Keyboard Launchpad from Stardock Systems. It’s still only $9.95—a tremendous bargain. However, since switching to the Mac, I am using iKey from Scripts Software. Unfortunately, it is $30.00, but it is still much cheaper than QuicKeys, which is $79.95. (I used Keyboard Maestro for a while. It was only $20.00, but I found it buggy. It didn’t always work reliably. I’ve been using iKey for a few months and love it.)

Regardless of which program you use, here are some keyboard shortcuts I have found helpful. Keep in mind that on the Mac, ⇧ refers to the shift key, ⌃ refers to the Ctrl key, ⌥ refers to the Alt or Option key, and ⌘ refers to the Apple or command key.

Keystroke	Actions
⌥⌘c	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File | New | Task command.
⌥⌘e	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File | New | Calendar Event command.
⌥⌘k	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File | New | Task command.
⌥⌘m	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File| New | Mail Message command.
⌥⌘n	Switch to Entourage from whatever application you are currently in. Select the File | New | Note command.

The beauty of these shortcuts is that they allow you to get ideas out of your mind and into the appropriate receptacle (e.g., task list, calendar, note, etc.) as quickly as possible with the least amount of interruption to your workflow.

In addition to these, within Entourage, I have also created a keyboard shortcut for filing the current message in my Archive folder. I do not try to file messages into a more specific folder as some people do. For me, this adds unnecessary complexity to my email processing. I want to focus on deciding what action to take with the message and then filing it in a common folder, so I can always work toward maintaining an empty email inbox.

If you have to also decide what folder to file the message in, you cut your productivity in half. And, honestly, I don’t think it speeds up the retrieval process appreciably. Instead, I let Spotlight do the heavy lifting. (If you are using Outlook on the PC, I recommend Lookout, a small add-in that plugs into Outlook and makes searching within messages a snap.) So, I just dump every message in an Archive folder and leave it at that. This enables me to fly through my email.

In order to set up such a shortcut in Entourage, first make sure you have a folder named “Archive” under your inbox. Then select a message. It doesn’t matter which one. Select Message | Move To. If you see the name of your folder, write down the exact name. For example, mine is “Archive (mhyatt)”. The “mhyatt” part indicates that the folder is actually a subfolder in my main Exchange mailbox.

If you don’t see the name of your folder, then select Choose Folder..., then select your folder. Press the Move key. This will actually move the message, so you may want to retrieve it manually and place it back in your inbox. Then re-read the last paragraph and get the exact name of the folder.

Okay, now you are ready to create the shortcut. Go to System Preferences | Keyboard & Mouse | Keyboard Shortcuts. Click on the + button, then select Microsoft Entourage as the Application. Then enter the exact name of your Archive folder in the Menu Title field. Finally, enter the keystroke combination you want to use in the Keyboard Shortcut field. Press OK. That’s it.

Now quit Entourage and relaunch it. You should now be able to use your shortcut to move messages to your Archive folder with a single keystroke. You’ll be surprised at how much this speeds up your workflow.

This is just a start. Pay attention to how you work. Whenever you find yourself doing the same thing over and over, automate it with a single keyboard shortcut. This will keep you focused on the work at hand, and free your mind up for more creative problem-solving.

Technorati Tags: entourage, gtd, mac, productivity, workflow

Capturing Movie Clips on the Fly

I love multi-media presentations. Steve Jobs is one of the best at this. (Click here to watch his iPod Nano presentation.) I especially like using movie clips to illustrate points. They are visually interesting and emotionally compelling. They often make a point that in a way that merely telling a story cannot.

As a result, I have been looking for a program to rip film clips from DVDs, so that I could use them in my speeches. (Yes, my attorney says this falls under “fair use.”) Previously, I was using Mac the Ripper to decode the DVD file then Cinematize to actually select the clip and save it as a QuickTime movie. It was a very involved, tedious, and time-consuming process. As a result, I didn’t make much use of movie clips. Bummer.

Over the weekend, I stumbled across Snapz Pro. It is way cool! Unfortunately, the Web site doesn’t do it justice. It looks like a simple screen capture utility. However, there is far more beneath the hood. Fortunately, it is available as shareware, so you can try it before you buy it.

Technorati Tags: apple, keynote, mac, movie clips, powerpoint, presentations, QuickTime, snapz

In addition to capturing static screens and windows on your computer, you can also record movies. These can be, for example, a movie of your screen activity with narration to create, say, a software tutorial. There are some examples of these on the site, illustrating the features of the program.

However, Snapz Pro really shines in recording DVD or Internet movies. It is so simple. You invoke the program with a hotkey, start your movie, and then play the DVD clip you want to capture. It records it, then saves it as a QuickTime movie. You can even select the compression format you want. The quality is amazing—at least to my amateur eye. I can’t tell it from the original.

Once I have the movie clip, I then insert it into a Keynote slide, so that it automatically plays when I display the slide. If you are using a Mac this is worth checking out. (If you are still on Windows—you are considering switching aren’t you?—check out Comtasia Studio.)

Google’s New Blog Search Engine

Google has just launched a very cool new blog search engine. It is called—appropriately—Google Blog Search. It being unveiled as a “beta” version.

I did a few test searches and was very impressed. As we have come to expect from Google, it is fast and thorough. Give it a try! (via The Unofficial Apple Weblog)

Technorati Tags: blogs, google, search

Digital Photography Workflow

Earlier this summer, my wife bought me a Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR camera for my birthday. Prior to that, I had a very portable Sony Cybershot DSC-1 (non SLR, point-and-shoot). I enjoyed the Cybershot, but I thought I might be ready to upgrade to an SLR camera. Thankfully, my wife agreed. Overnight, I became an addict. The Canon has brought me more joy as a hobby than anything I have done previously.

Part of why I enjoy the camera so much, I think, is it gives me an opportunity to express myself artistically. In addition, it satisfies my enthusiasm for gadgets and love of software. The only downside is that it can get expensive. Fast. The upside is that I don’t have any film costs, and I can shoot hundreds of photos with nearly instantaneous feedback, thanks to the LCD screen on the camera itself.

Initially, I used iPhoto to manage my burgeoning photo collection. (If you haven’t tried a Mac before, this application could almost justify the purchase. It’s a model of usability and coolness.) In addition to organizing my photos, it also provides a really simple but elegant image editor that is sufficient for 90% of my photo retouching needs. At least, until I discovered Photoshop Elements (available for both Mac and Windows). Now I am using it for the other 10% of my photos—the ones that need something that is beyond what the iPhoto editor can do.

For example, a couple of weeks ago I was showing my daughter a picture of her that I had taken. In it, she had a giant smile that was magnetic. She liked the picture, but she didn't like her teeth. “Can’t you make my teeth whiter, Dad?” “Hmm,” I said, “I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it with iPhoto. However, I stumbled across a tutorial for Elements that was just the ticket. It was on a great site called PhotoshopElementsUser.com. The tutorial was called simply Smile. The tutorial took me less than five minutes. I then worked the magic and showed it to my daughter. Both of us were amazed. (If only we could make these kinds of quick touch-ups in real life!)

Now I’m considering moving to iView MediaPro to manage my digital images and using Elements for 100% of my image editing needs. The nice thing about it is that the most-used features—cropping, red-eye correction, levels, healing brush—are readily accessible with keyboard shortcuts. (In that sense, it is even easier to use than iPhoto.) I am considering MediaPro for a number of reasons. For one, it has a much larger capacity than iPhoto, and my images are multiplying like rabbits. Second, it allows me more flexibility in terms of defining my digital workflow.

Speaking of which ... if you use MediaPro, I’d like to hear from you. What is your digital workflow? What specific steps do you go throough when you’re ready to download your images? How do you name your files? How do you structure your folders. Inquiring minds want to know!

What Was That Keyboard Shortcut?

I hate using my computer’s mouse. Every time I have to take my hand off the keyboard to reach for it, I suffer a slight decline in productivity. That’s why I try to memorize every keyboard shortcut I can. It just makes me more productive.

Up until now, this has required an up-front investment in learning each program’s shortcut keys. However, I recently stumbled across a program called KeyCue. Unfortunately, for you Windows users, this only works with the Mac.

Here’s how it works: From within any program you press the Apple key (i.e., ⌘) and hold it down for a user-defined amount of time. (I have it set to one second.) Immediately, a screen pops up, showing all the keyboard shortcuts for the current application. This is an amazing way to learn shortcuts and is only a keystroke a way. I find myself using it all the time. It’s not free, but at $14.99, it’s a bargain. (Thanks to Todd correcting me on the price in the comments below.) I highly recommend it. I guarantee it will make your more productive.

iPhoto—Almost Perfect

I don't pretend to be a great photographer. I know just enough to be dangerous. However, I really enjoy manipulating the images and creating slide shows for my family. It's amazing what you can do with today's digital cameras and image editing software.

When I was still on my PC, I was using Adobe Photoshop Elements and loving it. I have never used a piece of software that so elegantly balanced power and ease-of-use. I could do just about anything I wanted. However, when I switched to the Mac, I decided to give iPhoto a whirl.

No doubt about it, you can do some very cool things with iPhoto. It is a great album organizer. It is also a wonderful tool for sharing your photos. For example, emailing photos to friends is a snap. I simply select the photos, select Share | Email and the program opens a new mail window in Entourage with all the photos attached. (You can specify your default email program.)

Last night, I wanted to upload some photos of my new two-week year old granddaughter to a Website where my family and friends could enjoy them. I opened a trial membership to .mac (pronounced “dot-mac”), selected the pictures I wanted to upload, chose a “theme” for the Web page, and clicked “Publish.” The whole process took less than 15 minutes.

As satisfying as this experience was, I am not equally happy with the image editing functions of iPhoto. The red eye tool, for example, is very weak—virtually useless. You have very little control over it. You cannot identify the area you want to change other than by clicking in the center of the subject's pupil. The program then decides what to do with the red color. If the color is orange or less than really red, the tool doesn't work. You're simply out of luck.

At first I thought it was just a particular picture. But I had nearly the same experience with every picture I tried. By contrast, I emailed a few of the photos to my wife's computer. She pulled them into Photoshop Elements for Windows and neutralized the subject's red eye with two clicks. This worked with every picture. (The worst part is that she winked at me and said, “Maybe you should switch back to a PC!”) I spent the next hour reading the iPhoto help file pertaining to red eye. I also visited the Apple iPhoto discussion group. Evidently, I wasn't the only one experiencing this problem. Bummer.

So this morning before work I downloaded the trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements for the Mac and iView Media Pro. The latter looks particularly interesting. However, I don't know if either of them make sharing pictures as easy as iPhoto (especially in terms of emailing photos or uploading to .mac). Another option is to continue to use iPhoto for organizing and sharing and use an external image editor like Elements for image editing. Fortunately, iPhoto provides a way to use an external editor.

If there are other options I should consider, please let me know.

Mac Envy

I used to see Mac users as a kind of religious cult. They seemed to be committed to their alternative technology despite the fact that they had lost the computer wars. I argued that anything that was available on the Mac was now also available on a Windows PC. Simple economics dictate that developers are going to write software for the largest installed hardware base, right? I even predicted that innovation would dry up on the Mac as developers abandoned this doomed platform. Well, maybe not.

The first thing that made me start doubting my position was the Apple iPod. I bought my first one two years ago when it first came out. I loved it. Simple, elegant, and very cool. I thought, Maybe this is why the Macophiles are so zealous about their machines. Since that time, I have bought a few more iPods for my daughters. I even upgraded mine after the first one was lost. (My wife still thinks I lost it on purpose. I’m sticking to my original story.) I am still impressed by this device. It’s a joy to use.

When my daughter, Mary, was preparing to leave for college this past fall, to my own surprise, I recommended that she consider getting a Mac laptop. Startled, she looked at me and exclaimed, “Dad, are you kidding me? I thought you hated Macs!”

I was a little embarrassed, like a religious inquirer who was suddenly accused of being an actual convert. Yikes. Not so fast. I’m not one of them! Regardless, I bought a Mac PowerBook G4 for Mary and spent a few delicious hours getting her e-mail and printer set-up. Just like the iPod, it was a delight to use.

I thought, This is fine for Mary, but there’s no way I can even consider switching. For starters, I have too big of an investment in PC software. But I could tell my defenses were breaking down. Nevertheless, I honestly didn’t think about it again. Until today.

This morning after church, I went to a Board Meeting for a new startup company called The Orthodox Project. Joel Smith, my good friend and the entrepreneur who started the company, made a presentation on a Mac, using a package from Apple called Keynote. Oh my gosh! Have you seen this?

I am not easily impressed, especially by anything that resembles PowerPoint. Even though I use the software extensively, I sometimes wonder if we would be better off if PowerPoint was banned from corporate meetings. The bullets and transitions are so predictable. They often end up as a substitute for genuine thinking. Like someone said to me in a meeting last week, “Start-up a PowerPoint presentation and the average IQ of the room drops by 10 points.” I’m afraid he might be right.

But Keynote is different. First starters, the slides are beautiful. The rendering of the type is extraordinary, like a high-quality printed piece. (I since learned that this is a function of Mac OS X.) The transitions were especially cool, graceful, and seamless. The closest thing I have seen to this is PowerPlug Transitions, but it has always seemed a little too self-conscious, like too much cologne or a drum track that is too loud. Keynote’s transitions on the other hand are elegant and understated. This is what the main screen looks like:

I asked Joel if Apple made a version for Windows, like they did with iTunes. He said he didn’t think so. Still, I left the meeting hoping he was wrong. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. I went to Apple’s Web site as soon as I got home. If you want to get a quick feel for how this software leapfrogs PowerPoint, take a look at the winners of Keynote’s recent design contest.

This is the first software that has made me seriously consider buying a Mac for myself. No, I’m not ready to switch computers. I do have too big an investment—both in software and know-how—to consider switching. But I just might be able to justify buying a Mac for presentations. In my job, I make lots of them, so it might just be worth it. As you can tell, the process of rationalizing the purchase has already begun.

Postscript. If you know of a serious alternative to PowerPoint that will allow me to upgrade my presentations on a PC platform, please let me know.

Concept X7: Worse Than I Thought

Believe it or not, my bad experience with Concept X7 got worse. When the software did not work as advertised, I uninstalled it. What I didn’t realize was that this simple action also disabled the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition’s ink capability. According to the TabletPCBuzz forum, several other users had this same experience.

Initially, I didn’t notice this problem. Since I was on vacation, I wasn’t using the ink-enabled applications I normally use when attending meetings at work. However, I tried to load GoBinder this morning to check some notes and got an error message. Thankfully, I had been following the thread on Concept X7 in the TabletPCBuzz forum, otherwise I may have thought the problem was with GoBinder.

I then tried to load OneNote. It flashed the splash screen and then choked my system, forcing a reboot. Once I had Windows loaded, I tried to load Windows Journal, which gave me a message that there was something wrong with Windows’ inking capabilities. That was all the confirmation I needed.

I then did a system restore and now—thank God—everything is back to normal. (I actually had to do this twice, since the first time I didn’t pick a restore point early enough.) All in all, this experience cost me about three hours of frustration.

So what did I learn? Four things:

1. Stay away from the “bleeding edge.” Don’t install every piece of seemingly cool software without checking to see what other users have experienced. The best place to research this is in the many user forums on the Web.
   
   
2. Pay attention to the marketing. If you experience problems with the developer’s Web site and download procedure, it may be a harbinger of things to come. If they are sloppy with the marketing, they may also be sloppy with their code—which was exactly what I experienced with Concept 7.
   
   
3. Create a system restore point. Do this before installing any new software. On most systems, you can find this under Start | Accessories | System Tools. This way you can “roll back” your system to the point before things went awry. Force yourself to get into this habit. (I’m preaching to myself!)
   
   
4. Warn other users. Hopefully, you can save other users the pain of wasting their time and potentially damaging their systems. Again, the various user forums are a great place to do this.

The Concept X7 Sales Prevention Team

I heard about Concept X7 on the TabletPCBuzz forum. It sounded like a cross between MindManager, GoBinder, and OneNote. I visited the Web page to check it out and was impressed, especially by the screen shots. However, I am convinced that the developer must employ a “sales prevention team.” Why? Here are the problems I experienced.

Problem #1: The Price. The program sells for $298. What?! Okay, maybe I’d pay this much for Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop, but few programs are worth this much. GoBinder is only $79.95. OneNote is $99.95. MindManager X5 is $199 (and worth every penny). Well, fortunately, I thought, they offer a trial version of the program.

Problem #2: Download Difficulty. When I clicked on the Trial Version link, the Web page asked me for my e-mail address, promising to send me the download instructions by e-mail. This isn’t that unusual, so I entered my address and clicked on the “Send” button, thinking an autoresponder would automatically send me the information. No such luck. I never received the download instructions. I checked the TabletPCBuzz forum again. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one with this problem. Fortunately, someone posted a link to the download page. I then downloaded the program.

Problem #3: Crippleware. Beware, the trial version is not the full-featured version. It’s crippled. Before the installation started, the program displayed the following dialog box:

Obviously, several features are disabled. So, I wrote to the developers and asked for a full-featured copy of the software. (More about that in a moment.) I went ahead and installed the trial software. The installation went without a hitch—or so I thought.

Problem #4: Deadware. I then tried to run the program. I received the following message (click on the image to see the dialog box in actual size):

Note that the program has died. It’s not responding. I tried rebooting my computer. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling. Nothing worked. I spent way more time on this that I should have. I went back to the TabletPCBuzz forum and posted my results. I was not the only one who experienced this problem. At least, it’s not my system.

Problem #5: Marketing Stupidity. I was still hopeful that I could get the full-featured version of the program running. Today, I received an e-mail message from Alexandra Han of SoftwareForAll, the site where I downloaded the program. Here’s the text of the message. (I’m not making this up.)

Hello

Sorry, no fully funcitional copy of any softwares available for trial usage, if you want a fully functional copy, you will have to pay the registration fee.

Best regards
Alexandra Han

Softforall Technology
webmaster@softforall.com
http://www.softforall.com

Amazing. Let’s think this through. Granted, I don’t have the most popular blog on the planet. But I get about 2,000 readers a week. That’s a lot of prospects. Wouldn’t it make sense to provide a free copy to me in the hopes that I would write a positive review and influence my readers to buy the software? Instead, Alexandra tells me I have to buy a copy.

This is what you call “pennywise and pound foolish.” I mean, the software doesn’t even have a cost associated with it. News flash: It’s a digital download. It would have cost her company nothing. Instead, she ticked me off enough that I am spending my Thanksgiving morning writing a negative review of the product.

Someone may argue that I can’t hold the developer (WebPlanet) responsible for the lame response of the distributor (SoftForAll). On the contrary. The developer picked this distributor. He also chose not to send me the download instructions. Regardless, I’ve completely lost interest in this software. Rather than making me more productive—as the developer promised—I’ve wasted several hours trying to get it to run. I’ve now uninstalled it. Good riddens!

Google Your Desktop

Google has become the de facto Internet search engine of choice. It is so ubiquitous that the word “google” has become a verb, as in, “I’ll google that and get back to you.” I don’t even remember the last time I used another search engine.

But what about those thousands of e-mail messages, documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, and photos lurking on computer’s hard disk? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could also search for those with the familiar, simple-to-use Google search engine? Well, now you can.

Google has just released a beta version of Google Desktop Search. It carries the familiar Google logo:

If you know how to use Google-and who doesn’t?-you already know how to use Google Desktop. It couldn’t be simpler to use. You download the program, let it index your hard drive, and then search as you normally would. (Warning: the first time you index your hard drive, it will take several hours. I recommend starting this process at night before you go to bed.) There’s virtually nothing new to learn.

As the President of a 600-or-so employee company, simplicity is a major selling point. Every new software introduction carries with it at least three costs: (1) the initial cost of the software, including deployment, (2) the cost of user training, and (3) the ongoing cost of upgrades. Right now, Google Desktop Search is free and easy to download. Virtually any user can do it on their own. In addition, since people already know how to use Google, there are no training costs. The only thing that remains to be seen is whether or not Google will eventually charge for this or introduce a “professional version” with more bells and whistles that you have to pay for.

Yes, there are probably better desktop search alternatives. One that looks particularly interesting is Copernic Desktop Search. However, it would have to be substantially better than Google to entice me to invest the training time to learn a new tool. For now, Google Desktop Search is all I need.

Speed Up Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat 6.0 is a great application. But it takes forever to load. On my Toshiba M205, which has a 1.50GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM, it used to take seventeen seconds. In today’s software world, that’s a long time—especially when you use the program several times a day like I do.

That’s before I downloaded and ran a nifty little program called Adobe Reader Speedup. This little program reduced my load time to three seconds flat! I’d call that a significant improvement.

You can do the same thing by holding down the Shift key everytime you load Acrobat, but I can never seem to remember to do it. Adobe Acrobat Speedup takes care of this problem once and for all. Here’s how it works ...

Acrobat ships with a ton of plug-ins. By default, they load everytime Acrobat loads. They come in handy from time to time, but the truth is, most of them are completely useless for most users. Adobe Reader Speedup simply disables the least used plug-ins.

You can select between two different speed-up modes: Fast (which is recommended and disables the least used plug-ins) and Turbo (which disables even more plug-ins). Despite the fact that the documentation says that Turbo mode does not speed up the load time by much, I noticed about a one-second improvement by using it.

You can also choose to manage each plug-in on an individual basis. The program even includes a help file that tells you what exactly what each plug-in does. I couldn’t even find this information in the Acrobat help file!

The program is “donationware,” which means it’s free, but you can make a donation if you want to via PayPal. If you use Adobe Acrobat, this is a must-have program.

Assigning Keyboard Shortcuts to Programs

I hate mice. I always have. TouchPads and TrackPoint Sticks are even worse. Every time I have to take my hands off the keyboard, I lose a few seconds of productivity. That’s why I have always been diligent about learning the keyboard shortcuts for the various programs I use.

Unfortunately, Windows XP does not provide a reliable way to assign a shortcut key to launch an application or change the focus to an open application. Supposedly, you can right-click on an application or shortcut, select Properties, and assign a shortcut key. But this function is notoriously unreliable. It doesn't always work and, after a while, most users give up on it.

So recently I went on a search for a simple program that would allow me to assign a shortkey key to each of my major applications. I found literally dozens. However, they differ dramatically in terms of features, ease-of-use, and cost. I downloaded several of the more promising ones and tried them out.

I finally settled on Keyboard Launchpad from Stardock Systems. The program is simple and reliable. The trial version only allows you to assign five shortcut keys (which seems ridiculously low), but it will give you a feel for the program. If you decide to buy the registered version, it is only $9.95.

The program manages your shortcut keys through a simple, easy-to-use interface (see below).

The easiest way to start is to drag a program onto Keyboard Launchpad’s Configure window. The program will then prompt you to type the shortcut key you want to use to launch the program. In addition to programs, you can also create shortcut keys for:

• Documents
• Folders
• Web pages
• Clipboard “snippets” (text or image)
• System commands (e.g., shutdown, reboot, suspend, hibernate)
• More system commands (e.g., open Control Panel, Dispay Properties, System Information, etc.

You can assign multiple actions (a.k.a., “a macro”) to a single shortcut key and even assign a key to invoke the Keyboard Launchpad Configuration window. This way you can quickly assign a keyboard shortcut the moment you think of it.

I recommend you give this program a whirl. If you hate mice as much as I do, I think you will find this program to be a real time-saver.

Moving Your Bookmarks to a New Browser

If you have taken my advice and moved from Internet Explorer to a new browser, you may have wondered how you can take your bookmarks with you. In the July 8 issue of The New York Times, J.D. Biersidorfer answers the question. He writes:

When you install a new Web browser, some programs will offer to import your existing bookmarks or favorites from your old browser as part of the process. If you are not offered this option, you can import your Favorites files into the new browser in just a few steps.

In Internet Explorer, go to the File menu and select the Import and Export option. The software wizard will prompt you through a series of screens that will enable you to export your Favorites file from the list of things to do and save them on your hard drive. You will see a message when a copy of your Favorites file has been successfully exported.

After you install the new browser, you will need to find and import this saved file into the new program. This step will vary depending on which browser you have chosen; check for bookmark manager options in the new program's menus. For example, in Mozilla or Netscape, go to the Bookmarks menu and select Manage Bookmarks. In the Tools menu, select Import, then navigate to your saved Favorites file to pull your sites into the new browser's Bookmarks menu.

MyIE2 Becomes Maxthon

Several days ago, I talked about why I don’t use Internet Explorer. In that post I sang the praises of MyIE2, which I have been using for several months. Last night, I was having a persistent problem with pop-up ads and, especially, pop-under ads. Frustrated, I decided to see if there was a newer version of MyIE2 available.

When I went to the MyIE2 Web site, I was notified that they had changed the name to Maxthon and that a newer version was indeed available (note: this is still a beta version).

If you are using MyIE2, or if you just want a super-charged version of Internet Explorer, I suggest that you check out Maxthon. Here are just a few of the changes since the last version of MyIE2. I clipped these off their Website:

+ Tip of the day dialog.
+ Unicode Support.
+ Remove mode and modeless dialog option in ADHunter option panel.
+ Remove pop-under ADs option in ADHunter option panel.
+ Remove Floating ADs option in AdHunter option panel.
* Setup center and options are combined.
+ skin.ini [SIDEBAR_STYLE] HOT_BUTTON_IMAGE to specify the hot button image of side bar.
* For context menu for menu items, holding control key will keep the menu after select a command.
+ Hold ALT key before download begins will toggle using download manager.
+ Hold ALT key before open a tab will toggle from open in forground and background.
* Rebuild Tray icon after Explorer crash.
+ Reload missing pictures option at Advanced option panel.
* Zoom factor is kept after page refreshing.
* Global Zoom option added to General option panel.
* Config file changed to xml.
+ Zip library.
+ Popups options page.
+ Popup block toolbar at sized poup window.
+ Popup blocked inform toolbar.
+ Redesigned history side bar.
+ redesigned favorite side bar.

Overall, the interface has been improved and is more elegant. The Options dialog box has also been simplified. I continue to be impressed with this software. It’s become a staple in my software collection.

Blogging: A Tale of Two Tools

A while back I reviewed BlogJet, a very cool offline blogging tool. I have been using it faithfully since I first downloaded version 1.1. My 30-trial was about up, so I went ahead and registered it. At $19.95 it’s a steal.

However, as I outlined in my previous post, it’s far from perfect. I feel it’s probably a version or two away from addressing my complaints. The good news is that the developer is responsive and is currently soliciting input for version 1.2. If you are using BlogJet and want to offer your input, you can do so here.

Because of the shortcomings of BlogJet, I am also using ecto, another offline blogging client. It doesn't sport a WYSIWYG editor, but it does a whole bunch of things that BlogJet 1.1 doesn’t do. Specifically, it supports ...

• Extended posts. I use extended posts, so that I can put more posts on a single page. It makes my page load faster and give readers an opportunity to scan more posts at a glance.
  
  
• Image Thumbnails. The most recent version of ecto supports thumbnail images. Since I make pretty extensive use of thumbnails, this solves a major problem for me. I no longer have to do this from the TypePad interface.
  
  
• Post Previews. This enables me to view the post as it will appear before I actually post it to my blog. With BlogJet my only alternative is to post live to my blog and then edit it until I get it right. This is not a very good solution.
  
  
• URL Pinging. This is a fabulous feature. ecto automatically pings any blog aggregator that I specify. I enter the URL once in the program. Thereafter, whenever I upload a post, the URLs are automatically pinged. Very cool.
  
  
• Custom Publishing Times. In an ideal world, I would write my posts ahead of time and select a custom publishing time. This would allow me to “get ahead of the writing curve” and “bank posts” for future publication. I have used this feature some, and I really like it.

If ecto ever adds a WYSIWYG editor (like BlogJet) or BlogJet ever adds the features I’ve listed above, then I can dispense with one of these tools. I will also become a raving fan and voluntary evangelist! In the meantime, Ive resigned myself to using both. Bummer.

Why I Don’t Use Internet Explorer

I stopped using Internet Explorer a year ago. I got frustrated over the fact that Microsoft hadn’t really upgraded the product in a couple of years, let alone improved it. They must assume that since it’s free, people will be happy with it the way it is. This is a bad assumption. Several browsers have now leapfrogged Microsoft. You owe it to yourself—and your productivity—to evaluate your options.

iRider was the program that initially lured me away from IE. It’s one of several multi-page browsers on the market. It does a great job of allowing you to browse faster and work with lots of pages simultaneously. As you are reading a page, if you see a link you want to read, you simply right-click and the page loads in the background. This virtually eliminates the Back and Forward buttons. You can keep reading and then go to the new page when you are done. It’s a great browser that is very fast and intuitive.

However, about three months ago, someone recommended MyIE2 to me. I switched and haven’t looked back. I like it even better than iRider. Here are some of my favorite features:

• Tabbed Browsing. You open new pages in a new tab. This makes it easy to flip back and forth between pages without having to reload the page. You can have a virtually unlimited number of tabs open at once. Once you’ve tried this feature, you’ll never go back. For me, this alone was worth the switch.
  
  
• Page Groups. You can save groups of pages and open them with a single click. For example, I click on the “News” group and my six favorite news sites open simultaneously. Each page is in a separate tab. When I get done, I click on my “Blogs” group, and all my favorite blogs open up. I have about seven groups defined. It makes browsing a very fast and enjoyable experience.
  
  
• Mouse Gestures. This is especially helpful if you use a TabletPC. You can control the browser with simple pen (or mouse) gestures. The program includes built-in gestures for going back and forward, moving to the previous and next tabs, closing a tab. and refreshing the page.
  
  
• AutoHide Toolbars. This feature hides the command menu and tool bars, giving you the maximum amount of screen real estate for viewing Web pages. When you move the cursor to the top of the page, the menu and toolbars appear. When you move the mouse pointer back to the page, they disappear again.
  
  
• URL Aliasing. This enables you to define an “alias” by which to refer to a URL. For example, when I type “ws” in the address bar, the program expands this alias to enter my Working Smart URL: http://michaelhyatt.blogs.com. This is kind of a poor man’s ActiveWords.
  
  
• Plug-In Support. The program offers full support for my favorite IE plug-ins, like RoboForm, the Google Toolbar, and Net Snippets. It also has a ton of MyIE2 plug-ins available. There are special search plug-ins, weather, “FlashSave,” and more.

There are numerous other features I have come to rely on, including popup blocking, quick searches, skins, and a built-in download manager. I also like the fact that there is a very active MyIE2 forum. (The program was originally written in Chinese, so some of the discussion areas are in Chinese; however, the English discussion areas are just as active.)

Best of all, MyIE2 is freeware. You can use it for as long as you like. However, donations to the author are encouraged and made easily accessible through the Help menu (i.e., “Help | Donate to Author”).

Other people rave about FireFox, a new browser preview from Mozilla. I admit, it also looks impressive. However, I’m so satisfied with MyIE2, that I haven’t been willing to invest the time and energy learning one more program. As always, “your mileage may vary.”

My BlogJet Wish List

For the past few days, I have been using BlogJet to post articles to my blog. Overall, it’s a very nice program. It works seamlessly with TypePad, my blog server, and makes the interface so much more user-friendly. Best of all, it allows me to compose a post offline and then upload it when I am ready to “go live.” It has both a WYSIWYG interface and a code view (via tabs). See the screenshot below:

If you are a blogger or have thought about setting up your own blog, I strongly suggest you give this program a try.

However, the software is not perfect. I think it is missing some really important features. For example:

• Thumbnail Images. This is a very cool feature of TypePad and perhaps other blog servers. This allows you to enter a smaller version of the actual image. When the user clicks on the image, a full-size version of the image opens in a separate window. The workaround (which I used in the thumbnail above) is to create the thumbnail image in the Web-based TypePad interface and cut and paste it into BlogJet. It’s ugly, but it works.
  
  
• Extended Posts. I’m not sure how many blog servers offer this, but it’s a nice feature. It allows you to display the first couple of paragraphs of a post and then indicate to the user that he can read the full post by clicking on a “more ...” link. This allows you to get more posts on a page, so readers can quickly scan them to find those of interest. It also allows your page to load more quickly, especially if you relegate your images to the extended posts. Right now, I don’t see any alternative with BlogJet. I am forced to display the full posts on my page.
  
  
• Typographic Characters. Okay, maybe I’m a publishing snob. But as a book publisher of twenty-six years, it’s hard for me to give up real em dashes (- vs. --), open and close quotes (“this” vs. "this"), apostrophe marks (’ vs. '), etc. Fortunately, this is where ActiveWords comes to the rescue. Sadly, I had to reenter all the contractions by hand into the ActiveWords “wordbase.”
  
  
• Manage Categories. You can select categories to add to your posts. However, there's no way to manage categories. Maybe this is impossible when you are trying to support so many blog servers, but it would save me a step. Right now, I have to enter a new category into TypePad manually and then refresh the list in BlogJet.
  
  
• Custom Templates. I always like to end my post with a copyright notice. Again, this probably comes from my publishing experience. Other users make have other template formats they like. At any rate, ActiveWords again solves the problem. I just type “cpr” and ActiveWords inserts the appropriate notice.
  

I spent a couple of fruitless hours surfing the Web, trying to find another blogging client that would do all the above. I  couldn’t anything close. So far, BlogJet appears to be my best option. Also, it looks like the developer is actively supporting the program, so, I think I’ll go ahead and register it. Even without the features I have suggested above, it has saved me a ton of time.

A Cool Alternative to Windows Explorer

I've never been impressed with the Windows file managers, especially Windows Explorer. If you want to copy a file from one folder to another, you have to open two instances of the program. Locate the source file in one copy of Explorer. Locate the target folder in the other copy of Explorer and then drag the file from one Window to the other. Why can’t explorer allow you to view the contents of two folders at once?

This past week I stumbled across an Explorer alternative called ExplorerPlus. I understand that it’s written by the same guys who wrote PowerDesk, which I have used for years.

As you can see below, it has a tabbed interface that allows you to view multiple folders. This may not sound like a big deal, but it makes moving and copying files a breeze.

It has a bunch of other features and a slick user interface. It’s a little pricey for a utility-$39.95. However, you can download a 30-day free trial and give it a whirl before making a commitment.