Starbody

every now and then i go though phases of spending countless hours perusing what’s new and cool to feed the belly of the Powerbook. the PB is loyal to its favorite apps, but it likes to shake things up from time to time. we like to try out software that is supposed to help ’save time’ or make us more organized when secretly we know it will take more time to adopt them than it would have just to do things the old fashioned way. the PB pretends not to turn her nose up to the fact that in addition to all of her fanciness, i also employ a version of The Hipster PDA (though i have to say it’s far from hip).

not everything sticks so we like to keep trying … for example: i removed a couple RSS readers as soon as i’d installed them. and although the chat app Adium got rave reviews, i hadn’t really been able to get comfortable with it. instead, i prefer Proteus (it’s free for the beta but has a nag screen and $15 to buy it). and although there are a few things i wish it could do a bit better, i like it enough to stick with it through at least a version or more so. honestly, if they made a version of Trillian for Macs, i’d most likely use it. i love it on my PC. i think i had also mentioned in the distant past that i loved this little app from Yellow Mug called SnapNDrag which does one simple thing, capture screenshots in a quick and easy way. the best thing about it? it’s FREE!

so on to the newer stuff. i had been searching for a project management tool as an alternate to my most hated program of all time, Microsoft Project. spending a day working in Project (and believe me, it’s easy to do even if you aren’t a project manager) is like living in a land with no color. can you imagine? instead i stumbled across a product called ConceptDraw from a company called Computer Systems Odessa which wasn’t what i was looking for. it’s similar to Visio and honestly it has a similar interface and much of the same functionality. it also works for both PC and Mac and now i’m thinking about buying a copy for work/home. it’s a bit cheaper than Visio at $149 for the standard and $299 for the Professional and the person i spoke with told me i could do two mixed platform installs (one on PC and one on my Mac without paying extra).

boring, i know.

i’ve also been trying out Budget from Snowmint Creative. i’ve been looking for a tool to help me do just that and the whole ‘envelope’ concept Budget uses caught my eye. it’s much like the way i look at things, with envelopes for each of my bills spread out in front of me. as far as i can tell, the only thing missing from the trial is the planning functionality (and the annoying nag screen). i think i will probably buy it … it’s only $29.95 for the download. the last program i’ve been using is Ulysses from The Blue Technologies Group. the marketing promises that it is the perfect tool for writers and is organized in a way a writer thinks vs using a word processing program. i write alot and it was easy to keep different thoughts organized. although, i haven’t the need for organization for a novel or anything like that so i’m not sure if it delivers on everything it promises. the downside is it’s 100Euros (around $130USD?). i’m not sure if i’m ready to shell out that kind of cash to get organized.

and procrastinating continues as i look at Bloxsom and Movable Type as a means to support the transition from LJ and Typepad over to my new home. any thoughts, experiences are appreciated. have any of you tried Quicksilver? yes, i know it’s not a blogging tool, but i sometimes i’m too damned lazy for segues.

whew. now that i’ve bored you to death posing as a lo-fi Walt Mossberg, i’ll tiptoe away so as not to wake you.