Week 3: Productivity Tools

For this week's Project Play, we were asked to examine Remember the Milk and Jott. These applications may be useful for coordinating on a group project, but I cannot really see myself using either of them. I really love productivity tools, yet anything involving a computer tends to draw me away from the tasks I should be accomplishing to unorganized web-surfing. So anything this interactive would be too much of a distraction for me. I prefer to either rely on my own memory or keep a handwritten to-do-list, which can easily fit into my pocket/wallet or strategically positioned near my desk.
I do really appreciate one online productivity tool: Monkey on Your Back. With this application, you can email whatever tasks you would like someone else to accomplish directly to their inbox. Its more of an annoyance than a convenience, but it may generate a few laughs. I'm sure that you could also email yourself your own tasks for added fun.

Google Docs: Week 2

What the Google has been going on this week in Project Play?

Google Documents is a fantastic open-source app for sharing/publishing your documents and collaborating with others online. I am a big fan of many of the releases from the Google Lab, especially Google Page Creator, which allows you to create your own website (with 1GB of storage) for free. As usual, Google hosts the site and even features an online desktop publishing feature -- making creating your own site as easy as creating your own blog.

Check out my (outdated) Google Pages site: http://catherine.scullion.googlepages.com

I would love to have the time to create beautiful code of my own and host my own site, but in the meantime...Google definitely does the job. Its great for sharing and organizing simple html + images, and also includes widgets. Best of all, its free and also ad-free.

I'm off to play more, learn more, and fear less!
-Katie

Week 1: Instant-Messaging

I added the Meebo widget to my Project Play blog this week. An office co-worker messaged me. We work within 20 feet of each other.
I have to admit that I don't really use instant-messaging that much. As a student, I used it a lot to keep in touch with my friends. But now many of us do not have as much free time and are no longer sitting in front of our computers in our dorm rooms/apartment, waiting for the next huge group outing to get set into motion. Thank goodness for that!
However, I really appreciate the communication aspect of IM-ing and its convenience. I am all for anything that supports keyboarding/tech skills. But I blame IM-ing for my telephone-phobia. It's so much easier to send an :) than pick up the phone...