In the next month I will rediscover one of my old loves: robotics. I will help Darren Rowse with his blog about robotics breaking news. He asked to his readers if some could help him to take care of some of his blogs for his 4 weeks vacation. When I saw the robotics blog, I was not able to resist the temptation to help him with this one.

So, I will do what Darren was doing: posting breaking news on robotics. However I am not a great fan of copy/pasting breaking news on a blog so it is why I will add my personal touch to each of these pieces of news I found. I will add my comments and observations on each post I will publish in the next 4 weeks. I hope his readers, and mines, will enjoy reading the pieces of news and my comments and observation.

I am not the alone guest blogger, Andy Merette is also on the team.

Technoratie: [robotic] [robot] [blog] [news]

Some days ago I was questioning myself about the utility of tagging everything we find. Today I found a good application of tags when I was reading Getting Things Done. There is what David Allen wrote in his explanation of “The Next Actions List(s)”:

“[…] If you have only twenty or thirty of these, it may be fine to keep them all on one list labeled “Next Actions,” which you’ll review whenever you have any free time. For most of us, however, the number is more likely to be fifty to 150. In that case it makes sense to subdivide your “Next Actions” list into categories, such as “Calls” to make when you?re at a phone or “Project Head Questions” to be asked at your weekly briefing”.

There is a good utility of tags: a way to dynamically categorize or multi-categorize resources.

• Resources. Anything; in this case the resources are items list.
• Categorize. A way to classify a resource under a tag, a keyword or a folder name.
• Multi-categorize. A way to classify a resource under multiple tags, keywords or folders names.
• Dynamically. The system, and not the user, will put the resource in the good categorize(s)

GTD software that manages “Next Actions” lists would probably benefit by implementing a tagging system to handle this feature. The users’ experience would be enhanced. They would only have to put some keywords to a “Next Action” and this “Next Action” would by classified automatically by the GTD system. This is, I think, the good way to use tags. However, I beg you not to share these tags over the Internet. I do not think that I really want to know what is the most popular “Next Action” that Internet users have to do today or yesterday.

However, it is just the perception I have of this tagging hype. Am I right or totally off the track?

Technoratie: [tags] [tagging] [gtd] [organization]

A week ago I wrote about why I think that the iPod mini is probably one of the best travel companions anyone could find. However, I learned many things since then, I found software to exploit it at his full potential and I fully integrated it in my laptop.

How I use my iPod?

Basically, the iPod is a simple MP3 player. However, the fact that he has a big screen and text display capacity, make him more like a lite version PDA than a MP3 player.

When I bought it, I never know that I was able to synchronize my Outlooks calendar, tasks, notes, contacts and mails. That I was able to sync some of my favorite web feeds or that I was able to upload the latest weather forecast. I didn’t have in mind to sync backup folders and use it as a storage support.

However, time as changed and now, in a single click, I sync all these information in my iPod mini. I found two really cool synchronization software that do it. The first one is the iPodAgent. This is reliable software that that will get all your Outlook information files, converts them into text files, and syncs them to your iPod. The other one is the iPodSync. He has almost all the same features as the iPodAgent, except for some advanced features like having the possibility to sync your PodCast files. However, I tested and used both; they are all reliable and I never had problems with any of them.

Now when I wakeup the morning, I sync all my files with my iPod. Even if I’m going out of the house without my laptop, I only have to bring my little iPod and I’ll can read my web feeds, my emails and my tasks while listening at my favorite music and this, for 18 hours in a row. Is that not beautiful? Yeah it is for 249$ bunks.

I was a big fan of having my task and appointments shown on the desktop of my laptop. I was using ADC to do the task. However, with my new system, I needed to use all the features of Outlook and didn’t want to fill my tasks and appointments in both ADC and Outlook. So I searched for a program that will put my Outlook stuff on my desktop. I found DeskLook also developed by XemiComputers. Everything was so perfect, the loop was closed and working like a charm. My iPod mini was fully integrated with my laptop computer.

Other tips and tricks for the iPod

Altitude warning. It seems that the iPod will not be your best friend over 10000 feet. So, if you are going into the Himalaya, do not open it, otherwise the hard drive of your iPod would broke and make it a shiny peace of junk.

Use Winamp to sync your music with your iPod. Personally I don’t like iTunes. It’s huge and unstable. So, I found the perfect tool to resolve my problem: ml_iPod. It’s a Winamp plug-in that seems to work like a charm for most users. Personally I had some bugs with my laptop setup. However, the project seems really promising and as soon as they will arrange the bugs I’ll use instead iTunes.

50 fun things to do with your iPod. So, you don’t have enough? You need more examples of what you can do with your iPod? Take a look at this list of 44 fun things to do with your iPod compiled by Kootke.

If you have tips or tricks that you would like to see in this list, leave a comment, I’ll add it immediately.

Technoratie: [iPod] [tips] [tricks] [hacks] [gtd] [travel] [organization]

Expiry date: 17 November 2005. Dah! Have I applied for a 6 months or 1 year visa? Definitely a 1 year, I paid for it! If I arrive in Delhi in September I have… 3 months? I’m not arrived in India and all my “plans” fall apart. The problem is that Indian visas start when they are issued.

I called at the consulate of Toronto and asked why I got a 6 months visa when I paid for a 1 year one. It seems that it is much more difficult to get a 1 year, so I got a 6 month. Fred… do not ask any questions and take it as it is.

So I need to bring back my plan number 2: arrive in Delhi and run at the nearest country to get another 6 month visa. Many possibilities exist: Arrive in Delhi, do the northern states of India for 3 months and go to Katmandu to get another visa. Or from Delhi to Calcutta to finish in the Bangladesh. Or run from Delhi to Colombo. There are so many possibilities… the problem is that this is not 100% sure that you get your new visa hahaha. Any ideas?

It’s what I like in traveling… you never know what will happen and where you will go. The only thing you can do is to go with the flow… the flow of events. When someone say to me: I’m planning a trip. I stare at him and start grinning.

Technoratie: [travel] [India] [visa]

If not he is near. I just bought one in prevision of my trip to India in some months. Why do I think that the iPod mini will possibly be my best travel companion?

• The iPod mini has the longest battery lifetime (about 18 hours)
• You can put between 1000(the 4Gig) and 1500(the 6Gig) songs
• You can upload audio books to learn the local language. In my case the Pimsleur Hindi I
• You can plan some part of your trip in the calendar
• The apple power adaptor can handle most of the world’s current voltage and Hz
• He can be use to wake you the morning
• You can play games while waiting at the airport or at an international bus station
• You can read text format ebooks
• You can consult a to-do list (previously build in a text file)
• You can use it as a watch
• You can use the contact list to consult the addresses of the hotels where you are expecting to sleep and the ones of your embassies in the countries are planning to go
• You have plug-ins to transform it into a camera or a FM transmitter to listen the local news
• He is small, light and beautiful

Do I need to tell mores?

I finally know why people sometimes adulate them. They are awesome. They are relatively low cost, full of useful features and beautiful.

In next days I’ll explain how I incorporated it in my daily live: the interaction of the iPod Mini between: me, my laptop and other software.

Technoratie: [ipod] [travel] [gtd] [music] [companion]