Jun 03
I am always looking for a better blog posting tool. The built in TinyMCE stuff on wordpress is cool, but there are still some barriers to actually making blog posts. Image uploading can be tedious(although better in 2.5) .
I decided to try Windows Live Writer today. The main reason I even considered it, was due to the cool image editing and transformation tools it sports. You can easily insert pictures, and video, and then give the images custom borders(rounded corners, drop shadow etc).
The ability to do this editing inline makes it a valuable tool.
If I can keep it from crashing when switching from preview mode to edit mode, I may stick with it for a while. It is after all a tech preview, and stuck with a bastardized IE8 install on my win32 box. If you want to give it a try, you know what to do.
UPDATE:
In the event someone was having the same crashing issues I had, it could be the MS Script Debugger for Internet Explorer. You can disable script debugging at Tools->Internet Options->Advanced . Once the javascript errors stopped popping up, the Live Writer client would stay alive.
UPDATE 2:
The kind folks on the Windows Live Writer team let me know that this particular issue should be fixed in the next public release. Kudos to them for paying attention to their users, and reaching out when they didn’t have to. They have at least one convert, and I am recommending it to my blogging co-workers as well.
Posted from 1050 Walnut, Boulder, CO
May 07
In this golden internet age of disruptive technologies, there are very few products that actually deliver on their promises. Software, and technology in general, is supposed to make our lives easier. Instead, it seems like we consistently find novel ways to waste time. No matter how much I love twitter, it isn’t a productivity booster. All of the GTD apps, and philosophies take more work to get started than they typically save.
I have found at least 2 tools that I use all day, that I love, and they actually do boost productivity. Oddly enough they both bring better “search” experiences to the desktop.
The first is Launchy (mac users have Quicksilver). I have been using this tool for a little over a year. If I am on a PC without it, it really pisses me off. Launchy is a great keyboard based app launcher. Set a hot key, and it finds all of your apps, folders, and files with the touch of a key.
The second is brand new to me, but I have seen other people in the office using it. Xobni is an awesome email search app that plugs into Outlook. They just announced their public beta, so anyone can download the client and give it a try. They give you a unique view of your email that you never had, and make searching it easy. Forget the built in search in Outlook, or Google Desktop. They look like suckers when you see what xobni is capable of.
If you can’t tell already,I have a serious crush on xobni right now.
Anyone out there have any other apps that you can’t live without???—drop it in the comments.
