David Allen

Weekend picks #016

Babis Konstantinidis | October 21, 2007

It was a very long week at work, and an very unproductive weekend…

[1]

David Allen’s Blog

David Allen is “one of the world’s most influential thinkers” according to some magazines. Business 2.0 magazine included him in the list of the “50 people who matter now”. His methology of Getting Things Done has become something like a religion for millions of people around the world. You can find his blog here with topics like “Categorizing Your Stuff Is The Path To Freedom” or “Is Thinking Interrupting Your Sleep?”

And if you are interested in what GTD is you should read here the definition by David Allen.

[2]

Apache Friends
What is the best way to start testing, or learning the fine art of building sites? Well you could buy some space in a server but wait a moment; don’t you have an old computer in the basement? Maybe you could use that old PIII as a testbed? Well yes you could use it. All you need is to download a Linux Distribution (if you are afraid of Linux, read on there is a solution for Windows also),and install on top of it, a Web Server like Apache, MySQL, PHP, and a content management system like Drupal or Joomla or… and there you are, ready to start.

What is Apache Friends? Apache friends is a nonprofit project. It was started in 2002 and its goal is to promote Apache. One of the projects that Apache friends is working is Xampp. Xampp is taking a big burden off your shoulders by combining in one, easy to install, package Apache MySQL and PHP among other useful tools. You would still have to choose a Linux Distribution like Kubuntu and you will still have to choose a CMS like Drupal but you should get you site in the air (of your local network) in a little less than hour (installing Linux included).

You can find the latest Xampp packages for Windows and Linux here.

[3]

Kubuntu
Kubuntu is the first Ubuntu derived distribution. The Kubuntu distribution is based in Ubuntu with the main difference that it uses KDE instead of Gnome. It’s the easiest way to learn about Linux. The CD is a live one, which means that you can try it without affecting your own system. Play around and if you like it just click Install. While installing you can still browse the Internet, chat with your online friends; listen to music and whatever you normally do every day with your computer. Impressive? When the installation finishes [about 10 minutes in my notebook] you will have to reboot (only once) and that’s it. You are finished.
You can find a nearby server to download it here.

Until next time... Keep on supporting Open Source

Weekend picks #015

Babis Konstantinidis | October 14, 2007

Internet is not a network of Computers. Internet is a network of people!

[1]

David Allen in YouTube
What is GTD? Well Getting Things Done is not tiring, what it is tiring is not Getting Things Done. Check out this lecture by David Allen in YouTube and you will understand more.

[2]

43 Folders in YouTube
And as long as you are in YouTube you may want to check out also Inbox Zero, a lecture from Merlin Mann, the creator of 43 Folders

[3]

Internet Download Manager
I haven’t used a Download Manager for years. I installed IDM [Internet Download Manager] because I wanted to test my Internet connection. The first thing I did, well, was to download something. I was surprised. The highest download speed I had ever seen was around 425-430kb/sec from a particular ftp server regardless the time of the day. With IDM I was somewhere between 465-480kb/sec from the same server! After some minutes it settled to 470kb/sec. I didn’t believe it. I tested with Firefox again, the result was 425kb/sec. One more test with IDM, the same results, after a while 470kb/sec. IDM is great! It can catch downloads from Internet Explorer or Firefox, Opera and Netscape or you can add your own browser. You can even download videos from YouTube, Google Video, and MySpaceTV and it works like a charm in Windows Vista.

[4]

SmartLinks
SmartLinks is a different kind of Links. You can put them in your website, your blog or where ever you could put a weblink like your favorite social networking site. The Blueorganizer extension drives productivity by building smarts and semantics into the browser.It integrates with many popular sites and services - including Amazon, Flickr, YouTube, iTunes, Odeo and Netflix.

[5]

Layered Desktop
Who said that a successful GTD tool must be a 100MB program? As I was writing this post a friend of mine (Thanks Maria) send me a link for a Flickr Image. What a great idea was my first thought! A nice looking desktop with four areas to help you stay focused in what needs to be done next. It doesn’t work if you have 20 or 30 icons on your desktop but if you have that many desktop icons then you really have another problem ;-)

Until next time... keep on using the net to meet new people.

Weekend picks #013

Babis Konstantinidis | September 30, 2007

This was a busy weekend. I don't know if I am good at Getting Things Done but I am sure that I will try harder. This weekend is all about GTD.

[1]

Getting Things done guru David Allen speaks to Wired Magazine.
If you are in this Getting Things Done thing, then you certainly heard of David Allen. You can find his interview in Wired here.

[2]

GTD or GTDF? [Getting Thing Done… Faster]
Well it’s the same more or less approach of GTD but with a stopwatch added.
Five main steps.
1. Set time limits [This is where you will need the stopwatch].
2. Keep Focused
3. Maintain Energy Levels
4. Use the right tools.
Read about it here

[3]

gtd-php: Getting Things Done with php
gtd-php is a web based implementation of the Getting Things Done personal organization system. This wiki serves as the community brainstorming bucket, as well as a place to start documenting the program and outlining the development path...
Download it here

[4]

Do you know anything about Cookies?
Every site you are visiting use these small text files to store information about you in your computer so you they can track you the second time you visit them again. If you want to see what kind of information these cookies contain and you use Firefox you can install the View Cookies Extension for Firefox. You can find it here

[5]

Look@Lan Network Monitor
Look@Lan Network Monitor is a network monitor that can monitor your network and create detailed statistical graphs, HTML reports and can scan a single computer about services among other things. The best thing about it along with the simple user interface is that it’s free. You can download it here.



Until next time... Just keep having a good time!