Tablet Minds

MindManager webcast with David Allen now online

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 19:19:14 +0000

Mindjet recently held a webcast where Getting Things Done author David Allen demonstrates how he uses MindManager in his everyday life.

It is a fascinating look at how a very efficient person operates. You do have to fill out the form to see the WebEx Webcast.

View the webcast right here.

While you are at it, you might want to watch the webcast for “Land that Interview with a Killer Resume.” I think it is always a good idea to keep that resume up to date.

Plus, you will find a lot of other keen webcasts in the Mindjet WebEx archive. Enjoy!

Free Book Today at InBubbleWrap!

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 19:05:41 +0000

I know it seems like I have given up on this blog, but I have not. To prove it, I am going to clue you in to a great deal, one in which you can’t lose.

In Bubble Wrap has a book giveaway each weekday. Some days it is 10 copies, some days 250. But today, and today only (10/26/2006) EVERYONE who enters the contest will WIN!

The Book is “More Space: Nine Antidotes to Complacency in Business” by Todd Sattersten. This is a book with great Buzz, and you will be kicking yourself if you miss out on this one!

I’ve won twice (“Living Brands” and the “Selling Power” collection) and well, today makes three.

You do have to register with InBubbleWrap to win, but they won’t spam you. Heck, they even send out an email reminder to visit the site when a new book is up for grabs.

OK, so now I’ve made the pitch, you make the play. Head on over and get your free book. And spread the word, IBW is great!

Extracting Images from PowerPoint

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 22:17:03 +0000

Not so much a Tablet PC need, but for one those who are tasked with transforming PowerPoint presentations to other formats.

I was givend a HUGE PowerPoint file, and told to use the images inside for a web site. Not wanting to ask for the originals (you can insert your own reason), I needed a fast and or easy way to extract the images without having to open PowerPoint and export them one-by-one.

Oddly, I didn’t find that many Freeware options.A quick Google search turned up these options, maybe this can be of help to someone.

PowerpointImageCopier 1.0 - Free, but when I used it, all it did was take screenshots of my desktop with PowerPoint open. Not what I wanted.

Shyam’s Toolbox - Now THIS did exactly what I wanted! The Toolbox adds a huge amount of functionality to PowerPoint other that just exporting. It isn’t free though. $49 seems high, but if you were able to get your employer to purchase it, then maybe. The time-limited trial has no crippled functions or watermarks. Worth a look if you use PPT a lot.

PowerPoint 2007’s PPTX option - I don’t have the beta, so I couldn’t use this. But apparently, you can save in the PPTX option, which is actually a ZIP file with all of your PPT’s image files. Neat-o!

That’s the best I could do! If you have a tip on how to extract images in bulk from PowerPoint, let me know.

Training 2.0

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:50:48 +0000

As I prepare to give software training to my peers, I am hesitant to do it the same old way. Instead, I am trying a different approach I picked up by reading Cliff Atkinson’s Beyond Bullets blog (and soon, the book “Beyond Bullet Points” when the library has my copy ready).

The technique: Telling a story.

In a moment, I will be watching Cliff’s web recording of a presentation called “Transform Your PowerPoint Beyond Bullet Points.” You can view it here. There is also a BBP forum that has some good back-and-forth discussions.

I’ll devote more time to this after the presentation/training. For now, a few links I am devouring today.

BarksBlog by Ed Barks (more for public relations, but has suggestions for trainers)

Presentation Zen

Software Garden Training Video Blog

Dan Bricklin’s Log

The Juicebox Media Player - H@cked

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:51:44 +0000

I try to check BoingBoing every day, but this one I nearly missed: H@cking the Mattel JuiceBox.

The Juicebox accepts media cards (with an MP3 adpater kit) and were at one time very popular with tweens. Now (still) they sit forgotten on the clearance asile at Target and the Wal-Marts for under $5 (check your local store, they aren’t this cheap online yet). One flickr user has hacked hers to be a digital picture frame. Now THAT looks like a fun project! I don’t know how she did it, and she doesn’t give a “How To” - but promises one eventually (thank goodness someone else did). This is what I love about the internet!

Another user has made it into an e-book reader.

I should note, this h@ck is over a year old. Joe has actually made a more recent post on this, with a spiffy new clear case (and a classic frame he did for his Mom). Nice!

This StreetTech article has more information, such as the linux version it uses, and other resources. Make Magazine’s blog has some more details as well.

If I were to Google, I am sure I would find more things you can do with a JuicBox. I’d wager there is a culture out there h@cking the VideoNow player too.

Also worth a look: the Audrey and the h@cking thereof. I love Do-It-yourself articles, though I have yet to attempt following one.

Since I am on the subject of old tech toys - the toy I really want is the PXL-2000.

(yes, this post is little more than a personal bookmark because I don’t have time to delve into this right now)

This Ink Blogging I Gotta Try

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:19:17 +0000

I agree with Jezlin, “me too.” I definitely want to try this LiveWriter+Ink plugin for Wordpress.

Except I am reading all of this on a PC and it does me no good. So hopefully I can find some time soon to download this to the ol’ Tablet and try it all out.

Looks fun!

This Blog Will Have A New URL Tomorrow!

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:21:24 +0000

As of tomorrow, 8/18/2006, this domain will no longer be mine. Plase use the new URL: http://tabletminds.promoguy.net.

TabletMinds.com may belong to a spammer, it may belong to a Tablet PC user, it may become a multi-million dollar corporation (gosh, that would be a drag for me). But in it won’t belong to me.

This domain, and 2 I’ve sat on and done nothing with, are set to expire and I plan to let them. It was a tough move for me, as I love domains! At one time I had at least 10. But in hopes of making life simple, and being a recovering domain-name addict, I have to let some things go.

Also, you may want to change your Feedreader’s RSS/XML feed for my site, it will be: http://tabletminds.promoguy.net/index.php/feed/

I don’t know when exactly the domain will be purged and snapped up by someone else, but it does expire tomorrow. So I wanted to get the word out.

I really DO plan to blog some more, right now this is a very busy time of year where I work.

OK, so, I hope you will continue to read me at the new URL. See you there!

Goodbye Domain

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 01:13:02 +0000

Just an update. I am not going to renew the domain, TabletMinds.com. I just have too many, and I don’t have goals of turning it into a positive cash-flow source (currently a negative).

So, I am moving this site to TabletMinds.promoguy.net. You can update your bookmarks now, it works.
I have not updated the RSS feeds or WordPress yet. But the RSS feed should change accordingly.

Anyway, I am not shutting the blog down. I am just not really able to justify renewing the domain. Plus, I won’t feel guilty if I don’t blog so often.

Just wanted to give a head’s up! Look for the site here after next week: TabletMinds.promoguy.net

Time for Renewal

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 13:32:40 +0000

Wow, has it really been a year? Yes it has, according to my domain registrar!

Though the actual “birthday” of TabletMinds is on August 22nd, this month marks a full year of blogging.

Now comes the big question - should I renew this domain?

I am torn really. This blog is fun, and I love using a Tablet PC, but I really don’t have the time to give this site the attention and dedication that I know it should have. So I am really leaning towards not renewing it.

I really think I would be better as a contributor to another Tablet blog. If anyone is looking for a “contributor-at-large” let me know.

Also, I need to think about handing over this domain. I’d really hate to see this URL snatched up by some sleazy domain harvester. This domain expires on 8/18, so if someone is interested in it (even as a redirect) let me know. As long as they can promise me they will take good care of it (and let me retain my email address), I am sure we can work out a transfer.

A year is a long time, and I’ve had fun. Hopefully I can wind up contributing rants, editorals and commentary somewhere.

I’ll have a few more posts before things go dark, so this isn’t the “Big Goodbye” post so many blogs have before they vanish.

I’m still mulling it over. No decisions made just yet.

ArtRage Cartoon Screencast

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 12:45:38 +0000

Hans has created a flash tutorial for ArtRage 2 where he draws a cartoon. It is short but does a great job of showing the power of the software.

View it here.

(this post was for some reason never published - it is old news now, but still worth a look if you haven’t seen it)