Knowledge Work

As a language geek, I can’t tell you how much I dig this story:
Using grammar rules alongside test tubes, biologists may have found a promising new way to fight nasty bacteria, including drug-resistant microbes and anthrax.
Studying a potent type of bacteria-fighters found in nature, called antimicrobial peptides, biologists found that they seemed to follow rules […]

Computerworld reviews Google Docs and Spreadsheets, formerly known as Writely, and concludes “good concept, but far from ready for prime time”:
Looking for a free word processor and spreadsheet? Google’s newly released Docs & Spreadsheets suite that offers just that, but in this case you get what you pay for. While the number-crunching power of Spreadsheets […]

If you respond to RFPs or have any part in the proposal writing process, the Shipley Associates Proposal Guide for Business and Technical Professionals will be worth every penny of the $60 you pay for it (Amazon price as of September 2006.)
It is not a tutorial or a “how to” guide; rather, it’s a reference […]

The Adobe® FrameMaker® 7.2 Application Packs for Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) and S1000D enable developers to fully evaluate and enhance the XML authoring and publishing capabilities within FrameMaker using two leading open standards. Both application packs are companion pieces to the already available Adobe FrameMaker Developer Kit (FDK) that provide sample content, tools, applications […]

The last year has seen the first appearance of online word processing applications such as ajaxWrite, ThinkFree Online, Writely, and Zoho Writer. Online office applications are an unproven product in a new market. To see how worthwhile they were, I compared their interfaces, basic and advanced features, and their document export and administration capabilities. The […]

Hey, everybody!  It’s the Web 2.0 Logo Generator!
Hat tip: The Modulator.

Here’s a terrific, intelligent side-by-side comparison of the two most popular rapid e-learning development tools: Captivate and Camtasia.
Macromedia Captivate by Adobe and TechSmith Camtasia Studio 3.1 are similar software tools with uniquely different strong points. If you’re creating a quick-and-dirty software demo, or a PowerPoint presentation to post to a Web site, Camtasia is a […]

If you’re disappointed with Windows XP, scared to death of Windows Vista, and thinking about dipping your toes into the techie waters of Linux on the desktop, there’s never been a better time.
The Linux operating system — a free, open-source alternative to Windows and Mac OS X — has long served to define the gap […]

Ten years ago, if you were a Windows user, the idea of switching to a Macintosh might not have seemed enticing. An abundance of new Windows software was arriving on store shelves, while the selection available to Mac users seemed to be falling behind, often relegated to a back corner of the same store.
Today the […]

The IBM PC was announced to the world on 12 August 1981, helping drive a revolution in home and office computing.
The PC came in three versions; the cheapest of which was a $1,565 home computer.
In 2006 dollars, that’s a $3500 computer, folks.
That’s enough to buy you a nicely equipped Mac Pro with Apple Cinema Display […]

Let me tell you about these fabulous little notebooks I’ve just found.
As a writer (one who works on technical subjects, not the Great American Novel) I make a point to never be without a notebook and a pen (a Pilot G2, please.)
For years, I used cheap spiral-bound reporter’s notebooks and went through them like Sherman […]

A fine-tuned Windows XP PC can run quite fast even it’s seriously lacking in the memory and CPU department. Before you chuck out your PC to buy a new one, try stripping some of the rust that’s built-up over the years; the results may surprise you.
It’s probably your operating system that’s slow, not the PC. […]

We are all told from childhood on that “Patience is a virtue.” And this is largely true. True patience is a combination of disciplined action and disciplined waiting. If we can employ it to the right ends, we can achieve goals and reap rewards that initially seem impossible or unattainable.
In organizational life, however, “patience” is […]

Brian Livingston’s “Windows Secrets” newsletter is one of the few industry publications I subscribe to; he’s a no-nonsense techie who keeps abreast of Developments You Should Know About.
Well, here’s a Development You Should Know About: Microsoft has started cramming spyware into their automatic “security” updates, and concerned users now have a great, free alternative to […]

I haven’t used a Mac regularly since 1996, but about a month ago I found myself in a techno-trance state, in the Apple Store in SoHo, New York City, swiping my AmEx card to buy one of the new Intel-based MacBooks.

(I was driven screaming back into the arms of Apple by a hauntingly awful experience with a late public beta of Microsoft Vista. I’ve transitioned quickly in the last few weeks to using the MacBook as my primary work machine, and I haven’t looked back.)

My new MacBook 1.83Ghz (512MB RAM, 60GB HD, $1099 at the Apple Store in NYC) arrived ready to go right out of the box. It was unusually well-equipped with pre-loaded software; not just a Web browser (Safari), e-mail client (Mail) and a host of related tools, but a licensed copy of Apple’s powerful and cool iLife multimedia suite, plus 30-day trial versions of iWork and Microsoft Office 2004.

From the time I broke the seal on the box and unpacked the cute little beast, I was up and running in about ten minutes… the first clue that I was in for an experience that was very, very different from my last ten years in the Wintel Wilderness.

That being said, if you are of the geekly inclination, you’re going to want to make some additional tweaks and purchases to optimize your Mac-using experience, especially if you have to continue to collaborate with colleagues who are tethered to their Windows machines. So with that in mind, here’s what I’ve learned in the first month of owning a new Intel-based Mac and fitting it out so that I can still work with my Windows peeps.

Gliffy is easy, free, and fun!

Diagramming in your web browser without downloading additional software
Similar to Visio, yet in your web browser
Desktop application feel in a web-based diagramming solution
Add collaborators to your work and watch it grow
Link to published Gliffy drawings from your blog or wiki
Create many types of diagrams:

Flowcharts
UI wireframes
Floor plans
Network diagrams
Any simple drawing or […]

Well, I must say I’m enjoying the new MacBook. I still have a need to run a few Windows programs (Visio, Project), and so for the first few days this week I experimented with Apple’s BootCamp. This is a perfectly satisfactory solution, as long as you don’t mind shutting down and rebooting whenever […]

Many independent developers eventually find themselves in a situation where they must negotiate a contract for the first time, such as for a publishing deal. And many developers are taken advantage of on their first deal because of a lack of basic negotiating skills.
This article will attempt to give you a general understanding of how […]

I have a spare laptop of recent vintage around the house, and had some time on my hands this weekend–Carrie was working; I, uncharacteristically was not–so I downloaded and installed the public beta of the much-delayed and rescoped “Longhorn,” the operating system that Microsoft is now calling Windows Vista.
I’ve also installed the public betas of […]

Jakob Nielsen (guru of all things web-usability-related) did a salary study, and here’s what he found (as reported by ZDNet.com):
1. Entry-level staffers were paid unrealistically high salaries during the bubble, when dot-com companies were desperate to hire any warm body that walked in the door
2. Experienced staffers were also paid more during the bubble, but […]