Can office life get any easier?  I’m sure it could, but this gets us one step closer – for sure! This is definitely a “smart solution” for getting rid of those pesky meeting notes, sketches and pretty much all the paper clutter you are dying to store digitally, but have no time to do.

Lexmark Launches Evernote App For Smartsolution Printers
Easy One-Touch Scanning to Evernote Without Requiring a Computer

Evernote announced this week, the availability of the Evernote SmartSolution for three inkjet all-in-one (AIO) printers – Interact, Prestige and Platinum – from Lexmark International, Inc. The Evernote SmartSolution application allows users to send hardcopy scans from the Lexmark device into their Evernote Web account with the touch of a single button, without requiring a computer.

This Evernote application was developed by Lexmark to save users valuable time when they need to store and access information quickly and efficiently from their touch screen printer. After a simple setup process, an Evernote application icon appears on the printer touch screen. Once tapped, the Evernote application sends scans to a pre-configured Evernote account via the web.

For households and small offices with multiple Evernote users, the Web-connected printers can be configured with Evernote icons for each Evernote account, ensuring that everyone can scan to their accounts with a single touch.

“The Lexmark SmartSolution is a great new application platform,” said Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote. “The ease with which one can install and use Evernote on the SmartSolution printers is very impressive. Now, whenever an individual wants to remember something, they just tap the touch screen on their printers and their memory is in Evernote. It’s very simple and elegant.”

Check out this video for more information…

Availability

The Evernote SmartSolution application is available for free download at https://smartsolutions.lexmark.com for the Lexmark Interact, Prestige and Platinum Web-connected touch screen printers.

• The all new Evernote 3.5 for Windows Evernote 3.5 for Windows is completely new. We rewrote it from the ground up to make it faster, more reliable, and just plain better than Evernote for Windows has ever been. Our goal was to use everything we’ve learned since our launch to make a great Evernote experience on Windows. If you’re interested in trying Evernote 3.5, install it from our downloads page ( http://s.evernote.com/windows ).
• There’s a ton more to say, so please read our blog post(s): http://s.evernote.com/win35blog
• New partnerships and integrations for those of you who have not yet fallen in LOVE with the iPhone.
  • Sony VAIO: Every new Sony VAIO laptop comes with Evernote pre-installed. Neat! http://s.evernote.com/vaio –
  • Nokia N900: The Evernote Sharing Plugin makes Evernote a native sharing option on the N900 smartphone: http://s.evernote.com/nokia –
  • TimeBridge: TimeBridge helps you organize better meetings. Now, save all your meeting notes into Evernote: http://s.evernote.com/timebridge –
  • Cliqset: Evernote and Cliqset create a permanent memory for your social streams and activity: http://s.evernote.com/cliqset

See all of the products that work with Evernote in one place: http://s.evernote.com/ partnerpage

Most exciting news of all. Get a Klenex to catch the drool…

Apple iPad
We have big plans for Apple’s amazing new device. Read Evernote CEO’s blog post about their history with tablets andplans for the iPad and other devices. Read the post: http://s.evernote.com/ipad

If you have Evernote, but not sure how it can help you, check out these tips by Joshua Zerkel: 6 Ways Evernote Can Boost Your Productivity http://s.evernote.com/ productivitytips

Late one night after a busy day, I was winding down with my nightly phone call to Husband and Daughter (at out home in Atlanta while we are staying in NY for a few weeks). My 5 year old son, Ayden, who is a very curious and creative little one, was bored with the nightly call as his turn to talk was over.

Listening to mom talk is not as entertaining as I would imagine!  He started to amuse himself by experimenting with found objects.  This time, the object of his attention was the extra button that attached to his brand new shirt. His mischievous little mind  concocted the idea of seeing what would happen if that tiny little button decided to find a home in the slot of my superdrive. The concept of getting it back out was not an issue to him until he saw just how quickly the tiny little button disappeared into the slot.

Now Ayden, since he was old enough to stand, has had this unique little “uh oh” dance- a silently but powerful announcement that 1.) he has made a really bad choice,  and  2.) he doesn’t want to tell me.  It is a familiar dance and I know instantly upon witnessing this performance that something has happened and it is not good. The all-too-familiar jumping with arms flailing, punctuated by a pitiful face, could only mean something bad.  All he could say was “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean too”.

I immediately hung up with my husband and shifted my full attention to Ayden. I asked him carefully what he did that upset him so bad. All he could do was point at the superdrive on my computer. I couldn’t see the problem so I didn’t know what he was trying to tell me.  Then he told me.

“I put my button in your computer”.

Breathe… 

At first, I thought “don’t panic” you can just turn the computer over, shake it and the button will fall out. Why did I think there would be such an easy solution? This is not the first time this has happened and I was actually able to shake the button out without incident. This time no such luck.  Then I tried tweezers, then a coat hanger,  finally resorting to a kitchen knife.

Yes I stuck a kitchen knife in my superdrive.
No, it wasn’t a good idea!
And now for the Disclaimer:
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

In my defense, I was a little more than stressed at this point. I was only half way through a month-long stay with my son in NYC.  I was spending my days with my son in the city and my nights trying to maintain my normal workload. My Powerbook- as much as I love it- does not have the space to hold all the files for all 65 clients. All that data is stored on cds. Not having use of my superdrive for the next 2 weeks was just not an option.

I spent the next hour trying to schedule an appointment at a Genius Bar, any Genius Bar in Manhattan. Unfortunately, they were all booked through the next 4 days.  I then turned to "Authorized Dealers” in NY City.  I made a list to call the next morning.

I woke up the next morning and chose the "Panic" option again. I emailed my temporary NYC landlord to see if he had a screwdriver.  (He too is an Mac nerd and has a few babies of his own.)  Luckily he said he would be right up and had some tools he thought would work. Going beyond the call of Landlord duty he watched several videos online to see how to carefully take my laptop apart. As I paced the floor of our kitchen, he meticulously, took apart my entire computer  down to the Superdrive.  Once that was open we found the pesky little button and  simultaneously thought “How in the world could this little thing be so much trouble…”

Watching a few more videos, we used a little teamwork to get it back together.  You’d think it would be easier to put it back than take it apart, but NO. Finally, after dropping a few screws and even adding one somewhere we weren’t supposed to, we got her put back together. As I held my breath, he pushed the power button……….

Nothing.

Pushed it again holding it for a few seconds and………………..

Nothing.

We had somehow taken a bad situation and made it worse! Before full-blown PANIC took hold and I rescheduled my return home for that same afternoon, my iphone rang and it was David.

Patience has never been my greatest virtue!

David was one of the local Apple repairman on my call list of "Authorized" options.  I had left him a message that morning prior to calling my landlord for that screwdriver. After spilling my sob story all over the phone to poor David, he chuckled and said, "I will meet you at my store in  about 30 minutes".

I grabbed my computer, backpack and the guilty little 5 year old, thanked my landlord and headed to the subway to get to the Harlem Apple Store as soon as I could humanly get there.

The Harlem Apple Store is located in a small office building along with a private detective and personal hair stylist.  Very interesting, but as I was learning in this massive city this was NOT uncommon and probably right where I would be if Arnold Graphic Design was leasing space in Manhattan!

There were Apples stacked from floor to ceiling from newest models to the very first Mac ever made. There were boxes of parts and cords everywhere and behind them, David, my hero.  I handed him my Powerbook with I’m sure what looked like a pitiful puppy dog look on my face, hoping against hope that he could work a miracle. I was sure it was dead, that I had somehow killed my prized possession.

David smiled sweetly and said, "Give me a sec and I’ll see what’s going on".

After taking a few things apart and examining our less-than-artful repair job, he found the source of the  problem to be a simple oversight in connecting a cable.

Once the computer booted up he inserted a CD to checkout the superdrive.  I guess it’s no surprise that my expert coat hanger-knife-tweezer extraction technique, no doubt compounded by the  all the upside down shaking, had killed my the superdrive. David, a glowing halo floating rakishly above his head, offered to install a superdrive within the hours at an unbelievably affordable price.

To put his price in context, and to excuse the rash ill-advised but hopefully drive-saving actions, the diagnostic fees I was quoted over the phone by his competitors exceeded his quote by $100. That didn’t even include parts or labor, just a look and diagnosis.  Without a second thought I said,   "DO IT",  as I ran out the store to find an ATM.

Do I wish this had never happened? Yes. I would have preferred to spend that extra cash on a knock-off handbag in Chinatown.  But it happened, just the same, and I can’t imagine a better end to this story.  I knew when I left that shop an hour later, that calling David that morning was the best choice I made.  (Had I been a little more patient, he may have had a little less work on his hands that afternoon, but all the same, it was a great end to a bad day!)

So if you live in New York, or plan to visit for an extended period with your Mac in tow in tow, add this Dave to your contacts list.  I have no doubt you will find him as brilliant as I did. Oh and remember, if you have small children around, put your laptop away.  You never know what will find a home in your superdrive when you aren’t looking!

First of all- Happy Birthday, Evernote! Evernote recently celebrated their first birthday. Read more on the Evernote blog….

UPDATES:

Web Clipper updates

- Clip to Evernote bookmarklet: Clip part of a web page or the whole thing, plus create a simple quick note without launching Evernote. Read more»»»

- Safari clipper: The newest member of our clipper family comes with our latest Mac version. In addition to the standard features, it also lets you save whole web pages as PDFs. Read more»»»

- Firefox clipper for Mac: The new Firefox clipper is now tightly integrated with the Mac desktop client, making clipping faster and easier. Read more»»» 

Evernote Mobile Web Gets a Makeover for Android

Evernote Mobile Web, our mobile-optimized version, got a major upgrade for Android devices. If you have an Android phone, go here»»»  to see what’s new. They’ve improved searching and navigation, optimized the interface for touch screens, enabled portrait and landscape viewing, and taken full advantage of the Android browser. Read more»»»

Integration spotlight: Shoeboxed

Shoeboxed and Evernote have teamed up! Shoeboxed is a service that will scan all your business cards and receipts. You simply mail your papers to Shoeboxed and they scan them and make them available online. You can then easily send those scans directly into your Evernote account, where all your receipts and business cards are made searchable and accessible. Sweet. Read more»»»

The new Evernote Podcast

Reading is so 2008. Take a listen to the inaugural Evernote podcast. In this episode, Phil, Dave, and Andrew talk about cool ways to use Evernote, the Evernote business model, recent partnerships, upcoming mobile devices, and more. Read more»»»

For more information about Evernote, visit their website »»» . There is a very handy video on the home page introducing the new updates.

Ironic. Document Management.

I am starting to realize how fantastic reviewing software can be as it forces me to try new things. It turn my work life is getting easier and easier. The Ironic document management series was shared with me by one of my AppleJuice colleagues and man how grateful I am! With this genius three part software, I have no longer “lost it”!! I know pretty amazing right? No, not my mind – my FILES! Between Deep. Yep. and Leap. I am actually able to shave large amounts of time off my day, just by being able to find things quicker.

Deep. Image search.

I have a little over 60 clients with 1 to 40 projects per client. That’s a lot of files and a lot of artwork! I buy stock photography for a lot of different purposes, some of which can be used for multiple projects and multiple clients. I have often kicked myself when searching for an image I know I purchased for one project that would be fantastic for one I am currently building. If the original l used was not within the last few months and I can’t remember EXACTLY where I filed it, the search can take several minutes to complete, usually with a frustrated “who’s idea was it to file it there?!”. I have told myself a million times it was time to go out and get some type of organizational software just for my stock photography, or simply invest the time to organize it in iPhoto. Never happened. Now I am glad that time was not invested. With Deep, you don’t have to spend the time organizing your art, it goes and finds it for you, wherever you illogically filed it to begin with. The search features are genius. Search for any image on your computer via TAGS, KEYWORDS, LOCATION, IMAGE TYPE, SIZE and SHAPE and, my oh-so-favorite COLORS! Yes colors!

(1) If you have an image that you want to search for, that say has a bright red sofa in it, simply click on the Red color chip and BAM!  You have your image (2). From there you can either check out the path for future reference or choose to open it in Preview (3) or the editing software of your choice. If the image you are looking for doesn’t pop up first, simply hit the play button (4) under the preview pane on the right and it will play through all the images on your entire computer that contain the color you searched for.  You can even narrow your search from the beginning by adding all the factors you know are present: color, size, file type and shape.  This handy tool literally takes minutes off my design time and a lot can be done in a minute!

Yep. iPhoto for PDFs.

Now where did I put that PDF? Okay, so you have a client requesting a proof for a brochure you had printed a year ago. They want to order re-prints but want to take a look at it first. Where did you file it again? As much as I pride myself in keeping a “clean computer” I do tend to file by the seat of my pants. Unfortunately what makes organizational sense one day may not make sense a year later when searching for it again. In other situations, I may not always keep the PDF proof of a job once it’s been approved and printed. Why? Who knows, but I sure don’t want to go to the trouble of going back to the original files and recreating the proof if I don’t have to. Chances are I may have been proactive enough that day to keep a copy. This is where Yep can save your life.

Open up Yep and check out the column to your left. (1) Documents are categorized by tags. Yep searches for the tags within your PDF documents and the results are posted in this column. Your PDFs will be filed under one or more of the tags on the left. You can make life even easier by adding additional tags to your documents within Yep making them than much easier to find. Double click on the document you are searching for (2) and see the column to the right of your large preview (3). At the top of this column, you can check out the tags currently being used to file your document and add more if you choose. (4) Suggestions for tags would be, content, client, subject name, action. Under that you will find the date that the document was created originally (5) as well as the location of the document for future reference (6). You can also add a URL for the document if it is currently online.

At the top of this column, you can check out the tags currently being used to file your document and add more if you choose. (4) Suggestions for tags would be, content, client, subject name, action. Under that you will find the date that the document was created originally (5) as well as the location of the document for future reference (6). You can also add a URL for the document if it is currently online.

Once you’ve located your PDF, you can choose to print it, email it, rotate it, view it at full screen or open it in the Editor of your Choice(7). You’ll find this tool so handy that it will make you want to scan, and tag hard copies that tend to pile up in your filing cabinets and drawers. This too is made very easy by using the built in scan feature. Just click the plus sign at the bottom of the screen (8) and you will be moved to the scan screen where you can quickly and easily start archiving your hard copies in a way that they are more than easy to find! Simple enough, right?

Leap. Your new Finder.

As if we weren’t already more organized than our brain could handle, they took it one step further with Leap. Leap allows you to tag and search for anything and everything living on your Mac. You aren’t just limited to image or PDF files with Leap. Search for everything, from software and utilities to images and web files. There are 10 different ways to search for a document from flags to the date it was last modified. You can narrow your search with options like location or file type. You can even search through Leap for bookmarks you have saved but not organized in your browsers for a quick web search. Again you can simplify your life further by adding tags to your documents within Leap for quicker searches in the future. Trust me, you’ll be amazed at what you can find with this tool and surprised to come across things you didn’t even know you had! Here is a perfect example of Leap. I need to find a headshot I created for a client, Instead of looking through folders, I simply go to the Spotlight (1) option at the top of the screen and type in the client’s name and hit enter. The results are unbelievable. I not only found her headshot, but the original photo used to create it, her resume, and the original series of emails she sent to me with request for the job. It also pulled up the bids I sent to her for the printing of the shots. MUCH more than I expected to find and so helpful as I needed almost all of this for the reprint. This is just one simple example of all that Leap can do to simplify your life.

Major kudos to the developers at Ironic for this series of fantastic software. Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the time I’m now going to save with this new discovery!

The Details:

Deep. Image Search. $34 • Yep. iPhoto for PDFs. $34 • Leap. Your new Finder. $59
Looking for a deal? Buy Leap and get both Yep and Deep for only $10 more than Leap alone! That’s a savings of $58!

Visit http://www.ironicsoftware.com/ for more info or to order your copies.

Happy Organizing!

Being an artist first, web designer second, my tendency in building a site is to conceptualize what will be more aesthetically pleasing, before function.  This is not to say that I do not think that it is extremely important for a site to be functional and user friendly and ensure that all of my finished sites are. That is just not where my thought process and a designer begins. 

There are two types of web “architects”: those who think code and those who think layout.  I guess the first would be considered more of a programmer than a designer and their training is more in php, asp, c, c++ etc rather than html, flash etc. Most designers are right brain thinkers and, like me, don’t even want to hear programming lingo for the fear that it may cause a cranial bleed! However, with the ever changing technology on the web and more and more businesses going paperless, there is an increasing demand for database driven sites. 

I have to admit over the last few years I have become quite the fan of content management systems such as Joomla and Mambo and have encouraged old and new customers to move more in this direction.  With this shift in trend, it has become a necessity for me to be able to read and to some extent edit php.  I am far from being a programmer as I am the first to admit that the left side of my brain only functions at about 25%.  I am extreme  on the creative thinking side and wouldn’t change it for a minute.  But survival is necessary and providing my clients with the best solutions possible is the only way to go.

All this to say, "I am excited to review one of the biggest lifesavers I have come across since moving towards this new trend in web building."

If you have an existing customer not ready to move to a CMS based site, a new customer that doesn’t have the marketing budget to allow for such, or one that is more into rich media, but still needs forms as a feature, rest easy. You can still provide them with the forms to allow them to go paperless without relying on the help of the prebuilt form plugins of joomla or off site form hosting services such as MyContactForm.

No, you don’t need to run out and take a 2 day php workshop that most likely will not provide you with enough knowledge to even know what you just wrote. Just check out Conkurent’s PHP Forms .  PHPForms is an all-in-one web based form builder (uploaded to your server) that allows you to create online forms, validate and collect data fast and with minimum effort.

It is made way too easy for us right brainers to build forms with the very user-friendly control panel. When complete,  just generate and insert the php form code or html form code into your page and you are done! Forms built with this software are compatible with any existing website and can be placed anywhere.

Even though this software comes with a price tag, it is worth more than the price by allowing you to build unlimited, custom, cleanly written, professional forms for your customers. You can even do a test run on the software by going to http://phpforms.net/demo.html  This will give you an idea of how easy it is to create your own forms in minutes. I could give you step by step details on how this software works, but taking a test drive on their online demo will show you how extremely easy it is to move your way through this tool.  It sells itself!

Here is a quick look at what each has to offer:

 PHPForms – $29.95
Key Features

• Easy-to-use form creation system
• Unlimited forms and form fields
• Fully Customizable Layout
• No need of HTML or PHP knowledge
• Free installation & free support
• For a complete list of features>  http://phpforms.net/features.html

PHPForms Pro – $99.95
in addition to all the Basic version benefits, allows you to:

• Copy existing forms from the admin interface
• Export form data to a CSV file
• Send mail via SMTP
• Send mail to form groups
• Use CAPTCHA fields in each form (optional)
• Change admin login details
• Change email format to HTML or Plain Text
• Set file type limitation for file upload fields
• Create text or text area fields for multiple email list
• Allows you to integrate PayPal and 2CheckOut gateways with your forms
• Form requires the confirmation of visitor

See the comparison chart for Basic and Pro versions

Just a little advice… If you find this software to be as handy as I do, my suggestion would be to buy the “PHPForms Pro” version up front.  I tried to go the less expensive route thinking it would cover all I needed. It did until I had a customer request CAPTCHA.  With form spamming becoming such a huge problem these days, paying extra for the the security feature is well worth it!  However if you buy the basic version first and upgrade later, the process is seamless, preserving all of your prebuilt forms.

Enjoy!
 

So what does this have to do with virtual organizational tools? Well, everything.

Enter NoteBook. A brilliantly designed virtual notebook for the creative mind. This clever tool is the perfect answer to organizing all of your clutter in one place, while keeping the familiarity that we love about our spiral notebook.

NoteBook’s clever “spiral bound” interface is designed complete with pages tabs, sections and subsections allowing you to not only collect your clutter, but organizes it in a way where it can be easily found when you need to go back to it. Each notebook is saved as a file on your computer and you can save as many as you want to organize the largest and smallest of projects.

Use NoteBook to type notes and text, or simply drag in files and folders. I find myself inspired a lot while browsing the web for things. And also get the  random epiphany while emailing. Rarely do I keep track of these thoughts as I am usually in the middle of another task and don’t have a lot of time to stop what I’m you are doing to jot it down. Easy answer. No more “jotting it down”, just "clip" your web findings, mail messages and other content into your Notebooks. No need to leave the application I’m working in and it’s so quick and easy that I don’t loose track of the real job at hand. Lovely for those of us who are totally ADD.

So here is how NoteBook is most handy in my creatively random world… A new project for me starts usually with an email or phone call. So, knowing this project will be a big one with a lot of variables, I start a notebook. The first note being the original email, phone number of client and notes they gave me when I was most likely in the middle of another project. I will then create the project bid and after sending to the client, will clip the bid into my notebook for reference. Once the project starts, other emails will come usually containing content for the project weather it be images or copy or reference to another project online. I copy or clip each of these things into the notebook I have for this project. This way there is never a question of “where did I stick that note”. This is the best way to combine all forms of content used for a project and not only to organize then into tasks, but find then in a pinch. As I have mentioned in previous articles, I am a bit OCD when it comes to my email inbox. I like for it to be clean and my emails to be attended to in a timely manner. It is hard to do this when you have a major project going and your clients sends you small bits of info in 20-30 emails. This is where NoteBook is a saver of my sanity. Rather than letting the emails pile in, I clip the content into that project notebook and move it out of my inbox allowing me to contain all the info in one organized space!

From here I organize the content, assign tasks and deadlines and even make notes for future projects possible inspired my the task at hand. Then once the project is complete you can save your notebook in the customer file and refer back to it when needing inspiration for another project, or and this happens all the time, a client calls and says, “I sent you an email several months ago and I need something from it and just can’t find it, can you send it back to me”. Simple things like this can land you “Super-hero for the Day” in the mind of your favorite client!

Notebook also has excellent annotation features via highlighting, keywords and even voice annotation that can be sent to your ipod, which leads me to my favorite feature. Notebook is setup, well like a perfectly organized notebook, complete with a Multidex™ that locates each and every note you take by text, capitalized words, numbers, web addresses, highlights, keywords, sickies, to-dos, attachments, even attachments you’ve trashed, dates of creation, change or deadlines. Pretty cool that you never have to worry abut accidentally writing on the back of one of your “pages” and ripping it out to take with you only to later find that what was on the other side, was pretty stinking important! With this notebook, you never loose a page.

So many TO-DOs, not sure what to start with first? Join the crowd. Good news is this app makes checking off your TODO list even more fun! Simply add checkboxes and due dates to you tasks. So as you take down notes or clip memos into your notebook, you can then add a check box with a date to complete the task if you wish. No need to make a separate TODO list containing the same items you’ve made note of. I’ve found myself doing this over and over in my “paper” notebook which tends to bring on the overwhelming feeling of never being able to complete a list, not because you didn’t complete the task, but because you have it listed in 4 different places!

If you are like me your first thought is “where in the world do I begin?” So many notes, so little time. We’ll they’ve made it easy for you. First, download your 30 day trial version here….

Then when you open NoteBook for the first time after registration, this handy little screen will come up, giving you all kinds of ideas on what, when and where to begin your organization. This is by far my favorite of all the organizational tools I have reviewed so far and will continue to be a part of my everyday goal for an organized life.

On a side-note for those of you with kids, I never thought I would say this, but I will miss the little “stick figures conquering the world” that always found a place in my paper notebook on days when the kids were on break from school!” I may have to scan a few and clip them in for nostalgia! Happy organizing!

The name for both says it all.  They are very simple applications for organizing all of your To-Do’s. Both dashboards are very petite and non intrusive so they allow you to leave them open at all times to add to edit your lists easily.

Here is how they work…

This application allows you to not only document each task you have by simply clicking on a line and typing, but also allows you to assign them to different lists as to keep your “shifts” separate. You can even go further by color coding the items in your list to organize by person, by order of priority, etc.  Here are examples of my three lists.

Features/Advantages of ToDo list #1 as listed on the download site…

•  Manage any number of lists in one window
• Edit a list description or status without scribbling or erasing
• Copy and paste list items to any other program
• Reorder lists at any time
• Reorder a list’s ITEMS at any time
• Assign a priority to list items and sort by priority
• Assign a status to list items and sort by status
• Define your own Priority value list
• Define your own Status value list
• Select viewing of list titles from Tab or Popup
• Set item color, caps, bold, italic, and indent from toolbar
• Print lists or selected items to any size paper
• Print lists to Franklin page sizes
• Perform list functions from the menu: Delete All, Enter First Open Cell, Insert Row, Delete Selected Rows, Delete Empty Rows, Remove all ‘Done’ Rows, Toggle List Window

To download this helpful too, go to http://www.mesamysql.com/?todo_home  
Cost is  $10.00, but there is a trial version if you want to compare it to our other TODO before purchasing.

Okay now this one further defines simple.  It does not have all the features as the first in that you can not add columns, print, color code, etc. but you can add “categories or shifts” however you want to call them and organize your lists within those categories. For some people this is all they need. Personally, I love that it is so small and and pops on and off screen as you need it.  I am not much for clunky, over detailed applications so this is more than enough for me.

Here are the keyboard shortcuts to help you maneuver quicker:

• Up/Down: Select Tasks/Labels
• CMD+Up / CMD+Down: Move selected Task/Label up or down
• Enter: Edit Task/Label
• Space: Check or uncheck selected Task. Show or hide selected Label.
• Esc: Select Nothing

To download this simple too, go to http://www.julius-eckert.com/project/view/1/5   
Cost: FREE!

Have fun listing!

Organizational Tool Reviews by the Unorganized!
Okay so I found Evernote in my latest handy dandy copy of Real Simple- a magazine I subscribe to in hopes that one day I will be more organized than not. I am getting there. The article started of with a warning that these apps may become addictive. I had no idea they were serious.

On the web. On your desktop. On your phone.

I downloaded first my desktop version of Evernote onto my Imac and immediately started to document all the notes I had stuck to my computer, lying around my desk and in my notebook. After completing this task I felt rather proud of myself as I could once again see the shinny black desk beneath the piles of paper.

I also remembered that this article was originally written as a review for the Iphone so I proceeded to download that version as well and test out the ease of moving notes back and forth. It was fantastic. I could actually type my shopping list on my computer as the items ran across my mind throughout the day – shampoo, laundry detergent, batteries, check. Then at the end of the day all I had to do is hit sync at the bottom of the app window and they were sent to my online account easily accessible by the iphone plugin.

Now, because my Powerbook is not able to run Leopard (which is required by Evernote) I wasn’t able to download it there. However they have an online version that works perfect for when I am traveling with my laptop and need to pull down some notes. Just login to their website with the username and password you registered with and there is your info. Crazy shopping lists and all.

Capture what inspires you, find it when you want.

So lets talk a little bit about what this baby can do yo put a little ease into your life. After all we are all aware that “creatives” are not the most organized people on the planet. If we spent the time it took before these handy apps to keep everything organized then we wouldn’t have time left for our art, right? So here’s how Evernote can help you….

Here are some examples of things you can capture and store in Evernote:

• Shopping/To-Do Lists
• Notes and Project Research
• Webpages for bookmarking later
• Sketches
• Snapshots from your phone(very handy)
• Passwords that you will need remotely

and that is just to list a few…

My number one use for Evernote is to compile lists from client emails on particular projects that are on the calendar for a later date. It never fails when I start a new site for a client the first week after bid approval I will get a flood of content from them. However rather than it being in one email, it will be in several, sometimes 10 or 20 by week end. I am a little obsessed with having unread emails, so I copy the content from each email and make 1 note in Evernote containing all the info. Then I not only have it on my desktop, but phone and laptop if I need it for reference.

Another huge benefit to having the Iphone app is that if I am in a store somewhere and I come across something that inspires me (happens all the time) I can take a snapshot, send it to Evernote and have it for a rainy less inspired day. Evernote allows my memories to be available wherever I am.

My last most favorite feature is the easy pasting option. So, say you are online researching something and come across something totally irrelevant, but extremely interesting. You don’t want to forget that info, so copy the address, or page content then go to the handy Icon at the top right of your finder bar and choose the option to paste into Evernote. Then you can take a look at it again when you have more time or are not preoccupied with other things. This option also works when you are working in other applications, basically anything you can copy can be pasted into Evernote.

Requirements: Not Much!

There are two ways to do this the first requires no downloads and is all online and the second utilizes the desktop tools. I do a little of both….

1. No download required

• Evernote Web
• Web Clipper bookmarklet
• Evernote Mobile Web

2. Downloads

• Mac OS X Leopard
• Windows
• iPhone / iPod Touch
• Windows Mobile
• SanDisk U3

Getting your chaos organize with Evernote:

There are multiple options to getting your data organized with Evernote and here are a few…

CREATE - notes using desktop, web, and mobile versions of Evernote, synchronizing with all three once you create
SNAP – shots using your camera phone or webcam. Crazy, but there is even text recognition within the image.
CLIP - webpages, screenshots, PDFs or already existing images
DRAG N DROP – content into your desktop clients
EMAIL – notes directly into your account using your personal email address
SCAN – receipts, recipes, tags, brochures, and anything else into Evernote
RECORD – audio and listen to it whenever you want.

For a Quick Introduction to Evernote, visit http://www.evernote.com/ and click on the YouTube video at the bottom. Enjoy your new more organized clutter!!

These babies are available a the Jumsoft Online Store. Jumsoft’s packages range in price from $29 (for individual templates) to $ 59 (for The Template Pro Pack). At these prices, they easily add value to your IWork collection of templates and clipart. I have to say my favorite of the three is the very random yet whimsical collection of images in clipart 2.0  

I mean I have never had a need for an image of a beaker but by golly I plan to find one! Cool stuff.

Both template collections also offer a unique style of pieces ranging from complete brochures to one page invoices.  Definitely inspires me to “spruce up” my billing process… A few samples from these collections are shown below…

Installation is easy, Simply open Pages Templates 2.0 folder and double-click on any template. Pages will automatically open the template. Or you can install templates so that they appear in Pages Templates menu. To install Pages Templates 2.0 copy   "Jumsoft templates" folder to Home>Library>Application Support>iWork>Pages>Templates folder.

So all that to say, even though I will always be partial to Adobe and a bit of a software snob, it’s okay to branch out every now and then. You never know, it might just be a fun answer to a not so exciting project dilemma.