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I am among the legions of people who have come to wholly rely on Microsoft Outlook over the years for my day-to-day PIM actions (mail, calendaring, tasks, contacts). As a result, I (like many others) have cheered the improvements and lamented over the issues related to Outlook. Having first observed and now being a part of the netbook world (in my case, an Acer Aspire One), I thought that my long relationship with thee Outlook client might have to come to an end. “There is no way”, I thought, “that Outlook would ever perform reasonably well on a processor- and memory-constrained platform like a netbook. Folks, I am happy to report that this presumption was woefully wrong.

I have been fortunate enough to be a part of the Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview. When I first received the invitation, I had to decide where and how I would run the included applications. I couldn’t run it on a “production” computer; it is only a Technical Preview, you know ;-) I could create a Virtual Machine for it to run on a production computer, but I really didn’t think I would give the suite of applications much attention and use if I did that. This left the Aspire One. With just an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1 GB of RAM and the Windows 7 Release Candidate. I shuddered at the thought, but forged ahead.

The first thing you notice when working with the Office 2010 Professional Edition Suite (the default for the Technical Preview) is the size; more importantly, the reduction in size. Clearly a lot smaller install than in recent years. I took this as a hopeful sign, although the skeptic in me knew that executable size is one thing, but performance is another. I went ahead and completed the installation of the Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote).

Outside of a new splash screen, the initial setup process for Outlook is pretty much the same. I immediately set up my personal hosted Exchange account, planning on immediately following that up by trying out a new Outlook feature that is incredibly overdue – running more than one Exchange account within a single Outlook profile. To this this, you have to shut down Outlook and access the “Mail” Control Panel applet. Once completed, I held my breath and fired up Outlook 2010 once again. This is when the wonderment truly began.

When it comes to Outlook 2010 on my netbook, here is what I can safely say -

1. Outlook 2010 loads as quickly as Outlook 2007 on my other computers. Mind you, I am saying this from an end-user experience perspective (please don’t email me with “I benchmarked and there was a 1.2 second difference; nice to know, but I was more concerned about the experience rather than the raw numbers). Keep in mind that my other computers are far more powerful and only loading 1 Exchange account.
2. Outlook 2010 is as responsive if not more so than Outlook 2007. Again, when you consider the fact that I am saying this about Outlook running on a netbook…
3. Outlook 2010’s memory requirements are on a par with Outlook 2007. Considering the fact that I am running 2 Exchange accounts AND all of the new features included in Outlook 2010, that astounds me.

I simply cannot believe I am saying this, but…

I am running Outlook on a netbook and loving it!

Before I wrap up, a few additional initial comments about Outlook 2010 (expect to see more in the coming days and weeks)…

• I love the ribbon bar. Of course, I’ll need to get used to where everything now is, but I went through the same learning curve with the other Office apps in 2007.
• Conversation View is great. But Conversation View with the ability to still track the thread even after moving emails to other locations is awesome!
• Quick Steps are long overdue. Most people use Rules in Outlook, but I always had a fundamental problem with them – the rules did things before you looked at the message. Quick Steps are more like macros; I can look at an email, then click on a Quick Step icon to do processing. Number 1 use – filing messages without have to drag and drop within the labyrinth of folders I have set up.

All in all, I am more than pleased with Outlook 2010 at this point. As a matter of fact, “pleased” is really an understatement.

I have been a longtime Slingbox owner. I started with the first-generation Slingbox, and (thanks to the luck of the draw a couple of years back at an Engadget meet-up in Boston) moved to the Slingbox Pro. In all this time, my love for the Slingbox and associated SlingPlayer software for both the PC and Windows Mobile has never waned.

For me, the Slingbox is not just about placeshifting for entertainment. Sure – being able to watch my local sports teams whenever I am on the road is nice to have. But more importantly, it is about being able to get the local and relevant information I want or need. Two examples:

1. As a frequent flyer, I cannot tell you how many times I have used the local news and the Weather Channel’s “Local on the 8’s” to find out how the weather back home and how it might affect my travel plans. I can also relay countless stories of sitting at a terminal gate and watching the weather forecasts on my Windows Mobile device, only to discover one or more people looking over my shoulder. I believe I have sold more than a few people on the Slingbox with an impromptu demo :-)
2. I have been very involved in my hometown of Salem, NH’s activities over he past few years, especially where education is concerned. Thanks to the Slingbox, I am able to watch School Board, Selectmen and other committee meetings on the local cable access channel when I am on the road. It is nice not have to spend time “catching up” on community news when I get back home.

I also have my Slingbox connected to cable through one of our ReplayTV boxes, allowing me to schedule recordings and play back shows when I am free to watch them.

The SlingPlayer software never ceases to amaze me for what it does. Continual enhancements in the software for Windows Mobile allow me to stream with great clarity over only an EDGE data connection (curse you, T-Mobile, for buying the 1700/2100 MHz spectrum for 3G).

If you are someone who travels frequently for business or pleasure and have yet to make the Slingbox investment, trust me – you are missing out.

I am one of those people who…

• Gets as much email traffic as Grand Central Station at rush hour, and;
• Desperately tries to manage his Inbox effectively, usually without success.

While I have read and tried to apply David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” principles to my Inbox (even trying the GTD add-in for Microsoft Outlook), I just didn’t feel the techniques and technology worked for me. As a result, effectively managing my email flow has resulted in more effort than it’s worth. Then, I was introduced to ClearContext.

ClearContext accomplishes the three most important aspects (to me, personally) of effective Inbox management:

1. The ability to tag and file email messages and still maintain context.
   While I can use categories and can manually move messages to different folders, tracking and finding things 
2. The ability to quickly act upon emails within the Outlook environment.
   By this, I mean turning emails in Appointments and Tasks. Yes, I can do this manually; in order to make sure that I still keep relevant information in the right place, though, takes time.
3. The ability to easily see threads and relevant information.
   Sure – Outlook has threaded views. However, as you move emails around, threads are not so easy to manage.

I could go on and on about this (and other awesome features in ClearContext), but I will let this video demo of ClearContext Personal speak for itself -

Best of all ClearContext Personal is free! Once you get hooked on the free edition and see the Professional Edition, you will likely see the value of this commercial release. I definitely did ;-) It adds the ability to defer acting on emails for a specified time, temporarily moving the email from the Inbox. In addition, the ability to create tasks and appointments with the click of a button are available in the Professional Edition. Here is a video demo of ClearContext Professional in action -

If there is any question as to how effective ClearContext is to me, consider the fact that I used to be someone who averaged over 100 Inbox messages at any given time, even with Inbox management. With ClearContext, I now average around 10 messages in the Inbox at any time!

If you are feeling overwhelmed by email, you should definitely give ClearContext a try.

I often feel remiss in not giving enough praise where praise is due. I especially feel this way when a product or products I use simply make my life easier and more productive. Such is the case with TechSmith’s awesome products – SnagIt and Camtasia Studio.

While I often rely on screen capture software for product reviews and news publishing at BostonPocketPC.com, this is but a fraction of what I do in my daily life. Most recently, I have been spending a great deal of time in documentation work. As you might imagine, both words and images make for good step-by-step instruction. While SnagIt is generally categorized as screen capture software, the product goes far beyond that simple action. It’s ability to allow me to capture and buffer multiple successive screen shots without the need for stopping and saving after each individual capture is invaluable from a productivity perspective. The SnagIt Editor is an amazing compliment to the screen capture functionality, and allows for the mark-up of captures with professional polish.

Recording video demonstrations of software is also an important part of my life, and I have yet to find a single solution that works nearly as well as Camtasia Studio. Whether it is ease of use,  the vast array of editing and production options or the reliability of the product as a whole, Camtasia Studio is nothing short of being the ssoftware recording equivalent of a best friend for me.

TechSmith also continues to amaze me with each new product release. I continually ask the question “what more could a new release have to offer?”, only to be impressed with the result. TechSmith truly listens to their community of users when it comes to both issues and requests.

If you are someone who regularly needs to capture screenshots and you aren’t already using SnagIt, I cannot encourage you enough to give it a try. The same goes for those who regularly record video from your desktop; Camtasia Studio is the way to go. I really don’t know how I would function without these products. More importantly, I don’t know how I would ever finish a project without them :-)