Well if your desktop is even slightly similar you’ve probably got your email open right now too, or perhaps some other software programs. Each is vying for space on your monitor screen. Working on multiple tasks means switching dancing between these windows. Minimize, maximize, shuffle, shuffle, and close.

What if you could have all your communications (email, Skype, etc) on one screen, your work on another, and your you-know-what on yet another? You would just need to swap between screens rather than multiple applications.Virtual desktops enable this ability, and I’ve tried a few over the years. They are very useful to group together related programs according to task. Perhaps one desktop for researching information, one for designing, another for gaming, etc.

One such program is Dexpot for Windows operating systems (OS) and is entirely free for individual use.

After installing (there’s a portable version if you don’t want to install) you can increase the effective area of your monitor by 400% by default, right up to 20 times – that’s a whopping 2000% increase in monitor size! Worth the price of a quick download for those extra inches.

I was very impressed when I came across TheGun word editor. I had limited computing resources at the time and this perfectly fitted the bill of what I was looking for. It also highlights the programming inefficiencies of major software companies.

This editor can handle any size file, it has full drag and drop support. It is built for speed and basic text editing.

It is 6144 bytes in size (yes only 6Kb), and entirely free! Amazing work!

Huh? Did I just move backwards in terms of technology, or is there a counter-intuitive reason that actually makes this a practical way of moving forwards?With the wonderfully advanced smart phone it consumed more time in configuring, and having a large feature set meant it wasn’t specifically designed to be the best at any of those features. It could do them, but when an emergency arose and it needed to do them quickly and perfectly it often disappointed.

High technology doesn’t always equate with being highly useful.

After some research I set upon acquiring an old 8300 series Blackberry. The keyboard and usability of the device is fantastic, even better than the later models. For example, putting on number lock by pressing the shift and alt key together is almost impossible to do when typing with one hand on the newer models. It focusses on the core activities of being a phone with good personal digital assistant (PDA) support.

What if you could carry such a value adding employee in your pocket? What if they are always available to assist you as and when you need them?

Consider the product as your life, and the employee as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The electronic device helps you to get more out of life by efficiently managing your resources, especially time, for you.

Some essential criteria I look for in my PDA employee:

Ease of input.

It is of no use having a system that takes a long time to record simple information. In a busy environment your natural tendency is to drop it and use something quicker. I prefer a PDA with a physical keypad for this reason. No waiting, as on touch screen devices. Plus it’s much easier to enter information on bumpy bus journey, for example.

Ability to reorder inputs

On first entry the information is usually a draft. The system must allow for easy reordering as your plans take more structure. All systems allow reordering, though some more easily than others. So the chosen PDA would have simple context sensitive menus, possibly with shortcuts.
Ability to edit inputs

Again, all systems allow the editing of input as the information is further refined, but there are differences between how easy it is to do this. The ability to use shortcuts can make the difference between a simple quick edit, or no edit made as the large required effort is not worth it.

Calendar management

How easy is it to manage your schedule? Can you view your schedule in monthly, weekly, summary formats? How quick and intuitive is it to use? My selected PDA must answer positively to each of these questions in its interview.
Task management

Again managing tasks is a major functional requirement of the chosen PDA. Sometimes specialist software may be added on to the PDAs natural abilities to cope better with task management.

Be pocket sized

If the PDA doesn’t fit in a pocket or handbag easily it’s unlikely you’ll have it to hand when you need it most. Small and compact are the key elements here. An additional element is having a good battery life. A small and compact PDA with a flat battery is just a paperweight.

After having tried a few PDAs, the system I’ve evolved to using at the time of writing this is an old Blackberry. I may say more of this at a later date.