Jewish World Review Oct. 24, 2003 / 28 Tishrei 5764
By Mark Kellner
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
The Oct. 21 launch of Microsoft Corp.'s Office 2003 productivity suite
will
gain reactions from yawns to cheers -- I'm closer to the cheering
side --
but there are two new products, one an add-on for Microsoft Outlook,
that
deserve close examination and purchase by anyone interested in more
order
for their workday.
The first, available now, is PlanPlus (stet), a software program from
FranklinCovey (stet) that works inside of Microsoft Outlook. It adds
the
Franklin Planner system's "prioritized daily task list" and daily
journal
pages to Outlook, while retaining the e-mail browsing and address book
capabilities of the Microsoft-created personal information manager.
While
Outlook, on its own, has a to-do list feature, there are advantages
to the
FranklinCovey system, such as better prioritization, that are most
attractive.
Also attractive is the ability to drag and drop an e-mail onto either
the
task list or the daily appointment schedule to create, well, either a
to-do
item or an appointment. The daily journaling feature is very handy for
recording contemporaneous notes of conversations, meetings and phone
calls.
All this information can be stored on a CD for archiving, exported to
a
handheld computer (Palm or Windows Mobile/Pocket PC platforms) or
printed
out on blank pages to be used in a FranklinCovey planner or other
notebook.
Ultimately, instead of a shelf-full of binder pages, you can have a
box of
data CDs or DVDs with the same information, but much easier to
research
and
retrieve.
There are other nice features of this software, including tools to
handle
weekly planning, goal setting, and the creation of a "mission and
values"
statement. There are interactive "wizards" to teach elements of the
software
and what the firm calls "dynamic" help pages that explain the why and
how
of
the various features of the program, along with examples on how to use
them.
Many of us live our lives inside of Microsoft Outlook and then run our
lives
chiefly from the e-mail inbox. PlanPlus for Microsoft Outlook,
retailing
for
just under $100 (with a $20 discount during the introduction) makes
more
sense of Outlook, and can work with Outlook 2000 and later. It's well
worth
examining, in my view.
Those FranklinCovey devotees who prefer the paper-based Franklin
Planner,
a
staple of corporate America, will be pleased to see, on Nov. 24, the
release
of TabletPlanner 3.0, which, though first designed for Microsoft's
TabletPC
platform, now runs on any PC running Microsoft Windows XP. The new
program
supports both Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Exchange 2003, which
means
the data it has can be exchanged with enterprise-based e-mail
networks and
data stores. Outlook tasks and appointments can be synchronized with
the
planner software, while there are advanced note-taking features that
can
enhance the use of the product. An "eBinder" (stet) lets you organize
the
planner with as many notebook-style tabs as needed. Data within the
tabs
can
be password protected, with some visible to all users, while other
data is
secure.
On the visual side, users can create their own "page layouts" using a
variety of styles and photos they may have on their computer.
Everything
can
print onto FranklinCovey planner pages, be stored on CDs for archival
purposes, and searched for future reference.
Retail pricing is $130, while the firm is offering an introductory
price
of
$99.95. Details of both software programs can be found at
http://www.franklincovey.com. In years of searching, I haven't found a
better, more systematic way to plan one's work
day, goals and even your life. These computer versions are well worth
examining, as they bring a paper-based system into the digital age.
CORRECTION: Last week's column on Vonage's Voice over IP phone service
mistakenly said that the service would not work with DSL, a broadband
service offered by many telephone companies. It does work with DSL
service,
but not with dialup Internet connections over standard phone lines.
Similarly, the firm also offers a way to forward calls from the Vonage
phone
number to an alternate number, which gives users a way to receive
calls
even
if one's broadband service is not working.
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JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.
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