LarryRoth.net

I find that when I am traveling, one thing that I often need is to have my travel information (directions, reservations, schedule) printed out. This way I don't have to break out my laptop every time I need some information. The problem is I tend to print out lots of full 8 1/2" x 11" sheets that are both wasteful and cumbersome. I did start an Java ME app that allows me to sync this information to a Java enabled cell phone, but this is still time consuming having to copy/paste the information into a different format.

It would seem that PagePacker is just the application I was looking for. It allows you to easily drag and drop any PDF or image on to one of 8 "spaces". These 8 spaces then print out into one foldable 8 1/2" by 11" page. There is even a catalog of 84 DIY (do-it-yourself) planner pages, such as to-do lists and calendars. And like any good Mac application it is easy to use and doesn't get in the way of getting the job done.

Right now it's free, but is set to expire in June. There is no mention if the June "upgrade" will be free as well—I guess we will have to wait and see.

One of my favorite podcasts, Skepticality, is back after a brief hiatus. It's a great show that discusses critical thinking, debunks common myths, and has some great guest hosts. They are now the official podcast of Skeptic magazine.

At first I was—excuse the pun—skeptical, and asssumed that the podcast would be bitter people not wanting to believe in anything, but as the show taught me a skeptic's goal is to disprove or prove an unverified fact. So for instance, a true skeptic would be/should be equally happy to prove a paranormal experience as to debunk it.

It's a great show, with people that believe in applying critical and applaud analytical thinking. Give it a try!

At the World Wide Developers Conference, Apple has given a sneak preview of their newest version of the Mac OS. Due out in spring 2007—perhaps before Windows Vista ships—Apple promises some key new features.

You can see the whole list on Apple's sneak preview site, but I have heard from conference attendees that Apple is keeping some really significant features under wraps until launch.

Here are some of the new features:

• Timemachine: a backup solution
• Mail.app updates
• Desktop sharing and custom video effects in iChat
• Virtual desktops
• Full 64 bit support

The server version holds even more promise!

10. Cool shortcut combo To finish off, I’l give a cool (relatively) shurtcut combination. Clicking Control+Option+Command+8 will turn the screen in some sort of high contrast mode, but more like an X-ray screen![1]

David Churchville has a nice post that poses the question:

Does the agile software development mantra of "Do the simplest thing that could possibly work" lead to functional, but unremarkable software? [1]

It's an interesting thought, but I feel the main benefit of agile development is to test early and test often. This testing, if done properly, should help to find usability issues. And then, agile development really helps out by not only finding the issues, but by fixing them before they are released.

Said another way, in traditional software development, it seems all to common that when the deadline slips, one of the items that is often discarded is usability testing. Any early testing—while perhaps not true usability tests—will help out.