Friday
May062005
Backpack
Friday, May 6, 2005 at 11:44AM
I've been experimenting with various organizational systems for a while, especially ones I can use from any computer. Jeff recently told me about BackPack.
LOVE Backpack so far. It's fairly simple so I don't get bogged down with a zillion different hierarchical notebooks and folders, but is so much more than just a to-do list. The simplest Backpack account is free, but you can also pay extra for perks like more pages (the free account is limited to five), more space, ability to include images and files. You can keep your page private, or share it with other people.
Here are some examples of how you can use Backpack, including a wedding planner and organizer, organizing a craft project, keeping track of your favourite wines and wines to try, organizing and preparing for a meeting, conference session itinerary, new feature ideas & brainstorms with screenshots. Yes, you can organize all of these without the use of a computer, but Backpack lets you collect links to useful resources (including images), e-mails, files, information all in one place. Could save a lot of printouts and filing space.
I've already set up an Urban Tapestry Projects page for Jodi, Allison and me with a to-do list (and who is responsible for each item) and notes about our upcoming Filkcontinental Guest of Honour gig in Germany, Urban Tapestry site maintenance, etc. I've also posted one of the cartoons I've sent to Filkcontinental for use in their PR material or Web site. I'm starting to use it for some of my writing projects as well.
I like the fact that I can e-mail a copy of any page to myself with one click; helpful when I'm going offline for a while, or just for a backup. I like the fact that I can e-mail items TO my page, and that the e-mail address can be changed at anytime with one click. I like the clean look of the user interface. I like being able to use Textile formatting language.
I like the fact I can use this from almost ANY computer with online access, not just mine. I say almost because the layout is somewhat screwed up when I use Internet Explorer 5.2 for the Mac. Works fine in Safari, though.
There a bunch of things that need improving (but are being worked on), like the automated Reminders system and some flexibility in ordering the various sections of the page (as far as I can tell, the To-Do list HAS to appear at the top of the page, for example). It would be useful to have some kind of multi-level hierarchical filing system for list items...but I have to admit that there's a certain appeal to a simple list format; I can save the more complex, in-depth outlines for other systems. I'm also still somewhat wary of relying completely on a virtual organization system; their servers had major problems coping with the sudden popularity caused by their press releases a few days ago, for example, and I was unable to access my info. Since then, I've been e-mailing myself with backup info quite frequently just in case it happens again.
Anyway, I've already upgraded to the Basic membership, which enables me to have more pages and to be able to use images and files.
Anything that means less paper to clutter up office sounds good to me. Love the Backpack user interface, love the idea, love the potential, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the product continues to improve. For more info about Backpack, see the Web site.
If anyone else out there has an online organizational system they like, I'd love to hear about it.
Other telecommuting resources I've found extremely useful in my work:
Things are getting busier re: houseprep. I spent some time this past week researching bathtubs and utility payment plans, and this afternoon we're going shopping for tiles.
21 days until we get our house.
LOVE Backpack so far. It's fairly simple so I don't get bogged down with a zillion different hierarchical notebooks and folders, but is so much more than just a to-do list. The simplest Backpack account is free, but you can also pay extra for perks like more pages (the free account is limited to five), more space, ability to include images and files. You can keep your page private, or share it with other people.
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Here are some examples of how you can use Backpack, including a wedding planner and organizer, organizing a craft project, keeping track of your favourite wines and wines to try, organizing and preparing for a meeting, conference session itinerary, new feature ideas & brainstorms with screenshots. Yes, you can organize all of these without the use of a computer, but Backpack lets you collect links to useful resources (including images), e-mails, files, information all in one place. Could save a lot of printouts and filing space.
I've already set up an Urban Tapestry Projects page for Jodi, Allison and me with a to-do list (and who is responsible for each item) and notes about our upcoming Filkcontinental Guest of Honour gig in Germany, Urban Tapestry site maintenance, etc. I've also posted one of the cartoons I've sent to Filkcontinental for use in their PR material or Web site. I'm starting to use it for some of my writing projects as well.
I like the fact that I can e-mail a copy of any page to myself with one click; helpful when I'm going offline for a while, or just for a backup. I like the fact that I can e-mail items TO my page, and that the e-mail address can be changed at anytime with one click. I like the clean look of the user interface. I like being able to use Textile formatting language.
I like the fact I can use this from almost ANY computer with online access, not just mine. I say almost because the layout is somewhat screwed up when I use Internet Explorer 5.2 for the Mac. Works fine in Safari, though.
There a bunch of things that need improving (but are being worked on), like the automated Reminders system and some flexibility in ordering the various sections of the page (as far as I can tell, the To-Do list HAS to appear at the top of the page, for example). It would be useful to have some kind of multi-level hierarchical filing system for list items...but I have to admit that there's a certain appeal to a simple list format; I can save the more complex, in-depth outlines for other systems. I'm also still somewhat wary of relying completely on a virtual organization system; their servers had major problems coping with the sudden popularity caused by their press releases a few days ago, for example, and I was unable to access my info. Since then, I've been e-mailing myself with backup info quite frequently just in case it happens again.
Anyway, I've already upgraded to the Basic membership, which enables me to have more pages and to be able to use images and files.
Anything that means less paper to clutter up office sounds good to me. Love the Backpack user interface, love the idea, love the potential, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the product continues to improve. For more info about Backpack, see the Web site.
If anyone else out there has an online organizational system they like, I'd love to hear about it.
Other telecommuting resources I've found extremely useful in my work:
- MaxEmail: e-mail fax service. I've used this frequently for sending and receiving faxes; I don't need an actual fax machine anymore.
- GMail: my public e-mail account (I have lots of accounts to give away, so if you want one, please let me know).
- Goldline: long-distance service I can use from any phone, including a payphone (though there's a small extra charge for the latter).
Things are getting busier re: houseprep. I spent some time this past week researching bathtubs and utility payment plans, and this afternoon we're going shopping for tiles.
21 days until we get our house.
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