More and more mobile
Well I have now moved my to do lists from OmniOutliner to Backpack, as well as consolidated several lists across the Internet to Backpack. Funny thing I have noticed as I started thinking about getting everything online is that I have now replaced several apps I purchased with free services online. I may have given up a few features (Google Reader holds its own against NetNewsWire but Backpack can’t quite do what OmniOutliner can) but all in all for what I need I could have saved a few bucks.
I have a few places that I can store content (various website domains I own and a few other services) so now I will start to think about whether to keep .Mac since it renews soon or replace it with something else (and likely something free). I have been a member for several years (got it on sale years ago and just ran with it).
There are a few articles that warn us to eschew it all together and when I look at how I use .Mac I have to admit I don’t get the $99 value (or even the $69 value) out of it. Basically I use to it to hold content so I can access it across multiple machines. I have never used the email and barely use the other features. Even the new back to my Mac hasn’t sold me on keeping it.
As my move to mobile continues a sub theme has emerged. How to be mobile and avoid paying for things I don’t really need/use. I have accumulated quite a few over the last decade and those with annual fees are finally getting a little scrutiny.
Getting myself mobile
As someone who carries a laptop around all the time and on every vacation I have never worried too much about keeping everything accessible beyond the local machine I have (currently a MacBook Pro).
Recently I started thinking about migrating to online tools where possible. For example I started using Google Reader over NetNewsWire so that I can check in on my feeds from any machine. So now I can get a quick RSS fix before bed on the iMac at home rather than pulling out my laptop. This was a good example because while NetNewsWire has a sync option with Newsgator Online it isn’t as robust as Google Reader and my goal is to ultimately not depend on the particular machine I am using to get to what I need.
Another move I made recently is leveraging the Gmail storage for my email archive. We use Exchange server at work but with any client these days I can add in the Gmail account via IMAP and use its capacious storage to house my archives. I have run into a few kinks but all in all the process is working for me. Now I can sit at a PC or my MacBook Pro or my iMac at home and have all my email.
The next step will be to move my documents to a similar setup. I have a .Mac account so that is an option and I have started looking at other options to keep an online (and ideally redundant) store that will keep everything in check. While I have a few apps that don’t span platforms most of the files tend to be cross platform (think Excel and Word) so having them available anywhere is another big win.
One reason to start thinking about this is that I have found myself tiring of carrying around a complete mobile office. If I can get a majority of content shared and synchronized across multiple machines I can travel light during the week and even start to consider a lightweight machine to use on trips.
I haven’t quite decided if that is the way this will end, but at least I can downsize my daily bag and hopefully open it less often.
