I tried both iGoogle and Pageflakes. I ended up setting my home/start page with Pageflakes. I particularly liked the built-in task list on Pageflakes and the fact that you could set up subsequent pages. I might want several items to be readily available, but I might not like them all flashing in my face from the start! It was very easy to navigate, change theme, move columns, and add and delete various items as your wants and needs might change. There was not an Austin Peay logo ready in the theme section, so I'm still torn between UT and the cork bulletin board type effect. I probably will not use the page I set up as my start page at this time. I think I need some time to digest everything we've looked at while completing the 23Things, really think about what I would actually use, and design a page to suit my needs at that point.
I used 30Boxes to set up my online calendar. It's great! It was simple to set up, easy to load birthdays and other important dates in for the year. It was also very quick and easy to add, edit, delete, or update information on the calendar once set up. I will use the online calendar now that I've tried it. It's great to coordinate work and school deadlines along with appointments and other obligations. My desktop blotter-style calendar cannot physical hold as much information! You just have to pass the mouse over the item on the calendar to get the time and any other detail entered in the description by the calendar user. I probably will not use the share feature, alas, who else really cares about all my deadlines? :)
My life is one big list of things to do. I am convinced that I would accomplish nothing were it not for these lists. That being said, I don't know if I would really use a ta da list or one of the other online list tools because I am frequently far away from a computer when I need to make my lists and even further away when my lists are being executed. I always have at least a post it sized list on my desk, one on the counter at home, one in my car, one in the team planning folder, and one in my plan book. I think for my personal use, I am better off coordinating the dates on an online calendar and keeping the lists all over --where they belong. :) That being said, I did like the task list on the Pageflakes start page. I might eliminate my desk list with that.
I also looked at some of the other listed means to improve productivity and organization. I may have misunderstood, but when I read the terms. it appeared that there were charges associated with using Zamzar to convert files to different file types. I also looked at Lifehacker. This seems like a good source for both new ideas and warnings. I was particularly surprised by the article about toasted skin syndrome. Could this be real or just urban legend? I would think that if your laptop felt that hot, you would have the sense to get it off of your lap. Maybe that's just me.
I would definitely recommend online calendars and task lists to others. (Even though I don't care for the latter.) I think many of my colleagues would enjoy bringing all of their important dates and commitments together in one, big, happy place!
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