Desktop Organization

Moving between many computers, I have come to really appreciate the simple things that allow me to make each computer "home." iGoogle is one of those things. I personalize it so it looks the same wherever I am. My home page has my gmail, my news stories, phases of the moon, google calendar. It may sound funny, but it somehow grounds and orients me wherever I am. To use iGoogle, just go to google and sign in (or create an account). You can customize your page. Then when you go from home to school to a relatives house, you go to Google and sign in and there is all the stuff you need. One thing I wish, was there was a way to create a section of links that I often use. Anyone know how to put that on igoogle? We will be exploring all the cool features of google in a little bit.

Another thing I really love is Internet Explorer 8. You can all download that onto your computer (at school we're still on version 7). What you get is the ability to create many tabs across the top. To do this, go to Tools, Internet Options, and type in the url's of the pages you want to appear across the top. I always have one tab that is the iGoogle page, another is the daVinci page, another my ikeepbookmarks page, another New York Times, e2020, PowerSchool, etc. This allows me to multitask without having to open windows. I can have lots of things going at once (and I usually do). My tabs are different at work and at home.

I love Jing. The free screen capture comes in so handy. It's a free download. In addition, I have programed an "instant" key, so when I click on Ctl J, the tool pops up and I can capture it instantly.

And lastly, I'm begining to love the added tool bars from Delicious. I like how it pops up next to a page, or I can add a web page instantly from my tool bar above.

All these little things seem to make my life easier--and more efficient. Wish I could find little pop ups around my house that would clean, organize and maybe bake a few dozen cookies?