Email signatures might be more annoying than you think, but we all experience plenty more gaffes, annoyances, and misfires in our inbox. We asked our savvy readers to share their biggest email annoyances, and here’s what they said. More »
Email – Marketing – Windows – History – Historians
When the iPad was announced, Steve touted the virtues of how wonderful it would be to have iWork on your iPad. We at TheAppleBlog were unimpressed with Pages, Numbers and Keynote. You can read the full reviews for details, but our primary complaints revolved around the difficulty of getting documents on and off the iPad and syncing with the cloud.
If all you want is iWork files primarily on your iPad, no need to look beyond the iWork Suite for the iPad. However, iPhone users have been working with their spreadsheets, documents, and presentations in the cloud for a while with the iPhone versions of Documents To Go and Quickoffice and got used to not being locked into the iWork file format. Now that the iPad versions of these apps are finally out, which one is right for you? Let’s review the features first.
Documents to Go for the iPhone was recently updated to support the iPad. Previous owners merely need to update and have full functionality on both devices. Two versions exist: Documents To Go and Documents To Go Premium. The Premium version adds support for cloud computing as well as presentations.
To sync with your computer, Documents To Go provides a desktop application for Windows and Mac that allows you to transfer files to and from your iPad over your Wi-Fi network without actually having to connect your computer to iTunes. The premium cloud support includes Google, MobileMe, Dropbox, Box.net and SugarSync. While you can use multiple cloud accounts, you cannot customize the names.
Unlike Documents To Go, this is a separate iPad app. Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite for iPad is focused exclusively on the cloud, but does allow uploading files to your iPad via a web interface. Access to files on Google, MobileMe, Dropbox, and Box.net are all included. Unlike Documents To Go, SugarSync support is not included. Quickoffice has support for password protection as well as customizing the cloud account names.
Both programs access files from the cloud and are integrated with the Dropbox iPad app to allow direct transfer of files to either Documents To Go or Quickoffice. However, Quickoffice does a more fluid job of accessing the cloud by connecting automatically in the background and quickly giving you access. Documents To Go, on the other hand, requires you to manually sync, refreshing your cloud file listing in the foreground and preventing you from doing anything else while the sync is underway. Additionally, it didn’t respect Google’s hidden documents so I literally had to scroll through hundreds of hidden files. At least Documents To Go remembered recent files making subsequent visits to the app slightly less painful.
Editing and navigating files in Quickoffice seemed more like a desktop app. For example, spreadsheets retained page tabs at the bottom in Quickoffice while in Documents To Go I had to access the toolbar at the bottom and then choose which tab to activate. PDFs in Documents To Go do not allow scrolling in the document; you have to manually turn each page. Documents To Go also had a cryptic and unintuitive toolbar at the bottom (see example below).
Of the two programs, Documents To Go did do a better job of retaining the file formatting of the original document. Neither program did a 100 percent perfect job of retaining all formatting, though. Slight errors regarding font styles and sizing as well as spacing developed. I consider these problems minor since I see the primarily goal of editing on your iPad to be data entry and manipulation, not the look and feel of the document.
For value, Documents To Go is an ideal choice. You can have access to your files on the iPhone and iPad with just one app. You can upgrade within the app to the Premium version for an extra $5 to get the presentation and cloud access. Users of SugarSync will have to choose this app if they want access via their iPad.
For most iPad users, Quickoffice is the better choice. Easy-to-use cloud support and quick loading of your files allows for fast editing while Documents To Go painfully makes you wait to sync back and forth. Be prepared for some quirkiness in formatting going back and forth between other apps, but otherwise you’ll have a user experience nearly identical to your desktop or web-based applications for spreadsheets, presentations and word processing.
And, yes, this article was written in both Documents to Go and Quickoffice on my iPad. I ultimately finished it with Quickoffice.
What’s your iPad office suite of choice?
The key to getting your boss to put the stamp of approval on your telecommuting dreams is an excellent proposal. Sell your boss on the benefits of getting you out of the office with a well-planned proposal. More »
Telecommuting – Work – Business – Employment – Small Business
We’ve previously suggested a simple trifecta of plants to improve your indoor air quality. A dig into a NASA study into air quality in confined spaces yields at least nine more plants that clean, humidify, and dust-filter your home or office air. More »
Environment – Air Quality – Products and Services – Indoor Air Quality – Business
Headphones have a tendency to clutter up your desk, but if you use them regularly, it’s a hassle to constantly pack them up. Reader HeadsetChatter suggests keeping your headset tucked away for easy access by screwing a coat hook underneath your desk. More »
If you’ve noticed how many people have voicemail messages that sound like they’re gasping for air when they record them, this simple trick from reader Gregor Samosa will help you leave smooth radio-announcer-quality messages. More »
People with uncommon names don’t expect perfect pronunciation the first time they meet someone, but they’re probably impressed when they encounter it. Get a jump on your next business meeting or speaking opportunity with HearNames.com, along with another pronunciation resource. More »
Are you considering writing a thank you business letter, but not sure when or how to write it? Here are some tips on how to help you write a letter of appreciation in a business setting.
There are many reasons why a business thank you letter should be written. Aside from saying thank you is good etiquette, this practice can also help in developing a closer working relationship with other business contacts such as clients, contractors, or vendors.
You can write this particular type of letter when you received products or services, or any help with regards to a project.
A business thank you letter should follow the traditional business letter. It should be typewritten and printed on a clean sheet of paper.
The business thank you letter need not be long. Simply include your appreciation for the product or services that you’ve received. Be specific about what you liked about it. For example, it can be the timely delivery, or the outstanding customer support. Don’t forget to say thank you.
Proofread for grammar and typographical errors. If you’re sending the letter through mail (and not electronic), don’t forget to personally sign it.
So you’re almost in for a new job, but before they let you sign a contract, they need to do a reference check first. How sure are you that your former boss would actually sing you praises and not the other way around?
In the first place, you could leave the place of your employment civilly and on good terms. Make sure that you follow the SOP of your company when it comes to resignation. Give enough notice before your departure and make sure that you finish all pending tasks before you leave. Train your successor and leave instructions.
If your boss wants to talk to you prior to your resignation, you may want to thank them for your stay and mention the skills you have gained by working there.
When asking for a reference, make sure that you make an appointment with your boss instead of dropping by unexpectedly. Be polite and pleasant. If you were terminated you can still try to obtain a letter. You may send a letter that should be straight to the point and civil saying that although you were terminated by the company, you would appreciate it if they could give a recommendation letter for your new employment.
Save letters of recommendation in your file for future references. You may just give copies instead of the original so you won’t need to ask former employers everytime you need one.
The information you keep in Google apps like Gmail, GCal, Reader, and Voice doesn’t just live in one place. Check out a few easy but non-obvious ways to plug different Google apps together and share their data and features.
One of the most useful integrations available for Gmail and GCal users, the Google Calendar gadget puts upcoming events on your email sidebar. To turn it on, just enable the Google Calendar gadget in Gmail Labs. Click on the Options link to configure which calendars you want to display events from, and schedule events directly from Gmail using the gadget’s Add link. (Gmail Labs offers lots of other app integrations, like YouTube previews in Gmail, the ability to create a Google Doc from an email conversation, Picasa image previews, Google Docs as well as a Google web search gadget.)
Gmail Tasks’ killer feature is how it can act as a bridge between your email inbox and your calendar. If you add a Gmail message to your Tasks list (just choose “Add to Tasks” from the “More Actions” drop-down) and add a due date, that task shows up on your Google Calendar on that date. Even if Gmail’s Tasks module isn’t your primary to-do list app, this is an easy way to “schedule” email you don’t need to deal with right now but does have a deadline in the future.
Courtesy of Google Calendar Labs, you can easily attach Google Docs to any event—like the batting lineup for the company softball game next week. In GCal's Labs area (in Settings), just enable the "Attach Google Docs" feature.
Gmail has had built-in integration with GDocs since back in 2006; any time you have a Word document or spreadsheet email attachment in a message, Gmail gives you an “Open as a Google Document” link next to it. You can also convert an entire Gmail conversation to a Google Doc by enabling the Gmail Labs’ “Create a Document” feature.
Google’s newish Profiles tool offers an interesting integration into Google Reader: the ability to associate people with the feeds they create. When you configure your Google Profile and enter the web sites where you've set up shop, the feeds available for those sites appear on your profile—as well as in Google Reader. When you're following someone in Google Reader, you can easily see their blog and social network feeds alongside their photo and bio thanks to Google Profiles. From the ever-so-specifically-labeled "Browse for Stuff" section in Google Reader, click on the "People You Follow" tab to browse the folks you care about and subscribe to feeds they're creating.
Just this morning the Google Voice team added email integration with your text messages. As Kevin reported, you can now get your GV text messages forwarded to your email (Gmail or not) and respond to them from there, without ever touching your Google Voice tab or your phone.
You can't mention integrating Google apps without giving iGoogle a nod. GApps addicts' homepage of choice, iGoogle offers Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Gmail Tasks, and Google Voice gadgets for the ultimate, all-in-one, Google apps jumping-off spot. (In fact, last week during the Gmail outage, iGoogle's Gmail gadget was still working—even when the proper Gmail webapp was down.)
Beyond in-webapp ways to access Google apps data across products, you can also hook up browser extensions like Integrated Gmail or iGoogleBar for Firefox. Alternately, for easy Google apps access no matter what web site you’re on, put your browser’s sidebar to good use.
What other ways do you use one Google app’s data in another? Shout it out in the comments.
Gina Trapani, Lifehacker’s founding editor, likes finding new ways Google Apps inform one another. Her weekly feature, Smarterware, appears every Wednesday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Smarterware tag feed to get new installments in your newsreader.
