Mandatory Monday Geeky Post
March 13th, 2006 | Published in tech | 13 Comments
I desperately need the functionality of Stickies, but hate how they can never integrate properly into my workflow ââ¬â they just don’t gel, period. I’m a wiki kind of girl, and Instiki is my poison of choice, though lately I’ve been using it more for storage purposes (my databases of food places to check out, books to buy, etc).
I have a new poison of choice ââ¬â WikityWidget. It’s a StickyNote + Wiki + Dashboard widget, and what an awesome combination that makes, because..
Wikity Widget: creating a new wikit named ToDoWeekEleven
Add Quicksilver to the recipe (there is a WikitWidget plugin for Quicksilver you can install) :
Which gives you the actions append to/prepend to Wikit and delete Wikit. Invoking Quicksilver then hitting the period/full stop, lets you input text, then tab into the actions menu, select append to Wikit, and tab into the wikit of your choice. Appending the above text gives you..
Sample text appended. Like all wikis, CamelCase notation creates a link to a new page you can edit by clicking on it. This is Stickies with a brain (and SQLite).
Those of you not familiar yet with Quicksilver should do well to download it (free), and read the getting started guide and tutorials. It’s a bit hard at the outset to grasp, but immensely powerful once you’ve managed to.
The other Mac/GTD application that’s caught my eye is Frictionless, which looks like it might be just what I’m looking for.. except that testing it also compelled me to evaluate the various Virtual Desktop apps (all the better to manage desktop clutter), which then led me to some other geeky thing, and another geeky thing, so thoughts on Frictionless later.
P.S. It’s very difficult to be a geeky girl. Going in to any hardware retail store (like this past weekend), asking for “3.5″ FireWire hard disk casing and 300GB 7200RPM disk, separately, “because I wanna assemble it myself” inevitably leads to “Har?” and “Why?” and “You sure?” and “What do you need 300GB for?” and “Wanna have coffee with me one day?” and “Do you have a boyfriend?” I’d shop online if I could, just so as to avoid interacting with computer salesmen.
March 13th, 2006 at 1:50 am (#)
I love you. Have I told you that?
March 13th, 2006 at 1:51 am (#)
Yes, and frequently too. :)
March 13th, 2006 at 2:37 am (#)
the one GTD app that leaves me collapsed in an orgasmic fit is the Kinkless system. it actually makes me wanna run out and buy a Mac but then, that’s not the most smartest thing in the world to do.
and you’re right. Instiki has turned out to be a capturing tool for me as well. I’m using GTDTiddlywiki for satisfy my GTD fix…but…it’s not sexy. And there’s no Quiksilver for Windows.
I try not to think about it but sometimes, I do…and I get sad.
oh and btw, will you marry me?
March 13th, 2006 at 2:51 am (#)
Anand: Yes, KGTD is wonderful.. what I love about Macs is how we get these wonderful shareware developers (in this case, Omni), and as if that wasn’t enough, amazingly talented people (like the guy who made Kinkless) who think about how to solve problems ââ¬â and make what’s good, great.
Quicksilver for Windows ââ¬â have you tried Colibri? I don’t think it’s quite there yet, but I do wish I had that when I was still on Windows (not that long ago!)..
Urm… I can’t marry you, you don’t sound Bengali to me. I only like Bengalis!
March 13th, 2006 at 6:57 am (#)
your workflow isn’t optimal, so there. :)
Actually, you can set triggers for Quicksilver to auto-append text into any file. I believe the same would work for Wikit too. I use it to maintain a desktop note text file, and jot down quick notes, tel numbers, email ids, etc. :)
I use GTDTiddlyWikiPlus, which allows to print out the ToDos onto a hipster PDA format. Now to find a way to update the damn thing using QS. :)
PS: would three requests in a row be too bad? :)
PS2: got the first rolls out from XA2. The zone focussing takes some getting used too.
March 13th, 2006 at 12:08 pm (#)
asking for a 3.5 firewire casing & a 300gb 7200rpm hdd isn’t being geeky. at all. at least in my book it isn’t.
March 13th, 2006 at 12:53 pm (#)
ngeh, I’ve tried Colibri. The thing is, hitting just brings up “Launch Program”. I use qliner for that and I love the simplicity. But then, I want something more than a launcher! I want Quicksilver dammit!
Oh well, no point whining about it now.
Anyway. I’ve seen you at the Apple Store at Wheelock Place. This was quite a while back and I didn’t know it was you. You were making eyes at me. Or maybe I imagined it. :)
March 13th, 2006 at 1:09 pm (#)
french affair: It isn’t. My point is, these funan and sim lim guys just think that all girls have no clue at all about tech (Because most of these guys, don’t, themselves). They think we all shouldn’t shop for these things, or that when we do we should buy off the shelf, say things like “why do that? let me do it for you”, which i really resent. And that to even ask for something you would think is quite normal, like.. 300g hdd, or 8 button mouse, whatever, makes them do a double take and behave in such a condescending manner ââ¬â the guy I asked to show me the terabyte of network storage was much worse, tho. having worked in electronics retail at one point, i know this is the prevailing opinion held by retailers and consumers alike. which really pisses me off, but i digress.
ashwin: i use that trigger myself with my own flat text files, but don’t think it works with Wikits because wikits are not textfiles but database files. have tried very hard to get into Tiddlywikis and HipsterPDAs.. nah. Moleskines for all of that, wikits for everything else. no printing if i can help it.
anand: urm. haha. maybe there was a cute lady next to you. :)
March 13th, 2006 at 2:13 pm (#)
Aargh, “Error: please fill the required fields (name, email).” just lost my entire comment.
It conveniently illustrates my question though. Given all the time you spend organising your life through your notebook, do you back it up regularly?
Otherwise I shudder to imagine the loss if it suddenly crashed.
Also, what do you like about Bengalis?
March 13th, 2006 at 2:21 pm (#)
fairly regularly, tho i seem to have an unrealistic view about my laptop, its omnipotence and infallibility. but still if it crashed ââ¬â i wouldn’t be devastated. as long as i dont lose my tv shows!
on bengalis: intellectual, good looking, and beautiful.
March 13th, 2006 at 4:36 pm (#)
So, Quicksilver or Automator? What’s your preference?
March 13th, 2006 at 7:38 pm (#)
Bring a guy with you when you go shoppig lor. Let the guy ask the prices, then you ask for the discount. 8)
March 19th, 2006 at 3:32 am (#)
It feels good to see my plugin is appreciated :D
(i am the guy who made the QS WikityWidget plugin)
speaking of workflow, the AbraCadabra plugin for QS is just amazing…