December 06, 2005

Long Time No Type

Isn't it funny how things can just slip away from you, without you even realizing it? Take this weblog for example. It seems like it wasn't all that long ago, I had high hopes of doing a travelogue for the PalmSource DevCon and posting it online here in this weblog. Unfortunately there was hardly a minute to spare and with my AlphaSmart not being able to connect to the hotel wi-fi, it meant I had to post when I got back to my room and all I wanted to do once I got there was crash. Once back home, it was back to the grindstone with deadlines and holidays and family commitments and what not. Next thing you know, you look up and 2005 is almost gone and it's been almost 6 months since my last post and all I can do is wonder where the time went.

Well, I'm sorry I didn't do a better job during the conference and I'm sorry I've stayed away from this blog far too long. Alas, there's no sense crying over split milk. I've got enough woulda, shoulda, coulda's too last a lifetime and there's too much to do to dwell on the past.

So What's Been Going On?
Well, the group celebrated it's 6th anniversary back in October. November was our last meeting at FirstData Systems. My Treo 600 bricked on me. My Zodiac almost died on me after leaving it out in the cold overnight, but it survived. We're working on finding a new home, but in the meantime I think we finally lined up a place to meet this Saturday (I'll know more tomorrow) and there's a new Leadership Council on board for 2006. *Whew*

I want to hold a Leadership Council Summit Meeting in January, so I'm finally getting around to getting my list of tasks done. The list is as long as my arm and some items are close to two years old, but I'm finally getting them done. For example, I just finished revising the CSS file for the site and I've cleaned up all the past web work that was converted to the "new" design. I'm at the same place I was 6 months ago, but now everything is tidy and 100% complete, so that gives me motivation to get the rest done. If you'd like to see my list thus far, you can view it at this link. Please bear it mind that this is a "living document", so it will change as items are added, completed, etc. As of this post, I'm not done making my list just yet, but you can get a small taste anyway. :)

My focus tomorrow will be on the meeting section and the main page. They go hand-in-hand and it'd be nice to finally get those sections converted. Once those two sections are done, the only thing left will be the forums. Who would have thought it would take me THIS LONG to get it all done? Well, at least I'm making some progress and I plan on forging ahead!

Posted by mashby at 12:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 20, 2005

Getting Ready For PalmSource

The PalmSource Mobile Summit & DevCon is just a few days away and I can't wait. It's the one time of the year where I'm surrounded by people who love Palm OS as much as I do. It's a total geek fest and so much fun to visit with new friends and old and just be consumed by everything Palm OS.

I was debating about whether or not to weblog about my travels this year. Normally I do most of my weblogging from my main weblog at mashby.com, which is where I've tried travelogues in the past and have been kind of hit-or-miss. So the idea of trying another one left me a little gun shy. This weblog was created to share thoughts about running a PUG and for specific writings that relate to NPUG. However, after seeing that PalmSource was promoting those who ARE weblogging the conference on their Conference Weblog, I finally worked up the nerve to give it a shot.

I don't know how personal I want to get with it, or specifically what I will write about, but for the next week or so, I'm going to try and weblog as much as possible about my travels for the 2005 DevCon. Hopefully it will be fun and enjoyable and you'll get a kick out of it too. ;)

Posted by mashby at 05:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 14, 2005

mDesk Has Blown My Mind!

I was getting ready for today's meeting this morning and decided to give mDesk a spin. Our guest speaker today, Kerry Woo from eReader.com, wanted to use it for part of his presentation. Since the meeting is in a couple of hours, I thought it might be best if I could figure out how it worked so that I could have it all setup for him.

What's mDesk?
mDesk is an application that runs on your Palm OS device and your Windows desktop, which allows you to display the screen of your Palm onto your desktop. Why would you want to do that? Well, if you ever wanted to demo something on your Palm OS device, THIS is the way to do it. As you might imagine, software demos are a large part of what we do at a monthly NPUG meeting, so anything that makes demoing software easier ranks high in my book.

Bling Bling Baby
It was a cinch to install and in seconds, I was displaying the screen from my Treo 600 on my desktop. Absolutely amazing! All you need is your USB HotSync cable and you're off to the races. Not only can you demo off of your device, but you can control your device from the Windows screen! Think about it, DateBk5 on your desktop. 8)

This isn't a review. I just HAD to share my new favorite application! If you want to see a screen shot of my desktop, you can find it at this link.

Posted by mashby at 08:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 08, 2005

I Feel Weird

Today I finally made my way to the bottom of my NPUG inbox. I responded to 100's of e-mails and filed away everything to the point where there is nothing in my inbox. It had been filed with membership changes, tech support requests, vendor inquiries as well as just the usual correspondence. It was quite a deluge of mail. I haven't seen the bottom of my inbox in YEARS, so this is a very weird feeling for me. I don't know how to act now that my inbox is so clean. This is a very weird feeling indeed. :P

Posted by mashby at 03:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 01, 2004

We Need To Find A Local Printer Sponsor

I'm sitting here in Caffeine right now. I'm in between appointments and I thought I'd use the time that I have to check up on e-mail and get a little work done. I look over my shoulder and I see a guy nearby with a Palm i705 on his briefcase and I think to myself, "Man! If I only had an NPUG business card."

I can't tell you how many times I run into someone where there would be an opportunity to tell them about NPUG. In coffee shops, Office Depots and CompUSAs, I'm always running into people that are either interested in Palm OS stuff, or have a device on them. It's a great opportunity to promote NPUG and make them aware of what we have to offer. I'm not shy in making the initial contact, it's just relaying the information regarding NPUG that's a bit of hurdle.

Asking people to remember the web address, or scratching it down on a piece of paper takes too much time and effort. You have to go through a whole explanation of who you are, why you're talking to them etc. If we had business cards, all I'd have to do is simply say, "Couldn't help but notice that you have a Palm OS handheld. There's a local PUG in the area that I thought you might be interested in." Then hand them the card and you're done. If they want to continue the conversation, then great, but if you're pressed for time, or they look at you like you're crazy, then you can smile and leave. It's low level, fast guerilla marketing at it's finest.

So does anyone know of a local printer where we could either get good rates, or better yet, have them sponsor the cards by allowing them to advertise on them? If we could get a printing sponsor, that would be ideal, but if push comes to shove, we could always do a fund drive and try and raise the necessary money for the job.

Posted by mashby at 10:21 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack