The real cost of e-Mail

So what is the cost of e-Mail, no not the liability or even the cost of storage and retrieval, I mean the real cost area! The cost to productivity. One recent study showed that it takes on average 64 seconds to return to your train of thought after being interrupted by e-Mail. Consider that if you check you mail every 5 minutes, you waste roughly 8.5 hours a week. The study recommends you make the interval every 45 minutes and turn off the new mail alert so you are not interrupted. I agree with other studies that say that on average we check our mail every 30 minutes already and this is too often. Three times a day is more productive and still provides plenty of time to respond. Want to make more money? Manage your use of e-mail better!

Yes, You Can Take Your Mac to Work!

As am Apple Mac user, I have been interested in posting help for newbie's as to how to interface in the Windows work world and survive. Yes, it can be done. After much delay, I have begun the process, it is only a beginning and I will post more information here over time. If you have experience with the Mac at work, or just want to share some great business tips and tricks, please e-mail me and I will add as time permits. So, check it out and come back often. The site can be reached from the helix above.

Windows 7 Revealed - But some hopes dashed

Microsoft released pre-release (Milestone 3) code for Windows 7 at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference amongst high hope and anticipation. However, many of the reviews, and my own review, is less excited as we see more of the home media gizmos and fewer serious tools and help for office issues. Has Microsoft abondoned the worker of America? Well, that remains to be seen. But rather than my own limited comments, you can judge by InfoWorlds own Guru and his opinions after carefully testing the release in its current form.

Why LCD Monitors are better for you.

More personal computer users are replacing older CRT displays with LCD displays as the older CRT monitors either fail, or users simply realize the benefits of LCD.  This may be due to the fact that manufacturers have retooled production lines to favor LCD, which are less expensive to manufacturer and generally better for the ecology, think green.  LCD screens are considered beneficial to knowledge workers, who spend long hours at the computer, because LCD displays tend to produce less eye fatigue to the user. The constant light barrage and scan lines of a CRT tube tend to cause strain on heavy computer users. The lower intensity of the LCD monitors coupled with their constant screen display of pixels being on or off produces less fatigue for the user. There are a number of resources to understand how an LCD display works and some background is helpful in determining size and type of screen display which is best for you. Professor Alan Hedge, Dept. Design & Environmental Analysis, Cornell University, has published a paper on the specific research findings as to the benefits of LCD. Again, those wrestling with the decision of what to buy might want to review his findings. In the meantime, I have to apologize to a recent seminar attendee, Stephen, who called me on the discussion of refresh rate. Refresh rate is one of the negative aspects of using older CRT displays. Users of CRT displays experience flicker when refresh rates are not high enough and the eyes have to constantly adjust. LCD displays work differently as the appropriate Pixel is on until turned off. However, LCD monitors suffer from different problems than their CRT predecessors and refresh rate would more accurately be referred to as frame rate in their case (often locked at 60Hz). The only part of an LCD that could produce CRT-like flicker, its backlights, typically operate at around 200–Hz. So, if you are one of the 180 million people replacing your computer display this year, take a few minutes to learn more about the electronics you will be staring at for the next 10 years (the economic life of a typical LCD.)