Team Collaboration

• Google Apps Premier Edition … Google released a Premier Edition of its online suite of office productivity tools, including Gmail (email), Google Talk (IM), Google Calendar, Page Creator, Start Page, and Docs & Spreadsheets. It includes 10GB of storage per user, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, an API for enterprise application integration, and costs $50 per user per year. Coverage and analysis at Marc Orchant, Read/Write Web, A View from the Isle and Vowe Dot Net. A Free Edition remains on offer, but lacks a number of things compared to the premier edition.
• Socialtext Web 2.0 Briefing … Socialtext is hosting a webinar on Web 2.0 technologies for the enterprise, such as blogs and wikis. Among other things, it will provide “specific examples of knowledge repositories and collaborative Intranets and Extranets that impact sales, marketing, training, engineering, and operations“. The webinar will be run on March 6 and March 13 for one hour starting at 10am Pacific time. Registration required. No charge to attend.

Mobility

• The iPhone it is … Apple and Cisco announced an amicable end to Cisco’s trademark infringement charges against Apple over use of the iPhone name. Both will use the same name for their respective products. ComputerWorld
• Parlano MindAlign Mobile … Parlano released MindAlign Mobile, client software RIM BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Palm Treo devices. “The software enables cross-functional groups to conduct ongoing topic-based conversations with their MindAlign and MindAlign for Microsoft Live Communications Server environments while out of the office, on the road and in bustling workplaces.” The offering was developed in conjunction with Nokia and its Intellisync technology. Available immediately. Parlano

Productivity

• Reducing Stress … Five steps to reducing stress and overwhelm, from Pam: (1) take a day to do the opposite of what you should be doing, (2) reduce, reuse, recycle, (3) relentlessly delegate and outsource, (4) get out into nature, and (5) re-gain your sense of joy and humour. Gordon Whyte
• Multitasking = Stupid; Or Not … David reflects on a slew of recent studies that link multitasking to increased stupidity. “So what gives? Does multitasking really impair our ability to get our jobs done? The answer for most workers is, I think, no. But it’s not because multitasking doesn’t impair your ability to perform tasks. It does. It’s because we’re now in a complex, fast-response world in which getting a complete task done in the least amount of time is no longer the priority. Instead, today’s top priority is to immediately address whatever fraction of a vast, malleable range of tasks has become most critical–a just-in-time, networked workstyle. Focusing on one task to the exclusion of others isn’t even an option anymore. When experts examine the detrimental effects of multitasking on productivity, they’re asking the wrong question. We don’t need to wonder about the ways in which multitasking and interruption impair our ability to speed through a task. We need to appreciate the ways in which multitasking and interruption have become essential to meeting the increasingly nonlinear demands of our jobs.” Inc. Magazine
• Working from a Suitcase … Mark shares 7 tips on how to manage if you have to live out of a briefcase and suitcase for a long time … say 6 months or so. Productive Strategies

Other Stuff

• Build Business Acumen … Katherine reflects on a recent survey that found (yet again) that business acumen is a high-valued skill for IT professionals, even more than technical competence (duh!). “Business savvy makes you eligible for a wider range of opportunities, whether you plan to stay with one company for years or are looking for a new opportunity. Management roles, in particular, require knowledge of business fundamentals, especially a basic knowledge of finance, marketing and management. A business background can also insulate you from changes in the industry, such as outsourcing. This business acumen is also transferable if you ever decide to pursue a path outside of IT. That being said, business savvy does not replace the specialized technical skills businesses need from IT professionals.” In other words, there’s a balance. Ensure you’re walking the line right. ACM