Team Collaboration

• Groove vs. SharePoint … Microsoft published a brief overview of where Groove and SharePoint differ, when you should use one vs. the other, and where they work best together. Summary: use Groove for small virtual teams and short-term projects; use SharePoint for publishing information permanently and distributing it widely; and use both together to take intranet content offline and share that content externally. Microsoft
• ROI for Enterprise 2.0 … Forget it, says Robert Kaplan from Harvard University. Among other reasons, “The productivity and improvements are micro-tasks. It’s akin to doing operations research studies with a stop watch on the benefits to using email. Did anyone get fired because Microsoft Office was released? I highly doubt it. Wikis shift work from email and documents to wiki pages and a more facile method of collaboration. Measure it? Spend your time in more fruitful endeavors.” RadioWalker
• AKG Seminar on SharePoint … Applied Knowledge Group is presenting an in-person seminar, “How to Improve Collaboration and Create a Robust Virtual Office with Microsoft SharePoint”, on September 21 in Washington DC. “Learn how to better integrate SharePoint into your business environment. Our proven technology adoption process helps you incorporate technology and keep your business competitive. True virtual collaboration allows you to share critical business information in a secure environment regardless of physical location.” Registration required. AKG

Mobility

• iPhone to Exchange? … There are some well-placed sources who say that Apple will announce a licensing deal for the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol, enabling the Apple iPhone to work with Exchange. Peter de Haas, MacNN
• iZoho for the iPhone … Zoho announced iZoho, a suite of its online applications for mobile devices such as the iPhone. Zoho Writer, Sheet and Show will apparently work on the forthcoming iPhone, although expect some tweaks in the immediate days following the iPhone’s launch. Zoho (hat tip, Read/Write Web)
• AT&T’s Service Plans for the iPhone … AT&T unveiled three new service plans for the Apple iPhone, which will be released in the US on Friday. Prices range from $60 to $100 per month. “The three unlimited data plans include 450 monthly call minutes for $59.99, 900 minutes for $79.99 and 1,350 minutes for $99.99. Each also comes with 200 SMS text messages, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling and access to the iPhone’s new Visual Voicemail, a feature that lets users select specific messages from a list rather than having to listen to each in turn. The two higher-priced monthly plans provide unlimited night and weekend minutes — for AT&T, night hours start at 9:00 p.m. local time — while the least expensive sports a 5,000-minute allowance.” ComputerWorld
• Apple Weighs in on the iPhone Keyboard … Apple released a video showing the elegance of its virtual keyboard, and argues that it is better than a physical keyboard. ComputerWorld. Note also that Walt Mossberg thinks that the keyboard works fine after about 5 days of learning how to do so.
• iPhone Hype … George lists 13 reasons why he thinks the iPhone will flop, including (13) no GPS, (12) a lack of a physical keyboard, and (11) it’s ugly. ComputerWorld
• Nokia E61i and E65 … Nokia released two new smartphones for the US business executive: the E61i replaces the E62, and has an inbuilt QWERTY keyboard. The E65 runs the same software, but doesn’t have the keyboard. SmartPhone Today

Productivity

• Take Small Breaks; Get More Done … Don’t try and slog through a complete day without breaks. It’s bad for you. “Aside from limiting the actual amount of time I can work on the computer, I also take more breaks every hour. I use a spiffy little tool that makes sure that I take a 30 second break every 8 minutes, and a 10 minute break every 50 minutes. However, I’ve found that taking breaks doesn’t just mean going over to the water cooler. It’s during these 10 minute breaks that the real magic happens.” Zen Habits
• Get to the Top of Your Field … Ten steps from Leo to get to the top of your field: (1) learn from the best, (2) read, (3) practice, (4) get feedback, (5) analyze, (6) practice some more, (7) edit, (8) focus, (9) experiment, and (10) reflect. Freelance Switch
• Extreme Email Addiction … Mike reports on some figures from Tim Ferriss re email addiction and information overload, and concludes “I don’t know about you, but I find this disturbing. It is almost like we will do anything rather than be fully present where we are. Something to think about.” Michael Hyatt

Other Stuff

• For Princess Bride Fans … Eric introduced me to this movie, and I laughed out loud when I saw this … (hat tip, Michael)



• Calling all Bag Lovers … Rushfaster is having its half yearly sale until midnight June 30. Lots of cool things to choose from … some/many at up to 50% off. rushfaster