Putting those systems in place

By Jeremy Wagstaff   |  Mon, 06/30/2008 10:50 AM  |  Sci-Tech

In previous columns, I've tried to address the problem many of us face in this fast-moving world: Grabbing the bits of information that zip past us so we can retrieve and read them later.

The problem is we tend to come across different kinds of information at different times. It might be a web link we want to revisit later, or a New York Times piece we want to read the next time we're stuck on a bus or in a traffic jam. However, there is no one tool that allows us to access all of these at any time we like.

So let's try breaking down what we're trying to do first. If I'm browsing, or reading my e-mail, I find there are certain things I might want to do:

1: Grab a link to a web-page so that I can find it again when I need it.

2: Share a web-page with others.

3: Grab a snippet from a web-page or email so I can find it again.

4: Grab an article or a whole web page so I can read it later.

5: Note down an idea when I'm browsing or reading online.

There are probably more, but let's assume that's it for the moment.

Grabbing a link should be pretty easy: Bookmark it. But in reality you quickly run out of bookmark space, and you're not sure where to put them so you can find them again. That's why I would recommend a service called deli.cio.us, which lets you not only store bookmarks conveniently -- even on a different computer -- but also label them.

In fact, deli.cio.us is also good for sharing links with other people -- so long as they're also users of the (free) service. Most people let others see their collection of links, and, indeed, it's a great way of finding out what is interesting. (You can see my links at http://del.icio.us/jwagstaff).

The service becomes most powerful when you add something called an extension to your Firefox browser (I'm assuming by now you've all installed Firefox; with the latest version, 3, now officially launched, you've no excuse). The Firefox extension -- really just a bit of code that shows up as buttons on your browser -- makes it much easier to add links to your collection and look up old links you've bookmarked.

That's the links bit sorted out. For grabbing a snippet so you can read it again, there are several options. My favorite is this: another Firefox extension, this time called Scrapbook (is.gd/D6U). Scrapbook stores snippets of text, or whole pages, so you can access them later -- whether you're online or off.

When it comes to reading stuff later, I often find that "later" means one of two things. Either, one, I'm on a plane with no Internet connection, or, two, I'm sitting on a bus stuck in traffic, or waiting for a meeting to start, my drinking buddy Bob to turn up, the wife to finish trying on every item in the shop, including those the assistants are wearing -- and I don't have anything on me except my phone.

In both cases a tool called LaterLoop (www.laterloop.com) will come in handy. Before getting on the plane, I'll synchronize my saved web pages so they are all on my laptop -- meaning I don't need an Internet connection to view them. And if I'm in Selfridges, rather than messing about trying to play Snake, I will fire up LaterLoop on my cell phone to read items I've saved from my browser -- either with LaterLoop's bookmarking tool, or else with Scrapbook.

That's the article grabbing sorted out. As for noting down an idea, that's something I'm still working on. There are lots of post-it note tools out there, including one built in to Google Desktop, but I'm not always very happy with these. The notes tend to get lost, and, of course, don't work well when I want to refer back to my idea away from the computer.

I've played around with a few options but have not yet pinned down one that works no matter where I am. In a perfect world I'd like one that also allows me to dictate notes to myself rather than write them down. There are some services, like jott, PhoneTag and SpinVox that do this, but they're not available in Asia yet.

For now, the best idea is to email the thoughts to yourself -- multimedia messaging lets you do this relatively painlessly, especially if you set up your email address so it's at the top of your cell phone contact list -- and it's easy enough to add a keyword in the subject line that separates your thoughts from all your other emails.

But I'm sure there's a better way. Any thoughts?

Jeremy Wagstaff writes for The Wall Street Journal Asia and BBC World Service. His guide to technology, "Loose Wire", is available in book shops or on www.amazon.com. He can be found online at jeremywagstaff.com or can be contacted at jeremy@loose-wire.com.

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