How-To — GigaOM

How-To

The iPhone OS is pitched as the entire Internet in your pocket…minus Flash. This works most of the time, but what if you just want to design a site or form that looks like a native iPhone App? This is where iWebKit comes in. iWebKit is … Read More »

How to Develop a Corporate Telework Pilot Plan

Making the move to corporate teleworking may seem simple from the web worker’s perspective. However, the introduction of teleworking can have an impact on many facets of an organization; careful planning is a must if your organization is considering allowing its employees to work remotely. Read More »

 
 

Snow Leopard has more than its fair share of improvements. If you work in the corporate world then Cisco IPsec VPN is a great addition. Before Apple added this feature, you had to use Cisco’s client to connect up to its VPN. With Snow Leopard and the … Read More »

The Future of Work: Revisiting the Noded Philosophy

Last Summer, I outlined the philosophy of “Noded” working (a system of forming distributed teams for particular types of projects). A few months later, Jaan Orvet, one of the authors of the Noded principles, spoke at the inaugural HDLive conference in the UK. Read More »

Last year I took a look at a number of Subversion clients for OS X, finally settling on Versions as my client of choice for my personal coding needs. At the time, I was running a Linux server on some old generic hardware from … Read More »

How to Use the Web to Improve and Manage Your Finances

In a previous article, I listed finance as a major component of successful web working. The problem is that while you’re juggling work and household responsibilities it can be hard to find the time to keep your accounts in order. Read More »

Feb. 8 is Clean Out Your Computer Day

It can be hard to remember to routinely clean out your computer. That’s why having a day devoted to making sure that your computer is working well and that you can find anything you need on it is a good idea. Read More »

How Mel Gibson Can Help Your Content Strategy

I saw Mel Gibson on a talk show last night. The host asked him about his “Three E” approach to movie making. He responded that there are three things he tries to achieve with his movies: first entertain, then educate, and then, if possible, elevate. Read More »

The thought of your iPhone or iPod touch falling into the wrong hands is enough to scare anyone. The iPhone does have the passcode function to keep prying eyes out, but what if that’s not enough? In a corporate environment, the loss of a device like this … Read More »

Outsource Your Personal Chores and Errands

The concept of outsourcing can go beyond using virtual assistants, web designers and programmers. By outsourcing chores, you can remove the stressful things in your life, and as a result, have more time to do the things you love. Read More »

Want to watch Amazon’s Video On Demand content on a handheld? With a Windows PC, a Windows Mobile phone and Amazon’s Unbox Player software, the process is actually quite painless if you know what check-box to look for. Read More »

Here at TheAppleBlog, there’s been plenty of instruction and discussion about using Smart Folders, Playlists, Albums and so on, as well as Automator and Folder Actions and other products like Hazel — all of which serve to make your Mac work a … Read More »

More Must Reads

These days, I tend to think of my approach to work in terms of “work policies”. That way, I get a degree of distance — the kind of distance that makes it easier to see things objectively, and change them relatively painlessly to greater effect. Read More »

The last stop in our series of better file management through ideas based on smart folders brings us to iTunes, iPhoto and Aperture. All of these apps provide support for organizing your files similar to Address Book and Mail. The beauty of “smart” file management, … Read More »

What’s the one thing you need to do on a regular basis to keep your car running? It needs fuel or else it stops running. Every car needs refills — just like every business needs clients to bring in income. However, a car runs better and … Read More »

I just started using Foursquare. I know, I know. You hate it. Or you love it, and you can’t believe it took me so long to get onto it. Here’ s my take on the benefits of location-based social networks like Foursquare from a work standpoint: Read More »

Chiptunes are everywhere, and if you’ve been intrigued by them, this article will help you create your very own out of just about any song. Chiptunes are traditionally created using sound chips from old computer systems and game consoles. Some of the best examples of chip … Read More »

Many corporations rely on Project Management Offices (PMOs) to centralize project management activities. Just as organizations have to change some of their processes to accommodate web working, PMOs have to be at on the forefront of those changes to manage organizational projects to successful delivery. Read More »

“Out of sight, out of mind” isn’t so much of a problem for an employee who doesn’t telecommute. But finding a secure telecommuting position is possible, as is creating job security within an existing position. Read More »

Have you ever noticed that little dark circle that appears within the close button of a document window in OS X when you have unsaved changes? Yeah, me neither. After years of diligent Mac use, this subtle little element somehow escaped me until now. I guess … Read More »

Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but I have a little problem with my task list. About a week ago, I noticed that my task list had this distribution for prioritization: 90 percent “highest,” 4 percent “high,” 1 percent” normal,” and no tasks at all at the “low” … Read More »

This week, I’ve faced a few work challenges that I’ve had to resolve remotely as, I’m sure, have you. But as the situations in question escalated, and I found myself getting a little hot under the collar, I had to put my complaint-email writing skills to … Read More »

Lots of clients like you to track your time and submit reports detailing your daily activities, so they know their money is being spent well. It’s good practice for them, and it’s good practice for you Read More »

Kicking off a new venture? Whether you’re adding to an existing service offering, or launching an entirely new operation, starting something new can be a challenge in more ways than one. Read More »

While the Untemplater web site is full of interesting content, one fact about it will be especially interesting to web workers. Its six founders live all over the world, in places including New Zealand, Thailand and Wisconsin. Read More »

While the debate over Mac versus PC will last for eternity, one of the elements that many “diehard” PC users have thrown at Apple fanboys is the ability to really tweak their experience, through application add-ons and plugins. Mac users who use Firefox have had a little … Read More »

Apple’s original implementation of “smart” file management isn’t just limited to the Finder, and in fact, you’ve probably seen it more often in other applications like Address Book and Mail. Here are some ideas of how you can harness the power of these two applications using the … Read More »

All clients are different, but there are some things you can count on every client needing from you as a freelance contractor. Some may be obvious, but others might not be so apparent, and having them in place could save you a lot of both embarrassment … Read More »

Very few things in life come without any risk, and most of the really interesting things have a proportionally high risk associated with them. Being a web worker, for example, comes with significant risk, whether you are on your own as a freelancer, or working in a … Read More »

I write a lot of articles about writing, but that’s only one side of the coin for many online journalism and blogging jobs. Many places now want you to be able to be a decent photographer, too. My means of acquiring this particular skill set originally … Read More »

Once a tool employed mainly by hardcore users, GeekTool seemed to begin exploding across OS X desktops in 2009. But despite its widening usage, many still are unfamiliar with this fantastic utility (you’ve probably seen it, and not even realized) or just don’t know how … Read More »

Are you just getting the ingredients together to start a business? Or are you in the process of making your dessert — taking your business from new to sweet? In either case, you can take your business up a notch with social media. Building conversations anywhere … Read More »

Need to jot a quick thought down while in the browser? If you’re using Google Chrome, you might want to keep an eye on the Chromepad extension highlighted over at the How To Geek. I’d say this one is in early development, but … Read More »

Yesterday, I recently shared four ways to market your business with content, after a reader asked for a more detailed list of specific things small businesses could do to have a continuous marketing/promotional program. You don’t have to limit your marketing and … Read More »

We’ve all experienced times of boredom in our work. Maybe you’ve been doing the same work for too long, whether it’s a corporate job or just the same types of client projects over a long period of time. Whether you are a freelancer working on client … Read More »

Last week, I talked about three ingredients for business success, one being the need for systematic and consistent promotion and marketing. A reader asked for a more detailed list of specific things small businesses could do to have a continuous marketing/promotional program. One of my … Read More »

Many users of Google’s Nexus One phone are having problems with sporadic 3G connectivity. Kevin Tofel found a very small adjustment that makes a world of difference. Read More »

So many changes on Facebook, so little time. Just when you think you understand the differences between Profiles, Pages and Groups, and the functionality and features of each, Facebook changes the landscape — seemingly on a whim. How can any of us keep up? Here’s a short … Read More »

Have you heard about AT&T’s A-List? (In my circle of acquaintances, surprisingly few have.) Similar to other carriers, AT&T now offers five to 10 (depending on your rate plan) numbers that are free of charge. If you combine this with a Google Voice account, … Read More »

We all know that working for yourself can be lonely, rewarding, challenging, exciting — and just plain hard. But if you haven’t worked for yourself before, and you’re considering it, it can be difficult to imagine exactly what it’ll actually be like. It can be … Read More »

I’ve been on my fair share of remote writing projects, including technical writing, contributing to books and writing for publications. Working on such projects and hearing from clients and colleagues about successful (and less so) remote writing projects, I’ve come to see that … Read More »

Web work can be an unstable ride. Since we are all independent, we have varying ways of dealing with challenges and opportunities that arise in our work. I don’t think there’s one strategy that fits us all, but there are four aspects of our careers … Read More »

The iTunes LP is the new format Apple has been pushing in iTunes. It’s more like a DVD than anything else. You have menus, music, photos, liner notes and videos. Since this is such a fresh format, not many albums are available in it yet. The … Read More »

For me, 2009 was marked by big work changes, and these precipitated big lifestyle changes. I went from working full-time in a city office as a copywriter to freelancing as a journalist and editor entirely from home. That’s right: as publications the world over raced … Read More »

“You are in three businesses: the book business, the marketing business, and the people business.” — Michael Larson, as quoted in “Get Known Before the Book Deal” It takes a while to appreciate the juggling you have to do as a business owner, but Larson’s … Read More »

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