Bits, Bursts & Bongos

Our market economy’s abundant offering and ample choice forces us to create restrictions not to drown in excess. The idea that choice is a democratic right assumes that everyone is well-informed and educated. People are not.

I’ve embraced simplicity in everything I do since a few years back. If forces me to think before I buy, use or throw away. A few weeks ago - inspired by Minimal Mac - I cleaned up my iPhone home-screen. It was a fantastic experience in defining real need, prioritizing and setting restrictions. Not to speak of de-cluttering life.

I’ve done the same on all our desktop and powerbooks. Above is an image of how the desktop on my Air looks like. No visible hard-drive or files, no cluttered menu bar and no overcrowded dock. It’s Desktop Zero.

Here is a list of desktop applications I use on a daily, weekly and monthly basis:

• Chrome - the best browser ever made. I use the Diigo, Freely, GMail, Facebook and Calendar extensions. Google Docs to store, edit and share any file extension.
• Spotify - cause they rock. The interface is making iTunes look silly.
• Hulu desktop - a fantastic user experience via the Apple remote.
• Skype - for outgoing free calls.
• iTunes and iPhoto - cause I must. Stuck in the Apple ecosystem (no need to have in dock though).

By using Google Docs for any file extension I’m also keeping my desktop clean. Docs is self-organizing so I don’t have to think about what I worked on last. Waking up to Desktop Zero (and Inbox Zero) makes work so much more pleasant. I don’t have to spend time working on old problems that might no longer exist, but focus my best creative hours on creating new value.

The Chrome extensions are a great way of being notified on new emails, invites or posts. Great place to start every morning to check mail, RSS feeds and Facebook posts. The same accessibility should obviously be available on the iPhone when traveling.

PS. The iPad has the potential of becoming the best of the desktop and the iPhone. Or the worst. In a few weeks we’ll see.