Thing 13: On-Line Productivity Tools

I have changed my homepage (on my home computer) to igoogle - I am constantly finding things that I had no idea were out there - of course I wasn't looking. I had a great time customizing my igoogle with word of the day, joke of the day, news, weather, and the like. I even have it set up with a background that changes according to the time of day - now every time I get on my computer I get up to date information about things I am chosing to have displayed. I like it, I plan to keep it as my homepage.
I am sure that this would be a great tool for the library, but it would have to be done on each computer and that is a task that is truly daunting, not to mention that each computer would then be customized only for one person. I am enjoying the new homepage and the features that it allows me to take advantage of.
I went to google calendars...time sink! I think this will be a useful tool, now that I have it all set up - I even added my new rabbit's birthday! I will be able to view this calendar from any computer instead of always having to carry around my paper calendar - as long as I can remember to update the on-line one.
I checked out both the list sites - I have signed up for Remember the Milk. I LOVE to make lists - if the calendar was a time sink for me - list making will be off the charts - I will go back to Remember the Milk and work on lists after I have finished my 23 Things on a Stick.
I looked at Backpack and decided that I would look more closely at that tool when I had both a plan and a lot of time. It seems like it would be useful for students working on group projects. I will have to check it out more.
I have recently been introduced to CutePDF and it is a great tool. I put a lot of documents on the reading club website and CutePDF has become invaluable to me. It is viewable by everyone, the program is available at no cost, the download is not too time consuming, and it is easy to use. I highly recommend it.
I glanced at Zamzar - I was also just introduced to a program called media convert. I will have to see which one the students like better.