I recently refreshed my PIM (Personal Information Management) setup, and having just finished re-reading my friend Dan Roam’s book on visual thinking (The Back of the Napkin), felt compelled to sketch out a little table:
| A long time ago | A few years ago | Now | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snail mail (Paper) | Microsoft Outlook | Gmail | |
| Contacts | Address Book (Paper) | Palm Desktop | Google Contacts |
| Calendar | Agenda (Paper) | Palm Desktop | Google Calendar |
| Tasks | Paper | Palm Desktop | Remember the Milk |
| Notes | Paper | Palm Desktop | Evernote |
I noticed a few interesting trends that mirror the overall evolution in how computing has affected the way we work and live:
| Data Storage | Paper > Single Device > Multi-Platform/Cloud |
| Sync Method | Manual > Automatic |
| Mode | Analog/Offline > Digital/Online |
One platform still can’t do everything. Despite Google’s dominance and the advantages of a well-integrated set of services – specific competing platforms can still be better at certain niches.
