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Make that PC like new – PC World November 25, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings, Tech tips.
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We translators have to take advantage of our down time when we can get it. I am having a bit of down time at the moment and am taking full advantage of it. Here is an article from PC World that I’ve had hanging about the office for forever (the article is from March 2006). The article offers valuable cleaning hints to thoroughly clean your computer inside and out. Anyway, this article is definitely worth a read!

Make That PC Like New

When it comes to computers, spring cleaning means more than defragging a hard drive. It also means, well, cleaning.

Laurianne McLaughlin
Mar 7, 2006 10:00 pm

Martha Stewart’s spring cleaning probably involves homemade lemon-scented beeswax and complex polishing rituals. For me, it’s time to open the windows, clear my desk, and get rid of the keyboard crunchies. You know what I’m talking about: the remains of every muffin, cookie, and Pop Tart you’ve eaten over your computer’s keyboard.

Yes, your average PC-beautification project typically involves system-optimization tasks–drive defragmentation, spyware sweeps, and the like. This story includes those, too. But let’s face it: The outside of a computer can get as nasty as the inside.

When the tax man cometh and leaves start to appear again on the trees outside, it’s a good time to give your PC a thorough cleaning, inside and out. Perhaps you live somewhere that requires you to run the heat and keep the windows closed all winter, and now your home’s dust quotient has hit its peak. Once summer hits, you’re not going to want to park in front of the PC for an afternoon of cleanup chores. So, from dusty monitors to disorganized hard drives, it’s time to get your PC in order–before the mess catches up with you.

Bust the dust. PC cases can get truly dusty, which is a risk to the long-term well-being of your computer. First, make sure to turn off the PC before doing any cleaning tasks. Then look at the fan on the back of your system: If it’s fuzzy, use a can of compressed air (sold at hardware stores for less than $10) to spray off the dust in a sideways direction. Dust other case surfaces with a disposable dusting cloth, like Swiffer-brand cloths. If there’s other gunk on the case (maybe a late-night coffee stain) a slightly damp paper towel will do the trick. Note: While dust lurks inside, too, don’t go there unless you’re very familiar with the PC’s internal organs.

Detail your printer. To prevent printer jams and other foul-ups, give a small burst of compressed air to the printer mechanism that rolls in the paper. With an inkjet printer, make sure to print at least a page once a week in order to avoid cartridge clogs. To clean the outside of the printer case (usually unnecessary, unless the printer lives in a kitchen and has a close encounter with flying food), use a slightly damp cloth. Check out PCWorld.com for more printer-cleaning tips.

Kill keyboard crud. More goodies may lurk in your keyboard than live under your couch. (Unless you’re the parent of a small child–in that case, the keyboard is one of the only surfaces beneath which you’ll never find Cheerios.) Unplug the keyboard, and then turn it upside down to shake out the cookie crumbs and edible artifacts. If you want to take the keyboard apart and do some surgical cleaning–say, between the keys–you can. But remember: You could buy a new, clean one for between $10 and $20.

Improve your view. When was the last time you dusted your monitor? Unplug it and dust it with a disposable dusting cloth. If it’s really dirty–say, with dirty fingerprints or a yogurt-covered handprint–unplug it and use a slightly damp cloth with water only. (Some monitor makers sell cleaning solutions, but you probably don’t need one unless you have a fancy or expensive monitor.) Note: Do not use Windex-type glass cleaners or household detergents. And never spray water directly on the display.

And Now, Your System’s Innards . . .

With the outside of your PC all clean and new, it’s time to turn your attention to the insides, namely to the bits and bytes that can end up strewn everywhere after prolonged PC use. If it’s springtime, and you haven’t done any of these things, do them now. And try not to wait a whole year before taking some of these measures again.

As always, before optimizing your PC, back up your important data.

Update your Windows. If you have time for no other cleaning chores, make sure you keep your Windows operating system updated. Otherwise, invaders worse than bathroom mildew could take over your PC. In Windows XP’s start menu, right-click on My Computer, then choose Properties, Automatic Updates, and choose a time for Windows to update itself daily.

Check antivirus protection. Antivirus software does you no good unless you keep the definitions up to date. The software can’t protect you if it doesn’t know what’s on the latest watch list. If you own Norton Anti-Virus, for example, you must pay yearly for access to updated definitions. Not sure if your definitions are up to date? Click on your antivirus software, and it will tell you if you need to renew, or the date on which you’re going to need to renew (most programs will hound you for weeks leading up to the expiration date).

Play “I spy.” Spyware programs, those devious little applets that camp out in your PC after you open a malicious e-mail or visit a rogue Web page, can be tough to find. You’re wise to check for them regularly. If your system’s running slowly, your Web browser settings seem to change automatically, or you have strange icons in your system tray, it’s definitely time to check for spyware. Try SpySweeper 4.5, $30 at webroot.com. Also check out Process Explorer, a free utility that will tell you if strange things are happening in the background.

Defrag the hard drive. Your PC’s hard drive needs help to stay in tip-top shape. If you regularly defragment your hard drive, your reward will be quick access to files and software programs. Windows XP will do the work for you: From the Start menu, go to Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Got an older version of Windows? Try this.

Stop file mayhem. If you don’t organize your PC files once in a while, your hard drive starts to resemble the junk drawer in your kitchen. First, clean out your temporary files: From My Computer, right click the C: drive, then select Properties and Disk Cleanup. Check Temp Files and Recycle Bin and click OK. Next, in order to get rid of duplicate files, try a free utility such as Duplicate File Finder.

More Spring-Cleaning Tools

You’ve done the bare minimum it takes to gear up your system for another 12 months of action (and remember, some of these maintenance chores shouldn’t wait another 12 months). Now you’re really in the spring-cleaning spirit, correct?

Here are some handy utilities (most are free) to help you clean up even more messes lurking inside your PC. One can even help you recover from accidental deletions.

  • RegSeeker: Warning: Messing with the Windows Registry is not for novices, or the faint of heart, and it can seriously impact your PC. However, if you’re the tinkering type who wants to clean up the crud lying around in the Windows Registry, consider RegSeeker. It’s free.
  • IE Privacy Keeper: Keep your Web-browsing tracks clean with this free tool, which lets you schedule regular cookie, history, and cache cleanups.
  • ScrubXP: Not only can Windows and your browser reveal plenty about you, so can your programs–they can give away things like what documents you’ve recently viewed. Scrub XP gets rid of temporary files, plus any auto-complete and document lists that may reside in your apps. The cost? Can you say “free”?
  • Sandra 2005 Lite: This combination pack of testing and tune-up tools will help you diagnose and address issues affecting different parts of your computer, from hard drive to memory. This handy program will help you maximize performance and spot problems early. The trial period is free, but it costs $35 to keep.
  • Restoration: In case you accidentally delete a file or two while you’re doing all your spring cleaning, check out this free utility. It can find what you tossed.

Laurianne McLaughlin is a freelance technology writer based near Boston.

Keeping your Internet profile clean November 20, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Random musings.
6 comments

As a professional it is so important to keep your online profile clean. A careless comment in a blog, a website publicizing an illegal or questionable pastime, or a racy photo on MySpace can really hurt your chances of landing a good client or job – not to mention generating lots of gossip among those who know you. It never ceases to amaze me how many people don’t think about this.

I attended my twentieth high school reunion last year, and everyone was talking about how one of the guys was a “pervert” because he had posted a picture of his johnson on MySpace. This was just recently impressed on me again when one of my clients asked if I knew a certain translator who had applied for an in-house job because they became wary after viewing his MySpace page.

According to May 2008 article in the Washington Post, Keeping Your Profile Clean, “a recent survey by ExecuNet, a networking organization for business leaders, found that 83 percent of executives and corporate recruiters research job candidates online, and 43 percent have eliminated a candidate based on search results. Even if you’re not in the market for a new job, it’s a good idea to clean the skeletons out of your digital closet.”

The author suggests doing a Google search “to pinpoint any negative hits you’d like to remove.” She also talks about setting up a Google Alert on your name to keep tabs on your reputation and mentions several other services one could use to improve one’s online reputation. This seems like a lot of work to me. I simply suggest not doing anything to generate those negative hits in the first place.

If you are going to participate in social networking sites like MySpace, Xanga, LiveJournal or Facebook, I suggest thinking before you post. Think of these sites as an extension to your résumé. Ask yourself, “Would I put this information in my résumé or a job application?” A picture of you drunk at a party – or worse – is clearly not a good way to promote yourself. It is also important to make sure that your friends do not post inappropriate pictures or information about you on their sites.

Of the social sites I mentioned, Facebook is a little better, because you can control who has access to your information. You have to “friend” (i.e., approve) someone before the person can have access to your page. However, it is important to remember that many institutions may hire students or have sites themselves and they could request access to your site. And you certainly should not befriend a client on Facebook if you don’t want the client to know mundane details about your life or the fact that you are hung over from the big party last night – especially if you have a big translation due at the end of business. They and everyone else who is linked to you might then be asking themselves what you are doing partying if you have a big job due in the first place. But that’s a whole other can of worms…

Amazon UK launches Literature in Translation store November 12, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings, Translation Sites.
2 comments

Blogging Translator reports that Amazon UK has launched a Literature in Translation store last week. I think I will be bookmarking the site just as a reference for new books to read. The store features a scroll bar with the top 48 Bestsellers in Literature in Translation, and they also focus on one or two authors. They are focusing on Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk and Austrian/Czech author Franz Kafka (he was born in Prague, but was from a German-speaking Jewish family) at the moment. I am always open to new and interesting book suggestions.

This is also a great way to publicize our profession. Even if they haven’t made a huge announcement, we can. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell other colleagues.

Having worked at Borders for several years when I first moved back to the States (practicing what I preach to budding translators – get a part-time job to pay the rent while you are just starting out and trolling for clients), I came to realize most customers had no clue they were reading translations, which is a huge complement when you are the one who translated the book but not so ideal in terms of publicizing the profession. Heck, most customers didn’t even know the author’s name… I got really good at trying to figure out what they were looking for based on vague descriptions or knowing what Oprah just recommended. 🙂

I also love that publishers are finally starting to prominently feature the name of the translator on cover pages. I’m reading Out by Natsuo Kirino right now, which was translated by Stephen Snyder, and his name is featured prominently on the cover page as well as in the Amazon listing. This is a great advancement for us. Most literary translators were never mentioned on cover pages in the past.

Amazon UK prefaces their Literature in Translation store as follows:

Welcome to our Literature in Translation store. Browse here for great deals on top fiction from around the globe. You can search by language or by genre to discover new authors, and see what other people are reading and rating.

so check it out.

Taking criticism like a man and applying it to T&I November 9, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Random musings, Translation Sites.
6 comments

The Art of Manliness has an interesting post on how to give and take criticism like a man that definitely benefits both genders. The point of (constructive) criticism is to help someone improve – and who doesn’t appreciate being able to improve? When used sparingly and constructively, criticism can be quite welcome. I think translators should read this so that we learn how to best respond to criticism. If you always respond negatively to criticism you are inevitably burning more bridges that you are building. I also really wish our clients would read this post and take some pointers for the times when they need to offer us feedback.

If you have been in the T&I industry for any length of time you have most likely had your translation criticized in one way or another. Let’s face it, it happens. Sometimes one’s style does not necessarily jibe with the client’s. Stylistic complaints are the most frustrating, and they are easier to brush off in my head. Not everyone likes my style, and that is ok. I simply devote myself to my clients who do.

Also, sometimes I have an off day (or several) when I’m not feeling well, am feeling out of sorts and/or lethargic, etc., but still have to meet the deadline. It is so nice to translate when I am highly motivated and the words just flow. However, not every day is like that. Our tight deadlines ensure that we have to produce even when we have a very tight deadline and are having an “off” biorhythm day. Clients also need to remember this, because no one is perfect.

I am not advocating doing sloppy work or offering excuses. We should always do whatever we can to ensure we consistently produce quality work. As Thea Dohler suggested, we should schedule our most demanding work at the time of day in which we are in our highest productivity curve. I intend to implement this starting this week. My highest productivity curve tends to be around noon or one. In my case, in order to ensure consistently qualitative work I have a colleague who proofreads the texts which I feel could use a second pair of eyes and I proofread her texts and help her with computer problems. This collaborative partnership works very well, and it ensures that I do not deliver a text in which I have misunderstood something or made a grave error.

My favorite passage in the abovementioned post was:

Criticize the action, not the person. Try to keep the person as separated from their mistakes as possible by criticizing their action and not them. It makes the criticism less hurtful and much more effective. So don’t say things like, “Jeez Louise you must be an idiot! Look at all these mistakes you made in this report!” Just because someone makes a mistake, that doesn’t make the person a pinhead. We all have bad days.

A little over a year ago one of my (now former) clients ripped apart my translation and demanded a discount, but since she was known for doing this I didn’t take it personally, admitted some of her points were valid and accepted a discount. However, I repeat: I did not take it personally (see: Consider the source in the quoted article). Ripping apart a translation really has nothing to do with helping a translator improve. I wasn’t hurt when they stopped contacting me, because frankly it was too stressful to try to produce a quality text that I knew was going to be ripped apart anyway. I don’t miss them, and they weren’t a good fit for me. I have since found new clients who are a much better fit.

Anyway, I have digressed… The sentence “Criticism is an important part of our personal self improvement, for it is other people who can point out mistakes and shortcomings that we can’t see because we lack objectivity.” is an important one. It is so true. If I am acting like an idiot I need to be told diplomatically so that I don’t continue to act like an idiot. As a Virgo, I am already my worst critic as it is and have most likely already magnified my behavior in my head to be worse than it probably is. 🙂

I love getting feedback on my translations, because it makes me a better translator. However, clients need to be as specific as they can, because a simple “it just wasn’t good” frankly isn’t good enough. We need specific examples to decide whether the criticism is justified and to change to ensure the client is happier the next time. I like to think I can take criticism like a man, but this article was a welcome reminder of the various ways to do so.

Musings about the ATA conference in Orlando November 9, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Random musings, Translation Sites.
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Greetings from sunny Florida, where I have deliberately tacked on an extra day after the conference to my trip. The original plan was to go to Epcot, but the more I thought about it the more sense it made to simply lay around by the pool and relax. I’ve been to Epcot and enjoyed it, but it’s expensive and frankly I am exhausted after two consecutive days of very late nights and very early mornings. This night owl isn’t used to getting up early, and I closed the hotel bar two nights in a row and woke up very early for two consecutive mornings to drive friends to the airport.

My first ATA conference was Atlanta in 2002, and I haven’t missed one since. They are very addictive for numerous reasons – the biggest one being the pleasure of being around intelligent, like-minded people. I don’t necessarily go there to meet new clients or learn something new, but it inevitably happens. I was mulling over everything I learned at this conference and thought it might be fun to share it with you all in bullet form.

What I learned at the ATA conference:

  • I met a lot of great new people and was able to put lots of faces with names.
  • The hotel bar (and/or hotel pool) is the best place to get to know people.
  • I enjoyed visiting with old friends. Ted Wozniak, Michael Wahlster and Susanne Aldridge (III) are absolutely hilarious and fabulous people to hang out with. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Every lunch, dinner and drinks in the bar with them or a combination thereof as well as anyone else who ended up joining us was an absolute joy.
  • I need to schedule a lunch or dinner with Jost next time. I really wanted to talk to him more than I was able to.
  • No matter how hard I try I will never be able to spend as much time as I want with everyone I want to spend time with.
  • Being the only sober one in the hotel bar at 1 a.m. because you have to drive to your off-site hotel can be quite amusing, because you can sit back and soak in the drama and heightened emotions of the artificial conference setting and alcohol-induced behavior.
  • I’m staying in the conference hotel next year – damn the cost. Drinking one or two drinks and then just ginger ale ensures you can function after four hours of sleep, but it isn’t as fun. Plus you should try to get to the morning yoga session, because it is apparently very invigorating.
  • I will be doing yoga every day at home from now on to try to loosen my taut muscles. And Nina G.’s suggestion of two-hour massages every two weeks is also going to be a serious consideration.
  • The massage therapist in the Exhibit Hall taught me some easy ways to loosen the muscle in my forearm and get rid of the tendonitis. She was shocked how tight it was all the way down to my wrist.
  • I will be buying a T-Mobile Dash this week, because they are really cool. Three of my friends had one, and I was able to test it out.
  • Thea Dohler’s presentations were just as good if not better than I have always heard they are. Thanks to her time management seminar, I learned how to manage my time better and schedule my work based on my biorhythms. Her Attracting Clients from Germany seminar gave me some very useful tips for approaching German direct clients.
  • The one session you are really looking forward to may not be at all what you expected. I should have really read the session description for the social networking session closer, because I assumed it was something it was not.
  • I will be submitting a proposal on social networking tools like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook (in this case urging it not to be used for business purposes) for next year’s conference. It gives me a year to really study how they can be beneficial to translators. Judy Jenner and I will most likely present it together.
  • I will also be submitting a proposal for a session with Susanne (and hopefully Marita) about optical character recognition, ABBYY FineReader and other OCR tools, and word count tools.
  • Presenting two sessions is just enough. Any more than that is pure insanity. I really enjoyed doing a preconference session and the first session, because I could enjoy the other sessions without worrying about my presentation overlapping with a session I really want to attend.
  • It is much better to present with someone else, because I easily forget to mention things and the co-presenter can chime in with a brilliant insight that might not have been mentioned otherwise. Corinne McKay is really good at that. It also livens things up.
  • We will be having another blogger lunch again next year. It was a really fun lunch. I’ll be posting my photos later, because I forgot to bring a cable to upload them from my camera and my laptop is so antiquated it doesn’t have a suitable photo card drive.
  • Wearing a t-shirt to advertise your blog is a waste of time. I felt sloppy, and people looked at me funny. Or I will plan ahead better and really get a sharp t-shirt that has the graphic as it is in the header of the blog and not just the address and a really tiny graphic that can’t be recognized.
  • Reservations for lunch or dinner should always be for a (much) higher number than originally planned because your friends invite two friends who invite two friends and so on and so on…
  • I’m going to let others organize the lunches and dinners, because I don’t handle change or delays well. As a double Virgo (Sun and rising sign in Virgo), I can become quite cranky, irritable, and nervous when things don’t go as planned and others are surprised when I do so and don’t realize I get over it again quite quickly. And it spoils the mood somewhat.
  • I will be adding graphics of the book covers I have translated to my web site.
  • I will be posting several of my LinkedIn references on my web site’s References page.
  • I will be tweaking my web site a little better to attract German clients.
  • I need to market more to direct clients.
  • I need to work more on focusing on the person I am talking to and really concentrating on what they say. When I did that I found it much more rewarding.
  • Bring ear plugs to the conference dance, because the music is simply too loud to enjoy without them. I would have loved to stay longer and actually dance, but my ears hurt.
  • Don’t expect to eat well at the division receptions unless they are off-site. Hotel-catered receptions suck. And if you can’t eat cheese or drink lots of wine they suck even more. Think of the attendance fee as a networking/advertising expense and not as payment for the “refreshments.”
  • Harangue your friends to stay for the conference dance, because it isn’t as fun without anyone to dance with.
  • Consider staying until Monday. After four days of networking and being “on” it feels wonderful to just relax and do nothing. I had a nice chat with several folks by the conference hotel pool this morning. I also loved sitting by the seafood restaurant in my hotel facing the fountain with a good book and several banana coladas and having a blue heron try to beg for some of my seafood. It also allowed me to take a much-needed nap by the pool and then in my room at my hotel this afternoon.

I’m sure there are more, but these are the ones that have sprung to mind so far today. I’ll be going into more detail about several of these list items in the coming weeks.

Blog lunch update October 30, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings.
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I am busy tying up loose ends before I leave for Orlando first thing tomorrow morning. Since I am the one who suggested it, I just want to specify some details for our upcoming Blog Lunch (for bloggers and readers) in Orlando. I haven’t chosen the restaurant, but let’s meet in the lobby immediately after the morning session ends at 12:30 on Thursday to go out for lunch. I will be in the lobby as soon as I can after my presentation, so you should expect me around 12:45. That will give me time to answer questions and pack my stuff up. I can run to the Exhibit Hall to drop off my resumes and business cards after lunch. We can walk to a nearby restaurant together. Since I will be arriving Tuesday afternoon I will have scoped things out by then. See you then!

Creating a conducive work environment October 29, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Random musings.
5 comments

I woke up this morning to snow. It had been sleeting off and on all day yesterday, but I kept telling myself it was okay as long as the snow didn’t stick (that’s Ohio-speak for “accumulate on the ground and not melt away”). I had hoped it wouldn’t snow until after I had left for Florida, but I’m going to see this as the glass being half full and now say it will make me appreciate Florida all the more.

When the weather turns cold, I tend to nest in my apartment. My office isn’t heated (I converted a neat little storage room off my bedroom), but with the door to the bedroom open it tends to stay pretty comfortable. When it gets really cold I have a space heater that I can use. But most of the time I can work with just a sweater or sweatshirt, comfy bottoms, and warm, fuzzy socks and stay reasonably comfortable.

It is really important to have a work environment that is conducive to work, so I also usually light a candle in the winter to soothe me. I usually have a lavender candle going, but I unboxed my Halloween decorations yesterday and have a nice triple-layer candle from Root Candle (Pumpkin Spice, Mulled Cider and Citrus Grove) burning this morning. Also, in honor of the first day of snow, I broke out my last remaining can of Borders Pumpkin Chai. Borders discontinued its chai several years ago and I had been hording it, only making a couple mugs a month. I recently discovered that Borders Chai is/was Mystic Chai, so I found an online distributor and bought it in bulk to make it through the winter. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find any Pumpkin Chai, but their Vanilla Chai is wonderful too.

So I’m ready to tackle the day, with a candle burning and a steaming mug of Pumpkin Chai next to me. Hope your day is just as relaxing despite the fact that everyone is scrambling to get translation jobs completed before the ATA conference starts and the translation industry is down 2,000 translators.

P.S.: I just received a response from Mystic Chai to my e-mail this morning:

Thank you for your interest in our product. We are no longer producing the Mystic Pumpkin Chai. The two flavors we have available are the Spiced and Vanilla. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Now we know.

Tempers flaring all over the place October 29, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings.
1 comment so far

One of the blogs I subscribe to, The Happiness Project, has a really interesting post about staying calm despite pre-election jitters. Even if you aren’t in the U.S. I think this is sound advice in general. I’ve noticed that tempers are flaring all over the place at the moment (on Monday there were petty arguments on four of the listservs I subscribe to – not all translation-related), so I wanted to share this with you all. I think it has to do with the fact that the weather is turning bad and people are stressed out with the start of the holiday season, too much work, the push to get everything done before leaving for the ATA conference, etc. It’s a very strange phenomenon I noticed several years ago, because I fell prey to it.

Deciphering illegible source texts October 27, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings, Translation Sites.
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I agreed to translate a batch of medical invoices and reports this week and am just realizing that the source documents are so illegible that my OCR program will not read them. It took an hour to run the 46 pages through ABBYY FineReader, but the results were so abysmal I threw the results out and decided to print the pages out and type the translation by hand. As a result I won’t be able to give my client a price quote. It is a disquieting feeling – not knowing how many words await me and being unable to use Trados on the files. Even if the source text is pretty bad I usually run it through ABBYY for a rough word count, copy and paste the text into a clean Word file, and format it by hand. These source texts were so bad it would have been completely counterproductive, so now I get to look forward to deciphering illegible doctor’s stamps and handwritten referrals for the next few days.

You don’t realize how dependent you become on programs like ABBYY and Trados until you can’t use them. I had a flash of brilliance while writing this post and decided to delete the illegible pages in Adobe Acrobat and then run those legible pages through ABBY. I also have printed out all 46 pages to refer to as needed (the down side to this is that I have now used up all my “scrap” paper for printing and will have to use fresh pages for a while…). It isn’t a complete panacea, but it will allow me to translate the legible invoices and medical reports and get a general idea of what awaits me. I feel like an idiot for not having thought of it sooner. I definitely have a bad case of the Mondays!

Petition to roll back iGoogle design change October 19, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings, Tools.
5 comments

If you are a long-time reader of this site, you will know that I love my iGoogle homepage. It keeps me up-to-date on a lot of news and provides me with entertainment and crossword puzzles for much-needed breaks. iGoogle allows you to customize the page to have all your information at your fingertips, including news sources, weather, RSS feeds, and all kinds of neat Google gadgets that make your life easier. I also have my web-based e-mail addresses (Yahoo! and Gmail), which I rarely or never looked at before, built in to my iGoogle page, so I am able to see at a glance if I have e-mails in my in boxes and call them up by opening a separate browser tab.

Last week iGoogle changed the design of the iGoogle Homepage to include a change known as ‘Canvas View.’ According to the Technology Blog at the Guardian, the new iGoogle is getting “a mixed reception.” Instead of putting the tabs on the top, Canvas View creates a drop-down tab area to the left side of the screen. This is a huge waste of space if you only use one tab – or even if you have several. It can in no way be considered an improvement. As a hyperorganized person I have my gadgets organized on the iGoogle page according to frequency of use and then by subject matter (calendar and to-do list at the top, all news feeds and entertainment sites grouped together below that). The new tab just lists the gadgets in no particular discernible order.

I tried to create new tabs to break down my various gadgets into categories, but was frustrated because I couldn’t drag and drop the gadgets between my tabs. In my search for a solution I stumbled on an online petition to roll the design change back. My favorite sentence from the petition is:

…as users of your service, and various other services, we would like to request that companies such as yourself take note of this, and not use force to push redesigns on your respective users. While we are very aware that it is your services and website over which you rightly have total control, forcing a redesign on we, the users who live with these products every day is rude, and it disengenders our sense of loyalty to continuing to use your services.

If you would like to sign the petition, click here. I don’t know if it will do much good, but I definitely wanted to voice my displeasure with the new change. This gave me a forum to do so. Hopefully iGoogle will soon allow us to go back to the old format if we so choose.

Thanks to some persistent googling on my part apparently there is a fix to the problem called iGoogle Sidebar Collapse. The iGoogle Sidebar Collapse Greasemonkey script toggles the visibility of the new iGoogle sidebar with the click of a mouse or a user-defined keyboard shortcut. If you want to learn more, click here. I’m going to go install it now…