PTA Technology Corner

Nearly half of all teenagers did NOT buy a compact disc in 2007, according to a research study done by the NPD Group.

Online music sales continue to climb confirmed by a report earlier in the week that Apple’s iTunes has become the #2 music seller behind Walmart, and analysts predict that iTunes will eclipse Walmart later this year.

And finally, in January the debate behind HD-DVD and Blue-Ray high definition compact disc formats (echoes from the VHS-Betamax mess of the 1980’s) was finally settled when major movie companies picked Blue-Ray over HD-DVD. Toshiba, the maker of the HD-DVD drives, put it to rest when they stopped production on the units.

But who cares? Downloading movies is upon us. Only two days after the beginning of the end of the high-def debate started, Apple announced their iTunes Movie Rental service and updated Apple TV device.

The times they are a changin’!

My full-time job is as the owner of a college marketing firm, TargetX. We work with over 450 colleges and universities helping them craft and execute their recruiting efforts. And for almost the past 20 years I’ve been on the other side of the table from parents and future college students. But this year it’s my turn.

I write another blog called “The Recruiting Revolution” about the changes happening in the college search process. Much of this change is attributed to the Internet as well as unique traits of this Millennial generation.

Today began my posts about my step-son, Julius’ search for the perfect college. I welcome you to visit my other blog if you have a high school student at home. It’s going to be a long journey but well worth the effort put into it.

If you’re like me, keeping your schedule together is anything but easy. Between my work schedule, my kid’s schedules and finding the occasional opportunity for my wife and I to get time together, it’s amazing I’m still able to function. Looking for the perfect solution to manage it all not just for me but for the rest of my family has been a constant challenge.

Many years ago we started with the large wall calendar - you know, the month-at-a-glance type you find at any office supply store. This works fine especially since we put it on the wall between the kitchen and the dining room where we must pass it a hundred times a day. The problem with it is that it’s physically fixed in the house - many times when making appointments or schedule activities I’m not at the house.

The next natural step was to use a PDA (personal digital assistant). Even better is if it also is a phone. We can all thank Palm for the Treo - one of the many wonderful devices available on the market that combine both phone and calendar (and a bunch of other stuff I rarely used) that I can fit in my pocket. I can even sync it to my computer’s calendar so my stuff is there too. The downside is that only I have my schedule with me - what about everyone else? And what if anyone else I deem important (aka my wife) wants to see my calendar and vice versa?

One technology that might help is called iCal (which is sometimes known by its computer filename extension, .ics). Built into the Apple OSX operating system is a great program called simply iCal. A great online calendar system that uses iCal is the Google Calendar. And there are tools available to connect these two so your calendar can exist in many places - for example, on your phone, your computer and online. They can be protected so only specified people can see your calendar too.

UPDATE: Google just recently announced a tool to sync your Google Calendar to Microsoft Outlook.

There are many ways to do this depending on the operating system you use, the phone you have and the number and types of people you with which you want to share your information. I’ll share with you how we do it, if for any reason, to provide inspiration.

My wife has a Palm Treo 650 and an Apple Macbook. I have an Apple iPhone and a Mac Powerbook. Both the Treo and the iPhone can sync easily with iCal on our computers. Then I can publish each calendar to a website and password protect it. Finally, I setup my iCal to subscribe to my wife’s calendar, and her calendar to subscribe to my calendar. That way we both have not only our calendar, but also the other’s.

To do this right it’s probably best for each person to have multiple calendars, if you will. I have a calendars setup for work, home, volunteer stuff, birthdays, holidays and travel. That way I only publish which types of events my wife cares about.

It’s not as difficult as it sounds. But if you want to start someplace, check out either Google Calendar, a wonderful online calendar you can share with others. Or Plaxo, a free online site to host and share (with permission) your contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, etc. with specific individuals you grant permission.

In the end, it’s all about 24 hours in a day. Perhaps these ideas will help you avoid trying to squeeze more hours into the day than possible, and enjoy the time you have with your family. Best wishes!