Writing on a Windows laptop is not easy; modern operating systems do everything in their power to interrupt the writing processes with annoying popups, system-procedures and menus that just always manage to get in the way.  Eventually, breaking the concentration needed to get on and actually write something!  Moreover, the internet is always right around the corner, tempting you to check up on Facebook, ping your blogs, pop up the RSS feeds, the list is endless. 

Many professional writers have come up with somewhat drastic methods to beat this syndrome.  Terry Pratchett, apparently, writes in his local library, Douglas Adams (may he rest in peace) used to lock himself in a hotel in Brighton with his copy editor for two weeks at a time.  They unplugged from the net and from the world to write.

I can’t do that.

Cesca and I have been away for 7 months now, travelling the East.  We have visited many countries and have had to write in some very funny places such as on bumpy Vietnam buses at midnight, fast moving Thai ferries, atop cold New Zealand mountains and (in the case of what I am writing now) in an Indian 2nd class train carriage.  There are hundreds packed in here today and all the windows are open due to the oppressive heat and the plastic seating. 

Moreover, thanks to the economic meltdown and the Mumbai terror attacks, tourists are a little rare around here right now and subsequently we are getting a lot more looks than white folk would normally encounter.  On top of this, every two seconds, someone tries to sell me something.

Mumbai 2nd Class Train

With so many distractions around me, my Windows Desktop needs to be on my side!  It needs to be the place I escape to, not from.

Thus with the dint of much effort I have come up with a Zen Desktop that has improved my concentration immeasurably.  It has toned down Windows by moving icons out of the way, it uses simple additional programs to display the important information without requiring me to reach for the mouse and all are chosen for their speed and lightweight footprint.

It also has a background image of the greatest concentrator of all time, a man who is a lesson to us all of what humans can achieve if they could only get some peace!

I want to share a little of that peace with you.

Caveat

One thing before we start.  I am not so much writing a total how-to guide, more showing what I achieved with a little work.  If this inspires at all then I have done my job.  Desktops are inherently personal and many of the more technical guides do not work – believe me I have tried most of them – so this is what is best for me and my inner peace and what programs, configs and setups I used to achieve it.  Your own journey may be different and that is a good thing: because it makes you think about creating a true arena of relaxation in which you can craft that novel, write that blog, or simply fulfil your tasks better.

My Zen Desktop

Where I go to get away, not where I want to get away from!

Thanks to

Firstly, and most importantly, many of the funk and visuals of this desktop are due to the sterling work of Kaelri who had been making great desktops and posting them on Lifehacker.com.  Mine uses some of the design from his “Enigma” setup.

Also, and with only one or two exceptions, the programs here are all open source: bonus!

Part 1 – Cleaning Up

To start I have removed all icons from the desktop and forced the taskbar to autohide.  To perform this simply cut and paste all your old icons into a folder.  Then Right mouse on the taskbar and chose properties. Then select Start Menu tab, then the Customize button.  Set the options in here to prevent Windows from displaying all the default icon options such as My Computer and Network.  Then select the Taskbar tab and select the option to autohide the taskbar.

Goodbye My Computer.

This gives the desktop so much more space, something that is a premium on a laptop, and immediately removes all distractions from the bottom right of the screen – those annoying little program icons.  Don’t worry, the important information we put back in better ways.  That done I added some programs.

Part 2 – New Programs

Starting at the top right, we have the always excellent Rocketdock from the Punk Software Team.  I have been using this for years and the latest incarnation is the best yet.  It is a very simple install. 

I also use a little plugin that allows you to have Mac OS style foldout menus.  The plugin is the Stack Docklet and allows you to customise each stack into groups. 

To create a stack start a new folder and stick in what you want – yes I am a Nethack freak…

I have changed the default icon set to the Reflections_DOCK_by_styrizo that turns the normal icons into small and neat groups of text.  Installing this is simple.  Copy over the new icons files into the directory with the current ones and overwrite.

Each represents a common group.  APPS contains my common applications (more later), COMP is the Windows Explorer, DOCS, PICS & DWNL (downloads) are self-explanatory and WIP (Work in progress) is my writing folder.  Then we have my two most common programs: ITNS (iTunes) and GOOG (Google Chrome).  The BLOG stack contains all the folder links and applications I commonly use to manage and write for my blog.  DVDP is full of applications that enable Basho Films to exist on the road, such as Sony Vegas 8 and Clone To Go convertor. 

The Rocketdock I modified to be smaller and placed in such a position that I can still access the up and down arrows of a full screen application when maximised.  This is also the position that best suite my wallpaper.  If I had different wallpaper, I might have put it on the top or bottom.

In the bottom right corner.  Here we are using Samurize, which is another brilliant program that is, amazingly, free.  I am using the basic Enigma setup with only a few tweeks.  Firstly, I removed much of the sidebar config using the editor – this is very easy – and moved the clock over to the far left (stripping most of the graphical embellishments on the way).  Making changes in Samurize is very simple.  The editor is WYSIWYG and akin to using a paint program.  By selecting the individual parts of the clock I could delete them and by drawing a box around the entire clock I could move all the elements together as one.

Let’s change the clock’s minute hand colour?

The rest is vanilla Enigma.  It shows all the information one needs when writing:  the current song in iTunes, the CPU and RAM utilisation percentage and the remaining battery power (probably the most vital piece of information on a laptop).  Finally, it shows the remaining space on the windows drive.

On the far left side.  This side is being generated by a different program called AveDesk 2.0.  This excellent desktop program allows you to use sidebar like widgets all over your desktop.  I only use the SysStats plugin (which is a separate download) and the vertical calendar download from the Avedesk website.  This I moved to the left and pinched a little to fit correctly.  SysStats is a program that connects with the systems internal workings.  It can show you almost anything about your system and is the engine behind many of the CPU Stats counters that are common to AveDesk. 

A simple solo widget config doesn’t slow the computer – 20 widgets will!

This is only half the story. 

Part 3 – Zero Effort Security

Next, I have run the program Ultimate Windows Tweaker by Ramesh Kumar of the WinVistaClub.  This program enables all sorts of little tweeks that tame Vista’s annoying alert and messages.  The most important thing to do is to turn off the terrible User Account Control, which is like cancer for concentration. 

UAC is gone.

To balance out the reduction in security I use the full version of ZoneAlam Pro.  But wait! Is that a purchased program?  Well, yes and no.  Yes, you pay for ZoneAlam Pro but no, I did not.  You see once a year for one day Checkpoint gives ZoneAlarm Pro away free.  That’s right – free.  The day is around Christmas, so watch the blogs for it. 

My Anti Virus is AVG free version.  Easy.

With these two in place and with CCleaner running every time you boot, even surfing the dark side of the net is (relatively) safe (Caveat Emptor on that one!).

Part 4 – Writing Irons

I also use a number of smaller applications to make my life smoother and easier.  Many programs are not conducive to clear minded writing.  One such example is Microsoft Word.  For while Word is a very powerful program, it is chock full of distractions and a royal pain in the ass for battery life.  Instead, I use the brilliant DarkRoom. This simple editor is free on Sourceforge and enables writing with no menus or anything else to get between you and prose.  This is vital to noticing mistakes and making you “hear” the writing as though it was someone else’s, which is a real boon to proof reading.

Dark room in action.

When something is written fully, only then do I spell check it.  I have an internal editor that works thusly:

1. Write it out in draft in DarkRoom without stopping.
2. Go and make a cup of tea/travel over the Laos border/Go out and get a beer with friends.
3. Import what you have written into Word/Windows Live Writer/Open Office.
4. Spell check, grammar check.
5. Now re-read it with fresh eyes.
6. Now read it aloud to yourself/your cat/your significant other.
7. Ready to post?

Step 6 is the most important.  It is vital, absolutely vital, that you read aloud your writing.  All of it.  Also and here is the rub, you must read it in the most boring voice you can manage.

Why?

I first heard of this technique from Sol Stein in his brilliant masterwork, “Stein On Writing.” 

In this book (which I have on my iPhone from Audible) he takes you through the lessons and teaches you the skill sets necessary to write well. 

Stein On Writing – the Writers’ Bible.

Of all the tips, pointers, and frankly great advice in this book, reading your work aloud in monotone is the best one.  What it sounds like in your head is not what it sounds like in mine.  The words must do the work and not your imagination.  Also mistakes and bad writing leaps off the screen this way.

Part 5 – Speed Research Browsing

My browser choice is Google Chrome because it is super fast.  To complement that I use the application TabsLock, which turns the CAPSLOCK key – a key no body uses – into a quick boot for Chrome.  Therefore, whenever I press it I get a new Chrome tab.  Again, this removes the need to stop the flow of writing by reaching for the mouse.  If I need to look something up on the net, I simply hit CAPSLOCK and Chrome opens a tab with the cursor in the search bar.  Searching is much quicker if you are not in control of the mouse; I do not drop from the “zone” and am not tempted to click Facebook.

Part 6 – Friends

Then we come to the most common distraction, friends.  These days, “friends” and “Acquaintances” have become one thanks to Facebook and Twitter.  I had many friends before, I have almost too many now.  On top of that, I have my website comments thread to trawl through and many many forums to read.  If I give these applications an inch, I can spend days on them.  In addition, the various programs and widgets that purport to make Twitter and Facebook easier are frankly very distracting. 

Instead, I use a master program to control them all: Disgby.  This excellent little application consolidates all my Gmail accounts, twitter account and Facebook accounts into one self-hiding sidebar.  Popups from the applications are small and in the bottom left corner of the screen where they do not interrupt my flow.  With Digsby, I have found a way of keeping these applications open without taking a break.

Part 7 – Wallpaper

Finally, I have a picture of the Buddha himself.  This is from a temple in Nha Trang Vietnam, taken by me.  It is part of a collection of Buddha wallpapers that I am putting together and will be releasing as a downloadable set with all donations going to particular orphanage in Cambodia Cesca and I visited during our time there.  The collection will contain top quality, wallpaper-worth shots from all the major Buddhist temples in Laos, China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. I have some great shots already and all taken live, none are web searched.  This collection will be impossible to replicate unless you track my journey around the world.  I have even been to temples deep underground that no one goes to, temples that millions go to and all sorts of super strange stuff in between (like the crazy Cao Dai temple in Southern Vietnam). If you are interested then check back, subscribe to my website or follow me on Twitter and I will announce when they are ready.

The base image for this particular wallpaper is here, you are welcome to it:

Big B leads the way.

Conclusion

I hope this article has spurred your thinking about what you can do to reduce clutter on your computer desktop to enable your writing.  If you are like me, then you have many projects that need tending to; if only you could focus.  With this new desktop you can banish procrastiation and get on with them!   With the right tweaks, your Windows desktop will become an oasis of calm and your study area away from the world; a great place to unwind with a good book: yours!

Regards,

Basho

Also, if you have any tips you want to share with us: please let us know!

Many people like to keep their friends and families updated when travelling by using the power of the internet.  Email and Facebook are fine systems that allow travellers to pass on news of the wider world in simple bite size chunks, but these are not enough.  Travellers are often away for longer periods of time and have much more to say in the forms of pictures as well as words and even film.  The multimedia rich records of travel cannot easily be emailed without sending large files that clog up multiple inboxes.  Neither can you attach a movie to a postcard!

Why wait until you are back to show you family your pictures and film?  Why not let them experience the joy of travelling alongside you in a way that will endure?

You can!  The secret is to have the right kit with you – so that you can blog your way around the world.

My own journeys around the world are chronicled here at outsidecontext.com and my family, friends and the wider web based world can and do read all about it.  In order to best achieve this I knew I needed a professional travel bloggers kit.  Here is what I use to keep outsidecontext.com up and functioning and how I use it.

1. A Laptop Computer.  I use a Samsung Q45Red laptop in my travels. 

This small 12ich model has exactly the right balance to blog on the web while travelling.  It is powerful enough to run the demanding software needed to produce films and yet small enough to fit in a light backpack.  While there is much debate about the carrying of a laptop versus the use of web cafés – I think that the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks.  My Q45 comes with a large 120GB hard drive that is brilliant for backing up my film and photo’s.  I have also installed the powerful film making software known as Sony Vegas Pro 8.  This software requires a certain resolution to run and the production of even small films uses much in the way of the systems RAM.  I had originally started with a ASUS EEEPC, but this was simply not powerful enough.  One balancing benefit of a 12inch model is that it comes with a very good keyboard and this is again vital to the production of fluid writing and not getting a hand cramp!  I would much rather spend my time out in the country I am visiting; experiencing the people and the place; than stuck in an uninspiring web cafe.  Also, and very simply, web cafes are only in cities and the larger towns.  It can be many days or even weeks before you can get to one and by then the inspiration may be gone. With your own laptop you can blog a little or a lot.  You can blog up a mountain or knee deep in snow.  You can think of an idea and reach for the means to convert it to a winning article.

Other choices: ACER Aspire One.  Cesca uses this laptop for her blogging and it is almost able to keep up with the Samsung with the benefit of being only 9inches in width.

2. A Very Good Camera.  Our choice of travel camera is the excellent Canon 40D. 

This camera is way above the standard digital snapper and more costly, but that cost is more than born out when you can produce images of such high quality.  Compare the following examples:

The first image was taken on a small and simple digital camera, while the second was taken on the Canon 40DDigital SLR (DSLR).  The difference is immediate.  If you want to take images that excite the readers of your journal you must use a high end camera and take the time to learn to use it.  Canon do several appropriate models.  The 450D is the new pro’sumer entry level camera and is an excellent balance point if stuck for the finances to go higher.  If you are a serious photographer then the new Canon 50Dis definitely your choice. 

Among the many benefits of a high end camera are the ability to focus on a high zoom and the ability to change the lens according to the situation.  So for example the following two shots were taken on the same camera:

While both of these images are taken of objects close up, the left one is highly zoomed in using a Sigmalens and the right one is zoomed out wide-angle using a Canon lens.  This flexibility is one of the many ways that a DSLR is vital to good travel writing.  No small digital will be able to replicate either image. 

But what about situations when the bulk of a DSLR will not work?  Like a party or other place where a large camera will interfere?  In those situations my suggestion is to use the camera that is built into your mobile phone.  Mobile phone snappers are always great for tight situations and ultra light plus you will always have your phone on you.  These are designed to snap people close up and for that they excel. They however are no good when trying to take landscapes.  Consider this example:

The left image was taken during bright sunshine and the poor mobile phone camera just couldn’t cope with the contrast whereas the right image is close and easy for the same mobile phone camera to capture.

Other choices:  Nikon run a range of DSLR’s that rival Canons.  It is simply a matter of picking a brand and learning it – there is no great quality difference.

3. A Good Camcorder.  My film camera is the Canon HG10 

This is a brilliant choice for the travel blogger.  It has a very large 20GB hard drive built in and can store 9 hours of film before needing to be backed up.  It also has been consistently reviewed as having a zoom of a more advanced camera.  This is a vital ingredient to being able to make interesting footage that you can then later turn into winning films.  The quality of the images is important, but keep in mind that you will be uploading only compressed footage, so I leave the camcorder on “good” quality and not high definition.  Due to the nature of internet video being so highly compressed a simple setup can pay the same dividends as a much more expensive rig.  I use YouTube.com to upload my final films and this is because of its wide prominence and lax requirements.  I like to add music from my iTunes collection to the films I produce and many uploading sites will not let you get away with copyrighted music.  YouTube is different – at least for the moment.  In shooting my footage I use a number of simple aids.  Firstly I try and take a wide shot, covering the whole film area, before I do any zooming or panning into close-ups.  Secondly when I move the camera to a totally new location I take a short 2 second clip.  Thus when I am sorting the files later I can tell which files go with which section as they are bracketed by small files at either side.  I always try and brace my camera against a none moving object, but where this isn’t possible I use a tight sling to assist in reducing camera shake.  If you are thinking of filming people a tripod or similar is a good idea as is an external microphone.  Once the filming is over and the files transferred to your computer you will need some software to cut the raw footage into a film proper and render that in a format that is best for YouTube.com or whatever is your choice of video host.  This is outside the remit of this article and I will address it another time.  Suffice to say that with a proper camera the footage will not simply transfer to Windows Movie Maker!

Other choices:  Panasonic also do equivalent camera’s, which are very good.  However, I do recommend staying away from the Sony’s.  Again this personal choice, but born out in my testing.  This is an area that is undergoing a large amount of development and new types of model are coming in the near future.

4. Storage. All this digital footage and images is going to need storing while you travel. 

I use a couple of portable hard drives for my storage and recommend the Freecom ToughDriveas this type are USB 2 (read much faster than USB 1) and do not require a separate power source. Moreover, this model comes with a rubberised cover that protects the system from the knocks and abuse you will no doubt inflict upon it while travelling!

Other choices:  The important thing is that you purchase a storage device that is reliable.  Too many digital storage keys and backup drives are not designed for longer term storage. The top makes are Crucial or Sony for keys and LaCie or Freecom for drives.

5. A Diary. 

While all the items up until now have required electricity to run there is yet to be a fully solar powered laptop or camera.  Laptops will run out of power, use up their batteries and sometimes simply stop working.  Also a good diary is vital to remembering where you went and when, something that your mind can play tricks on you about!  I use the Moleskine Pocket Weekly Notebook Soft: 18 Months,which has all sorts of features.  The most useful of which is the ability to plan the journey on the maps included, and the itinerary pages.  I don’t fill in the days in any great detail; it is just an aide to memory.

Other choices:  A simple notebook will suffice, but do look at the Molskine’s – it was good enough for Hemingway!

6. A Good Pen.  The choice of pen is something that cannot be ignored. 

Your personal writing arm should be always within easy reach, be able to write on anything from fridge doors to slips of paper.  It must be very reliable and not able to leak all over your equipment.  To that end I recommend the Fisher Space Pen. I always have the ability to write with me and the Space Pen’s bullet shape slots into my wallet and is there whenever I need it.  Its pressurised ink is able to write at any angle even upside down and will never stop working up until it is run out.

Other choices: A pen is a pen, but the PaperMate gel inks are very good.

7. A Bag (to keep every thing in comfortably.) 

It is no use having all the above unless you can actually carry in on your worldwide adventures!  I use the Crumpler Dark Side bag to hold all my equipment.  It has a laptop sleeve in the back and a camera section in an easy to reach lower pocket.  I am able to carry everything in this list using this bag no matter what the distance.  The legendary Crumpler built quality is reflected in the price, but it is well worth the extra cost in that it wont break or fall apart on you no matter what!

Other choices: The Maxpedition range of bags are indestructible and very well appointed.  Other specialist bag makers, such as LowePro, are good but can draw unwanted attention.

8. Reading Matter.  Travelling in this world is for many reasons beyond simply getting from place to place.  Travelling is about opening your mind to new experiences, but not all of those may be outside!  I always take a good selection of books with me whenever travelling.  These are broken down into three sections:

I) Guides.  The guide of choice for Cesca, Arabella and I are the fantastic selection of books from Lonely Planet.  These books contain all the information about everywhere you are going and what to do when you get there, but they also encourage you to explore outside the “bubble” (essential to good writing).  The guides are on many different subjects and not just simply by country.

One other important guide book to consider is the WWOOFing book.  Willing Workers On Organic Farms is a collective organisation that enables travellers to pick up some work in exchange for free room and board.  This is often out in the countryside and in places outside an tour group. This is one of the very best ways to meet “real” people and not just other travellers.  WWOOFing is also one of the best ways to drive your inspiration.  Too many travel blogs are inside the travel “bubble” – where one persons experience is much the same as another’s.  A good rule of thumb is that if more than 10 people are experiencing the view or object with you then you are in the “bubble”.  WWOOFing definitely gets you out of this trap and your writing will benefit (as will your tan!)

ii) Inspiration.  I have a constant need to renew my thinking and inspiration.  Often seeing new vistas with a fresh mind set enables me to write more interesting prose.  Therefore I always take some books on philosophy with me whenever travelling.  My current ones include works from Dr. Suzuki and Alan Watts.  However this is a subjective list so whatever works for you.

iii) Classics.  I never leave home without at least 10 books that I have liked a lot.  Classics I have loved for years and the latest books from my favourite authors.  How can I carry such a load?  Simple!  I use audiobooks from Audible.co.uk   By listening to the book rather than reading it I save massive amounts of space in my bags, but also can listen while experiencing the world around me.  Nothing livens up a trek into the wilds more than a good book.  Audible is an excellent choice for audiobooks as a simple subscription enables you to download up to 3 books a month.

9. Software.  For me a good program should be free.  It should also be light in both memory and space needed.  I have many programs open at once and RAM is at a premium.  The faster and lighter the better!  If using Windows as your platform I recommend the following software:

Windows Live Writer Beta.  This blogging platform is the choice of many who even hate Microsoft.  It is a unfortunate law that Microsoft makes great applications, but terrible operating systems.  Live Writer connects to almost any blogging platform and has many features not found in others.  It is a light footprint on the system and not a systems hog.  It also downloads your blogging theme so that you can look at an entry before posting and see how it will look live.  I have used it for years and can’t recommend it enough.  The beta version is very stable and has many features not found in the current release.

Paint.net.  The use of high end photo software is always a toss up.  Photoshop is better than anything else but it also takes years to learn properly.  If you are simply presenting photos to use on the web and making the odd graphic for the page then a light program is best.  Paint.net is a free program and very robust.  It is also a light footprint.

Google Chrome.  When checking your website, its performance and who is linking to it you will have many tabs open as standard.  In other browsers each tab takes a memory chunk that is not erased (killed) when the tab is closed.  Fast is the best in browsers and thus I use Google’s Chrome.  Chrome is new and still in the making, but its performance is light years ahead of Firefox and when a tab is closed the RAM comes back!

FileZilla FTP.  This free software is my choice for the FTP’ing of files up to my server.  Not necessarily needed but being able to take a full backup of your site is important to getting a good nights sleep!  If using WordPress you may also be using the excellent Automatic update plug-in.  If so, the last thing you want is the site being broken during this process.  Being able to FTP off the files is vital.  FileZilla also self updates.

Sony Vegas Pro 8.  This is the only paid application that I use.  The free video creation systems are simply not as good, as powerful or as easy to use as Vegas.  Professional software is a personal choice, but I would never go back to a lesser software.

Other choices:  Mac users have it easy with their software.  Many of the features are in the package iLife.

So there you have it.  With these items stuffed in your travel bags your will be able to pro blog your way around the world!  Here they all are – along with everything else – in my bags:

If you feel I have missed something vital in this list – PLEASE leave me a comment and I will incorporate your suggestions!

Check back again soon for another “Kit List”!

Regards,

Basho