How to Set Up a Portable Personal Nerve Center

There has been some debate the last few days about the merits of web-based vs. desktop applications. This was sparked by a big article in last weekend's New York Times about Google and Microsoft (an Edelman client). Ionut Alex Chitu is moving his information to the cloud. Meanwhile James Kendrick at JKOntheRun continues to like his desktop apps.

There is a hybrid solution. You can get the best of both worlds by setting up a web-based Personal Nerve Center (PNC) and making it ubiquitous and redundant so it's available from anywhere, even offline. I find this system makes it easier to manage the information overload drag. (If the entire PNC concept is new to you, then I invite you to read my initial posts on the subject first.)

All of these tips require any IMAP or hosted Exchange email account to work. I wrote this with GMail in mind, which now thankfully supports IMAP. This post has several parts...

• Make the Personal Nerve Center the hub of your online life (Productivity Apps + GMail/IMAP)
• Create a portable, offline version of the PNC that works on any computer or mobile device (USB drive + Portable Thunderbird + iPhone/Treo/Blackberry/Windows Mobile + GMail/IMAP)
• Build an "in case of emergency, break glass" PNC (Portable Thunderbird + Box.net + GMail/IMAP)
• Pump up your PNC with the power of search folders (Outlook/T-Bird/Mail.app + GMail/IMAP)

Establish the Personal Nerve Center as the Hub of your Online Life

I use lots of applications both on the desktop and online. However, I learned from Leo Babauta to become a Cyber Minimalist. This means once the stuff is created, I email into into GMail so that it archives and labels copies of my photos, personal word docs, meeting notes, web pages/PDFs I want to read and even MP3s. I also send "takeout" articles from Google Reader into GMail by using that site's email functionality - e.g. articles that I want to read later. This way, my essential stuff is available anytime, anywhere from any device, even offline (as you will soon see).

For example, when I create a list in Google Docs (which I use for GTD), I always email a copy to a secret "plus sign" GMail address. This automatically gets filtered and archived under my "Lists" label, which I can access from anywhere.

Create a Portable, Offline Version of the PNC that Works on Any Computer or Mobile Device

Getting your information online is just the beginning. The real magic happens when you sync the web with devices and computers.

I carry a USB drive wherever I go. On the stick I carry two copies of Portable Thunderbird - one that runs on Macs, the other on PCs. Both are synced to my IMAP account and have most of my essential PNC data cached - specific folders of articles, bookmarks, notes, GTD lists, etc. In both cases, these copies of Portable Thunderbird are password protected and encrypted. (The Mac version sits on an encrypted disk image.)

The advantage of this system, even though it's not always completely current, is that I can find any computer in the world and even if it's offline, have access to my critical information. That's not all, however.

I also keep my cell phone in sync with my GMail PNC. I always make sure key labels/folders like @Lists, @Reading, @Docs, @Meetings and @Personal stay in sync with my iPhone. This way, even if I am in the air and without connectivity, I have access to my essential data and files. This will work on any IMAP capable smartphone. I wrote about this over the summer but have since simplified the system now that GMail supports IMAP.

Build an "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass" PNC

In addition to keeping my USB key and iPhone in sync with my Personal Nerve Center, I also store encrypted copies of Portable Thunderbird on Box.net. This way, if for some reason I don't have my USB stick or mobile device (pretend I am Will Smith in I am Legend), I can log onto Box.net and download the copy of Thunderbird to a new USB drive. It's a backup for the backup and may one day be handy for the rare occasion when Gmail goes down.

Pump up your PNC with the Power of Search Folders

Last but not least, when I am accessing my PNC offline - be it from Mail.app, Thunderbird or Outlook - I use search folders to easily find certain information that's in my PNC. Lifehacker explains how here.

For example, I can find use these to easily pull up all my Twitter posts and replies from the last six months. I can certainly achieve this in Gmail using sophisticated searches, but you get more power and speed on the desktop than you do with the Web-based version of GMail.

This is what I am experimenting with now. It's clear to me that for the time being, there is no substitute for desktop apps - even though webware is catching up. The magical nexus is when you combine them so that your information is ubiquitous and that's exactly what I have going right now. Eventually, I expect this will all become more seamless and not require as many hacks.

Comments

[Howard]

I like your idea of a hybrid solution. I have moved off of the desktop to Exchange 2007 hosted by 123Together. My blackberry is snynched in as well. Very simple, but secure and I can call someone for help if I need it.

[Jamie]

I think the game changes when Google and Microsoft sort out this online drive thing.

- Automatic backup of documents created on desktop to the cloud
- Cloud folders show up as a network drive in Explorer/Finder (I dont want to go to websites)
- Cloud folders show up in the file browser of the mobile device

We need to make the abstraction between local/cloud seamless. Everyone talks about Google but the funny thing is Apple had 1 & 2 available for years via .Mac & iDisk. The question is whether its worth paying for. Then there is Back To My Mac, in Leopard, which also needs to be looked at as a big piece of the puzzle.

Im certain will nail all points in time for Android, so that you have access to all of your documents at all times, regardless of what device you are using or where you are using it.

[KATRINEHOLM REVIEW]

Steve, I think you hit a nerve with your article *cough, cough*.

[Khurt L Williams]

I've been "living in the cloud" for quite some time. My MacBook is a paperweight without a network connection but... I can access my life from any computer with a network connection and a web browser.

[Gurudatt]

While everyone is talking about taking what is online to offline, NetAlter Software has already developed applications that offer this feature way back in 2004.

It has developed two applications, viz. Matrimonial Hotline and Community Hotline which offer distributed data storage with central a web server in sync with the local data.

Besides this, NetAlter is developing a Read/Write P2P Browser which will offer possibly a true alternative to present Read Only Web Browsers.

[MP]

Qrimp must be my personal nerve center. I keep all my information in there. I can also synchronize to my laptop and work offline. When I go back online, I re-synchronize and changes I made are pushed into the cloud.

[John]

Steve,

Thanks. I've been moving in this direction and your tips have given me some really good ideas. Thanks for sharing.

John