In the past I’ve tended to rely on a commercial FTP package to manage my websites, but had installed Filezilla for clients that wanted to upload a file to their sites from time-to-time. When I bought a new laptop, I decided to switch to Filezilla rather than upgrade my commercial FTP package for Windows 7.

Naturally I downloaded the latest version, which is a significant upgrade over the one my clients were using. It includes many fantastic features, including the ability to run multiple sessions in tabs. This is a welcome advance, and wasn’t even included in my previous commercial package.

However, it wasn’t all wine and roses. There was a major thorn in version 3, and it constantly annoyed me. Every time I saved changes made to a file, Filezilla would display a window telling me the edited file had changed and offer to upload it for me.

I often make changes that I don’t wish to upload immediately. For example, where I have to change several different files and upload them together for the change to work on a live site. So I would always close the pop up window.

When you find yourself closing a window you never use over and over and over again, it isn’t long before you start to curse the day the programmer who inflicted it on you was born!

So I went hunting for a way to switch it off. I couldn’t find an option in Filezilla’s preferences (though it is there), and resorted to Google. I quickly came across this interesting exchange.

It’s an example of a problem inherent in some Open Source projects. My take on this exchange is that the programmer believes his/her approach to be right. End of story. And of course, s/he is under no commercial pressure to take any notice of his/her users.

Commercial software companies may well have support staff that operate in the same high-handed manner (I’m being polite). But there is usually somebody somewhere in the organisation who does care, and has the clout to bring the support team into line.

This pressure doesn’t exist inside a small Open Source project like Filezilla. Ultimately, the users who protested the compulsory popup window got their way. You can now switch this annoying behaviour off, and I have done just that. But it also brought home to me what a fragile proposition Open Source software is for large organisations. If I had a large company with lots of ‘regular’ folk using computers, I wouldn’t rely on Open Source software. Unless it came in conjunction with a support contract and training.

This wouldn’t apply to defacto standards such as PHP and Apache. Especially as these packages tend to be used by experts rather than ‘regular’ users. But it would certainly apply to the likes of OpenOffice. Why bother, when the relative cost of Microsoft Office is fairly low and it’s well supported by a large number of third parties?

Don’t get me wrong. I see no need to use commercial software if there is a viable Open Source alternative. But I’m a very sophisticated user, capable of resolving most problems on my own. And more to the point, I’m usually happy to spend the time hunting down a solution. For me, it’s fun.

I wouldn’t dream of inflicting most Open Source software on my wife. She has no interest in hunting down solutions to annoying problems. All she wants is to have the software work the way she expects it to.

The trouble is, who has time to keep on top of these 7, let alone the hundreds of other social media tools out there? Recently I found a way to use otherwise dead time to keep on top of social media.

Look no further than the humble iPhone. Perhaps the iPhone isn’t quite so humble, but don’t surf off just yet. I didn’t pay any attention to the iPhone until a friend of mine showed me just what it could do.

I’ve had it less than a month, yet it’s already made me far more productive. Here’s how…

• I run my day using an iPhone app called Pocket Informant. It’s a Personal Information Manager. I’ve never been able to run one of these on a desktop, as typically it’s not present when I need it. And a laptop means always having to lug my laptop around. I’m carrying my iPhone anyway, so I finally have a PIM I can live with. It takes care of my projects, to do list. and appointments. It cost £7 or thereabouts (i.e. nothing I’ll miss). Thanks to Pocket Informant and the iPhone, I completed a project this month that would otherwise have completed in January. This increased my billings in December by over £1,000. Sure, I would have finished next month, but now I have all this extra time to focus on my next big project (and it’s really big). I’ve also been able to bring forward another client, and that particular project is a lot more interesting
• I’ve installed iPhone apps that allow me to work Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and You Tube. Yesterday I invited 3 people to connect in LinkedIn while standing in a long supermarket queue
• This morning I responded to client emails while waiting for a tyre to be repaired
• The nearest tyre place wasn’t able to repair my tyre, so I used the built-in browser to locate another tyre repair place. I called them by pressing a finger on their phone number right there on the web page, and confirmed they had the required repair patches before making the trip (it’s easy to underestimate the utility of being able to make a call by clicking a number on a web page when you don’t have the means to write the number down)
• On the way there I overshot. I realised I’d gone too far, pulled over, and told the built-in map to locate me by clicking a single icon. I could see I was about half a mile too far down the road, so turned around and headed back
• Last week I resolved a problem for a client during a break in an SEO seminar I was running. This was possible thanks to the iPhone’s ability to handle all my email addresses (including Google Mail), and surf the web from anywhere. Sure, I could have done it when I got home that evening. Instead, I put my feet up and relaxed after a hard day of training
• All my music sits on my iPhone, which has a built-in ipod
• While out for a walk one afternoon, I was listening to music when my iPhone rang. I was able to answer and talk using the supplied earphones. I didn’t need to fish the phone out of my pocket. Neither did I know the earphones could act as a hands-free system. The music faded automatically as the phone started to ring. I suddenly had a hunch, and squeezed the ‘pause/play’ button on the earphones. I said “Hello?” in an experimental sort of way, and to my surprise the person on the other end (an important client) started talking. I ended the call by the squeezing the ‘pause/play’ button again. The call ended, and the music started up automatically
• I booked myself into a B&B using an app called B&B. This located me automatically, and displayed a list of suitable B&Bs in the area. I selected one based on photos and user reviews, and completed the booking there and then on the phone itself

This is a sample of various ways I’ve found this thing to be enormously useful. It’s made my life considerably easier. If you’re in business, and find you have little time to make use of social media, go get yourself an iPhone.

I got mine through Orange. I get 600 minutes of talk time and 500 texts in my plan. While this is plenty for me, there are loads of other options should you require less/more to meet your needs.