AOL Alto Mail

Image credit: The Verge AOL Alto: A new way to think about email Yes, you read correctly, that AOL. What was once the most popular email service (You’ve got mail!) faded into obscurity after loosing market share to first Yahoo! and then later Google’s Gmail, which has held it’s place as the most popular free email client since launching in 2004. As a long-time Gmail power user, I’ve learned several techniques and implemented a number of plug-ins to enhance my email work-flow. However, with the r…

Let’s reinvent the search for office space

I’ve been thinking a lot about how folks search for office space, lately. In general terms, once the need is identified, the steps in order to lease new office space are to – Define the targeted area and create a list of suitable availabilities Decision-makers give a thumbs up or down for each property on this list Contact the owner or owner rep to schedule a property tour and/or request a proposal Tour spaces and review proposals Eliminate properties as tenant preferences and market conditions…

Floored: 3D floor planning like never before

Floored creates fully interactive, digital versions of real-life interior spaces. Floored offers 3D scanning, data refinement, and design services. The Floored process precisely captures any space in three dimensions with photographic detail. Then, using a combination of sophisticated algorithms and manual reconstruction, they further refine this data. When they’re done, the plan is available online, ready for interactive exploration from any browser. The end product is truly and impressive res…

Surprising and not so surprising findings in recent survey on tech trends in commercial real estate

Why we need journalists and editors

Another great solution for space search in the CRE marketplace

Using apps for work? Here’s a couple to try at home

So, you’re apped-out to the hilt at work. You’ve figured out what CRM application makes you more productive, what document storage app is the easiest to use…. but, what about when you go home? I recently moved to a new place and took the opportunity to splurge on some new technology I’ve been eyeing for awhile. The Nest Thermostat The first one I am most excited about is the Nest thermostat. If you haven’t heard of the Nest, think Apple + a thermostat. Yes, literally; the founders are former A…

TheCapRate brings technology to an often times misunderstood piece of the real estate puzzle

Disable Gmail Compose

Image credit: cnet Gmail Compose Feature: How to Disable While Gmail is generally a really great cloud email service, sometimes they roll out features that are odd or just plain bad. Gmail Compose is one of them. I’m not sure what what the Gmail folks had for breakfast the day they released compose, but apparently they think writing emails is analogous to sending an IM or text message. It’s not. For us Gmail CRE users in the real world who need to write real emails, rejoice! Take the following …

Pomodoro!

  Kyle Zaylor, author of the fantastic RealEstate Java blog recently wrote a blog post about the Pomodoro time management technique. The post hit home with me since I’ve been using the technique for the past year or so. I can say without a doubt that I’ve been able to increase my focus based on the Pomodoro (Italian for ‘tomato’) technique, which is especially useful as a commercial appraiser where I need large blocks of uninterrupted time to concentrate. I’d recommend reading his blog pos…