The (relatively) new gOS has been written and talked about for it’s simplicity, ease of use, and low system requirements, but it’s ability to improve productivity has been completely overlooked.
I downloaded the gOS a couple of weeks ago to run on an older machine in my home, and to see what the fuss was about. After running it both in the live CD form and natively as a dual boot with Windows Vista, I was amazed at the speed of this OS. However, after playing around with it for a while, I realized that there was a hidden benefit to the stripped down, high speed, easy to use gOS: improved productivity.
The mere fact that gOS lacks the usual games, desktop sidebar, and other annoyances of Windows is the first asset to it’s use as a productivity booster. Being able to sit down to a clean screen without the usual distractions puts you one step ahead.
Also, the fact that there is what amounts to a shortcut on the desktop to Google, gMail, Blogger, Facebook, and Wikipedia makes it easy to jump on, get where you need to go and eliminate the use of other bookmarks. This allows for reduced time on the net, which can lead to distraction.
When I want to sit down and do some research, write a blog post, catch up on email, or anything else and not be distracted, I simply boot into gOS, get my work done, and boot back to Windows. It’s that easy.
So, if you want a simple way to boost your productivity by eliminating distractions and having just what you need, give gOS a try. Then, pop back here and let me know what you think.
Brain Droppings 