I feel like singing the little ditty from the original “Chocolate Factory” movie with good ol’ Gene Wilder… “I’ve got a golden ticket… I’ve… something something…”… well you get the idea. Or do you? Probably not, so allow me to explain.
I’ve been a fan of 37signals for a while now. Their Basecamp project management service always struck me a gorgeously designed, and when they rolled out with the simple to-do service Ta Da earlier this year, I was downright giddy. It was free, would help me keep track of what I needed to do with my classes, and I could check it or update it from any computer. Sweet.
Well, 37signals started giving hints of their new service, Backpack, about a month ago. Needless to say, I was intrigued. Due for official launch this Tuesday, Backpack is sort of your “keep you sane” all-in-one personal organiser… online. From the little hints given, I knew I wanted a part of this. It sounded perfect. Well, I awoke today to an email from Jason Fried from 37signals. He was offering me a “Golden Ticket” to check out Backpack before it was made available to the public. My giddiness went through the roof, approaching “school boy” levels. I think, in Homeland Security-esque speak, I would’ve at least been at Giddy Level Orange.
I’ve only had a few minutes to play with it, but it is very promising. The reminder email/SMS feature alone is reason enough for me to use it. Simply awesome. I have a feeling this could be big… very big.
