7th
The World in My Pocket: Productivity
pro·duc·tiv·i·ty
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The quality of being productive.
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Economics The rate at which goods or services are produced especially output per unit of labor.
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Ecology The rate at which radiant energy is used by producers to form organic substances as food for consumers.
“productivity.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 07 Mar. 2010. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/productivity>.
Maybe I am just trying to be a bit fancy here… or maybe it is that on my 6th post in this series I really am feeling the urge to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING… differently. Maybe it’s that I am not looking forward to looking up the links to the over 20 apps in this category which I will wind up culling down to 10 to 15 just to keep your and my attention. Maybe it’s just that I am miffed at Apple because the iTunes store is being rather irascible at the moment. Whatever it is, I start this post with pasted material from dictionary.com on the definition of productivity. Why? It just seems the thing to do at this moment.
So, without further fluff on my part please allow me to present my productivity apps:
Dragon Dictation (free) - This is an incredible app that is pretty simple. You speak, it records and then converts your words to text. You can then edit and send that text anywhere you want. I did a longer review of Dragon Dictation back in December so head there to see more.
Evernote (free) - Here is another app that I have already reviewed. This was the first post of this series. I encourage everyone to get Evernote AND to read my previous review.
Goodreads (free) - Goodreads is a social network for readers and this could have been listed in my social networking or reference section but I think reading make you productive sooo…. Goodreads is a service where members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, form book clubs, etc. Think of it as the Facebook of reading. The iPhone app allows you to interact with you Goodreads profile.
Google - (free) Google will have its own entry later… I hope.
GravesCo Help Desk by Zendesk (free) - We use Zendesk as our helpdesk platform and love it! Although they have an iPhone app it really only does two things. One, show you how many open tickets you have. Two, act as a bookmark to open your browser and point you to your helpdesk portal. Although the app is free, Zendesk’s help desk portal requires a yearly fee based on the number of techs that can administrate tickets.
Grocery Gadget (Lite version is free; full version $4.99) - I started off with the Lite version of this app and loved it so much that I paid the $4.99 for the full-blown version. With the Lite version you can only have one list with 20 items. With the premium version you get unlimited lists with unlimited items. I pretty much paid for the premium version because I felt like they deserved money for such a great app. I could type a big description but how about I just share the cheesy video.
IC GravesCo Login (free) - This is not an app. I put this in because some of you may not know that you can create a bookmark with the iPhone and place it on your screen with an icon like an app. Here is how.
- Start Safari
- Navigate to the page you want to add
- Tap the Add Bookmark button at the bottom of the screen (+ sign)
- Tap Add to Home Screen
- Type the name you want to attach to the bookmark or accept what is given
- Tap Add in the upper right hand corner
iHandy Level (free) - I have used this app a bunch around the house and I am amazed at how well it works every time. It is simple, it is a level. It works. I don’t know much else to say… except that the same company now offers the iHandy Carpenter app that offers the level, a protractor, ruler, plumb bob and surface level along with the level bar in on package for $1.99. I will probably be buying that as well.
Mark the Spot (free) - This is AT&T’s official app that I have been wearing out for the past week… due to poor service in our state. This app allows you to provide feedback when you have a problem with your phone like a dropped call (sound familiar), no network (which causes the app to be useless), or receive a voicemail while never receiving an incoming call or seeing a missed call on your device.
NightStand ($0.99) - Even though the iPhone comes with a clock app that is extremely handy, I purchased this app when my bedside digital clock went belly-up. You get a digital clock that you can choose the color of the display and whether you want horizontal or vertical display. You can choose from 24 or 12-hour display, show or hide seconds, and show or hide the day of the week. It also has an alarm built-in as well. This app wakes me ALMOST every day.
Network Ping Lite (free, full version for $3.99) - Network Ping is a software test tool for maintaining and debugging network problems on a local area network (LAN). Get an easy view for a full subnet on a single screen. Look at the screen to the left displaying the status for devices 192.168.2.0 - 192.168.2.255. Green and the device is working, yellow, there is a problem, and red, the device is not any longer on the LAN. Need telnet access to a router, no problem, a Telnet console application is also included.
Quicken (free) - If you are a Quicken fanatic like I am then this app is a great addition to your iPhone. You need a Quicken online account. You can see all of your accounts in one place, along with the ability to see details of each account. You get a paycheck forecaster that shows you how much (or little) money you have until your next payday. You can stay on top of your budget and even keep track of the cash in your pocket. It also has a tool to help you find the closest ATM to your current location.
Ustream Broadcaster (free) - With the Ustream Broadcaster you can broadcast live to your Ustream Show from your iPhone. Easily stream live moments from your phone and share with your friends, family, fans, followers and others — and have the recording of your video afterward! Interact with your viewers during your broadcast using chat or Ustream’s Social Stream, which integrates a live feed of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and AIM messages and send status updates to Twitter and Ustream.
Ustream Recorder (free) -
Record video in high quality and upload to Ustream, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. The Ustream Recorder Application is a free mobile video recorder. The Ustream Recorder allows users to record and store videos in high quality, even when not connected to wifi or 3G. The application also allows users to manage, review, and edit local videos on the iPhone, then upload and share on Ustream, Twitter, YouTube or Facebook—and can tweet automatically when uploads complete. Unlike the native iPhone 3GS recorder, the Ustream Recorder does not have a limit on the length or size of file that can be sent. Ustream Recorder also enables editing and managing remote videos, even those recorded on the web.
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