Tag Archives | applications

Build Your Own Awesome Apps Installer

Grab Only the Software You Want!

Ninite makes installing a plethora of new applications really simple. With Windows 7 coming out, or those who feeling the urge to clean out Vista or Windows XP, we are all looking at simpler ways to install a lot of great programs out there.  That is what Ninite is all about. 

All you have to do is visit their web site, click the check marks for the programs you want to bundle together, start the customized installer, and presto – you are done.  They only install the programs you want (no hidden toolbars or spyware).  Heck, they don’t even install their own program – they only install the programs you want and need. 

Ninite definitely offers a cool way to grab your own bundle of software solutions to install.  For more assistance on how to get up and running with your own customized install, check out these articles from Simple Help and the How-to Geek. (also big thanks to Todd for showing my this great free service!)

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10 Applications to Help You Get More Time Back

Better Time ManagementWith the start of a new year, you are wanting to try new things right?  One thing we all don’t have enough of is time – so why not manage your time better?  Here are ten ways to get more of your time back in 2009.

tick – Want to focus on hitting your budgets?  Tick is a simple and friendly time tracking application that will help you do just that.

1time – this tool is a web-based time and expense tracking application that allowse you to easily keep track of projects in real time.

tempo – another time tracking tool, this one also comes with powerful reporting and mobile access.

Santexq -  here is the answer to the time reporting, task managing and billing needs of your dynamic business.

toggl – the time management tool you want to use.

Klok – this app is a little different because it is a personal time tracking tool.  It can tell you how much time you have spend on past projects, which in turn can tell you how much time you might spend on future projects too.

Paymo – this tool acts as an assistant for anybody working as a freelance adgent out there as well as a time manager.

SlimTimer – time tracking, without the time sheet.

Harvest – this tool lets you and your staff track time, log expenses, and create invoices in one simple, integrated workflow.

Clocking IT – this keeps track of all your tasks and the time you spend on them.

Have another suggestion, tip or application that is helping you get more of your time back this year?  Let me know about it.

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Top Web Apps Mitch Actually Uses

lilcoloredmitch I am like a kid in a candy store when it comes to new tools and applications out there.  I love to try them all.  When push comes to shove though, only a few survive the cut as far as making it to the list of applications I actually use day to day.

Google Calendar – It might not be the prettiest girl at the dance, but boy does she know how to get down with her bad self.  Google Calendar has never won points for beauty, but is more functional than anything else out there today.  I use this one for just about every date reminder there is, from invoice due dates to birthdays.

MooURL – I probably could close my eyes and pick a link shortener out of a hat and come out with a winner.  I won’t lie, I like MooURL.com just because the name makes me giggle.

Gmail – My e-mail situation is kind of oddly setup.  I have all my external POP3 e-mail accounts plugged into Gmail, and then connect from Gmail to Thunderbird via IMAP.  This way I can easily access my mail via the web or desktop, and a few other perks such as double spam filtering (counting what the server side Spam Assassin does, then put Gmail’s spam filtering on top of that).

Google Docs – Google Docs is one thing I just started using again, not too long ago.  I needed to have a few documents easily accessible to me, no mater where I was – and Google Docs made that an easy thing to do.

Instapaper – This awesome site replaced my “read later” bookmark folder in Firefox.  Using a simple bookmarklet, you can save any link to read later and the site itself gives you a neat list of links and the ability to “skip” (mark it read) or to mark the link unread.  Very simple, and because of that, very effective.

Ping.fm – I use this web site to socialize myself.  I can post a message out to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and every other social network under the sun in one go.  Great for promoting your work, or just to say hello on all the social networking sites  out there.

Google Notebook – This I use a little differently than most.  I store a lot of the information from work on this site, such as FAQ’s and hard to find information.  That way I have it all in one spot (and it is searchable).

Google Reader – Boy, this is turning into an “I love Google” list, isn’t it?  The reason I use Google Reader for all my RSS reading is due to the fact that I can make it “wide view” very easily, and all I need to do to browse the news is scroll down.  Don’t need much else for news reading.

I’m always looking for something new to add to the list.  I think the major problem is there isn’t anybody doing anything drastically new or different.  It is just the different spin on the same idea (no mater what that idea might be).  However, I could just be a picky person.

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Share a Cup of Text with TinyPaste

Have a big block of text you need to send to a friend?  What about a list of URLs or another miscellaneous reason to copy and paste something over from any sort of document to a friend?  TinyPaste is here to help.

Tiny Paste

To use, all you need to do is copy any text you have into the pastebin and then hit the submit button.  In return, you’ll be given a URL to get easy access to that text.  Think of it as TinyURL for just about anything text-based.  As if that wasn’t enough to love – they also have a Firefox extension too.

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Windows XP? Vista? Firefox is my OS!

I never really stopped to think about it till now, but it is true. Windows XP is not my real operating system on my computer – Firefox is! Over the past few years it seems like more and more of my Windows programs are getting replaced by Online alternatives.

Another five or ten years down the road, it will not matter if you are running Windows, Apple or a flavor of Linux. With the way everything is moving to the Web – all you will need is a good browser to access it all from. Need a few examples?

How Can I Check My E-mail Online?

Online E-MailPersonally I use Yahoo! Mail to do this, but there are a number of other choices out there. If I wasn’t using Yahoo! Mail – I would probably be using Gmail. Maybe if Google rolls out a premium service – I might switch. Now Webmail is great because it allows you to keep track of, respond to and check your E-mail no matter what computer you are using. As long as you have a browser and a Internet connection – you should be OK.

How Can I Write Documents or Edit Text Online?

Google Docs and Spreadsheets comes into play here. It is a very nice and basic backbone of an office suit. Sure you might not get all the bells and whistles just yet, but who needs ‘em? Since Firefox 2 came out I have been using the spell checker like nobody’s business as well. No need for a text editor to make sure I spelled things correctly before I post. Running my Web sites with WordPress, I can also save drafts of articles that I am not yet ready to make public yet too.

Edit Documents Online

Need a Calendar to Keep Up With Dates?

There are a slew of Online calenders to help you keep up with important dates and schedules. I was trying to decide myself a few weeks back about which one to use, but I finally decided to go with Google’s calendar application.

Yahoo! Calendar

How Can I Read my RSS Feeds Online?

Feed IconOh man, when it comes to ways to read your RSS feeds Online there is no end. There are countless start pages that can do this for you and dedicated RSS feed reader services like Bloglines and Rojo. I have tried just about all of them – and found myself most happy with the Google Reader. There is just so much that you can do with it to make it your own.

What About All My Other Tasks?

Now that I have all of the basic tasks that one might need to do on a day to day basis, I’ll talk about some of the other applications that you can move Online to use.

Need Online Instant Messaging? Try Meebo!

Need Saved Links and Bookmarks? Try Del.icio.us!

Need Remote PC Access? Try Log Me In!

Need Something to Watch? Try YouTube!

Have any other suggestions for Online application replacement? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Only Two Applications

Almost ninety percent of the time, I am only using two applications on my computer. Sure, I have a lot of other things installed, but I really don’t use them that often. So which two are the lucky applications that I use?

Firefox covers my Web browsing and feed reading. NoteTab Pro covers all of my writing. The truth is, no matter how much I really don’t like all the Web 2.0 hype, I am doing a lot more things Online.

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