Favorite Tools?
Posted on: August 21, 2009Posted in: Blog
Author: Cali Lewis51 comments so far
What are your favorite applications, products and services that save you time and/or money? I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!
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August 21st, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Microsoft Excel!
August 21st, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I’ve become a fan of Mint.com for managing accounts and having text alerts sent to my phone.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:45 pm
huge fan of:
Wesabe.com – Finances (iphone app too!)
Things – GTD App for the mac
Google Voice – Phone number, text messages, et al
August 21st, 2009 at 5:46 pm
TinyGrab.com for me is an absolute lifesaver. Being able to take screenshots, have them auto-upload and then the ability to look through them again in an online environment is fantastic! The fact that it works on my Mac, PC and iPhone is even better!
August 21st, 2009 at 5:46 pm
1) Google Calendar – for keeping track of events/projects (saves time)
2) Evernote – I use all the different versions. So when an idea strikes, I can start typing no matter where I am. (saves time)
3) BargainBin and PandoraBox – iphone apps that tells you when prices for popular apps drop. (saves money)
Those are some that I can think of.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Evernote, Reqall, All Google Apps. This is all I ever need to get through the day. Itunes podcast full of almost all CNET, GeekBrief, Tekzilla, Chris Pirillo, MacCast, Today in Iphone. Lets stop here I can’t list over 88 podcasts.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Digsby – helps manage twitter, FB and all my email accounts
Ubertwitter for my crackberry
zshare.com – helps me share music with friends
logmein.com helps me fix friends computers when i cant be there
VLC media player – plays all media and is very light
and of course i use everything in google….google sync, docs, email, calender, etc
August 21st, 2009 at 5:49 pm
time: gmail. searching can be oh so powerful. I just wish they did partial word searching better.
remote desktop/VNC (securely of course): being able to remote administer is a HUGE time saver.
neither is very new, but worth mentioning I feel. I could argue my Palm Pre has saved me time, but it’s costing me too =)
any automated backup program: when @$!% hits the fan, it’s a lifesaver to have that data there. I like chronosync on mac and syncback on win.
any 24″ widescreen monitor or dual monitor setup: productivity flows sooo much better for me.
wordpress.com: I’m too lazy to maintain the backend of a blog, can’t keep up. I lose all the cool customizing, but life is full of trade offs.
non tech one, california blade. yes, that silicone wiper thing for your car. I love this thing, just have to be careful about debris =)
August 21st, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I’ll have to say Starbucks…you can get coffee and free wifi(2 hours a day)…saved my butt last week when the work laptop was out and I had to use my netbook…and next comes google and its whole suite of apps…excel(substitute), work(substitute), outlook(substitute)(calender and e-mail and contacts) that I can use all on my phone(crackberry) and my netbook.
Love the show…and you guys @ Geek Brief!
August 21st, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I forgot about mint.com. I’m not sure if it’s really saving me anything, but having a quick snapshot of the majority of my finances is neat. Even if all my student loans make me cry.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Barcode scanner. Its an android app that does price comparison when you scan a book or dvd.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:54 pm
1.) Smartypig.com (for the kids)
2.) Mindjet!!!!!!!
3.) tweetdeck
4.) Outlook (believe it or not I like outlook)
5.) Future: This thing called ‘CINQ’ when it comes out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUtLQtg37to
August 21st, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Google Voice
One number rings all my phones and free outgoing US calls.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Outlook add-ins:
Xobni (www.xobni.com) message search add in – massive time saver at work.
TwInbox (www.techhit.com) Pumps Twitter updates into Outlook. Makes keeping up on tweets easy
SimplyFile (www.techhit.com) auto-suggest folder locations when filing emails. Amazing!
Other:
Reportage – Twitter reader for iPhone. Great UI
WordPress for iPhone – great for quick blog comment approvals/rejections
Google Maps – avoid time getting lost!
Pfrank – (http://www3.telus.net/pfrank/) bulk file renaming in Windows
August 21st, 2009 at 6:00 pm
My wife, great voice control, i can say “hungry” as I wake up and toast appears infront of me, awsome!
@ThePaulius
August 21st, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Xobni Message search add in; massive time saver at work.
TwInbox Pumps Twitter updates into Outlook. Makes keeping up on tweets easy.
SimplyFile Auto-suggest folder locations when filing emails. Amazing!
Other:
Reportage – Twitter reader for iPhone. Great UI
WordPress for iPhone – great for quick blog comment approvals/rejections
Google Maps – avoid time getting lost!
Pfrank Bulk file renaming in Windows
August 21st, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Nokia N810
-Gizmo5 (saves money)
-GrandCentral/GoogleVoice (saves even more combined with above)
-Cradlepoint PHS300 (Don’t have to look for WiFi AP)
(Could be replaced with Verizon MiFi, but would cost more)
Can’t wait for the N900!!!
August 21st, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Evernote
iCal sync’d with Google Calendar via Spanning Sync and with all my other Macs/iPhone via MobileMe
Google Maps
August 21st, 2009 at 6:12 pm
A great app for me that saves me money is KAYAK and is free.
August 21st, 2009 at 6:23 pm
GMail – simply awesome!
Google Reader – Would be even better if they could publish an official API
Steam – Such a good model for software (games), I buy the license and can reinstall it on any (windows) machine any time.
HTC Hero – Only got it a week ago, but I love it!
Podcasts/netcasts – GB, TWiT, TRS, SecurityNow, Java Posse… the list goes on. Podcasts have probably saved my life
Twitter – Such a convenient way to be able to chat with for example fellow Java developers without actually knowing them…
Yubikey – Such a good idea for secure login. If only more services would support it!
Could probably go on for a long time but that’ll do I think
August 21st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Lotus Notes, BlackBerry Bold, Tivoli CDP and Impatica Showmate and I am good to go. Google Desktop Enterprise makes everything easy to find and XMarks makes my Firefox bookmarks the same across my machines.
–Pete
August 21st, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I really like TinyGrab.com. It’s screenshot uploading ability surpasses the service I use to use, plus I love the short grab.by links. Perfect size for twitter, IMs, and SMS’s. The Windows version is nice and I can’t wait for the iPhone version! Also totally worth going pro.
August 21st, 2009 at 7:08 pm
NeatReceipts! Thanks for the tip a while back. Just wish the software wasn’t so buggy
August 21st, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Quicksilver
August 21st, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Budget for Mac OS X (http://www.snowmintcs.com)
August 21st, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I save a ton of money using Calliflower for unlimited conference calls and web meetings.
August 21st, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Ubuntu for the fist really easy to use Linux OS.,
Open Pandora because Pandora is awesome and I don’t like the web browser open 24/7.
And another vote for Google Voice. One number that finds me whereever I am, and it’s free. Can’t beat it.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:10 pm
1. Journler
2. iGTD
3. Adium
4. Carbon copy cloner
5. Quicken
6. Boxee.tv
7. Handbrake
August 21st, 2009 at 9:43 pm
quicksilver for the mac…
twibble for nokia e71 …
August 21st, 2009 at 9:59 pm
If you don’t have the Search & Replace plugin for WordPress, get it. You’ll thank me one day. Also, Windows Live Writer actually makes it pleasurable to enter text and images into a blog. I’m not sure what you Mac folks can do.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:01 pm
My top 3 tools for me are…
Adobe Lightroom
!Password
Dropbox
August 21st, 2009 at 10:07 pm
After switching to a mac, I searched long and hard for a good financial software. I finally found SplashMoney to replace my Quicken. I waited for Quicken to release their new software for the mac but it has been delayed too often. SplashMoney handles all my needs including the ability to sync back and forth with my iPhone.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Looks like my two big ones have already been mentioned:
RDC+VNC
Excel
Mac OSX is also important: After learning to use Spotlight instead of mouse-searching, Spaces activated in the corners, and well assigned app-to-Space management, and Exposé with the side buttons of the mouse, and Apple-Tab and Apple-Tilde to move from workflow to workflow.
Having a weather and clock widget running for each city I need to keep up with, and an exchange rate widget, and metric-to-standard conversion widget does wonders for being able to work productively from home, despite living in Spain.
And it may sound funny but elgato’s EyeTV, time-shifting or streaming with CyTV, or watching torrented (Transmission) TV with VLC, while multi-tasking other things at the same time, allows me to eliminate the wasted time aspect of TV watching – which honestly I would be wasting A LOT of time on otherwise.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:59 pm
One to One and Applecare with my local Apple store.
These have made the single biggest difference to my life and the way in which I approach technology. They have set the standard for everything else
Software wise, I would not be without:
Caffine & Tweetie & my iPhone
August 22nd, 2009 at 12:39 am
Skype & GrandCentral/Google Voice — free calls as others have described
SyncBack free vers – aids in creating backups on external drives in Windows
http://www.xyplorer.com – The BEST supported file manager for Windows that I’ve found and available for a great price! Saves me all kinds of time!
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:05 am
Got to say top tool is Evernote I would be lost with out it and then Google Calendar.
Russ
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:29 am
Omniocus for Mac and iPhone – GTD in a usable manner
Mindjet Mindmanager on PC (waiting for Mac version to catch up) – got to pull all those thoughts together somehow
SyncBackPro by 2BrightSparks – my immediate backup needs
August 22nd, 2009 at 3:16 am
Linux for the OS.
ssh for remote maintenance of my servers (command line power !!).
rsync for network efficient transferts.
unison for efficient bi-directional folders synchronization.
VNC… everywhere for remote assistance.
ImageMagick for batch processing of my images.
FreeMind for building mindmaps and note taking.
Inkscape for vector illustrations.
Gimp for photo retouching.
mplayer for every video I watch.
pidgin for multi-protocol instant messaging.
Miro for video podcasts… including Geekbrief.tv of course !
August 22nd, 2009 at 3:24 am
Fring is one of the best app, with all the different clients i can use skype, voip etc etc. It’s great.
August 22nd, 2009 at 6:04 am
The two tools that right now I’m not sure how I got by without them are Dropbox and Tweetdeck.
Dropbox keeps all my files in sync between multiple computers and Tweetdeck allows me to use Twitter effectively.
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:52 am
I like the Goole Maps & GPS App. Keeps me from getting lost and burning up gas and time. g
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:10 am
I’ve got to say my Insignia BT Headset Use it with my iMac and my iPod Touch and my Sony Ericsson Phone….
And i don’t leave home without either my Gerber Suspension or Spyderco Assist…
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:22 am
RememberTheMilk for ToDo management
WordPress for Blogs and Websites, most recently with an interesting plug-in for adding random sponsored links http://tinyurl.com/mraw44
Audacity for podcast editing
GooSync for synchronising Google Calendars to PDAs and mobile phones
TweetDeck
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 am
-Evernote: when I can’t remember a password or anything I can recall it from my phone or anywhere.
-Palm Pre: The synergy e-mail app puts all my e-mail accounts in one place. It’s actually easier to check e-mail on the phone than anywhere else.
-FoodSaver v3800: It’s amazing how long food will keep if it’s under a vacuum. Blueberries only keep a week or so under normal refrigeration. In a vacuum canister they easily keep a month!
-Spanning Sync: Does a good job syncing Address Book, iCal, with Google apps.
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 am
Here are the services/apps I use everyday:
Firefox
1Password (also use their iphone app so keep both synced up)
Dropbox
Tweetie
SuperDuper
Cocktail
Handbrake
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Addressix (best envelope printing app ever)
Aspect Ratio Calculator
Freshbooks.com (makes invoicing fun)
Password Wallet
Mpeg Streamclip
Audio Hijack Pro
DVDxDV
DVD2oneX
Name Mangler
August 23rd, 2009 at 10:31 pm
1. Skype
2. Firefox
3. iTunes
4. Chrome
5. The iPhone 3Gs (sorry, Cali — it just is the best — I’m not happy about Google Voice or “1984″ either, but it’s the best)
August 24th, 2009 at 10:59 am
@thePaulius where did you get yours? When I say “hungry,” the version of Wife I have replies “yes” and then expects breakfast in bed.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
1. Firefox
Plugins – Adblock Plus (I see every page on the internet devoid of ads!)
– SmarterFox (MUCH faster Browsing including a neat feature called Endless Pages. Best thing is, unlike other add-ons, SmarterFox leaves you alone!)
2. VLC
3. Macspeech Dictate (once I got used to talking as opposed to typing, I found I could write blogs in a tenth of the time it used to take me!)
4. Notify (Mac App that puts an icon on the menu bar with a SMALL, SIMPLE pop-up interface for up to 4 gmail accounts
5. FMenu (Surprised there hasn’t been more buzz about this App. Again, puts an icon on the menu bar. Notifies you of Facebook messages, updates, events – Whatever you want).
August 26th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Hey Cali! I just remembered another one. I also like FireBug. It’s a tool that saves both time and money. Saves a lot of time for me when it comes to debugging webpages, and saves my company money because.. well, I’m more efficient.
September 4th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
I came back after paying attention to what is saving the most time, money and hassle for the past week or so.
And I’m with Gerald, nothing saves me more than Google / any web search with Mapping, but specifically Google Maps, and a web-browser in my phone, and a GPS unit in the car.