Web App Junkie Jess

2010-01-23T17:14:00.000-05:00

Here are ten productivity apps for offline use that include task managers, note-taking apps, readers, and document viewer and editors. Check out the article on technology blog MakeUseOf.com.

2010-01-12T14:03:00.001-05:00

Netizens click on so many links everyday, but how can they be sure those sites are safe/phish?

Here I feature four websites with the sole puposes of reviewing web URL for safety. Read more at http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-quick-sites-that-let-you-check-if-links-are-safe/

which has 288 Diggs so far. Thank you for checking it out!

Wanna take notes on that webpage you're looking?

2009-12-19T16:14:00.000-05:00

Drag this to your bookmark toolbar.

Top iPod Touch/iPhone apps of the Month [for the broke college student IMHO] (all available free at the App Store, not Cydia, so no jailbreaking needed)

2009-10-29T00:32:00.003-04:00

Reference:

The Weather Channel app contains current, hourly, 36-hour, and 10-day weather forecasts, which surely kicks the native Yahoo! weather app far, far away in my radar.
Calendar: I'm inclined to have push notifications and support for Google Calendar, as outlined here but I'm open to other calendar apps that are easily syncable across platforms (this would be all solved with a GCal app, but I still don't see such a thing.)

Educational Entertainment:

MissSpell: This is a simple and fun game where you guess whether words are spelled correctly or not.
Mobile Rice is sort of a questionnaire game where they ask you to define a word, or select a synonym.
Word Lite: ~~Haven't tried this one yet but it's supposed to be~~ This is like a flashcard system of GRE-type words, which I need to learn quickly if I plan to apply to grad school in the near future. It offers 3 modes: studying, self-quiz, and testing. It's a very thorough system to ensure a painlessly easy way of hammering words into your memory. It comes with 26 words.
Read It Later: Select webpages in Safari to read while offline/with no Wifi connection. I tried e-mailing myself some PDFs (because converting the PDFs to images or using FileZilla to mess around with the IP addresses of the PDFs seem to time-consuming for me) in Gmail and opening those to save them later with the 'Read It Later' bookmarklet, but that didn't work. It will work with regular web pages though. After you save the pages, go to this app to retrieve your saved pages to view offline.

Productivity:

Documents (developed by SavySoda) will let you download all your Google Docs to edit them and then upload them again to the Google Docs server. Beats the Google Mobile Apps/Google Docs mobile site which don't let you edit anything.
Evernote lets you access and create notes
fring lets you IM all your Skype, GTalk, MSN, Yahoo, AIM buddies. If you own a pair of earbuds with a built-in microphone or just a 3.5mm iPod-compatible microphone, you can make calls to your buddies. I use Skype 24/7 so this app is essential for me.
Reqall can be your second brain where you store lists and to-do's. The app will let you edit documents offline. Read more about the most useful note app I have found here.

This list may change to reflect newly discovered gems in the App Store.

Sync Notes on the iPod Touch with Reqall

2009-10-20T03:49:00.007-04:00

Why rely on Reqall as a web service and/or iPod Touch/iPhone app?

You can add and edit notes in where-is-the-nearest-Starbucks-I-need-wifi-now mode and sync notes to the server when you encounter a Wi-Fi connection (Evernote won't let you edit the original notes even in Wi-Fi, just add more text to the notes) so you can access your notes via your web browser unless you want to be tied down by your iDevice.
You can add notes and to-do's by voicing your commands and your robotic Genie of an app will transcribe your order. Or try adding commands with another robotic buddy through IM (add "reqall" in AIM and Yahoo Messenger, "reqall@im.reqall.com" in GTalk). But if your web browser is open already, why not add notes by going on the website? You can easily change the list where you want your item to be in.
In addition to notes (use the keyword "note" at the beginning of your text), Reqall supports to-do lists, shopping lists (add the keyword "buy" somewhere in your text), contacts list, and includes a search function (in the web and iPod versions). Trees would be a step closer from being free from our domination and I'd have to bid goodbye to the so-addictive-but-wasteful, so-bright-they-are-begging-for-purchase post-it notes.
You can back up your notes from the Native Notes app. Imagine you need some mailing address that you typed in the Notes section and your battery is totally dead and you don't have access to a computer. Won't you just wish you listened to your Dad and actually backed up your notes somewhere else? A mediocre workaround, but still it might work: Give Reqall a call (1-888-9-REQALL, toll-free) and say "recall" to be reminded of items on your to-do list or shopping list. You can't quite recall notes so the only other way around it that my poor mind can come up with is selecting all the text from the item that you might want to recall later when you see your battery draining, copying and pasting it onto a new item in the to-do list so you can still call Reqall and ask for the item.
The iPod Touch app has been on sale for $0 since its birth (Reqall won't charge you for syncing via Wi-Fi, as opposed to Fliqnotes, which is a free Notes app but you'll be charged at least $39.95 to use their syncing application aka The Missing Sync to sync notes.)
Get reminded by push notifications! Or if you've used your iPod so much you killed its battery, you can also be reminded by IM or email. Text message reminders are currently available to Pro users ($2.99/month or $24.99/year for a ton of extra feature). Workaround: If you know your phone number's email address, you can still get text message reminders. For example, if my phone number is 1234567890 and I'm with T-Mobile, my phone number's email address is 1234567890@tmomail.net. If for instance, I'm on AT&T, formerly Cingular, my phone number's email address can be either 1234567890@txt.att.net or 1234567890@mms.att.net, depending on whether your phone can take picture messages, for which you could use the @mms.att.net address. For other carriers, see this article. Just don't pay so much attention to the teleflip advice. I tried it to email myself at #@teleflip.com like the article details and never got anything. Perhaps the company closed down?

Free Reqall's limiting features:

The text you add to Reqall is maxed out at 2000 characters. So for longer notes, I'd suggest keeping the Evernote iPod Touch app so you can at least press the star icon next to the note title to favorite it and access it while offline. You still can only append or add text to the note, not actually edit it.
There's a 30 second recording time for text added in by voice, whether you've got a Standard or Pro account.

These Pro features make me want to consider upgrading but I'm just a poor college student, so I have managed to work around these on the iPod Touch:

Integration with GCal: I think any calendar should be for appointments only and to-do's should be on a separate task list so it works for me that these purposes are served with separate apps: GCal is synced to the native Calendar app on the iPod Touch thanks to this guide and Reqall is used to jot down to-do's for the days ahead.
Integration with Evernote: I see Reqall and Evernote as apps with overlapping purposes so for this I wouldn't bother so much integrating them except I would keep both apps.
Adding items by e-mail: With the iPod Touch app, you can just add items by pressing on the "+" button. If you're on the computer and have the God-sent gift of the physical keyboard, why log on to your web-based email when you can just log on to Reqall's website or fire a quick IM with your item and that's it!

Screenshots (kudos for blowing them up for you to see clearer and for me to reveal how clearly adept I am at manipulating HTML that I can't even resize it to fit this post?)

Here you'll see the different lists your items can be placed in the iPod Touch app.

Here's the web interface where you get a box to input your item. You might just be closer to realizing your dream of having a robotic assistant take your orders. In all seriousness though, this does work like a IM chat room with a robot that "understands" your commands. Keywords include "note" and "buy." The enlightening explanations above.

Downloading a PDF viewing software? Skip It

2009-10-07T15:34:00.001-04:00

I would always suggest PDF XChange Viewer as an incredible pdf file viewer and editor. Now that Joen Asmussen designed a bookmarklet to open web links to pdf, tiff, or powerpoing files in Google Viewer, it's optional to actually have a desktop application to view these files, unless you want to edit them.

Drag the bookmarklet to your bookmarks toolbar.

Via [Lifehacker]

Send unlimited text messages with Google Voice!

2009-08-18T15:42:00.001-04:00

Take advantage of this Google Voice feature, specially when you have a limited SMS plan.

The PC-to-Phone Revolution

2009-08-10T03:13:00.002-04:00

When you have a work phone, a home phone and a cell phone, you can use Google Voice to set up a number so that when others call you on your special number, your three phones will ring. Is that all Google Voice is good for when you have an unlimited plan?

For example, I've got an unlimited messaging plan, but since I moved to a new apartment where I don't get any T-Mobile service whatsoever, what good is it to have this unlimited messaging plan when I can't even text anyone? That's where Google Voice's SMS feature comes in handy (if you're connected to the net). Send text messages from your Google Voice number and keep all your text messages in a tidy conversation pane, as if it was a Gmail conversation.

A better idea is to get a new cell phone contract with a Blackberry or an Android-powered phone so that I can use WiFi to make free calls with Gizmo5 and/or send SMS with no extra charges. All I'd need is mobile web. If there were a plan with just that -> a web-enabled handheld. Guess what? There is something like that called LAPTOP (if you get a small netbook, that is) or iPhone/iPod Touch.

Or just make a phone call from a PC (assuming you have a microphone and a headset) through MediaRingTalk or CallingAmerica.

Would GChrome OS and other netbook OS signal the end of desktop apps?

2009-07-08T18:56:00.001-04:00

Official Google Blog: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

Sort of belated question, considering how many Linux platforms, and Windows, of course, are running in netbooks. I guess it's a natural step for Google to go from mobile platform to netbook platform.

Gmail multi-attachments selection fails with certain themes

2009-07-05T22:50:00.003-04:00

Is it just me or with some Gmail themes (Desk, Summer Ocean), you can't select multiple files to add as attachments (by clicking ctrl or shift in Windows)?

For other themes I tried, such as Ninja, Default, Classic, I was able to select multiple files at the same time as attachments. They offer a different pop-up window for you to select your file altogether.

The following shows up when I want to add attachments and I CAN'T select several files at the same time (notice the Desk theme):

Now notice the window I get when I try to add attachments with other themes, with which I CAN use ctrl to select several files at the same time:

As you can see the windows are different, which means maybe developers have different codes for certain themes so the bulk-attachments feature isn't available in Gmail always 100%. I naturally tried to Google to see if other users have experienced the same thing, but couldn't find anything. Perhaps, Desk users are on the low?

EDIT: Found some discussion forums that pointed out that indeed certain themes (Tree) didn't allow the multiple selection of attachments and that "There are three workarounds:
1. Click compose mail; then refresh the page
2. Click compose mail; pop-out the window (Icon above the upper right
corner of the "To" box)
3. Hold down shift, then click on compose mail (also pops out the
compose mail window)" Also found that the advanced selection features might not be available on some computers regardless of themes. I'll just switch to one that allows the features for now.

Yahoo! Mail's Way of Supercharging Signatures

2009-07-05T04:44:00.008-04:00

The Yahoo! Mail Blog recently included a status update feature inside the Y!Mail interface that is similar to Facebook status and Twitter. What distinguishes it is that it comes with a clever Status-o-matique, which provides random statuses for you though I don't know the origin of those often funny statuses.

One thing that caught my attention in the Y! Mail Blog post is that the status can be shared in an email you send to your contacts so they'll be notified of your current musings and what not.

As you can see, Y! Mail skyrockets the whole share-your-status deal by enabling you to 'share more' of your activity in other popular sites such as Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, etc.

Picture from the Yahoo! Mail Blog

I tested a few of my username that I use in other sites, but found more than I wanted. Certain sites had users with my same username who had picked it first. Yahoo! allowed me to add them without asking for a password. The closest thing it does for a password is present you with a link to that site with your username so you can verify it's your site indeed. I guess Yahoo! Mail will ask for passwords in the future because I don't see how this is 100% hack-proof. Someone who knows my username and is bored enough to want to impersonate me can easily add my username and see all my activity, essentially stalking me in their Yahoo! profile.

Overall, the idea of including your updates in your email might come handy if you email your friends often. Yahoo! Mail status updates in emails just might be a little too much for other people you email, like people at work or school. Since Facebook and Skype are examples of how people have forgotten to use their emails to share stories and updates, Yahoo! Mail status just offers the convenience of sharing those through email, which you probably already use, so you don't have to hop on yet another browser tab or application window to communicate informally with your friends.

A Second Look at AIM/AOL Mail Plug-Ins

2009-07-05T00:11:00.005-04:00

Random observation: AIM/AOL Mail Web Interface Adopts Celebratory Background for July 4th
While Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail/Live/MSN Mail seem to lead in popularity and usage among netizens, AIM/AOL Mail is the only one out of the four major web-based e-mail applications that shows today an incredible backdrop of July 4th fireworks in celebration of the 233rd birthday the U.S.

Review of AIM Mail plug-ins
To be honest, I've only retained my AIM Mail account because of the AIM chat service that is so popular among my U.S.-based friends. Noticing the celebratory gesture on AIM Mail's part, I decided to write about this much overshadowed e-mail service since there were a few improvements. For example, the icons on the left sidebar got a successful makeover, in my opinion, since I am a fanatic of shiny icons. Also, I'm not sure if when the stationery feature rolled out but that's a nice collection. I think the biggest attraction though is that AIM/AOL Mail actually offers a pretty impressive integration of native calendar, to-do, and AIM chat applications inside the email interface. Gmail just recently integrated its calendar and Tasks services as gadgets enabled through Labs, which means there's a possibility that they might not permanently stay in Gmail as they are experimental features. The only feature that's pretty set and integrated (not through Labs) is GTalk that allows you to connect to the AIM chat service.

PROS:

The To-Do service in AIM Mail allows you to add reminders and notes.
Reminders can be set up to one week before the event (other options are one or two days before, or on the due date.)
The service is at your fingertips in your email application, which I'm pretty sure most of us check pretty often anyway and can see the reminders without having to go to another website.
Plug-ins can be removed, but otherwise they can stay in your email interface for as long as you choose, in contrast to Labs features in Gmail which can disappear if developers decide to discontinue them
There's a variety of plug-ins you can choose from (in Gmail you can only have 5 gadgets in addition to the GCalendar and GDocs gadgets)

CONS:

Of course, the to-do service might not be as sophisticated as Remember the Milk in that you can add tasks from other places, such as your cell phone
You can't link e-mails to to-dos like Gmail Tasks where you can link an email to a task
I set my own alarm at 11:47pm, a minute from the time I was testing the reminder service, but I didn't get any alerts. Perhaps it was a time zone problem, or maybe I had set the reminder to a very specific time that wasn't in the options for reminders (you could select times by halves, such as 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, etc.)

Overall, the plug-ins make AIM Mail a place for much more potential. And last time I checked, AIM/AOL Mail, as Yahoo! Mail, offers unlimited storage, while Gmail offers 7GB and a bit more, and MSN/Hotmail/Live Mail offers 5GB. Gmail does have a 20MB limit for attachments, while AIM/AOL Mail's limit is 16MB. It's good to see that Gmail alternatives are constantly trying to develop improving features so we as netizens have more choices.

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Keywords to Googling e-books

2009-07-03T04:25:00.006-04:00

-inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:”index of” +(“/ebooks”|”/book”) +(chm|pdf|zip) +”o’reilly”

Google that plus the title or author’s name at the end as in ‘o’reilly.’ Enjoy!

Here's an explanation:

Hope you find it useful!
Adapted from my original post

12 Phenomenal Tumblr Themes (in no particular order)

2009-07-03T03:24:00.005-04:00

I compiled this list of my favorite Tumblr themes of the moment with simple print screen and paste, LOL. Credits go to their respective authors.

Via Tumblr Theme Garden (Click to get through install page in Tumblr):

These I found elsewhere:

Perhaps I’ll find some other ones in the future. I’m already having enough trouble choosing one even though I like my previous theme, Big Foot, a lot.

EDIT: This post is from my May 23rd Tumblr blog.

Contact Me

2008-11-09T21:23:00.003-05:00

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