Displaying All Posts by Connor Turnbull

10 Productivity-Enhancing Apps from the Chrome Web Store

Google launched their Chrome Web Store last year to some well-received notice. But in reality, it serves only as a glorified directory for web apps accessible on any standards-compliant browser. And that isn’t necessarily a downer. In fact, with little intervention needed to work on Chrome, many web apps were immediately available via this store — including a bunch of awesome apps that can enhance anyone’s productivity.

The range of productivity-enhancing apps available on this web store range from PowerPoint replacements to full-fledged viewers for AutoCAD files. Let’s take a look at a few that you can use in a generic workflow.

1. MindMeister

MindMeister is a web-based mind mapping and brainstorming tool that allows you to create maps that can be worked on collaboratively. This collaboration is in “realtime” and is also global — with an integrated live chat to communicate with your coworkers when working on a map.

Once your session is over, you can export maps for offline browsing in popular formats such as Office and PDF. Plus, an iPhone and iPad application can access the maps for mobile browsing.

2. Vyew

Vyew is an app that’s “beyond web conference” which warrants its title thanks to its realtime whiteboard and document collaboration tools. Multiple viewers can join a session in a “room” and review documents — or watch a stream of the host’s desktop.

Webcam streaming isn’t the main feature of this app, but it is used to create a real, lifestyle conference when you just can’t meet up with your team.

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6 Web-Based Alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint

Connor Turnbull 2nd March Software 9 Comments

Microsoft PowerPoint is the ubiquitous solution to presentations on most computers. But with a profound move to the cloud, there’s a range of alternatives (most free) based on the web. These solutions offer not only features similar to the desktop app, but the ability to load your presentation anywhere you get an internet connection and, in most cases, download a copy for offline shows and/or further customization in PowerPoint itself.

In this roundup, we’ll look at a range of web-based alternatives for PowerPoint and in a future one, look at alternatives for Excel.

Google Docs

Google Docs is, of course, the first solution that comes to mind. Google offers potential replacements for Word, Excel and PowerPoint in the form of their own, slightly-less-featureful web app.

The presentation tool is basic, but gets the job done in most cases. The interface links in with Google’s other Docs properties with the addition of presentation-specific elements such as the slide browser on the left.
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5 Smart iOS Apps to Revolutionize Your Workflow

Connor Turnbull 22nd February Software 3 Comments

Most people have a schedule or timetable to be able to plan out their days. But if you have one for work, this’ll probably be the most hectic. Luckily, there’s a wealth of ways to help you manage your schedule and a lot of those solutions are available on shiny Apple devices. After paying $500 or more, surely an extra few to save you countless hours is worth it, right? Being able to have a clear view of what’s ahead will help to increase your productivity by reducing the time you need to work out what to do. Then you can just get started on what’s important: the work. A lot of my free time is spent writing for various causes. The biggest, coincidentally, are for the various Envato sites that I contribute to. Even since getting my iPad early last year, I’ve been trying to ﬁnd a viable timetabling app that’s oriented around tasks rather than events. Here’s my roundup of the ﬁve apps that I’ve found to be the best.

1. Sorted

Sorted is a fairly simple, yet ingenious app for the iPad that serves as a checklist. You can add tasks to it with all only a title required. You can leave it at that or you can add notes, set priorities and schedule reminders. The highlight of this speciﬁc app is the role that priorities serve. You can create levels of priority in the settings (from a bank of many colours) and use these to easily identify the most — or least — important tasks. Click Here to Read Article …