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Bringing Technology Together – How web tools can come together

February 10, 2012 Comments off

The Scenario

Throughout the course of a day I will use many different application to help keep me organized. I might book mark a site so I can read and article later. I may write up a new post on my WordPress site. I will tweet some important information about the new post. Each one of these tools seems to have it’s own purpose for existing. The big question then, is how can I bring some or all of these pieces together to give me one big picture of my world. Okay, I am still working on the world, but for now here are some tools that I use to bring some of the pieces together.

The Tools

Delicious – Public bookmarking

Delicious (delicious.com) is a bookmarking site. you can add this to you browser toolbar and easily create bookmarks that are available to you from any internet connection. You can make these bookmarks private or public. If you make them public then the world can share in the sites that you like to read, look at, or reference.

Evernote – Public Note taking

Evernote (evernote.com) is a tool for taking notes, pictures, or really anything.  On the web site it states “Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small from your everyday life using your computer, phone, tablet and the web.” It is very easy to use and I often take a picture of something that was put on a chalk board and upload to my Evernote. Why write it down, I can’t be bothered, I just don’t have the extra time.

IFTTT – A Macro Tool

IFTTT (ifttt.com) which stands for If That Then This, is a web utility that can automate some things that you do on the internet. I just learned about this tool recently (thank you Leigh) and have put it to use to create a macro. This is the power behind some of the web atuomation that I use.

Twitter -A spread the word tool

Twitter (twitter.com) is a simple tool to let all of your friends know what it going on with you.  Okay there is a lot more powerful things that can be done with Twitter to get the word out to all who follow you. Or, you can keep up with the back-channel talk at events by following the hash tag for many different events. Add in Tweet Deck (tweetdeck.com) and now you have a command console at your fingertips.

WordPress – Content Management System

If you are reading this then you are reading a blog post. Yes WordPress is more like a Content Management System (CMS) these days, but it is still a great tool for iterating news and goings on.  Anyone can set up a blog or CMS of their very own just see TR Software Solutions to do so.

 The Method

So we get all of our tools set up. On the IFTTT site we then activate all our channels (tools). Once that is done, we create the rules that we want to have happen automatically. Here are a couple of my rules.

  • When I create a new bookmark with either Diigo or Delicious, IFTTT will automatically send that link to my Evernote  Bookmarks notebook
  • When I publish a new post on my WordPress site, IFTTT will automatically Tweet it to all of my followers and then send the tweet to my Evernote Tweets notebook to archive all my tweets.
  • When I share a Evernote notebook with the public, I can name a URL that I can embed into my WordPress site to share the information, and then twitter will automatically tweet the shared information.

 The Results

The results a simple yet astonishing. I have a page on my WordPress site to list general bookmarks that I think my reader will have an interest in (Evernote Bookmarks). So when I am reading along on the web and come across something of interest, I bookmark it with Delicious which then get sent to Evernote which then updates the blog page which then gets Tweeted to all my followers which then (the tweet) sent to my Evernote tweet archive folder. Is that Kool or what?

I am still new to IFTTT and am still learning all of the triggers that can be set up.  These are just a few ideas on how to use some tools that you may not have had the chance to use before and how they can help you to be more efficient in your day.

Enjoy

Todd

 
Help and How To none

A Closer Look At DROPBOX

December 16, 2011 Comments off

On my last post I gave a list of places on the internet that you could store document and other items in the cloud. One of the locations was dropbox.com. I have spend some time with Dropbox and would like to give a closer look at the product.

If you are looking for a tool that is used to backup your data then Dropbox is not the correct tool. However if you are looking for a tool that is easy to use from the local PC and gives you access to you files from any PC, or Smart Phone, or the web, then this IS the tool that you are looking for.

Dropbox can be found at dropbox.com. It is very easy to install on your PC, MAC, Linux, or find it in the Android Market. This app is always Free. To sign up for an account you simply need and email address and a password. After the installation, you will find a Dropbox folder in your My Documents folder. Any files that you want to have access to, from anywhere, just copy them into this folder. They will get synchronized with the Dropbox server. Now you can go to dropbox.com, log in, and your files are there waiting for you.

But wait, it gets better. Download Dropbox on another computer, your laptop let’s say, and set up the same account. After the installation, all the files that are already synchronized in the cloud are not getting synchronized to your laptop.  So no matter what computer you use, you will always have the latest version of a file.

The default storage size is 2 gig. This is not that bad. It is free after all.  So one day you are telling your friend about drop box and how you have access to your files all the time. He thinks this is terrific and wants to sign up. So you send him an invite and he joins up. Now you both get and extra 256 meg of storage. Do this for 32 friends and you can end up with a total of 10 gig of FREE storage.

Another very nice thing that Dropbox does is allow you to create shares folders. You can share with any particular person or group of people. Dropbox also has a public folder that allows for files to be shared with any one through this public link.

There are only a couple of things on the negative side of Dropbox but they are minor items. First if you share a folder with another Dropbox user, the amount of data in the folder is consumed by both accounts. Meaning anything that your friend add to your shared folder comes of allowable space for you and for your friend. The second issue is that you can only have one account per user per machine. Meaning if you have 2 accounts, a personal and a professional, you can only have one account sync to your desktop. The second account can easily be access, however, form the dropbox.com web site. Another way to access the second account would be to share a folder between the two accounts and then you can access that folder in the second account from the desktop.

So jump on in to the world of Dropbox by getting started with this link to register and get 256 meg more space for yourself and for me. Todd’s Dropbox Referral Link.

There is a Forum on this data sharing in the cloud topic and I would love to hear from users on how they share, what application they use, and how it works for them.

Thanks and Enjoy.

 
Online Storage and Sharing none

Storage or Backup in the Cloud – Where do I go?

August 29, 2011 Comments off

I was asked recently, “Where can I store things in the cloud for FREE?”

I have already been using several cloud storage systems and I thought, “Hey what a good time to look and compare what the cloud had to offer!”

This article is an overview of  a number of sites that I found that looked reputable for storing, sharing, and performing backups in the cloud. Some are better that others and some offer more space that others. This article will list the one that I think are woth mentioning and I will write some more articles on each on with more information on them in the comming weeks. So here is the list of 17 cloud storage places that I found.

 Location  Storage Space Comments 
adrive.com  50 gig  Desktop interface w/ paid version.
mimideia.com  7 gig  Desktop interface
live.com  25 gig  Only sysnc 5 gig
dropbox.com  2 gig  Get more when you refer people
spideroak.com  2 gig  
syncplicity.com  2 gig  Up to 3 gig more
opendrive.com  5 gig  
sugarsync.com  5 gig  
box.net  1 gig  
memopal.com  3 gig  
googledocs    I did not see a specific limit. Does have a MS Office connector tool to up/down load doc from within MS Office applications.
amazonclouddrive  5 gig  Excelent for playing YOUR music from anywhere
flipdrive  1 gig  
zumodrive  2 gig  
teamdrive  2 gig  up to 8 more for referals
ubuntuone  2 gig  
idrive  5 gig  Get more when you refer others. Mobile Access for smart phones. Desktop drive interface.

 

I have created a Forum for discussions of Cloud storage systems so that we can all share our experiences with others. That forum can be found here –> Cloud Storage Forum

 
Online Storage and Sharing, Online Tools none

ADDING AN OFFLINE MAIL FOLDER IN OUTLOOK

May 27, 2011 Comments off

So your mailbox is full and you need a way to store your mail items on your computer? There is a simple solution for this problem, creating an offline mail folder. An offline mail folder is another data storage area but it is not on the mail server, instead it resides on your local or network drive. Here are the simple steps to create one.

Start by opening Outlook

Click on the File Menu

Click on Account Settings then Click on Account Settings

 

In the new dialogue box click on the Data Files tab

Click on the Add… icon

Make sure the Outlook Data File (.pst) is selected and click OK

Navigate to the drive and folder where you want this file to be. The best place is on your network personal drive.

Name the new data file (i.e. MyArchive) and click OK

You will see your new data file (MyArchive) and then click the Close button

Back in the Outlook window you will see your new data file. Click the Arrow head to expand the data file.

To create new folders in the data file, right click on the new data file and choose New Folder

Name the new Folder (i.e. Meetings), make sure your new data file is selected, and click OK.

Now you will see your new folder and you can move any items you want into this folder. Follow the last few steps to create as many folders as you need to keep your mail organized.

 
Help and How To none

Using MS OneNote in College

January 18, 2011 Comments off

Do you have trouble keeping all of your different class information straight. Need a tool that you can get to from anywhere? Then you need to look at Microsoft OneNote and live.com.

Microsoft OneNote is Microsoft Word on steroids (see article on OneNote). With this tool you can create section for each class that you are taking. Within the section you can add as many pages as needed for notes of assignments or a checklist of “what needs to get done this week”. If you need you can add sub section for each week or module of a class. Everything is stored in one nice neat little program.

Add Microsoft’s live.com to the picture (see artice on live.com) and now you have access to your notebook anywhere in the world that you have an Internet connection. It does not work so well on mobile devices, but hey that is only a short time away.

So jump on board, get organized, stay organized, and you will be happy. Take it from someone who uses these features on a daily basis.

Enjoy.

Todd

 
Microsoft Office none

Adding an RSS feed to Microsoft Outlook

October 26, 2010 Comments off

I have been asked on several occasions to please create something on how to add an RSS feed to your MS outlook mailbox. Well, here is a low cost, low budget, video on the topic. I did this this morning as it was needed right now. I will redo it later with a more high budget approach. Thanks for watching.

 
Help and How To none

PowerPoint Presentation in your blog? No Way

October 13, 2010 3 comments

So you have a blog and you blog away every day. Terrific. You have created a killer PowerPoint presentation and now want to put that on your blog. Enter Office Live.

Now with your Office Live account (www.office.live.com) you can create a PowerPoint Presentation in the cloud and link it to your blog. By linking it to your blog, if you make a change in your presentation, that change is automatically made the next time someone looks at your blog and views the presentation.

Here is an example of how it is done:

Enjoy

Todd

 
Help and How To, Microsoft Office none

Microsoft OneNote

July 15, 2010 Comments off

So what is this Microsoft OneNote application that I am hearing about?

This is a simple question. In Office 2003, we saw a new application appear. It was called OneNote. If you have it, take a look at it. With this application you can work and integrate with many other applications. Basically it is an electronic 3 ring binder. In this binder you create tabbed sections. Within the sections you create pages. How many Notebooks, you ask? As many as you want. Well how many sections per notebook? As many as you want. Well, how many pages within each section? Let me repeat myself, as many as you want. It is electronic, so there are no limitations.

So then what can I do with this application? What do you want to do? Save a web clipping to a OneNote page. Draw and outline of a project while you are collaborating. Reference a web page or a PDF document. Link to a Word document or Excel spreadsheet with one note. You can create a note and assign it as a task that will show up on your to do list in Outlook. You can do most anything that you would like to do. It is a very versatile program. It is a great program for sharing with others. Creating shared notebooks on network drives and work simultaneously with your colleagues in the same notebook.

You can even share your information with yourself between computers. Even better now with Windows Live Sky Drive and Office 10 you can have your OneNote notebooks on the web (kept completely private of course) for you to have access to wherever you are in the world.

This is a fantastic program for the student who takes a lot of notes in class. It is great for meeting minutes at the office. It is great for planning trips or home projects. I have been using OneNote for just over 3 years now and I am finding more and more uses for it every day.

So jump on board. Start an OneNote notebook and see what OneNote can do for you.

 
Microsoft Office none

Microsoft Live and the Sky Drive

June 29, 2010 Comments off

You may have been hearing about the new Microsoft Live and the Microsoft Sky Drive and wondered what it was. Well it is Microsoft’s version of Google Docs. You can use the Microsoft Cloud Computing of the Sky Drive to create and edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files directly on the web.

How much does it cost? Nothing, zip, zero. It is free. you just need to sign up and get a windows live ID (which is also free). You will then have 25 Gig, yes I said Gig. of storage space. you can store all types of documents, pictures, PDF’s etc., etc., etc. (as my friend the King would say).

But wait there is more. If you are now using the release (not the Beta) of MS Office 2010, then you have direct access to your Sky Drive using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. How sweet is that? From the desktop you can create new docs on the Sky Drive and edit old ones.

But wait there is still more. With the Sky Drive you can share with others. The Sky Drive has permissions that range from private to share with the world and 4 stops in between. You can share with a specific person by name or share a folder with a group of friends. It is up to you how much and with whom you share.

So sign up for a Sky Drive account today and get sharing.

Enjoy

Todd

MS Office 2010 Trial

Windows Live

 
Microsoft Office none

Thoughts on Office 2010

June 14, 2010 Comments off

So you have been hearing that Microsoft is about to release Office 2010. Now your question is: Should I get on board and buy this new Office version? Under most circumstances I would typically say “NO”. However in this case there are some great improvements worth having to make working with Office applications much easier. But before I say “YES” let’s review a few things. Let me ask you a few questions:

1. Are you using Office 2000, XP, or 2003?
2. Do you like to create your own menus?

If you answered yes to #1 then definitely upgrade to Office 2010. Microsoft support for the older applications is going to end. Also with the new technology the new application will work much better.

If you answered yes to #2 then definitely upgrade as well. The Office 2007 introduced us to the ribbon and many of us were upset that we could no longer create our own menus. With Office 2010 we now once again have the ability to create our own ribbon. Along with this we can create groups and place items in the groups that we wish.

If you are just a techie like myself and want to work with the latest software, then Office 2010 is for you as well. I have been working with the Beta for some time now and am very happy with what I have found. The latest integrations with Office Live make it very easy to save and open documents from your Microsoft Live account. A new addition to this is the latest forecast of the integration with Microsoft Sky Drive. This will give you 25 Gigabytes of storage on the Microsoft Live server.

I am going to upgrade when Microsoft 2010 is released and I will bring you more tips and tricks for this application later on. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading,
Todd

 
Microsoft Office none

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