Application and Software Recommendations Archives

Box: Online File Sharing and Content Management App

Box is similar to Dropbox or box Google Drive in that it is a cloud-based content management application that syncs with your desktop. It provides 10GB plus syncing capabilities with its free profile. Box can be accessed by any mobile devises such as iPad, iPhone, Android and tablets. It also has a very nice document preview capability without opening the document. Users can add comments and view versions with documents with a paid subscription to the app.

The advantage of Box over DropBox is that it allows online editing of documents and has 8 GB more space with a free account.

Computer PC Tips: Office 365 is Good for Small Businesses

Office 365 is essentially Microsoft Office in the cloud. It essentially lets you have all the functionality of Microsoft Office suite of applications, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Publisher, Outlook via the Internet. Therefore you can use Microsoft Office products on any mobile devises, Mac or other operating systems. The small to medium sized enterprise version also includes access to SharePoint and OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive). Depending on the version you purchase you can also have local copies of Microsoft Office and Lync available. (Lync is Microsoft online meeting and communications application).

For small businesses who don’t want office_365 the maintenance of regular business server or Microsoft exchange server, Office 365, provides the functionality of a networked environment without the expensive hardware and software costs. Because it is cloud-based it also means no more upgrading since Office 365 will always be up-to-date. Once 365 is set up then it can be managed by an administrator or IT support staff.

Learn more information on pricing plans and features.

Time Management: Are You Late for Meetings: Try Procrastinator’s Clock

A clock that can be installed on your computer and displays the time up to 15 minutes early, you just don’t know. Good for those individuals who just can’t seem to be on time for meetings and appointments. The procrastinator’s clock shows time early to help those individuals be triggered to leave for meetings and appointments and hopefully arrive on time or maybe not as late.

Here are the options for Procrastinator’s Clock

Procrastinator’s Clock: Free download from CNET
iGoogle: Google has their own procrastinator’s clock that you can add to your Google homepage.
Dave Seah designed a procrastinator’s clock that just opens in your browser if you prefer not to download any app.

Meeting and Note-Taking: Recommended Apps

Evernote has been the dominant app for meeting and note-taking. It has a streamlined interface and interacts with other programs such as Microsoft Outlook. There are competitors to Evernote recognizing that everyone needs a place to track meeting notes, tasks, ideas, recommendations and other pieces of information. Below are some other recommended applications for note-taking.

Google Keep is a simple platform to iStock_000007485287_Small take notes. Google Keep integrates with a user’s Google platform and notes can sync with Google Drive. Users can make unlimited lists, add photos and graphics to notes and also color code notes. Although the functionality for Google Keep is fairly basic, knowing Google it probably will get enhancements in the coming year.

Microsoft OneNote is part of the Microsoft Office suite and an alternative to Evernote. OneNote was specifically designed as a meeting note application and does a great job of organizing meeting notes by type and date of meeting. The integration with Outlook is also a key feature as it allows users to import emails and tasks between the applications. OneNote has an app and notes can sync to mobile devices. However, attached files such as Word, Excel or email documents may not open depending on your platform. The free version of OneNote is limited to 500 notes, with unlimited use available for $4.99 via an in-app purchase.

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