<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>40Tech &#187; Web Apps</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.40tech.com/category/web-apps/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.40tech.com</link>
	<description>Tech for Real People</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:58:42 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Producteev Gets a Massive Upgrade: Android App, Windows Desktop App, and an All Around Makeover</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/27/producteev-gets-a-massive-upgrade-android-app-windows-desktop-app-and-an-all-around-makeover/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/27/producteev-gets-a-massive-upgrade-android-app-windows-desktop-app-and-an-all-around-makeover/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:16:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bobby Travis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Android]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Collaboration Tools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Windows 7]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Producteev]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=10389</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Producteev, one of our favourite  -- and one of the best -- to-do apps, has released a massive upgrade that includes some long-awaited features and platform updates. The web and iPhone apps have gotten a makeover, the much clamoured-for Android app has finally arrived, and there is now a Windows 7 desktop app to balance out the Mac version. Even the logo has been updated (bye bye Tasky the beaver)!</p>
<p>To top it all off, Producteev has added a few new features into the mix -- and yes (drumroll), that<strong> does include sub-tasks...</strong></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border-width: 0px;" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image43.png" alt="Producteev Gets a Makeover | 40Tech" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></p>
<p>Producteev, one of our favourite  &#8212; and one of the best &#8212; to-do apps, has released a massive upgrade that includes some long-awaited features and platform updates. The web and iPhone apps have gotten a makeover, the much clamoured-for Android app has finally arrived, and there is now a Windows 7 desktop app to balance out the Mac version. Even the logo has been updated (bye bye Tasky the beaver)!</p>
<p>To top it all off, Producteev has added a few new features into the mix &#8212; and yes (drumroll), that<strong> does include sub-tasks&#8230;</strong></p>
<p><em>Check out the video below for the overview of some of the new functionality in the multi-platform task manager.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/27/producteev-gets-a-massive-upgrade-android-app-windows-desktop-app-and-an-all-around-makeover/"><em>Click here to view the embedded video.</em></a></p>
<p>There have been usability and visual enhancements across all apps, improvements to some of the main Producteev feature-set (discussed in <a title="Producteev Task Manager Posts on 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/tag/producteev/">previous posts)</a>, and some brand new features such as integration with <a title="TaskRabbit | Crowdsourcing Tasks" href="http://www.taskrabbit.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TaskRabbit</a> (a service for crowdsourcing small tasks), the ability to print tasks and export them to CSV, as well as the aforementioned sub-tasks.</p>
<p>Now, I know many of you have been waiting patiently for sub-tasks, but don&#8217;t get too excited. At this time, sub-tasks are really nothing more than a checkable list added to the top of the main task&#8217;s detailed view. There is no way to interact with them outside of that view, or to add specific dates, labels, or anything else. Also, they don&#8217;t appear to work in the mobile apps yet, either. Hopefully, there will be improvements, and soon, especially in the case of the missing mobile integration.</p>
<p>The Android app is great. I can now use Producteev with my wife&#8217;s phone just as easily as my own, and with an interface that&#8217;s nearly identical to the iPhone&#8217;s. As Producteev mentions in <a href="http://blog.producteev.com/producteev-launches-new-apps-for-android-ipho">this post</a>, however, Android users should be aware that the new app is in beta. Don&#8217;t expect an error-free experience, just yet.</p>
<p>As always, <a title="Producteev | Multi-Platform Task Manager" href="https://www.producteev.com/appstore.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Producteev</a> is free to use for workspaces that have one or two people. If you want to collaborate with larger teams, unlimited people and storage space can be had for $20 USD per month (it gets cheaper the more workspaces you buy).</p>
<p class="note"><strong>Update:</strong> Google Calendar integration has been temporarily disabled due to stability issues. It should be back up and running within the week &#8212; and <strong>it will be better than before</strong>. Two way task-sync with Gcal, folks!</p>
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/07/22/gtd-producteev-evernote-bridged/' title='GTD, Producteev, Evernote &#8212; Bridged!'>GTD, Producteev, Evernote &#8212; Bridged!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/05/25/producteev-adds-google-tasks-sync-outlook-plugin-with-native-mac-windows-android-apps-on-the-way/' title='Producteev Adds Google Tasks Sync, Outlook Plugin, with Native Mac, Windows, Android Apps On the Way'>Producteev Adds Google Tasks Sync, Outlook Plugin, with Native Mac, Windows, Android Apps On the Way</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/04/22/simplify-your-desktop-for-peaceful-productivity/' title='Simplify Your Desktop for Peaceful Productivity'>Simplify Your Desktop for Peaceful Productivity</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/01/13/ge-tt-file-sharing-for-the-technology-challenged/' title='Ge.tt: File Sharing for the Technology-Challenged'>Ge.tt: File Sharing for the Technology-Challenged</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2010/12/08/springpad-easier-than-ever-to-save-and-organize-everything/' title='Springpad: Easier Than Ever to Save and Organize Everything'>Springpad: Easier Than Ever to Save and Organize Everything</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/27/producteev-gets-a-massive-upgrade-android-app-windows-desktop-app-and-an-all-around-makeover/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>21</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/25/summify-acquired-by-twitter-and-going-bye-bye/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/25/summify-acquired-by-twitter-and-going-bye-bye/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:27:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bobby Travis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summify]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=10375</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Back in August of last year, <a title="Summify Cuts Through the Chatter, Helps You Get The Real Goods From Your Social Streams &#124; 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2011/08/06/summify-cuts-through-the-chatter-helps-you-get-the-real-goods-from-your-social-streams/">we wrote about Summify</a>, a fantastic tool for getting to and sharing the highlights of your social streams and feeds. I've used this tool religiously for the past several months and have found it to be incredibly useful, especially with Twitter. Just last week, however, I received an email from the Vancouver-based start-up and discovered that they had become yet another in a long line of services to be snatched up and absorbed by a tech giant -- <a title="Summify Joins the Flock at Twitter &#124; Summify Blog" href="http://blog.summify.com/2012/01/19/summify-joins-the-flock-at-twitter/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">in this case, Twitter</a>. Great for them, but sad for you and me.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye) | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image42.png" alt="Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye) | 40Tech" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></p>
<p>Back in August of last year, <a title="Summify Cuts Through the Chatter, Helps You Get The Real Goods From Your Social Streams | 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2011/08/06/summify-cuts-through-the-chatter-helps-you-get-the-real-goods-from-your-social-streams/">we wrote about Summify</a>, a fantastic tool for getting to and sharing the highlights of your social streams and feeds. I&#8217;ve used this tool religiously for the past several months and have found it to be incredibly useful, especially with Twitter. Just last week, however, I received an email from the Vancouver-based start-up and discovered that they had become yet another in a long line of services to be snatched up and absorbed by a tech giant &#8212; <a title="Summify Joins the Flock at Twitter | Summify Blog" href="http://blog.summify.com/2012/01/19/summify-joins-the-flock-at-twitter/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">in this case, Twitter</a>. Great for them, but sad for you and me.</p>
<p>The Summify team will be moving to San Francisco, where they will become a part of Twitter&#8217;s growth team. Summify the service will be stripped down for the time being, and will eventually shutdown altogether as a standalone product.</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s the main list of changes from their announcement: </strong></p>
<ul>
<li>New account registrations have been disabled.</li>
<li>Email summaries remain, but only for a few weeks, and then they are gone as well.</li>
<li>Users will still receive their summaries via the web app (and the iPhone app, as well, I believe), but will no longer be able to make them public.</li>
<li>Profile and influence pages are gone, as is auto-publish.</li>
</ul>
<p>I&#8217;ve also noticed that sharing posts to Twitter from Summify no longer adds credits to the end of the tweet. Previously, the tweet would add in an @mention to a few of those in your network that shared the information with you in the first place, but this is no longer the case, at least from the mobile app.</p>
<p><strong>There is no word yet as to when Summify will shut down completely</strong>, or what cool newness might arise in Twitter as a result. Either way, while I&#8217;m happy for the people behind the great service, I will really miss Summify as a standalone tool. Hopefully, something truly great comes out of this. In the meantime, we can only hope that <a title="Awesome App Updates: Flipboard, Zite, PressReader (iOS) | 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/13/awesome-app-updates-flipboard-zite-pressreader-ios/">Zite &#8212; and maybe Flipboard &#8212; will pick up the slack</a> by improving how they filter our streams.<br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/08/06/summify-cuts-through-the-chatter-helps-you-get-the-real-goods-from-your-social-streams/' title='Summify Cuts Through the Chatter, Helps You Get The Real Goods From Your Social Streams'>Summify Cuts Through the Chatter, Helps You Get The Real Goods From Your Social Streams</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/03/30/evernote-web-app-gets-a-makeoveradds-social-sharing/' title='Evernote Web App Gets a Makeover&#8211;Adds Social Sharing'>Evernote Web App Gets a Makeover&#8211;Adds Social Sharing</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/07/whats-the-deal-with-pinterest-even-my-wife-likes-obsesses-over-it/' title='What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!'>What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/10/31/social-media-overload-how-has-your-social-media-usage-changed-since-the-release-of-google-reader-feedback/' title='Social Media Overload: How Has Your Social Media Usage Changed Since the Release of Google+? [Reader Feedback]'>Social Media Overload: How Has Your Social Media Usage Changed Since the Release of Google+? [Reader Feedback]</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/06/08/want-the-best-instagram-web-app-get-extragram/' title='Want the Best Instagram Web App? Get Extragram!'>Want the Best Instagram Web App? Get Extragram!</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/25/summify-acquired-by-twitter-and-going-bye-bye/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Easily Preview the Output of Your HTML and CSS With A Web App</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/24/easily-preview-the-output-of-your-html-and-css-with-a-web-app/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/24/easily-preview-the-output-of-your-html-and-css-with-a-web-app/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan Kline</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=10341</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>If you ever play around with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and don't want to set up a testing environment, check out JSFiddle. JSFiddle is a web app that lets you input HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, hit a button, and see the results of your code.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img title="NewImage.png" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NewImage.png" alt="NewImage" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></p>
<p>If you ever play around with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and don&#8217;t want to set up a testing environment, check out JSFiddle. JSFiddle is a web app that lets you input HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, hit a button, and see the results of your code.</p>
<p><span id="more-10341"></span></p>
<p>There are four main boxes on the JSFiddle screen: one for HTML, one for CSS, one for JavaScript, and one for the results of your code. You enter your code in the first three boxes, as appropriate, hit a &#8220;Run&#8221; button, and then you can see your results in the fourth box.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/24/easily-preview-the-output-of-your-html-and-css-with-a-web-app/jsfiddle-full-screen/" rel="attachment wp-att-10349"><img class="alignnone  wp-image-10349" title="JSFiddle full screen" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/JSFiddle-full-screen.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="279" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>JSFiddle has some options that you can set, such as choosing Mootools  or jQuery. It also lets you tidy up the appearance with your code with the click of a button. This doesn&#8217;t seem to change your code at all, but can add line breaks and indentations.</p>
<p>When you&#8217;re done with your code, you can share a link to it, share it on Facebook or Twitter, or even embed it on a page. That makes JSFiddle not just great for testing out some code, but having someone else take a look at it for you.</p>
<p>Do you have any tools that you use when trying out code?</p>
<blockquote><p><a href="http://jsfiddle.net/">JSFiddle</a> [via <a href="http://www.webmaster-source.com/2012/01/05/jsfiddle-a-playground-for-web-developers/">Webmaster-Source]</a></p></blockquote>
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/04/17/learn-the-basics-of-programming-interactively-in-your-browser/' title='Learn the Basics of Programming, Interactively In Your Browser'>Learn the Basics of Programming, Interactively In Your Browser</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/25/summify-acquired-by-twitter-and-going-bye-bye/' title='Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)'>Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/22/find-the-best-channel-for-your-wifi-network-with-wifi-stumbler/' title='Find the Best Channel for Your WiFi Network With WiFi Stumbler'>Find the Best Channel for Your WiFi Network With WiFi Stumbler</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/19/my-conversion-from-ical-to-google-calendar/' title='My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar'>My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/07/whats-the-deal-with-pinterest-even-my-wife-likes-obsesses-over-it/' title='What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!'>What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/24/easily-preview-the-output-of-your-html-and-css-with-a-web-app/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Find the Best Channel for Your WiFi Network With WiFi Stumbler</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/22/find-the-best-channel-for-your-wifi-network-with-wifi-stumbler/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/22/find-the-best-channel-for-your-wifi-network-with-wifi-stumbler/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan Kline</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=10298</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I've recently started having issues with my WiFi network, such as dropouts and slowness. One of the first steps I've taken to address the problem is to try to determine if I'm getting interference from other networks. To see nearby networks, and what channels they're using, I've found WiFi Stumbler to be valuable.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img title="WiFi channel select.jpg" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/WiFi-channel-select.jpg" alt="WiFi signal" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve recently started having issues with my WiFi network, such as dropouts and slowness. One of the first steps I&#8217;ve taken to address the problem is to try to determine if I&#8217;m getting interference from other networks. To see nearby networks, and what channels they&#8217;re using, I&#8217;ve found WiFi Stumbler to be valuable.</p>
<p><span id="more-10298"></span></p>
<p>WiFi Stumbler is a web app, in the form of a java applet. It works by scanning for nearby networks, and then listing their MAC address, radio type (B, G, N, etc.), channel, signal strength, manufacturer, and security used. As signals drift out of range, they are grayed out in the list.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/WiFi-Stumbler.jpg"><img class="alignnone  wp-image-10300" title="WiFi Stumbler" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/WiFi-Stumbler.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="194" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Using WiFi Stumbler, I picked an unused channel for my network that had the least amount of interference based on number of connections, nearby busy channels, and signal strength from surrounding devices on those nearby channels. My WiFi connection is much better now, although I still have a few more tweaks to make.</p>
<p>As an aside, what surprised me the most about WiFi Stumbler, and perhaps taught me a bit about how WiFi signals travel, were the number of networks at home versus at my office. I live in a fairly rural neighborhood, with houses that aren&#8217;t too close together, yet WiFi Stumbler picked up a total of 17 networks. Two of those were unsecured, and three were using the insecure WEP standard. I work in a downtown area, and assumed that I&#8217;d pick up even more networks, yet WiFi Stumbler detected only four WiFi signals, one of which was unsecured and one which was using WEP.</p>
<p>So, color me curious. Head on over and try out WiFi Stumbler, and let us know in the comments how many networks you pick up, and how many are unsecured or using WEP.</p>
<blockquote><p><a href="http://tools.meraki.com/stumbler">WiFi Stumbler</a></p></blockquote>
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/25/summify-acquired-by-twitter-and-going-bye-bye/' title='Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)'>Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/24/easily-preview-the-output-of-your-html-and-css-with-a-web-app/' title='Easily Preview the Output of Your HTML and CSS With A Web App'>Easily Preview the Output of Your HTML and CSS With A Web App</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/19/my-conversion-from-ical-to-google-calendar/' title='My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar'>My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/07/whats-the-deal-with-pinterest-even-my-wife-likes-obsesses-over-it/' title='What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!'>What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/05/redesign-your-living-space-online-with-homestyler-app-of-the-week/' title='Redesign Your Living Space Online With Homestyler [App of the Week]'>Redesign Your Living Space Online With Homestyler [App of the Week]</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/22/find-the-best-channel-for-your-wifi-network-with-wifi-stumbler/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/19/my-conversion-from-ical-to-google-calendar/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/19/my-conversion-from-ical-to-google-calendar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:51:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Poster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Organization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google Calendar]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=10326</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>When I began college, I was determined to keep track of all my homework, papers, tests, and scheduled activities. A staple of college scheduling is the syllabus, which lays out the due dates and assigned readings and homework for each class. However, syllabuses are just pieces of paper. I realized that it would be a huge pain to look up daily, from four or five different sources, what the assignments were for that day. I wanted to look at a single source and grasp all the work I had to do for that day, and for that week. More importantly, I wanted to keep in mind upcoming tests and papers several weeks ahead of time, in order to prepare time to work on them.</p>
<p>With this predilection for planning, I looked to my built-in OS calendar, iCal. There were many advantages to using it. I didn’t have to boot up Chrome or worry about web browsing. I could organize by color, assigning one to events, one to assignments, and another to work. I actually put my entire class schedule, as well as ordinary things like “lunch,” into iCal. I put not only due dates, but little reminders when certain benchmarks should be met in prep for those due dates. It was my lifeline.</p>
<p><em><strong>However, little problems grew to be big annoyances. </strong></em></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 1px solid #ccc;" title="My conversion from iCal to Google Calendar | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image39.png" alt="My conversion from iCal to Google Calendar | 40Tech" width="576" height="200" /></p>
<p class="info">40Tech is pleased to present a guest post by Michael Carper.</p>
<p>When I began college, I was determined to keep track of all my homework, papers, tests, and scheduled activities. A staple of college scheduling is the syllabus, which lays out the due dates and assigned readings and homework for each class. However, syllabuses are just pieces of paper. I realized that it would be a huge pain to look up daily, from four or five different sources, what the assignments were for that day. I wanted to look at a single source and grasp all the work I had to do for that day, and for that week. More importantly, I wanted to keep in mind upcoming tests and papers several weeks ahead of time, in order to prepare time to work on them.</p>
<p>With this predilection for planning, I looked to my built-in OS calendar, iCal. There were many advantages to using it. I didn’t have to boot up Chrome or worry about web browsing. I could organize by color, assigning one to events, one to assignments, and another to work. I actually put my entire class schedule, as well as ordinary things like “lunch,” into iCal. I put not only due dates, but little reminders when certain benchmarks should be met in prep for those due dates. It was my lifeline.</p>
<p>However, little problems grew to be big annoyances. The most striking was the way iCal handled longer titles. I copied entire reading assignments into iCal. For some single class periods, this could include multiple texts or several page selections. Shorter entries would be completely displayed in the month-long calendar view, which I always used. I didn’t need to see my days broken down in the traditional week-long format, but I did want to see the tests and papers on the horizons. However, in this view, longer entries were simply abridged. There was no indication that an entry was actually much longer than it appeared, since they always stuck to a single line. On several instances, this lack of informative UI actually led to ignored homework assignments, since the entry was actually much longer than appeared and contained more readings than it appeared to. Ironically, in those instances, my calendar made me less prepared.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image40.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border-width: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb23.png" alt="image" width="542" height="414" border="0" /></a></p>
<h2>Fall of my freshman year</h2>
<p>There were other little things, as well. Entry of events was very manual; you had to put all details in only their specific field. Once made, you could not edit an event after clicking on it, but instead had to go to its “edit” page. The tethering of iCal to my Mac turned out to be a disadvantage, since I often ended up with hours to spare, homework to do, and no personal computer at my fingertips. I couldn’t sync it in any way with my iPod Touch, either.</p>
<p>So beginning of my junior, I finally took a look at Google Calendar. Since I had been a loyal Gmail user for many years, it only seemed natural. Immediately I noticed where GCal improved over iCal. The most prominent was the ease of creating events. I no longer had to cycle through different boxes to mark the date and time. Instead, I could simply jot down, “meeting 12-1” as an entry name for a certain day, and there it appeared, from the 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM slot. And if I felt like changing it, I could edit the entry title from the pop-up that appeared when I clicked it the first time, unlike iCal.</p>
<p>It wasn’t just the cleaner, more pleasing UI that won me over. Accessing my calendar outside my room was as simple as accessing my email&#8211;just log in to Google. I could access it on my iPod as well, albeit not with an official Google app. School events were always announced via email. I could either copy and paste the location and time details from one tab to another, or I could even click “More” in Gmail and create an event based on the email. If viewing an online calendar, such as the one published by my college, I could even import all the events into mine.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image41.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border-width: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb24.png" alt="image" width="542" height="414" border="0" /></a></p>
<h2>December of my junior year</h2>
<p>Six months later, I still haven’t taken advantage of everything Google Calendar has to offer, like sharing my calendar with others or inviting them to scheduled meetings. Those two functionalities are so amazingly useful, it’s a pity I’ve only encountered them at places I’ve interned. The rest of my fellow students, unfortunately, are still stuck in the Stone Age, with their paper syllabuses and calendar. Some of them may have progressed to iCal, marking their progress into the Bronze Age. They, and everyone else, should wise up and join those of us with our Google Calendars in the Golden Age.</p>
<p>I will add that I’ve tried the Fantastical Calendar app. Fantastical syncs with iCal or Outlook, but not Google Calendar, so I had to export from Google Calendar to iCal and then sync Fantastical with iCal. It’s UI is very nice. The recognition of event details is more intuitive than Google Calendar’s, expanding its recognition to location details and invitees whose address you have in your Contacts as well. You can read more about it in <a title="App of the Week: Fantastical [Mac]" href="http://www.40tech.com/2011/12/20/app-of-the-week-fantastical-mac/">Evan’s review</a>. My judgment is that although it has the best user interface, the ability of Google Calendar to sync with other Google apps, especially through email, is invaluable. Since I always have a web browser opened anyway, leaving a tab for Google Calendar is hardly cumbersome. $20 is a lot for calendar software, but, in my opinion, is something that would be used everyday. So if I spent less time on Google, Fantastical would be my go-to calendar.</p>
<p class="info">Michael is a student at Wabash College and writer for the <a title="Reading Glass Shopper" href="http://www.readingglassesshopper.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Reading Glasses Shopper</a> blog. He realizes that actually the Iron Age, not the Golden Age, followed the Bronze Age.</p>
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/02/03/springpad-gets-even-better-again/' title='Springpad Gets Even Better &#8212; Again'>Springpad Gets Even Better &#8212; Again</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2010/12/08/springpad-easier-than-ever-to-save-and-organize-everything/' title='Springpad: Easier Than Ever to Save and Organize Everything'>Springpad: Easier Than Ever to Save and Organize Everything</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/07/whats-the-deal-with-pinterest-even-my-wife-likes-obsesses-over-it/' title='What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!'>What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/07/22/gtd-producteev-evernote-bridged/' title='GTD, Producteev, Evernote &#8212; Bridged!'>GTD, Producteev, Evernote &#8212; Bridged!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/07/15/find-google-users-by-occupation-location-popularity-and-more/' title='Find Google+ Users By Occupation, Location, Popularity, and More'>Find Google+ Users By Occupation, Location, Popularity, and More</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/19/my-conversion-from-ical-to-google-calendar/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What&#8217;s The Deal With Pinterest? Even My Wife Likes (Obsesses Over) It!</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/07/whats-the-deal-with-pinterest-even-my-wife-likes-obsesses-over-it/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/07/whats-the-deal-with-pinterest-even-my-wife-likes-obsesses-over-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:02:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bobby Travis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cloud]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Organization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pinterest]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=10213</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>So, <a title="Pinterest &#124; Online Pinboard" href="http://pinterest.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>... It's received a lot of coverage in the past year -- it's even received in the realm of 37 million in funding -- but I had trouble seeing the appeal. I wasn't sure the world needed another social bookmarking site. I wasn't sure the world needed another way to share, well... anything. I admit, most of this feeling had nothing to do with Pinterest, per se, it was really more about social media overwhelm. I've seen a ton of social sharing services go up and down over the past few years, and, as much as I <a title="Google+ Posts on 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/category/google/google-2/">love Google+</a>, I think it maxed me out. Besides, you can do things similar to Pinterest using tools like Evernote and Springpad, right? Right?</p>
<p>Then my lovely wife -- a person who has no real interest in tech, barely any interest in social networking, and who only got a smartphone because it was free and I "was bugging her about it" -- was somehow inspired to try it out. No prompting from me, or anyone else -- she came to it entirely on her own. Now... she's obsessed. Seriously. For example, I see her awake at 3AM and think that she's feeding the baby, or something -- but no. What's she's doing is maniacally pinning and re-pinning things to her boards, and often giggling like mad as she does it. There is apparently a lot of funny on Pinterest...</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image15.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb7.png" alt="image" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>So, <a title="Pinterest | Online Pinboard" href="http://pinterest.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>&#8230; It&#8217;s received a lot of coverage in the past year &#8212; it&#8217;s even received in the realm of 37 million in funding &#8212; but I had trouble seeing the appeal. I wasn&#8217;t sure the world needed another social bookmarking site. I wasn&#8217;t sure the world needed another way to share, well&#8230; anything. I admit, most of this feeling had nothing to do with Pinterest, per se, it was really more about social media overwhelm. I&#8217;ve seen a ton of social sharing services go up and down over the past few years, and, as much as I <a title="Google+ Posts on 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/category/google/google-2/">love Google+</a>, I think it maxed me out. Besides, you can do things similar to Pinterest using tools like Evernote and Springpad, right? Right?</p>
<p>Then my lovely wife &#8212; a person who has no real interest in tech, barely any interest in social networking, and who only got a smartphone because it was free and I &#8220;was bugging her about it&#8221; &#8212; was somehow inspired to try it out. No prompting from me, or anyone else &#8212; she came to it entirely on her own. Now&#8230; she&#8217;s obsessed. Seriously. For example, I see her awake at 3AM and think that she&#8217;s feeding the baby, or something &#8212; but no. What&#8217;s she&#8217;s doing is maniacally pinning and re-pinning things to her boards, and often giggling like mad as she does it. There is apparently a lot of funny on Pinterest&#8230;</p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a title="Pinterest Comic Uploaded by User" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/255016397619603942/" target="_blank">Title Image clipped from Pinterest Comic</a></span></em></p>
<p><a title="Pinterest Funny" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/255016397619601863/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image16.png" alt="image" width="394" height="293" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Recently, she&#8217;s taken to sharing some of that funny with me, and I&#8217;ve discovered that a good portion of it is Star Wars based. This confused the hell out of me (though I still shared some of it with you <a title="Happy Holidays from 40Tech and the Star Wars Cat" href="http://www.40tech.com/2011/12/24/happy-holidays-from-40tech-and-the-star-wars-cat/">here</a> and <a title="Happy New Year and Some Sweet Star Wars Awesome | 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/01/happy-new-year-and-some-sweet-star-wars-awesome/">here</a>). My wife has no interest in Star Wars. She&#8217;s one of the few people who has never even seen the films, and (horrifyingly) will actually say things like <em>&#8220;What&#8217;s a hansolo?&#8221;</em> I still love her, though. She&#8217;s that awesome. She&#8217;s beginning to make me see value in Pinterest, too. Anything that could inspire my wife to share seriously awesome Star Wars stuffs with me has got to be pretty powerful.</p>
<p><a title="Star Ward Air Balloon | Pinterest" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/255016397619603248/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image17.png" alt="image" width="195" height="221" border="0" /></a>  <a title="Chewie Puppie | Pinterest" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/73183562664377648/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image18.png" alt="image" width="183" height="244" border="0" /></a>  <a title="Star Wars Kid Costumes | Pinterest" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/77687162291741266/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image19.png" alt="image" width="184" height="244" border="0" /></a></p>
<p><a title="Star Wars Boba Fett Baggage Claim | Pinterest" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/100275529172892850/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image20.png" alt="image" width="554" height="332" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>I checked it out a little more thoroughly. I wanted to know what the deal was. Was there a secret sauce? How did it hook her? <em><strong>What I discovered was four things: </strong></em></p>
<h3>Pinterest is incredibly simple.</h3>
<p>Pinterest is to sharing fun and useful images what Evernote is to easy, accessible note-taking. It focuses on that one thing, and makes sure that it is the absolute best at it. It doesn&#8217;t overwhelm the user.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Pinterest is visual &#8212; and good at it.</h3>
<p>Everyone loves a good picture and everyone loves a good photo gallery. Funny and beautiful pics have been making the rounds since the internet was able to support them. People like to look at the images they like again and again.  And share them, re-share them, and re-share them again, as well. Pinterest makes this easy, but it also makes it beautiful. The designers have done a fantastic job of taking something that could be overwhelming, both in general and visually, and making it joy to experience.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image21.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb8.png" alt="My Wife's Pinterest Categories" width="554" height="339" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Like crafty things? This is your home.</h3>
<p>There are a ton of cool things to discover on Pinterest, but it really seems to have taken off with the crafty and DIY crowd. This is what ultimately hooked my wife. She loves to see things that people have made, especially if it involves baking or making something cool out of something else. She knows I like that sort of thing as well, and has not only shared some cool Star Wars crafts with me, but also a lot of DIY upcycling and repurposing projects. It&#8217;s how I came across Homestyler, actually, which was the topic of <a title="Redesign Your Living Space Online With Homestyler [App of the Week] | 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/05/redesign-your-living-space-online-with-homestyler-app-of-the-week/">my previous post</a>. There is some very cool stuff on Pinterest, and more is pinned every day.</p>
<p><strong>Some of My Wife’s Pins</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image22.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb9.png" alt="image" width="270" height="156" border="0" /></a>  <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image23.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb10.png" alt="image" width="280" height="156" border="0" /></a>  <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image24.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb11.png" alt="image" width="280" height="156" border="0" /></a>  <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image25.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb12.png" alt="image" width="282" height="156" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>It connects to the real world. It <em>useful.</em></h3>
<p>Pinterest is more than just a place to store and share images. The images link back to the site you found them on &#8212; and if we follow the crafty and DIY point from above, you end up with well-organized, very visual bookmarks back to sites that contain information that you might actually use in your real-world life. This makes Pinterest more than just a random bookmarking service, and more than just an image-sharing service. It makes it a tool that is useful to you both on and offline. It helps you to find, share, save and <em>use</em> things that are of interest to you.</p>
<p><a title="DIY Pallet Desk on Pinterest | Links to Funky Junk Interiors" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/156148312049715810/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image26.png" alt="image" width="554" height="472" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>We&#8217;ve all heard that <em>&#8220;&lt;insert service&gt; makes it easy to collect and organize what interests you on the web.&#8221;</em> Pinterest actually does it. My wife is living proof. Anything tech-based that can make <em>her</em> go gaga is definitely worth taking a look at. It&#8217;s still in beta, but getting an account happens pretty quickly. <strong>I recommend giving Pinterest a try. You&#8217;ll probably love it.</strong></p>
<p><strong><em>What do you think of Pinterest? How do you use it? </em></strong><br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/08/06/summify-cuts-through-the-chatter-helps-you-get-the-real-goods-from-your-social-streams/' title='Summify Cuts Through the Chatter, Helps You Get The Real Goods From Your Social Streams'>Summify Cuts Through the Chatter, Helps You Get The Real Goods From Your Social Streams</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/25/summify-acquired-by-twitter-and-going-bye-bye/' title='Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)'>Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/19/my-conversion-from-ical-to-google-calendar/' title='My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar'>My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/09/23/springpad-mobile-clipper-is-the-near-seamless-content-clipper-youve-been-waiting-for/' title='Springpad Mobile Clipper is the (Near) Seamless Content Clipper You&#8217;ve Been Waiting For'>Springpad Mobile Clipper is the (Near) Seamless Content Clipper You&#8217;ve Been Waiting For</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/06/24/the-top-five-web-apps-i-use-the-most-what-are-yours/' title='The Top Five Web Apps I Use the Most &#8212; What Are Yours?'>The Top Five Web Apps I Use the Most &#8212; What Are Yours?</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/07/whats-the-deal-with-pinterest-even-my-wife-likes-obsesses-over-it/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Redesign Your Living Space Online With Homestyler [App of the Week]</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/05/redesign-your-living-space-online-with-homestyler-app-of-the-week/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/05/redesign-your-living-space-online-with-homestyler-app-of-the-week/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:07:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bobby Travis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[App of the Week]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=10182</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I stumbled across this completely by accident. I was looking at some very cool ideas for creating <a title="Recycled Pallet Furniture &#124; Pinterest" href="http://pinterest.com/greennest/recycled-pallet-furniture/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">furniture from shipping pallets</a> (my lovely wife’s new obsession), and I saw that one person had done a mock-up of what she wanted her living room to look like. Then I saw the little <strong><em>"Autodesk Homestyler"</em></strong> branding on the bottom of the image and gave an audible <em>"Heyyyyyyyyyy!"</em></p>
<p>What followed wasn't pretty. Picture me -- or yourself, if you don't happen to know what I look like -- wandering about my house with a tape measure, measuring every wall, window, doorframe, article of furniture, you name it. I was approximating angles, imagining what changes I might like, and constantly running back to my laptop so I could re-create -- and then improve upon -- my living space. It was obsessive, it was zen-like, and it was surprisingly effective.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="Redesign Your Living Space Online With Autodesk Homestyler | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image7.png" alt="Redesign Your Living Space Online With Autodesk Homestyler | 40Tech" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></p>
<p>I stumbled across this completely by accident. I was looking at some very cool ideas for creating <a title="Recycled Pallet Furniture | Pinterest" href="http://pinterest.com/greennest/recycled-pallet-furniture/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">furniture from shipping pallets</a> (my lovely wife’s new obsession), and I saw that one person had done a mock-up of what she wanted her living room to look like. Then I saw the little <strong><em>&#8220;Autodesk Homestyler&#8221;</em></strong> branding on the bottom of the image and gave an audible <em>&#8220;Heyyyyyyyyyy!&#8221;</em></p>
<p>What followed wasn&#8217;t pretty. Picture me &#8212; or yourself, if you don&#8217;t happen to know what I look like &#8212; wandering about my house with a tape measure, measuring every wall, window, doorframe, article of furniture, you name it. I was approximating angles, imagining what changes I might like, and constantly running back to my laptop so I could re-create &#8212; and then improve upon &#8212; my living space. It was obsessive, it was zen-like, and it was surprisingly effective.</p>
<p>Sure, sure, <strong>there were a few little glitches</strong>, like, in the panoramic or high definition snapshot 3D rendering of my living room, dining room, and kitchen, things like tables and desks  &#8211; and my stove &#8212; liked to turn invisible. There were conflicts with some of the models, too &#8212; my TV sitting inside my TV-stand, for example, or things just refusing to sit over or near each other, even when I had the placement rules disabled. Also, there is simply no way to change the dimensions of some of the models, or (most annoyingly) the height of the walls. <em>(See images, below.)</em></p>
<p>These things created a need for that special sort of approximation creativity that we all sometimes have to draw on, but the end result was more than adequate for me to see what it would look like if my living room had a sectional couch, and maybe a mirror on the wall (the mirror even reflects when the panorama is rendered!). I now have a reasonable working model of my living space that I can go to and mess with <em>before</em> trying or buying anything &#8212; and it was all free! Free, dammit! Even if the entire app is in Flash, and there is no iPad app, I&#8217;m completely down with Homestyler. <strong>Once you try it, I bet you&#8217;ll love it too.</strong></p>
<h3>Here&#8217;s a few shots of me working on my place &#8212; all done within a few hours of mucking about:</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image8.png"><img style="background-image: none; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb.png" alt="image" width="244" height="134" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image9.png"><img style="background-image: none; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb1.png" alt="image" width="244" height="132" border="0" /></a>  <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image10.png"><img style="background-image: none; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb2.png" alt="image" width="244" height="121" border="0" /></a>  <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image11.png"><img style="background-image: none; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb3.png" alt="image" width="244" height="132" border="0" /></a>  <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image12.png"><img style="background-image: none; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb4.png" alt="image" width="244" height="177" border="0" /></a>  <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image13.png"><img style="background-image: none; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb5.png" alt="image" width="244" height="157" border="0" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image14.png"><img style="background-image: none; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image_thumb6.png" alt="image" width="244" height="159" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>And here&#8217;s a <a title="360 Panorama | Design or Redesign Your Home with Autodesk Homestyler" href="http://www.homestyler.com/designprofile/d08d734b-81a0-4211-8ebc-f172d91e3210" target="_blank">link to my panorama</a> (no iframes hereabouts, sorry).</p>
<p><strong><em>What are your thoughts on Autodesk Homestyler? If you know of anything comparable, tell us about it in the comments! </em></strong></p>
<p><a title="Home Design Online with Autodesk Homestyler" href="http://www.homestyler.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Autodesk Homestyler</a><br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/06/01/why-i-killed-angry-birds-for-chrome-app-of-the-week/' title='Why I Killed Angry Birds for Chrome [App of the Week]'>Why I Killed Angry Birds for Chrome [App of the Week]</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/31/app-of-the-week-paper-camera-ios-android/' title='App of the Week: Paper Camera [iOS, Android]'>App of the Week: Paper Camera [iOS, Android]</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/25/summify-acquired-by-twitter-and-going-bye-bye/' title='Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)'>Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/24/easily-preview-the-output-of-your-html-and-css-with-a-web-app/' title='Easily Preview the Output of Your HTML and CSS With A Web App'>Easily Preview the Output of Your HTML and CSS With A Web App</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/22/find-the-best-channel-for-your-wifi-network-with-wifi-stumbler/' title='Find the Best Channel for Your WiFi Network With WiFi Stumbler'>Find the Best Channel for Your WiFi Network With WiFi Stumbler</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/05/redesign-your-living-space-online-with-homestyler-app-of-the-week/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Find Out What Flights Are Overhead With Wolfram Alpha</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2011/11/27/find-out-what-flights-are-overhead-with-wolfram-alpha/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2011/11/27/find-out-what-flights-are-overhead-with-wolfram-alpha/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2011 02:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan Kline</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=9755</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Mark this one down as not very useful, but pretty cool nonetheless. <a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/">Wolfram Alpha</a>, an online service that answers queries, now will tell you what planes are flying above you. Simply type "flights overhead" into the search box, and Wolfram Alpha will return a list of flights overhead, including the altitude, the angle from the horizon, the type of plane, and the distance away.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img title="wolfram alpha fights overhead.jpg" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/wolfram-alpha-fights-overhead.jpg" alt="Wolfram alpha fights overhead" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></p>
<p>Mark this one down as not very useful, but pretty cool nonetheless. <a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/">Wolfram Alpha</a>, an online service that answers queries, now will tell you what planes are flying above you. Simply type &#8220;flights overhead&#8221; into the search box, and Wolfram Alpha will return a list of flights overhead, including the altitude, the angle from the horizon, the type of plane, and the distance away.</p>
<p><span id="more-9755"></span></p>
<p><img title="Flights overhead details.png" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Flights-overhead-details.png" alt="Flights overhead details" width="553" height="458" border="0" /></p>
<p>If you click on the flight, you&#8217;ll be presented with a page chock full of details about the flight, such as the destination and departure airports, anticipated arrival time, scheduled arrival time, ground speed, and even graphical maps showing the flight path. The results are currently U.S. only, and the desktop results might not be as exact as a mobile phone. Still, this is the sort of thing we geeks eat up.</p>
<blockquote><p><a href="http://searchengineland.com/wolfram-alpha-offers-new-twist-on-flight-search-literal-answers-to-what-planes-are-overhead-101648">Wolfram Alpha Offers New Twist On Flight Search: Literal Answers To What Planes Are Overhead</a> [Search Engine Land, via <a href="http://cybernetnews.com/wrapup-original-xbox-turns-10-wolfram-alpha-identifies-planes-overhead-and-more/">CyberNet News</a>]</p></blockquote>
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/25/summify-acquired-by-twitter-and-going-bye-bye/' title='Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)'>Summify Acquired by Twitter (and Going Bye Bye)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/24/easily-preview-the-output-of-your-html-and-css-with-a-web-app/' title='Easily Preview the Output of Your HTML and CSS With A Web App'>Easily Preview the Output of Your HTML and CSS With A Web App</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/22/find-the-best-channel-for-your-wifi-network-with-wifi-stumbler/' title='Find the Best Channel for Your WiFi Network With WiFi Stumbler'>Find the Best Channel for Your WiFi Network With WiFi Stumbler</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/19/my-conversion-from-ical-to-google-calendar/' title='My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar'>My Conversion from iCal to Google Calendar</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/09/google-demotes-itself-chrome-in-search-rankings/' title='Google Demotes Itself (Chrome) in Search Rankings'>Google Demotes Itself (Chrome) in Search Rankings</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2011/11/27/find-out-what-flights-are-overhead-with-wolfram-alpha/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gmail Has a New Look &#8212; And Almost Has An Official iPhone App</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2011/11/02/gmail-has-a-new-look-and-almost-has-an-official-iphone-app/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2011/11/02/gmail-has-a-new-look-and-almost-has-an-official-iphone-app/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bobby Travis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gmail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=9526</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>In keeping with their Big Push, Google released a new version of Gmail with a major facelift, as well as released -- and then pulled -- their long-awaited native Gmail app for iOS.</p>
<p>The new Gmail look, as is to be expected, has a few minor annoyances to accompany some great new features, and the app is actually very cool, but was pulled due to a notification system problem.</p>
<p><strong><em>Check out the feature-list for both below.</em></strong></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="Gmail Has a New Look -- And Almost Has An Official iPhone App | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image.png" alt="Gmail Has a New Look -- And Almost Has An Official iPhone App | 40Tech" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></p>
<p>In keeping with their Big Push, Google released a new version of Gmail with a major facelift, as well as released &#8212; and then pulled &#8212; their long-awaited native Gmail app for iOS.</p>
<p>The new Gmail look, as is to be expected, has a few minor annoyances to accompany some great new features, and the app is actually very cool, but was pulled due to a notification system problem.</p>
<p><strong><em>Check out the feature-list for both below. </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em> </em></strong></p>
<h2>New Gmail Web App</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image1.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="Gmail's New Look" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image_thumb.png" alt="Gmail's New Look" width="584" height="466" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>The new web app has a look and feel that fits in with Google&#8217;s updated branding. It&#8217;s &#8220;cleaner, more modern&#8221; and is very similar to the preview theme that the Gmail team released a while back. I&#8217;ve been using that theme for a few months and I love it, but I&#8217;m not terribly fond of the dynamic &#8220;Display Density&#8221; feature.</p>
<p>Display Density allows you to control the default amount of whitespace for each email message in your inbox (Comfortable, Cozy, or Compact), but whill actually change dynamically depending on the size of your browser window. This may seem like a good idea, but if you use <a title="Simplify Your Desktop for Peaceful Productivity | 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2011/04/22/simplify-your-desktop-for-peaceful-productivity/">Minimal Wall’s guidelines for window sizes</a>, it displays as Compact, no matter what, which clashes with your zen by slapping you about with tiny little squished up emails. Google should add a feature that allows you to force the display of your favourite Density, no matter the size of your window.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image2.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="New Gmail Comfortable Setting " src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image_thumb1.png" alt="New Gmail Comfortable Setting " width="285" height="226" border="0" /></a>   <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image3.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="New Gmail Compact Setting " src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image_thumb2.png" alt="New Gmail Compact Setting " width="284" height="227" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>What is awesome about the new Gmail is the <strong>sweet new toolbar</strong>, the much-improved <strong>search dialogue</strong> &#8212; I always hated the in-field search commands &#8212; <strong>new themes</strong>, and the <strong>improved look of threaded conversations</strong>. I also like the additional control settings, the ability to drag the size of the chat window, and the awesome little buttons in the sidebar that can make the chat, gadgets, and other annoying sidebar items vanish until you want them.</p>
<p><strong>Give the new Gmail a try, and let us know what you think.</strong> If you don&#8217;t love it, you can always revert back &#8212; at least for now. <em><strong>Check out the video for details on the upgrade</strong>: </em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/2011/11/02/gmail-has-a-new-look-and-almost-has-an-official-iphone-app/"><em>Click here to view the embedded video.</em></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Native Gmail App for iOS</h2>
<p>Once Google gets a handle on the notifications errors (apparently just a silly little mistake on their part, so it shouldn&#8217;t be long), the new iOS app will probably kill the iOS mail app for me. I only use the thing because I hate waiting for Safari to load, and the new app looks like it will finally allow me to do what I&#8217;ve always wanted to from my iPhone and iPad: reply to emails with the email address that they were sent to.</p>
<p>This is a huge deal for me, because I use a multitude of different email addresses for different things, and they all come through Gmail. I don&#8217;t necessarily want to answer my 40Tech email or my work email with my main email address, which I&#8217;ve had forever, but might not always come off with the&#8230; professionalism&#8230; I need.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you still can&#8217;t compose new email in the app and choose what email you want to send from. Baby steps, though, I suppose &#8212; and it&#8217;s still better than the iOS emai app.</p>
<p>The new Gmail for iOS app is nearly a full-featured Gmail experience. There is universal search, auto-complete from both Gmail contacts and iPhone addressbook, attachment upload (which is basically photos, of course), threaded conversations, priority inbox, easy archiving, labelling, starring, deleting, and spam reporting.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image4.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="New Gmail App for iOS | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image_thumb3.png" alt="New Gmail App for iOS | 40Tech" width="251" height="382" border="0" /></a>       <a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image5.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="New Native Gmail App for iOS | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image_thumb4.png" alt="New Native Gmail App for iOS | 40Tech" width="250" height="381" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>On iPhone/iPod Touch, the Gmail app gets out of its own way, focusing on the content, with a nice expandable sidebar to sort through your labels. On the iPad, you get the standard two-paned view, which makes for easy viewing and navigating on the larger screen.</p>
<p>The only other things to note are that, at the moment, the app doesn&#8217;t have offline support, and doesn&#8217;t do multiple Gmail accounts, and that swipe gestures &#8212; while good for the most part &#8212; sometimes feel a bit awkward.</p>
<p><strong><em>What are your thoughts on the new look for Gmail? And when you get a chance to check it out, tell us what you think of the iOS app, as well!  </em></strong><br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/07/21/how-to-watch-us-netflix-on-your-ipadiphone-when-outside-of-the-us/' title='How to Watch US Netflix on Your iPad/iPhone When Outside of the US'>How to Watch US Netflix on Your iPad/iPhone When Outside of the US</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2012/01/13/awesome-app-updates-flipboard-zite-pressreader-ios/' title='Awesome App Updates: Flipboard, Zite, PressReader (iOS)'>Awesome App Updates: Flipboard, Zite, PressReader (iOS)</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/11/10/hotspot-shield-vpn-officially-on-ios-secure-browsing-bandwidth-compression-access-blocked-sitesservices/' title='Hotspot Shield VPN Officially on iOS &#8212; Secure Browsing, Bandwidth Compression, Access Blocked Sites/Services'>Hotspot Shield VPN Officially on iOS &#8212; Secure Browsing, Bandwidth Compression, Access Blocked Sites/Services</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/10/18/get-50gb-in-your-box-net-account-just-for-logging-in-to-the-mobile-app/' title='Get 50GB in Your Box.net Account Just for Logging In to the Mobile App'>Get 50GB in Your Box.net Account Just for Logging In to the Mobile App</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/10/14/springpad-ios-5-easy-awesome/' title='Springpad + iOS 5 = Easy Awesome'>Springpad + iOS 5 = Easy Awesome</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2011/11/02/gmail-has-a-new-look-and-almost-has-an-official-iphone-app/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Memonic: A (Not So) Quiet Rival to Evernote and Springpad [App of the Week]</title>
		<link>http://www.40tech.com/2011/08/26/memonic-a-not-so-quiet-rival-to-evernote-and-springpad-app-of-the-week/</link>
		<comments>http://www.40tech.com/2011/08/26/memonic-a-not-so-quiet-rival-to-evernote-and-springpad-app-of-the-week/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:42:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bobby Travis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Evernote]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Springpad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memonic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.40tech.com/?p=8838</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>There's been a lot of discussion on 40Tech about which is the best note-taking app. While the battle is generally between <a title="Springpad vs Evernote: Why it Might Be Better &#124; 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2010/04/20/springpad-vs-evernote-it-might-be-better/">Springpad and Evernote</a>, occasionally a new option steps in for a punch or two. This week's contender has been watching, learning, and in many cases even improving upon the competition. I'd like to introduce you all to <a title="Memonic &#124; One of the Best Note Taking Apps, the Best Web Clipper" href="https://www.memonic.com/" target="_blank">Memonic</a> -- there's a reason it made <a title="40Tech App of the Week" href="http://www.40tech.com/tag/app-of-the-week/">App of the Week</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="image" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image25.png" alt="image" width="576" height="200" border="0" /></p>
<p class="info">I just confirmed with the CEO of Memonic that the <a title="Get a premium Memonic subscription that gives you 10,000 notes and 50GB storage for $3.33 Euro (page is in German) | Memonic" href="http://www.computerbild.de/aktion/memonic" target="_blank">crazy premium account deal</a> ($3.33 Euro for 10,000 notes and 50GB storage) link works until the end of October. And it works for whomever, not just the Swiss/Germans. Translate the page from German and <em><strong>get it while it&#8217;s hot!</strong></em></p>
<p>There&#8217;s been a lot of discussion on 40Tech about which is the best note-taking app. While the battle is generally between <a title="Springpad vs Evernote: Why it Might Be Better | 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2010/04/20/springpad-vs-evernote-it-might-be-better/">Springpad and Evernote</a>, occasionally a new option steps in for a punch or two. This week&#8217;s contender has been watching, learning, and in many cases even improving upon the competition. I&#8217;d like to introduce you all to <a title="Memonic | One of the Best Note Taking Apps, the Best Web Clipper" href="https://www.memonic.com/" target="_blank">Memonic</a> &#8212; there&#8217;s a reason it made <a title="40Tech App of the Week" href="http://www.40tech.com/tag/app-of-the-week/">App of the Week</a>.</p>
<p>When it comes to note-taking apps, there are five key things to look for: how easy it is to get information into the app, organization and sharing features, overall usability, cross-platform possibilities, and personal preference. That last is a huge factor in user adoption. Depending on what you need your notes app to do, one or another may work better for you.</p>
<p>Evernote, for example, is well suited to those who just need a straight ahead, highly searchable portable filing cabinet. It can do many other things, true, such as be used for a <a title="Getting Things Done, GTD in Evernote with Only One Notebook | 40Tech" href="http://www.40tech.com/2009/08/25/getting-things-done-gtd-in-evernote-with-only-one-notebook/">GTD system</a>, but portable (and searchable!) filing cabinet is what it does best. Springpad, on the other hand, is great for taking notes, but has this fantastic capacity for making certain types of notes &#8220;smart.&#8221; If you like to comparison shop, find good deals, or get value from what the people in your network are interested in, Springpad&#8217;s note-alerts system offers you something no other note-taking app can match.</p>
<p>Memonic doesn&#8217;t have the budget that Springpad or Evernote has. They&#8217;ve been bootstrapping their system for a while now, and when you consider that and then see what they&#8217;ve put together, I have no doubt you&#8217;ll be impressed. I was &#8212; and am. Just as Evernote and Springpad differ in their approach and target markets, <strong>Memonic has brought its own angle</strong> to the field: <em>research and collaboration</em>. Now, before the Evernote lovers start touting shared notebooks, and the Springpad-enamoured bring up the oh-so-very-cool Board, hear me out. Those are all excellent features &#8212; but if you want an app that makes it easy to share and organize notes on a project (or projects), easy to be notified when new notes and research snippets have arrived or been commented on, and ridiculously simple to gather information in the first place, then <strong>Memonic is the clear choice.</strong> <em>Here&#8217;s why:</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Groups</h2>
<p>Memonic can be used as a central collaboration notebook for research, planning, and discussions on projects. You can create a group, invite a few people, and then get to work. The group gets its own page with its own activity feed, too, which makes it simple to be notified and to keep an eye on progress.</p>
<p>If you run into the ever-present problem of working with someone who doesn&#8217;t want to use the service, sharing notes with people outside of Memonic is easy, too. You can share via Facebook, Twitter, email, or a link, RSS feeds, and you can even embed notes on web pages &#8212; which is a nice touch.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image26.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="Share Memonic Notes on Facebook, Twitter, Email, or Embed in a Web Page | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image_thumb16.png" alt="Share Memonic Notes on Facebook, Twitter, Email, or Embed in a Web Page | 40Tech" width="554" height="348" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Dashboard</h2>
<p>Memonic&#8217;s group and contacts features are fully realized with the feed-like Dashboard. The Dashboard not only shows you a quick clip of everything you&#8217;ve posted recently, but it also shows the public posts of your contacts &#8212; which can be opened and read in full right from the dashboard itself. See something you like? Copy it to your own collection of notes, or share it with others via email, link, Facebook, or Twitter (or even copy it to Word) with just a few clicks.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image27.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border-width: 0px;" title="Memonic Dashboard | One of the Best Note Taking Apps | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image_thumb17.png" alt="Memonic Dashboard | One of the Best Note Taking Apps | 40Tech" width="554" height="348" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Best Clipper I&#8217;ve Come Across</h2>
<p>I love the Evernote Web Clipper, and I like the Springpad Clipper even better, but both can get a bit irritating if you&#8217;re in a hurry. Memonic&#8217;s clipper does away with the click and drag highlighting and breaks each section of content on a page into regions that can be selected with a single click. You can do multiple parts of the page, or even the entire page in one go. When you&#8217;re doing a lot of web research, this speeds up the process immensely.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image28.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border-width: 0px;" title="Memonic Clipper is the Best Web Clipper in the Business | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image_thumb18.png" alt="Memonic Clipper is the Best Web Clipper in the Business | 40Tech" width="554" height="343" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Quick content selection isn&#8217;t the only reason the Memonic clipper stands out over the others. The other big one is <strong>Gathering Mode</strong>, which is a little toggle switch that allows you to lock in your settings for where you want to put your notes &#8212; folder, privacy level &#8212; and save you the trouble of having to re-establish those settings for every single clipping. It&#8217;s awesome &#8212; and I have no idea why other clippers don&#8217;t do the same. The only thing I would like to see added to Gathering Mode is the ability to lock in tags, as well.</p>
<p>Finally, the Memonic clipper has a <strong>variety of other useful modes</strong> that can replace a number of other services with just this one:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read Later</strong> mode that allows you to grab entire pages</li>
<li><strong>Bookmark</strong> mode (which provides a nice snippet description as well)</li>
<li><strong>Screenshot</strong> mode that attaches an image of the visible browser area</li>
<li><strong>Write a note</strong> (to get to the note taking without even opening the service)</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image29.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="Memonic Web Clipper Can Replace Read It Later, Bookmarking Apps | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image_thumb19.png" alt="Memonic Web Clipper Can Replace Read It Later, Bookmarking Apps | 40Tech" width="554" height="249" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>The web clipper works with all major browsers &#8212; and even works by bookmarklet with Safari for iPad. If that isn&#8217;t enough, there is also a clipper for Windows that allows you to clip content outside of the browser.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Clean and Simple Design &#8212; Across all Platforms</h2>
<p>Memonic focuses on the minimal. The way notes are displayed in expandable windows that are neatly separated from one another is easy on the eyes and easy to use. The look and feel is distinctly uncluttered, and is fairly persistent across all versions of the app. And you can get Memonic pretty much anywhere: Windows and Mac desktop apps, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and the web app for everything else. Mobile versions don&#8217;t have the Dashboard, unfortunately, but everything else you could want is there, both online and off.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Crazy Integrations</h2>
<p>For a small operation, Memonic is throwing around some important integrations, especially for the business set. <strong>Here&#8217;s just a few:</strong> Salesforce, SugarCRM, Confluence, Sharepoint &#8212; and guess what&#8230; <strong>they are planning to integrate with Evernote!</strong> That may seem a bit weird, but soon, all those who can&#8217;t bear to walk away from Evernote, but love the power of the Memonic clipper, will be able to use the super-awesome clipper to save content directly to their Evernote accounts. A nice, tidy little bit of genius on the part of Memonic, if you ask me.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image30.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="Memonic Clipper Integrates with Evernote | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image_thumb20.png" alt="Memonic Clipper Integrates with Evernote | 40Tech" width="554" height="281" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>If, for some strange reason, you need more than the promise of Evernote integration, well, Memonic also integrates a <strong>save button into Facebook</strong> so you can save your favourite photos, status updates, and wall posts. Want more? How about <strong>Google Reader integration</strong> so you can clip your favourite posts while reading your feeds? How’s that tickle you?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image31.png"><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="More ways to Use Memonic | Save Facebook, Google Reader Posts | 40Tech" src="http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image_thumb21.png" alt="More ways to Use Memonic | Save Facebook, Google Reader Posts | 40Tech" width="554" height="327" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Memonic&#8217;s co-founder, <a title="Dorian Selz Co-Founder of Memonic | Memonic Profile" href="https://www.memonic.com/user/dorian/profile" target="_blank">Dorian Selz</a>, and the rest of the team have worked their butts off on a bootstrap budget to put together one of the most robust note-taking apps I&#8217;ve ever come across &#8212; a definite rival for Evernote and Springpad if it gets the notice it deserves. The only issue I personally have with Memonic is that their free version is limited to only 100 notes and doesn&#8217;t have Gathering Mode. To get the full service, though, <strong>only costs $28/year</strong> &#8212; which isn&#8217;t bad considering Evernote premium is $45/per year &#8212; and Memonic doesn&#8217;t have any advertising to clutter up your experience. If you do a lot of research on your own, or as part of a student or business team, <a title="Memonic | As Good As or Better Than Evernote, Springpad" href="http://memonic.com" target="_blank">give Memonic a try</a> &#8212; you just might love it. <em>And there are discounts for students, too. </em></p>
<p><strong><em>What do you think of Memonic? </em></strong><br />
<h3 class='related_post_title'>Here are some related posts that might interest you:</h3>
<ul class='related_post'>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/06/24/the-top-five-web-apps-i-use-the-most-what-are-yours/' title='The Top Five Web Apps I Use the Most &#8212; What Are Yours?'>The Top Five Web Apps I Use the Most &#8212; What Are Yours?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/10/20/springpad-adds-custom-notebooks-shareable-notebook-templates-and-have-you-seen-the-new-friends-stuff-yet-app-of-the-week/' title='Springpad Adds Custom Notebooks, Shareable Notebook Templates &#8212; and Have You Seen the New Friends Stuff Yet? [App of the Week]'>Springpad Adds Custom Notebooks, Shareable Notebook Templates &#8212; and Have You Seen the New Friends Stuff Yet? [App of the Week]</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/09/23/springpad-mobile-clipper-is-the-near-seamless-content-clipper-youve-been-waiting-for/' title='Springpad Mobile Clipper is the (Near) Seamless Content Clipper You&#8217;ve Been Waiting For'>Springpad Mobile Clipper is the (Near) Seamless Content Clipper You&#8217;ve Been Waiting For</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/09/16/springpad-clipper-for-ios-and-an-evernote-ebook/' title='Springpad Clipper for iOS and an Evernote eBook'>Springpad Clipper for iOS and an Evernote eBook</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.40tech.com/2011/07/22/gtd-producteev-evernote-bridged/' title='GTD, Producteev, Evernote &#8212; Bridged!'>GTD, Producteev, Evernote &#8212; Bridged!</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.40tech.com/2011/08/26/memonic-a-not-so-quiet-rival-to-evernote-and-springpad-app-of-the-week/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>22</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

