This is our third year in a row presenting 50 Apps in 50 Minutes at the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference. If you missed our last two, you'll find them here and here. A note on pricing and availability: it’s been our experience that prices for apps change often, so if you like something that’s a bit out of your budget, keep an eye on it as sometimes the prices drop temporarily or even permanently. Love something that’s only an iThing? We saw several notes along the way indicating that an app’s owner listed Android, etc. as “coming soon”. So make a note of what you like and you may see it soon on other platforms.
So without further ado, here are our 50 Apps for 2014:
1. Mr. Number Allows users to block calls from specific numbers. Will also identify/label business numbers.
2. Tile Locate anything you attach a Tile to using the Tile app.
3. Lasso Photo sharing app for smaller groups of friends.
4. Jifiti Browse your favorite stores and send a perfect gift instantly to your friends’ email, phone or Facebook page. They select the size, color and style, or choose anything else when redeeming in-store or online.
5. Forgotify Plays songs from Spotify that have never been played.
6. Washio Dry cleaning and laundry delivered to your door
7. SeratisCare coordination tool that is a secure, patient-centric mobile application which enables doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers to communicate with each other via text, images, and videos.
8. SmileDrive: Records your drives and keeps track of things like location, distance, time and weather.
9. ReSound Linx: Hearing aids that connect to your iPhone.
This app brings up any number of questions regarding privacy, safety, TMI, etc. But we thought it was intriguing nevertheless. Check out SmileDrive from Volkswagen:
Last year at the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference, we presented 50 Apps in 50 Minutes. Lucky for us, the presentation was a hit and they've asked us back this year. Below you'll find our new presentation "50 Apps in 50 Minutes Redux". A note on pricing and availability: it’s been our experience that prices for apps change often, so if you like something that’s a bit out of your budget, keep an eye on it as sometimes the prices drop temporarily or even permanently. Love something that’s only an iThing? We saw several notes along the way indicating that an app’s owner listed Android, etc. as “coming soon”. So make a note of what you like and you may see it soon on other platforms.
1. iNextBus "Ever wonder when will the next bus arrive and which bus route to choose? Do you prefer waiting it at the stop or a snug coffee shop nearby? With this Next Bus app you can visually pin-point the location of every incoming buses on map as well as an accurate estimate of arrival time." Free for iPhone & Android
2. Tagg Tracker GPS tracker for lost pets. $100 for GPS device, $7.95 Monthly Service, Android & iPhone
3. Waze "Waze is the world's fastest-growing community-based traffic and navigation app. Join other drivers in your area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone time and gas money on their daily commute." Free for iPhone & Android
4. BookBoard for iPad A storybook app for kids. What we like about this one is that the company employs a children's librarian who helps with their collection, metadata and reading level assessment. Subscription based
5. SmartPark Parking app that includes altitude data for finding your car in a parking garage. Free for Android
6. Remind101 A safe way for teachers to message their class while keeping everyone's cell numbers hidden. Free as a website or an app
7. Winston Reads a daily synopsis of news from your social media networks, headlines weather, etc. Free for iPad, iPhone with Android coming soon
8. TouchSurgery Tool for medical students learning surgery techniques. Free for iPad & iPhone
9. Reading Rainbow LeVar Burton's new app recreating his famous television show. Subscription based for iPad
10. SunRise Combines your calendars from email and social networks. Free for iPhone
11. ProxToMe Send files from your phone to everyone within 250 feet without needing contact information. Great for transferring a presentation. Free for iPhone & iPad
12. SwiftKey Keyboard allows you to type without lifting your finger, predicts phrasing. $3.99 for Android. 13. Fleksy is free similar for iPhone.
14. Puzzle Alarm Alarm clock which has you complete a puzzle or equation to turn it off. Free for Android
15. Avast! Mobile Security Virus and theft protection. Free for Android. Lookout is similar for iPhone and is also free.
16. AppGarden Several utility apps (calculator, dictionary, area codes, etc) all in one. Free for Android
17. History Eraser Clears for calls, browser searches, texts, etc. Free for Android
18. SnapSeed Photo app that allows photo shopping. Free for iPhone, iPad & Android
19. JuiceDefender Monitors your apps to conserve battery life. Both a free and paid version
20. Pulse News aggregator which lets you import your Google Reader feeds. Free for iPad, iPhone and Android
21. PicStitch Photo app for collages. Free for iPhone
22. iOnRoad Personal driving assistant with dashboard camera. $4.99 for iPhone and Android
23. Yahoo! Weather App Combines Flickr photos with weather information. Free for iPhone
24. Fanhattan Search all your video apps (Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc) in one place. Free for iPad & iPhone
25. Appreciate App rating tool. Free for Android, coming soon for iPhone
26. Pocket Save articles, videos and images for later viewing with no internet required. Free for iPad, iPhone & Android
27. Poetry Foundation App Search poems by category, share on social network sites. Free for iPhone & Android
28. Oscars View Oscar history, behind the scenes footage, and compare your ballot with friends. Free for iPad, iPhone & Android
29. Geocaching Find geocaching sites in your area. $9.99 for iPhone, Android & Windows Phone
30. Twitter Music New app for discovering music through Twitter. Connect with Spotify or rdio to listen. Free for iPhone
31. Vine 6 Second looping video app from Twitter. Free for iPhone & iPad
32. Prismatic News aggregator for iPhone & iPad
33. AllTrails Find hiking and skiing trails by location, difficulty and length. Free for iPhone, iPad & Android
34. Glasses.com 3D Fit Takes a 3D image of your head and then allows you to virtually try on glasses and compare. Coming soon for iPad with Android to follow
35. Storify Built a story board with articles, videos and images from multiple sources. Free for iPad
36. iTunes Movie Trailer View movie trailers by calendar date, find theaters, etc. Free for iPad & iPhone
37. Martha Stewart Cookies Cookie recipes, shopping lists, social network sharing. $3.99 for iPad & iPhone
38. Kings & Queens by David Starkey British Royal history, royal wedding footage. $2.99 for iPad & iPhone
39. Dr. Seuss Bookshelf Holds all of your Dr. Seuss books, games in one place. Bookshelf is free, with most inapps paid. iPad & iPhone
40. HealthTap Ask medical questions from a team of 36,000 doctors. Free for iPhone & iPad
41. Starbucks Pay with you app, but they also have a new feature called "Pick of the Week" which gives away free items in the store such as apps, music or NYT articles. Free for iPhone & Android though currently, only iPhone has "Pick of the Week"
42. Wanderable Chip in on the happy couple's honeymoon. Couple can send easy thank you notes. Free app and website, and Wanderable takes 5% of the amount.
43. Asthmapolis "Experts recommend that people with asthma track their symptoms, triggers and use of asthma medications. The Asthmapolis sensor and mobile application can help you learn more about and better manage your asthma." Cost TBD, possible insurance coverage
44. Yahoo! Mail for iPad New nicely designed mail app. Free for iPad
45. Rand McNally Road Atlas Digital version of an old favorite. Nice for road trips as it doesn't require an internet connection. $4.99 for iPad
46. SnapChat "Snapchat is a new way to share moments with friends. Snap an ugly selfie or a video, add a caption, and send it to a friend (or maybe a few). They'll receive it, laugh, and then the snap disappears." Free for iPhone & Android
47. The Particles Channel your inner Sheldon Cooper and learn a bit of physics. iPad & Windows 8 ~$7
48. Concert Vault "In 2003, Wolfgang’s Vault acquired master recordings from the archives of Bill Graham Presents. These live concerts were recorded at legendary venues like the Fillmore East and Winterland between 1965 and 1999. Since then we’ve acquired over a dozen more collections - some large, some small, all of them compelling, spanning a wide spectrum of musical genres." $3.99 a month for iPad, iPhone & Android.
49. LOCALSQR Find farmers markets in your area. Free for iPhone
50. Mango Tracks prescriptions and vitamins with reminders and records. Free for iPhone with Android Coming Soon.
Quick Email Address Verification:
The other day, I found myself in an interesting situation. I wanted to get in touch with the VP of marketing of a local company and all I knew was that their company email addresses ended with @companyX.com. I had a hunch that this person’s email address adhered to one or four common email-address conventions, but couldn’t be sure. My experience has been that most company email addresses are built accordingly:
To verify that I was correct, and to ensure that I wasn’t targeting the wrong person or sending my message blindly into the ether, I set out to find a good, free email verification tool. There are actually several sites out there that allow users to validate emails for free. Here is a breakdown of the free tools that have risen to the top of the search heap:
The tests I ran on all of these programs yielded the same results. However, there were some features that distinguished the good from the bad—namely the number of addresses you can validate in one sitting.
Of these programs, I liked www.verifyemailaddress.org the best. These folks pay at least some attention to usability, allow you to verify lots of addresses (some sites only allow 5/hour), and don’t bombard users with ads. All and all, not bad. If you’re working in a company and want to scrub the email addresses in your database, this site also offers a bulk verification tool (not free). Here is a screen shot to demonstrate the look and feel of the site:
Tools like these are incredibly useful for librarians, CI analysts, sales people, or anyone else who wants to reach out to an expert, potential client, or anyone with whom they are not immediately connected. I suggest keeping verifyemailaddress.org in your back pocket, should the need to figure out someone’s email address ever arise.
It's everyone's favorite time of year. Political campaign ads 24/7. Oh, it's not your favorite time of year? Wondering how much of what you hear on these ads is true? (Hint: Probably not much.) Time to download the Super PAC app. When an ad starts "a user can hold up her phone to identify the commercial and receive objective, third-party information. The Super PAC App allows the user to rate the ad, while understanding who and how much money is behind the ad, what claims the ad is making, and whether those claims are based on facts." Ah, facts. Refreshing. The app is free and currently available for iPhone. Check out the video to learn more about the Super PAC app.
We bizologie girls love apps that make our lives easier, more fun or more enlightened. This week at the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference, we'll be presenting "50 Apps in 50 Minutes". You can check out our presentation below. A note on pricing and availability: it's been our experience that prices for apps change often, so if you like something that's a bit out of your budget, keep an eye on it as sometimes the prices drop temporarily or even permanently. Love something that's only an iThing? We saw several notes along the way indicating that an app's owner listed Android, etc. as "coming soon". So make a note of what you like and you may see it soon on other platforms.
1. Flipboard “creates a personalized magazine out of everything being shared with you. Flip through your Facebook newsfeed, tweets from your Twitter timeline, photos from Instagram friends and much more.” Free for iPhone & iPad
2. Easybib “Create accurate MLA, APA, and Chicago style citations in seconds by scanning a book bar code or by typing the name of a book. Build and manage your works cited. Once done, email your citations and then export your citations to EasyBib.com's popular bibliography management service.” Free for iPhone & Android
3. Time Traveler’s Investment Calculator “The Time Traveler’s Investment Calculator is a simple way to go back in time and choose a hypothetical investment strategy and see how you would have done.” 99¢ for iPhone
4. Biblion “Enter the World of Tomorrow and experience the 1939–40 New York World’s Fair through the collections of The New York Public Library! Biblion: The Boundless Library is designed to take you — all but literally — into the Library's legendary stacks, opening up hidden parts of the collections and the myriad story lines they hold and preserve. In this free app you will hold documents, images, films, audio, and essays directly from the collections right in your hands.” Free for iPad
5. Business Card Reader “Import contact information from a business card directly to your iOS address book.” iPhone, Android, BlackBerry & Windows Phone, $4.99
6. SimplyPostcards “Real postcards from your iPhone” Free app with extra cost for mailing postcards
7. PaperKarma "is the easy way to take control of your paper junk mail, cut your paper waste, and help save the Earth — by taking photos! Simply pull out your phone and snap photos of the offending mail. PaperKarma will figure out what it is and how to stop it." iPhone, Android & Windows, free
8. HomeSnap "Snap a photo of any home to find out all about it." iPhone, free
9. HBOGo "Get unlimited access to over 1,400 of your favorite HBO shows, including HBO original programming, hit movies, sports, comedy and much more—now available on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch." Free
10. Reading Rainbow Coming soon from LeVar Burton. Follow their progress on Twitter @readingrainbow
11. ColorSmart by BEHR™ Mobile "is an easy and convenient way to find, coordinate or preview a BEHR® paint color for all of your paint projects." iPhone, iPad & Android, free
12. LeafSnap "is the first in a series of electronic field guides being developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution. This free mobile app uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species from photographs of their leaves." iPhone & iPad, free
13. CardStar “Lighten your wallet and move your plastic loyalty cards, reward cards and membership cards to your phone so you never miss out on a reward, discount, or deal again.” iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows, free
14. Prezi “View and present your prezis anywhere with simple, intuitive multitouch gestures.” iPad, free
15. TuneIn Radio “TuneIn is a new way to listen to the world through live local and global radio from wherever you are. Whether you want music, sports, news or current events, TuneIn offers over 50,000 stations and 120,000 shows for you to choose from. iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows, free
16. Find My iPhone “If you misplace your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, the Find My iPhone app will let you use another iOS device to find it and protect your data. Simply install this free app on another iOS device, open it, and sign in with your Apple ID. Find My iPhone will help you locate your missing device on a map.You can then choose to display a message or play a sound, remotely lock your device, or erase your data on it. “ Free
17. Mint “Allows you to track, budget and manage your money all in one place, so you can see where you’re spending and where you can save. Open an account, add your bank, credit, loan and retirement accounts and Mint will automatically pull in and categorize your transactions. It’s safe, secure and easy to keep your personal finances organized. “ iPad, iPhone & Android, free
18. Note Taker HD “is a powerful app for writing and organizing handwritten notes, diagrams, etc., on the iPad. It can also be used to annotate PDF files. It can shrink your writing so you can easily fit a lot of text on a page. You can read the reduced-size "ink" as if you had written those letters with a very fine pen. It gives you solid functionality and control to produce the pages you need.” iPad, $4.99
19. Word Lens “Instantly translate printed words from one language to another with your built-in video camera, in real time!” iPhone, free
20. Google Goggles “Search by taking a picture. Goggles uses image recognition technology to recognize objects and return relevant search results. Identifies products, famous landmarks, storefronts, artwork, and popular images found online. “ iPhone & Android, free.
21. InClass “Organize your schedule. Share your notes. Ace your classes. “ iPad, free
22. Byook “The successful union of books and movies. A byook stages fascinating stories by incorporating images, animations and sound effects. “ iPhone & iPad, $1.99 for Sherlock Holmes
23. Instapaper Save web pages for later offline reading. iPhone & iPad, $4.99 (optimized for iPhone but may work on Android, check site’s FAQs)
24. Instagram “Pick from one of several gorgeous filtered effects or tilt-shift blur to breathe a new life into your mobile photos. “ iPhone & Android, free
25. Foodspotting “is a visual guide to good food and where to find it. It’s the leading app for finding and rating dishes, not just restaurants.” iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows, free
26. MapMyFitness “uses the built-in GPS technology of your iPhone to enable you to track your outdoor fitness activities and gets you closer to achieving your health and fitness goals. Step out your front door, hit the road or trail, and this app will effortlessly mark out your path along an interactive map and record essential metrics including duration, distance, pace, speed and elevation. Once you finish your workout, save your data and it automatically uploads to www.MapMyFitness.com where you can view your route, workout data, and a comprehensive workout history.” iPhone, Android, free
27. ShoeBox “Bring the albums, scrapbooks, and photo-filled “shoeboxes” out of the closet and into an online, shareable space where they can be organized and shared with family and friends.Photos scanned with ShoeBox are saved on both your iPhone and1000memories.com, where they can be stored and shared for free with friends and family. Connect your social media accounts to instantly share your photos through Twitter or directly onto your Facebook Timeline.” iPhone, free. Android coming soon
28. Star Walk “is a stellar augmented reality app that labels all the stars, constellations, and satellites you point your iPad at.” iPad, $4.99
29. Minds of Modern Mathematics “is a digital recreation of a 50-foot-wide wall installation that was part of the groundbreaking 1961 Mathematica exhibition sponsored by IBM and designed by the legendary design team, Charles and Ray Eames.” iPad, free
30. PicFrame “helps you combine multiple photos into amazing looking frames and share them with your friends and family via Facebook, Email, Instagram, Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr. With 60 fully adjustable frames, rounded corners, photo effects, shadows, plenty of patterns and an easy color picker you will always have a unique look.” iPhone & iPad, 99¢
31. Flixel Living Photos “Capture a moment, bring it to life with the swipe of a finger and instantly share with friends.” iPhone, free
32. Cupcake Wars Companion “Your Guide to Eating at Cupcakeries Featured on the Hit Food Network Show” iPhone $2.99
33. Hipmunk “takes the agony out of flight & hotel search. With Hipmunk you'll see all the relevant flights on a timeline, helping you visualize the right choice. Unlike every other app out there, Hipmunk doesn't just show you the cheapest flight first — the app instead sorts by "agony," which incorporates important factors like how long you'll be traveling and how many stops you'll make. Hotel results are shown on a map so that you can see exactly where you'll be staying. You can also turn on heatmaps that will show you the best areas to stay based on unique interests like food, landmarks, nightlife and more.” iPhone & Android, free
34. Silent Film Director “lets you create amazing vintage videos in minutes. You can add music, title cards, transitions, effects and more.” iPhone, free for a limited time, $1.99
35. North Shelby Library “This app allows you to connect directly to our blog, tweets, photos, videos, reading lists, and even the library staff. You can also access the library events calendar and find out what’s coming up for children, teens, and adults at North Shelby or Mt Laurel Public Library. “ iPhone, free
36. PulsePoint “empowers individuals, within covered communities, the ability to provide life-saving assistance to victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). Application users who have indicated they are trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are notified if someone nearby is having a cardiac emergency and may require CPR. If the cardiac emergency is in a public place, the application uses sophisticated location-based services to alert citizens in the vicinity of the need for CPR. The application also directs citizen rescuers to the exact location of the closest public access Automated External Defibrillator (AED).” iPhone, free
37. Square Register “Manage and grow your business with the Square Register app and accompanying free Square credit card reader. It’s the simplest way to accept credit cards and bring new customers to your door.” iPad, free
38. TripIt “‘automagically’ takes all your trip details and creates one truly helpful itinerary that’s there when and where you need it – on your Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, iPhone or iPad, sync'd with your calendar, and online at tripit.com.” Free
39. WolframAlpha “Across thousands of domains--with more continually added--Wolfram|Alpha uses its vast collection of algorithms and data to compute answers and generate reports for you.” iPhone, iPad, Android, Nook $2.99, extra apps additional
40. PhotoSync “will transform your photo handling forever. It‘s the first app that makes wireless transfer of your photos/videos from or to your computer and other i-Devices - a breeze. PhotoSync also transfers to Dropbox, Picasa/Google+, Facebook, SmugMug, Flickr, Box, Zenfolio, (S)FTP, WebDAV and iDisk. You need never use a cable again! “ iPhone & iPad, $1.99
41. Spotify “access to millions of tracks from thousands of albums and artists” iPhone, Android, Windows, BlackBerry, pricing varies
43. HearPlanet “Turn your phone into an Audio Guide to the World” iPhone & Android, $3.99
44. Bump Pay “Stop writing checks or messing with cash, and settle up with friends on the spot by simply bumping phones together. From the creators of the Bump app, now you can easily send and receive money in person with anyone who has a PayPal account.” iPhone & Android, free
45. Epicurious & Allrecipes Two free recipe apps both designed for the iPad
46. Goodreads “has more than 7,000,000 members who have added more than 200,000,000 books to their shelves. Our mission is to help you find new and interesting books by showing you what your friends are reading. Browsing Goodreads is like wandering through the world's largest library. Find thousands of book reviews and peruse the bookshelves of friends and other readers. Post your own reviews and keep track of what you have read and want to read.” iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, free
47. Fast Customer “With one tap, we connect you with a customer service rep at more than 2,000 companies (and growing!) across the United States and Canada.” iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, free
48. Google Catalogs “A new, rich, and engaging way to interact with all your favorite catalogs. Flip through pages of beautiful catalogs, discover inspiring photos and videos, save products that catch your eye, and create collages to share with your friends. “ iPad & Android Tablets, free
49. University of Texas Austin “Search for UT news, check out campus-related events, keep tabs on sports news and scores, tap into the UT directory, navigate campus maps, watch UT videos, and stay engaged with your University.” iPhone, free
50. NPR Music “Engage, explore and discover new music of all genres with the NPR Music app. Rock, Jazz & Blues, World, Classical and Hip Hop/R&B – you get music programmed by people and the quality storytelling you expect from NPR. You can read music news and reviews while listening to interviews, live concerts or exclusive streams of albums before they’re released. Multitask with the NPR Music app as your guide to new music.” iPhone & iPad, free
We hope some of our readers will be joining us at the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference in Houston. We bizologie girls along with the Special Libraries Division of TLA will be presenting several sessions and we'd love to see you in the audience. Below you'll find descriptions and times for each program. Check back the week of the conference and we'll have our presentations posted here along with links to all the tools, apps and resources discussed at TLA. Hope to see you there!
Free Business Resources
(Net Fair I)
Wednesday 1:00 – 1:50 pm
Sometimes you actually get more than you pay for! Get links to 20+ free sites with business information covering marketing, energy, demographics, technology, and more.
April Kessler, Reference and Information Services, University of Texas at Austin
Leveraging Your Skills: Rewrite that Resumé and Market Yourself
Wednesday, 1:00 - 1:50 pm
Two career services directors discuss ways job seekers can expand their resumés to appeal to a broader audience of hiring managers in and out of libraries. Find out the practices to use and avoid during interviews.
Tara Lagulli, School of Information and Karen Landolt, Natural Sciences Career Services, University of Texas
Special Libraries Division and Reference Round Table
50 Apps / 50 Minutes (Net Fair I)
2:00 – 2:50 pm
We’ll introduce 50 apps – some for business and some for fun. All platforms, including Android and iPad will be discussed. Join us for a lively, fast-paced and fun presentation.
Laura Young, Research, Austin Ventures
Automation and Technology Round Table
Salary Negotiation: Yes You Can!
2:00 - 3:50 Pm
Find out the basics of salary negotiation from a corporate hiring manager who will tell you what employers consider during this process. Learn what to ask for and how to ask for it! A business meeting follows the program at 3:00 pm
Mike Millard, Austin Ventures
Special Libraries Division
Librarians on the Move: New Jobs for the Information Professional
4:00 - 4:50 pm
A panel of librarians offers an open Q&A with attendees. Panelists will share how they moved from libraries into new positions outside libraries. Find out what worked for them.
Claire Boetticher, Research Analyst, Exxon Mobile Tuan Nguyen, Library Sales Consultant, Mackin Educational Resources; Lindsey Schell, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, EBL--eBook Library; Beth Wagner, US EPA Region 6 Sunder Ram Library, DSI; and Laura Young, Research, Austin Ventures
Special Libraries Division and Reference Round Table
Business Reference: Using LinkedIn and Other Social Media Tools
10:00 - 10:50 Am
Find new ways to use social media tools to gather current information about companies at no cost. Learn to show your customers how to use LinkedIn, Twitter, and FaceBook for competitive intelligence.
April Kessler, Reference and Information Services, University of Texas at Austin; and Laura Young, Research, Austin Ventures
One of our new favorite apps is EasyBib. If only it had been around when we were in grad school!
EasyBib allows users to "create accurate MLA, APA, and Chicago style citations in seconds by scanning a book bar code or by typing the name of a book." Once you've scanned your book, you can either email it to yourself or upload it to EasyBib's bibliography management site.
EasyBib works with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, though their notes say it works best with iPhone 4. EasyBib is available free in the AppStore.
If there are two things I love, it's Christmas, Charlie Brown and technology. Wait, that's three things. Just in time for the holidays, Loud Crow Interactive brings us this wonderful iPad app featuring "A Charlie Brown Christmas". It's a digital book featuring narration by Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown. The app lets you decorate your own Charlie Brown Christmas tree, participate in the lights and display contest and features music and sound effects from the original television special. It's available in the App Store for $6.99. And judging by the promotional video, it looks like it just may be worth the money.
On Friday, October 28th, the Texas Chapter of Special Library Association will present "Speed Dating with Technology Tools & Applications". Librarians from varying backgrounds (Oil & Gas, Law, Art, Business, Venture Capital, Journalism) will present a wide range of databases, web tools and apps. We hope to see you there, but just in case, below you'll find a list of our presentations as well as web links to the apps, websites, etc.
Energy Industry Intelligence on the Go!--Energy industry intelligence on the go! Oil Daily, Natural Gas Week, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly and 11 other newsletters now available via our iPhone/iPad application. Presented by Betsy Harris from Energy Intelligence.
It's Time to Put on Your Goggles! Using Google Goggles for Research--Have you ever had trouble identifying a painting? Would you like to translate text instantly without typing a thing? Learn how to do these things and more in this presentation about the Google Goggles app. Presented by Karen Holt from The University of Texas at Austin
SharePoint Options to Improve Access to the Library--Using SharePoint to create Information Centers for Library Products and Legal Practices. Presented by Terri L. Lawrence from Winstead.
Flipboard App for iPad--Flipboard is a digital social magazine that aggregates web links from your social circle, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. and displays the content in magazine form on an iPad. Presented by Laura Young from Austin Ventures
Mailtester Web Tool--Mailtester allows users to confirm email addresses. Mailtester is perfect for helping track down addresses for CEOs or other company executives. Presented by Laura Young from Austin Ventures.
Storing Documents--DocumentCloud is a Web-based tool for cataloging, annotating and sharing documents. Originally designed for journalists, it has excellent privacy settings and also excellent tools for publishing documents publicly. DocumentCloud provides a free service for journalistic organizations, but the DocumentCloud server software will be released free once the project is complete. Presented by Daniel Lathrop from the Dallas Morning News.
Shortcuts for the iPhone--Learn shortcuts for creating webclips, how to move icons, organize home folders, use voice control, and more! Presented by Barbara Fullerton from Morningstar, Inc.
Ever wonder how much that $20 bill would have purchased in 1950? Or how much that same $20 would be worth today had you invested it in the stock market back in 1970? There are a couple of great online tools and apps that help you do just that.
The American Institute for Economic Research has a great cost of living calculator that lets you put in a dollar amount and compare that amount between two years:
Foodtimeline.org is a great source for tracking food prices throughout American history. They've got great lists like "The Hershey Bar Index" and historical prices of McDonald's Hamburgers. In 1955 a Hershey bar was just 5¢ and a McDonald's hamburger was 15¢.
But what if instead of spending your 20¢ on candy and burgers, you had invested it in 1955? Well, there's an app for that, of course. MeasuringWorth.com has an app called The Time Traveler's Investment Calculator. "The Time Traveler’s Investment Calculator is a simple way to go back in time and choose a hypothetical investment strategy and see how you would have done. You can compare your actual investments with what you wish you had done."
But if apps aren't your thing and you want to kick it old school, check outThe Value of A Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States. This is a great resource for historical products and services dating back to 1860 and is almost always found in your local public library's reference section.
Shoppers and Tech Lovers rejoice! Today Google has launched their Google Catalogs app which allows you to browse all your favorite catalogs in one spot. I'm really excited to see this service as I recently downloaded the new Ikea catalog to my iPad and it's great to flip through and keeps my counters clear of catalog clutter.
Google Catalogs has already partnered with several of our favorite stores including: Anthropologie, CB2, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom, Sephora and many more. And while it's obviously convenient to flip through your favorite catalogs without waiting on the mail, they've incorporated some pretty cool features. There are features you'd expect like the ability to zoom in on products and connect to the website or find them at local stores. But then there are some really cool features like being able to take the products you like all from different catalogs and create a collage of your favorites. You can share your collage with friends or check out collages other people have created. I think this is a great feature, especially if you're looking for design inspiration for your house. You can also search for particular products across all catalogs. Once you've added a catalog to your favorites, you'll be notified every time a new one comes out. So on the one hand, Google Catalog is "green" which is nice, but also dangerous for our pocketbooks!
Google Catalogs is currently available for iPad and coming soon to Android tablets--which seems a bit ironic. Check out the video below for an introduction:
Having been in a meeting today where yet another phone rang, I was very happy to see this app for the Android. STFU - that is Shut the Phone Up - makes it easy to silence that cell phone. Just turn your phone upside down and it is immediately set for either silent or vibrate (your choice). STFU is just 99¢ and worth every penny. You pay a little more for the cute name. RD Mute is a similar tool available for free. Now I've taken care of my phone, what about the guy next to me?
So the iPad is growing up. It's not just your toddler's favorite toy or just your movie theater on the plane. The iPad has graduated to a full-fledged business necessity. One of the business apps getting rave reviews is PrintCentral. MacWorld gave it 4 out of 5 mice and it's been named the World's #1 printing app. With PrintCentral from Eurosmartz you can print direct to most wireless printers, or print to all printers (Bluetooth, USB, WiFI, Network) by installing the free WePrint software on your Mac or PC. Cost: $8.99
One of our new favorite apps is Flex Search from Dynotes Mobile Technology. Flex Search combines all the places you like to search all in one place. You can search Google, Bing, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Wolfram-Alpha, YouTube, Flicker, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook all without switching between different apps on your phone. You can also search images and Webster's Dictionary & Thesaurus from inside the same app. Once you've got your results, you can even share it directly from the app to Twitter or Facebook. Flex Search is available free in the iTunes AppStore.
If you're like us, you collect a fair amount of business cards while attending conferences. They get thrown into your purse or laptop bag and then maybe, eventually entered into your contacts. The Business Card Reader app for iPhone helps you get rid of all those cards and import them easily to your contact list. You simply take a photo of the card and the app scans it and enters the data into your contact list automatically. The app supports several different languages and is available in the app store for $2.99. You can see it in action in the video below:
March 24, 2011. Dear Diary, we've got a new favorite app. Actually, the diary app Momento is one of our new favorite apps. Momento starts out just like you'd use an old fashioned diary: log the date and start writing about that cute boy in math class. But the great part is that Momento lets you import feeds from all of your social networking sites and then organizes them by date. You simply add your Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, Foursquare and Gowalla accounts and suddenly you've got an automatic record of each day and you didn't have to write a thing. From there you can search by dates or tags or events and reminisce about special dates in your life. You might see that on February 27th you checked in on Gowalla at the coffee shop, uploaded a picture of your BFF to Flickr and attended a fabulous Oscar Party. Momento also allows you to lockdown the app so that you don't catch your little brother snooping through your diary. Momento is available on iTunes for $2.99 and the company is considering expanding to Android. XOXO, bizologie.
It's Friday and we're dreaming of a weekend getaway and planning our summer vacation. Whether you're taking a road trip close to home, summering in the Hamptons or grabbing your passport for a European getaway, your smartphone can be your best travel accessory. From translating foreign languages and calculating currency exchanges to alerting you to speed traps and picking a subway route, travel apps provide tools for just about anything you need. Here are a few we think are pretty great:
Word Lens--Translates signs from Spanish to English (and vice versa). Simply open the app and hold it up to the sign you want to translate. Check out the video below to see Word Lens in action. Available for iPhone only; Android is in the works.
Free WiFi Finder--True to its name, this app helps you find WiFi locations all over the world indexing both free and paid hotspots. The best thing is that you can download the directory to use offline. Perfect for locating WiFi in international locations when you don't want to use that expensive international data plan. Available for iPhone & Android.
Hear Planet--Audio guides of tourist destinations all over the world. Includes geolocation so you can hear about what's nearby. Requires a data connection so probably not a good choice for international travel. Available for iPhone & Android.
HopStop--Public transportation and walking directions for several big cities with more on the way. I've been using this one for years when I travel to NYC for instant subway directions. Available for iPhone & Android.
Frommer's Travel Tools--This is a nice little one-stop-shop app which includes a currency converter, a time translator, a packing list and a few other handy tools. Available for iPhone only.
Siri--One of my all time favorite apps, Siri is like having your own personal assistant. Simply tell it what you're looking for (a taxi, some ice cream, a movie) and Siri does it for you. I've used this for calling a taxi in an unfamiliar city before. Siri knows your location, contacts the cab company and texts you the name of the driver. Before you know it, your cab has arrived and all you did was utter the word "taxi". Brilliant. Available for iPhone only.
Simply Postcards--We've covered this one before, but it's worth repeating. Send any image as an actual postcard right from your phone. Snap your picture, enter a friend's address and let Simply Postcards do the mailing. Love it! Available for iPhone & Android.
trapster--Alerts you to speed traps in your area. Use it for your daily commute or a cross country road trip. Available for iPhone & Android
TripIt--Organizes all of your flight numbers and hotel reservations. I like that TripIt allows you to forward confirmation emails from airlines, etc. and then imports them easily into an itinerary. Available for iPhone & Android.
GateGuru--Helps you locate airport restaurants, shops and other amenities not only by proximity but by reviews as well. Available for iPhone only.
xe--Free mobile currency calculator. You can store the latest updated rates for offline use. Available for iPhone & Android.
Google Translate--"Allowing users to speak to translate in 15 languages and to translate words and phrases into more than 50 languages. You can also listen to your translations spoken aloud in 23 different languages." Available for iPhone & Android.
Trip Case--Organize your hotel, flight and car rentals all in one place. TripCase will also alert you to flight or gate changes and offer alternative flight choices if your flight is canceled or changed.
Help Call--With 126 countries supported, Help Call gives you up-to-date international Police, Fire Department and Ambulance phone numbers. Available for iPhone only.
FlightBoard--Arrivals and departures in real time. FlightBoard's design was "based on the flight board at Charles de Gaulle Airport to give the app a beautiful, old school look." Available for iPhone & Android.
You know "there's an app for that". But how do you find it? Chomp is a new search engine just for apps. Instead of searching by app names you can search by app categories. If you're looking for games you can be really specific like "puzzle games" or "kids' games". Results are then displayed along with review ratings and one click takes you straight to the iTunes store. They've also got a great page full of "trending iPhone app topics".
If you're looking for app stats, Chomp also produces "Chomp Charts" of usage trends, seasonal queries, app monetization and the "Chomp 55" which are the most downloaded and highest rated apps. "Chomp Charts" are in a nice slide show presentation that are free to download.
Of course, Chomp has its own app so you can search right from your phone.
Ever get that text that says "Let's all meet for pizza"? And then you're left wondering who is "all"? Am I the only one who responded "yes"? Will there be four people at this event or ten?
Enter GroupMe. Problem solved. GroupMe offers group texting and conference calling. You simply create a group of friends or coworkers and GroupMe assigns each group a phone number. Whenever anyone in the group texts the phone number, everyone gets the message and can see all messages sent by other group members. I tried it for the first time today and it worked like a charm and was really easy. You can create as many groups as you like so it's perfect for things like family, softball teams, book clubs or your happy hour crew. They also offer a photo sharing feature inside the app so you can take a photo or choose one from your library to send to your group.
When you use the conference calling feature, whenever anyone in the group calls the group number, everyone gets a call and anyone in the group can initiate it. Missed the call? No worries. GroupMe will send you a text saying the group is on a conference call and you can join in mid-conversation. You can have up to 25 people in a group.
GroupMe is available free for iPhone and Android and the service itself is free although you'll still pay the regular texting fee from your service provider.
