Productivity week : Let somebody read you the web with Pocket.

May 13

There are certain things in the universe that are constant. Toast always falls with the Marmelade coated side DOWN, cats land on their feet and Will Smith’s son Jayden will never be able to utter an intelligent sentence on social media.

And the same goes for interesting articles on the web. Their will be a constant relation between the moment you find an interesting article you want to read and the lack of time you have to do so. So how about fixing that problem. What if you could store those interesting articles and .. have them read TO you when YOU have the time.finished-tablet

No time right now ? It’s in the pocket.

Enter “pocket” : A notebook service that lets you store articles in the cloud to read them later (either on or offline). Pocket consists of a free cloud based account that lets you store articles and webpages and an application that allows you to read those articles when you have the time.

Adding articles to the “library” can be done with a Chrome or Firefox extension. You can access your collection of stored articles via Pocket’s website or use the application.

The application “syncs” your pocket articles so you can read them offline on your mobile device (Smartphone or Tablet) and is available on IOS and Android.

The one excellent feature you can use in the Pocket app is that you can have it READ the article out loud via text to speech.

Its a bit like listening to a podcast of articles you have collected on the web. The voices are fairly natural to listen to and you can adjust the speed AND the language so your Dutch article doesn’t get read by an English voice. (You should try it though , its hilarious).

The pocket service, the extension AND the pocket apps are free and available on all the major operating systems. Don’t read the web.. have somebody read it to you !

Links :

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Zen Week : Calm down .. with Calm.

Nov 04

Mindfulness , Meditation, tranquility . These are all things we should consider , which are important, which have one thing in common : Most of us have absolutely no idea how to do any of them. Whenever some free floating new age person dressed in an outfit that looks like a  a Jedi knight in a wedding gown tells me to ‘put down my phone and meditate’ , I can only respond with a blank stare and the suggestion I might look up how to meditate on the internet. This is not an approved method of getting these floaty people to agree with you.

Screen-Shot-2013-04-13-at-4.19.28-PM

So enter CALM : A free floating fairy that lives in your phone and tells you how to be mindful and meditate. In seven steps a soothing voice explains you how to meditate by minding your posture, mindset, your body , your breath and your patience. You can also choose from several guided meditations ranging from 2 tot 30 minutes or just get a selection of white noises to “freestyle your medi-cycle”

Calm is free and available for Android and IOS.

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App Week : Redditing brings Reddit to Windows (Windows)

Oct 23

We don’t have a lot of love to spare for “Metro apps”. (We  decline to grace them with the “new-ui” title they prefer to be addressed with) When you browse through the Windows Phone store, most applications you find are disappointing to say the least. The selection is sparse and there is a lot of 3rd party crap out there. When we went in search of a good “Reddit” app our expectations were quite low. So imagine our surprise when “Redditing” proved to be a well written and zippy application that lets you wade through the soggy marches of the internet known as “Reddit”.

Redditting

Find browse and bookmark you favorite sub-reddits, Read through articles, post comments and of course .. look at the shiny pictures. No matter if you waste hours of your life, you will finally find good use for your Windows Phone, or that Windows RT Surface tablet that you have been using as a doorstop right until now. Reddit/r/thefappening might not be online anymore but “Redditing” will help you find new stuff on Reddit to watch.

Link : “Redditing” (Windows app store) 

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App week : Make a 360 panoramic with Cycloramic (IOS)

Oct 21

This app is dumb .. and at the same time its brilliant ! Taking panoramic shots that span your entire surrounding (the so-called “360’s) is not always easy. You have to keep your phone levelled at all times at your “turning in place” skills are obviously not that of a prima ballerina. What to do ?

Enter Cycloramic. An app that lets you take panoramic shots using your iPhone and its .. charger ? Well yes ! Cycloramic uses the camera of your iPhone to take the actual picture, it uses the charger as a base and .. the build in vibrator .. ( Or the built in motor that makes your phone buzz). Its ingenious and pretty spiffy if you ask me.

But don’t take our word for it. Watch the cool little vid and give it a “spin”.  (ps : for iphone 5 models you don’t even need the charger .. the phone ‘dances’ around on its broader base)


Link : Cycloramic (Apple app store for iPhone 5, 5s and 6)

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Make screencasts from your android phone with ‘Rec.’

Jan 23

There is a time in your life where you have reached the highest levels of achievement in the things that really matter. Those few and feeble quirks of existence  that defy who you are in this pointless thing we call life .. We are of course referring to … CANDY CRUSH . What is the point of reaching yet another level of this magnificent game that is so important you feel the need to abandon your pets, love, sweetheart … if you cannot share it with the world ? Running around with your phone , pointing at the screen and shouting ‘LOOK LOOK’ is one way to do it, but it is not the only one.

Screenshot 2014-01-19 10.17.51

 

Enter “REC.” a simple screen capture application for Android (Its free) that lets you record your screen and all your moments of glory as you shatter yet another row of multi-colored  diamonds. “Rec.” lets you save, download and share screencasts recorded on your Android phone .. with everyone.

Rec. is free, works with Kit Kat, but does require root privileges. Download it here.

 

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