Comparisons, or What's the best tool for the job?

Digital tools are different than regular ones, especially in one aspect.  You don't necessarily even know what's OUT there, to consider as an option.  Searching only gets you so far. So, what tools are available for helping you find what tools are available?

First, let's jump back to that searching thing. You can enter whatever particular tool that you know of and append "vs" to it.  So, like you can just type in something ilke "Bizplan vs" and sift through the results to see what else is available. Ultimately, through using this technique, you'll probably come across sites that purport to do these kinds of comparison for you.  There are ton of such review sites, naturally, because not only can they place ads for revenue while you compare, but they might also have affiliate revenue gatherered from recommending one of these to you.  Don't worry too much about that - they are indeed providing a good service to you.  Well, worry a little.  Some of them go about it in the wrong way, like trying to capture your data for further sales.  You don't need more spam filling up your inbox.  Here are a few great comparison sites to remember:

GetApp.com - Based in Spain, this site has a clean, modern design and ultimately gets you to a point where you can see your comparisons of Saas offerings, listed side-by-side in a chart.  That's sweet.  No registration is required, but you can create an account and start adding your own reviews, bookmark apps that you like, or get recommendations based on the type of industry you are interested in.

Slant.co - Any product. Any category.  It's like a socially-driven mashup of a question site, and a product review site.  It's a bit like an "anything goes" review site for anything, but it works.  Registration is NOT required, but you can create an account to remember your favorites, add reviews, and so forth.  There's a karma system in place for building a reputation.

AlternativeTo.net - A very reliable source for finding popular OR little-heard-of options for software of varying type, either Saas, downloadable, mobile, plugin, or many other types of digital products.  No registration required, but it is available for organizing your activity on the site; lists, likes, comments, and so forth.

ConsumerReports.com - A well-known product review site, this one is basically a for-profit company that puts out reviews of anything and everything.  They started as a physical journal and migrated successfully to the web.  You can pay for a membership or use the site for one-off searches, for free.  Membership will allow you to keep ongoing searches with notifications for updates, that kind of thing.

Amazon reviews - Amazon sells anything, or allows people to sell anything and takes a cut.  Y'all know that.  And y'all know there are product reviews on there.  The problem with all this is that you can't explicitly TRUST these reviews.  There are so many ways to artificially inflate or deflate the value of an Amazon product review; some people are paid to go out and review stuff. Some companies send customers free merch for nicer reviews - and some do it legitimately, just sending stuff without asking/demanding a good review, but that kind of action usually DOES influence opinion.  So sure, glance at the product on Amazon but savor it with a grain of salt.

Appstore reviews - this is one trick that I don't always even think of... if a service or website has a mobile app, then DEFINITELY go check out the reviews posted about it.  These are, like the Amazon reviews, probably easily malleable, AND they can go out of date easily, if the developer updates but the user doesn't change their review. However I have found it's a good place to get a feel of how the user is treated by the company, which is an important sign.

Addendum: There is also https://openbase.io/

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The Foos, by CodeSpark

My kids are interested in learning to program. Maybe it's because their dad already does that, or maybe it's because they want to create a My Little Pony game, or a Skylanders game of their own.  Either way, there are a lot of resources available to children nowadays to learn this wonderful skill.

I took a look at The Foos, by CodeSpark.org, having read about their efforts some time ago.  I was pleased to realize that this first game of theirs is out already, so both I and my 7-year-old son took a look at it.

First off, it's fun and has a light-hearted personality, appealing to boys and girls alike. There are no detailed instructions, relying instead on as-you-go tutorial learning. That is, it tells you which piece to use and when, for the first time you need to use any particular piece. On each level you are to collect the star, and as many coins as you can, for a good score.  Occasionally there's a silly-looking miscreant type of character opposing your progress somehow, and sometimes your mission is to capture the little guy.

The game teaches logic, patterns, and situation assessment. There's almost never a need to hurry through any particular level, although on occasion there is merit to finish quickly. You play by choosing a series of actions available to your character, and then allowing him or her to play through those actions all at once. In this aspect, it reminds me a bit of a boardgame by Wizards of the Coast called RoboRally, or the more-recent clone of that one called Robot Turtles (which raised kazoodles of funding on Kickstarter).  Of the board games, I prefer RoboRally, but it IS more complex than the Turtles.  I digress.  The Foos is very lenient in how you're allowed to solve each level.  You can program and reprogram your character's actions as many times as you want, and it only affects the rating you receive for finishing.

On the downside, the Foos is remarkably short.  There's a sort-of subtitle associated with the game where they call it the "hour of code" and for kids that's probably about right.  For adults it would take a lot less time than that to finish - I did it in about 15 minutes, I think!  Once you're finished with the missions provided, there is a sandbox area that you can play in.  The sandbox was actually a little confusing; you could use the coins you collected to buy additional characters, but once you started playing around, there really wasn't much you could DO other than move.

Overall, it seems that The Foos is a nice, little distraction that introduces the younger set to the world of "if-then".  Considering that it's free and is available on every platform (it's built in Unity), it's definitely worth letting your little ones check it out.  Just keep in mind that it won't last long.

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Education is Everywhere

When I was growing up, there were a very few educational programs, and even then it was hard to justify the dollars spent. Of course, I wasn't the one spending money at that time, either, so what do I know?  Only that the educational apps I had access to were pretty much: Type Attack! annnd... well, I'm sure there must have been others.  I know there was Mavis Bacon Teaches Typing, but we never had that one.  I suppose the Oregon Trail counts as some kind of educational entry, but that's really pushing the limit.

Nowadays, kids are blessed with apps aplenty, and just as watching shows can be done anywhere, at any time, these are mobile and online, or social and offline, or any combination thereof. I'm glad my kids are growing up with such blessings.

I'll start posting new articles about various apps that I love - and that my kids love - for teaching them language, math, reading, and all sorts of skills.  My wife and I have children that cover a range of ages, so there's a lot to cover!

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Gleeo Time Tracker

This is an Android app that I use daily; Gleeo Time Tracker which fairly obviously is used for tracking time worked on jobs/projects/etc.  The interface is at first a little awkward, but is really great once you get used to it.  Other users of the app seem to feel the same, saying that it's nearly perfect but could use a few tweakings like the addition of pie charts or fewer taps to get to the reporting.  I'm fine with the current status of those particular features, but what I would like to see is buttons that are just slightly larger so that I don't accidentally tap on things I don't intend to.  I'm speaking about the buttons at the outer edges of the screens. It's not a big deal, though.

The features are discovered bit by bit as you use it more; quick categorization of the tasks on different projects is great.  Custom colors are very nice, although perhaps there could be greater contrast in them. I love the flexible exporting feature and use that a lot. Actually, you could easily create your own pie charts by doing that, come to think of it.

Does any one use other time reporting software that should be noted?  I'll take a look if so!

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Android Apps Review

Image by netzkobold via Flickr

Here's a quick run-down Android applications I've tried and mostly use right now. After the name of each app, I've rated each one from 1-5, described what each does, and usually given an opinion of the app.

1 = Nice, but I could uninstall
2 = I've used it a couple of times
3 = I quite like it, but it might not be truly USEFUL
4 = Great value in this!
5 = Install it now.

Updates as of Jan 2010 are in bold

• ACV (4) (now 3; I haven't used it as much and it's often slow due to size of comic images) Android Comics Viewer, for reading CBR/CBZ files. If you know what these files are, install this program.
• PrinterShare (1) Print from your Android phone, from anywhere. Nice, but haven't really used it.
• TouchPal (5) Alternative keyboard. Awesome. (sadly unavailable AFAIK)
  
• Books WordPlayer (3) Browse & install free books. Nice, but to install your own files from SD must install some other file browser.
• Qik (5) Stream and record video LIVE to the internet. A must. (I still love this)
  
• ASTRO File Manager (5) The best file manager - also includes a task killer and more.
• Barcode Scanner (5) reads barcodes, including QR codes
• King Ring Reward Cards (2) is supposed to be able to replace all the plastic reward cards from coffee shops, etc. Haven't gotten it to work so much. (Now used more just to read the number back to the clerk; it just doesn't scan!)
  
• Last.fm (4) Stream channels of music, like Pandora
• Foursquare (3) (Now 4 with potential for 5) Social location-based game and recommendation system. It's cool.
• NewsRob (5) Auto-syncs with Google Reader. Does not do Starred items well.
• Greed (Lite) (4) Reads Google Reader feeds - no auto-sync, but does Starred items.
• Voice Recorder (4) Record voice notes and share them.
• Meebo IM (2) Hooks into all the major chat networks, including Facebook chat (I won't uninstall this, since it's nice to have)
  
• Babbler (5) $ Facebook app. The official FB app (free) might be good enough now, but I'd already bought this. It's cheap and awesome. (This is still awesome, but I haven't checked the official FB app in a while...)
  
• Twidroid (5) Twitter app. Awesome. There's a $ version that has more features, but... I don't notice anything missing from the free version. (I have since bought the full version for multiple Twitter account handling)
  
• Locale (5) Changes settings on your phone based on time and GPS location. (Sometimes I think that this causes slowdown on the phone, sometimes I don't think that. still loving it, though.)
  
• Locale Shortcut Plugin - allows Locale to launch apps as a result of time/location change (I use this to auto-launch the Weather app in the morning! hehe)
  
• Contact Owner (5) Shows your contact info on the lock screen. (crucial)
  
• OI Safe (4) (now 3; I prefer KeePass and DropBox on a PC to this) A password safe with encryption. Free, but doesn't sync to any desktop version. (Those cost $30.)
• Pixelpipe Post & Upload (2) (I have to try this again since I got an email saying auto-uploading has been added...)Easy-share of files (audio, video, text, etc.) I like iTook better.
• iTookThisOnMyPhone (5) AUTO-uploads photos (or videos, if you like) that you take to a location you specify. (not sure if it's my phone, but ever since upgrading to Android 1.6, it doesn't work as well)
  
• The Weather Channel (5) Weather. Duh. Really hard to decide between this & WeatherBug.
• Robotic Guitarist (3) Lots of fun. Try it, if you like or play guitar (still on my phone - still a fun diversion)
  
• Google Voice (5) If you have a Google Voice account, install this.
• Google Listen (5) Podcast app. Free and great.
• DoggCatcher (5) $ Good, but uninstalled; Google Listen became better
• Retro Clock Widget (4) I use this instead of the default desktop clock widget mostly because touching the widget brings your right to the alarm settings page. (I will probably never uninstall this)
  
• ShopSavvy (4) Instantly search for better prices for any product with a barcode. Great for comparison-shopping in a brick-n-mortar store.
• OpenTable (2) Make dinner reservations with your phone. Nice, I've used it.
• CadreBible LE (5) The Bible, best one I've found for Android.
• DailyStrip (3) Comics reader, shows mostly mainstream comics (has THE MOST comics now)
  
• Katawa! (3) Comics reader, shows mostly alternatives.
• KeepScreen (3) Lock your screen ON when certain apps are running.
  
• White Noise Lite (5) Soothing Sound generator (with an auto-shutoff timer)
• Buddy Runner (5) Records your jogging/running via GPS. I like the results of this better than Google Tracks
• Google MyTracks (5) Records your GPS activities; jogging, running, cycling, skating, whatever. If you compare with Buddy Runner, you'll see it's missing some really convenient features plus front-end niceties. (BuddyRunner IS still better, but I still have both)
  
• Places Directory (or Sherpa or Aloqa) (5) I like Places Directory and Aloqa the best, but they're all similar. Shows what's near you, separated in categories.
• Astrid Task/Todo List (5) syncs with RememberTheMilk (which then can plug into your Gmail page!) and is a GREAT task manager. (Yeah, still loving this, esp. since embedding RememberTheMilk into my Gmail page)
  
• My Maps Editor (Google Maps) (5) Views and edits your saved Google Maps
• auduaReader (5) Book reader. Really simple interface but if you have your own book files in TXT (and perhaps epub) format, this is the best reader for it.
• Mobile Defense (5) Remote tracking and control of your phone, if you lose it.
• FlashCup (5) Just a flashlight. SOoooo nice. (Now 4; see Color Flashlight)
  
• Color Flashlight (5) Better than FlashCup
  
• Rings Extended (4) Lets you use any audio file as a ringtone/alarm/etc.

Games:

• Friction Mobile (4) action puzzler. won't give it up.
• WordUp (4) like Boggle
• Abduction! (4) Awesome. Cow bouncing, uses accelerometer.
• Touch! 4Kids (4) This is for toddler-age kids, keeps 'em busy for about 10 minutes.
• Zebra Paint (4) For 5-8 year olds, easy coloring book app.
• SpecTrek Light (?) A GPS/ augmented reality game. Haven't tried it yet. (Tried it, and it's fun, but would be MUCH better if I bought the full version, I can tell.)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Google to unveil Nexus One(Google's own Android Phone) at press conference (the-web-tech.blogspot.com)
• The Best Android Apps of 2009 (blogs.wsj.com)
• Android Market Passes 10K Apps; Here's My Five Favorites (With QR Codes) (readwriteweb.com)

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