Previously I have blogged about little applications, frameworks, and tools that we have tried-out and/or added to our mix-bag, rather tool set. As they say something's stay the same yet other things change.
One of things that I have found very useful is using Yahoo’s new homepage design as my home page in my browsers, not because I find Yahoo any great source of information news wise, but being used to it for so, so, many years and I totally love their new “My Favorites” menu. I have played with it for some time and now have it pretty settled down to be my key jumping off point. My current list is a combination of personal but mostly mix sites:
Yahoo Mail; Facebook; MS NERD (Microsoft Research Office – Cambridge, Ma); Google Voice; Mashbord; Meetup; Netflicks; NPR radio; MyHours; NASCAR; YouTube; Google Calendar; and Flickr
Some of these are new tools:
Google Voice: (www.google.com/voice)
By setting up an account, I am able to separate personal from business incoming calls which helps. The biggest key though is the way it handles voice mail. You can set up Google voice to not only take your voice mail and make it available online ( both as a text translation but and a mp3 recorded file). Still there is the killer feature for me, the text translation is also forwarded to me as a sms text message which I have found to be a very powerful tool.
Mashboard: (www.mashbord.com)
This nice little online application allows you to load-up sites you would like to have handy and organize them in one small header “dashboard” and then gives you three columns of linked thumbnails. All the thumbnails are created by their system from the links you add to your sections, its very easy and fast. When you click on a thumbnail it dose open up the site framed by their won frame , but with a click the frame is gone an your URL pathway is directly to that site. I use the Dashboard for our various main sites, this blog, a second web design gallery like blogger account, the main GREY WOLF DESIGN SITE and some sub or mini sites we run. The first column is used for quick links to site in progress and on our development server. The second column in most recent client sites, whit the third being links to design reference sites and misc. sites I visit a lot in my work and training processes.
Google Calendar: (www.google.com/calendar)
I had left this one but came running back still find it the best way for me to manage events, projects, and deadlines. Their calendar also is very easy to share with other team members with ease.
myHours (www.myhours.com)
I still love this online time tracking application and though I have only used it a few time its mobile version works with easy as well.
Other tools:
Windows Live Writer:
I just recently started using this application that comes with the new Microsoft Live application package, and to be honest I really like it.
