Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Behance introduces Action Method productivity app for iPhone]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/24/behance-introduces-action-method-productivity-app-for-iphone/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/24/behance-introduces-action-method-productivity-app-for-iphone/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/24/behance-introduces-action-method-productivity-app-for-iphone/#commentsFiled under: ,

Behance is one of my favorite sources of creative inspiration and productivity tips. Their Action Method is a neat way to keep track of your to-do items. I'm pretty sure most of their profits come from selling paper products, but there's also a web version of Action Method, and a new Action Method iPhone app that plugs into it.

You don't really have to subscribe to the methodology to use the iPhone app. In fact, even though it syncs to the web, you can use it without an account. They work really well as basic, intuitive to-do lists. You can set due-dates and reminders, create new projects and assign tasks to them, and label things in three different colors.

You can also delegate tasks to people in your iPhone's address book. Both the web app and the iPhone app are free, with the option to upgrade to a paid premium account.

Behance introduces Action Method productivity app for iPhone originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>action methodActionMethodbehanceiphoneproductivityTue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Ommwriter: a Mac writing app that helps you concentrate]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/ommwriter-a-mac-writing-app-that-helps-you-concentrate/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/ommwriter-a-mac-writing-app-that-helps-you-concentrate/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/ommwriter-a-mac-writing-app-that-helps-you-concentrate/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Ommwriter is a Mac word processor with a bit of a gimmick. Like one of my favorite writing apps for the Mac, WriteRoom, Ommwriter goes full-screen, with a minimal interface and a focus on avoiding distractions. Ommwriter is even more extreme, though, adding a calming background and soothing music to the mix, and restricting your control over text formatting to a bare minimum to reduce fiddling.

The good: that fiddling-reduction thing really works. You can make your text larger or smaller, and choose between three fonts, but that's it. It keeps you away from the controls and focused on your words. Also good: there are 7 different musical selections, and the option to turn the music off altogether (which I recommend you exercise). The default background is quite attractive, but you can switch to basic white if you don't like it.

The bad: your only options for saving your Ommwriter docs are plain .txt or Ommwriter's own format. I suppose that's in keeping with the word-centric theme of the app, but sometimes a .doc comes in handy if you're sharing with an Office-devoted friend or colleague. Also - and this is clearly a matter of taste - the whole zen schtick feels a bit hokey to me. I'm all for removing distractions, and Ommwriter succeeds in that regard (except, perhaps, when it comes to the music) but I prefer the plain black screen and more robust formatting capabilities of WriteRoom.

Ommwriter: a Mac writing app that helps you concentrate originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>distractionsommwriterword processorWordProcessorwritingFri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Google Translate gets phonetic translation and more]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/google-translate-gets-phonetic-translation-and-more/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/google-translate-gets-phonetic-translation-and-more/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/google-translate-gets-phonetic-translation-and-more/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Google Translate just got a lot better, with a nice, clean new look and several new features. The first thing you'll notice is that you no longer have to click to translate. Translate now works instantly, as you type. If you're trying to translate something into a language with a non-Roman alphabet (like Chinese, for example) Google will also show the phonetic pronunciation underneath the translated characters.

If you're translating into English, you've got an even better option: you can hear an audio pronunciation of the English translation. This feature is awesome, and I'm looking forward to a time when Google inevitably implements it for other languages, too. There's a new feature for English-speakers, too, though: if you type in the phonetic, romanized version of a word from a non-Roman language (Google cheekily gives Fake Steve Jobs' trademark sign-off, "namaste," as an example), Translate will attempt to show the proper characters in the original language.

Google Translate gets phonetic translation and more originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>googlelanguagetranslatetranslationMon, 16 Nov 2009 20:15:00 EST<![CDATA[FeedBurner stats now showing up in Google Analytics]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/feedburner-stats-now-showing-up-in-google-analytics/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/feedburner-stats-now-showing-up-in-google-analytics/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/feedburner-stats-now-showing-up-in-google-analytics/#commentsFiled under: , ,

You'd think that Google's purchase of FeedBurner a few years back would have meant that FeedBurner stats would be easy to track in Google Analytics. No such luck so far, but Analytics can now track at least some FeedBurner info, although the process isn't very obvious.

If you want to see how many people click through from your FeedBurner feed to your site (no subscriber numbers yet - sorry!) here's how:

In FeedBurner, go to the Analyze tab of your settings. Make sure the "Track clicks as a traffic source in Google Analytics" box is checked. Then, in Analytics, go to "All Traffic Sources" or "Campaigns." Use the search box to search for "feed" or "feedburner," and you'll see your Feed Clicks. Google suggests you select "Ad Content" from the segment drop down in the traffic source data table, so you can see which feed readers your various visitors are using.

According to ReadWriteWeb, more detailed and easier-to-find stats are on their way from Google, so FeedBurners users have plenty of new info to look forward to.

FeedBurner stats now showing up in Google Analytics originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>analyticsfeedburnerfeedsgoogle analyticsGoogleAnalyticspublishingRSSstatsFri, 13 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Dropbox Votebox lets you decide what they work on next]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/dropbox-votebox-lets-you-decide-what-they-work-on-next/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/dropbox-votebox-lets-you-decide-what-they-work-on-next/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/dropbox-votebox-lets-you-decide-what-they-work-on-next/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



Dropbox is one of my current top 5 favorite apps. It's an extremely useful utility with a few, very powerful, easy to use features, and now they are looking to expand. With Votebox (must be signed in to see the page), they are letting the user base vote on which features they work on next. Thousands of votes have already been cast. Here are the top 5 at the time of this writing.

1. Selective sync. Ability to choose which files or folders get sync'd to which computers.

2. Watch any folder. Sync folders outside the My/Dropbox folder (thus essentially replicating the functionality of SugarSync). This would be sweet, though I wonder how it would affect the current simplicity and performance of the app.

3. Share folders without forcing other members to lose space. I'd be interested to see how they handle this one. It could open up loopholes for vastly expanded storage space for groups of people.

4. Email files to Dropbox. Use an email address to upload files to your dropbox space.

5. Mac resource fork support. Perhaps the most cryptic of the requests. The resource fork is essentially metadata attached to the file that helps the Mac OS understand the file better. It defines things like custom icons, window sizes, menu definitions and the like. It is also how Mac OS can do extension-less file names. These things are generally stripped by backup programs (like Dropbox). This would be an extremely useful feature for Mac users.

Dropbox Votebox lets you decide what they work on next originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>developmentDropBoxfeature requestsFeatureRequestsFri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EventSync - sync Facebook events to your Mac's iCal]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/eventsync-sync-facebook-events-to-your-macs-ical/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/eventsync-sync-facebook-events-to-your-macs-ical/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/eventsync-sync-facebook-events-to-your-macs-ical/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

EventSync

It frustrates me that so many different services have a calendar function, and yet it's still a pain in the ass to make sure that my personal calendar is up to date. More often than not I find myself manually creating events using copy-and-paste, instead of the event being automatically created for me by whatever service I'm using.

If you happen to be a Facebook Events user, a utility called EventSync can help you keep your iCal calendar application on your Mac up to date with your Facebook events. It's smart enough to allow you to choose to sync all events, or only those that you have accepted (amongst other options). Development is active on the utility too, and Hawk Wings reports that version 2.0 will include the ability to display the flyers and images associated with the Facebook events.

EventSync is donationware for the Mac platform.

EventSync - sync Facebook events to your Mac's iCal originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>calendareventicalical calendarical-calendarIcalCalendarmacmac platformmac-platformMacPlatformsyncFri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Yast offers ridiculously easy time tracking on the web]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/11/yast-offers-ridiculously-easy-time-tracking-on-the-web/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/11/yast-offers-ridiculously-easy-time-tracking-on-the-web/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/11/yast-offers-ridiculously-easy-time-tracking-on-the-web/#commentsFiled under: ,

Tracking how much time you spend on a project is often a pain, and there are a lot of complex software solutions - both web-based and downloadable - that are more confusing than helpful. Yast, on the other hand is painfully, stupidly easy to use. Pick a project, click and drag on the timeline to indicate when you worked on it, and then enter a note about what you did. That's all. Seriously.

If you want to keep track of your projects in real-time, you can click the play button next to a project to start working, and then click stop when you're done. Two clicks? Even easier than a click and drag! Yast color-codes your projects and keeps track of your total time spent on them, automatically. You can zoom the timeline in and out to make selecting the right timeframe easier. Other than that, Yast has no settings to speak of. If you need anything more elaborate, you'll have to look elsewhere. If you want a bare-bones time tracker that just works, Yast is it.

Yast offers ridiculously easy time tracking on the web originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>projectstime trackingtimerTimeTrackingyastWed, 11 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[OpenOfficeMouse boosts productivity with 18 buttons. Yes, 18. And a joystick.]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/openofficemouse-boosts-productivity-with-18-buttons-yes-18-an/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/openofficemouse-boosts-productivity-with-18-buttons-yes-18-an/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/openofficemouse-boosts-productivity-with-18-buttons-yes-18-an/#commentsFiled under: ,

I can see the conversation now:

Open Source Advocate 1: 'So, dude, we really should do something about this Godawful UI. I mean we tried our best to imitate Microsoft but it just... isn't working out.'

OS Advocate 2: 'There must be some other way... some way we can avoid paying any kind of skilled user-interface master to actually develop a sweet-ass interface.'

OS Advocate 1: 'I know! I KNOW! WE'LL MAKE A MOUSE! A homebrew mouse with enough buttons to map EVERY function to it! We'll simply do away with the usual interface! GENIUS!'

OS Advocate 2: 'Er... OK. Stop waving your Perl manual around like that. You're starting to scare me.'
...

Slashdot are reporting that OpenOffice.org has a new mouse -- the succinctly-named OpenOfficeMouse. Manufactured by WarMouse (the awesome naming never ceases), this behemoth has 18 buttons, a scroll wheel and, get this, an analogue joystick. You couldn't make this stuff up. It has macro support, storage for up to 63 profiles... 63!

I know what you're thinking: OpenOffice can't possibly fully-utilise this beautiful piece of (patented) technological mastery. This thing is for gamers.

OpenOfficeMouse boosts productivity with 18 buttons. Yes, 18. And a joystick. originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>mouseopen officeopen sourceOpenOfficeopenoffice.orgOpenSourceSun, 08 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Pick up where you left off before a reboot with Cache My Work]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/pick-up-where-you-left-off-before-a-reboot-with-cache-my-work/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/pick-up-where-you-left-off-before-a-reboot-with-cache-my-work/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/pick-up-where-you-left-off-before-a-reboot-with-cache-my-work/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Getting your desktop situated "just so" following a reboot can be a hassle. As with so many other Windows annoyances, there's a handy little application which can help.

Cache My Work was created to tackle the task of restoring your windows following a restart. Launch the app and a list of your cacheable programs is displayed - you also have the option of re-opening all your open Explorer windows. Check off what you want restored, click save, and reboot.

Once Windows is up and running again, Cache My Work's preparations make your programs reappear. It's a simple but effective little app - all it really does is zap a few lines into your registry under the Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce key.

You'll still need to re-open your files -- except, of course, in apps like Firefox where you have the option to restore your previous session automatically.

While the project hasn't seen an update in just over a year, it still works nicely - even on WIndows 7 (both 32 and 64-bit builds).

Pick up where you left off before a reboot with Cache My Work originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>productivityrebootrecoverrestoreFri, 06 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Make your Firefox more like Google Chrome with Pin Tabs]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/make-your-firefox-more-like-google-chrome-with-pin-tabs/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/make-your-firefox-more-like-google-chrome-with-pin-tabs/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/make-your-firefox-more-like-google-chrome-with-pin-tabs/#commentsFiled under: ,

One of the slick visual elements of Google's Chrome browser is pin tabs. They're those compact tabs that're only as wide as a favicon, and they save a ton of space in your tab bar. You could point out that Firefox doesn't have this feature, but I'd give you the Firefox fanatic's standard answer: there's an add-on for that! For Chrome-style mini-tabs in Firefox, grab the Pin Tab extension.

Pinning a tab using ctrl-click shrinks it and moves it to the left of your tab bar. A pinned tab is preserved across all sessions, and you can't accidentally upset it using the address bar. If you enter a new URL while a pinned tab is selected, that URL opens in a new tab instead. You can pin tabs by dragging them to the left of the tab bar, and unpin them by dragging them to the right. Pinned tabs save a ton of space, since they're several times smaller than regular ones, so this add-on is ideal for those who have dozens of sites open at once.

[via gHacks]

UPDATE: The developer of this add-on seems to have taken it down for right now.

Make your Firefox more like Google Chrome with Pin Tabs originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>add-onchromefirefoxpin tabPinTabtabsThu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[FlickrImport adds your Flickr pics to iPhoto]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/flickrimport-adds-your-flickr-pics-to-iphoto/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/flickrimport-adds-your-flickr-pics-to-iphoto/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/flickrimport-adds-your-flickr-pics-to-iphoto/#commentsFiled under: , ,


If you're a Mac user who's considering giving iPhoto a try, and you're also a fan of sharing photos on Flickr, you might want to give FlickrImport a try. On its face, it's just a utility that imports your Flickr images into iPhoto, but there's more to this little gem than meets the eye. It preserves photo info, including EXIF and TIFF metadata.

Even better, FlickrImport works for more than just your own account. You can also use it to import photos from your contacts accounts, as long as those photos are visible to you. If you have more than one Flickr account, for some reason, you can add yourself as a contact and import from both accounts that way. One caveat: FlickrImport doesn't play nicely with Snow Leopard. To make it work, do a Get Info on the app and check the "Open with Rosetta" box.

FlickrImport adds your Flickr pics to iPhoto originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>flickrflickrimportiphotoos xOsXTue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Focus Booster helps you stay focused]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Focus BoosterDistraction is the enemy of focus. If you work at a computer all day, the possibilities for distraction are limitless. One way to stay focused is to use the technique of a firmly regimented working period followed by a short break period that I first came across at Merlin Mann's 43 Folders site. His technique suggested using 10 minutes of work followed by 2 minutes of rest, but the recently popular Pomodoro Technique suggests using 25 and 5. Whatever periods you use, the cross-platform Adobe Air based Focus Booster application is just the timer you need to keep you on task.

Focus Booster is a tiny timer that allows you to set a work and rest period, then away you go. You can focus entirely upon your work knowing that a rest period is coming soon, and you can check out your Facebook / Twitter / blog comments / whatever it is you fancy when the time comes.

Focus Booster helps you stay focused originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobedistractionfacebookrest periodrest-periodRestPeriodsshort-breakMon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Tabberwocky is a slick tab management add-on for Firefox]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/tabberwocky-is-a-slick-tab-management-add-on-for-firefox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/tabberwocky-is-a-slick-tab-management-add-on-for-firefox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/tabberwocky-is-a-slick-tab-management-add-on-for-firefox/#commentsFiled under: ,

Tired of accidentally closing important tabs in Firefox? Tabberwocky, a useful tab-manager add-on, lets you protect a tab, open a duplicate tab next to the original, and lots more. Tabberwocky can move the 'close tab' button to either side of a tab, highlight unread tabs, retain a tab's history when you open a link in a new tab -- and that's just the beginning! This tiny 25kb add-on has a list of options about a page long.

Tabberwocky's main competition is the popular Tab Mix Plus add-on, which offers very similar features. What Tab Mix plus has that Tabberwocky still doesn't is the session manager, so you can save and restore sets of tabs and windows, even after a crash. Tab Mix plus has been known to slow down Firefox's performance on some systems though, so Tabberwocky might be a lighter alternative to try if you've been having problems with TMP.

[via ghacks]

Tabberwocky is a slick tab management add-on for Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>add-onbrowsingfirefoxtabbed browsingTabbedBrowsingtabberwockytabsMon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[iWork files are really just zip files, and contain PDF previews]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

iWork 09Have you ever received an iWork file created in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote on a Mac, and not had any way to deal with it? Next time, try changing the file's extension to .zip, then unzip it with your favorite zip utility. Inside you should find a PDF preview document containing a nicely formatted version of the document in question.

It seems strange that Apple doesn't promote this fact more, as it's a real usability win for iWork users that want to share their documents with non-Mac users. Wouldn't it be nice if Word, Excel, and Powerpoint did this?

[photo by *keng]

iWork files are really just zip files, and contain PDF previews originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appledocumentformatted versionformatted-versionFormattedVersioniworkmacpdfusabilityzipzip-utilitySun, 01 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Afloat teaches your Mac's windows some new tricks]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/afloat-teaches-your-macs-windows-some-new-tricks/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/afloat-teaches-your-macs-windows-some-new-tricks/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/afloat-teaches-your-macs-windows-some-new-tricks/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Afloat is a handy little plugin for your Mac that gives you more control over all the windows you've got open. Once installed, Afloat adds some new options to the Window menu in most applications, allowing you to do some neat tricks. Here's a rundown of the options, which almost all have keyboard shortcuts:

The keep afloat command assigns a window to stay on top of all others. Alternatively, you can pin windows to the bottom of the stack, at desktop level. Window transparency is adjustable using either a slider or keyboard shortcuts. Afloat allows moving and resizing from any part of a window if you hold down cmd+ctrl - just grab an edge to resize, or drag from anywhere to move.

If you use Spaces, you can use Afloat to make a window appear across all Spaces, so you won't lose it when you switch. There's also a neat overlay feature that makes your window transparent and unclickable, so you can use it as a guide while you work with whatever's underneath - I can think of some fun design applications for that one. Afloat also has a hotkey to locate the file associated with the current window, which is something the OS X Finder could probably use as a standard feature.

It's not that Afloat adds essential functionality to the OS. In fact, it's probably overkill for most people, but just about every Mac user should be able to find one feature to like in this handy little plugin.

Afloat teaches your Mac's windows some new tricks originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>afloatresizetransparencywindowsSun, 01 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Remember the Milk task manager exits beta in meaningless gesture]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/remember-the-milk-task-manager-exits-beta-in-meaningless-gesture/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/remember-the-milk-task-manager-exits-beta-in-meaningless-gesture/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/remember-the-milk-task-manager-exits-beta-in-meaningless-gesture/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Remember The MilkFour years after the service opened to the public, popular web-based task manager Remember The Milk is finally out of beta. What does that mean? Nothing really.

The company isn't going to start charging for access to its core services. And the developers aren't done adding and refining features. It's just that after four years, the Remember The Milk team decided the product was probably robust enough to remove the beta label... you know, kind of like Google did with Gmail not too long ago.

Of course, companies like Google and Remember the Milk have stretched the meaning of the beta label beyond any semblance of recognition. Once upon a time, if you were using a beta product you knew it was a pre-release version that hadn't been extensively tested and which may be unstable. These days, alpha is kind of the new beta, although some companies still release public and private beta versions of software that are still untested and unstable. Since there's no regulator tasked with enforcing alpha, beta, and other labeling rules, the words have kind of lost their meaning.

Still, congratulations to the Remember the Milk team on reaching four years!

Remember the Milk task manager exits beta in meaningless gesture originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betaremember-the-milktask-managertasksFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Wordpress for iPhone 2 is actually usable!]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/wordpress-for-iphone-2-is-actually-usable/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/wordpress-for-iphone-2-is-actually-usable/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/wordpress-for-iphone-2-is-actually-usable/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The first version of the Wordpress iPhone app showed a lot of promise as mobile blogging tool, but it was too slow and too buggy to use. It didn't know what to do with dropped connections -- all too common, when you're blogging from an AT&T iPhone -- and the UI was clunky and unintuitive. Round 2! Wordpress is back for another try at the iPhone thing, and this time they're far closer to doing it right: bug fixes, persistence, auto-saving and a better UI make Wordpress 2 a viable option for blogging on the go.

The single most important new feature in Wordpress 2 is persistence. That means you can close the app, and reopening it will take you back to the post or comment you were working on. In the old version, it was nearly impossible to finish a long post without being interrupted by a crash or a phone call, or without needing to pop into Safari to grab some text from a webpage. Speaking of those crashes, they're nowhere near as frequent as they were in Wordpress 1, and the new autosave feature makes them less damaging.

Photo uploading is smoother, too, and you can also preview a post while you're editing it. Aside from all the improvements to posting, comments now have their own tab, so you can moderate your site with ease. I'd still love to see liveblogging support in the iPhone app, though, because it seems like such an ideal use of a mobile blog client. All in all, Wordpress 2 is a workable solution for mobile blogging.

Wordpress for iPhone 2 is actually usable! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>automatticbloggingiPhonewordpresswordpress 2Wordpress2Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Google Voice desktop app keeps your SMS and Voicemail handy]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/28/google-voice-desktop-app-keeps-your-sms-and-voicemail-handy/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/28/google-voice-desktop-app-keeps-your-sms-and-voicemail-handy/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/28/google-voice-desktop-app-keeps-your-sms-and-voicemail-handy/#commentsFiled under: , ,

With Google Voice now able to take over the voicemail from your mobile number, there are more reasons than ever to keep your Google Voice messages close at hand. There's cross-platform Google Voice desktop app that does just that, giving you quick desktop access to your voicemail and SMS messages.

The desktop app's features are very basic: just your inbox and contacts, in a compact layout. It's good for making sure you don't miss incoming messages, but don't expect too much else from it. If you're on a Mac, you might prefer to use Fluid to create a standalone browser for Google Voice.

[via Lifehacker]

Google Voice desktop app keeps your SMS and Voicemail handy originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobe airAdobeAirdesktopgoogle voiceGoogleVoicesmsvoicemailWed, 28 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Google Reader now sorts your feeds "by magic"]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/25/google-reader-now-sorts-your-feeds-by-magic/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/25/google-reader-now-sorts-your-feeds-by-magic/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/25/google-reader-now-sorts-your-feeds-by-magic/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Google has made a couple of big improvements to Google Reader, aimed at helping you easily sift through all those RSS feeds to get to the stories you'll find most relevant. One set of new features focuses on finding relevant content that you weren't already aware of, and another feature sorts the stuff you're already subscribed to.

In the sidebar, you'll notice a new "recommended sources" list. These are sites Google Reader thinks you'll like, based on your browsing habits -- if you've opted-in to let Google track those -- and your reading habits in Reader itself. You'll also see a Popular Items section from around the web, showing you some well-read and potentially relevant posts from sites you're not subscribed to.

In addition to these ways of finding new feeds to read, Google Reader can now sort your existing items "by magic," bringing the most relevant articles to the top of your list. To make this happen, go to the settings dropdown for one of your feeds or folders and choose "sort by magic." The magic is actually an algorithm that takes into account what you read and share in Reader, and it seems to work pretty well. I'm not a frequent Google Reader user, and even my relatively untrained recommendations were interesting. If you share and like items on a regular basis, yours will likely be even better.

[via Mashable]

Google Reader now sorts your feeds "by magic" originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>feedsgoogle readerGoogleReadermagicrecommendationsrssSun, 25 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[FlagIt! helps tame your Apple Mail inbox]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/flagit-helps-tame-your-apple-mail-inbox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/flagit-helps-tame-your-apple-mail-inbox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/flagit-helps-tame-your-apple-mail-inbox/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

When it comes to organizing your email inbox, Apple's Mail.app isn't the most sophisticated offering out there. FlagIt! is a mail add-on that lets you quickly mark your messages as urgent, pending or to-do. It adds its own set of flag icons to the seldom-used "flag" column in Mail, and sets the titles of your messages to the corresponding colors.

Once you've installed FlagIt!, you can start flagging by right-clicking (or control-clicking) on messages in your inbox and scrolling down to "Mark." In addition to flagging messages, you can set up custom flags and mark messages as completed right from this menu. All the default Mark menu items are still there, too, so you can mark as read or unread like you normally would. One word of caution to Snow Leopard users: to make FlagIt! work, you'll have to put Mail.app into 32-bit mode. You can do that by selecting Mail in the Finder and doing a Get Info.

FlagIt! helps tame your Apple Mail inbox originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>apple mailAppleMailemailflagitmailmail.appSat, 24 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST