I’m a big fan of apps. Apps for my Mac, apps for my iPhone, and best of all web apps that can run on almost anything. So I’m surprised when people miss out on what are some of the best apps because they aren’t as popular as the big boys. So here’s a fun list, all of which are free and have links so you can start downloading.
Songza is a streaming music player where you can pick music based on moods, time of day, genre, and activity. In one word it’s amazing. There are no advertisements and the playlists are curated by music lovers from everywhere. It’s great when you need some music for a party or are in a certain mood. Forget Pandora, this is the future.
Greplin is like Google for cloud services. You authorize once for everything and can then search everything. Google Docs, Calendar, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Gmail and more. It’s wonderful when you forget where a contact, file, or message was exchanged. Unfortunately there isn’t an Android version yet but it’s “on the to-do list”
Wordoid- Web
Domain Typer- Web
Naming things and getting a subsequent website domain is getting increasingly difficult as domain squatters and web apps are crowding the space. Finding a name or getting something just right is close to impossible, so my recommendation is to try this app. You can put in sounds you want in the word, limit the name by number of letters/numbers and it’ll return a list of results and whether their .com or .net domain is available. Though double check the .com/.net availability because I’ve found it isn’t always accurate.
And after you’ve found a name you want, visit DomainTyper. It will show you with almost 100% accuracy if a domain is taken and which .’s are available (.co, .tv, etc).
Insync- Web, PC, Mac
Insync brings that wonderful “Dropbox-esque” browsing of files on Finder or Windows Explorer to your Google Docs. You can even open up Docs, edit them with Word, and then save them back to your Gdocs folder (pretty cool, right). It’s free and means you can pay a LOT less for storage then Dropbox. For instance, $120 a year on Dropbox buys you 50 GB of storage. For $20 a year on Gdocs you get 80 GB. And kick-ass sharing and collaboration abilities. And the upload limit is 10 GB per file instead of the measly 250mb you get on Dropbox. It isn’t available for your Android or iPhone yet so if you need mobile access keep those files in Dropbox.
-Killed by Google Drive (not necessarily a bad thing as you’ll see in my other post, Bye Bye Dropbox).
Padmapper- iPhone, Android, Web
Browsing Craigslist for apartments is so 1999. Padmapper is a huge apartment directory on a map with all the listings available from Craigslist, Apartments.com, Rent.com, and others. It updates in real time and lets you customize based on price, bedrooms, bathrooms, type of lease/rental and of course location. You can even can set up email alerts if you’re looking for something specific that isn’t available at the moment.
Sleipnir- iPhone/iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Windows Phone
I’m not going to beat around the bush- I love Google Chrome. I wish I could remove Safari from my Mac and my iPhone, but I can’t. And I wish I could have Chrome for my iPhone, but Google’ probably more concerned about the Android version and their search engine. So if you need a browser that will work on almost anything, try Sleipnir. In addition to syncing everything between all of your devices, it’s fast, handles tabs exceptionally, and has some great swiping features. I’m not in love with how bookmarks are done, but I’m getting used to it.
Appcleaner- Mac
For the Apple diehard I have a special treat. Let’s say you installed a few apps that you’re not too happy about and need to get rid of. Use this simple, light and easy app to uninstall the apps and associated files that have been installed with it. Just check, delete and go about your business.
Hope you enjoyed- as usual leave some comments, feedback and questions down below. Cheers!
