organization
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Sega of America workers are forming a union
The group asks SEGA to recognize the union voluntarily ahead of an official vote.
Google Calendar's mobile apps can create and view Tasks now
Google Tasks entries were already a part of Google Calendar's website, but now they're integrated with the Calendar apps on Android and iOS as well.
Todoist's new Boards feature is a better-looking Trello
Todoist adds a card-based Boards feature to its project management app.
Chrome's new tab grouping feature brings order to chaos
Chrome is getting a handful of new features and faster tabs.
Slack’s latest changes couldn’t come at a better time
Slack was already a big part of modern work life for many people, but as more companies turn to remote work, it is becoming even more essential. Even if you were using Slack to chat with coworkers in an office before, conducting all of your conversations there could be a big shift. Fortunately, Slack is introducing changes to make its desktop platform easier to use and organize.
Use tech to keep your kids organized (since they won't do it themselves)
Gone are the days of trusty Moleskine 18-month planners, scraps of to-do lists and family calendars hanging on the fridge. Full-time jobs and older kids mean more clubs, more appointments, more social life. Making a move to digital organization can take a load off and breathe new life into the family. It's never too early to help children learn to manage their time and be responsible for themselves too (to a point, obviously). It's a skill that will help them on their path through life. And it's surprising how little you need to do to organize family life. Often you have the apps and software on hand -- you just need to rethink how you use them. READ ON: Using tech to keep your kids organized and on task
Flickr won’t delete Creative Commons photos when its free tier changes
Last week, Flickr announced that it would be changing its free tier, allowing users to store just 1,000 photos and videos rather than providing them with 1TB of free storage as it had in the past. Those wanting unlimited storage would need to upgrade to its Pro plan. However, the company said those sticking with the free tier would need to reduce their stored photos and videos down to the 1,000 limit by February 5th, after which Flickr would begin deleting items until their account was down to 1,000. Now, the company is clarifying what this means for Flickr Commons and Creative Commons users.
Tell everyone what you want for Christmas with Instalist
Without wishlists, your holidays will be full of gifts that you don't like but are forced to say that you love so that you don't offend your loved ones. Instalist, free in the App Store, attempts to avoid holiday gift-giving debacles. You pick the items you want and then send the list to your friends and family via SMS, email, Twitter or Facebook. The app is fun to use, but not very practical. It's based on Tinder's concept of swiping right to like and left to dislike. This makes it easy to use, but creates several drawbacks. There were a few times where I had gotten into the habit of swiping left and accidentally disliked an item that I wanted to put on my list. While you can remove items from your list, you cannot undo a dislike. Another negative is that you cannot search for subcategories. Everything is a random mashup of items. If you know you want a pair of jeans, you may have to swipe through dozens of items before even one pair shows up, and it probably won't be a pair that you like. This makes the app a bit of a waste of time. Then again, if you're bored and feel like doing something mindless, Instalist isn't a bad way to kill some time and possibly find some interesting gift ideas. All of Instalist's items come from Amazon. There are the standard categories of toys, clothes and gadgets, but it also has a large selection of books, both Kindle and paper. Books often get left off of lists like these. As an avid reader, I was glad to see so many of them pop up in my recommendations. There were some movie selections, but they did not show up often. Unfortunately, no home décor items popped up, neither did any shoes. I'd like to see the developer add those. There were a few kitchen items, like coffee makers and other small appliances, but not much else. There are some customization options. You can view gender specific gifts, or view gifts for both men and women. You can also omit all toys from your search, shop only for toys or include them along with the rest of your items. I first tried out the app with both genders and all toys selected. Then I switched to only women and toys. I wanted to see if Instalist would still give me the same tech and toy recommendations as it would if I included men. It did. If you're like me, you know how frustrating it is to click on "gifts for women" and discover that there is zero tech, comic book or gaming related merchandise. Major kudos goes to the developer for giving me tons of tech items and accessories, plus plenty of dresses and the like. Special thanks for giving young girls a range of toy options from Barbie to LEGOs and even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Of course, some of the LEGOs went on my list, too.) I am so happy to see an app avoid gender gift-giving stereotypes. Instalist is worth downloading for that reason alone. But, if you're looking to create a comprehensive wishlist to send to your friends and family, you would be better off creating a regular Amazon wishlist.
Wii U gets organized with folders in latest update
Much like a prospective office assistant, Nintendo's Wii U can now put "good organization skills" on its resume. Thanks to a new system update this week, the console will now allow players to sort their home screen icons into folders. The Wii U menu also added a download management icon in the latest update and updated the home menu's layout. The system's quick start menu, which was added this summer to cut down on the Wii U's boot times, also received two small changes in the firmware update. The menu will now display when the Wii U is powered on from the GamePad's TV remote menu. Additionally, players can choose software to hide from the quick start menu in the system's power settings. The console manufacturer was a little slower to learn icon management this time around; Nintendo added folder sorting to the 3DS just over a year after the system's launch compared to nearly two years after the Wii U arrived. [Thanks, Deric!] [Image: Nintendo]
Stay organized and creative with the free version of NoteLedge
The NoteLedge iPad app, free in the App Store with in-app purchases, is built around inspiring creativity, not staying organized. Of course, it's great for that too. Unfortunately, NoteLedge gives a bad first impression. It immediately prompts you to sign up for the developer's Kdan cloud service so that you can sync your data across all of your devices. While this is not necessary to use the app, these kinds of pop-ups are extremely annoying and bad UX. On the subject of cloud backup, you need to upgrade to the paid version to sync with Box, Dropbox, Google Docs or other cloud services. The free app only comes with one basic notebook cover. You must purchase any additional covers from the NoteLedge store. This is a bit of a drawback, but not necessarily a deal breaker. Enough about the negatives, let's talk about what works: I love the look of NoteLedge. It mimics the look of a leather bound notebook. If you are hesitant to move from a traditional notebook to a digital one, this might be the app that you've been waiting for. There are 15 different types of paper to choose from. These give you everything from a variety of lined pages, to graph options, as well as templates for things like agendas. It comes with six different writing tools, but more are available to buy. The default tools are sufficient for the average user. Only power users or artists will want to add more. If you would rather use your keyboard for traditional note-taking, you have 12 font options to work with. Additionally, there are four e-card pages available. Most apps go too far into cutesy territory with things like this. NoteLedge keeps it simple. Plus, there are ten seasonal backgrounds for Halloween inspired notes. All of these elements prove that your imagination is in the driver's seat here. You can add almost anything to your notes. Create tables, add photos, record or import videos and add audio files. As an added bonus, there's a photo editor so you can crop images and add filters. Not to mention that you can use the app solely for sketching or drawing. My favorite part of NoteLedge is its navigator. From here, you can copy selections from your note and easily move them around. The best part is the in-app browser that makes copying text or adding screenshots to your notes incredibly easy. This feature is really great if you have notebooks for recipes or home decorating, but there are endless possibilities. It also has a magnifier for close-up writing or drawing. For those of you who like to have a lot of notebooks, you'll like the calendar view which lets you find notes based on their date. Despite some of my issues with it, NoteLedge does have some cool features. If you are new to note-taking apps, give it a try. If you already use an app like Evernote for organizing your life, the free version probably is not worth the switch.
Elegently manage your ideas with ClipUp
ClipUp is one of the many apps that takes a page from Pinterest's design and concept, but it has much more to offer in the way of functionality. You have everything you need to manage your ideas, plans and to-dos. Upload photos, take notes, link to websites or maps, record audio or take a video. Your first thought when you see an app like this is that it was made for the Pinterest set, but it wasn't. It was designed for journalists to keep track of their research. That should clue you in on the limitless possibilities you have here. Make a list of blog ideas and record some of your thoughts with the voice recorder. Create daily boards that work like a diary with your thoughts and photos or video of what you did that day. If you're an artist, real estate agent or party planner, use ClipUp like a portfolio. Show your boards to clients for a stunning presentation of your work. It's worth noting that if you're going to go this route, having an iPad makes for a more impressive presentation, but the iPhone will do in a pinch. And of course, there are the obvious choices for boards like party planning, recipes, home decorating or digital scrapbooking. I experimented by creating a simple to-do board. I took advantage of the photo option and used a picture of my desk to remind me that I need to organize it and I snapped a picture of my shiba so that I won't forget to take him on a long walk. Plus, I wrote a shopping list and recorded ideas for my next blog post. All of this makes for a visually interesting to-do list. The reminder feature is a huge selling point for me. It almost makes this a candidate for an everyday to-do app. I say almost because you can only set reminders for boards, not individual items within a board. This is a shame, because it would be nice to assign due dates to items. This an important feature, no matter what you use ClipUp for. Hopefully, they'll add this to a future update. I deleted items when I completed them, though it would be great if there was an option to flag completed items. You can share individual items from your boards on Facebook or Twitter. Unfortunately, you cannot share entire boards. A web app is in the works, so this may be a feature that the developer will implement down the line. A few more things to note: ClipUp has a photo editor, so you can add frames, stickers and effects to your pictures. Also, I love the look of the app. It's simple, bright and beautiful. Another nice touch, you don't scroll through each item on your board. Instead, you flip through them like you would a book. ClipUp is free in the App Store, but it has a two board limit. The paid version, which is US$4.99, gives you an unlimited amount of boards to work with. If you want a unique way to manage your ideas, skip the trial app and opt for the full-fledged version of ClipUp.
Polymo makes organizing your iPhone photos easy
Polymo is a new camera app for iPhone with some nice twists. It just came out today, but I've been testing it for a while and I can say that at its US$1.99 pricetag, it's a really slick tool to have. This isn't a fancy photo app with a bunch of filters, grids and other features. It's a gesture-driven tool for both taking and organizing your photos. The main idea is that it lets you enter tags before you start shooting, and then assigns those tags to all of the photos in the current session. This is great when you head to a party or out for a hike. You can tag the photos in advance and know that you'll be able to find them when you want them again, instead of flipping endlessly through your camera roll. Of course, Polymo can also add tags in post, and it can import photos from the Camera Roll. Because iOS doesn't really offer any shareable tagging methods, Polymo's tags are currently only valid within the app. You can search your tags in two ways. First, you can browse a list of all your tags, which is handy because you don't always remember what arcane word you might have used a year ago. Second, of course, you can type part of a tag name into a filter bar. Either way, you can build tag criteria and narrow down your search. If you're in the habit of creating logical tag taxonomies with a defined hierarchy, that should be easy... I love Polymo's interface because it's minimal without being lazy, and because it makes good use of gestures. I do not like trying to tap small hit targets on my phone, so any time I can just swipe screens aside and flick photos out of the way, I'm happy. You can tap-and-drag to select multiple photos in the browser, too. It even has a one-finger zoom when viewing photos. Just double-tap-and-hold, then swipe up and down to zoom the photo in and out. Lastly, if you have pictures you want to keep safe from prying eyes (or Facebook, or the NSA...), Polymo has password-protected mode you can enable for certain photos. It's $1.99 and has some great ideas that are well executed. Check it out in the App Store.
Wireless label maker is a boon for cable-hating office supply fetishists
For some just the phrase "P-touch" elicits feelings of organizational euphoria. We get that label makers aren't exactly the sexiest gadgets in the world, but like ever other gadget there is a need to evolve. Brother took the obvious route and just crammed a wireless radio into the PT-P750W. Under the hood is a WiFi radio that multiple computers, phones and tablets can connect to and, since you have the option of powering it with batteries (either 6 AAs or a rechargeable lithium ion pack), you can even use it while travelling. Even set up is painfully simple since there's an NFC pad at the top that will automatically connect your phone to it. Obviously, it takes a certain kind of person to spend $130 on a label maker, but there are more than enough people out there with a fetish for organization. And, if we're being honest, there might be a few of them on staff here.
Samsung promises 'differentiated' smartphones based on its camera expertise
Samsung has instigated a small corporate reshuffle that could potentially have big implications for its future smartphones. The company has shunted its digital imaging unit sideways so that it sits under the giant umbrella of the mobile division, in the hope of combining "technical know-how" in these two areas and ultimately "differentiating" its smartphones with better camera technology. At the same time, Samsung expects expertise to flow in the opposite direction, allowing its engineers to create cameras with better wireless connectivity. It's a move that makes plenty of sense given the recent spate of Galaxy-branded hybridized products, such as the slightly awkward Galaxy S 4 Zoom and hugely over-priced Galaxy NX mirrorless shooter. It also suggests that Samsung has paid attention to what Nokia has achieved by rethinking mobile camera technology for its PureView phones, instead of using standard off-the-shelf parts.
iOS Review: BrightNest makes finding a start to spring cleaning a breeze
I'm not an organizational wizard. Neither is my wife. We've got busy schedules, artistic personalities, and cleaning is often the last thing on our minds. Worst of all, when we do finally find time to clean things have usually gotten so bad we don't know where to start. Enter BrightNest. BrightNest is a iOS app and website that makes organizing home improvement tasks a breeze. The app is offers users eight possible areas of home improvement to choose from. Handy for maintenance Healthy for keeping away germs Green for lessening environmental impact Savvy for saving money Curious for educational lessons Clean for keeping messes away Creative for DIY projects Hungry for meals and snacks Each section features a list of articles that easily explain what your task is, how long it will take and what you'll need to complete it. Best of all, each task uses common household items to complete, so you won't find yourself putting off cleaning the windows because you don't have any cleaner. Turns out you just need white vinegar and corn starch. Articles are accompanied by a heart, calendar and check at the bottom of each window. Using these buttons you can easily add an article to your favorites, schedule a task for later or mark it as complete. Because the app syncs with your free account on the BrightNest website, it's easy for a family to share on account and keep up to date on what's been done and what's still waiting in the wings. BrightNest's user interface is clear, clean and easy to learn. Within minutes you'll be zooming in and out of articles, building your to-do list for the coming weeks. The clear instructions take care of any learning curve and the variety keeps taks from becoming stale. Let's face it, they don't teach Home Economics in school any more. For the recent high school or college grad out on their own for the first time, or maybe a newly single 40-year-old whose never run a house by themselves, BrightNest is an invaluable tool for keeping on top of your living space.
TUG hopes to make guilds more meaningful by not having them
Guilds are pretty much ubiquitous in MMOs -- they serve as a way to bind players together into a group. But the team behind TUG thinks that all too often guilds come about mostly so you can have a name and a chat channel all to yourself. Which is why the latest design post about the game explains that the designers want to remove that sense of artificially created communities. To strengthen that sense of forming player groups, guilds have to go. As the post explains, too often guilds become things formed for the purpose of having a guild, placing an artificial limitation on what groups players belong to. Instead, the goal is to get players to form societies and groups organically, creating more freedom by removing arbitrary restrictions. It's an idea with a lot of promise, and as the game's Kickstarter continues you can decide if that promise is something you feel like supporting.
Opening the Book(Book) on Twelve South: between the covers of a Mac-exclusive accessory maker
The year is 2009. In history books, it'll widely be recognized as the year that most of America -- heck, the world -- would prefer to forget. Job after job was lost, bank after bank fell, and humanity as we knew it plunged into "the worst recession since the Great Depression." It's also the year that Palm attempted a comeback with webOS, and as it turns out, the year that yet another accessory company was born. While such an occurrence may be forgettable on a macro scale, economic researchers and lovers of technology alike have reason to take notice -- and, indeed, ask questions. So, that's exactly what I did. Beyond growing a technology startup in a me-too field during the worst economy that I've personally been a part of, it's also not often that I find compelling consumer electronics companies far outside of New York City and San Francisco. Twelve South just so happens to be located in a nondescript nook in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina -- just a beautiful trip over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from historic Charleston. Three years after its founding, the company now fittingly counts a dozen employees on its roster, and despite entering a market flooded with iAccessory after iAccessory, it has somehow managed to grab its own slice of an increasingly large niche. As with all good success stories, this particular outfit has plenty of twists, turns and run-ins with Lady Luck to tell about; for those interested in seeing how the "stay small" mantra is keeping Twelve South firmly focused on the future ahead, take a peek beyond the break.
Nokia head of sales resigns, department aims to reduce 'layers of management'
Colin Giles, Nokia's executive vice president of sales, has announced that he's stepping down. It follows the company's dour financial results for Q1 and will lead to a restructuring of the company's sales organization, aiming to strip layers from what's currently in place. Giles has been with Nokia since 1992 and was heavily involved in the company's movements in China and the larger Asia market. However, he had only been involved in Nokia's Leadership Team for just under a year. He will stay with the team until June 30 and cites a desire to be closer to his family following his departure. Announced through Nokia's official channels, the process aims to "ensure greater customer focus" -- we suppose that will involve more than just white polycarbonate.
Google dives deep to bring underwater photos of the Great Barrier Reef this September
Your next trip to the Great Barrier Reef could be from the comfort of your home now that Google's partnered with Catlin SeaView Survey, the University of Queensland's Global Change Institute and the Underwater Earth organization to document this amazing ecosystem. Equipped with a special underwater camera capable of withstanding depths of 328 feet, the survey aims to photograph 50,000 shots in 360-degree panoramic view and incorporate them into Google Earth and Google Maps. Dubbed "Google SeaView," it seeks to open opportunities for increased conservation as well as a free look for wanna-be world travelers who can't afford a plane ticket down under. As an added perk, the collected data may also be used to help future ship captains navigate through the treachery of the intricate coral highways. Check past the break for more info on the survey and plenty of footage teeming with aquatic wildlife.
Daily iPad App: 2Do
I'm not exactly the paradigm of organization -- it took me years to get a regular calendar set up and working, my email inbox is usually a mess of various reminders and things that need replying to, and my present to-do system is usually just whatever piece of paper I can grab in real life and scribble some tasks on. But I do want to be more organized, and so when I finally bought my iPad last week, I poked around the App Store for solutions and tried to find one that 1) was easy to use and pleasing to the eye and that 2) I would actually stick with. Things is generally recognized as the champion of the bunch, and it's very nice, but at $19.99, it's an investment as iPad apps go, especially if you're not sure how long you'll stick with it. At $6.99, 2Do is a more reasonable place to start, and after playing around with it and a few other to-do apps, it's currently my system of choice. Before I get into specific features, I will say that the most exciting thing about 2Do is that it does what all great iPad apps should: really use the immersiveness of the device to model real-world objects and situations. As you can see above, the app is color-coded by project, and uses a nice "legal pad in a leather binder" theme to keep everything laid out. One of the biggest benefits of 2Do is that rather than just an arbitrary list of tasks, everything can be assigned a start date and a due date, so you're not just laying out things you need to do -- you're actually organizing them into a calendar that you can then filter views from, looking at only the tasks for today, tasks in the next week, and so on. Creating a task is as easy or as hard as you want to make it -- you can either just press the + button and type a name in, or you can go through and add the aforementioned dates, notes, alarms, or even voice notes, map locations, and pictures or URL to the specific task. You can also create checklists or full projects to work on, which are lists of subtasks to work through that have their own date and data associated with them. Checking a task off is satisfying, as it should be -- a little pencil pops up to cross it off your list, and all of the tasks you've finished can be seen in the "Done" tab (unlike other apps, which will just remove them off the list completely). The app is very easy and quick to use -- the only hitch I ever came across was when the keyboard sometimes popped up in portrait mode, and would cover up the "Close" button on the bottom of the task editing screen. Putting it at the top of the task seems like it would be a better option, and a little easier to find, in my opinion. But other than that little issue, everything runs smoothly, and there are some really cool implementations (like selecting multiple days on the calendar to see all tasks associated with those days, or an actual clock-faced time selector) to play with. 2Do will sync up with MobileMe (and presumably iCloud with iOS 5), the Toodledo service, or with your PC or Mac via a sync application, and all of the extras that you'd expect in a full-featured to-do app (like email alarms and repeated reminders) are all there as well. There's an update coming soon, too, with even more features and tweaks to the layout. It's definitely a quality app with a solid interface, and an excellent choice for anyone looking to get organized. As for me, let's hope I stick with it -- I'm not sure I've quite mapped my mind to 2Do's system quite yet, but I'm working on it. The app itself is a great tool, but it's up to me to make good use of it.
