Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Microsoft OneNote - Now FREE for All Platforms

I've been a user and believer of Microsoft OneNote since 2003 and used it extensively for work and home. It has been, to me, the ultimate in taking and keeping track of notes or information  for all occasions. OneNote is one of My Top 10 Most Useful iPad Apps.

Then OneNote was passed by EverNote as it worked on all devices and operating systems and, at the same time, information could be seen and synchronized to all of these platforms.

Well, Microsoft OneNote is back and in a very big way. It's FREE, works on all devices (iOS, Android, Windows Phone) and PCs or Mac's. I have OneNote on my PC (Windows 8 too), iPad, Android tablet and Android smart phone and they all work great!


Microsoft OneNote is an app that let's you have Notebooks. Each notebook is a unique file you open with OneNote. Each notebook has sections seen across the top. You can create as many sections as you want. Then each section has Pages. One cool feature is that you can drag and drop sections to reorder then or do the same with page. Organization, or reorganizing is in your complete control and amazingly easy.





My vision disability loves OneNote as I can have the text as large as I want for everything. I use OneNote for vacation planning, mileage tracking for our car, writing outlines for these blog posts, the Computer Club I attend, banking and financial notes and just anything I need to remember. All of this in a single app -- OneNote. I love the ability to clip all or a portion of a web page right into a OneNote page quickly and easily using the OneNote Web Clipper. Click Here to Install the Clipper.

But please, don't take my word for it. Take a look at these short videos that show what you can accomplish with OneNote and without much trouble at all.

Microsoft OneNote
Getting Started with OneNote 2013
Microsoft OneNote 2013 Tour - Tutorial by Skeeter
Here are 5 OneNote Training Videos
OneNote 2013 Tutorial The OneNote Environment by TeachUcomp, Inc. This is FREE
Full Feature Overview of OneNote 2010 & 2013 by David Smith



OneNote for iPad
OneNote for iPhone
OneNote for Android
OneNote for Windows Phone
OneNote for Mac
OneNote for Windows 7 or 8
OneNote on the Web at Office.com
OneNote for Windows 8 Modern Interface in the Windows Store
NOTE: OneNote works very well with the touch interface in Windows. Don't miss it!


Hey there business people -- use OneNote for your project or marketing plans and then share the information across your network or the web. That's right -- everyone has access to see AND update the notes and in REAL TIME!

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(the above 3 sentences are saved in OneNote and I copy and paste them into each blog post. What a time saver!)

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Convert a PDF to Word, Excel or PowerPoint

I have used, and really like, NitroCloud to convert a PDF to either Word, Excel or PowerPoint. The great thing is that this is done strictly on the web and does NOT require you to add a program or app to your PC. Oh, and it's FREE! 


First, most folk screate a PDF file (Portable Document Format from Adobe) so the file cannot be altered and this is a good thing. However, some may have a legitimate reason or need to edit a PDF file. If this is the case, read further.

 

There are only 3 steps so it is quite easy. No technical experience required. Create a FREE account to begin. To be clear, this is a FREE service if you don't need to do this very often. The FREE account allows you to convert up to 5 documents in a month and no larger than a 50 megabyte document. This works perfectly for most of us. If you will need this service more often, check out the various types of accounts to pay for.


  1. Choose PDF and then the file type you desire to convert to. Example: PDF to Word
  2. Select the file
  3. Enter the e-mail address you would like the converted file sent to

It only takes about 30 seconds to get the email to receive your newly converted file.


Again, you can convert to Word, Excel or PowerPoint.


A pretty nifty utility whenyou need it.


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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Flipboard-My New Best News App and More

I've rediscovered Flipboard and am really liking it now. I must admit that I didn't fall in love with Flipboard as the text was too small. My vision disability craves larger text and Flipboard didn't cut it. That has changed.


Typically I review an app for either iOS or Android but Flipboard is one of those that works for BOTH!  Flipboard works the same on both but the Android experience, in my opinion, is a little better because the text can be made to be just a little larger. Don't worry iPad or iPhone folks as the iOS Flipboard app works very well. In fact, Flipboard is available for Windows Phone and Blackberry.

Flipboard Screens on the iPad
 


In a nutshell, Flipboard is an app where news sources are consolidated into a single place for "magazine" type viewing. One simply "flips" or "swipes" to the left to see the next page. It's very elegant. It's like having your personal magazine that only has articles you want to read.

  1. Just download the app
  2. Create an account
  3. Choose the news sources you like or search for more.

Flipboard Screens on an Android Smart Phone
 
 

One of the very cool features of Flipboard is that I can include my Facebook as a news source and therefore read my Facebook timeline within Flipboard and have text that is large enough to read comfortably. Yipee! Beware however, the other Facebook features beyond reading are not included within Flipboard but I can update or write a status which is more than good enough for me.

Go ahead and give Flipboard a try or try it again if you left if behind.
 
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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Find My Car app for Android That Works Quite Well

I've looked at a few "find my car" apps now and none have been that good. Either the text is too small to read, don't work accurately of just plain "hokey". But wait...here's one that actually works and it's called Find My Car-GPS Navigation by DS Software and it's for Android.


 
Find My Car-GPS Navigation is FREE but there is a pay version that removes ads. This app works perfectly fine and very accurate.  Those that know me know that I don't drive any longer due to my vision disability but my wife and I occasionally forget where the car is parked. For small parking lots this is plain ridiculous. Large parking lots, like stadiums and event facilities, is another matter.
 
The opening screen is basic yet easy with 3 main options (I like easy).
  1. Park - choose to get a satellite fix.
  2. Find My Car - the screen points in the direction of where your car is located
  3. Map My Car - use your phone's map and provide directions to your car
 
 
 
 
 
I gave the app a try at my local grocery store. I walked out into the parking lot and chose "Park". Then I went to the entrance to the store and tried "Find My Car" and then "Map My Car" as seen by the screen shots above. The map pin pointed the parking space and where I was at the entrance with very good accuracy.
 
I tried a similar FREE app and was amazed that it was NOT nearly as accurate. I wonder why this is?

Again, there is a pay version that removes ads and is only $3.00.
 
 
Just to be clear here. I think this app works quite well but an over-reaching question might be, "do I really need this kind of app?"  Frankly, I don't think so. However, I'm not deleting it yet -- just in case.

NOTE: I looked in the iTunes App Store for find my car type apps for the iPhone and there were quite a few.


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