application of the day

App of the day: Pocket for Chrome

Do you often come around interesting articles posts and cool pictures or videos that you want to read or view later?

Pocket is a simple and beautiful solution for that.

About Pocket

Pocket was founded in 2007 by Nate Weiner to help people save interesting articles, videos and more from the web for later enjoyment. Once saved to Pocket, the list of content is visible on any device — phone, tablet or computer. It can be viewed while waiting in line, on the couch, during commutes or travel — even offline.

The world’s leading save-for-later service currently has more than 12 million registered users and is integrated into more than 500 apps including Flipboard, Twitter and Zite. It is available for major devices and platforms including iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac, Kindle Fire, Kobo, Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera and Windows.

As you can see, you can get Pocket on your Mac, browser and lots of mobile solutions are available here.

If you don’t own a Mac, you can still get Pocket on your desktop thru Chrome Web Store.

Pocket is really easy to use. If you install the browser extension or if you have Pocket on your phone / tablet, whenever you find something you like, just click or touch the Pocket icon. That’s it – it is saved now and you have an option to add the tags for easy searching in the future.

When you open the app, you’ll love the beautiful design and how your articles are arranged in it.

You can also have a list view and once you roll over a post, you’ll have an option to Share, Archive, Delete, Edit tags or to save as Favorite.

If you’d like to get a Pocket Premium, you’ll find even more amazing features, like suggested tags, personal backup and different search methods.

December 11, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps ReviewTags: app, app of the day, app review, app tutorial, Application, application of the day, apps, articles, Chrome Web Store, one happy blog, pictures, Pocket, Pocket for Chrome, posts, Read it later, Save for later, tech, technology, videos 7 Comments

App of the day: Pixlr Touch Up for Chrome

I love Adobe products, but they are so difficult to use and learn. I recently tried to create a very simple logo in Adobe Illustrator and I wanted to hit my head or computer against the wall several times throughout the process. Same applies to Photoshop. When I see photographers working miracles with blending several images, adding some fantastic effects, drawing and doing other magical things with that tool, that must have come from another planet, I think they deserve a monument. I know that it probably only looks scary and after you get used to it, you can fix a pimple or a red eye in a snap. But what if you don’t have time or desire to watch tutorials and spend hours trying to figure out how that thing works? I love software that works like a magic wand – Bibidi Bobbidi Boo and your picture looks amazing! Pixlr Touch Up, in my humble opinion, does just that.

In this post, we’re going to talk about Pixlr Touch Up for Chrome, that you can easily download from Chrome Web Store, however there are several other mobile and desktop options for the app. See more.

Tutorial:

After you download the app, you can launch it from Chrome App Launcher and you can create a desktop icon by dragging it from Chrome Apps menu.

You can choose a file from your computer or Google Drive.

After the picture is opened, you have editing options at the bottom of the screen – Adjust, Effects, Overlays and Type.

Here you can see all the options available under Adjust menu.

Obviously, I need to rotate my photo and I’m selecting that. As you can see, you can also crop, resize, adjust contrast, color, auto fix, focal blur, touch up, clone, sharpen, blur, airbrush, smooth and liquify.

In the Rotate menu, you can also straighten the photo, which is a very useful feature to fix crooked photos.

Another useful feature is Autofix. It comes in handy, if you want to fix the contrast and color balance. This photo was shot on an overcast day and colors did not come out as vivid as they were in reality, but Autofix brought them back.

Now, I want to add even more depth and vibrance to the colors and I select the Color option from the menu.

I’m pretty happy with how the picture looks now, so I’m going to save it. I can give it the same name and replace the existing one or give it a new name and I can also toggle the quality of the image.

Obviously it it impossible to go over all of the effects and options in Pixlr in one tutorial, but I’m going to show you few more, so you get the idea.

Here are some of the filter in the Effects menu. For this picture I like the Aladin filter as it suits the ornament and makes it look bold.

This is the Touch Up tool.

Crop Tool

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and please let me know if you like the app or what are the other photo editors you use.

xx,

Natella

November 15, 2014November 15, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps ReviewTags: app, app of the day, app review, Application, application of the day, Application review, Chrome Web Store, images, offline photo editor, photo editor, photos, Pixlr, Pixlr Touch Up, Pixlr Touch Up for Chrome, tech, technology Leave a comment

App of the day: Magisto Magical Video Editor for Chrome

I’ve wanted to start making videos for a while now. And I was looking for an easy-to-use editor to come around and voila! – I came across Magisto Magical Video Editor. In Magisto there is no time-frame, no difficult to understand and use controls, instead it’s as easy as 123! I have to mention that we’re talking only about short movies and as you can’t shuffle around your photos and videos, you don’t have much control over the end result. But, if you’re not into professional movie making and just want to play around with your photos and videos without investing too much time into it, then Magisto Editor is for you.

Here’s the video of Magisto for Android and although we’re going to talk about Chrome version today, it works the same:

Magisto uses Artificial Intelligence to select the best scenes out of your footage, to edit and produce a movie. Read more here.

Take a look at the Popular Feed.

Now, let’s have a look at the app itself.

Step 1 is adding photos and videos and it’s super easy as you drag and drop!

Once all the media has uploaded, Step 2 – time to choose the editing style. If you click on the play button, you can see a sample of the video and description will tell you the best use for it. For example, Adrenaline theme is best for showing your sports activities.

Step 3 – choose the music from the sample or select the music from your computer. You can preview the music by clicking on play button.

I told ya this would be easy as 1-2-3 and I didn’t lie! That’s it! You’re done!

Now tell me that this ain’t magic!

Just check your e-mail and click on the link!

Woohoo! You can now download the movie if you upgrade to Premium or Pro. But if you’d like to stick with Basic plan for now, you can share the video with your friends thru e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google + or anywhere else using the embed link.

Now, take a look at my creations using Magisto.

Ready to download Magisto Magical Video Edtor for Chrome?

Happy movie making!

xx,

Natella

Magisto App Powers Techonomy-Ford “Love My City” Video Contest

October 24, 2014October 24, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps ReviewTags: app, app of the day, app review, Application, application of the day, Application review, Chrome Web Store, Magisto, Magisto Magical Video Editor, Magisto Magical Video Editor for Chrome, tech, technology, video, video editor, Youtube 6 Comments

App of the day: Google Keep for Chrome

I’ve been writing a lot about apps for Chrome lately, all due to the fact that unless you use Mac, you miss on a lot of amazing apps and Chrome brings them to your desktop through Chrome Web Store. All you need to do is to have Google Chrome installed on your computer.

Google Keep is a note keeper, somewhat similar to Post-it notes on your desk or vision board. Unlike the lifeless post-its on your desk, Google Keep allows you to set reminders, add pictures and it synchronizes across devices. For now there’s no iOS app, but you can access all your notes through the web by entering https://keep.google.com

This is how the desktop version looks. You can easily change the color of the notes, drag and drop to re-arrange them and make lists.

Through the Menu you can access Reminders, Archive and Trash.

To download Google Keep for Chrome, go to Chrome Web Store.

October 12, 2014October 12, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps ReviewTags: app, app of the day, app review, application of the day, Application review, Chrome Web Store, Google Keep, Google Keep for Chrome, notes, productivity, tech, technology Leave a comment

App of the day: Any.do for Chrome

Any.do is a task organizer with a very clean design. Any.do is a winner of Apple’s 2012 “intuitive touch”, and Android best app 2012, for its clean & simple to use design and innovative features. It syncs information between your computer and mobile devices, so you have your to-do list with you all the time.

We live in exciting times. Our day-to-day is filled with more possibility and promise than ever before, and we simply experience more life in every moment.

As our worlds become fuller, the struggle is not to manage one’s life but instead to derive more happiness from it.

Email, Calendar, Tasks, Notes – are not mundane tools. They’re the lenses through which we focus our lives. At their simplest, they make us more efficient. At their greatest, they create a fluidity that completely changes how we see and interact with the world. That spectrum of possibility excites us here at Any.do, and we’re working to push its upper bound even further.We believe there is an untapped richness to the everyday, and we are the company that builds the apps that bridge people to it.

Productivity through play. Control through balance. Good day, every day.

The message from Any.do Team is so beautiful and inspiring that I had to share it. Don’t we often take the work too seriously? Don’t we get so overwhelmed with the fast rhythm of life and everyday tasks that we forget to savor the moment and enjoy what we do. I know that for me calmness comes from control, from knowing my path, knowing what I have to do and enjoying the sense of accomplishment when tasks that seemed scary and impossible at first, are done. And after they’re done, I know that I’ve learned and grown so much by not giving up and standing up for the challenges.

Any.do is available for iOS, Android and Chrome. I’m going to walk you through the desktop version available through Chrome Web Store.

This is what you see when you open Any.do from your computer. You can drag and drop tasks to form the agenda. I love the ‘Someday’ option 🙂 Don’t we all have the things we need to do, which we postpone to ‘someday’? Well, seeing them in your schedule everyday makes you want to get them done and out of your sight. Search and delete options are also available. This is the Time View.

Here is the Folder View. It is useful when you want to separate personal tasks from work ones, or if you’re working on a specific project and want to see all completed and new tasks in one place.

This is a New Task window. You have the option to select the Folder, the due date, set a reminder, urgency and recurrence. You can also add notes, create sub-tasks and add attachments.

This is the Settings pop-up menu. You have the option to turn on/off the desktop notifications and that’s basically it.

September 24, 2014September 27, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps ReviewTags: Any.do, app, app of the day, application of the day, Chrome app, Chrome Web Store, organizer, productivity, self-improvement, tech, technology, to-do list Leave a comment

App of the day – Kinotap

Here is one app that might interest cinema lovers in Baku – Kinotap. It gathers information from all the movie theaters around Baku, thus instead of checking separate apps like Park Cinema or 28 Cinema and comparing the viewing times, you can check this information in one app. One thing that is lacking in Kinotap is online purchase, so after you found out the time and movie theater it’s playing in, you then still have to go to separate app, if you’d like to buy tickets online.

Here’s a quick walk-through the app:

Here is the main view of the app with information on all movies going in the theaters right now.

When you select one of the movies, you will be able to view information on plot, actors and view the trailers (you will be automatically transferred to YouTube app if you have it on your phone).

Below the description, you will find out the next available showtimes and you can scroll to the right to see the next days’ timings too.

You can also filter the movies as you may wish.

The app also allows you to review the upcoming movies.

Cinemas screen shows all the movie theaters in Baku and their addresses.

And the Settings screen allows you to select from 3 languages.

July 7, 2014July 10, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps ReviewTags: app of the day, application of the day, arts, Baku, Film, IPhone, Kinotap, movie, Movie theater, movie theaters, one happy blog, Park Cinema, technology, Theaters, upcoming movies Leave a comment

App of the day: Compass

Compass Study (Photo credit: Calsidyrose)

Today’s find is a Compass app. I wasn’t satisfied with the one that comes with an iPhone as it wasn’t accurate and was looking for something better.

Apart from using it while hiking in the woods, this app might be useful for those wanting to find Qibla direction or for the ones that want to change the furniture in the house according to feng shui. Whatever your reason might be, this app is super easy and precise.

App is free in the App Store – iTunes link.

May 23, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps ReviewTags: app, app of the day, app review, Application, application of the day, Compass, Feng shui, IPad, IPhone, one happy blog, Qibla, Religion and Spirituality, technology 2 Comments

App of the day: RxmindMe

Vitamin Packaging (Photo credit: colindunn)

RxminMe is an app that can help you track the medicine / vitamins you’re taking and with helpful reminders.

It is easy-to-use and is very useful to keep all your medications history in one place. You can also extract the data from the app and send it to your doctor. App also allows you to take pictures of the medicine / vitamins / supplements.

You can also order refills from Walgreens.

It’s my savior as I always tend to forget to take my vitamins, especially if I need to take them at different times of the day.

iTunes link

And here is a walk-through the app.

May 19, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps Review, HealthTags: app, app of the day, apple, Application, application of the day, drugs, health, IPad, IPhone, itunes, medication, medication reminder, medication reminders, medicine, pills, prescription, reminder, Reminders, RxmindMe, Shopping, supplements, technology, vitamins, Walgreens 2 Comments

App of the day: P Tracker Lite

This is a great app for tracking period and helps when you go to the gynecologist because they always ask when was your last period and other data.

App also allows to track symptoms, temperature, weight and could also be useful if you want to get pregnant.

You can protect the app by password and keep this data private. This is how the main screen looks.

The skin is really pretty and if you download Deluxe version of this app, you will have even more options.

This is what appears if you tap Add Note tab.

Here is the Log / Charts.

These are Deluxe options.

And here are available settings.

Hope you find this info useful and have a great day!

Love,

Natella

April 30, 2014 by natella111 Categories: Apps Review, TechnologyTags: app, Application, application of the day, gynecologist, IOS, P Tracker Lite, period, period tracker Leave a comment

App of the day: Foursquare

Foursquare Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I started using Foursquare few years ago when it was just introduced into the market. I enjoyed checking-in and watching what my friends are doing. It also helped few times to gather together with friends I haven’t seen in a while. We checked in about the same time in the same mall and decided to get together for a coffee since we were all in the same area. It was fun, but after some time I was busy with something else and forgot about this app.

When I checked it out few months ago, I was surprised to see how man new features were added on Foursquare. Now, it’s like a TripAdvisor of new restaurants and other places. You can find tips and reviews, photos, wi-fi passwords (now you don’t have to ask waiters). This help so much to find out about new places and see how the ‘old’ ones are doing, if you haven’t been there in a while.

Also, thank to Foursquare, restaurants and other places are being more conscious about the level of the service they offer as it can really impact their reputation.

Now, let’s see how it looks. This is how the main screen looks. You can see what your friends are doing, check-in, search new places, see Notifications and access Settings, switch between Local and Worldwide and see your friends on the Map.

Here is how notifications look.

You can edit the Settings for Notifications. For example, I don’t like to get e-mails or reminders and messages on my phone, so I set all my notifications to show up only when I open the app.

This is the Map, if you have a lot of friends all around the world you can find them all here.

This is how the page for a specific place looks. It features pictures, tips, friends that have been there and other information.

Here is the Menu where you can use Profile, To-do list (cool thing to add the places you want to check out! Me and my friends always seem to forget the names once I quickly need to decide where to go) and some other features.

This is how the profile looks.

Badges feature is also kinda cool. The more you explore the city and more you check-in, you can unlock different badges and if you check-in a lot at a specific place you can become it’s Mayor! Woo-hoo! 🙂 Also, restaurants post a lot of offers for frequent customers (check-iners).

If you want to become my friend on Foursquare, here is the link and please let me know in the Comments what do you think about the app. I’d love to know!

Have an awesome day! 🙂

Love,

Natella