Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Eye Pad Candy

Eye Pad Apps

Screen/Row/Column

3/1/1 : Google Maps. Useful, though Apple provides a similar tool in the base distribution. I use the maps on my phone or home PC more often than this one.

3/1/2 : Time zones. Basically a short cut to the http://everytimezone.com/ site. "Never warp your brain with time zone math again."

3/1/3 : Twitter. Yah. It works, though this implementation has some strange quirks. The swiping takes getting used to.

3/1/4 : Netflix. Good enough for most movies, and the Instant Queue search picks can rapidly appear on my larger screen unit.

3/1/5 : Kindle Reader. Was better when the catalog could be seen directly on the eye pad. Have gotten used to getting free tomes via Amazon, and from Project Gutenberg / http://www.gutenberg.org/

3/2/1 : Dropbox. Pretty slick, especially for moving eye pad screen shots onto other places, given the standard claustrophobic Apple approach. I used it for these screens.

3/2/2 : AccuWeather. Last update made it harder, not easier to use, but still a fast short cut to forecasts.

3/2/3 : Google Earth. Works, as long as the connection speed is good. Dismal in copying data for use anywhere else, compared to the PC edition.

3/2/4 : Google+. The last big update made the interface "slicker" in the sense of slippery, not functionally. It's tied for #2 with FB, behind Twitter.

3/2/5 : Skype. Again, a recent upgrade moved stuff around, and you can see more ads creeping in. But it does what it is supposed to.

3/3/1 : Vtok. Nice, free, multifarious comm app. Fills in the gap of G Mail not working so hot with Safari. A bit crash prone, but it's free.

3/3/2 : Briefing. A leftover SAP Mobile Demo. Close to useless.

3/3/3 : Public Radio. Dead simple interface to bring in what it says. Easy bookmarking of favorites.

3/3/4 : FTP Client Pro. The second app I bought. Works well, except for odd limits. Recommended if you need it.

After filling the first (really the third) panel with apps, I tried to split 3 and 4 between most used and less used, though I may revise which are where again.

4/1/1 : LOL banner generator. Good when meetings run too long.

4/1/2 : TIOD. Um, I forget.

4/1/3 : Speed Test. Every electrician should test their circuits regularly. Use this one at home and on the road.

4/1/4 : Free Ping. Simpler version of Speed Test. Does what it says.

4/1/5 : Spreadsheet. Used when showing youth how computers work. Won't replace Excel or OpenOffice, but has basic elegance.

4/2/1 : Quick Sketch. Lke the above, does basic drawing. Good for quick signs, etc.

4/2/2 : MW Dictionary. It sits there.

4/2/3 : Timer+. A countdown clock. Handy for filming SCNotties 30 second videos. Not so handy for boiling eggs.

4/2/4 : NSLookup. Again, does what it says. Handy when you're in a strange network and unsure which way is up.

4/2/5 : Calculator. One more basic app a computer should not be without.

4/3/1 : VNCViewer. The first app I bought. Using more now, but without a 3-button mouse and a decent keyboard, it's like building a ship in a bottle.

4/3/2 : Adobe Viewer. Guess I can live without this one.