Let me count the ways…

The difference between an app and more traditional software is that apps are designed as specialized programs meant to do one thing quickly and easily, with the emphasis on easily. I was reminded of that this morning when Eddie gave me an article to read in the Wall Street Journal.  At the bottom of the article was a QR (abbreviation for quick response) barcode with the caption "scan this code to watch a video…"  Being curious I gave it a try. As soon as I scanned the code with ScanLife, one of the many scanning apps available for my iPhone, the whole process got me thinking about some of the simple, everyday smartphone apps that I use to simplify my life.

• QR Codes are a form of barcode designed to provide easy access to information through smartphones. QR codes appear everywhere these days: in newspapers, magazines, and on the grocery shelf. Use your phone to capture the code and you might open a video, read an expanded article, or find out more about a product. If you are out shopping, there are apps that will scan product barcodes for comparison shopping. 

• A slightly more complicated, but very useful app is Scanner Pro by Readdle. The app scans documents with the iPhone or iPad camera, and does an excellent job of making readable, reproducible copies that can be sent to a printer or saved as a jpeg or PDF file. Scanner Pro is a paid app, but the publisher just released a free version of the app, Scanner Mini. The Readdle apps are only available for Apple, but you can find out about similar Android apps here. 

• Another class of apps I regularly use are timer apps. As I write this column I am sitting on the veranda outside the Paul Ruth Room waiting for my laundry in the washer/dryer machines. To make sure I take my clothes out of the machines on time, I set a timer to let know when to go back inside. I also use timer apps when I cook.  Many of the apps let me set multiple timers at once, which is very helpful when timing a variety of dishes on the stovetop and oven. A timer is built into the iPhone Clock app, and there are a multitude of third party apps available for iOS and Android devices. 

• Weather apps are a must – everyone always wants to know about the weather. I use the iPhone's built-in weather app and The Weather Channel app for forecasts, but I really like Thermometer, a free app that only does one thing – displays the current outside temperature. It is especially useful when we are traveling and I want to find out the temperature where we are at that very moment. A free app with the same name and function, but from a different publisher, is available for android devices. 

• Keeping track of my grocery list was always a chore. How many times did I arrive at  the supermarket and forget to take my list, or I'd be out and remember something I needed, then forget to write it down when I arrived home? Since getting a smartphone I keep the list in an app, and my grocery shopping life has been easier. There are numerous grocery list apps, and the one I use is Grocery Gadget. It includes a very extensive database of grocery items, organized by categories, and as you shop you can chose to arrange list items either alphabetically or by category. There are both free and paid, ad-free versions of the app, and they are available for both Apple and Android devices. 

• Every smartphone includes an app for takings notes. In the past I kept a little note pad in my purse – and I was always looking around for something to write with. I now use the native Notes app built into my iPhone. When I want to write something down, I open the app, touch the plus sign for a new page, touch the screen for the keyboard, and begin typing. 

Twitter 101…

Before I delve into the topic for today, I want to thank everyone who came to the Macintosh Users’ Group iPad & iPhone Workshop on February 5. From the number of participants it is clear that tablets and smartphones are very popular with TR residents, and I hope everyone who attended came away with at least one question answered. A second, slightly more advanced workshop is being planned — date and time to be posted on the Computer Club bulletin board in Busch Hall. 

An attendee at the workshop mentioned that one of her friends uses a Kindle Fire, and would love to see a workshop offered on that device. My suggestion, to Kindle Fire users and users of other Android OS devices, is to find other like-minded users and form an informal users group. The best way to learn about technology is to use it, and sharing with others is a great way of expanding your knowledge.

In last week’s column I introduced Twitter, the free, social networking service that enables users to send and receive short,140 character messages, known as tweets, in real-time. Twitter is used by a wide range of people to share just about every aspect of their lives, and it is also used by many commercial enterprises and nonprofit organizations. While most of the tweets from organizations are advertising in nature, organizations also use tweets to disseminate vital information. This week I am going to cover setting up a Twitter account, using Twitter on a computer and mobile devices, and how to find helpful tweets to follow.

Creating a free Twitter account is a simple process — you can go to www.twitter.com on a computer or on a smartphone or tablet, use the official Twitter app or one of the numerous third-part alternatives available for both Apple and Android devices. After entering the usual, required information (full name, email address, etc.) you will be asked to create a username and password. The username is how you will be known on Twitter, and when you send a tweet it will be your username preceded by an at sign (@). For example, my Twitter username is @lindaslens.

Signing onto your Twitter account on either a browser or mobile app will direct you to your personal home page with a listing of your tweets. On a computer the left side of the home screen features a long list of suggested users to follow, with a search box located directly above. On mobile versions of Twitter the search icon is located at the top-left of the screen. Enter the name of a person or entity and you will be directed to their Twitter account.

A more direct method for selecting to follow a commercial organization is to visit the organization’s website. Somewhere on the home page, usually at the very bottom or very top of the page, you will see a small blue icon of a bird, or the words Follow Us on Twitter. Click and you will be linked to the company’s Twitter page, where you will see a Follow button. Click the button and you will begin receiving tweets on your home page. To stop following a user, click on the blue Following button next to the user’s name on your homepage and you will stop receiving tweets.

As I am writing this column a major snow storm is being forecast for the northeast. If I were flying home to New York over the weekend, I would immediately begin following my ticketed airline. Twitter users are usually the first to know about flight delays and cancellations and are ahead of the curve when it comes to rescheduling and rebooking.

For anyone who wants to know more about the intricacies of using Twitter, the service provides excellent help pages that can be accessed through the the drop-down menu under the gear icon on the home page. It can be accessed directly at http://support.twitter.com.

Indispensable …

I love books and I love beautiful paper. I like writing on paper, especially with a fountain pen. I like to draw with a pencil or pen, and I like creating artist's books with handmade paper. And yes, I like making handmade paper. As a young person I kept copious journals of my life, and over the years I have always kept notebooks to detail areas of both my professional and personal life. The problem, of course, is keeping track of all my notebooks of important information, a problem compounded by living in the small space of a motorhome for almost half the year. For me, using a tablet computer device has been a life saver, and using my iPhone and iPad in tandem makes it even easier.

Last week I detailed how I use Keeper to keep track of passwords, usernames, and other pertinent information. Capzule PHR is another app I use for record keeping. 

The app stores health data in separate charts for each member of the family. While its features are too numerous to cover here, the app includes sections for vitals and medical conditions, family history, current and past medications, doctor's visits, lab results, and medical procedures. Scanned lab reports and medical records can be imported, and when you enter an upcoming appointment the app will ask if you want to add the it to your Calendar app. 

I began using Capzule PHR on my iPhone before I had an iPad, and I found it very useful when filling out the paperwork that invariably comes with a visit to a doctor. I no longer had to remember dates of procedures or the strength of medication I had once taken. Now that the app is also on my iPad, it is a simple process to copy the data from one device to the other. The larger size of the iPad makes it more convenient for entering information, and the small size of the iPhone makes it easier to bring to doctor's appointments. Information on the app is available for Apple devices ($2.99) at http://capzule.com. 

While both Keeper and Capzule PHR are record keeping apps, I also use both my iPhone and iPad for note taking. Since I almost always have my iPhone with me, rather than jotting information down on scattered pieces of paper, I keep my notes in one place using Apple's built-in Notes app. 

Since the same app is a feature on my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro laptop, notes are synced wirelessly between devices. 

I have also begun keeping a series of virtual notebooks on my iPad. There are many notebook apps available, and after copious research I settled on Noteshelf ($5.99, iPad only). Noteshelf is a feature rich app that let's you write directly on the iPad with your finger or a stylus. You can also enter text from the keyboard and images from photo albums. The virtual notebooks, which I keep on a variety of topics, can be organized into groups that are attractively placed on virtual shelves. Among the topics for my notebooks are notes on how-to instructions for Photoshop, settings for fine art printing, and copies of receipts (imported scanned images) pertaining to my business expenses. For more information on Noteshelf visit www.fluidtouch.biz/noteshelf.

The last app I am going to mention is Bento, a database creation app (only for Apple). I use it to create database files for maintaining records such as my most used recipes, a home inventory, an exercise log, my fine art photographic prints, camping reservations, and computer hardware and software. I could, of course, find apps that will keep track of all of these things, but I prefer to design my own records. Bento, one of the more expensive apps I use, costs $4.99 for iPhone and $9.99 for iPad. The app is also available in a computer version, and when connected to a wireless network, up to two devices can be synced with the computer. Read more at www.filemaker.com/products/bento. 

For Android devices, a Google search for  medical record keeping and database creation apps will produce a variety of choices.