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The 20 most useful Android smartphone apps of 2011

Takeaway: Jason Hiner provides his list of the top 20 tried-and-true Android smartphone apps that are worth your time to download.

The Android Market may not have as many apps as the iPhone App Store yet, but there are still more than enough to be overwhelmed, and it continues to grow at a breakneck pace. To help you sort through them all, here is my latest list of the 20 most useful Android apps (this is an update of my 2010 Android list). I’ve also recently updated my list of the most useful iPhone apps and you’ll notice several of the same apps on both lists.

Remember that I primarily had business professionals in mind when making this list and also keep in mind that this is a snapshot in time. The Android platform is developing so quickly that I guarantee my home screen will look different a month from now.

Still, here’s my list of tried-and-true Android apps that I can highly recommend.

1. Google Voice

Google Voice is a service that is so useful I consider it one of the top benefits of Android itself. The service gives you a phone number that can ring to multiple places or devices and it allows you to access all of your voicemail and text messages from the Web. The Android app integrates even deeper. It can make outgoing calls look like they’re coming from your Google Voice number so that you can keep your real mobile number private.

2. Advanced Task Killer

One of the realities of having a multitasking mobile OS is that you have to manage your apps so that they don’t hurt performance or battery life. Advanced Task Killer (ATK) is my favorite on Android. It even comes with a widget that you can tap once to kill all open apps and you can also set up ATK to kill all apps at periodic intervals. Some people will argue that task managers are irrelevant and unneeded in Android, but I still prefer to use ATK.

3. Dropbox

Dropbox is a great cloud service that automatically syncs a folder of files between multiple computers (Windows, Mac, or Linux). This app extends Dropbox to Android and interacts with other apps (such as Documents To Go) to open the files. It allows you to access PDFs, image files, and business documents by simply dragging them to a folder on your computer and then you immediately have access to them from your mobile phone, once you have this app installed.

4. Evernote

Once you get used to typing on a virtual keyboard (and it honestly took me over a year to do it), then these devices are great for note-taking, and Evernote is a great note-taking app. It is similar to Dropbox in that it saves data locally but syncs it across all your machines and devices.

5. Taskos

There are plenty of to-do apps to choose from on Android but I now prefer Taskos because of the clean, easy, Android-friendly user experience. It also has a few extras that give it an advantage over apps. The biggest one is voice recognition, which lets you speak a task that the app turns into a to-do item (you might have to correct a word or two).

6. DroidAnalytics

For some reason Google doesn’t have an official app for Google Analytics (for either Android or iPhone). The best one I’ve found on Android is DroidAnalytics. Another good one is mAnalytics.

7. Documents To Go

The free version of Documents To Go offers a great little reader for Microsof Word and Excel files. You can upgrade to the full version (for $15) if you want to be able to create and edit files and add PowerPoint files to the mix. If you do want editing capability, I’d also recommend taking a look atQuickOffice.

8. Google Docs

If you mostly work with Google Docs (including uploading Microsoft Office files to your Google Docs repository) then the only app you’ll really need is the Google Docs app. It’s a nice mobile implementation of document management, although the one annoyance is that always open up files in a web browser rather than within the app itself, which would be a little smoother.

9. Tripit

I dig Tripit. It is by far the best app I’ve found for keeping track of all my travel itineraries. It runs on some great backend systems. You simply forward your confirmation emails for your flights, hotels, rental cars, and more to Tripit and it automatically organizes them into trips with all your details and confirmation numbers. Or, if you use Gmail, you can even use a plugin to automatically catch confirmation emails and turn them into Tripit trips.

10. Places

This is an awesome app for finding shops and services near your current location. From restaurants to medical facilities to taxis, this app is very accurate and takes advantage of the business information from Google Local. This app is better than the info you get from a GPS unit (or app) and better than any of the similar apps available on the iPhone. It’s also integrated into Google Maps.

for more details visit below link

reference link: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/the-20-most-useful-android-smartphone-apps-of-2011/9202

Windows Developer Preview downloads

Windows Developer Preview with developer tools English, 64-bit (x64)

The Windows Developer Preview is a pre-beta version of Windows 8 for developers. These downloads include prerelease software that may change without notice. The software is provided as is, and you bear the risk of using it. It may not be stable, operate correctly or work the way the final version of the software will. It should not be used in a production environment. The features and functionality in the prerelease software may not appear in the final version. Some product features and functionality may require advanced or additional hardware, or installation of other software.

DOWNLOAD (4.8 GB)

Sha 1 hash - 6FE9352FB59F6D0789AF35D1001BD4E4E81E42AF

All of the following come on a disk image file (.iso). See below for installation instructions.

• 64-bit Windows Developer Preview
• Windows SDK for Metro style apps
• Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express for Windows Developer Preview
• Microsoft Expression Blend 5 Developer Preview
• 28 Metro style apps including the BUILD Conference app

Windows Developer Preview English, 64-bit (x64)

DOWNLOAD (3.6 GB)

Sha 1 hash – 79DBF235FD49F5C1C8F8C04E24BDE6E1D04DA1E9

Includes a disk image file (.iso) to install the Windows Developer Preview and Metro style apps on a 64-bit PC.

Windows Developer Preview English, 32-bit (x86)

DOWNLOAD (2.8 GB)

Sha 1 hash - 4E0698BBABE01ED27582C9FC16AD21C4422913CC

Includes a disk image file (.iso) to install the Windows Developer Preview and Metro style apps on a 32-bit PC.

Live Connect

Sign up for the Live Connect technical preview.

Live Connect provides developers a set of controls and APIs that enable applications to integrate Single Sign On (SSO) with Microsoft connected accounts and enable users to access information from SkyDrive, Hotmail, and Messenger.

System Requirements

Windows Developer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows Vista and Windows 7:

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch

Notes about installing the Windows Developer Preview

• You can't uninstall the Windows Developer Preview. To reinstall your previous operating system, you must have restore or installation media.

Install on:	Windows Developer Preview with developer tools	Windows Developer Preview (32-bit or 64-bit)
Windows 7 and Windows Vista	Clean install only	You can keep accounts, files, and settings
Windows XP	Clean install only	You can only keep accounts and files
A clean install is supported on all builds. You will only receive the full set of installation options when setup is launched in Windows.

How to install the Windows Developer Preview from an ISO image

The Windows Developer Preview is delivered as an .iso image that must be converted into installation media stored on a DVD or a USB flash drive. On Windows 7, the easiest way to convert this file is to use Windows Disc Image Burner. On Windows XP and Windows Vista, a third-party program is required to convert an .iso file into installable media—and DVD burning software often includes this capability.

Note: The .iso file that contains the developer tools requires a large capacity DVD called a DVD-9, as well as a DVD burner that can handle dual-layer (DL) DVDs. Most modern burners should be able to handle this format.

Reference link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/br229516

Metro is your future (Microsoft to Developers)

Summary: Silverlight and .Net are not dead (yet). But Metro is really the future for Windows 8, Microsoft is telling developers on the opening day of Build.

Here’s the good news for Microsoft developers attending Build: Silverlight and .Net are not dead. Here’s the not-so-good news: They are mainly a means to write classic/Desktop apps, and not the new, “Metro-style” apps that Microsoft will be playing up in Windows 8.

Some of us press and analysts who agreed to a day-long non-disclosure agreement on September 12 — the day before the Build conference started — received some background on Microsoft’s planned messaging for the confab. To me, there was one slide we saw that said it all, from a presentation by Ales Holecek, a Distinguished Engineer working on Windows. It’s the Windows 8 architectural slide:

(image courtesy of @longzheng)

According to here are two classes of applications that can be built and run on Windows 8 PCs and tablets. One is “Metro Style” applications. These are the modern, immersive applications that are going to get front-and-center billing. (“Metro” is the name of the design language that Microsoft pioneered with Windows Phone 7.) Developers writing Metro Style apps can code them in C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, HTML5/JavaScript and/or using XAML. The inclusion of XAML here implies “Jupiter,” I’d say, even though Microsoft officials never used that codename during our prebrief yesterday. Jupiter is the XAML/UI layer on top of Windows 8 that enables Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) apps to work on the platform.

The second class of applications that can be built and run on Windows 8 PCs and tablets is called “Desktop” applications. These are applications that users can access by clicking on the Desktop tile in Windows 8. They don’t have to be immersive; they can look and feel like classic Windows applications that don’t assume that users will want/need to rely on touch as the primary way that they interact with them. Examples of existing Desktop apps that will work on Windows 8 are things like Photoshop or Intuit.

Microsoft’s execs are emphasizing that Windows 8 is a no-compromise platform. They are positioning it as an operating system that can be all things to all people. But make no mistake: Microsoft sees Metro Style apps as the future. If you don’t believe me, browse through the just-released list of sessions for Build.

At Build, there are lots and lots of sessions aimed at educating developers about the new app model for Windows 8, and how developers can use HTML5 and JavaScript to write the new, immersive, “Metro style” applications for the platform. There are very few about .Net, Visual Basic and C#. And there are none that I noticed on how/when/if developers can use non-Microsoft tools and frameworks (PHP, Ruby, etc.) to write Windows 8 apps. And there are none on Silverlight.

Another interesting tidbit from the diagram above has to do with the “system services” layer — the new app model plus the three boxes known as WinRT (Windows runtime). Readers of my blog will recall that some of the folks who dissected leaked Windows 8 builds already discovered the existence of WinRT. It does, indeed, look as seem to me that  WinRT is the core set of services — communications, graphics and devices/printing — that replaces the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), etc. layer in Windows today. (Note: the replacement of WCF/WPF is just a guess on my part, and something I’ll try to flesh out this week.)

Reference link: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-to-developers-metro-is-your-future/10611

7 Steps Towards A Better Website

Creating a website is a thing, making it better is one thing that is entirely different. 7 steps that will help you gain a better website.

1. Improve your content Stale content will definitely drive your family visitors away. Add fresh content at least two times a week; couple relevant feed with Ezine Articles if you’re not particularly skilled at writing.

2. Swap out pictures Freshen your photographs regularly. Add new pictures, toss original copies that are no more relevant.

3. Overhaul your website No, you needn’t gut your website, instead produce a new template and move your present information over. Do that at least once each year.

4. Give a forum In case your site is aimed toward one particular topic, attempt to add a forum to create additional traffic. Count the price as forums could be real time eater.

5. Give a storefront OS Commerce provides a free, simple to use storefront. Couple it with PayPal, hire a dropshipper, and you’re simply ready to go.

6. Pursue advertisers Aside from the usual PPC schemes, sell banner advertising space to companies. Guarantee the ads are highly relevant to your visitors.

7. Run contests Supply something for free on a regular basis as well as your guests knows that you have a “happening” site.

When you are proactive together with your site, you will get a regular way to obtain new visitors, retain your regulars, making some money along the way. Keep your site interesting, informative, and fun; grow that which you own or risk getting outperform by someone a lot more motivated than you.

Reference Link: 

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=769068587&gid=47500&type=member&item=70435772&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fbuild-business%2Einfo%2F7-steps-towards-a-better-website%2F&urlhash=Oo8e&goback=%2Egmp_47500%2Egde_47500_member_70435772

Facebook's Unbelievable Domination Of Our Time On The Web

Facebook's domination of time spent on the web is absolutely astonishing. A new report on social media from Nielsen shows U.S. users spent 53.5 billion minutes on Facebook in May, which is more time than was spent on the next four biggest sites. (If you include YouTube with Google, then it's more time than the next three biggest sites.) 

Developer Topics to Watch__Microsoft Build

Summary: We know a bit about Windows 8 as we head into Microsoft’s Build conference next week. But we still know surprisingly little about the development tools and technologies which will be stars of the show.

The core audience for Microsoft’s Build conference is developers, developers, developers. So far, while we know a few things about Windows 8, we still know surprisingly little about what Microsoft is going to show and tell those awaiting word about new tools and frameworks for creating Windows 8 applications.

Yes, we’re expecting to hear more about the still mostly mysterious Jupiter app model/ user interface (UI) library for Windows. And if there isn’t more clarity around Silverlight and how it does or doesn’t fit into Microsoft’s Windows future, there will likely be a mutiny. I’m also  hoping and expecting there will be guidance, as to what developers should do to buildclassic vs. “modern”(immersive, tailored or whatever the new word of the week is) apps, as well as what Microsoft is encouraging developers to do regarding native and/or Web apps.

But what else could and should be on the docket for conference-goers, starting on September 13?

One would think Build would be the natural venue for any HTML5/JavaScript-related tooling announcements Microsoft may have up its sleeve. While there already is some HTML5/CSS/JavaScript tooling in Internet Explorer as part of the F12 set of tools, there is room for more.

Other topics I think are likely lurking in those still-hidden sessions behind the bare-bones Build agenda:

Visual Studio 2012: Microsoft officials offered some high-level guidance about the application lifecycle management (ALM) “roadmap” for the next version of its tool suite back in May at TechEd. But the Softies haven’t provided any details yet about anything else in the suite. I’m betting at Build we’ll finally hear more about the new “Visual Studio tools for graphics developers”(something Microsoft originally planned to talk up at its GameFest conference, but cancelled at the last minute). And maybe there will be word on what else is coming in Visual Studio 2012 around additional HTML5/JavaScript support (beyond what’s in VS 2010 SP1).

Visual C++ Next: It’s not a secret that Microsoft is breathing new life into C++ and is expected to emphasize the importance of native languages for those writing Windows 8 (and also Windows Phone) apps, going forward. The Visual C++ team has started blogging recently about some of the changes coming with the next version of Visual C++. (For a great look at C++’s past, present and future, check out the latest .Net Rocks podcast with Kate Gregory of Gregory Consulting Ltd.)

Visual Studio LightSwitch: Microsoft execs haven’t talked about the next release of its brand-new tool for building line of business (LOB) apps for the cloud and PC. However, it appears that Microsoft is going to position the follow-on version of LightSwitch as suited for writing Windows 8 apps — at least according to one job description (from August) on the company’s Web site:

“We are shipping our v1 release soon which leverages many technologies required to build modern LOB apps: Silverlight, Azure, Office, Entity Framework, WCF RIA Services, ASP.Net Authentication, and more. For our next release we are looking at adding new scenarios for OData and Windows next while continuing to expand existing scenarios based on customer feedback. This position will require you to be hands on with a wide array of technologies key to the Microsoft’s long term success.” (emphasis mine)

Expression Blend/Web Next: Will Microsoft use its Expression tools as a vehicle for providing more/better HTML5 tooling? There’s been little news out of the Expression team for ages. They did just release the “Expression Blend Preview for Silverlight 5,” indicating there’s heat and light in there….

ASP.NET and MVC: Given the number of known Build speakers who work on ASP.NET and MVC, I’m guessing we’ll be hearing more on these two topics. Corporate VP Scott Guthrie has been blogging recently about some of the changes coming to ASP.NET. Possibly related: Signal/R: I’ve been seeing more references on Microsoft blogs lately to Signal/R, which is “an synchronous, persistent connection asbstraction library for ASP.NET” for building real-time, multi-user web applications.” Anyone know more about how this does/doesn’t fit into Microsoft’s next-gen dev story?

.Net 4.5: Microsoft’s next release of the .Net framework is going to be 4.5, according to various hackers of leaked Windows 8 builds. We’ve heard bits and pieces about Microsoft’s plan to try to slim down the Common Language Runtime (CLR) at the heart of .Net, as part of its RedHawk project. (And RedHawk mentions have been found in leaked Windows 8 builds.)

Cloud Application Platform: Remember, Guthrie’s new role at Microsoft is about building out the developer story for Windows Azure. Whatever this “cloud application platform” is, it seemingly brings together the work being done by the Web platform and tools and application server teams. I’m betting we’ll hear lots at Build about AppFabric (both the Windows and the Azure versions) and building applications that can span public and private clouds. As it often does just before Microsoft is set to unveil some new products/strategies in a given area, Amazon launched a preemptive strike here with its just-unveiled Amazon Web Services (AWS) Toolkit for Visual Studio.

I’ll be at the Build show all next week and filing lots of blog posts from the show. Windows SuperSite’s Paul Thurrott and I will be co-hosting our regular Windows Weekly show live from Anaheim on Thursday next week (2 pm ET/11 am PT) — hopefully with some special guests.

Our usual band of bloggers (as noted in the graphic at the top of this post) will be live blogging the two Build keynotes on Tuesday September 13 and Wednesday September 14 starting at 12 pm ET/9 am PT. We’re hoping you’ll chime in with us then!

Reference Link: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-build-developer-topics-to-watch/10591