Comment: Make good use of what’s being offered

Feb 12 2009 by Lewis Harrison for The Journal

NEW technologies appear on the scene every day with the potential to improve the way we work and live. The trouble is, there are so many it’s impossible to keep track of which gizmo or service does what.

Here are some of the best I’ve come across – as well as those recommended by colleagues from our region’s digital sector.

1. Google Desktop Search. This nifty little service is a godsend because it enables you to find practically anything on your desktop, including emails (even deleted ones), cached web pages and files. To download, go to Google.com and click ‘more’, then ‘Desktop’. Simple. Now, if they’d only bring out Google Brain Search…

2. Doodle. An online tool for scheduling meetings across multiple parties/companies, Doodle is brilliant when you need to arrange a meeting with someone outside your own firm who may not be using the same calendar software. Available at doodle.com, the site also offers a polling tool to help large groups make a decision.

3. Social bookmarking. This has been around for a while now, but few outside tech circles have heard of it. Via websites such as ma.gnolia and de.licio.us you can save your favourites in an online space, which means you can access them on any computer. As an added bonus, you can share these favourites with whoever you think may like to have access.

4. AQA. With over two million users, this SMS-based service doesn’t quite fit in a list of technologies few have heard of. It certainly is useful, though. Text any question to 63336 and you’ll get an answer within minutes. Some of the best questions asked include: “Does the Queen have Sky TV?” and “Why do you never see baby pigeons?” Answers to serious queries are also available.

5. VideoJug. If a short text won’t solve your quandary, turn to VideoJug.com. Launched in 2006, it’s the world’s most comprehensive library of free ‘how to’ video guides on topics ranging from parenting and DIY to starting a business.

6. MakeUseOf. Keen to find a few more of these services? Go to MakeUseOf.com, which lists many more of the coolest, most useful technologies and how to use them.

Its suggestions include Stimator, which calculates the worth of your website, and KeepMeOut, a system that warns and then locks you out of websites you’re visiting too often.

Lewis Harrison is PR & Communications Manager at Codeworks, a centre for digital innovation in the North East