Archive for Uncategorized

Tech Tune-up: 50 sites (Part 1)

Here are the 25+ sites that I presented at the Tech Tune-up on 4/24/13.   Michael Fitts will be posting his list as well. Hope you enjoy visiting these sites! — Valerie Gordon

p.s. Do you have suggestions on other types of fun classes you’d like to see at Lister Hill?  An Evernote Users Group?  Lifehacker Happy Hour? Productivity Tips & Tricks?  Post your comment here or send a suggestion to vgordon@uab.edu

Tech Tune-up:  50 Sites (Part 1)

Productivity

  1. TechLister http://www.lhl.uab.edu/tech/
  2. Profhacker http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/
  3. Study Hacks: http://calnewport.com/blog/
  4. Becoming minimalist http://www.becomingminimalist.com/
  5. Yarny: https://yarny.me/

Plus old favorites: Lifehacker: http://lifehacker.com/ & Zenhabits: http://zenhabits.net/

Home & Garden

  1. Apartment Therapy: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
  2. Gardenista: http://www.gardenista.com/
  3. A way to garden: http://awaytogarden.com/
  4. Ikea hackers: http://www.ikeahackers.net/
  5. Take them a meal: http://takethemameal.com/

Plus old favorites: Houzz http://www.houzz.com/ & design sponge http://www.designsponge.com/

More design

  1. Polyvore www.polyvore.com
  2. The sartorialist: http://www.thesartorialist.com/
  3. I love typography http://ilovetypography.com/

Travel

  1. Road trippers https://roadtrippers.com/
  2. Birmingham Library Pinterest Page http://pinterest.com/bplonline/
  3. Storyverse  https://www.smalldemons.com/
  4. IMDB: Downton Abbey: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606375/

Plus old favorites: AirnBnB  https://www.airbnb.com/ & Yelp http://www.yelp.com  & Tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/

Explore

  1. Open Culture http://www.openculture.com/
  2. Sulia  http://sulia.com/
  3. What NYPL is reading: http://pinterest.com/nypl/what-nypl-is-reading/
  4. Allmyfaves.com http://www.allmyfaves.com/

Plus old favorites:  Stumbleupon http://www.stumbleupon.com/ & reddit http://www.reddit.com/

Smile

  1. Catalog living http://catalogliving.net/
  2. Zoo borns http://www.zooborns.com/
  3. Soulpancake  http://soulpancake.com/
  4. Funny or Die: http://www.funnyordie.com/
  5. LetMeGoogleThatForYou:  http://lmgtfy.com/

Skyscanner (A Great Tool to Find Cheap Flights and More!)

skycenter_icon

Looking for a one stop shop for your pending travel needs that will search for the most cost effective airfare? Well you may be interested in checking out Skyscanner. Skyscanner allows users to search millions of routes on over 1000 airlines to find the cheapest flights. There are 2 basic ways to access this tool. One method would be via the web by visiting . Secondly you may download the ap from your smartphone. One thing that I love is the fact that the ap is available on all the major platforms. Including Windowos, Windows 8, Android, Blackberry and IOS. skyscanners_operating_system

As far as skyscanner.com is concerned, it compares over 1000 airlines to find you the cheapest airfares. In addition it also compare and finds the cheapest hotels and car rentals for your next trip.

For smartphones there are apparently more than 6 million people are already using the skyscanner app. It is available for Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android. With the windows phone version in particular (which is what I have smile) the app also lets users track prices of selected flights with the Live Tile. You can even pin flights to the start screen and the prices automatically update every hour.

So at this point you may still be asking yourself why you should be using skyscanner? The reasons are simple:

Compare millions of flights from over 1000 airlines around the world in seconds; save money, save time.

Book your flights direct with the airline or travel agent and get the best deals.

It’s independent, simple and finds the cheapest fares in seconds, wherever you want to fly.

Flexible on when you fly? Find the cheapest dates to travel
Flexible on where
you fly? Find the cheapest flights from your local airport
Filter your searches by take off/landing time, airline or price.
Share your flight details with friends, family or colleagues via email, Facebook or Twitter – in one tap
Available in over 28 languages and over 61 currencies
It’s FREE! the search that is not your flight LOL!

Also don’t forget that with the online version of skyscanner you can find great deals on hotels and car rentals as well to make it a truley a 1 stop shop for your travel needs. skyscanner_free

skyscanner_options

But don’t just take my word for it….download the app and/or visit skyscanner.com today!

Don’t ask to borrow my Fitbit

I’ve talked my Fitbit up to everyone I know.  I go on and on about how great it is and how everyone would learn something from using one.  But when my 14 year old son asked if he could wear it for a day to see how many steps he’s taking around school I….couldn’t do it.  But I can’t go a day without it!  Having someone else’s data in there would skew my statistics.  I mean…um no.  Sorry.  My Fitbit!  Wow, so I’m really, really in love with this little device.

fitbitThis is the $99 Fitbit and it is one of many body trackers available.  I think they all do basically the same thing which is track movement to provide data on your activity level–awake or asleep.

Mainly:

It is a really, really accurate step counter.  With most pedometers I found that any movement counted as a step.  Shifting around, jiggling, etc.  Not so with the Fitbit.  I have to be walking or running for it to count.  And I am shocked–shocked–at how much walking it takes to get to 10,000 steps per day.  I do a lot of walking.  Around our 6 story building, and around the campus.  I routinely walk 15 minutes one way to a meeting.  And yet, without some extra walking I would rarely get 10,000 steps.  I would have predicted I do at least that many in a regular work day.  Not so.  And since being active apart from regular exercise has been shown to be very important, this device is great at keeping it front and center in my mind.

In addition to steps it keeps track of how many flights of stairs (or hills) I have gone up–down only counts as steps not as stairs–each day.  Mileage and calories burned are also tracked.  I don’t personally keep up with calories in or out so I can’t say how accurate that is.

Finally, it tracks movement during sleep.  Mine has a sleeve you wear it in at night and I tell it when I go to bed and when I get up.  In the morning it tells me how long I slept and how many times I woke up in the night (based on my movement).  You then get a ranking of how “good” your sleep was.

sleep log

I am very good at sleeping!  I think it is pretty accurate but wonder what other people’s logs look like.  As you can see, if you forget one night you can add it manually.

Within the website or app you can also add activity, so I can track which days I went to class at the Y or swam or whatever and you can also track your food–which I am too lazy to do in any program but lots of people seem to like this option a lot.

fitbit dashboard

I have the apps for Fitbit on both my Android phone and my iPad.  The data syncs magically with my phone or my computer (with the dongle attachment plugged in.)

fitbit ipadfitbit android

I say magically because somehow it synced while I was camping and my phone was in the car on airplane mode.  Magic!

For $99 dollars I think this little gadget has made a big difference in my activity–and I am pretty active already.  You can share and have friends within the dashboard but for me competing against myself week to week is enough.

This is long so I’ll stop singing the Fitbit praises but if you have any questions, ask them in the comments and I’ll be happy to discuss further.

 

Tired of the same old type?

I’ve been fascinated with fonts for a long time. Long ago, I was actually a fan of Comic Sans, something most people won’t admit in public. (Read more on the font that everyone loves to hate.) Since then my taste in type has improved. I dream in Helvetica and speak in Century Gothic. I’m fond of Modern type but allergic to Jokerman. For my birthday, my husband ordered this book for me and I was happy!

graph1graph2

Are you tired of the same old type? Wish you had some new fonts to spice up your documents? Visit fontsquirrel.com, dafont.com and fontspace.com to find a wide variety of retro, script, decorative or contemporary fonts. Be sure to read the fine print about how these fonts can be used.  Want some more inspiration?  Check out these blogs: You the Designer, I love typography, and From up north.

Wish you knew more about type? Find some (80, to be exact) great tutorials on typography at Creative Bloq including A Crash Course in Typography by Cameron Chapmon and Principles for Combining Typefaces. The examples of successful design are especially helpful.

Want to see how much you’ve learned? Try the Font Game (available for iPhone and iPad for $1.99) or I Shot the Serif (free online). Let me know how well you do!

Blender! Create in 3D!

Want to learn how to make 3D computer graphics and animations but think the software needed is too expensive? Meet Blender.

Blender is an open-source 3D computer graphics software product. Using Blender you can create animated films, all sorts of visual effects, interactive applications and even video games. For instance, Blender was used to create the animation below.

Steps of forensic facial reconstruction of a mummy made with Blender. From Wikipedia.

If you already use another animation software package the Blender interface may slow you down some since many of the commands have keyboard short cuts rather than contextual menus (this is improving however). But if you think you want to try out making animations, 3D images, or games you can’t beat Blender’s price, features, or community. Further, the popularity of the program is growing. You can even become a certified Blender trainer! The Blender website offers all sorts of information about the program including a quick reference, tutorials, a user manual, FAQs, demos, a discussion list, and examples of all sorts of projects.

There is also a very good book, just published, that covers using Blender with GIMP by Ben Simonds entitled Blender Master Glass: a Hands-on Guide to Modeling, Sculpting, Materials, and Rendering.

Blender is cross platform meaning that is runs on a variety of operating systems including both Windows and MAC. The program has reasonable hardware requirements but this is a graphics program so you will need to make sure you have a decent graphics card that conforms to OpenGL specifications.

Overall, the program was easy to install and together with the above mentioned book and other resources anyone should be able to create really cool stuff. If you decide to give Blender a whirl I’d love to hear what you think about it.

My Fitness Pal

myfitnesspal

Although I haven’t been a long time user I’d like to share with you all a fitness application that a good friend and doctoral student recently shared with me known as myfitnesspal (the app not my friend lol). Basically MyFitnessPal is a diet and fitness community built wish one purpose in mind and that is providing individuals with the tools and support needed to achieve weight loss goals.

I will go on record that one of the first things about the product was the fact that is actually available on all of the major mobile operating systems including my system of choice Windows which often gets overlooked by application developers. fitnesspal_os

Studies have shown that keeping a food journal can actually double your weight loss. MyFitnessPal provides you not only with the tools needed to be successful but also the support system as you communicate and share with either your friends or others trying to lose weight as well. The more you use it the faster and easier it becomes as it becomes more customized to some of your common favorite food entries.

In addition there is actually an online component as well and it integrates with Facebook so that you can invite your friends or see if they have already discovered this tool. One think about it that I find particularly useful is that fact that when registered whether you update diary online or via smart phone, it automatically syncs and updates the other device for you.

With myfitnesspal you can track not only your food & exercise but it allows you to set your weight loss goals and how many calories that you need per day in order to accomplish your goals. It allows you to interact with a community of your friends to keep each other encouraged yet accountable. One of the most useful tools on the application is the food look-up that has literally thousands of food items (including restaurant menu items) that help with your nutritional tracking. Better yet it has a barcode scanner that allows you to simply scan the items barcode and up pops the nutrition facts of said item. It also gives you the option of adding new food entries.

Here is a sample of one of my completed food diary logs: fooddiary

To begin your journey all you need is a username, password and email address. I’d like to encourage you to try myfitnesspal out to see how it can and will benefit you. Afterall its free and you have absolutely nothing to lose but unwanted weight:

fitness_benefits

Free You Tube Downloader

Free You Tube is freeware for downloading and converting video. It downloads video from You Tube converts video to the standard formats for cell phone (3GP); Windows Media Video (WMV); Xvid MPEG-4 (AVI); iPad, iPhone; PSP (MP4) & iPOD (MOV), and also plays back videos in a very basic player. This software is 100% free to use and is guaranteed not to contain any spyware, viruses or any other kind of malware.

Why would one even want YouTube Downloader? Well I am glad that you asked as there are many practical applications with this tool including but not limited to:

You want to view the video on a mobile device or phone such as an iPod, iPad, iPhone, MP3-player, MP4-player, Zune, PSP

You have a slow internet connection or you’re viewing HD video, which causes buffering delays while streaming video.

You’re only interested in a specific part of the video and you’d like to cut out any parts you don’t need.

You want to make sure you don’t lose the video when it’s removed or altered by YouTube or by the author.

So how does You Tube Downloader Work?

Step 1: Start YouTube Downloader

Start YouTube Downloader by clicking the desktop or Quick Launch shortcut. The main window should then appear.
Download YouTube videos


Step 2: Choose a video to download

Enter a YouTube URL (for example “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7gK3W9yg60″) choose an output format and the preferred quality of the video, then click “Download”. The application will now proceed to download and convert your video.
Downloading a YouTube video


Step 3: Finished!

As soon as YouTube Downloader has finished processing the file, you can open it using your favorite media player and you can then play the downloaded and converted file.

Google Drive: Liesurely Spin Around the Block or Car Crash?

Google Drive is a free service that lets you store all your files including documents, photos, videos and Google Docs online and access them anywhere. Recently I came across this “drive” when I began work on what I thought would be a “google doc” but was prompted that it would soon be transformed into the new “google drive”. In other words Google Drive is the new home for Google Docs. Your files are now stored in Google Drive, and you can access them anytime at drive.google.com. Just like before, you can upload, edit, share, and create files online. But with Google Drive, you can access your files wherever you are, from any device. And you can work with even more file types by installing Google Drive apps.

I have mixed reviews of this program. I see some of the primary benefits as:

Up to 5GB Storage absolutely free! (Although Microsoft’s SkyDrive, offers 25GB worth of free storage and some argue is by far the best option :) )

Current monthly rates for increased storage are: $2.49 for 25 GB, $4.99 for 100 GB, and additional tiers up to 16 TB (1000GB) at roughly $0.05 per GB

Can store photos, videos, etc.

No matter what type of video you upload it will convert it into a playable version.

The shortcomings as I see them are:

Some initial confusion for the person trying to access the shared document invitation

The fact that you can only view and not edit a Microsoft document unless you first convert it into a google doc (extra and unnecessary step)

Although I had some initial difficulty when I first began using it I still would recommend it over all for storage as it is pretty handy. In particular I have been using it heavily to store images in a convenient easy to find place since sometimes saving things in Windows 7 can leave one frustrated. Lastly I will say that I am pleased that as far as mobile phones are concerned that it is not only available for use on IOS and of course Android but that it can be used with Windows as well.

mHealth – Text 4 Health!

Text messaging has been an increasingly favored communication method for some time now, particularly among young people, (although recent studies suggest that its use may have peaked – Pew Internet & American Life, 2011). Fundraisers quickly learned to adapt to this technology to increase support for causes, candidates, and institutions through the use of cell phones. The Red Cross raised $32 million in small donations via text after the Haiti earthquake in 2010 (NPR, 2012). So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that public health advocates have also adopted the text message as an effective communication method to promote healthy behaviors, emergency preparedness and response, and safety.

Smoking cessation efforts were natural first steps for “mhealth” (mobile health) communications. The National Cancer Institute’s SmokeFreeTXT service (http://smokefree.gov/smokefreetxt/) allows smokers wishing to quit to receive both scheduled motivational messages as well as those in response to participant-initiated SOS messages such as CRAVE or SLIP. There are smoking cessation messages targeted for particular populations such as teens (http://teen.smokefree.gov/), women (http://women.smokefree.gov/), and Spanish-speakers (http://espanol.smokefree.gov/). There is also a QuitNowTXT message library for public health professionals, researchers and advocates at http://smokefree.gov/hp.aspx.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides a library of text messages focused on specific aspects of emergency preparedness and response for public health and emergency professionals at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/psa/. Sample messages include “Preventing Mold After a Disaster” and “Staying Safe Around Buildings Damaged After a Disaster.”

Not all the public health text message communication initiatives are government-sponsored, although many are. Some are collaborative efforts, such as the Text4Baby (http://www.text4baby.org/) tips for pregnant women and new mothers sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and the CDC. There are also new mobile phone apps for safety and rape prevention especially among young adults that incorporate text messaging, such as Circle of 6 (see http://www.circleof6app.com/).

These are a few of the innovations in health communication incorporating text messaging. Are you aware of others? Please comment and let us know!

Portable Information in the Dental Practice

With the wide selection of mobile medical applications available to health care providers, for many practicing dentists and dental students in training there is an increase need to be able to locate vetted information pertaining to the management of the medically complex patient.     Dentists now treat with more regularity persons with special needs whose oral care is challenged by their overall physical fitness.  The Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences licenses several resources, offers a suggested Mobile Technology guide, but there are also many free applications that a dentist can refer to when determining the treatment and management of their patient.   Below is a quick list that I recommend to students, faculty and staff at the UAB School of Dentistry.

FirstConsult is designed for the health care student and is a clinical decision support tool that provides quick answers.    For those who have more experience treating the medically challenged patient, consider DynaMed Mobile as your first choice.  However, both resources complement each other and I have both apps on my smart phone.

The American Dental Association’s Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry offers a web optimized version of its website containing clinical recommendations that include a patient information section.   If you want to wow your colleagues, this handy site will link you to authoritative guidelines to use in practice.

I am a huge fan of Visual Dx, a medical images database.  It is easy for students to use because the search function does not require knowing a diagnosis name.  Antidotal feedback from students who have incorporated this medical application in to their training report fewer mistakes in visually identifying an oral lesion.

Last, two good drug apps are Epocrates and MicroMedex Drug Information.  I personally think Epocrates is easier for the student in training to use.  And, don’t forget to add LactMed which provides vetted information on drug effects on lactation and breastfed infants. 

Please comment on other favorites that you use in practice below!

- Liz Lorbeer

Librarian to the UAB School of Dentistry