What are good apps for your work life and your company? The Ubivoxers reocmmend their personal favourites. View this newsletter online
 
 
 
 
 
 
         
     

Dear læser
No news is good news. Right now, we have no special update about the system. It is just running like clockwork.

As you might have noticed, we have increased our focus on our own newsletters lately - including when top tuning our "Ubivox Recommends" every time. Sadly, there is often an app, a tool or a webpage that gets cut from the final version. So for this newsletter, we want to share our personal favourites with you - both for the office and for individuals.
 
Therefore, here is one big Ubivox Recommends - we hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do.

Ubivox is especially fond of these three tools

Good programs for your business
Litmus
Two amazing functions are why we use Litmus, including when we perform quality checks for you as our cilent. Their spam test checks whether your newsletter qualifies as spam in your recipients' mail clients. Furthermore, their test of mail clients shows you how your newsletter is displayed on various different clients. Incredibly nifty!

HipChat
Chatting on the office is nice. Sometimes, it is best when it happens in writing - and quickly. HipChat is an amazing chat program that lets you have group conversations as well as individual ones. This way, no important sentences are lost.
 
Firmafon 
The perfect phone tool for nearly every type of business. Especially when you have incoming calls to more than one coworker. Built-in redirection, telephone menues, defined opening hours and more. There is also an iPhone app that lets you set yourself as offline, so that it redirects to others. Firmafon operates internationally, but are currently only available in Danish.

The Ubivoxers' favourites
As people with different interests and jobs, we naturally have different preferences. This also counts for the little tools, we find useful - both in our every day lives and at the office. We want to share these with you.

So here is a string a reviews from the coworkers that you, somehow, are in contact with through Ubivox. Some are probably well known to you. Common for all of them is that they make our days a little easier and a little more fun.

The CEO, who knows what happens when

Kasper
Prezi - Ideas matter
When life is too short for boring presentations. Both Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple's Keynote are old dinosaurs in comparison. They have not developed along with the hardware that they are used on.

Prezi is a tool for presentations that, in a refreshing way, builds on your idea and makes use of the new user habits and methods of the entire online universe.
Doodle - Easy scheduling
Doodle is a super tool for planning; Both for when you and the extended family need to find a date for a reunion and for when 10 people in the office are planning a meeting where everyone can attend.

The practical, busy bee

Jeff
LastPass - The last password you'll have to remember!
The program for you who is tired of having to keep track of all of your passwords for various programs. All you have to do is create a 'Master' password and then LastPass will, from then on, create 32 character passwords for you. If you would rather just save your current ones, that is an option too.

Furthermore, the program has auto login and a 'fill out formula' for purchases on i.e. webshops, which is based on your info. An amazing tool for making your day a little easier. 
Dropbox - For when you need everything, everywhere
Dropbox is an amazing piece of software for syncronising your important files with your other units. The program automatically does this when it has access to the Internet. This way, you avoid having to carry around a USB stick for having copies on.

The multifunctional supporter

Mia
Moqups - Online Vector Based Mockup & Wifeframing Tool
If you want to kickstart your design project, I recommend Moqups. You will quickly be creating interactive wireframes - for free.

Your idea flow is quickly shared with others, so you can collaborate with your team in realtime. It makes the work process more flexible for all parties. I also experienced it giving me a flow filled with ideas when working on blog entries in Moqups.
Zendesk - Go from chaos to zen
This program can save your day, when you want to offer optimal customer service. Easy workflow even makes it possible to create professional relationships through Zendesk.

The copywriter with the need for visuals

Katrine
Sublime Text 2 - For when I need to be in the zone
Four words: Enter Distraction Free Mode. Centered, white text on a black background - zoning everything else out. It is simply amazing when writing: no distractions, just your raw text.

The editor also has a lot of other little functions that just eases up the writing process.
BetterSnapTool (for Macs only) - Transform your one screen into many
I often have three to four windows open on my screen at the same time, displaying different sites and programs. BetterSnapTool lets me part my screen into windows, where I decide their size and position. I can then 'snap' a window to their part of the screen and have it adjust automatically. It's drag'n'drop on my screen, lightning fast. It provides a clear overview of what I have going.

The stingy graphics designer

Mads
Appshopper - Available as iPhone app as well
I am a little stingy when it comes to buying apps for my iPad and iPhone. At appshopper.com I have made a profile, so that I get notified when i.e. Scrabble falls drastically in price. It did so very recently.
Pencil + paper - Because it often gives the best start
I've used this for a few years and still have not found a better alternative. A common Staedtler HB pencil and the back of a check usually help me on my way. Both when I have to design flows and to just draw some quick lines for building a userfriendly site.

The PEO with the overview of everyone's assignments

Oscar
Jira - On demand
Issue handling, which is advanced enough for your company to be able to grow with it and still affordable enough for small businesses to use. It costs $10 a month for the first 10 users.
Confluence - Content Creation, Collaboration & Sharing for Teams
Intranet for businesses. Built-in with Jira and together they provede everything you need in order to keep track of most projects in both large and small businesses. Also for $10 a month for the first 10 users.

The busy Jack-of-all-trades

David
The Pomodoro technique - 25 minutes of task-focussed work...
... and a five minute break.
 
That is the pomodoro-technique - and it works really well. I use Eggscellent for it on my Mac, but there are many other different tools for every platform.
 
If you, like me, have many different jobs and tasks during the day, it is incredibly effective to be able to work in 25 minute batches.
Plantronics Voyager Legend - A Bluetooth headset

It is really welldesigned and eases up my work day considerably.
 
Our phone programme sends all my incoming calls through to my mobile and the headset answers them automatically, when I put it on. If I remove it during the conversation, the call is paused. It also reacts to voice commands. The little things make a big difference.

Thank you for now
Best wishes
The Ubivox team 

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