My Top 4 Everyday Apps

   I don't know about you, but I was not happy when Google announced that it would be pulling support of Google Reader on July 1.  Reader is tool I use all the time.  I have the RSS toolbar extension on Firefox on my computers set to default to reader so I can quickly add new sources to my feeds.  I regularly check reader on my computers and use the app on my mobile devices.

   So I was looking for a reader replacement.  CIO Online put together a nice list of alternatives.  After reviewing that list, I decided that feedly seemed to be the app that best met my needs.  I downloaded the feedly add-on for my browser(s) as well as the app for my mobile devices.  And that got me thinking... do I need the app on my mobile devices?  After all, mobile devices tend to become clogged with too many apps, and mine are no exception.

   And that got me thinking... what mobile apps am I really using?

A Few of My Favorite Things - Apps

   I recently (finally) got modern smartphone.  My previous phone was the "free" phone from over 2 years ago.  Even when I had a basic smartphone I very quickly found useful apps that used everyday.

   Someone was recently asking me what apps I use on my phone.  I thought it would be useful to make a list of some of my favorites here and focus on those that I use most.

Keeping Up and Podcasts

   Recently I was talking with a colleague about keeping up with information. We actually were comparing smartphones. During the conversation we talked about podcasts and podcatching software. I'll talk about what I use below.

   We are talking about what podcasts we listen to.  One thing that was surprised me was that he mentioned that many technical people he interacts with don't listen to podcasts! I found that surprising. I figured most technical and security people know all about podcasts. Podcasts are hardly new.

   There are podcasts for all kinds of subjects. I listen to podcasts about security, technology, sports, news, science, leadership, getting things done/productivity and other subjects.

   I think that listening to podcasts is one of the best ways to both learn and keep up.

Read With Your Ears

   I remember an old joke from when I was a kid. Someone would hold an item and say "look at this". Then when you reach out to take whatever they had, they would pull it back and say "you see with your eyes". That's only funny to a kid. But here's a different take on that... I read with my ears.

   I really love audiobooks. Since discovering audiobooks a few years ago my reading has gone way up.  I've read a bunch of books over the past few years including business books, science fiction, fiction, nonfiction/history, and all kinds of interesting things. But sometimes I'll mention that I just read a book, or I'm reading a book, but some people don't necessarily consider that "reading".