YouTube offers an easy way to send your video with an "anchor" or "bookmark" built in to the hyperlink!
Thus, instead of sending a link to play media content from "beginning to end", as is customary, you can now send a link that includes an anchor to redirect / start the video wheresoever you wish them to do so. Every once in awhile, I will notice a new feature and realize the applicability of such a change on a larger scale.
Right click video in Youtube - select where you want to play it from... and right click!
And while many may be aware of this functionality, if there is one thing I learned from dedicating my life to the technology field, it is that people are absolutely creatures of habit, and are most comfortable with what they know and have those typical fears of the unknown, etc. So as it is, I now approach these types of "suggestions" almost non-directly and target to to those I know may be interested! Here is just one example of how this seemingly insignificant feature could come in handy: Let's just say upon reviewing the most recent holiday footage (mother's day maybe), you're suddenly dreading anyone had any video going... when all of a sudden, One of the kids mistakenly does something and completely redeems the video. You send the video out linked to the spot in the end with the kid, completely bypassing the nonsense from the beginning.
SimpleAssist WorkSync: Small Business "Production"
Imagine the Microsoft Screen Clipper and MS Paintbrush on
Steroids, on the front/back end respectively. Screen and video clips done with
2 clicks of the mouse, which are then transferred to the photo editor; which
holds it's own as a super simple, yet deceptively powerful stand-alone
editor.
All images, not simply the clips can be converted, edited etc. Furthermore, SnagIt can be set as
default editor right in Windows, and in the latest version now allows for mobile screen / video clips and training. If I was the Oprah of tech, this would
be in the top 5 of my favorite marketing /design tools "things".
I don't give those Kudos lightly, but having used SnagIt since
2005 alongside of all sorts of varying desktop and web-based publishing /
creative suites, we needed a way to easily Snag, edit, and produce constant for
both sales / marketing/ client newsletters etc. In fact, I can get away
with SnagIt for most day to day needs - from business cards, to web
content, to short training videos. As a consultant, I often recommend Snagit over more expensive or difficult program. Let it be known I receive no compensation or recognition from them, but maybe I'll look into it. :)
In short, it's right in line with the SimpleAssist
philosophy of finding the best tools at the lowest prices and the low "buy
it / own it" at a relatively very low cost (compared to something like
Photoshop), combined with the amazingly simple design, low drain on system
resources and something I find important, a consistent intuitive interface that
they continue to upgrade but not change to maximize functionality make it a
win/win./win. I've used every version since then, and the cost-to-value
is phenomenal.
The editor itself is worth the price of admission,
especially if you're not a designer and overwhelmed by Photoshop or Corel or
other more sophisticated programs.
Details Summary
I. A resource light program that runs in the background
and remaps your print screen button (or allows you to make up your own key
commands) to take a screen print. I know... a SCREENPRINT!?
Not too exciting right? Well, with a few clicks you can capture
everything from a scrolling web-page (imagine grabbing the entire Wikipedia
entry for
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_law_clerks_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States",
one of the longest ones on the site) to clipping your keystrokes and even
narrative audio as a quick video quick video.
2. A fantastically easy, yet extremely powerful photo
editor - seeing is believing I suppose, and the price point makes it nearly a
no brainier after the trial
3. Integrated export into different programs such as
YouTube (great for throwing a quick tutorial or training together).
Dropbox® Cloud Storage - Overview and Ideas on Consolidating Pics Videos - Files on your Devices Together
Why Dropbox®?
When it comes to cloud storage, accept no substitute. When comparing all the cloud storage solutions, Dropbox® seems to be the clear leader of the pack when factoring functionality, pricing, platforms, etc.
Recently, I had done a quick facebook post on OneDrive™ which has been gaining fast on Dropbox® and Google’s Drive™ in my opinion, especially in terms of the ability to earn free storage by doing a few simple things (setting your phone to backup up, etc.) which is double the amount of most if all free storage is gained correctly.
In fairness I am also an avid user of Google's® Drive and Microsoft's® One Drive/SkyDrive – I’ve sort of broken it up so I use Google Drive to go paperless at home, SkyDrive for my PC computer backup, Apple's® iCloud for everything except pix and videos, and DropBox for my business. However, Dropbox® has managed to stay on top for me due to the elegant yet robust interface and the platform functionality consistency across all versions of the app; MOBILE DEVICES, PC/MAC, WEB INTERFACE.
I have an iPhone and an Android Based Galaxy® Tablet. Here are two bonus tips with regard to cloud storage and consolidating your pictures and videos especially
IPhone Users: Bonus Tip: Not having removal storage on iPhone is a pain, and let’s be honest – you’re going to pay for iCloud! By using Dropbox® or some other cloud storage that has an iPhone App, backing up and centralizing your photos AND video (with Dropbox) on your phone easy for iPhone users who can't simply pop out a SIM Card, if you take advantage of the data incentives (See below) you could turn off PICTURES in iCloud if your backup ever fills up.
Android Users: Bonus Tip! When I first hooked up my Galaxy® Tab 3, I noticed that they had some sort of arrangement with Dropbox® if you set it up as your default Cloud Storage Backup. You receive a HUGE amount (at least with Samsung) of free space! Email for more info...
PC Users: Bonus Tip! If you’ve install Dropbox® to your PC, not only do you get extra storage space for using it - anytime you plug in a new device (like an SD card or something with pictures on it) Dropbox will prompt you to add it. Also, selecting which folders are actually stored on the local hard-drive seems much more elegent vs. Google Drive and OneDrive. Since this is a quick tip, I wanted to include an unbiased review so I have included a charge and links to a few articles for more depth.
Comparison Chart and Article
See Complete Article Here - http://www.pcworld.com/article/254411/google_drive_vs_the_rest.html
Easy to Get Going / Easy to Keep Going
If you are looking for a hassle free way to enter the world of cloud storage, and easily sync files between all your devices, Dropbox® is easy, secure, and unmatched in certain areas of functionality.
You see, on my PC Dropbox® will ask if you want to backup pictures and videos from THERE (and give you additional storage space to do so) - so if you are like me and have your entire picture and video library everywhere, this and the additional space really put it over the top for me. Many folks may not know, but they also have a great web-portal developer options to customize and build cloud databases for your apps that is very user friendly. Dropbox® for Android - A must have - Android backs up your documents and data, and they give you a ton of space just for using it.
Without using the referral program indicated on the chart above was able to get over 50 Gigs by using an Android, an iPhone, and a Computer and setting it to automatically backup and consolidate my pictures (Win-Win). They also have a pretty decent referral program (earn up to 16GB by recommending to other user). As a user of iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive - my second largest storage provider would be Google Drive at 30GB (which is much less than my free Dropbox® account). Dropbox® Pro or Dropbox® for business (paid subscriptions) START at 100GB for bucks a month or 100 bucks per year. It is this in particular (cloud space bang for buck) and the unique features and general ubiquity that makes Dropbox® a SimpleAssist "Top Pick" vs. its competition.
Referral Incentives - Download Links
I'd like to take a moment to explain my philosophy as relates to my recommendation of a technical product or service. Simply put, I only recommend products and services I have used extensively and believe in, and that the incentive must benefit the reader / whomever I am referring. Therefore i have included links to simply download or review from the Dropbox® Site or you (and I) can earn free space by clicking the link below: Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/ SimpleAssist Referral Incentive Download Link: https://db.tt/VUdYETx3
Bringing the note and record keeping concepts of a three ring binder, document scanning, audio dictation, and organization to another level; regardless of whether you're a techie two gigabytes away from mental "hard drive" malfunction, or just attempting to GPS navigate through the unknown and sometimes overwhelming technological landscape, Evernote offers an amazingly simple respite to help keep your sanity among the day-to-day 21st century demands of staying organized as the hours and days fly by at the speed of light
A Unique Space in the Cloud
Exclusively cloud-based, and offering a brilliant "freemium" interface without much in the way of restrictions and an overall data limit, users have a more pragmatic caveat when it comes to " limitations" between free and premium, with regard to storage especially. To this end, instead of limiting cumulative data Evernote alternatively limits how much data can be uploaded per month, although the free version should be good for many - though I wouldn't recommend storing tons of large files such as movies... more like the perfect tool for writing down ideas and storing research for writing your next movie script.
Amazingly Easy to Use
Simply put, Evernote on it's own does the job, and does it extraordinarily well. Over the past several months, they have added features that continue to bedazzle: such as the ability to not just scan a document by snapping a picture or pulling from the gallery of a device, but also the OCR recognition which makes the document searchable, and recently the business card feature. When the business card option is selected. the text from the business card "contact" fields are populated from a quick snap which then can be seamlessly saved as a new contact.
Something Special
In summarizing why Evernote is becoming more popular by the day, and finding itself in another league despite so many apps out there with similar functionality, it simply boils down to a defining characteristic that separates the good software from great software, the mediocre from the game changer: Innovative Elegance, resulting from the painstaking, seemingly impassioned strive to make the user experience seamless and intuitive, from constant innovation and improvement of the functionality. The intuitive interaction simply makes sense, and becomes an effortless symbiosis with end user; almost as if the application was designed to anticipate our next move, and giving the sense that it was designed and created specifically for the user.
As someone who was using smartphones before the iPhone, as much as I almost didn't want to (I was a PC person through and through) it was that elegance which made iPhone the catalyst of the smart phone explosion.Maybe Apple could take some pointers, as their brand loyalty wanes due to their never ending desire to force you to repay for their innovation. And so Evernote, in both their commitment to excellence and innovation with a product that starts at free and doesn't suck the customer in only to squeeze every nickel or bombard them with ads,makes it truly something special. The is not often seen in the ultra competitive "app" market, making Evernote feel like more of an open source passion product, and a mission to help us all handle the information coming at us every hour of every day.
Syncing Google Apps with MS Outlook 2013 "Click to Run" (AKA Microsoft Office 365 online) - Workaround
Are you using Microsoft Office 365 2013 viz their monthly subscription? If you are a fan of of Google Apps and Google Apps Sync as well, you have likely figured out it is not supported with Microsoft's Subscription model: MS Outlook 2013 365 (click to run). It make's sense that you might. If you're a fan of Outlook, but see the writing on the wall in all things Google, their wacky little feuds (e.g. Apps Sync runs fine on all other versions of office), in my opinion have been "bad for business"... small business that is, who enjoy the reduced pricing and added benefit of easy deployment in order to use the popular, business standard (for now) Microsoft Office products (Outlook in particular) viz a low monthly subscription for "Desktop" use, who are also intrigued in the cloud based Google Apps and it's many attractive qualities: easy of use, user familiarity, scope of applications and the ability to work on nearly every device out there. For those folks who just don't want to give up Outlook, I have included a link to a "workaround" that will enable you to do sync Outlook with Google Apps Sync. Like any workaround while not "officially supported" it is is reliable, and from everything I've seen, seems to be the only free option available. Office 2013 Click to Run / Google Apps Sync Instructions - Note: SimpleAssist no responsibility for any instructional that is not specifically the direct intellectual property it's author(s). This author does however, attest to the fact that it worked for him without issue for several months, and would not post it otherwise. I monitored this group as they worked through it, and I'm happy someone posted and saved me the steps. I am doing it again currently, after a fresh install Enjoy! Derek Shocklee Founder SimpleAssist www.simpleassistme.com helpme@simpleasisstme.com
June 13, 2013 (Originally Posted) Ever wonder where the files taking up your hard drive? Recently I began wondering after I found myself frustrated that I had filled up nearly the entire terabyte on my laptop, and having lost the cord to my 2T external... :-)I started thinking... how difficult is it in this modern world to figure out where your large files are? I mean, we know the files that we don't want to delete are usually stored (pics, videos etc) but to have to go to each folder on the computer and to view the size, I figured there had to be something better, figured that it had to be "visual" and did some digging.
I will be adding this to my TOP TIP category... check it out! Click here to read a reviewby tech a writer who reviewed Graphical Hard Drive Interface programs that can help you "road-map" your hard drive, so you can make freeing up your hard drive (and your life)... a little easier. My Recommendation: WinDirStat: Windows Directory Statistics - WinDirStat (WDS) is a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Windows. It shows disk, file and directory sizes in a treelist as well as graphically in a treemap. It's fairly simple to use, and get's the job done! Website for WinDirStat: Direct Download Link (SourceForge):
