Online Services & Cloudbased Apps – March 2012

Posted in Cloud Computing, Software

Time for an update to this December 2011 version, to what online services & Apps I use from within the cloud or from Internet. Due to my Digital Diet of March 2012, the list has decreased considerably … meaning lower overhead to manage, and having more time for travel and ‘fun stuff’. Let’s start with:

Google Apps

I’m still a FREE user of Google’s Services, simply because the migration to Google Apps for Business still poses quite the challenge. However — opposed to the default version — I’m using 2-step verification for increased security. Apps I use frequently are:

Analytics | for all the necessary monitoring of traffic of 3rd parties the most
Blogger | you are here …
Calendar | absolutely essential for keeping track of all my appointments and event attending
Contacts | store all my contacts as explained here
Docs
Image Search | search for images to edit
goo.gl | Google’s URL shortener
Gmail + Google Labs
Maps
Profile | keeping track of all the communities and social media sites I’m involved + contact info
Search
Sync | sync from several devices & 3rd party apps with Google Calendar, Contacts and email
TransLate | for the occasional translations
YouTube

Google Chrome Extensions

One of the fantastic benefits of Google Chrome, is being able to synchronise your extensions with the Google Cloud. But again … extensions are very memory hungry. Plus the more you enable, the more ‘cluttered’ the interface gets. At this moment of writing I’ve only enabled:

Boomerang for Gmail | got this tip from a fellow digital nomad. It allows you to schedule emails (delayed sending and receiving), taking the stress out of life! Does have a subscription plan after 30-days though. So I will put on trial and see how it goes.
Chrome Contact Manager | direct access from Google toolbar to addressbook
Google Calender Checker
Multiple Monitor FullScreen | check the small review
SearchPreview
Skype Links
Tab Menu | keep track of which tabs I have open (when it reaches 20+)
UnOfficial Google Tasks

Apps with a monthly-fee (but SO worth it!):

MoneyBird | Bookkeeping program for all my entrepreneurial undertakings | €11.90mo
Talk Fusion | a great low-cost 8-in-1 video toolbox that I use with my 100+ students for weekly conferences, presentations and recordings, but also for the video e-mail app at my iPod 4

Payment gateways:

PayPal | business account, so I’m able to receive creditcard payments as well
Mollie (NL) | International payment gateway for accepting iDeal payments, etc. Blends in great with MoneyBird book-keeping.