Articles by Jill Duffy
EasilyDo (for Android)
Productivity enthusiasts are always looking to shave a few seconds here, a few seconds there, from their workload, knowing that over time, seconds add up to minutes and hours and days of your life that could be better spent. The Android app EasilyDo (free; also available for iPhone) promises to save these precious seconds and…
Cloze (for iPhone)
What I like most about the Web app Cloze is precisely what’s missing from its iPhone app: bits of communication from different places for a single person put into one view for the day. In other words, if my colleague tweets three times, posts on Facebook twice, and shares an article on LinkedIn all in…
Google Drive
What started as a free online alternative to Microsoft Office has quickly become one of the most impressive services for creating, editing, saving, syncing, and collaborating on documents. Google Drive (freemium) has long impressed me in just how far it goes toward helping groups of people work together on files simultaneously. Some new features rolling…
Facebook Home (for Android)
Install the free Facebook Home app on a compatible Android phone, and you’ll find that your locked screen transforms into a gorgeous, interactive slideshow of photos and posts from your Facebook friends. Anytime you glance at your phone to check the time or see whether you’ve missed a call, you’ll see an ever-changing background image…
24me (for iPhone)
Productivity apps with weird gimmicks that totally obfuscate their usability do not impress me one bit. I’ve seen my fair share lately, too, from the Carrot iPhone app (99 cents, 2.5 stars), which tries to bully you into completing your to-do list, to the Clear iPhone app (99 cents, 2 stars), which dazzles the user…
Bills & Accounts Manager – Manilla (for iPhone)
The iPhone, incredible little device that it is, can help you manage almost any aspect of your life, including your money. Apps for personal finance generally put in front of you information that you might need quickly and while on the go, such as your bank account balance or a reminder that a bill is…
Tempo Smart Calendar (for iPhone)
How much time would you save if your smartphone were just a little bit smarter? What if the scheduled meetings in your calendar connected directly to the contact information of the participants who would be attending your meetings? What if their LinkedIn profiles appeared on your screen before the meeting, or if the reminder to…
Ogio’s 13″ Covert Shoulder Bag
If you’re in the market for an inexpensive, lightweight, casual bag to carry your small laptop or tablet, and maybe a handful more than that, Ogio’s 13″ Covert Shoulder Bag ($69.99, direct) will get the job done. The handles on top let you carry it like a briefcase, although the vertical design helps the bag…
Crumpler’s House of Horror Laptop Backpack
I love bags that transition effortlessly from the cubicle farm to the urban outdoors, a sack big enough to hold everything you’d need in either environment, but simple and compact enough to carry. Crumpler’s House of Horror laptop bag ($130) hits all those high notes, sliding quickly onto your shoulders as a backpack when you’re…
Crumpler’s Vegetable from Within the Mountain Laptop Backpack
Crumpler has quickly become one bag-making company whose work I truly admire. Every bag is designed exquisitely in both form and function for a particular type of consumer. Its bags aren’t cheap, but that’s practically the only negative thing I have to say about them. One of its newer styles, called Vegetable From Within the…