As a manager, creating schedules, ensuring your employees see them, and making changes on the fly when someone calls in or does not show can be a headache. Weather your managing a local restaurant or a larger company, the same problems persist, albeit on different scales. Most recently an application has come to our attention that seems to put ease in the idea of scheduling, sharing schedules, and and so much more. ShifPlanning.com has come to the rescue by not only offering a web interface, but creating a mobile interface to keep your schedule with you at all times on the iPhone.
The last one is pretty important. Why? Now you can share the schedule with people online and have them check off, verifying they’ve seen it. No more “losing your schedule” or “forgetting what time you were supposed to come in.” At the end of the day once you’ve created schedules, you get custom detailed reports that will show you expenditures, hours allotted, employee hours and more.
The web and mobile app has really gone above and beyond what I think a manager might think of. Personally I wish something like this would have been used when I was working hourly at a few local joints. If you’re managing your schedules and shifts and can’t seem to find your stride, give this app a look and let us know what you think.
GPS company Tom Tom probably does not come to mind when you think of companies celebrating Star Wars Day. While geeks the world over celebrate the day, and the battles of Star Wars vs Star Trek are put on hold, Tom Tom released a very cool feature for their GPS devices. Imagine getting directions from the Dark Lord of the Sith himself. Don’t want to go the way Lord Vader tells you? Well he “finds your lack of faith disturbing.”
Okay, all kidding aside, for $13, Tom Tom allows you download the voices which include Darth Vader, C-3PO, Yoda, and Han Solo. Yes, I said Yoda, you might get lost just trying to unravel his unique choice in subject verb agreements. Nevertheless, with these you can now travel in intergalactic style. With the download you also get wallpapers, sound effects, and map icons to keep you the kid in you happy.
My question is…can we get a little love for Admiral Ackbar? Just saying.
Nothing says tech geek like having a desk full of blinking lights, gadgets, and gizmos. Tech isn’t always pretty, the cold metal can leave a numb feeling for those looking for a bit more aesthetics. If that’s you, then perhaps you would consider starting with some of your peripherals, like an external hard drive. The casings from BP Custom Woodworks come for a variety of external hard drives and encase them in an aesthetically pleasing wood to put a damper on the cold look of steel.
Ranging from $100-$145, the handmade coverings are created in a two-man shop where discarded wood is given a new lease on life. These one of a kind encasings boast a unique design you won’t find anywhere else along with with a polished, well oiled finish to keep the encasing looking as good as it did the first day, for many years to come. Chances are, your hard drive will give out before these encasings start to go look bad.
Their popularity has skyrocketed since the announcement that currently they are out of stock. Their site says they are working on replenishing the supply, perhaps they should consider more than a two-man team. Nevertheless, with the kind of attention and craftsmanship that goes into each one, you know you’re getting a quality encasing for that external drive.
If you’re a company looking for an easy way to schedule your staff then look no further than Shift Schedule’s award winning Shift Planner. The software is downloadable online and used to be known as Easy Shift. Shift Schedule is an award winning company for the amazing easy to read and well designed spreadsheets that it has put together for companies big and small. Since 1998 they’ve helped to create scheduling software that makes it easier for management teams to keep track of their staff, save money, and keep their businesses running.
The scheduling spreadsheets are functional for a variety of shifts. Whether you’re working with rotating shifts, fixed shifts, or split shifts, the spreadsheet software appropriately adjusts to ensure that all employers can see the hours their employees are putting in while ensuring that they save money in the process. Digging deeper it can also manage multiple individual tasks, crew tasks, or entire floor schedules. The flexibility is built into the spreadsheet and will only very based on the number of people you have to work with.
Looking for a web-based scheduler? No problem! Whether you’re working with 20 people or an entire corporate structure, the software comes with online components that allow you to schedule, plan, and share that feature with other managers who will need to refer to the spreadsheet. In a partnership with Shift Hound, a leader in online shift planning, the two have come together to create an online experience that can help ensure your company or business is running smoothly. For example, if you’ve got holes in your schedule, the software can help you schedule, request time off, and swap shifts. Any changes made happen in real time and come with not only real time notifications, but emails as well. This creates a collaborative effort that everyone will appreciate.
Finally, if you’re looking for specific templates, this software comes with many award winning designs to kick your schedules into high gear. Didn’t think spreadsheets could win awards? Think again, Shift Schedule has done some serious work on the planning software.
You a big digital picture frame fan? It never caught on in my house. Speaking as the purveyor of technology for my home, it honestly never caught my eye. I think the novelty of it is interesting, but it seems like a lot of money for something that can essentially exist on a social network of photo site. I guess I’m not one for photos, but it seems like market for these types of devices has grown. More recently we’ve seen a transition from the standard photo frames that typically need to have photos uploaded to them via a USB connection, to the photo frames that can update wirelessly.
The Vizit is one example of a “smart” digital photo frame. I use the word “smart” loosely as I’ve seen other devices that may not be photo frames do a lot more and yet function in the same way. Nevertheless if you’re just looking for the frame, the Vizit offers an always on data connection – to the AT&T network – to send the photos you have or take to the device via email, mms, or via the vizitme.com website. As an added bonus users will be able to interact with the touch screen surface to manipulate the flow of the photos by going forward or backwards to quickly see what’s been stored.
Vizit Smart Digital Photo Frame
The Vizit comes in with a pricey $280 price tag. While it might seem competitive, there’s always another device that can serve not only as a device to share photos, but also run a variety of apps, but we’ll leave that decision between Vizit and unmentioned device to you.
AT&T service has gotten a bad reputation. So much so, that for major events like SXSW in Austin, TX, which I just recently attended, before the $%it hit the fan, they were already mobilizing trucks
3G MicroCell from AT&T
into the area as a preemptive to what was sure to be a strain on their network. In 2009 AT&T suffered scathing remarks from thousands upon thousands of technophiles for their inability to provide coverage, leaving phones and laptops dependent on their 3G service dead in the water. This year they planned on making a difference, and in the end, the service was amazing.
But not everyday is SXSW, and not every city is the site of a conference like SXSW, so what do you do when your 3G service is constantly dropping? Perhaps you could leave and go to another carrier, but bye-bye iPhone, because it’s not easy to take that thing where you want. Another alternative is to put up a mini-tower for AT&T cell service in your home with the 3G MicroCell.
The 3G MicroCell offers a strong, uninterrupted signal in your home that ensures that your calls and internet surfing remains fast and reliable. The mini-tower allows up to four devices to connect to it, providing a range of users inside the home the ability to interact as much as they want on a localized signal.
Coming in at approximately $150, the mini-tower offers the following:
Enhanced coverage indoors – supports both voice and data up to 5000 square feet
Available unlimited minute plans – individual or FamilyTalk plans.
3G handset compatible – works with any AT&T 3G phone.
Supports up to four voice or data users at once.
Device is secure – cannot be accessed by unauthorized users, easy and secure online management of device settings
Seamless call hand-over – start calls on your 3G MicroCell and continue without interruption, even if you leave the building.
(courtesy of AT&T website)
Now you will also need an existing AT&T broad band internet service (DSL or Cable) to connect this device to, but if you’re tired of those dropped calls even inside your home, this might be what you’re looking for if you’re willing to invest in another piece of technology in your home.
As for the signal when you step out of the house and travel to your favorite spots around town, they can’t help you with that. You’re at the mercy of the overworked, already strained systems for your service, and that’s not even including the use of the 3G capable iPads yet. Joy!
Nothing has changed the way we watched TV more than TiVo has. When the TiVo was first released it was truly revolutionary for the viewing audience. Time controlled TV; no longer were we to be enslaved by the powers that be and their scheduling practices. Even if we were watching something scheduled, we could record on another channel. The many iterations of TiVo over the years has seen increased offerings and versatility, but now with the release of the Premiere, we might see a new era for the TiVo…or will we?
The new TiVo Premiere ($300) takes full advantage of the many new HDTV models and their ability to connect to the internet. By accessing the internet TiVo can now not only surf the digital channels, but also content across sites like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, On Demand, and Blockbuster. The new standard version of the Premiere can record up to 45 hours of HD quality content. The larger version of the Premiere XL ($500) can record a whopping 150 hours of HD quality content.
The new interface for this TiVo is built on the Adobe Flash platform. You know Flash, the one Apple is so afraid of. Is this any good? Will this crash on us constantly? It’ll be interesting to see how things work out, but this TiVo is a heavy contender for in-home set top boxes.
Tablets, pads, call them what you will, they seem to be all the rage. While personally I’m not in the market for either, but there are enough consumers out there with money burning in their pocket for just such a device that manufacturers know their product could be the next big thing. Apple did their grand debut for their version of a pad, but HP is not to be left out of the game.
The HP Elitebook 2740P that combines a tablet and a high performance laptop. Starting at $1,600 and up, the tablet is touch enabled with both your finger and stylus. The tablet/laptop features a 12in. LED-backlit screen on a reversible convertible hinge. Other companies have attempted the reversible convertible model, none have really become staples in the household.
Under the hood you’ll find an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor (depending on the model you purchase), a maximum of 8GB or RAM, optional built-in 3G wireless, and a long lasting 6-cell battery. It seems HP did a good job of putting this piece together for both the business and personal consumer.
I’m a huge fan of Blue Microphone. I’ve done reviews on their microphones in the past and tonight I want to introduce everyone to their mobile app. Unlike other microphones, Blue Microphone has released microphones with a lot of people in mind. Everyone from the desktop podcaster to the roving new media recorder, Blue Microphone has created products that are durable and versatile.
With the release of their new free app, Blue FiRe, Blue Microphone lays conquest on the standard microphone app that comes bundled with the purchase of your iPhone. Some will say that all they need is the ability to record and listen, and that probably works well for the vast majority of us. But what if you had an application that had all the control of a switchboard in order to get the right recording sound.
This feature rich application allows users to not just record but also to manipulate the audio recordings. The ability to set timing markers, bookmark certain areas of the audio, you can set low and high threshold auto-recordings based on what your surroundings are. Title your recordings, snap photos of your recording location to be attached with the audio, and rather than send SMS, you can simply set your browser to the set URL and download the audio format in three versions for you to either store, or edit in an audio editing program.
It really does make Apple’s Voice Memo app seem a bit out of date, and for the price, it seems like a nice upgrade too.
No one carries a map anymore, we’ve all got mobile devices. But how many of us still need to type in the location we’re trying to get to, even copy and paste can be a hassle if you need something in a hurry. Sending maps to friends would be a lot easier and thats what Assemble strives to do. Now when you want to meet in a central location, or find where your friend is, have them send you a message via Assemble and not only will you get a personalized message, but you also get a map of where they are.
This proves to be extremely useful in an era when speed and information go hand in hand. Rather than sending someone a typed out address of where I am at, only to have them map it on their end, Assemble does all the work and sends the map to them. Simply add contacts on your own or pair it with the Bump app to quickly get contacts on your phone and start sending. It’s extremely easy to use and will even provide driving directions all while using the internal map system on the iPhone.
