Apps

Tech Tip – Lightbeam Screen-Sharing App

If you’d like an app that enables you to easily share mobile screens with a friend or colleague, for work or leisure, Lightbeam is a new, free, cross-platform app which does just that.

The social screen sharing app also makes it easy to book group itineraries and reservations for trips, and it also works as a video chat service.

To download the app find it on Apple’s iTunes, and on Google Play Store.

Tech Tip – Free Online Presentation App ‘Zoho Show’

If you’d like an app that enables you to create and collaborate, publish and broadcast presentations from any device, quickly and easily, Zoho Show free online presentation software may be for you.

It offers many different themes and has a contextual user-focused interface that guides you through authoring slides, and it has animations and transitions to help set the tone of your presentation for your particular audience.

Zoho Show is available for Apple and Android and is compatible with PowerPoint.  Find more information online here https://www.zoho.com/show/ or download Show from iTunes or the Google Play store.

Tech Tip – The JigSpace App

If you’d like to have the ability to instantly see a step-by-step interactive 3D breakdown of a complex idea, product, or phenomenon, so that you can understand exactly how it works, and be able to explain it (e.g. for a work or education project) then the JigSpace app could be for you.

The JigSpace app for iPhone and iPad is a platform to explore and share interactive, 3D ‘knowledge for anything’. When you ask, “How does that work?” the answer is right in front of you in … interactive 3D. The basic JigSpace app is available for free from Apple iTunes.

Tech Tip – Spark E-Mail App

If you’re looking for a well-organised email app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android with a clever interface, flexible customisation options, and tools for discussing and collaborating on emails with your team ‘Spark’ may be the app for you.

The Spark email app offers a very tidy email inbox that puts the most important emails first and saves the junk, newsletters, and less important tasks for later.

The app also features a good email search engine, offers the scheduling and snoozing of emails, smart notifications, integrations with other services, and a host of other features.

To find out more visit the Spark website https://sparkmailapp.com/ , or go to iTunes or Google’s Play Store.

Tech Tip – Free, Online AI Business School

If you’d like to get an understanding of what AI is and its implications for business strategy, corporate culture and business ethics, Microsoft, in partnership with global business school INSEAD has established a free, online business school.

The AI course offers a series of 10-minute lecture videos as well as academic lectures, case studies, executive perspective videos and technology talks, which combined provide a grounding in AI and its possible applications in your business.

The online school doesn’t require registration, and the course material can be accessed on demand via mobile devices or the desktop.

Access Microsoft’s AI Business School resources here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/business

Tech Tip – Free Graphic Design App For Android

Design social media posts, ads, presentations, cards, flyers and more with ‘Desygner’, a free, popular graphic design app for phone or tablet.  The app has an intuitive interface and thousands of templates to choose from. Although the basic offering is free, you can switch up to a £5.99 monthly subscription if you plan to use the app regularly.

To install the app, look for ‘Desygner’ in Google Play.

Tech Tip – Integrated Audio Recording and Note-Taking App

The ‘Noted’ app is a fully-integrated audio recording and note-taking app that can help you to keep track of meetings, interviews, lectures and more.  The app records audio, while also allowing you to type out notes which have rich text and image support.  These notes are automatically time-stamped with easily searchable “time tags”, and the recordings + accompanying notes can be synced through iCloud, organized into notebooks, and quickly searched through.

The basic Noted app free tier has core functionality and allows you to save five recordings. Premium plans e.g. Noted+ allow for more recordings + offer other features such as removing unwanted background noise and enhancing recordings for clearer playback and exporting notes to PDF.

The Noted app is available for Mac, iPhone/iPad, and now the Apple watch so you can capture spontaneous conversations.

To get Noted, go to the Mac Apple Store (itunes.apple.com) and download the basic version for free.  In-app upgrades can be purchased if you require more recordings and functionality. More details about an Android offering coming soon.

Tech Tip – Discover How Your Phone Is Tracking Your Movements

If you’d like to see what data your phone has been collecting about your movements here’s how:

For iPhone:

You can see what Apple refers to as your ‘Significant Locations’ by going to:

Settings > Privacy > Location Services >

Scroll down and select System Services > Significant Locations.

You will need to prove it’s you before being given this info e.g. by fingerprint scan, Face ID or typing in your passcode.

For Android:

You can see what is referred to as ‘Your Timeline’ by:

Opening the Google Maps app.

Clicking on the menu (3 horizontal bars, top left)

Selecting ‘Your Timeline’.

At this point, you may get an on-screen permissions message about turning tracking on or off.

Tech Tip – Check Your Screen Time on Apple Devices

If you’d like to be able to get a report about how you or your family members use your Apple devices, apps, and websites, how much time is spent on them, and (for example) set limits on your child’s device, there’s an app in the new iOS 12 to help you do it.  Here’s how :

– Turn on the ‘Screen Time’ app: on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > Screen Time.

– Select ‘Turn On Screen Time’.

– Select ‘Continue’.

– Select This is My [device] or This is My Child’s [device].

You can now get reports. To set limits, you can configure your child’s device from your own device using ‘Family Sharing’:

– Go to Settings > Screen Time (if you’re already in a Family Group).

– Tap your child’s name.

– If you need to create a new Apple ID for your child, go to Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing > Screen Time.

– If you’re new to Family Sharing, ‘Set up Screen Time for Family’.

– Follow the instructions to add a child and set up your family.

– Add any other family members from the Family Sharing settings at any time.

Tech Tip – Save Your Passwords Securely on Mobile Devices

If you’d like to be able to save all your login credentials in a secure and safe manner on your mobile device, an app like the ‘LastPass’ password manager may prove very helpful.  It’s one of many such apps, but it’s been rated highly.

LastPass is a ‘freemium’ model password manager that stores encrypted passwords online.

– Download the LastPass Mobile App from Google Play or Apple’s App Store.

– Follow the app instructions.

– Log in with the same LastPass account to sync data between devices, or you can swipe into the LastPass app with your fingerprint for extra security.

There is a built-in random password generator so all your passwords can be different.

Your passwords can be stored and viewed in a secure vault and the app offers autofill, sharing of passwords securely, password auditing, and the ability to keep digital notes with the passwords for e.g. memberships, prescription etc.

See https://www.lastpass.com for details.