I am often asked what’s the cheapest way to travel, hold a one to one video conference, or what’s the most useful software on your Macbook? Having done this several times recently here is my personal list of the latest top 20.
Communications and Messaging
Powwownow Cheap non-subscription personal web and voice conferencing. Finalise a presentation or document easily with a colleague in another location by screen sharing. You pay only for the calls used so much cheaper for an occasional user. Cheap international dial in access codes.
Skype Cheap one to one calls and video. Great for international calls and also use with Powwownow.
LinkedIn Connect with other professionals and interest groups
UK Travel Planning
UK Travel Planner Door to door journey planner. Compare public transport and car journeys. It’s not always cheaper or quicker to use the car and save the planet!
Rail Travel Rail planner and live departure boards. Check before you leave to see if your train is late
Flights Planner Find that cheap flight. You can search for flights between countries rather than airport to airport and find other cheaper airports and travel dates to use.
Flights Live Status Check for flight delays and average punctuality statistics of that flight
ViaMichelin Plan your car journey and find good places to eat and stay
Traffic England Find out what traffic congestion is on major routes before you leave. Look at regional maps or entire motorways.
Transport for London Getting about London made easy. It’s often quicker to walk, use the bus, or now cycle.
Research and information tools
Wikipedia Quick access to knowledge
Google Still the best web search engine
Youtube Put your ideas and products and customer feedback on the web. Much cheaper than sales calls and printed brochures. Just use a simple HD camera and an editing software. I use a Canon IXUS 100 and Camtasia below.
eBay Check prices and 2nd hand office items
Essential MacBook business user software
Omnifocus Personal Task Management and GTD on a Mac
Camtasia Easy video editing for the web and Youtube
MindManager Mindmap your ideas to organise your information
Snagit Snagit is a utility that allows you to take still screenshots of documents and web sites and then save and paste
Omnigraffle Diagrams are worth a thousand words
Omnifocus for Iphone Take you task management on the road and associate tasks with nearby locations
