Open Question: What are your favorite apps for academics?
Eric Durbrow
with new apps so I don't procrastinate). Regardless of OS, which are
your most used and most productive applications for publishing,
researching, and teaching? Any unsung heroes?
Mine:
XMIND (all platforms; mindmapping)
BusySync (OS X; syncs iCal with gCal; Google's Calabration does not
seem to work for me)
Library Books (OS X: tell you when your library books are due)
Google Docs (its very odd but I seem to get more down with its elegant
interface)
Moxy (back up lab data for free)
EverNote (Windows, OS X --- is there a Linux version?)
VirtualBox (this is the only app that seems to run Ubuntu; parallels
and fusion do not seem to to work)
NoteBook (OS X; similar to Windows OneNote but more versatile. I use
it for online teaching and task management)
I am still looking for a good citation manager to replace EndNote....
Let me know if you can think of one or two apps I should check out...
THanks.
Eric Durbrow Ph.D. dur...@gmail.com
twitter: durbrow
tumblr log: http://psyhmeetsreality.tumblr.com/
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Try: www.ripple.org, www.thehungersite.com
Tom Birkland
MS Word 2003--please get that ribbon away from me!
Evernote--love having it on line, and web accessible. Still to clunky for handwriting compared with Onenote
Super Flexible File Sync--for back ups to the external HDD
Syncplicity--on the fly, real time sync between any number of computers. I cannot live without it. It's $10 a month, but worth every single cent.
Endnote--I like Endnote, perhaps because I have been using it for years. Why replace it?
Visio--for simple mind mapping--lousy expert to MS word, though.
Gmail--because academics often get stuck with university email systems that are unreliable.
Google Calendar--if your university doesn't have and won't support MS Exchange. (grrrr)
Tom Birkland
Raleigh, NC
tom.bi...@gmail.com
wshar...@gmail.com
LaTeX, BiBTeX, Beamer
Emacs (the basis of everything :-) and org-mode, AUCTeX, Gnus, ...
FreeMind
Google Docs
OpenOffice.org Impress
OpenOffice.org Calc
asciidoc and a docbook toolchain
some revision control system (I'm currently using bazaar)
Unison or rsync works great for syncing data between computers, BTW.
rdiff-backup works great for backups.
Bill
--
Bill Harris http://facilitatedsystems.com/weblog/
Facilitated Systems Everett, WA 98208 USA
http://facilitatedsystems.com/ phone: +1 425 337-5541
arehrlich
XMind - a new favorite that's become indispensable
FireFox/Thunderbird
Zotero
Open Office
Skype
Evernote
Debrief
Alan
Alan Ehrlich
West Hills, CA
Tom Birkland
Graham Smith
This has made an enormous difference knowing that all my files will be
available wherever I am.
Lyx has been a revelation, it just shows you how good a word processor can be.
Linked to Lyx, but originally used with Latex, is Beamer, being able
to prepare presentations and hand outs from the same file and then
only needing to update one file has revolutionised the way I manage
lecture material.
Honourable mentions go to Emacs, Gnumeric (A spreadsheet that does the
all essential boxplots), R, and OpenOffice
Jan Erik Moström
Mailsmith + Gmail
OmniFocus
FastScript
ExpanDrive
TextExpander
LaTeX
Marratech
Hardware: iTouch
Jan Erik Moström
I forgot one that is very important for collaboration (in
addition to latex and Marratech): subversion
jem
--
Jan Erik Moström
mostrom.eu
Alexander Mikhnenko
Thanks for the hint about XMind. It is a nice replacement of pricey
MindManager.
> I am still looking for a good citation manager to replace EndNote....
Zotero rocks! Definitely give it a try.
For backups and file sync I set up ubuntu file server in uni with two
mirroring hard drives and use it with unison and rdiff-backup. Works
fine with me and my colleagues. For those who are using windows only I
recommend winscp for file syncing with a remote server. It is much
easier to setup and configure than unison and rdiff-backup.
Cheers, Alex.
smolk
Tinderbox (OSX)
LaTeX (TeXshop)
Omnifocus
Bibdesk
Skim
Cyberduck
QuickSilver
Retrospect (on Tiger; would TimeMachine render this obsolete?)
Daylite
ChronoSync (via Gig-ethernet)
Accordance
Willem
On Dec 10, 8:08 am, "Alexander Mikhnenko"
Emre Akbas
LaTeX, BiBTex -- for publishing
Open Office Draw -- to draw figures, diagrams for publications
rsync -- backup
citeulike -- document,citation management
google docs -- for everything else (todo lists, mind-mapping, online note taking, etc.)
subversion -- version control
tinyproxy -- to reach online papers when I'm at home
Emre
Jan Erik Moström
First of all I would like to make yet another addition which I
actually started to use yesterday but will continue to use in
the future. If you're transcribing interviews I suggest that you
check out "Transcriva", it makes transcribing much easier.
>Bibdesk
Stopped using Bibdesk and started with Bookends instead, happier now.
>Skim
Nice, I created an applescript that takes the currently selected
text and creates an entry in DEVONthink ... very nice.
>Retrospect (on Tiger; would TimeMachine render this obsolete?)
Hmmm, it depends. Personally I stopped using Retrospect many
years ago after it had trashed my backups several times ... I
felt that if I couldn't trust my backup software I shouldn't use
it. TimeMachine works ... haven't really had the reason to test
it in real life yet (that is, I haven't had a really bad crash
that have forced me to restore data - see below) but others have
reported that it works well.
One thing that have reduced the necessity for Mac backup
software is that all of my important documents are under version
control. This mean than not only do I have a copy of my
documents on a remote machine (in my case a linux server at
home) but I have access to the same documents from other machines.
We also use subversion to collaborate in various research
groups, it makes it possible to work together on the same
documents and easily merge changes, track who did what etc.
Jan Erik Moström
OK, I'll stop after this. For making slides and illustrations
OmniGraffle
Keynote
Matthias Steffens
BBEdit with TeXShop/LaTeX - writing
refbase with BibTeX - citation management
Yojimbo - store/tag/search web pages & PDFs
Keynote - presentations
Illustrator - graphics
Mailsmith - email
MenuCalendarClock - quick access to iCal
Snychronize Pro, Retrospect & TimeMachine - backups
Perforce & Subversion - version control
FastScript & various home-grown AppleScripts - glueing it all together
Matthias
Passopp
there) I have been trying out, and eventually purchased, quite a few
Mac-only applications for my academic work. Mellel, Bookends,
DEVONThink Pro Office, Scrivener et al. I had a hard time integrating
them, creating a workflow. So I was really glad to stumble upon these
articles, explaining exactly what I could do with stuff I already was
into. Kudos!
http://homepage.mac.com/kvmagruder/hsci/resources/MacHelps.html
http://homepage.mac.com/kvmagruder/hsci/resources/academicApps.html
(Some affordable Mac apps for academic tasks / Affordable Mac apps for
various academic tasks)
http://homepage.mac.com/kvmagruder/hsci/resources/workflow.html
(My paperless academic workflow / A Digital Academic Workflow)
There is a discussion of web browsers in there somewhere. I would like
to see Opera included.
http://www.opera.com/
Except for that, Kerry Magruder gives comprehensive and excellent
advice to academics on Macs!
Tom Birkland
Tom
wshar...@gmail.com
Hash: SHA1
"Tom Birkland" <tom.bi...@gmail.com> writes:
> The paperless workflow link is really useful, even if you don't use Macs. I
> use evernote, Word (I'm a social scientist, not a hard scientist or
> engineer, so we're not in to LaTex and its derivatives as much), endnote,
Check out asciidoc for text, too. I use it regularly to prepare short
reports for a client in my business, and there's even an asciidoc to
beamer conversion. I've tried that; if I were doing simple stuff in
beamer and especially if I were just starting out with beamer, I'd
probably go that route.
I'm sure you can find a toolchain to convert asciidoc to PDF and other
formats on the Mac (conversion to HTML is included); I've got that
pretty easily on Linux. On Windows, check out the free eDE -- the
easiest way to do DocBook on Windows that I've found.
While I had viewed asciidoc as suited only for short documents, I just
found a person doing an OReilly book in asciidoc.
Links:
asciidoc: http://www.methods.co.nz/asciidoc/index.html
eDE: http://www.e-novative.info/software/ede.php
Bill
- --
Bill Harris http://facilitatedsystems.com/weblog/
Facilitated Systems Everett, WA 98208 USA
http://facilitatedsystems.com/ phone: +1 425 337-5541
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antonio brito
data analysis: Origin
math eq.: Scientific Workplace.
antonio brito
--
Antonio Brito
PIC Informatica
tel. 0800 111 871
IM: abrit...@yahoo.com
Jan Erik Moström
>I'm sure you can find a toolchain to convert asciidoc to PDF and other
>formats on the Mac (conversion to HTML is included); I've got that
>pretty easily on Linux. On Windows, check out the free eDE -- the
>easiest way to do DocBook on Windows that I've found.
Multimarkdown might be something to look into
tbf
Google Notebook
Google Reader
-tbf
Todd Finley
http://tinyurl.com/5netkj
On Dec 9, 7:09 pm, Eric Durbrow <durb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I interesting in trying out new apps (I put a time limit on my fussing
> with new apps so I don't procrastinate). Regardless of OS, which are
> your most used and most productive applications for publishing,
> researching, and teaching? Any unsung heroes?
>
> Mine:
> XMIND (all platforms; mindmapping)
> BusySync (OS X; syncs iCal with gCal; Google's Calabration does not
> seem to work for me)
> Library Books (OS X: tell you when your library books are due)
> Google Docs (its very odd but I seem to get more down with its elegant
> interface)
> Moxy (back up lab data for free)
> EverNote (Windows, OS X --- is there a Linux version?)
> VirtualBox (this is the only app that seems to run Ubuntu; parallels
> and fusion do not seem to to work)
> NoteBook (OS X; similar to Windows OneNote but more versatile. I use
> it for online teaching and task management)
>
> I am still looking for a good citation manager to replace EndNote....
>
> Let me know if you can think of one or two apps I should check out...
> THanks.
>
AlexWebley.com
Dragon Dictate
MindMeister
Ayca Emre
now), and I use regularly.
- LyX : very intuitive document processor as mentioned; has the full-
screen mode with since version 1.6.0 (latest version 1.6.1) which
creates a distraction-free workflow as well (you can even customize
the screen colours and width, check it out at: http://wiki.lyx.org/Tips/ColorSchemes
) I love it:)
- zotero: indispensable firefox extension, and I love it. I think it's
very much preferable over endnote, and is a real lifesaver for me; it
will also have online features in the next release, which is available
as a beta feature now http://www.zotero.org/
- gedit: text editor with several plugins to your wishes, including
latex plug-in
- Jabref: reference management for mac, linux and windows (java-
based): http://jabref.sourceforge.net/
- Referencer: document management for linux, you can add tags to pdfs
or take notes, etc.
- celtx: although this is a film and media production software, it has
features allowing free-writing. I am trying to use it in a Scrivener-
like fashion (I saw scrivener and am impressed by it but since I don't
have mac...): http://celtx.com/
- Firefox itself: I use firefox as a basic research tool, and there
are a bunch of firefox add-ons which work like magic (I singled out
zotero as I think it is more than an extension :): scrapbook,
screengrab, vertov, wiredmarker, taboo, open IT online (and a new
discovered one: outwit, still working it out)
these are the first ones that come to my mind; most essentially LyX
and zotero (so firefox).
Ayca
Peter Smith
For searching LibX and GoogleSchoolar (very good when used with
Zotero)
For writing ... alas I'm still with Word
Peter
arehrlich
Just started using Text Block Author (www.textblockauthor.net) to
outline a paper I'm writing. It is quickly becoming one of my
favorites. There's a freeware version - Text Block Writer
(www.textblockwriter.net) but the 'big brother' version is only $10
right now. Great for brainstorming and collecting information.
Alan
Raul
ScrapBook: which helps you to save Web pages and manage collections.
Very useful if you are going to be offline during a long period or if
your connection at home is too slow and you need to access the Web.
Raúl
rickla
BookPedia: keeping track of books I own, books I've ordered or want to
order
OmniFocus: task management
Yojimbo: keeping and searching information snippets
Journler: regular writing
Leap: keeping track of files
One more that I'm thinking about getting, to help with writing: Super
Notecard http://www.mindola.com/snc/index.html (Please let me know if
you have any experience of this app.)
One more that I would be interested in if I used a microscope!:
Macnification http://www.macnification.com/
rickla
For the desktop: MenuCalendarClock iCal
For an online calendar: 30boxes.com (I think this is way better than
Google Calendar)
rickla
Keynote
PDF Shrink
Combine PDFs
On Dec 10 2008, 9:09 am, Eric Durbrow <durb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I interesting in trying out new apps (I put a time limit on my fussing
> with new apps so I don't procrastinate). Regardless of OS, which are
> your most used and most productive applications for publishing,
> researching, and teaching? Any unsung heroes?
>