To-Do Lists, File Sharing and Other Home Worker Needs

This week’s App Smart column was all about apps for smartphones and tablets that can help home workers make the most of their time and the quiet environment. This is a handy trick because for some people, like your columnist, many out-of-office working tasks can actually be carried out on a tablet or phone â€" no PC required.

Keeping on top of your different tasks is an important part of working from home, and Microsoft’s One Note is great for this. It’s free on iOS, and Android. The app comes with all of Mcrosoft’s office software expertise and it can sync with task list data you create on your computer. But mainly, it’s great for working on the move or at home. The idea behind the app is that you can make annotated lists to remind you what tasks you’ve got to tackle and then check them off when you’re done. One issue is that you can only create 500 notes with the app, and then you have to pay â€" it’s $5. You also have to sign up for a Windows Live ID, but that is free.

The Bento app on iOS is a great alternative for keeping track of different tasks you’re working on at home. It lets you build lists so you can keep on top of all your projects and even plan events and file all the relevant contacts you’ll need for a particular task. But it costs $5, and you may find it just a little too complicated if you’re only an occasional home worker.

Besides keeping to-do lists, you also may have to remotely access y! our Mac or PC. This can be a helpful if you’re working on a tablet from a coffee shop or other venue and your main computer is at home. The popular iOS app LogMeIn is great for this purpose. It connects over the Internet to a companion app that’s running on your computer, and lets you directly control that machine as if you were sitting at it. LogMeIn is free, but to access a few extra features like high definition video and audio streaming to your mobile device, you’ll have to buy a subscription that costs $20 for three months.

Working from home can mean spending a lot of time on the phone to keep in touch with colleagues or customers. To manage all these contacts’ business cards, check out Business Card Reader Pro â€" a $7 iOS app. You use the app to snap an image of the business card, and then it performs opical character recognition to convert the text in the image into data your phone can recognize and then stores as a contact. The $10 Android app ABBYY Business Card Reader is similar in function, and promises to work in 20 languages.

Home working often means that you have to share files with co-workers or your boss who are located elsewhere. The free Box app on iOS and Android is great for simple and straightforward file sharing. It’s a cloud-based app and even gives you 5GB of storage space free. It’s simple to use, and you can even encrypt the files with a pass code so only the people you really want to read the file’s content can do so. The app is an alternative to the well-known DropBox and you may find you prefer its interface.

Final! ly don’t forget that working from home can be a slightly isolating experience, so why not get your colleagues or customers to use a video calling app like Skype from time to time?

Quick Call

We’re all used to sharing photos and video via our phones, but new iOS app Muzio has an unusual twist to the trick: It lets you share albums of photos, video and text as one neat package. The user gets a simple Web link and can then browse the content online. It’s free.

To-Do Lists, File Sharing and Other Home Worker Needs

This week’s App Smart column was all about apps for smartphones and tablets that can help home workers make the most of their time and the quiet environment. This is a handy trick because for some people, like your columnist, many out-of-office working tasks can actually be carried out on a tablet or phone â€" no PC required.

Keeping on top of your different tasks is an important part of working from home, and Microsoft’s One Note is great for this. It’s free on iOS, and Android. The app comes with all of Mcrosoft’s office software expertise and it can sync with task list data you create on your computer. But mainly, it’s great for working on the move or at home. The idea behind the app is that you can make annotated lists to remind you what tasks you’ve got to tackle and then check them off when you’re done. One issue is that you can only create 500 notes with the app, and then you have to pay â€" it’s $5. You also have to sign up for a Windows Live ID, but that is free.

The Bento app on iOS is a great alternative for keeping track of different tasks you’re working on at home. It lets you build lists so you can keep on top of all your projects and even plan events and file all the relevant contacts you’ll need for a particular task. But it costs $5, and you may find it just a little too complicated if you’re only an occasional home worker.

Besides keeping to-do lists, you also may have to remotely access y! our Mac or PC. This can be a helpful if you’re working on a tablet from a coffee shop or other venue and your main computer is at home. The popular iOS app LogMeIn is great for this purpose. It connects over the Internet to a companion app that’s running on your computer, and lets you directly control that machine as if you were sitting at it. LogMeIn is free, but to access a few extra features like high definition video and audio streaming to your mobile device, you’ll have to buy a subscription that costs $20 for three months.

Working from home can mean spending a lot of time on the phone to keep in touch with colleagues or customers. To manage all these contacts’ business cards, check out Business Card Reader Pro â€" a $7 iOS app. You use the app to snap an image of the business card, and then it performs opical character recognition to convert the text in the image into data your phone can recognize and then stores as a contact. The $10 Android app ABBYY Business Card Reader is similar in function, and promises to work in 20 languages.

Home working often means that you have to share files with co-workers or your boss who are located elsewhere. The free Box app on iOS and Android is great for simple and straightforward file sharing. It’s a cloud-based app and even gives you 5GB of storage space free. It’s simple to use, and you can even encrypt the files with a pass code so only the people you really want to read the file’s content can do so. The app is an alternative to the well-known DropBox and you may find you prefer its interface.

Final! ly don’t forget that working from home can be a slightly isolating experience, so why not get your colleagues or customers to use a video calling app like Skype from time to time?

Quick Call

We’re all used to sharing photos and video via our phones, but new iOS app Muzio has an unusual twist to the trick: It lets you share albums of photos, video and text as one neat package. The user gets a simple Web link and can then browse the content online. It’s free.

Q&A: Reorganizing the Video Library in iTunes 11

Q.

I have several home-ripped and downloaded old television shows in my collection, but iTunes 11 has put these into the Movies section under Home Videos. Can I move those files to the TV Shows section?

A.

While iTunes 11 automatically sorts movies and television shows purchased from the iTunes Store into the correct content library, new videos imported from other sources often get filed automatically in the Home Videos area because the program needs more information about the clips. To move those home-ripped files into the TV Shows library, you just need to edit each file’s information field.

Start by clicking on a video you want to move. Go to the iTunes File menu and select Get Info. (If you prefer keyboard shortcuts to menus, click on the video and press Control and I keys on a Windows PC â€" or the Mac’s Command and I keys â€" at the same time.)

When the video’s information box appears, click the Options tab. Use the drop-down enu next to “Media Kind:” to change Home Video to TV Show. If you want to add additional information about the video, like the proper name of the show, a short description of the episode or the season number, click the Video tab and type in the details. Click the Info tab to edit the name iTunes displays for the video. Click the OK button when you have finished and the video should now appear in the TV Shows library under the name you have given it.

Q&A: Reorganizing the Video Library in iTunes 11

Q.

I have several home-ripped and downloaded old television shows in my collection, but iTunes 11 has put these into the Movies section under Home Videos. Can I move those files to the TV Shows section?

A.

While iTunes 11 automatically sorts movies and television shows purchased from the iTunes Store into the correct content library, new videos imported from other sources often get filed automatically in the Home Videos area because the program needs more information about the clips. To move those home-ripped files into the TV Shows library, you just need to edit each file’s information field.

Start by clicking on a video you want to move. Go to the iTunes File menu and select Get Info. (If you prefer keyboard shortcuts to menus, click on the video and press Control and I keys on a Windows PC â€" or the Mac’s Command and I keys â€" at the same time.)

When the video’s information box appears, click the Options tab. Use the drop-down enu next to “Media Kind:” to change Home Video to TV Show. If you want to add additional information about the video, like the proper name of the show, a short description of the episode or the season number, click the Video tab and type in the details. Click the Info tab to edit the name iTunes displays for the video. Click the OK button when you have finished and the video should now appear in the TV Shows library under the name you have given it.

The Early Word: Approved

In Today’s Times:

• Harnessing support from both sides of the aisle, the Senate passed the most significant overhaul of the immigration system in a generation on Thursday, Ashley Parker and Jonathan Martin report. But the bill’s next roadblock is the House, which Republican leaders say will not take up the Senate measure, looking instead at narrower legislation.

• While the recently expired Supreme Court term had elements of modesty, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been playing a long game, persuading the more liberal justices to join compromise opinions as he patiently sways the court to the right, Adam Liptak writes.

• President Obama had been hoping his trip to Africa would offer an opportunity for his first face-to-face meeting as president with Nelson Mandela, of whom Mr. Obama has long been an admirer. But Mr. Mandela’s illness has ended the chances of a meeting between the two men, both of whom made history as the first black presidents of countries with deep racial divides, Michael D. Shear reports.

• Federal Reserve officials worked Thursday to quell fears of a quick, early end to its stimulus campaign, saying that while they were increasingly optimistic about economic growth, the Fed would continue its effort to reduce borrowing costs as long as necessary, Binyamin Appelbaum reports.

Washington Happenings:

• Continuing his Africa tour in Senegal on Friday, Mr. Obama will attend an event focused on food security for West African farmers. Later, he and his family will trav! el to South Africa, where he will visit the United States Consulate in Johannesburg.

• Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, and Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, Republican of Florida, will talk about what could stand in the way of Congress passing comprehensive immigration overhaul at Bloomberg Government on Friday.

• The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is scheduled to consider a resolution on Lois Lerner, the former head of the Internal Revenue Service’s division on exempt organizations, and her potential waiver of her right not to incriminate herself at a hearing in May.

The Early Word: Approved

In Today’s Times:

• Harnessing support from both sides of the aisle, the Senate passed the most significant overhaul of the immigration system in a generation on Thursday, Ashley Parker and Jonathan Martin report. But the bill’s next roadblock is the House, which Republican leaders say will not take up the Senate measure, looking instead at narrower legislation.

• While the recently expired Supreme Court term had elements of modesty, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been playing a long game, persuading the more liberal justices to join compromise opinions as he patiently sways the court to the right, Adam Liptak writes.

• President Obama had been hoping his trip to Africa would offer an opportunity for his first face-to-face meeting as president with Nelson Mandela, of whom Mr. Obama has long been an admirer. But Mr. Mandela’s illness has ended the chances of a meeting between the two men, both of whom made history as the first black presidents of countries with deep racial divides, Michael D. Shear reports.

• Federal Reserve officials worked Thursday to quell fears of a quick, early end to its stimulus campaign, saying that while they were increasingly optimistic about economic growth, the Fed would continue its effort to reduce borrowing costs as long as necessary, Binyamin Appelbaum reports.

Washington Happenings:

• Continuing his Africa tour in Senegal on Friday, Mr. Obama will attend an event focused on food security for West African farmers. Later, he and his family will trav! el to South Africa, where he will visit the United States Consulate in Johannesburg.

• Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, and Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, Republican of Florida, will talk about what could stand in the way of Congress passing comprehensive immigration overhaul at Bloomberg Government on Friday.

• The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is scheduled to consider a resolution on Lois Lerner, the former head of the Internal Revenue Service’s division on exempt organizations, and her potential waiver of her right not to incriminate herself at a hearing in May.