Having an online business is amazing. Having the freedom to choose your own hours, whilst often being paid much more than you would in general employment is a truly liberating experience. However working online has it’s disadvantages too. Working online is very different from working in a normal office, and staying productive, organized and efficient can sometimes be a challenge.

Fortunately thanks to some very useful online tools, running a business from home has become a whole lot easier. Here are some of the tools that we wouldn’t be without.

Remember The Milk

Remembering everything you are supposed to be doing is vital if you’re to enjoy any success and Remember The Milk makes this a breeze. It’s a task management application that allows you to plan your whole working week in advance and makes sure you stay on schedule.

It will give you email reminders when tasks are due and staying bang up to date with modern technology. It’s now android compatible, so even if you’re out and about, you’ll never forget to do something important.

It comes with a free and paid version, but those who are really serious about getting the most from their time would be advised to give the full version a look.

Google Docs

Google has brought out a few stinkers, but the Docs tool is a winner. An alternative to Office, this application doesn’t just let you create documents but also allows you to share them with other Google users.

Now your whole team can access documents together, and you can give people permission to edit documents and presentations as you go along. Google documents is ideal for anyone involved in writing or any other business where document sharing is an everyday occurrence.

Skype

If you are based in the UK and do a large amount of business with people in America you can spend all day on Skype chatting to them and not spend a dime. Imagine how much you’d be paying if you spent a few hours with them on a plain old telephone.

Skype makes communication so much easier, and with online business people based all over the world, this brings everyone much closer together.

Producteev

The best thing about Producteev is that it’s compatible with most other tools you’ll use day to day online. For example Twitter, Yahoo, MSN, Email, and Gmail all work on the Producteev platform so you never again be out of touch with contacts. In fact, Producteev really allows you to be in several places at once. A task that cannot really be achieved any other way.

Free Conference

Free Conference lets you gather at least 30 people into an online meeting room by giving them a free 1-800 number to ring into. Once you’re all together you can discuss your important business without any interruptions or complications. This is vital for businesses where team members are based in various parts of the world.

==== About the Author ====

This guest post is written by Lior Levin, a marketing consultant for a psd to xhtml service  company, and who also consults at the Tel Aviv University’s Political communication graduate programs

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Do you download a lot of movies, torrents and random stuff from the Internet and want a single place where you can manage all the downloads? How about an app which can fetch files from any download server and let you download it at your preferred time, without having to sit back and wait for the downloads to finish right at this moment?

Enter Fetch.io a simple yet useful service which lets you fetch files from any download location to your Fetch.io account. Fetch.io supports torrents, Rapidshare, Megaupload, Mediafire and all the major third party download servers, so instead of downloading files from random servers and losing track of them, you can consolidate all of them on your Fetch.io dashboard.

After adding a file to your Fetch.io account, hit Fetchand forget about it. Fetch.io will download the file on it’s remote server and will send you an email notification when they your file is parsed and ready. Next, you can either download the file directly from your Fetch.io account or grab the URL and share with anyone who might want to download the same file.

Fetch.io works just like a cloud download manager which downloads files to your Fetch.io account instead of the local computer you are using. Many download servers have limitations on file downloads and in some bizarre cases, you may find that the file you have bookmarked has either expired or has been removed from the server. So instead of bookmarking files, movies, videos or torrents which you want to download later, you can use Fetch.io and save them to a remote server which you control.

Once Fetch.io has downloaded that file to your remote server, it’s saved on your Fetch.io account. This service is a lifesaver for users who use multiple computers at work or need to download a really large file but have doubt whether the file will be available at a later point of time.

The service is in closed beta right now, so a desktop application and smartphone support is a work in progress. Currently, Fetch.io provides a hefty 20 GB of free storage to all users, so you can store a lot of files like movies, videos and so on. One downside is that files that are protected by Captchas can’t be added to your Fetch.io download queue. Otherwise, the service does a nice job aggregating files from different download servers at one place and lets you download them when it’s convenient to you.

Let’s face it managing work load across different projects becomes impossible if you’re not using any task management or project management utility.

If you’re a full time web worker and work on a lot of different tasks e.g design, development, coding or stuff that involves team work you have to use a project management application which allows easy collaboration, structured output and an ad free uncluttered UI.

Referencing to and fro to different email inboxes, searching for information, attachments, client’s email address, sending the same messages to new members in the team it’s a very complicated cycle which you may want to bring in proper order.

Over the past few years I have seen a good number of web based project management apps but the one I am recently using is GetFlow (join the early beta here).

GetFlow, also known as Flow, is a task management app that’s going to help you organize your entire life. Whether you’re working collaboratively or all on your own, Flow is going to make getting things done a lot easier.

Creating Tasks or Projects Inside GetFlow

Flow lets you quickly create tasks by sending an email to tasks@getflow.com. The email subject will become the task title and the body of the email will be added as the description. By default, tasks you email will be added to your inbox but you can also use the web UI or iPhone App to create tasks, assign due dates, tag people and do other important things related to a project.

When you’re done creating the task, it’s added to your feed which consists of real time updates of your activity and involvement with the project. Any other member of the team can switch to your activity feed to know what you were doing, where you’re commenting, what files you have uploaded recently and so on.

Tasks are arranged in hierarchical order with a personview so you never mess up all the tasks in your timeline. Each member gets a new section under Tasksand any member can quickly find out what his colleagues were doing recently.

One of the best things regarding GetFlow is that you forget those long winded email threads. Flow’s real-time comment system eliminates back-and-forth emails, there is no need to clutter up your email inbox with the details and feedback of your project.

Flow’s real time threaded comments makes it just as easy to manage feedback on any activity, task or project your team is busy with.

As it turns out, you never have to search for any feedback or comment left by other team members in your email inbox, since all the information remains archived directly within your Flow account. Another neat feature which is lacking in other task management apps is the ability to Followa discussion.

Let’s say two of your team members are discussing over a design issue which you want to keep an eye on. Simply click the Followbutton next to the discussion thread and you will be notified when a new comment or message is posted or when the task is complete.

GetFlow is completely web based which means you never need to download any software or install any plugin on the client end,  immensely  useful for folks like me who use multiple computers at home or office. Both the web and iPhone apps have offline modes and sync enabled which helps when you’re doing something and the internet connection breaked in the middle.

Flow works great for teams of all sizes – whether you are a garage team of 4 members or a small company of 23, GetFlow works just as fine when it comes to easier project management and real time collaboration.

You can try a 14 day trial of Getflow by signing up here (no credit card required).

Screen sharing lets you show someone your computer screen across the internet. Usually, you can even let a viewer take over the mouse and keyboard. I use screen sharing at work to help my co-workers with computer problems, and sometimes, even I get help. Often, people use screen sharing applications to give business presentations online.

Previously, my favorite screen sharing service was TeamViewer. It’s a free service, and it even includes voice and video chat. Now I am starting to use a different service, called Join.me.

Join.me is probably the simplest screen presentation service I’ve used. All of the these services require an installation of software on your machine. Usually, both the broadcaster (host) and the viewer (client) need to install something. Join.me breaks out of the crowd by not requiring the viewers to install any software. All they need is a modern web browser with Adobe Flash.

Here’s how it works …

1. Go to Join.me

2. If you wish to share your computer screen, click on the sharearrow.

3. This will start a download of the server software. (Windows and Mac)

Once you have it installed and running, you’ll see the Join.me floating toolbar at the top of your screen.

4. Click once in the address bar and you’ll be able to copy or send the sharing address.

5. The person you wish to share with, can either click the link you’ve sent them, or type the 9 digit number in the Joinbox at the Join.me website.

6. As soon as they join, you are sharing your screen. That’s when you can start using your floating Join.me toolbar to control the session. As far as I know you can invite any number of people to your screen sharing session.

The phone icon actually lets you call them on a conference line. I haven’t tried that feature because I usually call the person on my phone or use Google Voice to chat with them.

This service and it’s operation is best explained by watching this video.

Join.me quick preview and tutorial from Andy Traub on Vimeo.

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Techie Buzz Verdict:

Join.me is a great service, it’s easy to use and it’s free. What more do you want? Actually, I would like to have video chat, but this service is still a winner for the viewers. They don’t need to install any software to see your presentations.

How often do you share links in Twitter or Facebook? Wouldn’t it be easier and less irritating if you could just share a single link which contains a slideshow of all the website links you want to share with your friends or followers?

BridgeURL is a new service, which allows users to create a slideshow of web pages/links and then share them as a link with whoever they want to. The advantage of this service is that you just share one single link instead of 100s of links you come across on a day to day basis.

To check an example of how the slideshow will work head over http://bridgeurl.com/TechieBuzz-Latest. This will allow you to browse 10 pages from Techie Buzz as a slideshow.

How Does BridgeURL Work?

BridgeURL works in a very simple manner. It allows you to create a slideshow by entering a bunch of links you want to share and then creates a slideshow which can be viewed through a unique URL. Once you have created the slideshow, you can simply share the link with your friends or followers and they will be able to browse all those websites as a slideshow.

What BridgeURL Lacks?

BridgeURL is definitely a nice concept. However, the process is manual. For example, to create a slideshow; I have to collect all those URLs and then store it in someplace before I can create a slideshow out of it.

I would love to see a more intuitive approach to this in the form of a bookmarklet or extension which will allow me to store links I want to share temporarily and then create a slideshow out of it. This will definitely be helpful as it is really a pain to store URLs just to create a slideshow out of it.

Overall the service is pretty interesting and provides an easier way to share a bunch of URLs without spamming your timeline or friends. Go give it a try at http://bridgeurl.com/

At the International Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, MagicJack demonstrated a device that will let users make VoIP calls using a GSM phone.

The company has already sold to the public a unit that uses conventional desk phones to provide service through a PC. With the newer product, which is scheduled for release sometime in the second quarter this year, your phone jack will be replaced by a mini-GSM base station, also known as a femtocell. All GSM phones from any GSM carrier will then be enabled to connect with your femtocell to make VoIP calls anywhere in the United States and Canada.

MagicJack, like many other VoIP service providers, will send calls over the IP network in lieu of the public phone network, so your phone service will cost less. Right now, the traditional MagicJack unit is available for roughly $40 USD, and it includes free service for a year, and $20 each year for all years after the first. This includes phone calls made to other MagicJack users in most countries of the world, as well as calling conventional lines. You can also currently make calls to cell phones, local or long distance, from a standard MagicJack-equipped phone. The company has stated that the femtocell rates will be the same as standard rates.

The MagicJack device being sold now is a bit longer than a box of matches, and it has a USB connection with a phone jack on the other end. You plug the USB connector into a port on your PC, load the proper software one time only, and then it uses the processor, power and broadband connection of the computer to make and receive calls. Their femtocell unit will use a PC connection as well, but it will allow users to make cell phone calls from the unit, not just wired phone calls.

The original MagicJack device provides fairly consistent service, with connections close to those achieved on landline calls. If you are working on your computer while talking on your phone run through MagicJack, sometimes you can hear background noise. It also takes two tries occasionally to get a dial tone on your traditional phone when using a MagicJack. But these aren’t really bothersome enough to make many users hang up on the $20 per year cost for calls anywhere. In addition, if you have family or friends overseas, they can purchase a MagicJack in the United States, activate it with a local area code, and use it overseas with that same number, making calls to them much more affordable.

There are already phone service carriers exploring femtocell use in efforts to improve their coverage inside the homes and businesses of subscribers, and to ease the strain that so many calls cause on their networks. The femtocell was designed so that it can work like a cell base station, within a home or business, to carry calls over your broadband connection rather than over the carrier’s network.

The MagicJack femtocell will allow its users to skip over mobile operators entirely. You can use it with any GSM phone, locked or unlocked, on any band. This includes all types of phones, including the popular Apple iPhone, even though this phone is usually locked into one carrier. The designers at MagicJack expect that most customers will make femtocell calls with older phones that they don’t currently use. The range of the femtocell can cover a home or business office that is 3,000 square feet in size.

Welcome to another episode of Webby Wednesday, where we talk about new web applications and services, which are useful for our readers.

This week, we have several new and interesting services which will make your day-to-day computing life much more easier.

Google Buzz Tools

Last time around we told you about some interesting tools and services for Google Buzz. However, since then couple of new services have been created. The first one is Buzz Aware, which is an apps directory for Google Buzz and the other is Buzrr, a Google Buzz counter.

Buzzr is similar to Tweetmeme for Twitter, and counts the number of buzzes and ranks them according to the highest Buzz count. It also allows users to re-buzz a buzzed item. In addition to that, it also allows users to add a Buzrr button to their website or WordPress blog.

Picmeleo: Integrate Photo Editing On Your Site

Looking to create a image driven site? Picmeleo will allow you to go beyond just image uploading by offering integration of their Online image editor into your website for free.

Picmeleo offers users to crop image, remove red eyes, rotate the images, change brightness and contrast and filters such as Grayscale, Sharpen and more. Website integration is pretty easy too, all you need to do is copy a few lines of code and you have a full-fledged image editor on your site.

Want the free online image editor for your site? Head over to Picmeleo to get yours.

Community Driven Online Radio

Spreaker is a new web service which allows users to create their own radio shows and host it online. Spreaker allows users to easily mix live audio input from your microphone, play songs and more. So if you are looking for a career in DJing or planning to become a radio jockey, get your hands wet with Spreaker.

Create Self-Destructing Messages

Quite sometime back we had told you about Privnote, a private note creator, which allowed users to create self-destruction messages. This Message Will Self Destruct, is a similar service which allows users to create password-protected self-destructing messages, which will be deleted after someone views it once. So are you the next James Bond? Try your luck here.

Hope you have fun with the web applications this week. Want to share your own? Add your web application or software to the Techie Buzz forum so that we can feature it here next.

One thing I like about Firefox as opposed to other browsers is the fact that you can recover passwords in Firefox using the password manager. Now, don’t get me wrong, it is a security hazard, but not if you set a master password, however, none of the other browsers I use provide users with an option to do that.

If you are using Google Chrome, you could do it with the Chrome Password Recovery tool, however, the developers of the Chrome password software have also released a similar software for Opera called OperaPassView.

OperaPassView will allow you to fetch the stored passwords for websites which you have stored them for in Opera. In my tests the passwords were displayed to me for all the sites I have them stored for (the screenshot above is default from the software site) and was even able to export them to an external file.

Definitely handy if you have forgotten your password and want to access a site in a different browser, read the rest of the security hazards in my verdict below.

Techie Buzz Verdict

If an external software can crack the algorithms of these browsers and fetch the passwords, it would definitely be good if they can provide an option to set a master password and access the stored passwords, rather than having a algorithm which can be cracked easily.

That said, OperaPassView is a really handy software to have, but again it exposes the vulnerabilities of a browser. What if your laptop is lost? Anyone could use software like these and get access to your passwords.

Are you listening Google Chrome and Opera?

Ratings: 4/5 (Very Good)

Download OperaPassView [via Life Rocks]

Have you ever told anyone, "Get to the point", when they go round the bush blabbering about things which could have been said in simple words or a mere sentence? Well, there are several people like you.

One boring thing about learning definitions of new words is the numerous sentences you have to go through to understand the meaning of a word, but if you want it out straight to the point, then the 10 Word Wiki will definitely come in handy.

10 Word Wiki, as the name suggests, puts out word definitions which are only 10 words long, no more than that. Here are some definitions of words that are stacked up on the 10 Word Wiki:

American Idol – Overly emotional singing show, coins it in for Simon Cowell.

Angelina Joile – Heavily tattooed kinky actress. Wants one child in every colour.

Baby Powder – Not made from ground, dessicated babies. Despite how it sounds.

Bacteria – Monocellular lifeforms. Some cause death, some cause lager or cheese.

Bee – A yellow and black striped buzzy insect that stings you.

Beauty – Describes a look. Definitely in the eye of the beholder.

Bicycle – A human powered two wheeled vehicle, normally with pedals.

Book – Bundles of wood pulp and pictures/words; doesn’t need batteries.

As you can see from the above samples, the definitions can go from being to the point and funny, sarcastic and sometimes nasty, however, it is fun nevertheless. So if you have some time to waste and want to learn words in a new way, head over to the 10 Word Wiki index and have your fill.

Note: Please do not use 10 Word Wiki as a actual dictionary, it is just a funny way of learning things.

[via Instant Fundas]

Welcome to the second episode of Webby Wednesday where we introduce users to several interesting web applications and services which will help them out.

This week we have several interesting and diverse web apps which will be fun to use and come in handy to you. So let’s dive into it.

Free Online CSS Menu Builder

Want to build a CSS menu but don’t have the HTML or CSS skills? The Menu Builder site will come in handy to you, it allows you to create horizontal and vertical menus with the click of a button.

Looking for something advanced? Then take a look at some jQuery navigation menus or another online service which will help you create dropdown CSS menus or download a free desktop tool to create dropdown CSS menus.

Watch Movie Trailers Online

Want to watch movie trailers of upcoming movies online? Trailers Movies is a aggregator site which lists out movies of the most popular and upcoming movies in a single place. It also provides users with an option to search for movie trailers.

Want to watch full movies online? Then check out 7 ways to watch full movies online legally or visit YouTube to watch Bollywood and Hollywood movies for free.

Upside Down Text

Want to have a little bit of fun with your friends? Head over to Upside Down Text to flip text upside-down and send it across to your friends.

While you are at it, you might also want to check out how to reverse text or shuffle it. Also, don’t forget to try out some of the funny pranks we have told you about in the past on your friends.

Read Feeds Through Instant Messengers

Rss.im is a handy service which will alert you about new feed items through Instant messengers. Just enter the feed you want to track and the XMPP/Jabber or Google Talk ID and hit the subscribe button. Rss.im will send you a instant message the next time an RSS feed has an update. This will also work with Facebook Chat which now supports XMPP/Jabber.

Create Your Personalized Homepage

Flavors.me is a new service which will allow you to create your personalized homepage using your personal content from sites like Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm and more. Flavors provides users with a easy to use interface to design and pull data from external websites to your personal page.

Add your web application or software to the Techie Buzz forum so that we can feature it here next.