Video Editing Apps

This app review was one of the most labor intensive because I decided I should try to create a video start to finish with each app to see how the process (I know most of them are super short). There was only one app listed here that I was so unhappy with the results that I decided not to post a video.

Best

iMovie (Free) iOS only - This app comes pre-installed on iPhones. The app allows users to make simple edits and easily create a video with transitions, music, and text easily. The app automates certain things like transitions, pans, and how test display but allows you to make changes. I thought the video I created was professional looking and was made with minimal effort on my part.

Example: https://youtu.be/DFGPHuHEWc0

Splice (Free) iOS only - Created by Go Pro this app gives users a lot of the functionality of iMovie with a some additional transitions, more music choices, a wider variety of text overlays, and filters. A great app that is easy to use. https://spliceapp.com/

Example: https://youtu.be/6xZGPr7-l0Y

WeVideo (Free, $3.99 for additional features) iOS, Android, Web - An easy to use app that gives control over text, trim video footage, filters, music, and voice over. There is no control over transitions. There is a watermark and end credit but they can be eliminated and additional features unlocked for $3.99. I did not review the web based editing but that looks like it would give some additional tools. I like that it works on multiple platforms. https://www.wevideo.com/

Example:https://youtu.be/CPV81KHBnTE

Good

Cute CUT (Free, $5.99 premium features) iOS and Android. - The video editor looks very professional giving users control of each video clip and picture in a stream like in a high-end program like Adobe Premier. The app will not allow any music it considers DRM (digital rights management) protected. I found the lack of transitions, filters, and small selection of text and music choices restrictive. Premium gets rid of the watermark and allows for videos of unlimited length. You can do some interesting things like draw on pictures or video. The share to Facebook portion kept returning an error for me. http://cutecut.mobivio.com/
Example: https://youtu.be/cQioXcuwnL8

Google Photos (Free) iOS and Android - This Google app that backs up and organizes your photos and videos already does so many cool things like creating folders, animations, photo edited copies, and will create a suggested video. If you tap the three dots in the top right, tap "create a movie", then tap on what you want included, music, text, and style. It doesn't have all the customization of some of the apps but it's pretty nice.
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.photos&hl=en
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-photos-free-photo-video/id962194608?mt=8

Example: https://youtu.be/VVPkgq7qarw

Magisto (Free, Subscription) iOS and Android - If you want to make movies out of your pictures and videos but you want to automate putting it all together this app is for you. You select or the app pulls pictures and videos does some editing or asks what style editing you would like, suggests some music and text, then makes it available for sharing. Users do not have any way to make choices as far as multiple text displays, transitions, music changes, etc. If you want to save or download the video it is .99 a download, $4.99 a month, or $19.99 a year. https://www.magisto.com/
Example: https://youtu.be/36VGsmjciXQ

Limited Use

VidTrim (Free, Pro $1.99) Android Only - The app allows users to trim video clips and merge them. There is some minor filters and sharing capability but does not do much more than allow very basic editing. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goseet.VidTrim&hl=en

10 Amazing FREE Websites

1. College courses, no tuition

Class Central https://www.class-central.com/ lists hundreds of online class courses from the likes of Harvard, Stanford, and MIT.

2.  Self-destructing email addresses

With 10 Minute Mail https://10minutemail.com you can create a temporary email address that will automatically self-destruct in 10 minutes. This allows you to sign up for sites, lists, make comments, and sign up for deals without the unbearable spam you normally get.

3. Ambient Sound / White Noise

If you simply can't work/sleep/concentrate without some kind of comforting sounds, A Soft Murmur has you covered http://asoftmurmur.com/

 4. Learn another Language

Almost every language in the world is available to learn at Duolingo https://www.duolingo.com/ and you can take it on the go with their free app.

5. A massive documentary collection

There are documentaries on a wide variety of subjects and from award winning to amateur. Learn something new or simply be amazed http://documentaryheaven.com/

6. Automate Tasks

Do you want a message sent when you are on your way home? Would you like to get news stories on your favorite subject sent to your inbox? An automatic backup of your contacts to a spreadsheet? You can do this and a lot more with If This Then That https://ifttt.com/

7. New Fonts

Working on a document or a poster and you are looking for a font that would make it pop? Lost Type has you covered and they are all free for any use http://www.losttype.com/

8. Free Photo enhancement tools

The Adobe universe of tools is expensive and there is so much there that most people do not need. Pixlr https://pixlr.com is free and it has a light weight version called Express that allows for easy changes quickly. They also have apps you can download for your mobile device

9. Get Control over Your Finances

Mint https://www.mint.com/ helps you create a budget quickly and can automate tracking if you connect it to your bank and credit card accounts. It will send you alerts when you go over your budgeted amount, it has smart tracking of expenses, and has monthly summary of what you spent. The mobile app allows you to make corrections or view your progress quickly.

10. Create Graphics and Publications

There are expensive desktop programs that can allow you to create posters and graphics, but Canva https://www.canva.com/ is free and web based so you can use it without installing anything on your computer. The templates and free graphics and fonts make creating things a snap. There are items that cost money to use but you can import your own materials.

Keyboard Apps

There are so many keyboard apps / alternate keyboards for Android and iPhone now. It seems like each week I hear about another one. I decided to test drive a few different keyboards. Below I give you screen shots, what they do well, what their weaknesses are, etc. After using all of these I may be using Word Flow the most in the future.

Fleksy (Free) Amazon, Android, and iOS – Very customizable, I especially like that you can switch keyboard fonts and the size of the keyboard. It has a minimal keyboard option if you want to use gestures for spacing and other options. Multiple free themes to choose from. Great auto correction, good suggestive text, and it’s easy to switch to emoji or toggle settings. It has Giph functions and extensions to make for easy launching of sharing. It has hot keys to remember often used words, usernames, emoji, etc. Has a one hand mode for easier typing with your right or left hand. Weaknesses it takes some time to figure out how to use it because it has some special gestures and hidden features that show up on long press. There are several useful extensions but users are only allowed to choose three. The biggest disappointment was the absence of swipe or glide typing which I use a lot. https://fleksy.com/

G Board (Free) iOS [Android system keyboard] – Made by Google this keyboard’s search and suggestion skills are the strongest of any keyboard. As I understand it, the reason that it is only available for Apple products is that the keyboard is available in the most recent version of the Android operating system. It learns how you type and suggests words extremely well. It can suggest emoji for words that you type or you can search for an emoji (instead of hunting for that sushi emoji you were looking for). It can search Google for you my just tapping the Google ‘G’ on the keyboard. It has good swipe / glide typing. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gboard-search.-gifs.-emojis/id1091700242?mt=8

GIPHY Keys (Free) iOS only – A keyboard focused on Giphs and emoji. You can search for them multiple ways or use the magic eight ball to get a random giph. There are also some interesting word art choices for users. Weaknesses: there isn’t auto correct, customization, or swipe / glide type  https://giphy.com/gifkeyboard

SwiftKey (Free) Android and iOS – One of the best, if not THE BEST, at auto correct and word suggestion. It can automatically switch between languages which is good for bilingual (or multilingual) users. I like it because it remembers frequently entered information and it’s the best at mimicking the way I type. The keyboard’s swipe functionality is one of the best. Weakness, not very customizable and if you want colors other than black or white, it costs extra. No giph or easy emoji functions although it does remember your most used emoji.n https://swiftkey.com/en

Word Flow (Free) iOS only – I have heard a lot of great things about this keyboard and it did not disappoint. Users can customize the background a lot, more than any other keyboard tested, you can use one of several backgrounds or upload your own photo to make a keyboard. {In the pictures below you will see two custom keyboards I created} Word suggestion and auto correct are good but probably gets better the more you use it. Easy to switch between functions and has different gesture controls. One-handed mode is really cool.  Well designed and easy to use swipe ability. Weaknesses, word suggestion was not very good and users can not choose different fonts or size keyboards. No giph or emoji look-up / extra functions.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/word-flow-keyboard-english/id1077864246?mt=8

A Dozen Fun Cat Apps

Weather Whiskers (Free) Android and iOS – Weather with cute cats that are dressed up

Kitten Calculator (Free) Android and Windows– Calculator with kitten background photos

Calculator Kitty (Free) Android and iOS – This calculator has cartoon cats and the buttons are cat icons

Fabulous Cat Clock (1.99) iOS only – A clock that has cats as the numbers

Purr (Free) iOS and The Cat’s Purr (Free) Android – Cats purring with a simple picture or video

Human-to-Cat Translator (Free) Android and iOS – makes cat sounds to amuse or try to communicate with your cat

LOLCats (Free) Android and iOS – Silly cat memes that you can save, send to friends, or use on your phone

Cat Sound Ringtones (Free) Android only – Set cat sounds to different contacts or notifications on our phone

Icon Changer Cute Cats-Scleen (Free) Android only – Change your app icons and phone background to adorable cats

So Cute Cat Live Wallpaper (Free) Android only – Change your phones background to cute cats moving around

Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector (Free) Android and iOS – A cute game where you feed and collect animated cats

365 Cat Affirmations (.99 and 1.99) Android and iOS – Get inspirational quotes with cute cats to brighten your day

                                                 

Podcast Apps

The three best Podcast apps are:

Overcast (Free) iOS only. Beautiful interface, lots of features: customized skip, sleep timer, after episode, customize speed, smart skip, add RSS feeds, and much more. The discovery tools for finding podcasts are great. It also has a web player that syncs up with the one on your device so you can listen on your iOS device and computer. https://overcast.fm

Castro (Free) iOS only. Great user interface that is comparable to Overcast. Pretty much the same types of tools that Overcast has except without smart skip. I found some features were less intuitive. It also lacks the web player. http://supertop.co/castro/

Pocketcasts ($3.99) Android, iOS, Windows, Web. Different than the interface of the other podcast apps it uses tiles and fills up each screen with color. A lot of articles rank this as the best. It syncs across multiple devices and you can stream any type of podcast and even You Tube channels. It’s great that you can sync your podcasts across all your devices even the desktop / laptop computer. The only thing I wish it had was the smart skip that Overcast has and Chromecast support. http://www.shiftyjelly.com/pocketcasts

There were a bunch of podcast apps that had positive reviews, great features, but were not “the best of the best”. I listed them here in case someone was interested; I also list stand out features.

iCatcher! ($2.99) iOS only. Apple watch compatible app. http://www.joeisanerd.com/index.php

Downcast ($2.99) (iOS) Apple Watch, Mac, CarPlay, and Google Cast http://www.downcastapp.com/

Podcast Republic (Android) Chromecast and Android Wear support, syncs content, export and import feature. http://podcastrepublic.net/

Player FM (Free) Amazon, Android Auto, Chromecast, Android Wear, material design, and web player. Good recommendations based on what you listen to. It says on their website that iPhone coming soon and that they promise it will be free forever. https://player.fm/

Podcast Addict (Free) Android only. RSS feeds and YouTube channels, Chromecast support https://podcastaddict.uservoice.com/forums/211997-general

Beyondpod (Free 7-day trial, $6.99) Android only.  Smart Playlist builder, home screen widgets, car mode, beautiful interface, Android Wear, and Chromecast support http://www.beyondpod.mobi/android/index.htm

Doggcatcher ($2.99) Android only. Chromecast, lots of customizable settings, offline play, variable speed, and media file cleanup features.  http://www.doggcatcher.com/ 

Emerging Technologies

Opera Open VPN – Available for Apple mobile devices and soon to be available for the desk top web browser Opera has created a free VPN. If you are unfamiliar a VPN is a Virtual Private Network which allows a user to connect to a computer network to either have access to network assets (files or computing resources) or mask their online activities and location. There are a wide variety of reasons to use a VPN but the main use that concerns most people is protecting their personal information while on an open / unsecured Wi-Fi connection such as our Library Free network or hotspots at businesses. I have used it for two weeks and have found it to be quick, gives you the option of which country you would like your location to be connected in, and it blocks some ads and cookies. Opera is continuing to work on it to make it faster and more secure. Right now it is a very nice free VPN option for mobile devices.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opera-vpn-free-unlimited-ad/id1080756781?mt=8

Opera Browser – Available for Android, Apple devices, Linux, and Windows devices this web browser uses several techniques to reduce load time and power usage while surfing the web. If you make a change to the setting you can take advantage of built in ad blocking. Users that download the “Surf Easy” extension can use Opera’s free VPN. In my use of both the mobile and desktop versions I have found decreased RAM usage, faster load time, and less battery usage compared to Chrome or Firefox. http://www.opera.com/

Aioply Vision – an app created for the blind and visually impaired that says what items are in real time or what color it sees in real time. It doesn’t know everything it sees but users can tell it what it is pointed at helping it learn. http://www.aipoly.com/

Hound – You may be familiar with Siri, Alexa, Cortana, or Ok Google’s digital assistants. This one is faster and does a lot more. For instance you can say, “Find Asian restaurants near me”, you can then say “exclude Korean and Chinese”, and then say “open after 9pm”. Each time it remembers your previous statements and continues to give you results. It does a good job of looking back in time or ahead at weather information, like asking, “What’s the chance of rain next Tuesday in Potland Oregon”. It does a bunch of things, available for Android and iOS http://www.soundhound.com/hound

New York Times article about Windows 10 upgrade problems, why they happen and how to avoid them http://goo.gl/Z9VPcB

IFTTT Recipes and Do Button – If This Then That has a lot of new recipes that can automate tasks between apps and home automation equipment. The Do app has some new recipes that you can tap on a button and it can do things like send preset e-mail, open a door lock, change thermostat, or turn on lights (of course this all depends on the equipment you have).

Fast.com – a webpage created by Netflix that quickly measures your internet connection speed

This week was Google’s Developer Conference, Google IO, they released information about new products, updates, features. You can read about them here: http://goo.gl/Ha4zop

Wired Magazine had a very thorough article about virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality in which it featured one of the most promising and mysterious companies Magic Leap. Funded at 1.4 billion dollars it has the backing of some of the biggest names in technology. It’s a long article but if nothing else, skip down to the video of what it looks like looking through Magic Leap glasses http://www.wired.com/2016/04/magic-leap-vr/

Plant Identification Apps

Recommended:

Leafsnap (Free) iOS and Android – Developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institute the app allows users to identify trees in the United States and Canada by taking a picture of a leaf. There is another app Leafsnap UK for trees in the United Kingdom. Both apps have great high resolution pictures that users can browser the leaf, branch, flowers, and fruits of trees. There is a game that helps users build-up their knowledge of trees based on leaves, flowers, or fruits. The down side is that while the database is extensive it does not have every tree in Canada and the United States as I found out while trying to identify some trees. Also the fact that it is only trees limits the app’s use.

http://leafsnap.com/

myGardenAnswers (Free) iOS and Android. Not one of the strongest apps in the identification game but you can search the name of a plant or tree and see pictures and descriptions. If you have a flowering plant you can take a picture and the app will try to identify it. The app has an option to do a Google image search using the picture you have taken.  If you have a non-flowering plant or you are not satisfied with any of the other options, the app offers expert identification services for a fee.

http://www.gardenanswers.com/

Garden Compass (Free) iOS and Android. The app has a lot of interesting features for those who like to garden: articles, tips, care calendar, community, cooking in the garden, and much more. The identification portion of the app gives users three expert identifications free each month. Additional identifications are available for a fee. I tried it and the expert would tell me what they thought it was and asked for additional pictures or information to try to get an exact name of the plant. The app has a very friendly and easy to use interface with high quality graphics. I really like the “How to Use the App” videos to help users get everything they can out of the app.

https://www.gardencompass.com/ 

Do Not Recommend:

LikeThat Garden (Free) Android only – This app was promising but in the end extremely disappointing. It is very simple, you take a picture and the app is supposed to identify the plant or tree. The camera portion looked distorted and was hard to use. The graphics were poor. Several times the app could not bring up matches and when it did many did not produce a correct match. The app crashed multiple times.