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Getting the Most Out of Your Applications: Part 5 Firefox

Never look at the web the same way again – Using Firefox Extensions
Goal: Provide a list of extensions that will allow Firefox to bend the web to your will.
FireFox is the single most extensible application ever. Its’ biggest strength is Mozilla’s encouragement to take their product and stretch it to the limits.

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Getting the Most Out of Your Applications: Part 4 iTunes

Make iTunes into the Workhorse that it Should Be
Goal: Provide a list of plug-ins and third party apps that will allow you to use the crap out of iTunes.
iTunes does a lot of good stuff right out of the box. With a little help, you can make it do even more. You can make iTunes your Karaoke machine, Download Lyrics for your songs, Stream Music across the internet. You can have iTunes integrate with online music communities to get and give musical recommendations.

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Getting the Most Out of Your Applications: Part 3 Skype

Take Your Calling to the Next Level by Extending Skype

GOAL: Turn Skype from a cheap phone call alternative into a multi-function communication, collaboration, mobile virtuoso.
Skype is the king of the hill when it comes to Voice over IP applications. Besides making free (or really cheap) phone calls, you can do a lot of other useful things with Skype. I’ll show you how to add in Video Conferencing, Phone Call Recording (for podcasts, not creepy stuff), Remote Control other PCs, and integrate with IM applications. In addition, I’ll show you how to take Skype beyond your PC and move it onto a bunch of other devices like an iPhone, PSP, or Nokia mobile phone.
When you first install Skype, it does a nice job of handling phone calls. You can make PC to PC calls with other Skype users for free. You can also buy minutes to call regular land line and cell phones for a very reasonable rate. You can also pay get an online number that any regular phones can call. This can be used from anywhere with a high-speed internet connection.
Skype is a lot like Firefox when it comes to plug-ins. They have a ton of plug-ins available on their site.

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Getting the Most Out of Your Applications: Part 2 Mozilla Thunderbird

Turn Thunderbird into an Organizational and Communication Powerhouse

Goal: Take Mozilla’s Thunderbird and turn it into the digital secretary that you have always wanted.
If you don’t like (or want to pay for) Microsoft Outlook, you can still have a powerful, feature-packed communication / information organizer. Mozilla’s Thunderbird is a program that handles basic email needs superbly. While it’s pretty basic to start, it can be extended to do just about everything that Outlook can do, along with a few things Outlook can’t.
To replace Microsoft Outlook, you’ll need the big three features: Email, Contacts, and Calendaring.

We’ll do the following things with these features:

Email – Thunderbird does a great job of handling email, but you can tweak it into an email juggernaut by doing the following:

• Combine Outlook’s folders with Gmail’s tags
• Search the full text of your emails with the power of Google
• Spell check and look up definitions of email text
• Automatically zip file attachments to shrink email size
• Create emails and schedule when they are automatically sent

Contacts – Thunderbird handles contacts, but they’re not integrated as seamlessly as Outlook’s. Until you do the following:

• Set up an integrated Address Book that can be used for emails, calendar appointments, and more
• Sync your Contacts with web services like Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, and more

Calendar – Thunderbird does not come with a built in calendar, but we’

• Install an integrated calendar
• Sync your calendar with web services like Google Calendar, Yahoo, and more
• View and share online calendars from your friends and popular web services

Let’s do some customizing.

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Getting the Most Out of Your Applications: Part 1 Microsoft Outlook

Make Outlook the Information Hub at the Center of your Life

GOAL: Provide a list of free plug-ins that will extend the power of Outlook far beyond even Microsoft’s wildest dreams.

Microsoft Outlook – The ubiquitous Email/Calendar/Organizer tool. Some love it, some hate it (try Lotus Notes before you complain) but millions use it. For many people, Outlook is the hub for their communication and personal information. We’ll cover several ways to extend Outlook’s organizational powers past the desktop, to the web, your portable devices, and beyond. You’ll see how to make it interact with Gmail, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, IM, SMS, plus your iPod and phone.

Let’s dig into some serious organization and productivity magic.