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evernote
How to Create a Bulk Software Installer
The Super Fast Way to Set Up a New PC
OVERVIEW: You will learn how to install dozens of awesome, free applications on your computer in 5 simple steps. No money, 200 Point IQ, or Back-Breaking Labor required!
Once you get past the excitement of getting a new computer, then the aggravation sets in. You have to download and install all of the software that you need. This can take hours and hours even if you’re organized.
You can spare yourself so much of the pain involved with this process by using a bulk software installation tool. I recently found a tool that creates an installer that automates the process of installing multiple applications.
Ninite.com gives you a selection of close to 100 free or open source applications that can be added to a 1-click installer. Some of these are my absolute favorite apps of all time. (Firefox, Skype, Digsby, Notepad++, DropBox, Evernote, and many more.)
Follow the steps below to create and run a Bulk Software Installer.
Creating the Installer
Open your browser and go to http://ninite.com.
You will be able to select from a large collection of free/open source applications that are grouped into several categories.
Select the checkbox next to all of the applications that you want to include in your installer.
After you select all of the applications that you want to include in your installer, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the 
button.
You will see the Download page. This page will display all the icons for all of the applications that you selected for inclusion in the installer. The click here to change apps link will return you to the previous page, where you can add or remove applications.
Your download should begin automatically. Use the click here to retry the download link if your download does not begin right away.
You can use the permanent link to get a link to the installer download page. This is convenient if you want to share this collection of apps with other users or computers.
Installing Your Collection of Applications
You can either save the installer file to your computer and launch it, or let it run automatically from your browser.
Saving the Installer to Your Computer
The installer’s file name will include the applications that you selected.
Double click the installer file when it has finished downloading.
Automatically Running the Installer When it Finishes Downloading
If you elected to automatically run the installer when the download finishes, you will see the following window.
Click the 
button to launch the installer.
This is actually the last action that you are absolutely required to take. Everything else runs on its own.
Monitoring the Installation Process
The installer file does not actually contain each applications installation files. It downloads them when it is run.
Click the Show details link to monitor the progress of your installation process.
You will see the list of applications that you included in the installer. You will be able to follow along and see which applications have been downloaded and installed.
When all of your applications have been installed, you will see the following confirmation.
Click the 
button to exit the installer.
That’s it, all of your applications are installed and working as if they were each installed manually.
Printable Instrucitons
Click to Download a Printable Version of these Instructions.
See How it’s Done
The following video tutorial shows how to Install Multiple Applications using a Bulk Software Installer.
What Applications Do I Bundle?
I put a huge list of applications by category at the bottom of this article. (I didn’t want to break up the flow with a huge list.) You can also check out one of my lists of my favorite free applications:
22 Most Useful Free Applications for your PC (2009)
26 Best Free Mac Applications (2009)
32 Free Applications that I Could Not Live Without (2008)
What Applications Would You Put in your Installer Bundle?
I would love to hear what you think. Let me know what applications would you include in a Bulk Software Installer in the comments below. (List OS, then Apps.)
List of Suggested Applications to Include
Here is a list of some of the availabe applications that I highly reccomend:
Web Browsers
Google Chrome
Opera
Firefox
Messaging
Skype
Pidgin IM
Digsby
Mozilla Thunderbird
Media
iTunes
Songbird
Hulu Desktop
VLC
Winamp Lite
Audacity
Spotify
Imaging
Paint.NET
Google Picasa
GIMP
IrfanView
Inkscape
Documents
OpenOffice
Foxit Reader
CutePDF Writer
Security
Microsoft Security Essentials
Avast
AVG Free Anti-Virus
Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
Spybot – Search & Destroy
Runtimes
Flash
Flash Player 10 for other browsers
Flash Player 10 for Internet Explorer
Java JRE
Microsoft .NET
Microsoft Silverlight
File Sharing
uTorrent
eMule
Utilities
ImgBurn
CCleaner
Launchy
Revo Uninstaller
Defraggler
RealVNC
TeraCopy?
CDBurnerXP
7-Zip
Dropbox
Evernote
Google Earth
Steam?
Developer Tools
FileZilla
Notepad++
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How You can Take the Greatest Notes in the World
Use this Simple Technique to Record, Organize, and Recall Everyting
The information age is upon us. Every day I take in or crank out so much information that it is very difficult to keep it all together. With all of the computers, PDAs, and voice recorders available, I rely on a plain old notebook as my main weapon in the battle to record, create, and organize information. Even though my notebook is simple, my method of taking notes is anything but. I’m going to show you a quick way to go take great notes that will keep you on top of everything.
My Approach to Taking Great Notes
I use a combination of a few approaches modified into my own special method. I base it mostly on the Cornell Note Taking method. Since I’m not a student, I adapted it for taking notes at business meetings and brainstorming projects.
I start out with regular lined notebook paper. I break the page into four sections:
Top
Notes
Action Items
Summary
Top Section
In Top the section I write the following:
Top Left – Attendee names (if it’s a meeting)
Top Center – Meeting or Project title
Top Right A – Page Number
Top Right B – Date
Notes Section
I use the main section of the page to taking notes or writing ideas and content.
Action Items
I use the left margin of the page for Action Items. These are typically To-Do’s or Open Questions. If there is a task for me, I draw an arrow pointing out of the Notes section (right to left). Then, I write the task name, recipient (if any), the due date. If it’s a task for someone else I draw an arrow pointing into the Notes section (left to right). Then, I write the responsible person’s name, the task name, recipient (if it’s not me), and the due date.
Summary Section
When the session is over I draw a wavy line below the Notes section. I write a brief one or two line summary at the bottom of the page.
After the Meeting
I also transfer my Action Items to my rolling To-Do list. There are many great ways to record your task list, I love RememberTheMilk. Here is a tutorial showing how use RememberTheMilk to manage your tasks.
Cataloging Notes
Having a notebook full of notes is not very helpful if you can’t find what you need. I always leave a few pages at the back each notebook to create an Index. When I’m done with a meeting I go to the back and write the Page Number, Topic, and Date. This creates a scannable Index that I can use to quickly find notes by topic or date.
Extra Credit
At a lot of meetings that I attend people write and draw important information on flip charts or white boards. At the end of these meetings I usually pull out my phone and grab a decent picture of the information. Then I upload the picture to my Evernote account. Then the picture is available back at my computer before I even get to my desk. Then I print it off and tape the page to the back of the notes from the meeting. Here is a tutorial showing how to use Evernote to capture information anywhere and recall it any time.
Conclusion
This whole process only adds a few seconds onto the basic note taking process, but provides great benefits down the road. When I need to recall something from a project meeting that happened a month ago I just open the Index, find my page and go to the notes. At a moment I can see who was there, when it happened, what was said, and who was responsible for what. That’s certainly worth 45 seconds after an hour long meeting in my opinion.
Here is an article that I wrote about the virtues of taking notes and some of the other cool things that you can do with them.
If you have any other good note taking ideas please add them in the comments section.
Create a RoboSecretary for Yourself with Dial2Do
Turn your Smartphone into a Genius Phone
Do you ever wish you had a secretary to take care of setting things up for you? Yeah, me too. Well, I found the closest thing to having your own secretary that you can get without opening your wallet. The free service Dial2Do.com will allows you to use your phone to do the following: check and update your calendar, send emails and text messages, create to-do’s and memos, check the weather, update your twitter account, and a bunch of other things.
Here’s how Dial2Do.com describes their service:
Dial2Do lets you do common tasks by just calling a number and speaking. Use it to send EMAIL or TEXT messages, record REMINDERS to help you remember things, post updates to your TWITTER or JAIKU stream and LISTEN to your favourite internet content. It’s easy and handsfree…
How Dial2Do Works
You get a call in number when you set up your account. When you dial the number a robotic voice ask you what you want to do. You say what you want and they recognize what you said and do it for you instantly.
They integrate with more services than you can shake a stick at. Calendars, Email, RememberTheMilk, Evernote, Twitter, FriendFeed, Wordpress, Blogger, and Typepad, Twitter, Ping.FM, and Tumblr. See the complete list of all of the services that you can use with Dial2Do.
Using Dial2Do to handle your business is extremely simple:
- Create a free account at Dial2Do
- Set up all of your services (email, calendar, to-do’s, etc.)
- Put your Dial2Do phone number in your phone
- Call Dial2Do and tell say what you want done
- Relax, knowing that it’s all taken care of.
Video Tutorial
See how to make your smartphone into a genius phone using Dial2Do.
Click here to download the Dial2Do tutorial podcast.
Never Forget Another Idea – Capture Everything with Evernote
Capture Anything, Anywhere, and Recall it with Ease
When you have to create content for a living (here and my day job), you are constantly processing information. I am constantly looking for new approaches to capture the information and ideas during the day. The best tool that I have found so far is the note taking service Evernote.
Here’s how Evernote explains their service:
Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.
- You capture the things you want to remember using what you already use—your Windows or Mac computer, the web, and your mobile phone.
- We run everything through our recognition technology, and then synchronize it across your devices. You can then organize and tag the notes, if you wish.
- When you want to find something, just search or filter and there it is just like you remember it.
Adding Information to your Notebook
You can install a desktop application on Windows or Mac computers and use their web interface on Linux machines. They also have a browser plug-in for Firefox and Safari that allows you to clip text and images from web pages and save them.
If you use multiple computers (work and home) with multiple operating systems, don’t worry Evernote will sync your notes to all of your devices instantly. No matter which device I’m using I can always capture any information and pull it back up. You can use a PC, Mac, and Phone (text, voice, photos).
See the Many Possibilities for Using Evernote in this Video Tutorial
Download the Capture Anything with Evernote video.
Ways I Use Evernote
- Capturing blog post ideas while I’m at work
- Saving ideas for work projects while I’m home
- I pull up my supply lists when I’m at Home Depot
- Pulling together research for new articles
- Remembering what to pack when I travel
- Taking pictures and voice recordings from my phone
More Helpful Tips on Using Evernote
- Evernote has some very helpful tutorials and videos on their site.
- The New Web Clipper Take 2 + Firefox Add-on Update
- Evernote Has Been Busy!
- 6 Ways To Add Your Information To Evernote
Conclusion:
I love me some Evernote. I use it all the time to capture and organize my thoughts and ideas. If you have a lot of information to create, digest, process, and remember, you’ll LOVE using Evernote!
Don’t miss the next article on another one of my favorite productivity boosting applications – Dropbox!
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