Today we’re featuring Aliza Sherman, of Conversify and Media Egg; blogger at WebWorkerDaily, a web pioneer, author, and newly a mobile entrepreneur. Fancy!

So, What Are Aliza Sherman’s Favorite and Most-Often Used Apps?

Gist

“Gist culls through my emails and social media contacts, then provides me with insights into the people I’m connected with such as blog posts, news articles, recent tweets. I like the recent Tweets feature since it filters down to people I’m actually in touch with versus my entire Twitter stream. I can filter my Gist Dashboard view on the iPhone down to just news or just blogs-or just Facebook as well. Gist sends me emails to draw my attention to revelant information about people I know or people I want to get to know better.”

For More on Gist:

• MakeUseOf: Gist: Intelligent Contact Management Tool
• MakeUseOf: Gist: A Relationship Manager for Your Professional Networks and Business Contacts
• Lifehacker: Gist Filters Your Inboxes by Contact Importance
• WebWorkerDaily: Gist Gets Google Apps Gadget

Instapaper

“I use Instapaper’s bookmarklet on my web browser to to save the title and URLS of blog posts and articles I don’t have time to read, and then use the iPhone app to read later when I’m standing in line at the grocery store or just have some time to catch up. I find myself reading voraciously while standing in line at airport security.”

For More on Instapaper:

• iPhone.AppStorm: Instapaper: Offline Reading On-The-Go
• WebWorkerDaily: Instapaper: Bookmarking Elegance for Web Workers
• MakeUseOf: Manage Your Bookmarks & Reading List with Instapaper
• Lifehacker: Instapaper Adds Email Functionality for Easy Article Saving
• Lifehacker: Instapaper Beyond Brings Keyboard Shortcuts To Instapaper [Mac Only]

TripIt

“I manage my travel information on TripIt by emailing my flight itineraries to the site and it instantly appears in my profile. I can share my travel plans with family and friends. Then, when I’m at the airport checking in, I can get to my flight number quickly and easily without having to dig through papers or remember where I wrote it down.”

For More on TripIt:

• MakeUseOf: TripIt: Travel Itinerary Planner and Organizer
• Lifehacker: TripIt Adds Automatic Intinerary Importing from Your Gmail Inbox

Remember the Milk

“Speaking of remembering, I have such a bad memory these days, so I rely on all kinds of  To-Do lists and backup lists. Remember the Milk has both the web interface and iPhone app, plus text message reminders to nudge me about important things. Now, if only I can remember to enter my to-dos into it on a regular basis.

From More on Remember the Milk:

• Web.AppStorm: Get Things Done with Remember the Milk
• Lifehacker: Get Organized with Remember the Milk
• RTM Blog: Guest Post: Advanced GTD with Remember the Milk
• MakeUseOf: 5 Clever Ways to Use Remember the Milk Lists and Tags
• MakeUseOf: 8 Easy Ways to Manage Tasks with Remember the Milk

Where to Find Aliza

Websites:

• Aliza Sherman
• Conversify
• MediaEgg
• WebWorkerDaily Social Media Column

Social Media:

• Twitter
• Facebook Page
• LinkedIn

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I really wanted to love Google Tasks. I really did. Having a task manager built in to Google Apps-which I use near religiously would have been beyond convenient. But Google Tasks…well, let’s call a spade a space-Google Tasks sucks.

Enter Gqueues-a feature-packed task manager that is EXACTLY what Google Tasks should have been.

I’m Incredibly Disappointed By Google Tasks Too, Tell Me More About GQueues

The Gqueues Tag Line is: “Lists. Prioritized. Simple. A Full-Featured Task Manager for Your Google Account and Google Apps Account!”

The main principles of Gqueues are right in the name:

• G=Google Integration
• Queues: Ordered task lists.

Digging Deeper: The Components of Gqueues

There are 3 basic components of Gqueues are:

• Categories: Groups of queues
• Queues: Prioritized Lists of Tasks
• Tasks: Well, I think you know what tasks are.

Categories

Categories are groups of queues. Gqueues starts you off with default categories such as “Work” and “Home.” However, you can re-name this Categories to whatever you please. You can also add, delete, and reorder categories. It’s highly customizable-which is excellent-so no matter how your brain groups things you are set.

Queues

Queues are prioritized lists of tasks. Just like with Categories, Gqueues gives you a few defaults that you can easily rename. Also, like categories add, delete, and re-ordering is a snap.

One of my favorite features is the ability to change the color of a queue. I’m in love with color-coding, but few apps seem to share my love. Color-coding enables you to take a quick glance and see what you have to do before you even skim.

A few other nifty queues bonus features include the ability to duplicate queues and adding descriptions.

Smart Queues

Smart Queues filter items based on things like due date or tag. Once again, Gqueues gives you some defaults to get you going, but you can always change them. The default Smart Queues are

• Inbox
• Assignments
• Overdue
• Due Today
• Due in a Week
• All Items

To Add a Smart Queues

1. Click “Add Smart Queue”
2. Name the Smart Queue
3. Select the Criteria You Want to Make Up the Queue

And voila!

There are 2 different kinds of Smart Queues that you can create.

Generic Smart Queues

Generic Smart Queues let you create a Smart Queue based on pretty much whatever criteria you want. Due dates, assigned to yourself or others, from a certain project…you get the idea.

Next Action Smart Queues

For those of you who are more GTD oriented, you can also create a “Next Action Smart Queue” that will include all the top items from every queues, giving you a concrete set of actions to choose from.

You can even sort and group tasks within a smart queues by date, name, or queue order.

The Inbox Queue

The Inbox Queue is essentially a catch-all queue that you can either leave tasks in or  process what’s in it and move it to a more appropriate queue.

By default, any task created through your inbox, Google Calendar, or the Google Reader send-to link shows up here.

Tasks

The most important thing to remember about Gqueues is that your tasks appear in order. The principle behind Gqueues is “The whole concept of a queue is that it is an ordered list, which forces a person to decide the importance of a task compared to the others.” Luckily, Gqueues makes it easy to add and re-order.

Add Tasks

Gqueues allows you to add tasks in a wide variery of ways:

• Right in Gqueues
• By forwarding to a designated email address
• Via Instant Message
• Via Bookmarklet
• Via Google Reader Link
• Via a Google Apps Gmail Contexual Gadget

Re-Ordering Tasks

You can easily move things around in Gqueues through an easy drag-and-drop interface.

You can also re-order tasks quickly by using a designated button and selecting “By Name” or “By Date”

Recurring Tasks

Gqueues allows you to create recurring tasks, however only one instance of a repeating task is in your queue at a time. When you mark a task complete, or delete that instance of the task, the next instance is generated based on the repeating pattern you setup.

Subtasks

Substasks are perfect for when a task has a small number of items that go along with it, but creating a whole seperate queue would be a bit much. Just like with everything else, add, deleting, renaming, and reordering is a cinch. You can even hide sub-tasks so you’re not immediately overwhelmed while doing a quick glance over of your list.

Tagging

You can tag items across multiple queues. Think contexts from GTD, or maybe dividing up by type of task.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Here at SUBERAPPS, we’re really, really, ridiculously big fans of keyboard shortcuts.

And as luck would have it, Gqueues has them!

There’s a complete listing of all shortcuts on the Gqueues site here.

Bookmarket

We’re also big fans of bookmarklets, which Gqueues also offers. Install the bookmarklet, click on it while looking at a web page, and a small Gqueues box pops up that allows you to add a description, any notes, and select a queue.

iGoogle Gadget

Gqueues offers a streamlined iGoogle Gadget that allows you to see overdue and upcoming tasks, along with giving you the ability to quickly check tasks off.

As a bonus, using Gmail and GCal labs, you can add the gadget directly into your Gmail inbox or Google Calendar. We wrote a bit about this yesterday.

Gmail Gadget for Google Apps

If you’re someone who likes to put emails that they have to respond to on a task list, first off-that’s very smart of you. Second off, this gadget can significantly help you streamline that process.

How The Gadget Works

Once you install the gadget, when you open an unread email, there is a button underneath that says Gqueues Create Task.

Once you click the button, a box pops up that lets you choose what Queues the email goes into, the ability to edit the Description (the subject line is the default description),  and you’re even able to add tags, notes, assign it to someone, and/or set a due date. Pretty nifty.

Google Reader Send-To Link

We recently had a post here on SUBERAPPS about “Google Reader’s Send-To Feature: The Underdog of Google gReader Tips”  and then updated it with Gqueues new Send-To-Google Reader Feature.

You can install that Gqueues Gadget for Google Apps here.

Mobile Version

Gqueues offers an iPhone/iPod Touch optimized version instead of a specific app. Just open up Safari, plug Gqueues into the address bar, and you’re good to go. You can also add Gqueues to your homescreen for quick and easy access.

Sign Up

Signing up for Gqueues is as easy as logging into your Google Account. Seriously. That’s it.

If you’re using a Google Apps account you can add Gqueues through the Google Apps Marketplace here. And you can add the Gqueues Google Apps Contextual Email Gadget (well, that’s a mouthful) here.

Pricing

Well, good news and bad news here. Good news is Gqueues IS available for free! YAY! Bad news is most of the features that you would want (think the Google Apps Gmail/Gcal integration and email/text reminders) are paid features. But, good news again! There’s a 30- day free trial to see if you need them. And more good news-it’s a one-time yearly $25 fee. Low enough that you don’t feel horrible shelling out. And for those of us who tend to forget about those pesky $2 charges per month, the ability to just pay a small yearly fee is a nice option.

You can check out a side-by-side comparison of the free vs paid option here.

Overall, if you’re looking for something to replace that sad, sad thing that is Google Tasks that’s incredibly flexible with strong Google Integration-Gqueues is your app.

Other Reviews on Gqueues

• Web.AppStorm: Google Integrated Task Management with Gqueues
• WebWorkerDaily: Gqueues: A To-Do List App that Checks All the Boxes
• Lifehacker: Gqueues Is a Google Oriented Task Manager

GIVEAWAY!

Gqueues was nice enough to offer 2 free paid Gqueues accounts to our readers. We’ll be giving them away. To enter the giveaway, simply RT this post. From there, we’ll be randomly picking a winner next Wednesday, 10/27/2010. Good luck!

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With native iPhone apps over shadowing Safari web apps since the App Store first launched, web apps had since received lesser attention. Before you decide that native iPhone apps are the way to go, think about how web apps are spared from going through dreaded App Store approval procedure before you can get your app updated with new features and bug fixes.

Lots of people have this notion that Safari web apps can only function with an internet connection. This is not true. Since Safari 4.0 for the iPhone was introduced, Mobile Safari supports HTML5 client side storage specification. Meaning web apps can store data on the client side (on your iPhone) and also store files like CSS, javascript, images into the iPhone’s cache.

Checklist

Checklist is a classic example of an offline web application that lets you get things out of your head by creating a quick to do list.

If you’re looking for an extremely simple to do list app, look no further.

Probable Uses

How I see Checklist can be really useful is when you’re packing your stuff to go on a holiday trip. I can see myself entering stuff like, slippers, cap, 5 t-shirts, chargers, toothbrush, shaver etc, you get the idea.

Because Checklist loads everything offline, you can use it at lightning speed. Pack one thing, launch, check it off, until everything is packed for your trip.

You can also use it for groceries. Doing groceries tonight? Launch the app, quickly enter the list of items to buy. Check them off at the super market, no need to wait for the internet to slow you down.

Maybe even write your goals and resolutions for the new year.

Conclusion

The thing is, Checklist is free, incredibly simple and fast, works in Airplane mode. Perfect for quick to do lists anywhere anytime.

Visit the site – http://miniapps.co.uk
Web app URL for iPhone Safari – http://miniapps.co.uk/checklist

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I’ve just got an opportunity to review a spanking new to-do iPhone app, thanks to Nick from Spiffing Apps. This app will be out in the App Store next Monday is now available at the App Store. But now, I want to share with you my experience with this lovely iPhone app.

The Laid-Back Todo List

We have seen way too many feature packed ‘to-do’ lists apps on the App Store. Having lots of functions in an app of this genre works for some people but there are also people I know who cannot be bothered with the GTD system, the hassle of syncing with a desktop counterpart, sub grouping tasks and so on.

This group of people only need something as simple as a “pencil and paper” type of system. Only needing a place to quickly pen what they need to do.

Put Things Off fulfills this beautifully with a cute wooden interface coupled with subtle sounds to compliment the experience. Using this is a joy, it kinda makes me feel happy using it, mainly due to the light hearted design.

Launching The App

Launching the app greets you with a wooden background and the name of the app.

I am not a fan of splash screens as most of them I’ve seen are outright ugly and inconsistent with the app itself.

This one makes me a little more forgiving because of its consistency and it’s lovely laid back design.

Interface And Function

Using the app is extremely straightforward. Can’t get any simpler than that:

Tap the ‘+’ icon and add your tasks right away! Whatever you have added lands in your Inbox, ready for you to file to other boxes of different context.

There are only 3 boxes for you to file your tasks:

1. Today (tasks you need to complete today)
2. Put Off (tasks you will complete later)
3. Done (completed tasks)

Very straightforward and logical. This simple way of organizing tasks gets you up to speed very quickly. It doesn’t force you to learn and adjust to complicated systems.

Navigating Around

Navigating to other sections is only a matter of taping on the other boxes at the bottom.

You can move your tasks around or delete them as you wish.

Once you’re done with any tasks, just tap the “tick” icon.

Price

This app will require $2.99 to own. I must say the price is directly proportional to its feature set, definitely reasonable for its concept, design and execution.

Watch The Video!

The above images probably won’t do much justice to the actual usage of the app itself, so i suggest you end off by watching this cute video featuring the app. Once again, this app will be out in the app store next Monday. Stay tuned!

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First of all, this might not make many fans of Things very happy, I’m referring to those who had already bought Things as their GTD application (including myself). If you don’t want to feel the tinge of regret, navigate away from this page, otherwise read on to discover this great app with me.

The Hit List is a to-do list application that works very much like Things except with a few more perks. If you’re a shortcut fan, loving the keyboard more than the mouse, you’re in luck.

The app comes with a slew of keyboard shortcuts you can use. Entering a new to-do item means hitting the “return” key. Set priority of the item by pressing 1 through 9. Spacebar to mark the task complete. Set context or tag by pressing “@” or “/” key. Hitting “T” to set an item as “Today”. These are only a few of them.

The Hit List offers almost everything you would expect from Things, and here’s more:

Drag and Drop Files

Essentially, dragging and dropping files into your items creates an alias to the original file, double clicking opens the file. You can also add notes along side it.

Time your tasks with a Timer

Never imagined this on a GTD application. Start timing your task by hitting “b” on your keyboard. A lovely counter timer will appear timing the time taken to complete your task.

Create Tabs

The Hit List lets you create and delete tabs based on your most important or frequently used list.

Create Sub Lists

Create sub lists by hitting “tab” after creating an item. The previous item before you hit tab will become the main item for the rest of the sub list. Marking the “main” list item as done will mark all the sub items as done although you can also mark as done the individual sub items.

Lovely Chime

This might not be a core feature, but marking an item as done sparks a lovely chime that makes you feel even better about getting a task done.

Sync with iCal

I love the ability to sync ALL my list respectively with ALL my iCal calendars! Something that you can’t expect from Things, maybe not yet? I think this feature is the most important to me.

Sync with iPhone

This feature is still in the works. Once the native iPhone app is done, The Hit List will certainly attract more GTD fans on top of its elegance, ease of use and functionality.

The Hit List is still in beta, there’s still some kinks to be sort out, for example when I create an item on the app, the item immediately syncs with my iCal, when I try to delete the item, it doesn’t let me unless I delete the item from iCal first.

Otherwise, a Things and Omnifocus killer?

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If you’ve been a fan of Things, a very awesome GTD application by Cultured Code, you must be anxiously waiting it to get out of beta. It’s 7 more days before you can finally get the very first 1.0 version, but hey, there’s a 1.0 release candidate to download immediately!

Things is a to-do list app for Mac, simple and elegant while not achieved at the expense of powerful features. I have been using Things since it’s beta and it’s one of the apps I can’t live without. With Things, you can look at all the stuff you need to accomplish today at “Today”, schedule your to-do lists and have them show up at “Today” when the time is up, group to-dos by Projects/Areas, tag your to-dos, include notes in your to-dos etc.

If you have an idea but not sure which category to put your to-do in, put it in the “Inbox” first and sort it later. There’s also a “Someday” box where all the task that you wish to accomplish some other day will appear.

Things 1.0 cost $49.99 to own, you can get 20% off if you enter this coupon code THINGSPRESALE20. Code is valid through January 15th, 2009. You can buy Things today even before it’s release, I know I’m sure gonna get one copy!

iPhone App ($9.99 from the app store)

Things also comes with an iPhone app (separate purchase from the app store @ $9.99), with all the functionality of the Things desktop app. You can sync both apps through WI-FI.

Syncing Things between 2 or more Macs

One thing Things is lacking is the ability to sync all your to-dos between 2 Macs, but this is still possible with a little bit of manual work. If you have more than 2 Macs, or would like to sync Things between your home and work computer, here’s some tutorials on how to get this done. Please note that these tutorials are not officially documented or supported by Cultured Code. But I have tried it and it works.

1. Sync via Mobile Me
2. Sync via DropBox
3. Sync via SVN (with Applescript)
4. Sync via WebDAV

Sync tutorial sources via ars technica

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