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This week Todoist launched Karma, which is a sort of point system for tracking your productivity. Completing tasks boosts your Karma score, while postponing or delaying tasks will impact Karma scores.

The positive Karma is Todoist’s way of making task completion and productivity fun. Regardless of fun factor, no one likes to see their scores go down so this new feature could potentially compel users to accomplish more with increased frequency.

Additional Karma boosting methods include:

[list style=square color=cobult]

• Regular task management
• Completing tasks early
• Use of advanced Todoist features (labels, reminders, etc.)

The less you use Todoist, the more your Karma score will decline. Score can also be impacted by allowing tasks to exceed 4 days overdue. Here’s a video look at what Karma can do for you:

Todoist is one of the most frequently updated and managed productivity apps we’ve reviewed. With developers constantly refining and improving the app, there’s always something impressive happening at Todoist.

What does Karma mean long term? Hard to say, but we’re speculating that integration of Karma could lead to much larger scale productivity integration for business users who want to track their team’s output. Once a standard has been set, there’s no doubt Karma could provide serious insight into team member’s productivity and success rate.

Todoist is already an app that can be utilized for team project management and is definitely worth the short time investment of installing the app. You can read more about Todoist and the Todoist app in the following related articles:

Todoist Android App Review
Get More Done By Using Todoist

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Statwing

Briefly, Statwing takes information on any topic, breaks it down and provides statistical analysis on the data. Think of it as the Excel you wish you had. Where Excel is simplified enough for the most novice of users to input data and track the results, the advanced cross-sheet, formula inclusion, graph creation and chart tracking can be a bit overwhelming for even experienced users.

Statwing automatically reads the data from any spreadsheet (Excel, Google docs, etc.) or .csv file and returns an interface from which users can quickly track, analyze and compare the data.

Intuitive Data Analysis

Statwing’s approach is solid. It reads files accurately and in a rather simple form delivers a summary of the data with count, percentage and chart to visualize the data. Along those lines, users can manipulate which data should be excluded with filters (created by the user) as well as change the category assigned to each data segment.

Data handling is done on what’s called a Workspace. Workspaces can be saved and renamed as needed, though saving is best served for those who purchase one of Statwing’s premium packages as they are saved indefinitely. Free account data remains available for 24 hours, a rather short amount of time if you intend to pour over some detailed data.

Real World Testing

Like others, we examined the demo version of Statwing and found that the presentation and potential are outstanding. The possibilities in terms of time savings alone make Statwing a definite tool worthy of making it into any data analyzers toolbox.

We decided to create an account and test Statwing out with our own data and pre-formatted spreadsheet to examine the results in a less controlled way. The results were definitely different than the demo.[blockquote style=”style5″]Disclaimer: I’m especially particular about my spreadsheets and format them heavily for all-on-one-screen aesthetics. I hate to scroll in any direction if I can avoid it, but will always avoid horizontal scrolling.[/blockquote]

The disclaimer is mentioned because that’s likely where things went off the rails. Statwing read the data correctly, even accurately summarized it, but relating the data (comparing it) was less than representative of what the original spreadsheet depicted. Eventually Statwing sorted it out and provided more valuable information as the data related to each other. An adjusted spreadsheet with more generic layout and data was also used. The results were more predictable which indicates formatting may have been an issue in the first attempt.

* For purposes of full disclosure, the spreadsheet in question was that of a fuel expenditure with varying amounts, dates of purchase, totals and separation by month and day.

Overall, the statistical analysis wasn’t able to provide me with the data I was after, though as noted earlier (see disclaimer), the formatting may have been part of the issue.

Interface

If you’re going to stare at numbers and data all day, the presentation better be easy on the eyes or else one migraine later you’ll be wishing you never started. Luckily, Statwing’s interface is aesthetically pleasing. Mostly white with subtle shades of blue for functionality.

Navigation is clearly visible and uncomplicated with most essentials located in the same general area of the screen.

Statwing Workspaces can be shared via direct link sharing and recipients are not required to have a Statwing account to view shared Workspaces.

We’d like to see a built-in print function available to quick print charts and statistics. Standard printing through the browser was troublesome at best and unusable at worst. Saving is awesome and while we applaud the idea of 100% cloud functionality, users can often benefit from having a printout of things likes charts where they can highlight, circle and scratch notes on.

Plans & Pricing

There are three pricing plans available. The free account will grant you access to a saved file for 24 hours with a maximum file size of 1mb. Statwing’s premium packages offer higher size limits and unlimited life span on files.

Statwing Future

We aren’t sure where Statwing is heading, but with some small tweaks to the interface and more advanced graphing of data coupled with the existing, basic inner guts, they have the potential to become a standout resource.

Something worth considering moving forward would be a demonstration of how Statwing reads the data for a layman. The goal being to better describe to users how Statwing interprets formatting and where it expects data to be in relation to how it delivers results.

Final Thoughts

Having seen what Statwing is capable of in the demos, it’s hard not to question whether formating spreadsheets differently in the future should be considered in order to take advantage of this outstanding free service. While the statistics retrieved didn’t fully reach expectations, Statwing did demonstrate how intricately it reads files and interprets the data. We expect further enhancements which will expand on results output and broaden the analysis.

Statwing should be in your resource kit if data analysis is important and must be in your kit if it’s part of your livelihood.

Our advice is to create a free account with Statwing and see just how accurate the results are from your own spreadsheets and .csv files. Share your thoughts here to give others another point of view.

Visit Statwing

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We profiled Amara last June in our Nifty Websites Collection. The need for translation of videos on the web continues to accelerate as global sharing increases. Amara fits that need and then some.

How It Works

Using Amara is incredibly simple and now with YouTube availability on all personal channels, creators can enlist the aid of their viewers to translate the videos and spread their knowledge, message or all out hilarity to the world.

Channel owners/creators simply need to visit Amara.org and connect their channel. Moving forward, all videos on that channel will include a link for viewers to offer up translation for videos.  Here’s a direct link to the connection page.

[blockquote align=”center” style=”style1″]The only way to get a video translated into the world’s languages is to invite the world’s viewers to help. No YouTube creator speaks every language and automated transcription and translation is still not high enough quality to understand the content of a video. But viewers watching from around the world are excited to help others watch,” said Nicholas Reville, Executive Director of Amara[/blockquote]

About Amara

[blockquote align=”center” style=”style4″]With customers such as, Netflix, Twitter, PBS, TED Talks, Udacity, and Coursera, Amara gives individuals, communities, and larger organizations the power to overcome accessibility and language barriers for online video. Amara’s revolutionary crowdsourcing approach offers a robust API that allows companies to use the platform for internal collaboration as well as allowing individual customers to translate video content. Backed by a million dollars in funding from the Knight Foundation and Mozilla, Amara has received awards from the Federal Communications Commission, the United Nations and TechAwards. For more information, visit Amara.org and follow @AmaraSubs on Twitter.[/blockquote]

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It’s been a while now and Dispatch continues to improve, enhance and tweak all the things necessary to being a more complete cloud collaboration tool.

Notifications

How many notifications do you receive on average per day on your mobile device or through email? Likely it is an astounding amount. We get notifications for everything and while most are necessary, control over them is limited.

Dispatch’s latest round of tweaks are aimed at notifications. The additional control means less unwanted and more relevant notifications. Here’s a look at the latest changes:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• Users now receive a periodic email summarizing new posts in a dispatch.
• Users will only receive comments by email when someone @mentions them or for posts made by and commented on by the user. Users can also reply to those email messages to make a new comment.
• Users can toggle whether they receive emails about certain posts by following/unfollowing them on the Dispatch site.
• Notifications for all activity is available when users visit the Dispatch website.
• Adding users to a conversation is simplified with the use of the @ symbol. Just place the @ in front of a username to include the user.

Along with the enhanced notification system, Dispatch rolled out some other improvements last month.

Dispatch Button

In the same fashion as a bookmarklet, the Dispatch browser button allows users to create new dispatchs about content they find on the web.

Dispatch Exit

Leaving a Dispatch is now as simple as clicking a button. Each dispatch has the “Leave this dispatch” option from inside the dispatch itself making for an easy exit.

UI Tweak

A new focused layout is now in place to make more content visible on screen. Gone is the gallery and in its place is a list to make finding older items easier.

Have you used Dispatch? What do you think of the changes and maturation of the service? Let us know in the comments!

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Amazon’s MP3 Shot at Apple

Amazon launched a mobile web version of its MP3 store. On the surface that may not seem significant, but as a mobile version based in HTML5 code, Amazon is able to offer another source for cheap tunes to iOS users.

Apple has historically made sure that iTunes is the de-facto way for iOS users to obtain content. To that end, many iOS users don’t bother to take advantage of other means of acquiring digital media as the walls of Apple surround them.

Now, Amazon is delivering the easiest of sources via a simple website address that any user can access. Hit up Amazon’s MP3 Store to check out the music offerings.

MediaFire Delivers 50GB to Android

In case you’ve been living under a rock, cloud storage services are everywhere right now. Between extremely popular services like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud and SkyDrive, users are covered from every angle. The only downside being that space can be an issue.

MediaFire this week announced that they’ve finally released an Android version of their app. While iOS users have been enjoying MediaFire’s free 50GB accounts for some time now, Android users finally get a taste of that huge chunk of cloud storage.

MediaFire is still a minor player in the cloud storage market, but with 50GB of free cloud storage they’re making a rather large footprint.

Facebook Adds Voice Calling for iOS

Take that Google Voice! Perhaps not. A new Facebook feature is aimed at giving mobile users free voice calls over Wi-Fi or cellular networks. While it is a promising development, there are limitations and it is by no means a serious challenge to Google Voice or other VoIP services.

Currently, the feature is only available to iOS users (by tapping the “i” button), can only call those with the Facebook Messenger app installed and cannot handle landline calls (which Google Voice can).

Still, it is early in the feature’s life cycle so anything is possible down the road.

Other Stories of Note

LinkedIn shuts down LinkedIn Answers

It’s being reported by Mashable that LinkedIn Answers will be expired to make way for other avenues of engagement between its members. End date appears to be 1/31/13. Reasoning behind the move points to limited interaction from users.

The news isn’t exactly earth shattering, but the Answers section was a good place to browse for information. Perhaps all the browsing wasn’t interactive enough to keep Answers alive.

MySpace Re-launch Sort of

MySpace has extended its arm from the grave with a new look. The cleaner more modern look appeals to the music side of users. Connecting through music is very much what MySpace is all about now. The idea is solid and if MySpace was named something other than MySpace, it would probably do well. As it stands, we’ll have to wait and see if MySpace can extend more than an arm from the grave.

Private Dell – A Sign of the Times

Although not set in concrete just yet, it appears Dell is moving towards a buyout on their way to becoming a private company. The computer industry as a whole has struggled amid the onslaught of tablets and smartphones. Dell in particular has taken huge hits with PC sales in a slump and a less than enthusiastic response from the tech world about Windows 8.

Going private may refocus Dell and empower them to think beyond traditional PCs, a gamble that must be taken to revitalize the company moving forward. If everything goes smoothly, expect news of Dell going private sometime in late January.

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Since that time, we’ve had a chance to work with and test the premium version of Todoist on the Android platform. Now we’re ready to give a review of how this to-do app stacks up and what users can expect from Todoist.

Skip to the end of the article for a special 1/2 price discount on Todoist Premium.

Todoist Review

Learning Curve

As with a number of productivity apps, there can be a bit of a learning curve in terms of functionality and usability. If an app is too difficult to navigate or the complexity of commands is great, then users will move on.

Todoist sidesteps a lot of those problems with short, quick tutorials during the first run of each feature. The guided instruction is great for beginners and although Todoist isn’t incredibly challenging to learn, the tutorial helps get users up and running right away.

Projects

Projects are Todoist’s way of sorting and organizing tasks. Each task or to-do item is categorized by project. The idea being that not everyone wants to view tasks by date, so sorting by project provides another method of task organization.

Projects are required in order to add tasks which can seem a bit cumbersome at first, but part of the app’s appeal is it’s ability to organize your tasks so by forcing a task into a project you’re automatically more organized. Those with simple to-do list needs would benefit from a default categorization of Tomorrow or This Week. Perhaps Todoist will implement something similar in the future.

Tasks

Tasks are wildly simple to create. A simple tap of the + sign and away you go. Tasks can have due dates and labels (tags) with prioritize and indent features. Tasks are of course editable and can be annotated with notes or postponed (postpone feature automatically moves the task to the following day).

The postpone feature is especially nice since often tasks are left incomplete or unattended for one reason or another, however we’d like to see more options such as postpone for a week or next Monday or even add a calendar feature to choose specific dates.

By default Todoist opens on the Tasks list for Today. We aren’t overly thrilled with that and would prefer it opened to the main menu area so that users can choose which project or timeframe they’d like to view.

Labels

Just about any decent organization or productivity app these days has to employ a tag/label system. They are a phenomenal way of tracking and organizing items. To that end, Todoist has incorporated labels which again separate tasks for more precise viewing.

I admit, labels and tags are something I employ on a regular basis no matter which app or program I’m using. They are crucial in remembering tasks. Todoist labels work exactly as expected and offer color coding to further enhance the feature.

There is one drawback to the labels feature. It’s a premium feature. While labels are important, we’d like to see them as a standard feature as is the case with other productivity type apps.

Other Features

Tasks can be filtered down by using queries which Todoist applies via short phrases and partial words to lessen the amount of typing. Examples include “tom”, short for tomorrow or “4 days”, to highlight tasks due in the next 4 days or “od”, short for overdue as well as many other queries.

Email reminders are not specifically tied in with the Android app, but can be accessed through the Todoist web app. It’s not a deal breaker feature for the mobile app, but the email reminder feature is something that would enhance Todoist and could be a nice trade-off premium feature to get labels put in the standard version.

Interface

At first the interface came across as bland and barren, but after some time working with it began to feel comfortable and simplistic (in a good way). Navigating between tasks, projects, labels and filters in Todoist is easy with task view cleanly displayed with labels and project colors.

On a tablet the app is appealing and equally appealing on smaller smartphone screens.

Todoist is fast and responsive. Todoist syncs as well if not better than any other app we’ve tested. Swipe works smoothly yet Todoist caters to all users by utilizing tap between screens as well.

Conclusion

Admittedly, I’m a productivity app junkie. Organization, productivity and downright useful apps get my attention. Todoist fits a hole that is otherwise missing from simple note-taking apps and expands on middle of the road task filing apps. The combination of task recording, scheduling and project/label organization puts Todoist in a class with other top productivity apps.

Downsides include typically standard features such as labels packaged in a premium version and the rather odd position of ‘Add Project’/’Add Label’ buttons in comparison to other Todoist buttons.

Overall, Todoist functions exceptionally well, is ultra fast, optimized for all screen sizes and provides a need in the app market. As a free standalone app, Todoist is definitely worth the download and we highly recommend it. The premium version, at $29/year, is worth the cost if you intend to use Todoist as your primary source for task management.

Special GeekITDown reader discount (valid through 1/10/13): 50% off Todoist Premium

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Box, one of the leading cloud storage and content management services has agreed to extend its partnership with Sony through 2013.

The partnership gives owners of most Xperia smartphones with Android version 2.1 or higher access to 50gb of cloud storage space for free. The partnership which began in late 2011 means Box keeps a portion of their market reach intact with a major electronics company. Sony benefits from the press the Xperia will receive regarding this partnership.

[blockquote align=”center” style=”style1″ cite=”SonyMobile blog”]Xperia smartphone* and Sony tablet users can now grab free 50GB cloud storage for life, by signing-up or accessing existing Box accounts from their devices before 31st December 2013.[/blockquote]

To receive your free 50gb from Box, simply access or sign-up for a new Box account from your device.

Ubisoft Hunts Sneaky AS3 Bug

Ubisoft is in clean up mode ..for bugs that is. It has recently come to light that some players are experiencing save game loss on Assassin’s Creed 3. The bug can dramatically impact saved games to the point where they revert to a completion percentage far less than what has actually been attained or worse yet reset progress altogether.

The bug seems to have originated from the latest DLC, Hidden Secrets. Apparently the bug occurs when players download the DLC while playing the game. Advice for now is to avoid downloading the DLC or at very least don’t play or load saved games while the download is occurring.

Ubisoft is quickly moving to correct the error. The bug only affects current season pass holders. The DLC is set to release for non-season pass holders this week.

John McAfee Finally Caught

McAfee has been on the run ever since a murder in his home neighborhood in Belize. Belize police have been searching for him without success until his recent capture by Guatemalan authorities. McAfee is wanted for questioning, but feels the Belize police have other nefarious reasons for their interest in him.

For those wondering or unaware, yes John McAfee is the founder and name behind the McAfee anti-virus software so widely known around the world.

* Image courtesy of SonyMobile.com

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It may seem unlikely, but the reality is that cloud computing is actually very well suited to smaller enterprises, with a number of benefits that can really be pounced upon by companies with limited budgets and small numbers of staff.

Flexibility

The key to the cloud’s appeal in the small business sphere is flexibility, because you really want to be able to invest in an IT solution that is going to be responsive to the changing circumstances in which your company finds itself.

While on-premises hardware requires upfront payment and persistent maintenance costs, the cloud is not lumbered with these issues. Instead, you can pay for the usage you require and not a penny more.

Because cloud services are hosted remotely, anyone can access them via a network connection. The amount of IT capacity that you need will obviously vary, depending on how your business is growing and whether temporary increases in activity are in the pipeline, but the pay-as-you-use approach of the cloud means you will not stretch your budget further than necessary.

The cloud can account for the peaks and troughs in usage requirements and ensure that there is scope for your business to grow and develop without feeling restricted by the IT systems to which it has access.

Cost

As noted above, the cloud benefits from the fact that its flexibility does not put any unnecessary strain on your IT expenses. However, there are other cost savings to be made if your small business adopts this type of system.

For example, even if you can afford to install an on-site IT set-up that will account for your current business needs and still give you room to man-oeuvre in the future, you will still have to cover the costs of maintenance. This might be impractical, particularly if your company does not have the in-house talent available to carry out the necessary work.

In addition, at some point it will be necessary to upgrade your hardware and software, which means that there are yet more costs to bear further down the line, thereby increasing the risk of one-off expenses to come out of nowhere and hit you hard.

When you use the cloud, all of these concerns are the responsibility of the provider, which leaves business users in a much better position. You will know exactly how much a service will cost over the course of its use, while factors such as upgrades and maintenance will be taken care of independently.

The cloud offers small businesses access to IT services that would otherwise be unavailable to them. It offers excellent opportunities for you to back up and store mission-critical data that will allow you to keep your business afloat in the event of a disaster, as well as being able to support software applications and entire infrastructural elements that could not possibly be integrated in-house.

The main obstacle to adoption in small businesses is a lack of understanding of the cloud, but this is easy to rectify and once managers are made aware of the potential benefits, it should be easy to ensure that this type of IT solution becomes part of your operations. This is something that will not be monopolised by the big boys with major budgets, but is available and affordable to all.

This article was provided by Daisy Group plc, who have a range of cloud computing solutions and hosting products available. Visit their website for more information.

As the year winds down, the Nifty Collection is taking a brief hiatus as we enter into and turn our attention towards the busy holiday and gaming seasons. Like last year, we’ve chosen a handful of websites from the 2012 collection that are truly nifty.

This year however we’re getting our readers involved in the process. We’re looking for the niftiest of the bunch and that’s where you, our readers come into play. We’d like to know which website is your favorite and the niftiest in your eyes.

We’ve put together a brief bio of the nominees below, in no particular order. We encourage you to visit the websites and try them for yourselves. Then visit and like our Facebook page where you can vote and enter into a drawing for a new Roku media streaming device.

2012 Nifty Website Nominees:

Uencounter.me

Look around the web and you’ll see all sorts of social websites. Many are focused on those you already know or sharing content found online. Uencounter.me takes a different approach and has the unique ability to bring together perfect strangers in way that is social, informative and addicting.

Uencounter.me is a social, virtual pin map. Users pin their travels, destinations, experiences, business service areas and anything else that can be pinned to a location. We’ve watched this website progress over the course of the year and are continually impressed with what they provide.

Read the full Uencounter.me review.

Loveit.com

As we all watched in amazement as Pinterest rose to near dominance overnight. Loveit quietly and successfully approached the social world with more thorough planning and application than their Pinterest counterpart.

Private collections and a community committed to sharing videos, links, images and other web finds has made Loveit a regular destination for our social staff.

Read the full Loveit review.

Primadesk.com

If you’re tired of logging in to the same websites and services multiple times a day or even daily or weekly, then it’s time to find a service that accesses them all from one centralized location. That’s why Primadesk is a Nifty of the Year nominee.

Through Primadesk users can access many of their accounts without separate logins or bouncing between browser windows or tabs. Accessing email, Facebook, Dropbox and other websites is all done within Primadesk with one simple login. Making life easier it what Primadesk offers and they succeed.

Read the full Primadesk review and update.

RoomSketcher.com

If it’s one thing that Pinterest and home improvement shows have shown us, it’s that people love to design and plan new living spaces. While some of us are great at it, others struggle. RoomSketcher was nominated because it can help both professionals, amateurs and diy’ers with room virtual room planning 3D software all performed in the cloud.

The RoomSketcher interface caught our eye and instantly saw the possibilities. Users don’t have to imagine what a room will look like when the home project is complete, RoomSketcher will show them. Professionals of all types can utilize the software to illustrate projects, real estate listings and interior design plans.

Read the full RoomSketcher review.

My1Login.com

Security is something that is lacking in the ever expanding cloud world we live in. Passwords need to be unique and difficult to decipher. On top of that, we need to store those same passwords in a secure location of its own. My1Login is nominated for those security reasons alone.

My1Login is an online password manager that goes with you everywhere on every device making it completely cloud integrated. Store your passwords inside My1Login and never worry about remembering them again. With security of utmost importance, My1Login stands above the rest with their features and easy to understand application.

Read the full My1Login review.

Outright.com

One of the most important factors in choosing a Nifty Website is that of it’s usefulness to those who need it the most. Outright provides a rich and detailed accounting service for small businesses with limited resources and manpower.

Through the entirely cloud based interface, Outright gives small business owners a place to manage their financials and if desired, their tax preparation as well. Small businesses are the backbone of the US economy and Outright does them a service by developing such a comprehensive finance management solution.

Read the full Outright review.

Those are the 2012 Nifty Website of the Year nominees! Your vote not only means you get a chance to win a Roku, but it also matters to the nominees who will receive 6 months of free promotional space on GeekITDown.com.

Visit and like our Facebook page and be sure to vote and enter to win a Roku.