Here are five handy apps to make your academic career that much easier.
LeechBlock
Procrastinate much? This browser plug-in might just change your life. Completely free and available for Firefox, LeechBlock blocks a user-defined set of websites over a set period of time, keeping you off YouTube and Twitter during finals. You can also block a site after spending a certain amount of time on it, allowing you to allocate no more than two hours a day to mindless Facebook stalking. A determined time-waster can always turn the blocker off, but at least they’re left feeling guilty that they’ve enabled their own procrastination.
The LeechBlock Firefox add-on is available at addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock
LogMeIn and LogMeIn Ignition
Cloud services are all the rage these days, and Google Docs makes it easy to share written work. There’s always a time, however, when you wish your own PC was close at hand. LogMeIn sets up a link between the computer you’re currently using and your target PC at home. The online portal lets you control your home PC as if you were sitting right in front of it. The basic version is free, though the pro version adds neat features like file-swapping and remote printing and sound.
What’s even cooler is that iPad, iPhone, and Android users can all use LogMeIn Ignition to access every file and program on their computer. It’s like having a fully-functional PC on your iPad or smartphone. The app plays especially nicely with the iPad’s large screen, allowing you to productively complete work on your home computer while out and about.
LogMeIn Free and Pro are available at LogMeIn.com. The pro version costs $69.95 per year. The mobile Ignition versions are available on the Apple App Store and Android Market.
KeepVid
YouTube’s licensing doesn’t permit a ‘save video’ function. Don’t fret though—KeepVid is perhaps the easiest way to save YouTube videos for a presentation or a bus ride home with spotty Wi-Fi. The process takes at most three clicks. All that is required is to enter the video URL, click download, and choose a format. Keepvid also supports videos from sites like Megavideo. The site does the rest.
keepvid.com
Wordreference
This site was built for language students. There likely isn’t a more comprehensive online dictionary than Wordreference’s English-French dictionary. There are fifteen dictionaries in all, ranging from Japanese to Czech.
Wordreference’s online forums are equally impressive. Native speakers of many different languages help each other with translation, writing, and grammar. It’s an invaluable resource for your upcoming Spanish paper.
Wordreference.com; An Android app is available on the Android Market and an iPhone app on the Apple App Store.
Foxit Reader
Adobe Reader on a PC is clunky, large, and often sluggish. Foxit Reader is a fast, lightweight alternative to Adobe, allowing PDFs to open in tabs. It also boasts free features like annotation, which allows you to digitally mark up and highlight your lecture slides with ease.
foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader
