PosterPedia!

I’m a geek, so over the years I’ve admired the large posters Microsoft created for various technologies. But as my personal space at work was limited to a cube I rarely had the wall space to make use of one properly.

Yesterday, I was turned onto a handy app in the Windows Store – Posterpedia. The app includes all the posters for Server, Exchange, Office, Azure, Lync and more.

Now I can have the information in the posters easily accessible on my computer (zoom in, zoom out to your hearts content), plus there are bonus links to articles on Technet built in to the app. Try it out and feed your inner geek.

App Watch: Family Edition

I will the first to admit that I’m not very “app crazy” on my phone or my computer. I was an avid BlackBerry user when the iPhone first came out, so when I switched to a Windows Phone, I wasn’t really looking to download every app on the market. And when it comes to Windows 8, I’ll be the first to tell you that I live on my desktop, so even native Windows 8 apps take a lot to impress me.

However, I do have a family and all the joys and trials that come with sharing a household, so I wanted to share a couple Windows apps that are new and pretty interesting.

For the Windows Phone, check out the Cozi Family Organizer. I tried out the Cozi website a while back and liked the idea, plus it had a iPhone app for my husband. But since there wasn’t a Windows Phone equivalent at the time, it was hard for me to get on board. Now that oversight has been corrected, so I’ll likely be signing up again to give the service another try.

For Windows 8, nothing beat a good app to keep the little ones busy for a while. My kids are a little too young to appreciate the great features of the Crayola Color, Draw and Sing (I’ll save this one for later because it has a cool two-player mode for larger screens), but an instant hit was Interactive Touch Books – For Kids! They loved playing the stories over and over. If they continue to expand the titles, I’ll pay!

Now let me go see if I can pry my computer back from my kids…

On My Start Screen: NextGen Reader

I’ve been a Windows 8 user since the beginning and because I’m most often a business user, I live on the desktop, just like those old days of Windows XP or Windows 7. But there are some great modern, native apps that I use and I wanted to highlight one I use every day: NextGen Reader.

Prior to it’s demise, I was a long time user of Google Reader. Since that service was discontinued, I’ve been on the lookout for the best way to manage the reading of blogs and other RSS feeds. I didn’t necessarily need to read from within a browser and with Windows 8.1, I really wanted to take advantage of the touch interface and what my employer likes to call the “immersive experience” of the modern OS.

NetGen Reader had a version for Window 8.1 and the Windows Phone, which makes it the perfect solution for my feed-reading needs. The backend is powered by feedly.com which ties to my Google Account.
Using Feedly, you can group feeds into different categories, control how feeds organized and then sync that across multiple devices and platforms.

It’s not a free app, but the modest cost gives me some peace of mind that the developers of it will continue to support and improve it going forward.

Now if you’ll, excuse me… I’ve got some reading to do!