Extensions and Web Apps – Chromebook Classroom

Extensions and Web Apps – Chromebook Classroom.

Alternatives To Photoshop/Creative Cloud

1. Splash up – a photo editor and photo manager.

2. Inkscape – an open source vector graphics editor.

3. Paint.net – Windows only free photo editor.
4. iPhoto11 – Basic photo editing, organizing and sharing for Macs.
5. Acdsee Pro 6 – low-cost Windows only photo editing.
6. Sumpopaint – web-based photo editing.
7. Paintshop Pro X5 Ultimate – Windows photo editing/effects
8. Seashore – – Open source photo editor for Mac
9. Photo Plus Starter Edition – Free photo editor
10. Picasa – organize, edit and share your photos for free
11. DXO Optics Pro – custom photo effects
12. Aperture – Apple’s pro-level photo editor/organizer
13. Adobe Lightroom 4.4 – edit and organize your photos
14. Gimp – Free, open source, GNU image manipulation program.
15. Editor by Pixlr - free online image editor
16. Pixelmator  - Mac photo editor
17. Acdsee Photo Editor  - Windows photo editor
18. Capture One Pro 7  - raw converter and photo management software
19. Photoshop Elements 11 – stripped down version of Photoshop with the features 99% of amateur photographers need
20. Acorn – Mac photo editor with curves, layers, filters
21. Sketch –  Mac vector graphics app
22. Pixia – Windows-only free photo editor from Japan with English versions. Supports layers, masks, and some basic tools of Photoshop.
23. Xtreme  - UNIX photo editor.

24. Darktable - open source photography workflow application and RAW developer

25. Picture Window Pro – Older (but still supported) photo editing application with some of the features of Photoshop
26. Photoline – cross-platform, German made Photoshop clone
27. Thumbs Plus – Windows photo editing
28. ACDSEE for Mac – Mac version of ACDSEE photo editing

I am sure I missed something. These programs do some or most of the same things you can do with Photoshop. Many of them open/edit PSD or DNG files. Almost all open Jpeg or Tiff files. The notion that you would ever be left high and dry if you stopped using Photoshop is hereby proven bunk. If you don’t want to pay Adobe for CC or if you can’t afford to pay Adobe for CC you have lots of other choices. In my opinion, the best alternative then is to use Lightroom with Photoshop Elements. This gives most photographers all the editing and organizing they will ever need. Ultimately, Photoshop is king of the hill and will be tough to replace, but it is possible to get close.

Haal meer uit je Dropbox

Uitlegparty: Haal meer uit je Dropbox 

Met Dropbox kun je meer dan alleen je bestanden synchroniseren tussen apparaten. Een overzicht van handige apps.

Dropbox is handig om bestanden automatisch te synchroniseren tussen apparaten, maar dankzij een groot aanbod aan apps die Dropbox gebruiken is er nog veel meer mogelijk. Dropbox biedt namelijk een API aan, een systeem waarmee programmeurs van apps of webdiensten kunnen inhaken op de Dropbox-infrastructuur. Talloze mobiele apps maken het daardoor mogelijk om bestanden vanuit de app direct in je Dropbox op te slaan. Maar er zijn ook webdiensten toepassingen rond Dropbox hebben gebouwd. Een overzicht.

Laat anderen naar je uploaden

DropItToMe doet wat de naam al doet vermoeden: je kan bekenden een webadres sturen die ze kunnen gebruiken om bestanden naar je Dropbox te uploaden. Je kan zelf een wachtwoord instellen. Je kunt ook een webformulier op Jotbox aanmaken en elk bestand dat mensen met dat formulier meesturen gaat naar je Dropbox.

E-mailbijlagen opslaan

Er zijn verscheidene manieren om e-maibijlagen op te slaan in Dropbox. Een ervan is de dienst Attachments.me , zowel een site als een browserextensie waarmee je Gmail-attachments naar Dropbox kan sturen. De gratis versie van Attachments.me hanteert een 2 GB opslaglimiet naar je Dropbox en een maximum van 75 verplaatste attachments per maand. De betaalde dienst met 25 GB en onbeperkt aantal attachments kost 9 dollar per maand.

Een andere manier is SendToDropbox , waarbij je een uniek e-mailadres krijgt waarnaar je e-mails kan forwarden. De bestanden in die mails gaan dan automatisch naar je Dropbox. Let wel op dat je uitgaande mailserver vaak een limiet aan de bestandsgrootte per mailtje heeft. Bij Gmail is dat bijvoorbeeld 25 MB . Dropbox werkt mogelijk zelf ook aan een functie om mailattachments op te slaan. Het bedrijf nam onlangs de gehypte emailapp Mailbox over.

Automatiseer acties met bestanden

Met Wappwolfs DropboxAutomator kan je allerlei standaardhandelingen automatisch laten uitvoeren binnen Dropbox. Bijvoorbeeld dat elk bestand dat in een bepaalde map verschijnt, automatisch moet worden geconverteerd naar een PDF, of dat elke nieuwe foto in een bepaalde folder naar Flickr.com moet worden geüpload. Acties zijn ook achter elkaar uit te voeren. Zoals een Word-document na omzetten naar PDF moet worden gemaild. Documenten zijn ook automatisch te uploaden naar diensten als Google Drive, Slideshare, Evernote, Sugarsync, Skydrive en Box.net, of ‘ouderwets’ naar een ftp-server. Afbeeldingen zijn bijvoorbeeld automatisch over te zetten in een ander bestandsformaat, of naar zwart-wit, of te voorzien van een tekst of logo.

Met IFTTT (If This Then That) is iets soortgelijks mogelijk. Zo kan je bijvoorbeeld al je Instagram-foto’s, Facebook-kiekjes waarin je bent getagd of Soundcloud-liedjes die je hebt gefavorite automatisch laten opslaan in je Dropbox. Ook een mooie: je computer op afstand een torrent laten downloaden door de torrentlink vanaf je mobiel te mailen. Daarvoor moet je je Bittorrent-programma een bepaalde Dropbox-map in de gaten laten houden.

Muziek streamen

Met DropTun.es kan je de muziekbestanden in je Dropbox afspelen via de browser. Met de iOS-app Boxytunes kan hetzelfde maar dan op iPhone en iPad.Handig voor al die albums die Spotify (nog) niet heeft.

Blogs of websites hosten

Om een eigen site te hosten heb je geen webhosting of domeinnaam meer nodig. Webdiensten als DropPages Pancake.io en ScriptoGr.am presenteren webpagina’s in je Dropbox als websites. Ze bieden je standaard vormgevingstemplates zodat je ook met het ontwerpen van je site weinig tijd kwijt bent. DropPages biedt een beperkte limiet van 50 MB en biedt drie templates. Vervang de bestaande foto’s en tekstbestanden door je eigen versies in de juiste Dropbox-folders en klaar is kees.

Google Docs syncen

Er zijn meerdere diensten om documenten in Google Drive automatisch laten synchroniseren naar Dropbox zodat je er offline bij kan. CloudHQ synct tussen Google Drive en Dropbox maar ook met andere online clouddiensten als Skydrive, Evernote, Sugarsync en Box.net. De dienst kost 4,90 dollar per maand.

Printen op afstand ook met oude printers

Heb je een oude printer zonder ingebouwde functies om via het web altijd en overal te printen, dan is het mogelijk om met dit script een speciale Dropbox-map te laten werken als een ‘printwachtrij’. Hiervoor moet de printer wel verbonden zijn met een computer die aan staat. Nu kan je bijvoorbeeld vanaf je mobieltje een document dat je thuis wilt printen uploaden naar de Dropbox-folder en hij wordt afgedrukt.

Automatisch foto’s verkleinen

Met de webdienst SizzlePig kan je grote hoeveelheden foto’s automatisch verkleinen door ze naar een Dropbox-map te sturen. SizzlePig houdt die map in de gaten en verkleint ze automatisch in de door jou opgegeven formaten, waarna de nieuwe versies automatisch naar een andere Dropbox-map gaan.

Backup je Android-toestel

Alle bestanden op de micro-sd-kaart in je Android-toestel kan je met de gratis app Dropspace backuppen naar Dropbox.

Nog meer apps en webdiensten die Dropbox gebruiken zijn te vinden bijDropboxWiki . Wat is jouw favoriet?

The Teacher’s Guide To Google Glass | Edudemic

The Teacher’s Guide To Google Glass | Edudemic.

8 Extensions That Make Google Drive More Powerful Than Dropbox

8 Extensions That Make Google Drive More Powerful Than Dropbox.

A little over a year ago, Google officially changed the name of its Docs app to Drive and gave users cloud storage to compete with Dropbox . While so far the search giant has yet to dethrone the incumbent , the service does have one distinct advantage over the competition: a wide array of extensions and apps that integrate directly into the service.

Many of the apps listed here are actually standalone web apps. If you see something you like but aren’t particularly keen on using Google Drive for your cloud storage, you can still use many of these services on their own. You’ll just need to handle file management separately.

Web Apps for Drive 

We recently covered some of the best apps for Chrome that you’re probably not using , but Google Drive integration affords quite a few more options for dealing with your documents in a way that other cloud storage solutions do not. The following apps integrate with Google Drive, which means you can access them via Drive’s web interface on any browser or operating system.

Drive Notepad Gives You Plaintext Editing 

Drive Notepadgives you the ability to both read and create basic Notepad files, the format-less text documents Windows users are so familiar with. You can open these files in Notepad itself if you’re on a Windows machine where you have Google Drive installed, but if not there’s the default web app that you can open in Chrome.

WeVideo Edits Your Videos 

As we mentioned previously WeVideo is great for performing simple video edits on the web. If you want your compilation to be a bit more portable, you can use Drive to store all your project files and assets in a single folder that you can access from anywhere. Keep in mind, of course, that video files can fill up space really fast, so if you plan to use this app regularly, you may want to spring for some extra storage space .

FloorPlanner Designs Your Home 

Professional architects and interior designers may find this app a bit underpowered, but for the average person looking to map out their next home design project (or just experiment with new ideas), FloorPlanner is a powerful tool for designing and furnishing a virtual home. As with the other apps, files are saved directly in Drive and accessible on any browser with just a right-click.

PicMonkey Edits Your Photos 

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We previously mentioned Pixlr as a great option for editing photos, but if you’re looking for something simpler with a less complicated UI, PicMonkey does a great job of adjusting things like contrast, exposure, and color levels with an interface anyone can use. Both photo editing apps can be opened directly from the right-click menu in Google Drive for any compatible image file.

Hello Fax Sends Paper Documents 

Hello Faxallows you to send faxes or sign documents remotely. When you first sign up, you get 5 free fax pages, though the company offers promotions and incentives to earn more (for example, invite a friend, get five more free pages). For most average users, this would be plenty. From Google Drive, simply right-click a document and select Hello Fax under “Open With” to get started.

Extensions for Google Drive 

It’s not all about the apps. What use is a pile of applications in Google Drive if you don’t have the files to use them on? These extensions will help integrate your Drive account with the rest of the web.

Save to Google Drive Puts Files a Right-Click Away 

Perhaps the most useful Chrome extension here is Save to Google Drive (from the Drive team itself) which allows you to add a file from anywhere on the web directly to your cloud storage. It also has the ability to save a snapshot of an entire webpage, though since it has to create the image from several screenshots while scrolling down the page, the stitching can get a bit awkward sometimes. This extension will go nicely with Google’s newly-announced “Save to Drive ” button that website owners can embed on their site directly.

Save Text to Google Drive Keeps Just the Important Text 

If you need to save some text on a page, but don’t want to muck about with all the fluff, Save Text to Google Drive strips away everything but the unformatted text and creates a new plaintext document in your Drive account. Because the files are so simple, this actually integrates extremely well with the aforementioned Drive Notepad app.

CloudHQ Syncs Your Cloud Storage Accounts 

As long as your coworkers are still using Dropbox (and they do still have quite a few reasons to do so), you’ll probably still need to interact with it at some point.With CloudHQ , you can sync your entire collection of files or just specific folders. You can choose either one- or two-way sync, and there’s even the option for a one-time sync if you just want to move some files over. It also allows you to access your files from directly within Drive via the sidebar.

Google Drive still has a way to go before it can take Dropbox’s place as king of the cloud mountain (for example, copying the public link for a shared file in Windows Explorer is a needlessly complicated affair), but the web interface in particular has a lot going for it that Dropbox just doesn’t (or can’t) offer yet.

One final note on cleanup: if you try out any of the apps mentioned above and later decide you don’t want them around (your Create dialog can get pretty cluttered if you install all of these), you can remove them under Settings in Drive’s web interface. Just click Manage Apps to remove any applications you’ve linked with Drive, or to set defaults for which app should automatically open which type of file.

Image mixed from Romain Guy .

 

 

The Best Chrome Apps You’re (Probably) Not Using

The Best Chrome Apps You’re (Probably) Not Using

The Chrome app store has seen a lot of improvements lately, but a lot of the apps that work inside Google Chrome still go under the radar. With that in mind, here are a few of our favorites you might not have seen yet.

Recently, Google has pushed for more offline apps in the Chrome Web Store. This means they operate just like an app on your computer, but they exist entirely in the Chrome browser. You can use these on a Chromebook, or any other computer you have with Chrome installed. That means they come in handy when you’re working off a rental laptop, or just a computer without a lot of hard drive space.

While we’re still waiting to get offline support for some apps, a number of these already work offline, so you don’t need an internet connection to use them. The best part? In some cases they can actually replace space-consuming desktop software for when you’re working on the go.

The Google Suite of Apps

If you’re using Chrome, you already have the Google Drive app installed, but the rest of Google’s apps don’t come pre-packed into Chrome. The nice thing about all of Google’s apps is that they all work offline. So, if you use an app like Google CalendarGmail Offline, or Google Keep, you can access all your data offline in the exact same way as you would online.

Another favorite from the Google suite is the Chrome Remote Desktop, which is a dead simple way to remotely access and control other computers. The fact is, if you use any of Google’s services, their apps are well made and worth checking out.

Write Code with Codenvy IDE

Codenvy IDE is a surprisingly robust collaborative development environment. With it, you can code in HTML, Javascript, Java, Groovy, Ruby, PHP, and Python with a team of people. From there, you can even migrate everything straight to services like Heroku, Google App Engine, and more.

You’ll find quite a few development tools in the Chrome Web Store, including CoffeeScript IDE,Application Craft, and the offline-compatible ShiftEdit, but what makes Codenvy IDE interesting is the collaborative features. Either way, you have a lot of solid options for coding right inside of Chrome.

Edit Audio with TwistedWave

TwistedWave is essentially trying to be Audacity for Chrome. It doesn’t quite get there, but as a free (you’ll need to sign up for a free account to get more 30 seconds of editing) audio editing tool that exists solely in your browser, TwistedWave gets the job done. You can easily edit audio files, cut them down, apply effects, and save everything to either Google Drive or SoundCloud. If you just need simple editing, Audio Cutter is a great way to trim clips and edit fades.

If you’d rather actually make music, both Audiotool and AudioSauna are both great mobile workstations.

Tomatoes Keeps You Productive with the Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique of productivity is one of your favorites. All it requires is that you work in solid, 25 minutes blocks and track your working time. You can do this right in Chrome withTomatoes, an app that not only tracks what you’re up to, but also has a leaderboard to compete on.

If leaderboards aren’t your thing, Timeout and Pomodoro.me are solid alternatives.

Get a Minimalist Writing Experience with Write Space

You won’t find a shortage of minimalist writing apps on the desktop that cut out distraction so you can write, so it’s no surprise that Write Space exists in Chrome. Write Space is simple, but you can customize the look of it, what you see, and it has a Google Docs-like persistent auto-save. It also works offline, so you don’t need an internet connection to use it. If you’re sick of menus and bloated writing apps, Write Space exists in your browser and doesn’t get in the way.

For a similar experience with a typewriter aesthetic, check out Writer or the Dropbox-syncingWriteBox.

Edit Video with WeVideo

You’re not going to find a video editor of the caliber of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere inside of Google Chrome, but WeVideo is an editor that should get you through most novice needs. With WeVideo you can do a bunch of basic editing tricks, including trimming videos, splitting clips, and add a handful of effects. If you just need to make a quick compilation of your vacation videos on your laptop, or you’re not that concerned with power, WeVideo does the job.

Edit Photos with Pixlr Editor

Chrome has a ton of different photo editors, but we like Pixlr Editor the most. With it, you can do basic color correction and editing, as well as use a bunch of popular filters like HDR, tilt-shift, and vignette. It’s not going to replace Photoshop by any means, but as a lightweight browser tool it suits most people’s needs.

For an even simpler option, BeFunky Photo Editor is easy to use but doesn’t have a ton of features. Alternately, iPiccy does the bulk of the work for you.

Keep All Your Chats Private and Secure with CryptoCat

Sick of having all your online chats saved in a cloud server somewhere? Cryptocat is a totally private, secure, and anonymous chat client. That means none of your chats records are saved, and you can communicate with friends knowing that nobody is snooping in.

If security’s not that big of a deal for you, the imo messenger is a one-stop app for all your various chat accounts, including Google Talk, AOL, Facebook, and plenty of others.

Of course, we’ve only touched the surface here. A number of your favorite apps, like Dropbox,Evernote, PocketSpotifyFeedlyWunderlist, and plenty more have dedicated Chrome apps. It might seem a little silly to use them if you’re not a Chromebook, but they can come in surprisingly handy on any computer you have that doesn’t have a lot of hard drive space for more full-featured apps. Of course, if you are living just inside Chrome, these apps can make the experience a lot better.

 

8 Extensions That Make Google Drive More Powerful Than Dropbox

8 Extensions That Make Google Drive More Powerful Than Dropbox.