Remembering tasks is a pretty hard job and we might end up forgetting some important things and the consequences could be drastic. The best way to remember and manage tasks is to have a to-do list. Now I’ve tried many to-do list programs and honestly, they all do the same thing – organize what you need to do, right? I was given the opportunity to play around with FruitfulTime Task Manager (a mouthful) and not only does this software application organize what needs to be done, but does so with a long line of other features.

To name a few, you can:

•          Manage your to do list easily and quickly.
•          Create / edit / delete tasks.
•          Tasks can be split into smaller manageable subtasks like paying telephone bill can be split to paying  landline bill and paying mobile phone bill.
•          Monitor the progress on each task / subtask.
•          Assign tasks to different contacts.
•          Set the priority for each task.
•          Set up reminders for tasks
•          Assign tags to tasks
•          Password protect your tasks such that only you will be able to edit and view it.
•          Carry your task list with you anywhere if you install FruitfulTime TaskManager on a USB

So now that you have some basic features in mind, I would like to start off by talking about security. Trusting an application with personal data can sometimes be difficult. The paid version of FruitfulTime TaskManager comes with a built-in password protection, and immediately takes initiative by allowing you to pick a password. Your data file is protected with the Advanced Encryption Algorithm (AES) 256-bit encryption, but the password to your data is stored in a separate — also encrypted — file. The reason it’s done this way is because FruitfulTime TaskManager offers a unique combination of security and safety, but if you forget your password, sending your password file back to the company will allow them to decrypt it and send it back to you. It is a clever idea that not only keeps you protected, but also in the event you forget your password, will not keep you completely out.

When you start the Task manager and begin creating tasks, you will notice tasks and subtasks. I did not realize tasks could be broken up, but with this program you can create tasks and on top of that, create tasks (subtasks) that you need to take to get to the ultimate task. Tasks and subtasks lists are always shown in your FruitfulTime TaskManager window, so it is rather easy to navigate. Each task and subtask can have its own priority, status, start and due dates, and a progress.

In addition, when making a task, it would probably be a good idea to tag your tasks. Tagged tasks can be quite helpful in allowing you to be a little bit more organized. Tags are found in the special Tagging tab which is always shown in your FruitfulTime TaskManager window. Not only tags are shown in your Tasks list, but you can also use them for searching through your tasks list. It is even possible to edit the names of all the default tags, and you can add or remove as many of them as you like. This also makes it possible to filter using the tags.

Now, I just scratched the surface with this program, but I am going to stop now to keep myself from writing a four-page report on everything that FruitfulTime TaskManager has to offer.  Now, I must point out that this program is Windows only. I, like many people, use both Windows and Mac OS, and although I would have enjoyed sharing it with my fellow Mac, I am perfectly content with it is Windows. More features are said to be coming soon, so perhaps this will change.

While there is a free version (with a slight difference in the feature set), there is a $30.00 version that, in my opinion, you should absolutely purchase. There are not too many applications out there I can say that, not to mention, it is relatively inexpensive compared to some with little features. Overall, FruitfulTime TaskManager exceeds my expectations and I recommend you put this application on your current to-do list. 

Have you ever had one of those days that you seemed to forget just about everything that you had to do? I know I have had a lot of them (and that’s not counting when I do it on purpose), luckily however there is a way to remind yourself of what you have to do and when you have to do it available online. These services are called Task Management applications, and their main purpose is to give you a place to list all the things you have to do and then remind you about them.

Back in October I reviewed Remember the Milk and was really impressed with it. So impressed in fact that I had pretty much decided that it was really the only task management application out there that was worth using. Well as is often the case, I was wrong. I recently ran across mojonote.com and I got to tell you this little task management app may not be the prettiest, it may not be the biggest, but it is seriously one of the easiest to use apps out there.

First you sign up (which as with most task management apps is free) and then select if you want to set up tasks, lists, or notes, input the information hit enter and you are done. That simple. Not only that you can set up multiple lists, different dates (which are emailed to you in order to remind you) and as many notes as you want. However while it is good, there is a problem with it. You can’t automatically reschedule your tasks, so if you got something you want to be reminded to do every day, you have to input it for every day. But really this is really a small complaint given how easy the site is to use, so if you are looking for a task management application take a swing over to mojonote and check it out.

iWork has been growing in popularity. iWork ‘08 isn’t one giant program as some may think; iWork is composed of three comprehensive applications -Keynote ‘08, Pages ‘08, and Numbers ‘08. These applications are designed to help you and your diligent lifestyle, and they do so with Apple style-beauty and simplicity. This is the last part of my review on the Numbers application for iWork ‘08.

I am not a big fan of the Numbers application for iWork, but it is great for those who use Speadsheets often. Having used Numbers before for a college project, I was somewhat familiar with the uses and features of the program. Making a formula is simple. Table references can be words, not confusing cell locations like A2:A16. If you want to work out the sum of a set of numbers. You simply highlight the numbers, and then look to the bottom corner of the app. It tells you the sum, average, min, max, and count. Then, merely drag to a cell and it’s done. Put simply, it is spreadsheets without being a Mathematician, which is great for when I ever want to use this program because I loathe math.

There are also templates, which are easy to customize, and make things much quicker if you can fit your project into one of the templates. There is everything from team organization to vacation planning to more business related uses such as expense reports or invoices. Excel import and export is as easy as you would expect, and integration with other OS X apps is also there – for example, you can use Address Book contacts in your tables, which was a neat feature to use.

Check it out, play with it for an hour if you can and you begin to understand what a great application this really is. Like I said, spreadsheets are not too much of my thing, but I would choose Numbers over Excel any day. This application is phenomenal. This concludes my 3-part review of iWork ‘08. Each program is amazing in its own Apply-style way and I would recommend it to any. To work with it yourself, I recommend you try the 30-day trial of the whole iWork application suite.

Apple’s new operating system, 10.5 or “Leopard,” continues to surprise me. None of the new features is particularly well advertised or explained, but my current favorite has got to be “Spaces.”

I like to keep a lot of windows open and active at the same time. Even with two monitors, it’s a challenge to keep them from getting in the way of each other. If I have five browsers open (I use Firefox, Safari, Camino and IE7 in a Windows environment) along with PhotoShop, Word and a couple of FTP programs all at the same time, I can hardly see the forest for the trees.

That’s where I am finding “Spaces” incredibly useful. Spaces allows you to selectively have some of your open windows hidden, and switch between sets of open windows without having to go through all the others. It’s almost like having four desktops at the same time, and being able to effortlessly switch between them. Here are some screen shots of my normal working environment:

Even with Expose it still looks a mess. Here is an example of “Spaces” where I have placed the windows for each job in to a different desktop. I can now switch between them at the click of a button. The mess becomes much easier to navigate through. Leopard may not be quite ready yet, but this feature is incredible.

It’s not yet completely intuitive either, but I think once I get the hang of it this will be my most used new app.

Between e-mail, instant messaging, and sites like Facebook and MySpace, keeping track of multimedia files can be tough. Tubes, is a free application and might be the solution to that problem. It lets you store files in one place and share them with friends, using a simple drag-and drop-interface; a nice Web 2.0 interface.

Tubes is a new social sharing application. I got a chance to test out this neat little application and I must say I like it. It is a fine peer-to-peer file sharing application with a nice, simple interface. “Tubes” refers to shared folders, which can include photos, audio, videos and links.

To get started, you have to sign up with the usual email, username, and password. A confirmation email enables you to download and install the Tubes client software. The software works in Microsoft Windows XP with SP2, or Windows Vista, and it requires .NET. Once you are done with that, you are ready to Invite users to a Tube and they’ll automatically receive any new files that you add to that particular tube.

The program is free, but of course there is a better version, called the Premium option. The free version gives you the basic Tubes functionality, allowing just two devices to be set up, and 1GB of storage. The $4.99/month premium level adds unlimited device allowance, MS Office support, backup, and quicker support.

I like Tubes. It is neat, but there isn’t an email integration option which is something I like when sharing files. As said, it is still in beta, so perhaps they will release that option in the future.