organizing

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a module that will go into space to conduct particle physics experiments, is set to leave CERN for the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday.

The AMS module is being prepared for its transportation to the space center in Florida on board a U.S. Air Force Galaxy transport aircraft, CERN--the European Organization for Nuclear Research--said in a statement Wednesday. Once launched, AMS-02 will operate as an external module on the International Space Station (ISS). It will look for antimatter and dark matter while measuring cosmic ray composition, in a series of experiments designed to complement the … Read more

We recall a time when we held an office job that required us to keep track of a lot of little bits of information, and our computer monitor and stacks of file folders were often covered with little yellow sticky notes. These notes are great for keeping information handy, but they have a tendency to get lost or get stuck to documents they weren't meant for. We've seen many attempts at creating electronic versions of these notes, and Secure Reminder is one of the best. This versatile program has a ton of features that replicate the best parts … Read more

It's not always easy to keep ideas organized, especially when you're working on a big project. TreeNotes is a simple but effective way to organize notes in a tree hierarchy. We think this intuitive program could be useful for a wide range of people including students, creative writers, project managers, and many more.

The program's interface is basic and easy to navigate, with large buttons representing the program's major features. A toolbar across the top is similar to that found in many word-processing programs. Down the left side of the interface the tree hierarchy is displayed, … Read more

There are many drawbacks to paper-based offices: papers are easily lost, damaged, or stolen, paper files take up lots of space, and paper purchasing can become costly. Paper is not a very environmentally sound option, either, especially if you have trouble getting people on board with recycling. If you like the idea of going paperless but you're not quite sure how to implement it, try DocPoint - Document Management Software. This intuitive program lets users organize, store, and share documents electronically, minimizing the need for paper.

The program's interface is plain and attractive, with its features arranged in … Read more

A good appointment system is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to keeping a busy medical practice running smoothly. Medical Calendar is a basic program that lets users keep track of appointments for multiple providers within a practice. It's not the most sophisticated or full-featured program we've seen, but it does work well for what it is.

The program's interface is attractive and fairly easy to navigate. We liked that users could enter multiple medical providers and choose from a variety of avatars, making them easy to identify at a glance. … Read more

Pester is a freeware alarm clock utility that provides a simple way to set timed reminders, along with a few cool extras.

Of course, you can use iCal and other scheduling software to alert you to upcoming events, but sometimes these apps are overkill--like, for example, when you're just putting something in the oven, or you're trying to remember to catch a bus. Pester occupies a middle ground between iCal and more bare-bones timers (such as egg-timer widgets), letting you quickly set an event, name it, choose a countdown or a specific time for the alert, and then (… Read more

PCs are great productivity tools, and great time-wasters. It's not really fair to blame the machine; it didn't force you to spend all day Net surfing and forwarding gag e-mails. SVT Systems' GoalEnforcer Hyperfocus Edition is designed not only to help you focus on your tasks at hand to increase your daily productivity, but also to help you focus on your long-term goals and make concrete steps toward achieving them. It's based on "recursive visual thinking," a graphical method of saving, organizing, and prioritizing projects, goals, and thoughts.

GoalEnforcer Hyperfocus Edition's executable can be … Read more

It's not always easy to keep everyone on the same page when you have multiple employees working on the same projects, but with different tasks, appointments, and deadlines. We love the idea of a networked task manager that lets employees keep up with both individual and team tasks and activities. Unfortunately, A VIP Task Manager Professional Edition does a terrible job of executing this concept. Any time that could be saved by keeping employees abreast of each others' activities will surely be lost trying to figure this program out.

The application's interface is a disaster. It's cluttered … Read more

In a Q3 earnings call on Tuesday, Apple said third-quarter profits rose more than 77 percent largely from the success of the iPad and iPhone 4--probably not a big surprise for anyone. But the more shocking announcement (in my eyes) is that Apple set a record for the most Macs they've ever sold in a quarter with 3.47 million.

Obviously, I've always been a big fan of Mac computers, but I guess with the emergence of handheld devices like the iPad, iPod, and iPhone, I figured Apple's desktop and laptop business would not be as strong as it once was. Perhaps all these new iPhone users are deciding to give Apple computers a try. Whatever the case is, I'm glad to hear Mac computers are still selling well.

If you're one of the people who recently picked up a Mac (apparently there are quite a few of you), check out our Mac Starter Kit for some must-have software you can download right away.

If you're an iPhone user, make sure to come back and check out this week's apps, which include a simple free to-do list app and a platform game that challenges you to dig deep into the depths of dangerous mines.… Read more