APPS

Jeffrey Dunn
Jun 14, 2023
4 min read

Updated: May 11

Speechify

Speechify is a fantastic app for anyone who has a PDF to read. MANY government documents are in PDF format and are known to change over the years.

Internal company memos, your own notes, etc.

It does frequently get hung up on images or tables in the document. But I can get about 20 pages done on a short drive with the customizable reading speed it is capable of.

Top 10 efficiency app in my book. On the expensive side, by this is NOT a gimmick app just trying to earn money on Ads.

Oh. And you can pick the voice you want. Gweneth Paltrow is an incredible speaker. :)

Gemini

Out of all the AI Apps out there, I love Gemini. It’s actually the only one I’ve ever tried. It’s VERY Google. Just open the app and speak.

You can choose the voice you want to converse with. The fluidity of the speech is fairly conversational with mostly natural inflection, and no dialect. A very welcome improvement over nearly all other apps. It does get some things just completely incorrect.

I’ve only asked Gemini a few questions. But what she says is very relatable to what I ask. There are short legal disclaimers when you ask for financial advice, but guidance is provided in the direction you are aiming.

It’s not doing my spreadsheets anytime soon. But it’s very exciting to see such quality step into voice driven apps.

Gemini is a great way to educate yourself on a freshman level of nearly anything.

NOAA BUOY REPORTS

I really dig this app. It's a great combination of weather and ocean conditions. I used to reference BUZM3 up in Mass when I was flying floats. We'd get the water temp and compare it with the air and dew point to try and firgure out where the fog *wouldn't* be.

Wasn't a fool proof method....it was Massachusetts. There's no predicting of weather except the fact it's unpredictable.

It's excellent for fisherman. Outside air pressure and temperature are available on some. Wind and wave height.

When Nor' Easters start blowing in, you can monitor their expected impact by watching these. Pretty much what they all use anyway.

It satisfies that curiosity of what goes on beyond the horizon. Helps us non boat owners see beyond the beach.

AUTIO

AUTIO is a slow growing collection of smart history. Meaning it knows where you are and provides an icon with a brief pre recorded history of the location.

I use it when I travel for business. It makes the trips more interesting. If I'm on vacation I still take the full Monty guided trolly tour. Nothing matches the combination of wit and delivery of the drivers and guides. A colleague of mine refers to this talent, craft and art form as "edutainment". Accurate.

AUTIO is also a great feature for a self guided walking tour. Though again, having done the authentic in person, there is little connection with the local culture.

I think AUTIO has barely scratched the surface of its value and capabilities. I see it having downlaoadable city pairs that give you history of things you fly over on your trip from say, DC to SFO. Or imagine hearing about pirates on your trip to the Caribbean. An educational trip tik style entertainment for the little ones on those long flights.

My Radar

MY RADAR

This app is great. It's pretty accurate and it's more comprehensive than just radar. I think of it as an environmental awareness tool. Because it's not just rain and cold fronts.

It has seismic activity:

if you click on the one you're curious about, it tells you the location and magnitude. And even the depth if applicable.

It has wildfire information:

if you click on the fire it tells you where it is and the containment status. Looks like this one needs some help.

Warnings and watches:

If you click on the hues, it gives you information on the approaching storm warning.

It's now available on APPLE CAR PLAY and APPLE WATCH ULTRA.

OMG. MORE!!!! Car play functionality.

Shot with the iPhone 15 pro max, WHILE using the app. Thats awesome multitasking Apple! Nice work.

I LOVE THIS APP!!!!

Compass Eye

Compass Eye is way cool. Let's say you're looking at a property and the weather too cloudy to see the sun. You want to know where the sun comes up and where it sets.

Maybe you're planting certain vegetation in your yard and you need to know where the proper light will be for the plant.

Maybe it's night time and you're either off on the boat or skiing in the mountains or something outdoors.

I used this app once to take a photo from a beach at a specific land mark. There appeared to be a swimmer way out almost in the shipping lane. My thought was if I had a photo and we lost him, we had a bearing on his last position.

Lifeguards got him way before it came to that.

It gives you speed, declination, lat lon position.

Try it out. You can do a screen shot while using it to give it that cool outdoorsy feel.

Brainscape

Brainscape is an online learning app. I use it for “Flashcards.” Once again cramming copious amounts of information into my brain for the purposes of regurgitating it for a test is great. Helps me pass the test. Additionally it is a collection of information that is available for review in the palm of my hand.

The cool thing about the app is that as you’re going through the flash cards, you’re asked to rate yourself on how well you know each card. If you give it a high score, it goes toward the bottom of the stack. If it’s given a low score, it goes back in the stack, but you might see it very soon thereafter.