A Final Four Showdown Comparing the Most Innovative Windows Apps
For years, as part of my job, I’ve scoured the web for innovative browser and Windows software applications. In the spirit of the Final Four tournament, I broke down the apps that make up my Elite 8 for innovation and let them battle it out for the one I crown as national champ.
The Final Four (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/tournament/bracket) plays out this Saturday in Detroit with Michigan State facing off against Connecticut and Villanova facing off against North Carolina in this year’s semifinals. The finalists will be played on Monday for the national championship.
I was compelled to take this opportunity to respond to a common question I receive. What browser and desktop software applications do I find interesting?
W3i is a leading provider of distribution, revenue generation, and user engagement solutions utilized for more than 200 million downloads by a wide range of browser and desktop software publishers. It is my job to understand browser and desktop software trends. I am also an enthusiast who believes software done right creates a compelling user experience that web-sites alone cannot compete with.
I will begin with an overview of the apps which make up my Elite 8. My only criteria was what I found to be the most interesting and innovative apps. These are not necessarily my most often used nor the most complex applications. The apps include browser (toolbars or other add-ons) and Windows desktop software applications.
- Xobni - http://www.xobni.com/- Xobni is an Outlook plug-in that has even captured Bill Gate’s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr5zOxG7wbU) attention. I have found this application helpful in understanding the relationship I have with people I frequently exchange emails. Such as the fastest responder or the most frequent people I interact with. There are also various methods they use to organize your emails in a way that creates a new and valuable experience.
- Digsby - http://www.digsby.com - Digsby is my preferred software interface for aggregating my many social networks, instant messengers, and email services.
- Recipe Feeder - http://www.recipefeeder.com - My wife loves pasta but I have a particular taste for it. Using Recipe Feeder, I inputted my preferences within a few seconds. After a few minutes, Recipe Feeder scoured the web and found the recipes that met my criteria. I have taken an interest in pulling recipes, but as of yet haven’t mastered my own kitchen!
- TurboSaver by Upromise – http://www.upromise.com/partner/origin.do?partnerName=turbosaver&ax=turbosaver&cm_mmc=Other-_-Toolbar-_-Menu-_-toolbar – I have had a Upromise account for a few years but found it a bit painful to always navigate back to their web-site when shopping online to look for opportunities to earn cash for my 5 year old nephew’s college fund. Since they have released TurboSaver, a browser plug-in to help aid in your discovering participating merchants, I have found it much easier to purchase from their participating merchants.
- Skype Phone Number Recognition – http://www.browserhighlighter.com/ – Dialing a phone number seems so old fashioned. Why not leverage Skype’s browser plug-in to dial a phone number directly from a web-page? Skype recognizes the phone numbers found on a web-page and allows you to easily click on them to dial.
- Wakoopa - http://www.wakoopa.com – A desktop application which tracks your Windows and web software usage. You will see an overview of the types of software you use, usage, reviews you have written, and can share this information with friends.
- MashLogic - http://www.mashlogic.com – A Firefox application which modifies the web-page to enable keywords matched on the web-page to source additional information retrieved from sources you configure. The matching and speed are of high quality. With the right information this tool can be quite handy. I use it to save time when looking up information on other web-sites or companies.
- Youlicit Search Enhancement - http://www.youlicit.com/download/ – Youlicit mines the social web to find out which web-sites are being recommended by real people. The Firefox application highlights web-sites (see green highlights in below screenshot) which Youlicit has found to be recommended as well it provides additional recommendations on the right side of the search results.
The Most Innovative Apps Tournament Bracket
And the National Champion is… Xobni!
These are all very innovative apps. So what’s so special about Xobni? Besides being a really cool application, it stands out because I love seeing something interesting in what otherwise tends to be a boring application experience with my basic business applications. We all spend so much time on the desktop and so providers like Xobni deserve a lot of credit.
Looking to step up your game with downloads? Check out our website to learn more about how we can help you improve distribution, revenue generation, and user engagement with your downloads.
Ryan Weber, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Co-Founder, W3i Holdings, LLC
Entrepreneur and pioneer of Internet marketing focusing on increasing revenue and distribution for digital downloads.
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