Essential Research Apps: GoodReader

Despite its modest name, GoodReader is a stunning execution of a simple idea — one app that can import and view any media in any format, from basic .txt files to entire books and even movies. But this robust and versatile app lets you do more than just read.

As an example let’s say someone posts a huge report on Google Docs for you to review. The app allows you to import it, then use GoodReader’s sterling annotation function to mark it up with all kinds of notes and comments.

When you’re done, save it, mark it as read, and send it right back to Google Docs, Dropbox, or an FTP server, or via any other file-sharing method. An autosync function lets you standardise the document in both locations so no one gets confused about which version to use.

Full-screen viewing on the iPad means no more squinting or zooming problems, and even spread layouts are easily navigated with an intuitive horizontal swipe. (If you want to zoom, though, you certainly can.) A tabbed view, with functions on the right-hand side, provides about the simplest navigation ever seen.

GoodReader isn’t free, but its incredible compatibility and flexibility means it can replace many other apps on your tablet. It’s quite simply one of the most useful services out there.

Give this app a try and watch how it transforms the way you are able to record data, whether you’re in a meeting, on the move or at home.

To access simply download the app from your App provider.

 

Remember if you’re using an iPad make certain to add the MBS Library Service  page to your Home Screen for easy access to all the Resources we have to offer you for your research. Simply open our page then tap the arrow in a box symbol next to the top URL line and then select “Add to Home Screen”. You can even edit the name of the Web Icon, after you’ve done this – tap the “Add” button.

Thomson Reuters present a suite of iPad apps!

 Our next Essential Research app review highlights two innovative new offerings from Thomson Reuters.  Designed to provide extra value to support our existing Thomson databases these apps are suitable for all version s of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Marketboard

Thomson Reuters Marketboard allows financial professionals, students, and market enthusiasts to quickly grasp global equity performance and effortlessly review news, events, and research driving the markets. Users can move between the home screen, which includes interactive market data, news, and events, and the virtual “Briefcase”, which provides offline access to saved documents.

Customizable lists to track market activity for the companies you follow include:

• Analyst research from leading investment banks around the globe
• Transcripts and briefs through Thomson Reuters 2StreetEvents
• Full Company Report providing a comprehensive company snapshot in PDF format
• Premium news on the company level
• Briefcase to save and review news articles and research offline

 

 

 

News Pro

Access professional-grade news and market data from Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source for intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Thomson Reuters News Pro for iPad gives you knowledge to act, with fast on or offline access to the latest breaking news, pictures and video, together with extensive global financial data, corporate information and interactive financial charting. Extensive coverage of the people and events that drive markets–from deals and merger news to global indices data:

 

 

• Ability to personalize geographic-specific views to customize the news, wherever you are in the world
• Access to breaking news from around the globe
• A customizable watch list for monitoring your stocks and companies
• Detailed company profiles, including business descriptions, officer and director profiles and contact details
• Constantly updated stream of the best pictures from around the world from Reuters award-winning photojournalists
• Video coverage of the biggest news and business stories
• Science, technology, health and internet news

To access simply download the free app from the App store and add it to your Home Screen. Remember to make certain to add the MBS Library Service  page to your Home Screen for easy access to all the Resources we have to offer  you for your research. Simply open our page then tap the arrow in a box symbol next to the top URL line and then select “Add to Home Screen”. You can even edit the name of the Web Icon, after you’ve done this – tap the “Add” button.

N.B. Don’t miss the “Reuters Insider” app which is available free of charge for a trial period to all Business Professionals available via your app store.

 

Essential Research Apps for your iPad : Ebscohost

MBS Library Service would like to extend a warm welcome to the MBA Class of 2013.

By now you should have started to explore your iPad and the many features it offers. The exciting thing about a new PC Tablet is discovering its capabilities and learning what works well and what its key strengths really are. Now that you’ve begun the process of settling into the School, and as part of our commitment to supporting you with all your research needs, over the coming weeks we’ll be recommending some useful business research apps for you to download to your iPads, some of which are for accessing our databases and some which are for useful external sources.

To start with we’ll be featuring the EBSCOhost app. EBSCOhost databases are the most-used, premium online information resources for tens of thousands on institutions worldwide. This free app ensures that iPad uers get the most from searching premium EBSCOhost database content like Business Source Premier, the only provider of full text access to the Harvard Business Review.

EBSCO’s new app is free, and offers the convenience and rich functionality that enables users to:

• Choose which databases to search
• Limit Results to full text or peer reviewed
• Sort by relevance or date
• Retrieve full text results in HTML and/or PDF formats
• Save results for offline access at a later date
• Email results to self or others
• View cover flow display of results

First download the free app from the App store. Next step is to select E-Resources on the Library Web-site, then click on Electronic Journals, and choose Business Source Premier (EBSCO).

To get started, simply click on the EBSCOhost iPhone/iPod touch Application link at the bottom of the EBSCOhost screen and follow the instructions. An email will be forwarded to you enabling you to authenticate your status as an MBS Library user. After this you’re free to search and take advantage of this innovative free new app. Learn more about EBSCOhost  Mobile and the new iPhone app at:

http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/mobile-access

A guide to Business Source Premier is also available on the Library Web-site outlining the key features of the database

“FileBrowser” App Review- Access your PC from your Mobile Device

Do you sometimes wish you could access files and drives from your home or work computer to view on your iPad or iPhone?

The excellent “FileBrowser” app enables you to browse through all the folders and files in your Mac or PC remotely. You can open compatible file types in the app itself or save them and send them to other compatible apps like “Dropbox” all that is required to complete the task is to install the relevant VPN software.    

“FileBrowser” is a universal app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The good thing about this app is you won’t have to install any additional software on your computer. You will only have to enable the appropriate network settings in your computer (e.g. File Sharing on the Mac), and then enter your username and password to login to your computer.

Aside from Mac and Windows, FileBrowser can also give you access to Linux systems and NAS drives. The app is pretty easy to setup for systems on your local network. To gain entry into your computer over the internet you’ll have to do so through using a VPN.

With File Browser, you can view PDF files and photo slideshows from your computer, open text documents, email attachments, and stream compatible movies and music over Wi-Fi. Should FileBrowser be unable to handle certain file types, you can use the “Open in” function to use the files in another compatible app. FileBrowser will then download the file into your device.

“FileBrowser” does everything it says and works well and also offers security features, such as a password lock.

This is an app that will come in very handy for anyone who works with a computer which is, quite likely, almost everyone who owns an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. The app isn’t free but will certainly be of use when on the go.

How to access Harvard Business Review

The University of Manchester Library has changed its Electronic Journals A to Z list so this is a revised version of “How to access Harvard Business Review” – an essential skill for all.

You find an interesting Harvard Business Review (HBR) article on the web and want to read the full-text.

You have found your article – keep title, author, year and issue (i.e. the bibliographic details) to hand.

University of Manchester students and staff do not have to pay but you do have to access HBR via a journals database.

If you are accessing from a mobile device you can use the   EBSCOhost app.

Using a browser, follow these steps:

1. Goto the e-journals A-to-Z list.

(For example goto www.mbs.ac.uk/library  select e-Resources – Electronic Journals and then A-Z Electronic Journals)

HBR on e-journals A to Z list (click to expand)

2. Find details of UoM subscription to the HBR journal

Search for all journals with the words “harvard business review ” in their title.

The result indicates that the University subscribes to HBR through the journal database EBSCOhost Business Source Premier.

Note the access information, especially if you are off-campus.

Click on the link. This takes you to the FindIT@UML for HBR – click GO.

login page off-campus (click to expand)

3. Authenticate your access to Business Source Premier

This step will vary depending on whether you are on-campus or on-campus.

On-campus, your PC is recognised as belonging to the University and no additional authentication is required.

If you are off-campus you need to select the Shibboleth login link and provide your details (for more detail see previous access Harvard Business Review post).

If you are off-campus and using the VPN software then you are “virtually on-campus” – your PC behaves as an on-campus PC.

HBR all issues (click to expand)

4. Select the HBR issue

When you get to the HBR page on Business Source Premier (EBSCO host):

Expand the year (from the article’s bibliographic details) and then select the relevant issue.

Or

Use the search within this publication link.

HBR article (click to expand)

5. Get the article

When you get to the page for a HBR issue:

Scroll through the articles to find the one that you want

Or

Amend the search at the top of the page with further details e.g. author surname, title keywords …

You can download the full-text by selecting the PDF full text link.

Use the add to folder link and then the folder view and export to add the bibliographic details to your reference management system.

Finally

For articles from other journals the stages are the same but the details will vary depending on the journal database. For more information look at our research guides or FAQ answers on e-journals.

“Pages” creates perfect documents on your tablet device

The Pages app is an extremely powerful word processing application. It can do almost anything that the desktop version can do. It’s easy to use and anyone who has ever used Microsoft Word can pick it up in a few minutes. You can enter text and format however you want. It is perfect for creating documents, spreadsheets, letters or assignments.

Apple’s Pages is the document creation component of their iWork productivity suite of software, put simply it’s their version of Microsoft  “Word”. It is a companion app to the Keynote and Numbers apps and all three are universal apps that work on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Pages for the iPad is a slimmed down version of Apple’s word processor and page layout application, and it works surprisingly well for mobile document creation and editing. Like its big brother on the Mac, Pages for the iPad includes a nice set of text and graphics tools for making your documents look sharp. It includes tools for formatting text, applying text styles, placing graphics and applying effects, and building your own shapes and objects. The tools are surprisingly easy to use despite the fact that the only input tools are your finger tips.

Pages includes a nice set of effects and tools such as drop shadows, the ability to control object opacity, image rotation and scaling, smart guides, and auto-wrapping of text around objects. Watching text reflow around objects and images as you drag them is fantastic, especially considering you’re working with a tablet device.

It supports tables and charts like the Mac version and building charts works the same way: Drop in a generic chart, then double-tap to add the data you want. Simple.

Creating a new document is a straightforward process in Pages too and the app includes a file export option that saves your documents for sharing with other devices as Pages documents, Microsoft Word files, or PDFs.

Whilst not free, the Pages app is a guaranteed winner for those who need the ability to document create away from their desks.

The most powerful presentation app ever?

If you’re a new iPad owner and need a way to create, edit, and give presentations on the go, Keynote is Apple’s iCloud integrated solution. It was designed for Apple’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, and the desktop version was used to give every one of his presentations, including the original iPhone and iPad introductions.

Apple’s Keynote is the presentation component of their iWork productivity suite of software, and a companion app to Pages for word processing and Numbers for spreadsheets. All three are universal apps that work on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and popular choices for document management on the go.

While most of the iWork apps pale in comparison to Microsoft’s Office suite, Keynote is the possible exception. Again, it was made for and used by arguably the best corporate presenter in a generation, and that says a lot.

However, because Keynote and Powerpoint are both intended for the same purpose, there’s a lot of overlap in features, and if you’ve used Powerpoint, or Keynote on the Mac, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting used to Keynote for iPhone and iPad.

If anything, the layout and controls on iOS are even more intuitive than desktop presentation software. Once you’ve gotten the basics down, you’ll be creating amazing presentations that you can share with co-workers and friends with just a few taps.

From the main Keynote screen you can open, edit, delete or create a presentation. To create a new one just tap the “+” sign in the upper right hand corner and select Create Presentation. You’ll be presented with several templates that you can choose from.

Keynote’s user interface is also simple and streamline. In order to install the app to your device visit the iTunes store. Whilst not free, this app, native to your tablet, will revolutionise the way you present forever.

Remember if you’re using an iPad make certain to add the MBS Library Service page to your Home Screen for easy access to all the Resources we have to offer you for your research. Simply open our page then tap the arrow in a box symbol next to the top URL line and then select “Add to Home Screen”. You can even edit the name of the Web Icon, after you’ve done this – tap the “Add” button

Linkedin – Engaging new App for iPad

 As part of our commitment to supporting you with all your research needs, over the last year we’ve been recommending some useful business apps for you to download to your tablet devices, some of which are for accessing our databases and some which are for useful external sources.

The professional social network Linkedin has released an iPad app in an effort to encourage more users to engage with the service. Despite recent password protection issues the site is going from strength to strength and this new app will dazzle their competitors.

This app is designed like a personal assistant, with features such as calendar integration and a focus on Linkedin’s personalised news feed, which shows what news articles are popular among friends. Their mobile platform is the fastest growing consumer service on Linkedin and they are aspiring to be the site which every professional visits throughout the day, hence their new interactive app.

Although Linkedin’s 150 million members make it one of the world’s most popular social networks, only a third of users check the website daily. In comparison, more than half of Facebook members use the site more than once every 24 hours.  

The iPad app is an attempt to increase engagement with the site by adding bonus features and benefits.

Key features of the new app include the chance to:

• Find and connect with more than 161 million members worldwide.
• Stay up-to-date with people in your network.
• Sync your calendar to get LinkedIn profile information about the people you’re meeting with.
• View and save recommended jobs.
• Read the latest industry news.
• Keep up-to-date with your groups.
• Share content with your network.

The app is free and designed for both iPhone and iPad devices.

Remember if you’re using an iPad make certain to add the MBS Library Service page to your Home Screen for easy access to all the Resources we have to offer you for your research. Simply open our page then tap the arrow in a box symbol next to the top URL line and then select “Add to Home Screen”. You can even edit the name of the Web Icon, after you’ve done this – tap the “Add” button.

New Emerald app – Journal Articles on the Go!

As part of our commitment to supporting you with all your research needs, over the last few months we’ve been recommending some useful business apps for you to download to your tablet devices, some of which are for accessing our databases and some which are for useful external sources.

The launch of Emerald’s first app provides a feature-rich interface with which to find, read and save Emerald academic journal content if you’re on the go.

Showcasing a clean and easy to use design, the app makes searching and browsing for journal content an intuitive and time saving experience. As Emerald subscribers, our customers need simply download the app for their own device and use the search and browse options to start finding content immediately.

You can also tap the “My Profile” box and login to your free profile. If you don’t yet have a profile, you can quickly sign up on the Emerald web-site and unlock the extra functionality, the app allows you to:

• Find what you need, when you need it: Search and browse Emerald’s extensive online content library of almost 100,000 journal articles.
• Personalise your experience: Use your Emerald profile to manage your marked lists and saved searches.
• Spread the word: Email links to your friends/colleagues and share content via the built-in Facebook and Twitter functionality.
• Enhance your knowledge: Read full-text content through the integrated browser. Most content is available in easy to read PDF format too.
• The Emerald app is optimized for the iPad and compatible with iPhone and iPad touch. It requires iOS 3.0 or later and is available free of charge from your app provider.

Remember if you’re using an iPad make certain to add the MBS Library Service  page to your Home Screen for easy access to all the Resources we have to offer you for your research. Simply open our page then tap the arrow in a box symbol next to the top URL line and then select “Add to Home Screen”. You can even edit the name of the Web Icon, after you’ve done this – tap the “Add” button.