Tools
I have been using Dropbox for quite a while and hadn't really thought about using any other tools. Mostly used it to save things whilst changing OS to pick one I like best. Then I started useing Chromium and found Google Drive, Google+, Google Calander and all the amazing tools you get. Which is great because I have a Gmail account and Android device. It also works really well on the iPad. Then I found Acrobat which saves and creates PDFs.Too many tools and no one really using them to make programs (as far as I am aware). I thought I would just mention the tools I am using, would be using and how I would use them to work in a team. Most important things I need is it to be simple and easy to use. It also has to be free.
Dropbox
https://www.dropbox.com/
Has really nice interface, everyone knows how to use it just by looking at it. You can also download the folder program which makes them look pretty, and those who use git understand what the little pictures mean as well. You can also get a menu tool so you don't have to create a shortcut to that folder. as well letting you know when your files are uploaded and if anything changes you know straight away. Something great for teams who are working on the same project to have. There are also loads of apps for it, and some IDEs actually let you use it for your workspace. 2GB free initially but it can increase with the more people who you get to join Dropbox. Apparantly up to 8GB, but you shouldn't need the much for some projects. You also get history of files which is great for teams. I would use this to put the code which everyone uses frequently
Has really nice interface, everyone knows how to use it just by looking at it. You can also download the folder program which makes them look pretty, and those who use git understand what the little pictures mean as well. You can also get a menu tool so you don't have to create a shortcut to that folder. as well letting you know when your files are uploaded and if anything changes you know straight away. Something great for teams who are working on the same project to have. There are also loads of apps for it, and some IDEs actually let you use it for your workspace. 2GB free initially but it can increase with the more people who you get to join Dropbox. Apparantly up to 8GB, but you shouldn't need the much for some projects. You also get history of files which is great for teams. I would use this to put the code which everyone uses frequently
I called this title google and I am not going to add links. There is a lot that Google has to offer. If there was a bash terminal I would convert to it and probably never leave Google. There is Chrome which now has awesome plugins. Get a Gmail account and have loads of fun with it. But I want to talk about Google Drive and Google+. Google Drive has a free 5GB storage, but it comes with amazing office tools. You can do just about anything document wise. I would use this for any spreadsheets and presentations and documents. Nice place to put things. I haven't used it much but the potential of everyone putting in their evidence and teaching tools. Google+ is really nice. It is very similar to Facebook and Twitter. However you can create circles, share articles easily and upload pictures. If you are working on something like a whiteboard and take a picture, Goolge+ is really easy place to put the picture. Most phones come with it. Unlike Facebook and Twitter you can easily split up friends, family, work and anything else you are interested in.
Acrobat
https://files.acrobat.com/
I only recently found this. You can put up to 5GB of stuff on this as well. I find PDFs very useful and have plenty of ebooks. This is really great place to put magazines and tutorials. If you had a team who have some sort of standard like Clean Coding you could put that there and everyone could read it, language books would be great to put in here as well. You can also highlight and modify PDFs really easily. You can also read the PDFs on the train or bus or whever and not have to flood your devices with the same copy of your books.
I only recently found this. You can put up to 5GB of stuff on this as well. I find PDFs very useful and have plenty of ebooks. This is really great place to put magazines and tutorials. If you had a team who have some sort of standard like Clean Coding you could put that there and everyone could read it, language books would be great to put in here as well. You can also highlight and modify PDFs really easily. You can also read the PDFs on the train or bus or whever and not have to flood your devices with the same copy of your books.
Skype
https://www.skype.com
I have been using Skype for such a long time. Used it to replace MSN because for some reason the webcam wouldn't work on MSN. Skype has some really nice things, but what is nice about it is that it is simple. You can also call phone numbers which is good for a team. You can even talk to several people and conduct group meetings without having to leave your room. All for free as well. It works on loads of devices as well. Can't say no to free phone calls (if you are calling another skype account).
I have been using Skype for such a long time. Used it to replace MSN because for some reason the webcam wouldn't work on MSN. Skype has some really nice things, but what is nice about it is that it is simple. You can also call phone numbers which is good for a team. You can even talk to several people and conduct group meetings without having to leave your room. All for free as well. It works on loads of devices as well. Can't say no to free phone calls (if you are calling another skype account).
https://www.facebook.com
No one really uses Facebook for anything other than abusing their friends and family or putting pictures up. But you could use this for something like organising events, creating groups where you can put links to everything above. Everyone has Facebook as well, so if you already using it why not just create a group for everyone working on a project?
No one really uses Facebook for anything other than abusing their friends and family or putting pictures up. But you could use this for something like organising events, creating groups where you can put links to everything above. Everyone has Facebook as well, so if you already using it why not just create a group for everyone working on a project?
https://www.facebook.com
This is nice, using @ and # is pretty cool. It works nicely with Facebook. Unlike Facebook it isn't as big, which is good on the go. I would probably use this for really short group emails or something similar. It is nice and easy to use.
I would suggest that using all of these is better than just one. Imagine if Facebook got shut down, then you have Twitter as back up. So using all these tools is better than using just one. But if you use it correctly then you won't be overwhelmed with tools.
This is nice, using @ and # is pretty cool. It works nicely with Facebook. Unlike Facebook it isn't as big, which is good on the go. I would probably use this for really short group emails or something similar. It is nice and easy to use.
I would suggest that using all of these is better than just one. Imagine if Facebook got shut down, then you have Twitter as back up. So using all these tools is better than using just one. But if you use it correctly then you won't be overwhelmed with tools.
Cloud9
https://c9.io/
I don't actually like this that much because I like working from the command line and using vim. Though there is apparantly a terminal here. The other thing is if you aren't using Java, Ruby, Python or just designing a webapp then this isn't amazing. Don't let that put you off because the website is genuinly amazing. It is a workspace and you can have 1 free private workspace. I don't like Eclipse and Intelij but they do let you to do work fast. This is actually a little bit faster than either of them. Also you can run it on any laptop or computer, you don't need to install and download new tools. It does support C++ format and many other file types. But you can't run those programs like you can run the Java stuff. You can also deply things, which is nice. It looks really good. I tried a few others and didn't like them, they just looked annoying. This is good. I would like to move to it but it might take a little bit of time. Give it a go, if it works out for you great. It would be perfect for teams because you can share workspaces. Paried programming anyone?
https://bitbucket.org/
So this is a lot like GitHub. I like GitHub because you don't need git to use it. You can download the zip. But BitBucket lets you make up to 5 free private projects, it also gives you Jira (don't like it but it is good for teams to log stories and or bugs). When I finally get my project into action I will be using this more I should think.
There are loads more tools. If anyone knows of some I have missed which should be on here then leave a comment. But these tools let you be more agile because they are almost platform independent. You can use most of these tools on loads of mobile devices. You don't have to go to an office, if you have a laptop then everyone can get working straight away. You don't have to spend a week setting up your workspace. Just get Google chrome (or chromium) and get going. If you could use all of these things (easily) on the iPad then you don't even need a laptop! How amazing would that be!?
Successful Agile environments can deploy work fast and in iterative steps. These tools help with that and they are free. So you don't need to spend thousands of pounds, they also work well with the tools you already have, and you can choose the ones you like best.
So what are you doing? Just get on with your project. You have no excuse when it comes to technology.
I don't actually like this that much because I like working from the command line and using vim. Though there is apparantly a terminal here. The other thing is if you aren't using Java, Ruby, Python or just designing a webapp then this isn't amazing. Don't let that put you off because the website is genuinly amazing. It is a workspace and you can have 1 free private workspace. I don't like Eclipse and Intelij but they do let you to do work fast. This is actually a little bit faster than either of them. Also you can run it on any laptop or computer, you don't need to install and download new tools. It does support C++ format and many other file types. But you can't run those programs like you can run the Java stuff. You can also deply things, which is nice. It looks really good. I tried a few others and didn't like them, they just looked annoying. This is good. I would like to move to it but it might take a little bit of time. Give it a go, if it works out for you great. It would be perfect for teams because you can share workspaces. Paried programming anyone?
BitBucket
https://bitbucket.org/
So this is a lot like GitHub. I like GitHub because you don't need git to use it. You can download the zip. But BitBucket lets you make up to 5 free private projects, it also gives you Jira (don't like it but it is good for teams to log stories and or bugs). When I finally get my project into action I will be using this more I should think.
There are loads more tools. If anyone knows of some I have missed which should be on here then leave a comment. But these tools let you be more agile because they are almost platform independent. You can use most of these tools on loads of mobile devices. You don't have to go to an office, if you have a laptop then everyone can get working straight away. You don't have to spend a week setting up your workspace. Just get Google chrome (or chromium) and get going. If you could use all of these things (easily) on the iPad then you don't even need a laptop! How amazing would that be!?
Successful Agile environments can deploy work fast and in iterative steps. These tools help with that and they are free. So you don't need to spend thousands of pounds, they also work well with the tools you already have, and you can choose the ones you like best.
So what are you doing? Just get on with your project. You have no excuse when it comes to technology.
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