More Tools to Help Us Remember

Last time we discussed some tools to help us remember things. Tools like note taking apps, TV and streaming services series, and bookmarking services. This time we’ll talk about tools to help us recall recipes and manage our photos.

We keep recipes in many forms: handwritten notes, clips from magazines, items from online sites are the most common. You can invest in an online service that is specially built for managing recipes like https://www.getrecipebox.com/, https://www.bigoven.com/, https://dishdish.us/ (for more alternatives check out https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-recipe-management-apps/). All of the ones I looked at had a free trial period but, in order to really get access to their good features like creating a grocery list or uploading a recipe, you need to pay for an account. And that’s okay if you have a real dedication to your recipes. But, as with all online services/apps, make sure you have an escape hatch in case the site/app decides to call it quits or they get bought and decide to change things in ways that you’re not happy with. Make sure whatever app you use will let you export your recipes so you’re not left high and dry.

Me, I prefer to use an app or service that’s a bit more general - one that can save my recipes, sure, but can also keep track of my notes, bookmarks, etc. Which is why I prefer services like Raindrop.io, which we discussed last time. I can snap a picture of my recipe and upload it or share a recipe from a webpage or just type it in as a note. Such apps can work with pretty much any form of the recipe you might have. Raindrop isn’t the only general note keeper app out there. I’ve used quite a few and several of them include some elements of Artificial Intelligence to help categorize and organize your “stuff.” I hesitate to recommend or even mention them because they’re unstable or have some odd quirks, or have been designed by computer geeks for computer geeks and are just a mess to interact with. That said, I’m willing to share them with you. If you’re interested, drop me an email and I’ll provide links along with a little commentary about each one. But, again, be warned - they are not what I would call “best of breed.”

OK, how about photographs? Well, in my opinion, if you’re a casual photographer like me, you can rely on one or more of the 4 main online picture repositories: iCloud, Google Photos, Microsoft OneDrive, and Amazon Photos. If you’re an Apple iPhone or iPad user, you already have an iCloud account and you can have your photos automatically uploaded to your iCloud account. If you’re an Android user, you already have a Google account and you can have your photos automatically uploaded to Google Photos. But, regardless of whether you’re Apple or Android, you can use OneDrive and/or Amazon. Personally, I use both Google Photos and Microsoft OneDrive so I’m sure I have an online copy and an online backup copy. To the best of my knowledge, all of these services can organize your photos by date, by location, and even by content - yes, they can usually recognize faces and places! You can search, looking for pictures of you or your friends or family. If you like keeping physical albums, you can order prints, bound up in a nice album.

That's all for this week's column. I hope this gives you a little more information on tools to help us. Don't hesitate to write to me if you have questions!

As always, my intent is to hep you understand the basics and equip you to search for more detailed information.

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