Orangeinks

Quixey: An App Search Engine that Understands You

Where do you usually search for apps? Google? Bing? Yahoo!? – Or the native search engine of the platform that caters the apps? Well, you can ditch the search engines that I’ve mentioned and head over to Quixey. It’s your one stop search tool for any app that you’ll need. You can search for iOS apps, Andriod Apps, Windows Apps, Chrome Apps, Firefox Add Ons, Etc.

What makes Quixey different from your favorite search engine is that not only is it focused on apps, it understands natural language. This means that it will understand you and deliver the app you need. It will help you find the app that’s suitable for you, ranked based on their algorithm. You need not type the exact name of the app or keywords that describes the app if you’re looking for a task specific app for your needs.

How do they do this?

Quixey invented Functional Search specifically for apps. With Quixey, you do not need to know an app’s name or its official description to find the right app. Unlike traditional search engines, Quixey constantly scans blogs, review sites, forums and social media outlets to learn what each app can do and how people use it. Quixey uses this data to help users find the apps they need across all platforms. Since we have a thorough understanding of each app, Functional Search is not dependent on keywords.

Watch the short video to get a glimpse of Quixey in action.

 

 
The long video is from an interview by Robert Scoble.

 

 
[Quixey]

Tags: Android, app, Applications, Blackberry, chrome, Firefox, iPad, iphone, Mac, OS X, search-engine, Symbian, WebOS, Windows, Windows Phone

Ninite: A Very Simple Way to Install Apps on your Windows Machine

Ninite is a service that allows you to install Windows Applications on your computer without the hassle of heading over to different websites to gather, download and install the apps that you want to use. The tool makes is overly simple for you to find and install different software for your computer. It is also a way of discovering the best Windows apps available out there in case you are not familiar with them yet.

To begin mass installing the software that you need, simply head over to the Ninite website and select the application(s) you wish to install on your Windows machine. When you are done with your selection, simply click the Get Installer button on the bottom of the list to download the installer file. Launch the installer file and watch Ninite do the rest for you. It will download and install all the software you ticked previously.

What makes Ninite even more worth it to use aside from the fact that it installs the latest version of the applications on its list, is the way it installs your apps. The installation paths and settings are automatically chosen for you with no additional installation of other junk software such as toolbars and other crapware.

Ninite is a great tool to access when you are making fresh software installs. It’s very practical to use especially when you just got your new Windows 7 PC. It’s also a great tool to use when installing software after formatting your hard drive. You don’t need to go through each installation wizard and manually remove the default settings of some apps which contain auto-install of toolbars and other extra software. You’ll get the basic application that you need and nothing more.

It is completely free for personal use, they are currently planning to offer business accounts with premium features like local download caching, network share download caching, and a silent mode.

These advanced features are currently enabled on free Ninite installers so you can try them out. Once we launch premium accounts you’ll have to upgrade to continue using them.

Tags: Applications, Apps, Ninite, Software, Windows

Install Ubuntu Applications From Appnr

Appnr is a web-based tool that allows you to install applications on Ubuntu. If you are an Ubuntu user, then you will definitely find it very handy. It’s a web interface for APT, and the package is downloaded and installed from Ubuntu/Third-Party repositories.

How to Install

You’ll need an AptURL protocol handler and a web browser support in order to install packages from Appnr. AptURL is a program that handles special URLs to installing package on APT-based Linux systems. Firefox on Ubuntu 7.10 or higher has AptURL installed by default. You can view the full tutorial here.

Appnr features several applications that are neatly categorized. Each application is rated and you can view the number of users who installed a particular application. The website is very handy and it saves a lot of time for Ubuntu users, especially the new users.

*There is also a site similar to this one which allows you to download tweaks for Mac/OS-X. Check out Secrets.

Tags: Applications, Appnr, Download, linux, ubuntu

AlternativeTo: Find Better Applications

Here at Orangeinks, new web apps and software are featured so that users looking for alternatives can try them out and decide for themselves if they’re going to use it or not. They may not be always the best applications but they are chosen carefully and if they are interesting enough, you’ll see them get featured here.

I’d like to share a site, called AlternativeTo, where you can find great alternatives to desktop software that you can use on your favorite operating system. Whether you are using Linux, OS-X or Windows, they give a great list of alternatives for the pre-installed or mainstream software that you are using. They also have a great list of Web Apps that you can choose from that are carefully selected and tested. The applications featured on AlternativeTo are constantly reviewed. Users comment and vote on the app according to their personal experiences while using them. You’ll also be able to get other suggestions from the community.

AlternativeTo has a great collection of applications that might work better than the ones that you are using. It’s always great to try out new apps, especially when those apps are properly tested and reviewed by experts. Have fun trying out alternatives.

Tags: AlternativeTo, Applications, linux, OS X, Software, web app, Windows