Friday Fun: What do you APPreciate?

Emilee
Community Manager
Community Managers are Atlassian Team members who specifically run and moderate Atlassian communities. Feel free to say hello!
November 22, 2019

Happy Friday everyone!!

Every month at Atlassian, we have a group of people that participates in a monthly APPreciation Club. With the allure of doughnuts and new apps, we assemble a small group that takes turns sharing an app that they’ve recently discovered or have appreciated for a while. It’s been a great way to learn about new language apps, photo filters, services, different work tools and even apps to entertain your animals. 

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So my question for you today is what new app have you discovered that you APPreicate? (Bad pun, I know but I had to!) This can be an app you use on your phone, desktop, or even within Jira. What's your latest favorite app?

 

Mine new favorite has been an app called Calm. I’ve been trying to do more meditation and this service has a lot of guided sessions that progress on different topics. It has lots of soothing music and has a free version that lets you try a variety of sessions to help you decide if you want to purchase. So far, I highly recommend!

Your turn!

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Mike Rathwell
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November 22, 2019

Ok... on the work related front, my list includes staples that I want in any Jira/Confluence pair I run:

  • Jira Misc Workflow Extensions
  • Jira MIsc Custom Fields
  • Notification Assistant for Jira
  • Scriptrunner for Jira
  • Navitabs (Confluence)
  • Table Filters and Charts (Confluence)

The Jira ones provide a toolset to do almost All The Things and the Confluence ones are heavily used for report generation

On my phone:

  • Kindle and Nook - between them I have ~500 books so I always have something to read, for example, when at the DMV
  • Amazon Prime because they have All The Things and saves me from going to stores
  • Solitaire for when I want total diversion with no reading or shopping
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Majken Connor
Community Leader
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November 22, 2019

We're evaluating Table Filters and Charts. What are some of the common use cases you're seeing it used for?

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Mike Rathwell
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November 25, 2019

@Majken Connor , I usually use it for reporting; the charts... cool charts but also for bigger lists out of jira to set up filters to narrow to what one is looking for. It's ugly (how it presents the column names) but it will also do pivot tables. I've used THAT to do what Jira won't... Grouping. I have some reports where a task is in the first column and all the subtasks are grouped with it in the second column.

I also used it with our employee directory where one can filter by department or use the text filter to drill to the human one is looking for.

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Gregory Van Den Ham
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November 22, 2019

Microsoft Teams.....  (flame me).  :)

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Poorvi Jhawar
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
November 22, 2019

I second you on this, having used Slack and Teams. I do like Teams better. The ability to hold meetings from there itself and the integrations it has is quite nice :) 

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Payne
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November 22, 2019

An app(lication) that I have used and appreciated for years on my desktop is Irfanview, an image viewing and manipulating application. I find it very simple and intuitive to use. It's not a Photoshop, but it does basic tasks easily and well.

-Payne

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Mike Rathwell
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November 25, 2019

I used that one as well and heavily until I stopped Windowing and went Linux permanently; Gimp now for me. But when I was still Windowing, that was a default to load All The Time

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Majken Connor
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November 22, 2019

For Jira my absolute favourite app is Rich Filters for Jira Dashboards - this is how dashboards should just work.

It adds a controller gadget that lets you filter the results on the dashboard. No more creating a separate dashboard for each quarter or each epic. Make one, use the filter! It also does sums, so you can use this to report on total story points, not just issue count. You can also use JQL to create smart queries, you're not listed to field options, and you can add those smart queries as columns in the filter results.

Very easy to use as well. I'm leaving out like 10 different things that I love about it.

 

On my phone, I actually use TickTick for personal productivity.

Sorry Jira and Trello! I'm so checklist focused and this is amazing. It lets you share lists so for things around the house you can have one list between your family to track what has and hasn't been done. It also lets you set recurrence based on time (eg every Monday) or based on last completion date. This is useful for things you don't need to do until x amount of time after you did it last. Changed the furnace filter a month late? You don't want to change it again x months from when you should have changed it, you want to change it x months from when you did change it.

It's got some cool features as well that I use less, like a built in pomo timer, and a new habit builder...that I'm not in the habit of using!

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Devon Henderson
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November 22, 2019

Besides Trello, Mail, and Messages, the most used app on my devices is a tie between Libby and Kindle. Libby lets you borrow ebooks and eaudiobooks from your local library. Free! No late fees! It's amazing. I always read my ebooks in the Kindle app, though, because of its tight integration with Goodreads. Libby will let you borrow the book as a Kindle book and send it to the Kindle app for reading. Thanks to Libby/Kindle, I'm at 48 books read of my goal of 52 for the year!

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Emilee
Community Manager
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November 22, 2019

Ohh this sound like a great suggestion for our favorite community bookworm! @Monique vdB Have you tried Libby before?

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Sharon Helms
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November 22, 2019

I'm a huge, huge fan of Libby as well! 

Also, with my library account I love using Kanopy and Hoopla to watch movies, documentaries, & TV series.   

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Monique vdB
Community Manager
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November 22, 2019

@Devon Henderson oh yes, I use Overdrive! I actually downloaded Libby but have five (that's right, five) different library cards set up with Overdrive already and haven't made the time to switch over. I also can't find a few of the cards anymore.... 

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Devon Henderson
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November 23, 2019

@Monique vdB Oh yeah, the library card juggle struggle is real! 😂

If you ever do swap, Libby is great. There are just still some things you can’t do, like recommend books for the collection or rate titles, so don’t delete the OverDrive app just yet!

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Jodi LeBlanc
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November 22, 2019

Trello of course is my favourite app on my phone! I also use Calm and Oprah&Deepak app (for their 21 day meditation challenges). Devon I am a fan of Libby as well and listen to a lot of audio books while I work, radioplayer and podcast app is great too.

I use the Blockcerts app to store my my Free Agent credentials.

I like Feedly and pocket for articles.

Stocard is a must for minimalists - it keeps all your points cards in one place.

My favourite app in the summer is called "Tides Near Me" where I can predict the best time to paddle board based on high tides.

I guess I have more favourite apps than I could have imagined, happy to show them some APPreciation on this thread :)

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Miles B.
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
November 22, 2019

Non-Atlassian related, but TripIt!

This was actually a recommendation from someone on the Trello team. Basically, you just forward your email confirmations (hotel, rentals, flights) and it automatically organizes an agenda for you, complete with confirmation codes, check-in reminders, everything.

If you travel at ALL... it's great. But especially if you're travelling regularly for family, work, conferences, etc. 

(although beware, you can have it "automatically" sync up your trips... which grants it access to read your emails. Not great).

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Monique vdB
Community Manager
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November 22, 2019

@Miles B.  ooh this is very intriguing! My partner does all this for our joint trips but when I travel solo I am less than organized. 

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Poorvi Jhawar
Marketplace Partner
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November 22, 2019

I love TripIt too! Use it whenever I travel. It’s super handy 🙂

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Dharma Ramos
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November 25, 2019

I just started using TripIt. As a matter of fact, I haven't even taken the first trip I put in it yet. I like it so far though.

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Mike Rathwell
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November 25, 2019

I forgot to mention Tripit. Works fabulously and I often will know, for example, which baggage claim to go to before the airline announces it.

In that same vein, if you like road trips, RoadTrippers is GREAT. Easy to plan the trip AND find the stuff that is along the way.

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Poorvi Jhawar
Marketplace Partner
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November 22, 2019

Atlassian related:

The content formatting options by Apdavist is certainly one of my favourites considering I love my confluence pages to look beautiful 😀

 

The other has to be one of our own app- EasyTime. It logs my work automatically when I’m working through my issues. Considering I’m not used to keeping my timesheets, this certainly helps and keeps my management team happy. (Not saying this cause it’s our own, it really does help) 😃

 

Tempo also for me is a very useful tool. It’s nice to see clearly where you’re spending your time and understand that something you think would take you an hour, probably takes 5 which would be tough to understand otherwise. 

 

Non-work related:

I use this app called Elevated.

So this app has brain exercises which help you process information better and faster. I’ve seen a massive change in the way I write, speak and just process information because it’s important for my job. 
And people who enjoy the concept of gamification, like me. It’s addictive. 

I cannot recommend it enough 😀

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Emilee
Community Manager
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November 22, 2019

Ohh thanks for the suggestion! I'm really curious to check out Elevated. 

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Monique vdB
Community Manager
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November 22, 2019

Overdrive, as mentioned above, plus Kindle Reader on my phone. I basically have a book* with me at all times.

Lately I've been enjoying playing RCT Classic, the Android app is actually decent! And after many false starts with apps that didn't quite work for me, I landed on Castbox for podcasts, and I really like it.

*lol I just checked and I currently have 17 books checked out. 

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Emilee
Community Manager
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November 22, 2019

17 books! WOW - do you plan to hit 100 before the end of the year?

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Devon Henderson
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November 23, 2019

🙌🙌🙌

What’s the best book you’ve read in 2019 so far? 

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Monique vdB
Community Manager
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November 23, 2019

@Emilee my goal for the year was 75, and I'm on 85 now. I don't know if I'll make it to 100 but I wouldn't be surprised! I used to never give up on books but now that I have discovered the library, I have lost the guilt about not finishing a book if I'm not enjoying it. 

@Devon Henderson A timely question! I always pick my top books of the year at the end of the year. Right now my top 5 looks like this:

  1. Sounds Like Titanic
  2. Circe
  3. The Testaments
  4. The Great Believers
  5. Convenience Store Woman
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Devon Henderson
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November 23, 2019

Circe was SO GOOD. I’m assuming you’ve also read Song of Achilles? I read Circe first and then SoA... absolutely broke my heart. Such great books!

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Monique vdB
Community Manager
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November 25, 2019

@Devon Henderson Song of Achilles is one of the 17 books I have checked out! I put it on hold immediately after finishing Circe.  I'm in the middle of two other books right now though. Must.... read... faster...

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gfecteau November 22, 2019

Was just recently introduced to a language app called Drops. It has 5 minutes of free learning a day, with pictures, written words, and spoken words. It's a series of fun and quick exercises to help you recall.

I use it in conjunction with Duilingo (more free content, but not as well organized) and Memrise (best layout for language learning, but minimal free content).

 

One of our teams in JIRA is from Poland, so I hope to be able to communicate with them at least 1/5th as well in Polish as they are with English.

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Dharma Ramos
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November 25, 2019

Thanks for the suggestions on language apps. I was familiar with Duolingo, but not the other two.

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Vinod Ramadoss
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November 23, 2019

An app that i got to know and installed recently was Blinkist, i was never good with books unlike many here.

This app was recommended by my friend to encourage my reading habhits, i wouldnt say i have now become an avid reader, but this app has atleast grown my appetite for reading.

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Jimmy Seddon
Community Leader
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November 23, 2019

Fantastic question @Emilee!  I'm making a list of things to check out!

From an Atlassian perspective:

Custom Deployments for Bamboo has been fantastic for us as it allows us to provide custom parameters to deployments much like you can natively for builds.

From a non-Atlassian perspective:

This isn't new for me I've been using it for a couple of years now.  Lose It! is something that I used when I was trying to get my weight down to a level that was safe for me, and I have continued using it ever since to maintain where I am today.

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Kat Warner
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
November 24, 2019

Can't answer the question - I am too mesmerised by the kitty playing with the fishes.

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Mike Rathwell
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November 25, 2019

That is good... I find that kind of thing less amusing when it is one of my 4 "helping" by batting at the mouse pointer on the screen while I am trying to actually get something substantive done.

Angélica Luz
Atlassian Team
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November 25, 2019

There is an App that I'm using for years called TV Time. I watch a lot of series and this app helps me to check all of them and also shows the date that it will be released new episodes, so I always know what episode I'm watching and also counts how many months of my life I spent watching series and soap operas.

WhatsApp Image 2019-11-25 at 17.50.20.jpeg

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Deepanshu Natani
Community Leader
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November 25, 2019

In Atlassian Marketplace, there is an app "Links Explorer Traceability & Hierarchy" which I find very useful. This app helps creating an end to end Traceability Report and also provides a unified tree view to display the complete hierarchy of linked JIRA issues.

I have recently started using Trello for some personal use like managing grocery lists, manage holiday trips/travel plans and have also created a small book club. I have found Trello to be very useful.

Outside Atlassian I have recently started using these two nice apps:

1.1.1.1 : This app prevents anyone from snooping on you by encrypting more of the traffic leaving your phone. (Your Internet service provider can see every site and app you use—even if they’re encrypted. Some providers even sell this data, or use it to target you with ads.) You can also use the app to access any website which may have been blocked by your ISP for various reasons.

Snapseed: It is one of the best photo editor applications available for mobile devices.

PJ Wysota
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November 28, 2019

APPreciate... Salty, isn't it?

But c'mon - let's play APPReciation awards:

1. Best app discovered recently: Canva. And hell yeah, I know they are there for quite a time, but as I used to be pro graphic designer back in a days it took me a while to realise that I don't have to spend days in AI and PS, can do graphics and order printouts in 20 minutes with Canva, and spend rest of my time drinking beer and smoking...

2. Best financial app - in times of Revolut, N26 etc. I also went into mobile bank - bunq. And they have great app with gamification... Silly thing for a bank, but I enjoy it. Not saying that 75% of transfers to bunq, and 50% transfers out are IMMEDIATE.

3. Atlassian ecosystem - As I spent 10 years in it of course I have my favs. Not even saying about Insight (my everlasting love). Small piece recently gave me a lot of fun thinking how these small bits and pieces in Atlassian apps still can be improved - it is Coloraturas Cards for Jira - instead of edge of board card - they coloraturas whole cards. Oh, please, please do the same as I did and make them all in a shades of Pink for "all-male" Dev team working on Hack & Slash game.




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Fernando Bordallo
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
January 10, 2020

Currently, my App of choice is 'AirVisual'. Given the drastic changes in air quality we are suffering in Sydney, I find it is a perfect way to stay on top of both weather, wind conditions and air quality updates. I really recommend it!

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Tim Keyes
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
January 10, 2020

I really enjoy using zoom and its integration with slack.  I can feel connected to my global team when communicating over zoom video chats.  Its also extremely easy to discuss something rapidly face to face instead of a prolonged email or slack conversation.

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Zak Laughton
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
February 7, 2020

Been a big fan of Noom lately! It's an app that teaches you more about healthy eating and living in bite-sized chunks a day

Jack Nolddor _Sweet Bananas_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
February 9, 2020

For me, GitKraken is the app I love the most...

I started using GitKraken about a year ago and have been using it extensively for all my git related tasks. Now, I cannot do anything without it.

 

Probably the best git GUI for Linux OS nowadays....

 

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