5 tech resources for MBA students
October 19th, 2011These are five great tools I have been using so far in the Rice MBA program. Hope they make life easier for you too!
1 – Dropbox — www.dropbox.com
Dropbox is an online (or “cloud”) file management service that will keep your documents and files synchronized across all your computers and devices.
For example, say you have Dropbox installed on your work computer, home computer and smartphone. Any file in your Dropbox folder will be synchronized over the internet to all three devices automatically, so if you do your Data Analysis homework on your lunch break at work (and save it to your Dropbox folder), you can open the file later on your home computer without having to resort to USB drives or email.
One other advanced feature is the ability to share a folder with other Dropbox users. This way, if you place a file in the folder, it will be synchronized with other users’ Dropboxes as well.
2GB of storage space is free at www.dropbox.com, or you can use this referral link to get 2.25GB of space: http://db.tt/UU2z7Gm (if you already have dropbox and want your link placed here, let me know!)
For even more space, you can upgrade to a 50GB ($100/year) or 100GB ($200/year) account.
2 – Google Docs – docs.google.com
Google Docs is Google’s cloud productivity suite — which basically means their Microsoft Office competitor. In Google Docs, all the documents exist on Google’s servers, so that even if your computer crashes, the document is preserved (similar to Dropbox in #1).
However, where Google Docs differs from Dropbox is that it allows users to edit documents simultaneously and see each other’s edits in real-time. When your team is working on writing a case, one team member can be perfecting the intro, another proofreading and a third adding exhibits, all simultaneously on the same document.
When you’re done with a document, you can always export to Microsoft Word .doc format, or just print directly from Docs. Docs can also be used for Spreadsheets and Presentations, although I do not recommend the Presentations app for Rice students expected to use PowerPoint.
Google Docs is free to use, but you need to have a Google account (such as a GMail or Google Apps account) to log in.
3 – Wolfram Alpha – www.wolframalpha.com
Wolfram Alpha is hard to describe. It calls itself a “computational knowledge engine” which sounds reasonably accurate.
Where it is useful for me as an MBA student is that instead of typing a calculation into my calculator, now with Wolfram I can just copy the equation right out of my Word document and into Wolfram, then hit enter. Take a look at the example below.
This is barely scratching the surface of what Wolfram can do though — for more information visit: www.wolframalpha.com/examples
4 – Doodle – www.doodle.com
Credit goes to classmate David DellOsso for this one.
Doodle is a web application that can be used to poll your team on scheduling issues, such as when the best time to meet and discuss a case would be. It is easy to use and quick to set up. It is also platform-agnostic, so you do not need any particular email account or login to use it.
Doodle
5 – (iOS only) GoodReader — itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodreader-for-ipad/id363448914?mt=8
GoodReader on iPad
This Apple iOS app is best used on an iPad, though it also works on an iPhone.
This app is for reading and annotating PDF and Word documents, such as those many, many Strategy case studies you had to read. You can download the documents onto your i-device while syncing, or you can even download them “over the cloud” from Dropbox (mentioned above in #1).
The only downside? Sometimes reading on the iPad screen can be hard on your eyes. Even with this great app, I still often prefer to read long documents on paper.