I’m unfortunately unable to come in to class today, but I wanted to share a couple of tools I was introduced to this past year that I have found quite useful.

Pear Note ($40, OS X) is an app that integrates keystrokes, audio and video to dramatically improve the note-taking experience. It’s especially useful in interviews: As I record audio, my keystrokes are synced to audio timestamps. That way, I can easily go back and couple my notes with specific times in the interview. It’s also pretty freeing; I can take notes on facial expressions, ambiance, and other things while pegging these descriptions to specific moments in the interview. Check it out at http://www.usefulfruit.com/pearnote/

Skype Call Recorder ($30, OS X) does one thing and one thing only: it records Skype calls. This one-trick pony does its one trick especially well. Check it out at http://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/

My apologies to PC users for my staying in Apple’s walled garden. For Mac users, though, hope these are useful!