Boopsie

When Altavista, Yahoo!, and Google introduced us to the modern search engine, saving us countless hours, we were thankful but not completely satisfied. There has been an increasing number of small apps, or shortcuts, developed that speeds up even the simple task of searching. Dave’s Quick Search Toolbar and Firefox’s built-in keywords are two perfect examples. Recently, Heather turned me on to Boopsie, a free downloadable thin client that sits between your mobile device and dozens of useful sites (or channels). It is compatible with Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Blackberry, the iPhone, and Symbian so as long as your phone is a little more advanced than a flip phone, you should be able to use it. I used my Samsung Blackjack to download and install client direct from the website and within minutes I was up and running. Once you have it loaded, it makes a data connection and from there you can choose any number of channels and search quicker than ever. I like using it in the mornings to check forecasts on Weather Underground; all I have to do is enter in my zip code and a mobile version of the site loads and I get to skip all the needless graphics and text of the front page. Though I have 3G on my phone, my area does not support it yet so anything that can help me be more productive on the run is a plus and Boopsie does exactly that.