Feeling disorganized? Try a virtual assistant New software that helps you organize and share your life is free, friendly, and forever at your beck and call. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- When finding a way to better manage your to-do tasks becomes another chore on your list, it's time to get help. Ready to answer that call is Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup Accomplice, which makes software designed to help people manage their busy lives.
Think of Accomplice as a personal virtual assistant. The software gives users a place to store all their to-dos - from a meeting with analysts to booking a family trip to Europe. You can also share activities and notes with other users. This way, if you're working on a team project, you can easily delegate tasks and don't have to exchange a constant stream of e-mails to update others about an assignment. Accomplice works whether you're off or online, offering more flexibility than Web-based applications. Users of multiple PCs can also install the program on a U3 Smart USB flash drive - a portable drive that lets people carry their applications with them when they disconnect from any PC. Accomplice is about getting rid of "clutter boxes" and creating a system that helps people manage their projects and share information with others, according to CEO Jason Feinsmith. He got the idea for the program while working in sales at Intel (Charts). Frustrated with constantly copying information from his e-mail into his personal planner, he began developing the program for his own use. In early 2005, he and co-founder Uri Sarid formed the company, which is angel-funded and has five employees. Accomplice is designed to be the ultimate application for the multitasker - the user whose day job meshes with their personal life and who is constantly on the go, Feinsmith said. Similar software exists, including 37signals' Basecamp and Franklin Covey's (Charts) PlanPlus, but Feinsmith said Accomplice stands apart since it integrates with more programs and devices than competing products do. For instance, it integrates with email programs like Microsoft (Charts) Outlook, so users can keep tabs on their messages and even turn them into to-do activities. Accomplice also syncs with devices like Research in Motion's (Charts) Blackberry and the Palm (Charts) Treo. The best part about the program? It's free, courtesy of sponsored text links. (If users want to turn off the links, they have to pay $29.95 a year.) |
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