ActiveWords Useful program for navigating the hard drive or the Internet. Type words or write scripts to go where you want to go, open close programs, spellcheck, use boilerplate, etc. Has forum. Free version and $50 version.
Programs with features similar to Active Words:
DirectAccess ($40).
SlickRun Free.
Antivirus, anti-ad programs: I use this free program: Avira. I used to use AVG. To complement, consider Ad-Aware and Spybot.
Bookmarks and Notes:
Delicious:
Free add-on for Firefox that manages bookmarks and also
synchs them to an online site. You can access your bookmarks from
any computer.
Copernic:
Multiple search engine program and desktop search program (4 programs altogether).
Mybookmarks:
Free online bookmarks.
Li'l Red Notebook: An easy-to-use, convenient and inexpensive popup notepad for word lists, reminders, etc.
To back up bookmarks, save (export) them to a folder in HTML format. This can be handy and another way to go to a site, if the folder is stored on the desktop.
Browsers: I generally use Mozilla Firefox, Navigator or Google's Chrome. Others are Opera, Safari and that one by Microsoft. Three (also free) anonymous browers are xerobank, anonymouse and ninjacloak.
Photos: One company that converts printed photos to digital format in bulk is Scanmyphotos (not tried yet).
TaxACT A simpler, more user-friendly, and considerably less expensive alternative to TurboTax. They partner with J.K. Lasser. (2010: I could not access their web site so used Turbo Tax for that year.)
Text Editors
:
Ultra-Edit ($60) I use UE - a very popular ("best-selling in the world") and very fine text/HTML editor.
Note Tab ($20 to $30) A less expensive alternative that has won many awards.
Typing Injury FAQ Useful portal with FAQ on typing injuries and remedies.
Web Conferencing: GoToMeeting ($50) - Easy to use; for voice conferencing and viewing what's on desktop. Dimdim. "Free for small meetings".
Video creation: Camtasia ($300). CamStudio (open source, donation requested). I used Camtasia to make this video about ABCZ Software and Instant Text 7.
Web Hosting: Three sites recommended in one review (2003): Page-Zone $60/year, ICDSoft $60/year, HaiSoft $36/year. But see Hosting Review, which features many different 'Top 10' lists, depending on what type of hosting you want, with detailed reviews of each provider. I went with StartLogic, partly because they use a fast, user-friendly Control Panel called VDeck.
Web Pages: Creation NVu (see HTML above) is a fine HTML creator and editor. (See also Ultra-Edit above under Text Editors.) Serif offers WebPlus X4, a complete program for web design, as well as many other graphic programs.
Web Pages: Uploading to Internet Mozilla offers FireFTP which can be used to upload web pages to the Internet. The program opens as a feature within Firefox.
Wikipedia Free online encyclopedia. Useful, but can be unreliable. Google is reported to be developing a rival resource.
WordWeb Pro Thesaurus/dictionary, word and anagram finder. $18 to $59.
Write Words Phrase Frequency counter. Simple, free online paste-and-submit phrase counter. See Mike DeTuri's ABCreate for a much more powerful tool.
Zone Labs ZoneAlarm firewall. www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp
Youtube: If videos load too slowly or stutter, (carefully) consider Speedbit. Works for some users, not for others. If you have a router, consider upgrading the router. (That worked for me!)
Youtube: Instruction. The non-profit Khan Academy has a wealth of free user-friendly instructional videos, particularly on math and science. Bill Gates has now offered his support and funding to further develop this free instruction. The Khan Academy has a faculty consisting of one person - Salman Khan.
Page updated May 2011
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