Tuesday, October 30, 2007
10 Free Microsoft Apps That Don’t Suck
Microsoft is not usually a company that gets associated with cool and free products. Google is more like it, it got Gmail, Google Reader, Calendar, Docs and dozens of other useful services. Nonetheless, there are a bunch of FREE Microsoft tools that definitely worth a look at. While some of them are yet to be released, other have been around for a a while.
(1) HealthVault
Service that many US families should find really useful. In simple terms, HealthVault is an online safebox for all your medical records. It’s not just a storage place to keep medical history but also to share records with doctors, place to where medical documents can be faxed and auto-archived, and lots more.
(2) Windows Live (Office Suite)
Long-awaited online office offering from Microsoft. I know, there are plenty of other online office suites, but many of us are still hesitant when it comes to compatibility issues. What if the document won’t open? What if text styling gets messy? … Well, who if not Microsoft can guarantee 100% compatibility with Microsoft Office. Although the service is yet to go public, you can opt-in now and get notified as soon as it’s launched.
(3) TellMe
Tellme is a free alternative to costly 411 directory service. Lets you quickly obtain contact details and directions to local businesses (repair shops, pizzerias, restaurants, etc.). You can access it via toll free number, text messaging, or TellMe mobile client. Check out TellMe video demo here.
(4) Windows Live (Safety Scanner)
Online Windows health check-up and maintenance center. Includes virus scan and removal, hard drive space recovery and performance tools. The only drawback, it doesn’t work with Firefox and thus you need IE to access it.
(5) Tafiti
Looking for a comprehensive research tool? Check out Tafiti. It’s a single application that integrates multiple search engines, visual search, webpage sharing, and a handful of other features for online research. Tafiti will work on any browser but you do need to have Microsoft Silverlight (free).
Software
(6) Win XP Powertoys - PowerToys is a set of tiny all-purpose apps that add to your Windows experience. Currently, the package counts 15 different programs, including ‘Alt+Tab’ replacement, all-in-one unit converter, right click image resizer, and virtual desktop manager.
(7) FolderShare - Simple and memory-friendly program with a bunch of cool features. FolderShare lets you access your PC remotely, share files with others, and synchronize files across multiple computers and mobile devices. It’s a pretty useful app to have on your arsenal.
(8) Sysinternals Suite - Over 60 troubleshooting utilities bundled in one suite. Most of the bundled apps are rather techy and may require technical skills. Although some of the apps are 100% automated. For instance, PageDefrag (excellent paging-file defragmenter) is one of such apps.
(9) ConferenceXP - Live screen sharing and collaboration application for groups. Highlights include local screen streaming, browser screen sharing, and live collaboration sketchboard.
(10) Windows Live Pack - Brings Windows Live services to your desktop. Cool part about it, you have an option to choose which services to get. Package includes, Family Safety suite, web photo gallery, online storage service, Windows Live Writer blogging tool, and some more.
Got another Microsoft goodie ? Let us know in comments!
6 Free Office Suites That Are NOT Microsoft
Microsoft Office may be the most popular office productivity suite currently on the market, but don’t expect this to last forever considering the slew of new, web-based, and open-source alternatives coming every day. Recently, in only the last 2 to 3 years, not only has the number of MS Office competitors grown significantly, but also the quality of these products has increased immeasurably.
The best part about these new office alternatives is that they are completely FREE and they work with Microsoft Office, so if you or your company are locked into Office currently, you can integrate open-source software into your systems slowly and carefully. If you’re a consumer, you can now create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on the fly, access them from anywhere, and open them in MS Office for compatibility purposes.
Here’s a list of six of the most popular alternative office productivity suites out there today:
Online Office Software
1. Google Docs - This is probably the most heard of Office competitor that most people already know about. Google Docs is completely online and includes a web-based Word Processor, Spreadsheet application, and a Presentation app. More on Google Docs features (incl. introduction video).
2. Zoho - Zoho is probably the best online office productivity suite with not only word processor, spreadsheet and presentation apps, but also includes online project management, CRM solutions, web conferencing, online database with reports, online planner, group chat, wiki, and lots more. It also includes a plug-in for MS Office so you can work both online or offline. Learn more about Zoho.
3.Thinkfree - Thinkfree claims to have the best integration with Microsoft Office. Also, the interface for each app is very similar to MS Office including the toolbars, icons, and functions. Thinkfree also has advanced collaboration features such that users can share, edit, and contribute their ideas remotely. More on Thinkfree (incl. video demos and screenshot).
Downloadable Office Software
5.StarOffice - StarOffice is from Sun Microsystems and has recently been released under the Google Pack as a free download. StarOffice runs on Windows, Linux, and Solaris systems. You’ll have to download OpenOffice if you want it for the Mac.
4. IBM Lotus Symphony - IBM Lotus Symphony is a direct competitor to the Microsoft Office suite because it is also a desktop application aimed at individuals and businesses. The suite consists of Symphony Documents, Symphony Presentations, and Symphony Spreadsheets. I wrote about it before, so if interested check out my IBM Symphony review.
6. OpenOffice - OpenOffice is a multi-platform (Win, Mac, Linux) and multi-lingual office suite which is compatible with all major office suites (i.e. Microsoft Office). It includes Writer (word processing), Impress (presentation), Math, Draw, Calc (spreadsheet), and Base applications. IBM Lotus Symphony and StarOffice are both based on the code from OpenOffice.
And if that’s not enough choices, Adobe is planning on releasing it’s own online word editor called Buzzword. Plus, Yahoo may be joining the crowd soon also with it’s recent purchase of Zimbra. So if you’re still stuck on Office, be sure to check out all the new alternatives as they will probably be the future of office productivity suites.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Microsoft Introduces Wiki-Like Listas Service
October 19, 2007
Microsoft's Live Labs has debuted a new service to allow users to create and share various types of lists. Called Listas, the application can be used not only for lists, but for notes, favorites and other communal types of information. Like Wikis, the lists can then be shared with the public, which allows for group editing.
Along with the service, Live Labs has created a companion toolbar for Internet Explorer which allows users to collect information from the web and add it to their lists, be it search results or full or partial web pages. Users also can subscribe to others' lists through RSS, the company said.
"We encourage you to try using it for meeting notes, bookmarks, shopping lists, to plan a night out, or whatever other creative ways you can think of," the Live Labs team said.
Labels: Windows Live
Friday, October 19, 2007
10 Best Wordpress Plugins for Google Adsense
2006-11-13 Quick Online Tips
Google Adsense has become the most popular online contextual advertising program. Wordpress allows bloggers to easily integrate Google Adsense inside wordpress using plugins. Listed below are 10 best Adsense plugins which help you work smarter with wordpress.
- Adsense Deluxe - offers advanced options for managing the automatic insertion of Google AdSense or Yahoo Publisher Network (YPN) ads to your WordPress posts. Adsense Deluxe+ claims to have a an improved ad limiting algorithm.
- Adsense Injection - inserts Adsense code randomly into a pre-existing blog.
- Adsense Inline - inserts Google adsense in blog posts
- Adsense Beautifier - makes your Adsense look beautiful by placing images beside them to increase your clicks (CTR) and subsequent Adsense earnings.
- AdSense Widget for WordPress Sidebar - Google AdSense widget designed for the new WordPress Sidebar Widgets plug-in.
- MightyAdsense - allows you to host the code in wordpress without having to modify the templates. Ads are displayed in post item and you can specify how many blocks its going to show up in a page.
- AdRotator Wordpress Plugin - rotates your adsense ads with other affiliate programs like Chitika Eminimalls wherever you want. Helps to reduce ad blindness and test different ad formats and affiliate programs.
- Adsense Earnings Wordpress Plugin - displays your adsense earning details within wordpress admin panel.
- WP-AdsenseProfit - shows your profit from the adsense program to the public by adding a simple call to the function in your template.
- AdSense Sharing Revenue and Earnings System - allows you to view your adsense earnings and share your adsense impressions with your friends and co-authors.
- Author Adsense Wordpress Plugin - allows blog authors to enter their Google Adsense Publisher ID and have ads displayed on their own posts generating revenue. Admin can set the ratio of author’s ads to admin ads.
