Collecta is well-named. A search engine, Collecta collects results from all over the social web: blogs, comments on blogs, tweets, social bookmarks – even videos and photos.
Making Notes On Websites
in Reviews
Sometimes I come across a website and think it would be quite useful to bookmark for future reference. However, I sometimes find that on returning to it, I can’t remember exactly why! Or I am looking around a website with the intention of reviewing it, get interrupted, come back to it a week later
Read MoreResearch Sites for Writers: Bing
in Reviews
Is Bing a sort of poor man’s Google? There is always a temptation to compare any search engine with Google, but each has its own strengths and shortcomings.
How To Eliminate Distractions
This gives you a quick look at J-Darkroom, which is a clutter-free text editor. I've used it myself,
Read MorePublishing Posers: The Acquisitions Editor
in News & views
An interesting question these days is: “Do I need a publisher?” There are lots of options available for anyone wishing to go it alone, especially when it comes to ebooks.
Read MoreResearch Sites for Writers: Addictomatic
I’ve recently started using Addictomatic as my first or second port of call as far as search engines are concerned. What it does is pull together, on one page, results from blogs, Bing
Tech Support
Have writers always needed technical support?
Read More13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Repeating Yourself
This is a very quick tip, but one that is remarkably useful. As you may know, Word has a ton of keyboard shortcuts which can make life a bit easier. But sometimes, if they’re really convoluted, they can make life difficult.
Read More13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Sorting
One nice feature of Word is the Sort feature. If you have a list, and you’d like to sort it into alphabetical order, this is what you do:
13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Erase Formatting
*!@#^ #~*&%! Blast! If that sounds like you when you can’t seem to change what a piece of text looks like, don’t fret: there is a solution.
13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Properties
Like other Office software, Word includes a feature which isn’t exactly obvious, but potentially very helpful. It’s the Properties section.
Read More13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: AutoCorrect
Here’s a feature which you may have noticed, perhaps without thinking about it. Type a smiley face in “text speak”, ie :-), and you will notice that it immediately converts into a smiley face.
13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: AutoSave
in Handy hints, How to, Word
A few days ago I switched the light on in the kitchen, there was a pop, and all the lights went out. Everything electrical was as dead a dodo. It could have been a major disaster, as I’d just finished doing several hours’ work. Fortunately, it was merely a minor inconvenience, thanks to the magic of AutoSave.13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Commenting
Making changes to a document, albeit provisionally, is something you can easily do in Review mode, which has been covered in a separate article. But that can easily become unwieldy, especially when more than a couple of people are involved: we all know the old saw about too many cooks.
Clear Communication
This classic sketch illustrates the importance of clear communication. Although it’s spoken, not written, there are interesting lessons to draw from it.
Read MoreHow Tech-Savvy Are You?
in Bits & bobs
JRNHY9797BXF This is a terribly unfair question, but hey! Life is unfair! I've decided to use the question below as a proxy for the question in the title of this post. I'm not sure if it's a good proxy, but it should achieve a few things:
Have Bottle, Will Travel
in Handy hints, Reviews
I think the title of this article probably gives the impression that I’m an alcoholic, but those who see me at conferences or meetings know that I always have a bottle of water with me.
Have Digicam, Will Travel
in Handy hints
When I was much younger I had an interest in photography. The only problem was, I was no good at it.
13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Reviewing
Here’s the wrong way of reviewing a document: make the changes you think necessary, and save the document with a different name. Sounds sensible enough, doesn’t it?
13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Comparing Documents
It’s enough to make a grown man cry. You receive a second version of a document from a colleague, with no indication in the covering email about what’s changed. So what do you do? Print out both documents and pore over them till you’re cross-eyed?
No need: