The Language Teacher
06 - 2003
TLT Wired
Upgrade to XP?
Paul Daniels
Last month's column introduced readers to several productivity solutions for Mac users. This month, Paul Daniels will continue the teachers and technology theme, focusing on applications for Windows users.
As well as our feature columns, we would also like to answer reader queries. If you have a question, problem, or idea you'd like discussed in this column, please write to tlt-wired@jalt-publications.org. Also, visit us at our web address jalt-publications.org/tlt/wired/.
--Paul Daniels & Malcolm Swanson
Upgrade to XP?
At the end of 2001, we saw the Windows XP release come and go with lots of hype and little to show. Sure, Windows XP has a few extras that make it attractive but I still prefer Windows 2000 as it has less baggage and is more reliable. A comparison report by infoworld.com found that Windows 2000 significantly outperformed Windows XP in multitask operations. One XP add-on that I did find useful was Windows Movie Maker. Movie Maker is a quick and easy way to edit and add video content to a webpage or presentation. Another advantage of XP is that it is quick to boot-up, but on the other hand it seems to hang quite often and suffers from the usual memory bloats that Microsoft is famous for. In conclusion, if you like attractive desktops and wizards that step you through common tasks consider an upgrade to XP, but if you are more interested in productivity, stick to Windows 2000.
Whether you are using Windows 95, XP, or something in between, several applications exist to help improve productivity. Focusing on the applications we use most—email, web browsers, and text editing—below are a few favorites from the ever-increasing collection of freeware and shareware available to Windows users. First and foremost lets tackle the ugly side of the Internet, advertising.
Fight Spam
We've all experienced those messages from the cousin to the Senate President of the Federal Republic of some country who has stumbled upon millions and is seeking business partners. Fighting spam or junk mail is consuming more and more of our time and experts believe it is just the beginning. The best way to fight spam is to stay off advertisers' lists. Online Message Boards and Online chat sites prove to be the worst culprits. You can cut down spam considerably by removing your email address from web pages. Do a search for your email address on google.com and you may be surprised to find your email address appearing on so many web pages. Another alternative is to use software that scans and deletes incoming spam.
- Spam Alarm www.dignitysoftware.com (shareware $25): Claims to block "99% of spam with zero false positives."
Kill Pop-Ups
Pop-up ads are quickly becoming as much of a nuisance as spam. Luckily, the fight for stopping pop-up ads is as fierce as ever. Below are some applications that may help kill those pop-ups.
- Pop-Up Stopper www.panicware.com (freeware)
- MereSurfer www.meresoft.com (shareware $20)
Improve Web Browsing
- Opera www.opera.com (freeware): A fast and lean Internet browser with built-in newsreader, search, and email functions. It allows you to use your keyboard to surf the net faster.
Copy and Paste
Ever copied text from an Outlook email message or a PDF document to Microsoft Word? Cleaning up those unwanted line breaks and formatting the text can be quite a tedious task.
- Text Cleanup www.customsolutions.us/cleanup/index.htm (shareware $24.95): A simple solution to clean up unformatted text.
- FixMail www.pcworld.com/downloads/ (freeware): A simple word macro that will clean up email message text or other ASCII text when pasted into Microsoft Word.
Find the Meaning
- Babylon-Pro www.babylon.com (subscription $24.50/year): Try a clever dictionary, translator, converter, and more. Click on any word to access information either on- or offline. The Japanese translations are quite rough but you can usually figure out the main idea of a passage. Try the free trial version.
- Babel Fish world.altavista.com/ (freeware): Alternatively, you can use Alta Vista's free translation service for webpages and raw text.
- WordWeb wordweb.info/free/ (freeware): Spice up your Word dictionary with this free English thesaurus and dictionary that can be used within word processors or as a stand alone program.
Other
- DocCommander www.utilityplanet.com (shareware $19.95): A useful utility that pops up whenever you Open or Save documents. It gives quick and easy access to frequently used files, folders, and applications and also allows users to search and preview files from the Open File window. A trial version of this shareware is available.
- Sygate Personal Firewall soho.sygate.com/products/ (freeware): Stop hackers from accessing your DSL or cable-connected PC with the use of this free firewall. The firewall will prompt you with a window to allow or deny outside access to your computer. It also allows you to block out all network traffic from your computer while you are away from your computer or not accessing the Internet.
Useful links
- ZDnet downloads-zdnet.com.com/ Downloads, news, reviews, and tech tips.
- Download.com download.com.com/ One of the best sites for finding shareware.
- PC World www.pcworld.com/downloads/ Helpful reviews of popular downloads.
- Annoyances www.annoyances.org/ Find a fix that for that PC bug.
- Microsoft support.microsoft.com/ Windows OS support search. Very likely 1000s of others are having the same problem you are. Find the solution here.
Paul Daniels
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