15 New Articles on MakeUseOf |  |
- X People Who Might Google You, and What They Might Find [SI]
- Cool Websites and Tools [May 7th 2013]
- 6 Fascinating Tumblr Blogs For History Buffs
- Are Tablets Here To Stay? [You Told Us]
- The Digital Afterlife – Managing Your Final Affairs
- The Best Twitter Vine Videos Created So Far
- This Tweet Will Self Destruct – How To Send Out Tweets That Don’t Last Forever
- FireFTP is a Powerful Firefox FTP Client You Can Use in Your Browser
- It’s Fine To Rhyme – 7 Online Tools For Rhyming Words & Writing Terrible Poems
- From Pirate Darling To Dropbox Alternative: BitTorrent Sync Lets You Keep Your Files Synchronized Across Machines
- 4 New Fighting Games To Keep An Eye On In 2013 [MUO Gaming]
- Dropmark – The Easiest Way To Share Files And Collaborate With Anyone [Web & Mac]
- Chat Heads & Stickers – Check Out The New Features on Facebook Messenger [Weekly Facebook Tips]
- QuickOffice Pro HD: Create, Open And Edit Office Documents On Your iPad [iOS]
- Viber Launches Desktop App For Windows & Mac, Redesigns Mobile Apps [Updates]
| X People Who Might Google You, and What They Might Find [SI] Posted: 08 May 2013 03:05 AM PDT It was only 15 years ago that the best you could do to find a person online was look for him on ICQ and hope you find his name. If you managed to do that, you were actually nowhere nearer to knowing anything about this person, except for the fact he owns an ICQ account. If you were very brave, you might have requested to add that person to your contacts, just to see what happens. It was only 20 years ago when the very best you could do to find out more about someone was to open a phone book and maybe find an address or a phone number, if these weren’t unlisted. It really wasn’t so long ago when our lives where relatively private, without us having to make sure they’re so. This has changed completely with the advent of search engines and social networks, and today you an rest assured that anyone who wants to know anything about you has already typed your name in Google. But what did they find when they did that? Did they actually find information about you? Was it information you really wanted them to have? And who are those people who might be searching for your name on Google? All this and more, on the next episode of… well, just read on. Who Is Googling You & Why?
Potential employers: Looking for a job? Or maybe you’re trying to get into a specific school program? Your name is fair game to the people who are considering you, who might try to find whether or not you are who you say you are. This kind of searcher might look for embarrassing bits you’ve done your best to forget, evidence that you’ve really worked where you said you’ve worked, and will definitely be on the lookout for news items featuring you robbing a bank. Potential employees: Hiring? You’re still not exempt from the Google treatment. Those who consider working for you could search for your company’s name, and for your own name as well, trying to find out what kind of an employer you are. Seems far fetched? Rest assured that if you’ve been exceedingly unfair to a worker in that past, that worker has written about it somewhere, and it’s not going to be that hard to find. A potential employee may also Google you to make sure you really are who you say you are, in case it’s a log-distance kind of job. Curious friends, family, exes, and snoops: This is the broadest category of people who might be Googling you, and includes current friends, old friends, people you’ve just met, ex-partners, ex-teachers, ex-employers, your close family, your distant family, family you never knew you had, your friends’ or partner’s parents, and pretty much anyone who’s ever had anything to do with you. What are they looking for? This can range from simple curiosity over what they might find on the first page of your Google results to finding out where you work, where you live, how old you are, what religion you practice, and making sure you’re not a scary sleazebag, not a criminal, and not anything else they don’t approve of. Marketers, political bodies, etc.: You might be wondering how marketers or political bodies know things about you and get in touch with you. It’s not rocket science. A simple Google search can reveal basic information that they can make use of to appeal their case to you much better. When someone wants to sell you something, be it a product, a service, or a vote for the right party, having some background information is always a huge help. Complete strangers: Yes, this can happen too. In this category we find people who happened to encounter your name online and are curious to find out more, and also people who might have malicious intentions such as robbing your house, or worse. What They Might FindThe list of what these Googlers might find is endless, and it very much depends on how common your name is, and your online activity. To make things easier, I’ll try to divide potential results into several categories. Someone else with the same name: If you don’t have a unique name, this is the most common occurrence on Google results. No matter who you are, if you have a common name, chances are there’s someone more famous than you with the exact same name. In these cases, you may encounter all the results listed below, only these might have nothing to do with you. This is nice when your name double is a successful football player or science professor, and less fortunate if it’s a porn star or or suicide bomber. Let’s say your name is unique enough, or you’ve done enough to actually appear as yourself on your Google results. What can you expect people to find? Social network profiles: This is the most obvious one, and can include your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, and any other network you’re active or used to be active on. As long as you made sure not to share publicly what shouldn’t be shared, you should be good on that front. Do keep in mind, though, that a potential employer or a partner’s parent might not like seeing any part of your nightlife, no matter how innocent you think it is. Fake social network profiles: This is a weird one, and is different from real profiles that come from people who just happen to have the same name. You may never encounter this if your name is common, but looking for a unique name like my own I found a Facebook profile baring my name, with a “Content Providers” cover photo, and no much in way of any profile content. Things you’ve written online: If you’ve written blog posts, research papers, newspaper articles for big or small papers, or even a comment on someone else’s work, these can and probably will appear when searching your name on Google. No problems here, as long as your proud of these. If that last thing you’ve written is a 7-years-old blog post, you might want to at least read it over again, just to be on the safe side. Things others have written online: Your name can be a part of things you haven’t written yourself, and these may still pop up on Google when searching for your name. Did a friend mention you in a paper’s acknowledgments? Was your name referred to on an article or blog post? These may definitely come up, so hopefully, you were only mentioned as the good guy. Your pictures: Ah, the most fun and most random part of Google search — image search! When it comes to image search, everything’s possible, and unless you’re truly famous, you’re going to have some weird things popping up on an image search. What can you expect to find here? Start with real pictures of you you’ve uploaded yourself, and real pictures of you uploaded by others. Continue with pictures that come with things you’ve written online (yes, including screenshots!), pictures you’ve pinned on Pinterest or added on a social network, pictures of your friends, and figures from papers you have something to do with. Now we can venture into pictures that are related to only part of your name, or, if your name if common, pictures of complete strangers. While this whole eclectic collection will appear on any image search, Google’s algorithm does try to put the most relevant ones first. This is how, when searching for a friend of mine, I found a photo mashup she created with her mother’s face in her head as the first result, and not one genuine picture of her. Good thing I already know what she looks like. Accounts on websites you can’t remember opening: Remember the account you opened on <random website>? No? Google does. A Google search result might yield profiles you’ve actually opened yourself, and haven’t used since. Hopefully, these are going to be empty, without too much embarrassing content you can’t remember putting there. Profiles and search results on aggregators: These are all sorts of website that most often than not make their living from appearing on your Google results, convincing you to start using them for real, as opposed to “using them” inadvertently. Looking at my own first two pages of results, I found my “profiles” and “search results” on no less than four of these: Longreads, Favstar, twtrland, and ZoomInfo. Weird genealogy websites: For some reason, your name, relatives’ names, and even pictures somehow make their way into these family-tracking websites no matter who you are. These may appear on the first page or results or deeper than that, but it’s surprising how common they are. I managed to find such a website bearing not only my picture and name, but my sister, parents, and other relatives. Obviously, someone related to the family uploaded these at some point, but no one ever asked for my permission to do it. What Can You Do?This is only a small part of what you might find when googling yourself. If you’re really unlucky, your results may be even more colorful than any mentioned above. The best way to know for sure is to head over to google.com and perform the search yourself. Remember that searching for yourself on your browser might not yield the same results as it would for other performing the exact same search. To get a better idea of what people might see, try using a private browsing window or DuckDuckGo. If you don’t like what you see, you can try to improve the results with services such as BrandYourself, which help you get the links that matter to you into those search results. And remember, don’t ever use your real name on anything you don’t want traced back to you. We’re all entitles to whatever interests we might have, but as soon as you use your real name, it may pop up on Google next time your ex looks up your name. What happens when you search for your name on Google? Did you ever have someone Google your name and find something embarrassing? Share your experiences in the comments! The post X People Who Might Google You, and What They Might Find [SI] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cool Websites and Tools [May 7th 2013] Posted: 07 May 2013 09:31 PM PDT
These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed. The post Cool Websites and Tools [May 7th 2013] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 Fascinating Tumblr Blogs For History Buffs Posted: 07 May 2013 08:31 PM PDT
The sheer amount of content on Tumblr, which makes it a joy to browse (as well as very easy to lose hours of your day in the blink of an eye), sometimes you really do have to filter through a lot of repetitive content to get to the good stuff. For that reason, we’ve put together lists of recommended Tumblr history blogs that we think you should be following. We’ve already introduced you to 8 Tumblr blogs every writer and book lover should follow, 7 news and political blogs you should follow, 10 humorous Tumblr blogs, and this week we're taking a stab at the best in history that Tumblr has to offer. This Day In History
What better place to start with Tumblr history blogs than with PBS’ This Day in History. In their own words, the blog is described as:
Turning an eye to world events, This Day in History is a great way to get a daily history lesson delivered to your screen via Tumblr. With everything in their recent posts from George Washington becoming the first US president to the Chernobyl nuclear explosion – the blog covers all eras and continents to bring you a well-rounded daily history lesson. Cool Chicks From History
Cool Chicks from History is a must-follow for all history buffs and fans of empowered women. Another blog that spans the continents and eras, featured women include well known names like Hillary Clinton and Amelia Earhart, to lesser known women who have made a difference in women’s rights through the ages. Historical Nonfiction
In their own words, Historical Nonfiction features:
With at least 2 new posts a day, the blog is a fascinating journey through obscure moments in history that you might not otherwise think of looking up. For example, an interesting fact you would come across browsing the blog is that, “Black beans were known as aphrodisiacs. So much so that St. Jerome forbade nuns to eat them in 400 A.D., for fear that the beans would lure them into breaking their vows of chastity.” The Cartography Collective
If you’re the kind of history buff that’s obsessed with maps, then this is a must-follow for you. The Cartography Collective. In her own words, Susanna Cole-King describes the blog:
With maps from the 14th to the 21st centuries, from all over the world, the Cartography Collective is an amazing resource for all things map-related. You can spend hours going through the archives, since sadly, the blog will no longer be updated on a regular basis. Classical Archaeology News
If you’re more interested in ancient history, with a modern twist, Classical Archaeology News is a great place to start. For the most part, the blog takes a look at recent findings that relate to ancient history – whether Roman, Greek, Egyptian or more. In her own words, Francesaca Tronchin describes her blog as:
Black History Is American History
Black History is an incredible resource, and a beautifully designed blog at that too. It catalogs men and women of note from the African American community, with everyone from actor and comedian Bill Cosby to the “Black Godfather of Silicon Valley,” Roy Clay Sr. The blog is a fascinating introduction or (re-introduction) to personalities that have made a significant difference in their respective fields. In their own words, the site is:
If you want to know more about the motivation behind the blog, check out the interview with the blog owner, Alex Pierce, here. Which Tumblr blogs would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments. The post 6 Fascinating Tumblr Blogs For History Buffs appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Are Tablets Here To Stay? [You Told Us] Posted: 07 May 2013 07:31 PM PDT
Gates was asked about the future of the PC, to which he opined that it’s “going to be harder and harder to distinguish [between] products” and so the Microsoft Surface brings together the “portability of the tablet but the richness of the PC.” In other words even Microsoft thinks that tablets are here to stay, but do the MakeUseOf readership agree? The ResultsWe asked you Are Tablets Here To Stay? We had a fantastic turnout in the comments section, with people from both sides of the debate airing their views on the question at hand. The vast majority also took my advice to explain the basis for their opinion over merely answering the question with a simple one word answer.
The general consensus that emerged from the collective mind of the MakeUseOf readership is that tablets are here to stay for the long-term. Making Heins looks like a poor soothsayer who may just be bitter because the BlackBerry PlayBook failed so spectacularly. But that consensus came with several caveats. First is the scope for the form factor to evolve over time. We have already seen this happen with the emergence of smaller screen sizes and phone tablets (phablets), and laptop/tablet hybrids which try to give consumers the best of both worlds. It would stand to reason then that tablets will continue to evolve over the next few years. Second is the question of how tablets are used, with the majority agreeing that they’re much better suited for consuming than producing. So, watching movies, listening to music, and reading webpages as opposed to writing articles, editing videos, and creating art. There were also a proportion of commenters who agreed with Heins in principle, suggesting that tablets will give way to something else within a few years. Which wouldn’t be all that surprising given the pace of technology and the way only a select few form factors actually manage to survive beyond the launch of their direct successors. Comment Of The WeekWe had great input from the likes of Austin H, Moi, and John F, to name just a few. Comment Of The Week goes to Rob H, who, as well as the respect of myself and hopefully everybody reading this, receives 150 points to use for MakeUseOf Rewards.
We liked this comment because it presents an argument as to why tablets have a place in the world. It may be a niche – sitting between smartphones and laptops –but it’s a niche that seems to have found an audience. Tablets may never become an essential purchase, but for those who can afford to own one they’re a worthy addition to their collection of Internet-connected devices. We will be asking a new question tomorrow, so please join us then. We Ask You is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. We ask you a question and you tell us what you think. The question is open-ended and is usually open to debate. Some questions will be purely opinion-based, while others will see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps for your fellow MakeUseOf readers. This column is nothing without your input, all of which is valued. Image Credit: Cheon Fong Liew The post Are Tablets Here To Stay? [You Told Us] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Digital Afterlife – Managing Your Final Affairs Posted: 07 May 2013 06:31 PM PDT
Let’s take a look at the condensed version of all this. What are the exact items that you’ll need in order to handle your most important documents? If you don’t know the answer, I’ve packed the main stuff into a nice, bite-sized list that pretty much anyone can handle. Granted, before you do any of this, you must arrange for power of your attorney. This way, the right papers will be distributed in the right manner by the right person.
Furthermore, there are a few other documents you’ll want to keep a master copy of, but we won’t be diving into the details of these for the purpose of this article. Just know that they are important, and you need them:
Storing Your Past
It’s common sense, really. Basically, if it’s important to you right now, it will be important in the event of your death. Keep it stored away somewhere. But here’s a question: where is that somewhere? Well, for your most important information, I recommend keeping this data on multiple hard drives. Let trusted friends and family have them, and make sure these aren’t the kinds of people who would steal your information if given the chance. You may even want to keep a drive in a lockbox somewhere. In short, keep this stuff safe – it is your life, after all. Some might say that it’s best to write everything down in hard copy. Yep. I agree that’s a good way to keep things. But if you have the option to back your information up using multiple storage methods, wouldn’t you want to use it? Likewise, I say take advantage of the cloud for certain information – perhaps your will or an outline of your funeral or memorial. I wouldn’t recommend uploading important information like your social security number simply because it’s out there in the digital world. Beyond this important information that pertains to your real life, it’s a good idea to keep a list of all of your account information for various services in an spreadsheet file. This will help your family or friends update people on what has happened as well as give them the ability to close these accounts. However, with services like Google’s Inactive Account Manager, this may be less needed over time. The point is this – use the digital media as yet another tool to store your information. Cha-Ching!
Everyone knows money is important. However, if your financial records are an absolute disaster, then your successors are going to have a mountain of trouble to scale. Do your family a favor – keep good records of your finances. Furthermore, keep updated records of your finances. Your family should know about the $713,000 debt you racked up while at the races. They also should probably know about the dollar investment you made in that one gaming app that resulted in a two-million dollar return. Likewise, keep records that let people know where your money is. PayPal emails and passwords, Square account information, online banking keys – all of these should be kept in a safe place that is accessible to loved ones. Preferably, keep these on a hard drive and away from online storage . Then again, cloud storage may be a more viable option for those of you who have faith in your passwords. Going back on the plan for your funeral, you may also want to keep a stash stored away that pays for your funeral. Since this is such a morbid topic, you may not want to reveal where this is before your death. Instead, include this information in your post-mortem records – just be sure someone will find it. Making Memories
On a more sentimental note, you can use technology to handle your digital afterlife by means of memories. Photos, videos, and even blog posts are great ways to let people have a piece of you while you’re gone. Although bittersweet, you could also keep a private video log for your family that’s accessible via a secret YouTube channel or on a hard drive. In this world, it’s not that morbid to keep someone alive via technological means. In the world of Harry Potter, Dumbledore stores his memories in the Pensieve. You can do the very same thing with a few hard drives, a camera, a voice recorder, and a word processor. What other ways will you use technology to manage your final affairs? Are the above ways very effective? Image Credits: walknboston, 401(K) 2013, moominsean The post The Digital Afterlife – Managing Your Final Affairs appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Best Twitter Vine Videos Created So Far Posted: 07 May 2013 05:31 PM PDT
Short films can be anything up to 40 minutes long, but most are considerably shorter than that. As can be seen on the best short film channels on Vimeo, most short films are a few minutes long. But there is a new trend emerging for even shorter films… films that last just a few seconds. These are “short short films” or “micro films” (both of which are terms I’ve just made up), and the very best of them are well worth watching. After all, doing so will only take a couple of minutes at the most. All About Vine
Vine is a video-sharing service launched in January 2013 by Twitter. It enables people to easily create and share videos of up to six seconds in length both on Twitter and elsewhere on the Web. The app enables this with a simple click-to-record interface, with multiple edits spliced together. Vine videos can be watched in a variety of different ways, with several ingenious websites popping up to bring the Vine video feed to a wider audience. There are a surprisingly high number of different ways of using Twitter Vine, with those six seconds enabling creative people more than enough time to create something worth watching. Tribeca Film Festival Vine Competition
The Tribeca Film Festival is an annual film festival held in New York City. It was founded in 2002 and draws in around 3 million people each and every year. As well as recognizing the best actors, documentarians, and independent filmmakers, Tribeca also celebrates short films. For the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival the organizers held a competition centered on Vine. Everyone was invited to take part, with entries divided into four categories: ‘Genre’, ‘Auteur’, ‘Animate’, and ‘Series’. There was a shortlist of potential winners, with the final selection announced at Tribeca itself. The Tribeca Film Festival Vine competition was judged by the team behind 5 Second Films, renowned Vine user Adam Goldberg, and film director Penny Marshall. What follows are the best Twitter Vine videos uncovered during the judging process, with the Vine videos embedded being the winners of each category. GenreThe ‘Genre’ category applied to any Twitter Vine video that fitted into a particular genre, whether that genre was comedy, sci-fi, or western. The Vine videos shortlisted in this genre can all be viewed here, with a reminder to click to unmute. The winner was @MattSwinsky for ‘LazerAndDonald Close Shave‘. This successfully manages to encapsulate the horror genre into the space of six seconds. It’s atmospheric and spooky, with some great lighting and pitch-perfect editing. AuteurThe ‘Auteur’ category applied to those Vine videos that stood out for depicting a truly original idea or story, one that showed the filmmaker truly expressing himself or herself. The Vine videos shortlisted in this genre can all be viewed here. The winner was @KevyPizza for ‘There Is No Sunny-Side to This Story‘. This is a simple idea brought to life perfectly, and it has layers beyond what we immediately see thanks to an analogous nod to wars involving people rather than eggs. AnimateThe ‘Animate’ category applied to all Vine videos that eschewed live-action and instead concentrated on creative animations. The Vine app lends itself perfectly to stop-motion animation. The Vine videos shortlisted in this genre can all be viewed here. The winner was @JethroAmes for ‘How to Clear Your Garage From a Scary Ghost‘. This is a well-conceived short that plays with lighting and perspective to show off both the power of animation and of the Vine video app. SeriesThe ‘Series’ category applied to all Vine videos that told a story over a course of clips rather than just one. For Tribeca it was limited to trilogies, though there is scope to carry on for much longer than that. The Vine videos shortlisted in this genre can all be viewed here. The winner was Chris Donlon (@creepycrawler) for ‘The Book Beetle trilogy‘. This is a brilliantly animated set of three videos showing a book beetle (?!?) burrowing its way out of its nest and paving the way for an infestation. ConclusionsI was already a fan of micro films before Vine appeared on the scene, but the Twitter app has undoubtedly helped foster an interest in the form factor. It has also forced creative filmmakers to concoct new ways of condensing their work down to just a few seconds. The Tribeca Film Festival Vine competition has proved that six seconds is long enough to create compelling content, with the Vine videos that were shortlisted being spellbinding. Those embedded above represent the best Vine videos created so far, but I’m confident there is even better to come. What do you think of Twitter Vine videos? Is six seconds long enough to get a message across? Are you impressed with the quality of Vine videos created so far? Let us know your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below, and then why not download the app and create your own six-seconds-or-less wonder to share with us all. The post The Best Twitter Vine Videos Created So Far appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This Tweet Will Self Destruct – How To Send Out Tweets That Don’t Last Forever Posted: 07 May 2013 04:31 PM PDT
Twitter is a timely medium, so when I first set my eyes of efemr - a self-destructing tweet provider – I thought, what’s the point? No one pays attention to my tweets after two hours anyway, so why would I want to delete them? But then I got to thinking, and I realized this idea has a lot of potential. Twitter’s inherent timeliness is exactly what makes efemr a good idea. With Twitter showing old tweets from who knows how long ago, people on the Web may encounter things you’ve tweeted in the past; things you might not want them to find 2 months after the fact. True, you shouldn’t publish things if you don’t want them seen by others, but it does make sense to tweet a timely update, and not want it to stay around forever. This is exactly what efemr is for. What Is Efemr?
In truth, efemr is not exactly a Web app, and it’s definitely not a mobile app. To access it, all you have to do is point your browser (whether desktop or mobile) to efemr.com, and log in using your Twitter account. While logged in, special hashtags will cause your tweets to delete themselves automatically after the allotted time. Efemr’s workflow is convenient, but certainly has its glitches, although its beta status might mean they won’t stay around forever. You have to be logged in to efemr in order for it to work, but this does not mean the website must be open in your browser at all times. Tweets will continue to self destruct even if the efemr tab is closed, but you might want to check that you’re still logged in every once in a while, especially if you restart your browser. This is another point where efemr can get slightly confusing. If you point your browser at efemr.com again, it will not seem as if you’re still logged in. If, however, you head over to efemr.com/follow, you’ll find that you’re still logged in (assuming you still are, that is). Using EfemrOnce logged in, you can continue to tweet as you normally would, from whatever client or interface you choose. When you want to create a self-destructing tweet, simply add the time at the end of the tweet in the form of a hashtag, like so:
This will cause the above tweet to delete itself from the world after 1 hour. You can also use a hashtag such as #5m to delete your tweet after 5 minutes. There’s no limit to these hashtags: you can use #23m, #3h, and even #1h #27m, if you want. It is worth noting that tweets don’t actually disappear at exactly the right times. I’ve had #5m tweets self destruct after 7-8 minutes, #3m tweets disappear after 6 minutes, and #23m tweets self destruct after almost half an hour. But still, the tweets disappeared every time, despite the slight tardiness.
Efemr keeps an organized list of all your deleted tweets for you, so you can still access them after they’ve disappeared from the public domain. The list includes the tweet’s creation time and date, and a retweet button, in case you want to send it back into the world.
The retweet button is automatic — you don’t get to edit your tweet before it’s sent out again — so you’ll be sending out a self-destructing tweet yet again, with the same time frame as the original one. It’s important to remember, though, that this is Twitter we’re dealing with, and there’s only so much control you can have over a social network. Naturally, if someone retweeted your tweet before it self destructed, there’s not much you can do about it, and the retweet will not be deleted. It’s still a nice way to ensure the original tweet won’t appear on your own profile, but don’t rely on it as a fool-proof method to completely get rid of tweets. In other words, if you really don’t want it online, don’t tweet it in the first place! What do you think of this self-destructing tweets idea? Is it useful? Let us know in the comments! Image credit: breaking tweet image via Shutterstock The post This Tweet Will Self Destruct – How To Send Out Tweets That Don’t Last Forever appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FireFTP is a Powerful Firefox FTP Client You Can Use in Your Browser Posted: 07 May 2013 02:31 PM PDT
What is FTP? It stands for File Transfer Protocol, and it's what you use to transfer files between your computer and another computer, most typically your web host's server. Since most web development is now done in the browser using tools like FireBug, it's even more convenient to have your FTP client right in the browser, too. FireFTP doesn’t skimp on its feature set, which makes it a strong and viable alternative to other clients like WinSCP and FileZilla.
I’ve tried a number of FTP clients over the years (what can I say, I love testing out a bunch of competitors and seeing which ones stick out) and they all seem to have a similar, if not identical, interface. There's usually a split-pane running down the center that separates your local file system (i.e., your computer) from the remote file system (i.e., the destination computer). But hey, it's been the standard interface for a long time now and it works so there's no real reason for FireFTP to innovate here. However, FireFTP does earn a few points from me due to its slick and minimal layout. It may not seem like it in the screenshot, but there's actually very little to distract you, and that means optimized screen estate. I love it. For example, in the center split-pane, there are two buttons: one for download (which goes from right to left) and one for upload (which goes left to right). Easy, simple, and that's it. In most other FTP clients, there are dozens and dozens of buttons, keys, menus, and clutter all over the place. Thumbs up, FireFTP.
Even though FireFTP is a Firefox FTP addon, it feels like a standalone client. Maybe that's because I run it in a maximized window, but even so, it has an air of completed quality about it and that makes me feel reassured when using it. To go along with that notion of completion, FireFTP has a number of settings and options that you can tweak to customize your file-transferring experience. Nothing revolutionary, mind you, but enough so you can disable certain quirks that you might not like – such as what happens when you double-click a file. If you have a weak network, then you can do some fiddling with the Connection and Downloads/Uploads settings. This should help alleviate some of the pressure off of your tight bandwidth.
Again, FireFTP leans more towards the barebones-yet-robust side of the spectrum than the flashy-and-bloated side. The screenshot above is what you'll see when you want to create a new FTP connection. It goes straight to the point and doesn’t confuse you with lots of advanced options, which is absolutely useful for newer users. I maintain a few hobby websites of my own and I find myself connecting with FTP somewhat frequently – anywhere from once every few days to multiple times in one day. One thing that I miss from FireFTP is the ability to run multiple FTP connections to multiple servers at one time, but at least FireFTP has an easy-to-use account switcher. That makes up for it a bit. Other features in FireFTP Firefox FTP tool that you may like:
FireFTP works on any system that supports Firefox, so that's pretty much all of them: Windows, Mac, and Linux. Just visit the FireFTP addon page and installation will be one click away. And best of all, it's entirely FREE. What do you think of the FireFTP Firefox FTP addon? Have you used it before? Or maybe you used to use it and moved on to another FTP client? Whatever the case, please share your thoughts with us in the comments. The post FireFTP is a Powerful Firefox FTP Client You Can Use in Your Browser appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It’s Fine To Rhyme – 7 Online Tools For Rhyming Words & Writing Terrible Poems Posted: 07 May 2013 01:01 PM PDT
I am sure you know that creating rhyming poems – though high on the cheesy scale – has its uses. From birthday cards to classroom assignments, from Valentine endearments to Facebook status updates, rhyming words to make a poem is an “in-demand” art form. I reckon that if aspiring poets can have their poetry apps and poetry get-togethers on the web, we amateurs can do with a bit of rhyming help. These rhyming tools might spew out terrible poems, but you just might like the wordplay. Rhyme Brain
Rhyme Brain opens with a simple but attractive interface. It is a multilingual rhyming generator that speaks Dutch, Spanish, Russian, German, French, and English. Type in your word in the large box and press enter. Rhyme Brain generates and displays rhyming words in the language of your choosing. Rhyme Brain uses machine learning to match keywords with their phonetic equivalents. The results also include near-rhymes and slant rhymes (imperfect rhymes). Rhyme Brain can also supply you with portmanteaus and alliterations. The rhyming generator has 2.6 million words in its database to match your supplied word against. B-Rhymes
B-Rhymes says that it is a rhyming dictionary that’s not stuck up about what does and doesn’t rhyme. It tries to match rhyming words that sound good together. B-Rhymes generates half-rhymes that follow phonetic principles though they may rhyme according to syllables. B-Rhymes does give you a chance to walk away without sounding too commonplace with your poems. B-Rhymes supplies each rhyming word with a pronunciation and a score that indicates its rhyming strength. You also might like to try out the B-Rhymes iPhone and Android app. Reggie Loves to Rhyme
The Scholastic site seems just the thing for kindergarten students, though it is a good teaching aid. Reggie Loves to Rhyme is interactive with fun colorful pictures and sounds. It is designed like a game. As you can see from the screenshot, children will have to pick a room and entering that, they have to pick objects to make them rhyme with another object within that room. Scholastic is one of the oldest and largest educational companies in the world with a global reach of 150 countries. WikiRhymer
WikiRhymer is a neat community powered website in the best traditions of contributory wikis. Rhymes can be sourced under pure rhymes, end rhymes, near rhymes, near-end rhymes, and mosaic rhymes categories. WikiRhymer has a forum going for it where you can discuss poetry, songs, and anything else that has to do with vowel chimes. The site is small because it is new, but here’s hoping it grows with some exposure. The site has been founded by a song writer (Bud Tower). Word Central
You just have to take the word for it…because it comes from Merriam-Webster. One of the oldest and respected names in the English lexicology space has a well-designed dictionary meant for kids. Word Central has a dictionary, a thesaurus, a rhyming words dictionary, and interactive games. The rhyming dictionary presents a long list of words that possibly rhyme with your keyword. I tried out a few words which aren’t so commonplace; the results were impressive. It is to be expected that a resource like Merriam-Webster will have a large index of words to draw from. According to the FAQ, the online version contains more than 70,000 entries, 730 color illustrations, 300 word history paragraphs, 170 synonym paragraphs, and abundant examples showing how words are used in context. Rhymes & Chimes
Rhymes & Chimes has an attractive façade to go with its name. The rhyming dictionary’s mission is to become the largest human-edited rhymes collection on the web. Results are broken down according to syllables (1 to 3), and you can also search for the word’s translations, its uses in phrases and quotes, along with other conversions as you can see in the screenshot. One of the unique features is that it also gives you citation styles for different types of documents. What Rhymes With?
What Rhymes With is a straightforward dictionary without any frills. You can use the search to quickly find words that rhyme with each other. The dictionary searches by pronunciation. The results are returned in an easy to read flat format. Words are also hyperlinked which you can click to drill down to more rhymed words. Think of these seven tools as archetypal of this type of word usage. These seven are definitely some of the neatest I came across in my research. I didn’t have to dig deep because rhyme dictionaries are as common as dimes. Though, good ones as these are rare. Don’t forget to check out what my friend Ryan reviewed a few years back – a powerful, free rhyme generator called VersePerfect that you can download and use. The seriousness with which these tools are developed and used flies in the face of my article title. Why terrible poems? You can use it to write lyrics and good poems. Do you? Please comment if you augment your creativity with any rhyme generators. Image Credit: Poetry via Shutterstock The post It’s Fine To Rhyme – 7 Online Tools For Rhyming Words & Writing Terrible Poems appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 07 May 2013 12:01 PM PDT
This new service from BitTorrent harnesses the power of the distributed file-sharing network to keep your own private files in sync. It’s not like torrenting your files, though: BitTorrent Sync works with secret keys that let you selectively choose what to share with whom, and even supports expiring, temporary keys. Let’s walk through installing the service and sharing a folder. Installation: Next. Next, Done!Installation couldn’t be simpler. It’s not even a next-next-next affair, really, as it only has two steps. Two things are worth noting: BitTorrent Sync is utterly clean of any ads or any other dubious content (and it does not come with a BitTorrent client), and the only sort of special treatment it asks for is making a hole in the Windows firewall:
Initial ConfigurationOnce installed, run BitTorrent sync to begin the configuration process:
We’ll get to secrets in a moment. For now, pick Standard Setup (the default), and click Next. BitTorrent Sync will then ask you for a folder to sync:
It’s worth noting that you can use BitTorrent Sync to synchronize any folder, not just its own special folder. Once you pick a folder, BitTorrent Sync will produce a secret for it:
This is a long string of characters which you can then use to connect to this folder from any other device. This is a key difference between BitTorrent Sync and other file-sync solutions: There are no user accounts, and you won’t be asked to create a password for yourself at any point in the process. Rather, each folder has one or more secrets, and that’s what you use to connect to it. The TourOnce you pick your first folder to sync and get a password, BitTorrent Sync will show a quick three-step tour:
The first step of the tour shows the control panel, while the next explains you can sync an unlimited number of folders, and files of any size. Finally, BitTorrent Sync shows how you can quickly copy the secret for any shared folder, to share it with family or friends:
Once you finish the tour, you’ll find yourself in the BitTorrent Sync interface proper. Adding Folders For SharingOne of BitTorrent Sync’s cool features is that you can add new folders from anywhere on your computer. The Shared Folders tab has an Add button which you can click for this dialog:
Once you add a folder that already contains files, BitTorrent Sync will take a few moments to index its contents. You will already be able to copy its secret and share it with other BitTorrent Sync users. Once I entered the secret for this folder on another computer running BitTorrent Sync, the other computer’s name showed up in the BitTorrent Sync window, and files started going through instantly (they were on the same LAN, but this should work over the Internet as well, assuming you’ve let the installer configure your Windows firewall). Your Secret: It Really Is a SecretOne thing really bears another mention here: When BitTorrent Sync gives you a secret, it means it. It is a secret. Anyone who possesses this magic string of letters will be able to gain access to the folder you’ve shared, no questions asked. Yes, you will see an unexpected device name in the Devices tab, but that will be too late: By then, the hostile party may already be in possession of your files. Advanced Secret TacticsWhat if you want to allow access to a folder, but not risk anyone deleting or modifying its contents? And what if you only want to share a folder for a limited time? BitTorrent Sync has you covered: Double-click the folder, switch to the Advanced tab, and you’ll get the following:
Here you can see the folder’s existing secret, its read-only secret (for allowing permanent read-only access), and generate one-time secrets. A one-time secret can only be used once, and expires after 24 hours. That’s pretty awesome. A Very Promising StartBitTorrent Sync gets a lot of the basics right. Setup is a snap; you can share any folder; you don’t have to create user accounts; and the underlying file-transfer technology is, shall we say, extensively field-tested and proven. Whether or not it catches on as a mainstream means of synchronizing files — only time will tell. But this initial test shows that there’s a lot going for it. Will you be trying BitTorrent Sync yourself? Let me know how it went in the comments! The post From Pirate Darling To Dropbox Alternative: BitTorrent Sync Lets You Keep Your Files Synchronized Across Machines appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 New Fighting Games To Keep An Eye On In 2013 [MUO Gaming] Posted: 07 May 2013 11:01 AM PDT
With the rising popularity of the e-sports scene, fighting games have been placed in the forefront more than ever, and gamers are being exposed to high levels of play in ways that were never possible. No longer do spectators have to travel to events to watch the best players in the world. Instead, simply jumping on Twitch provides access to the most skilled fighters around. With all that in mind, there are some big, new fighting games in 2013. Some have already been released, and some are still to come. These games are definitely worth looking for, as they all bring something special to the table. If you love fighting games, these are the games you are absolutely going to want to play in 2013. Dive KickDive Kick is a weird game that drops complicated button combinations, one of the staples of fighting games, entirely. Instead, players simply jump and execute a kick. Instead of the game being based on who can press quarter-circle-punch faster, it’s about precision timing and speed. The interesting gameplay, slick visuals, and high interest from the competitive scene makes this a fighting game worth keeping an eye on.
Dive Kick actually started as a joke from its creators, but as it turns out, gamers are actually very interested in a simplified fighting game. The Kickstarter campaign was actually canceled midway through funding because the game landed more traditional funding through a publisher, and it is set to release sometime this year. Injustice: Gods Among UsDo you love comic books? Do you love fighting games, specifically Mortal Kombat? If so, this is the game for you. The creators of Mortal Kombat, one of the most beloved fighting franchises around, have applied their skills to this fighting game, and so far, it’s looking impressive. The game is already available, and it’s currently sitting at above 80% on GameRankings.
Will this game make a splash on the competitive scene? That remains to be seen. However, if you love the idea of having Batman and Superman square off in a one on one fight, get this game. It makes some changes to the Mortal Kombat formula, but keeps enough to feel familiar. Tekken X Street FighterAdmittedly, I don’t know for sure that this game is coming out in 2013, but it’s possible. Street Fighter X Tekken was released last year, which brought some of the most beloved characters from the Tekken universe into a Street Fighter style game. Now it’s Namco’s turn to take Street Fighter characters and adapt them to Tekken’s fighting style. If this game does release this year, it will be the fighting game to play. Seeing Street Fighter characters fighting in a 3D space is just not common, and if done right, it will be downright incredible. If it doesn’t come out this year, I would certainly expect it be released at some point in early 2014. It’s possible that Namco could be holding back the release for the next generation of consoles, but only time will tell if this is how it happens. Dead Or Alive 5 PlusLooking for something to play on that PlayStation Vita? Dead or Alive 5 Plus takes the best from Dead of Alive 5 and adds some awesome new stuff. It adds an interesting Touch Fight control mode that allows gamers to play the game using only the Vita’s touch screen. It also adds a new tutorial mode designed to help gamers who are unfamiliar with the DOA formula get up and running.
The PlayStation Vita is hurting for games, but DOA 5 is definitely one that is worth owning. It’s an incredibly deep fighting game that can be played anywhere you go. It’s available now, so if your Vita is feeling sad, lonely, and unplayed, get this game and you will be happy. ConclusionIt’s a good time to be a fighting game fan. Each of these games brings something new and exciting to the table, so no matter what kind of a fighting game you enjoy, at least one of these games will suit your tastes. Whether you want simple or complex, 2013 has you covered. Are there any other new fighting games in 2013 you are looking forward to? Hit the comments section below and let us know! The post 4 New Fighting Games To Keep An Eye On In 2013 [MUO Gaming] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dropmark – The Easiest Way To Share Files And Collaborate With Anyone [Web & Mac] Posted: 07 May 2013 10:31 AM PDT
There are some great ways to share files, some of which don’t require signing up for, but in exchange their feature set is pretty sparse. Dropmark is different – it combines the ease of collaborating with others who don’t have an account with the ability to organize and add virtually anything – documents, links, videos, music, pictures, even maps. Quickly Add Anything From The Web Or Your Desktop
Do you know what’s simpler than dragging and dropping a file from one location to another? Nothing – and that is why Dropmark has built its service around the ability to do that. Simply drag a file, such as an image, document or video, from your desktop and drop it into Dropmark. Aaron, you said earlier it can save maps?! Yep, that’s right – and that brings me to my next point. Dropmark integrates with a variety of services from Twitter to SoundCloud to Vimeo to Google Maps and more. No matter what webpage you’re on, you can drag content from it into Dropmark. This same integration continues even for websites that you want to save. By adding a link to Dropmark, you can then interact with the webpage directly within Dropmark. You can even add multiple links at once. As the video points out, you do have the option to add content via the “+” icon as well.
Dropmark also has a browser extension, which currently supports Firefox, Chrome and Safari. They also have a bookmarklet [Dropmark sidebar] for Internet Explorer users or those of you who prefer bookmarklets over extensions. And although Dropmark doesn’t specify Opera, the bookmarklet should work in that browser as well.
Organization Made SimpleWhen you want to organize things, Dropmark allows you to do so by creating “collections”. In essence, it’s simply a folder and you can have as many collections as you want.
From the Dashboard, you can click on the “down arrow” in the top left corner next to your name. Then click New collection. If you already have a collection open, you can do the same action of clicking the “down arrow”, but instead of the text being your name, it will be the name of the collection that you have open.
If you want to change the name of a collection, just click the Settings (gear icon) in the top right corner, and make the desired changes in the first text box of the dropdown menu. Easy To Share & CollaborateYou might have seen some other options in the Settings dropdown menu that I mentioned at the end of the last section. These are the settings that allow you to very easily share any Dropmark collection – each collection has its own settings.
From this menu, you can copy the short link, adjust who can view the collection and add people by email to allow them access to the collection. Easily Accessible For You And Your AudienceThis is perhaps a bit of an extension from the previous section, but just as it’s easy to share your collections with others, it’s also easy for them to access them, which is just as important, if not more so. All your audience (e.g. colleagues, clients, classmate, friends, family members) needs to do is click on the collection link that you provided them with. Browser support also falls into the ease of accessibility – you want to use a tool that others can use no matter what operating system or browser that they use. According to the Dropmark Browser support page, they support the following:
NOTE: Internet Explorer doesn’t currently support drag and drop file uploads, but if your audience simply needs to view a collection, they won’t need to drag and drop files anyway. We’ve already talked about the browser extension/bookmarklet, which allows you to easily access your Dropmarks at any time, without being on the Dropmark website.
Features: Free VS. Pro
The great thing about Dropmark is that the majority of its features are available for free. However, there are some extras that come with the pro version that should be mentioned. These include 25 gigabytes of storage, custom domains, email uploads, early access to new features, and display options and search. The price is $5 per month or $48 per year (which is 20% less than the monthly route). Lots Of Ideas & Options For Using Dropmark
As you read this, did any ideas come to mind in how you could integrate Dropmark into your workflow? What about using it to create collaborative music and video playlists, or photo albums? Did you know Dropmark syncs with iPhoto and also has a Mac app? They actually have several 3rd party apps and add-ons that they’re compatible with.
The Dropmark blog has categories called Using Dropmark and Tips that you can take a look at for more creative ideas. ConclusionDropmark is one of the easiest collaboration tools because it combines so many aspects of collaboration in one place, as well as integrating so many web services directly in its interface. For more help with Dropmark, check out their Support Center, or contact them via email or Twitter. Have you thought of some ways you think Dropmark can help you? And if you already do use Dropmark, how has it improved your productivity and collaboration with others? The post Dropmark – The Easiest Way To Share Files And Collaborate With Anyone [Web & Mac] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chat Heads & Stickers – Check Out The New Features on Facebook Messenger [Weekly Facebook Tips] Posted: 07 May 2013 10:01 AM PDT
Stickers are giant emoticons, which you may know from other apps like LINE, Path, or WeChat. They come in themed sets and new ones can be downloaded from a dedicated store. Stickers are not meant to integrate with text; instead they are sent individually with a single tap. To see the new features, you need to run the latest version of Facebook (Messenger) app. Go to the App Store or Google Play Store and update if necessary. Disclaimer: Since I don’t own an iOS device, I focused on how these new features work on Android. How Chat Heads WorkAnyone who chats a lot via Facebook and likes to multitask, will love Chat Heads. When a new message from a friend comes in, their avatar will pop up on the side of your screen. You can tap the Chat Head to open the conversation without leaving the current app. If a Chat Head is in the way, you can move it to any position on either side of the screen. To remove a Chat Head, drag it onto the X that pops up at the bottom of your screen when you tap and move it. You actually don’t have to drag it all the way, you can just briefly swipe it in the right direction and it will disappear.
In the unlikely event that you are not fond of this feature, you can disable it. Open Facebook Messenger, go to Settings and open Notifications. Un-check Chat Heads and you will never be distracted by friendly avatars again. And by the way, if you cannot get enough of Facebook Chat Head style notifications, you can also enable them for SMS/MMS. Go back to the Settings main menu and open SMS/MMS Settings. Check enable text messaging and you’re all set.
How To Use StickersStickers are available as separate sets of emoticons from the Facebook chat line. Tap the smiley icon next to the Send button to view your sticker sets. From the Sticker Store, you can presently download several free sets to enhance your sticker collection.
Note that stickers work different than smileys. You don’t send them along with a text message, rather you send them by themselves. When you tap a sticker, it is automatically sent and any message you entered into the chat line will vanish. In case you can’t yet see the smiley that opens stickers, you might want to try a trick. In the chat line, click the empty space to the left side of the + icon. Since the feature is fully functional on my phone, I’m not able to verify how exactly this works, but some sources say the hack is only available from Chat Heads. Please let us know whether or not the hack works for you. VerdictTo be honest, I’m not very fond of the stickers. I hardly ever use exotic smileys or other emoticons, so I don’t see myself using stickers. But if you enjoy emoticons and if you’re a little childish (no offense!), you will probably adore stickers. Chat Heads, on the other hand, are awesome! While I don’t chat much on Facebook, I enjoy any feature that allows me to multitask better. Regular notifications are just distracting, and I cannot see the full message and respond without having to switch apps. Chat Heads change that. Besides, I think the feature is super sleek; great design and smooth animation. While both features add a little spice to Facebook’s mobile app, they aren’t an epiphany and certainly won’t draw in more users. However, Chat Heads is a very cool feature and will definitely help to retain people who are already using Facebook. If you are one of them, also check out these chat hacks. What do you think? Have Chat Heads or stickers changed the way you use Facebook? The post Chat Heads & Stickers – Check Out The New Features on Facebook Messenger [Weekly Facebook Tips] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| QuickOffice Pro HD: Create, Open And Edit Office Documents On Your iPad [iOS] Posted: 07 May 2013 09:30 AM PDT
I hear this line all the time. To an extent, it's true; no one is using a tablet for CAD or professional photo editing. But there's more to productivity than tasks typically reserved for PC workstations. Document editing and spreadsheets also fall under this umbrella. Apple doesn't offer an all-in-one office suite, so users who want to handle these tasks on their tablet must turn to a third-party solution. One of the most popular is QuickOffice Pro HD, a $19.99 iOS productivity suite that is actually owned by Google. The app promises the creation and editing of Word, Excel and Powerpoint files and lets users save documents to .PDF. All of which sounds great – but does it actually work? The BasicsInstalling QuickOffice is as easy as you'd expect. The download is large, but not exceptionally, so the app should be ready within a few minutes of purchase if you use a 10Mbps+ Internet connection. Additional first-time setup is minimal. The interface is very basic and reminiscent of a typical three-column view in the OS X Finder (the Mac equivalent of Windows Explorer). The left column shows the drives connected to the iPad, most of which will be cloud drives you've linked to the service. In the middle is a list of files in the drive you've selected. And on the right is a detail pane that provides more information about individual files, when tapped.
QuickOffice only sorts files alphabetically. A long tap on a file puts it into drag-and-drop mode, at which point the file can be moved between drives, trashed, sent as an email attachment or shared online. Attempting to move the file to a new position in the list does nothing; automatically resetting to its position in alphabetical order. Those who need organization will have to rely on folders. Fortunately, the app supports the creation of folders within other folders. If limited organization is a problem you can always use search to find files, as well. The feature is quick and can search multiple drives simultaneously, making QuickOffice great for people with numerous cloud storage accounts. There are no search filters so users who have many files with similar names will have to wade through the results. QuickOffice supports Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Evernote, Catch, SugarSync, Huddle and eGnyte. That's a good selection and covers most major cloud storage services. Only Microsoft's SkyDrive is conspicuously absent. Document EditingThe three common Office applications replicated by this app are Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and here they're known as Quickword, Quicksheet and Quickpoint. File support for each is broken up between older versions of Office (those sold from 97-2010) and newer versions (2010 and later). When creating a new file you must choose between the old or new file type. The editing interface actually has little in common with Microsoft Office, and that's a compliment. Office is a desktop app, so mimicking its design would both anger Microsoft and make for a lousy tablet app. Everything in QuickOffice is easy to use thanks to finger-friendly buttons and a complete lack of nested menu items. What you see is what you get.
That's also a limitation, however, because what you get is limited. Quickword supports comments, spell check and tracks changes, but there are no advanced formatting options like tables. Quicksheet can handle macros and formats, but there's no way to add graphs. Quickpoint does images and shapes, but there are no animation options and no way to add sound or video. I hesitate to call the lack of certain features a problem because I still found the app extremely useful. There's no lag between keystroke and text entry, the interface responds immediately, and the features that are present are those most used. But, at the same time, potential users must understand that Quickoffice is not a replacement for using Office on a PC. Compatibility: QuickOffice To Microsoft OfficeAny office app for any tablet must offer excellent Microsoft Office compatibility. If files don't work right when opened in Office, what's the point? To test compatibility I used Microsoft Office 2010 on my own PC. Here are some side-by-side comparisons starting with Quickword vs. Microsoft Word:
The two examples appear roughly the same. However, upon closer examination you'll notice that the bullet points didn't transition as they should. They're there, but the numbers are not in the correct font and lack proper punctuation. Correcting this problem was possible by re-applying the bullet format in Microsoft Word. Now let's move on to Quicksheet vs. Microsoft Excel:
Quicksheet holds up well here. All formatting makes the leap except for the red font color indicating a shortfall. I looked into this further and found that Quicksheet appears to automatically add red to indicate a negative, while Excel prefers to use "-" punctuation. Reformatting the Difference column to currency in Excel solved the problem. Finally, let's take a look at Quickpoint vs. Microsoft PowerPoint:
There doesn’t seem to be any difference here, though scaling is an issue (which won’t appear in these images, as they had to be scaled down). The images in this example presentation look great on the iPad's small screen but, when viewed on a large monitor, they were a bit blurry. Users will have to keep that in mind when making a presentation in Quickpoint. Compatibility: Microsoft Office To QuickOfficeI've now covered how documents made in QuickOffice appear when opened in Microsoft Office. But what happens when you reverse your workflow and try to open documents made in Office? Bad things, mostly.
As you can see, normal text transitioned in the other direction without problem. But that strange gobbly-gook in the middle? That’s supposed to be a graph, and the bold orange text is supposed to be WordArt. The table is rendered correctly, and text can be entered, but the table's parameters can't be altered. There are numerous features in Microsoft Office, so I can't offer comparisons for everything. What I can say is that, in my experience, features not found in the QuickOffice interface usually don't make the transition. At best, they'll appear but won't be editable; at worst, they'll disappear, as did the graph in the Word document above. ConclusionQuickOffice Pro HD has a few issues. Functionality is limited and compatibility with advanced Office features is virtually non-existent. Anyone hoping that this app could turn their iPad into a complete laptop replacement will be disappointed. Still, I think these issues are out-weighed by numerous positives. This is an extremely fast and intuitive app. You can open it and start working immediately without spending time in a tutorial. Moving files between your iPad and other devices is easy because of the great cloud storage support and files created in QuickOffice display with only occasional, easily corrected errors when opened in Office. All of this may sound basic, but most competitors fall short on at least one of these points. All of your serious work will still need to be done in Office (or LibreOffice) on a PC. But if you want to jot down a first draft, take notes or create a simple spreadsheet, QuickOffice is perfect. Even the price of $19.99 is reasonable when compared to other productivity apps. Download: QuickOffice Pro HD at the App Store ($19.99) The post QuickOffice Pro HD: Create, Open And Edit Office Documents On Your iPad [iOS] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Viber Launches Desktop App For Windows & Mac, Redesigns Mobile Apps [Updates] Posted: 07 May 2013 08:30 AM PDT
Viber for desktop is similar in function to Viber for mobile, and still activates using your mobile phone number. Once activated, Viber for desktop will automatically sync contacts from your mobile, and will keep your devices synced as you go. Viber for desktop and Viber for mobile were designed to work as extensions, and calls can be easily transferred from one device to another with a click or tap. Messages you receive on Viber are shown on all devices, but should only beep on the device you’re currently using. As mentioned above, Viber’s mobile apps were not left out either, and both iOS and Android versions received a significant facelift, with Viber for Android now featuring Google’s Holo interface, and both apps getting video messages, new stickers, a better photo experience, and more. According to Viber, the service now has over 200 million users across its various platforms (Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Nokia, Bada, and now Windows and Mac), and this move to desktop might put them in a position to combat some of the bigger players in the field, such as Skype. To try out Viber for desktop, or the new mobile versions, head over to viber.com. Is this a good move from Viber? Will it convince you to give the app a try? Source: Viber PR The post Viber Launches Desktop App For Windows & Mac, Redesigns Mobile Apps [Updates] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. Most of the listed websites are FREE or come with a decent free account option. If you want to have similar cool website round-ups delivered to your daily email, subscribe 
Are you big fans of 
After the CEO of BlackBerry, Thorsten Heins, questioned how long a shelf-life tablets have to look forward to, we decided to seek your opinions on the matter. After a week of discussions related to the topic I sat down to pore over the results only to discover 
As you look towards the final stage of your life, you may realize that there is a certain amount of paperwork must be handled. We’ve even covered a great deal of this information in one of our past articles, 
Short films can be truly amazing. Like the best short stories, short films often pack more meaning into their brief running times than full-length movies (or novels) do. There’s something about the genre that compels those who revel in it to make one really strong, overarching point, and to do so in a very short space of time.
Back when our favorite TV heroes received notes that self destructed, we didn’t dream of the self-destructing possibilities the World Wide Web would open for us. Today, you can have such things as 
If you’ve ever done any sort of web management, then you’ve probably used FTP at some point or another. Most web hosts will have a primitive file uploader than you can use straight from your browser, but those are often a pain in the butt to use. The truly powerful FTP clients tend to be desktop-only, but 
The idea for this article was seeded by my nephew who wanted a quick rhyming poem for his class assignment. I was really surprised as the dreaded 
The days of having to shuttle files between machines on USB sticks seem like a distant memory from a simpler time. Today, it’s all about the cloud. Want to access your files from more than one machine? Nothing could be simpler: Just stick them in 
Ever since the release of 
How do you typically collaborate with others on projects? By email? Or do you try to get everyone to sign up for the latest cloud file sharing service that you use? Neither of those options are very practical. This is where most collaboration tools fall short – everyone involved must have an account to work together and access the information.
Have you already noticed the 
“Tablets aren't for productivity.”
Free call and text platform | You are subscribed to email updates from MakeUseOf To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment