Recently, I was asked how to spell check pages at PBwiki.com, my webhost and employer. PBwiki doesn't offer a spell check while you are using it's WYSIWYG editor, so I went looking for something that would work. I tried a free spell-checker called tinySpell.
I'm sure many of you might remind me that Firefox already supports spell checking in text windows and forms. Sure it does, but it doesn't always work in AJAX driven windows such as WYSIWYG editors. The spell check in Firefox doesn't help the crowds of people who still use IE6 and IE7. For those of you who wish to add spell checking in Internet Explorer, you may want to try ieSpell.
TinySpell works very nicely in the PBwiki WYSIWYG editor. I had to get used to stopping and hitting a hot key whenever it beeped at me to indicate a misspelled word. When I selected a larger area of text, it also beeped to indicate any misspellings and helped me find where they were located.
I would prefer to get a visible indication when I misspelled words, but I can't complain. After all, it's a free application and it works exactly as it was designed. If I wanted more features, I could pay for a license of the tinySpell+ version.
Quote from the website
Occasionally you need to check the spelling of words in an application that does not include a spelling checker and you don't want to launch your word processor just for that. This is when tinySpell becomes handy. It is a small utility that allows you to easily and quickly check the spelling of words in any Windows application.
tinySpell can watch your typing on the fly and alert you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It can also check the spelling of text that you copy to the clipboard.
tinySpell installs itself in the system tray for easy access. It comes with an American-English dictionary containing more than 110,000 words.
How often do you end up at a website and wonder if it's safe to download a program there or to enter in an email address? If you already use SiteAdvisor, TrendProtect, or CallingId, you probably already have a good idea which sites are safe. WOT offers a similar protection to you but uses the power of all of it's users to help identify bad web sites.
I've been using WOT side by side with SiteAdvisor and I've gotten comfortable enough with it that I'm dumping SA in favor of WOT. I like the idea that I'm getting advice from fellow web surfers and not from a security company. We're all out there on the front lines and we need to stick together.
click to expand picture
Quote from the website
Keep yourself protected from unreliable online vendors, spam, spyware, viruses, phishing and other scams. Unlike traditional security systems, WOT will warn you already before you interact with any suspicious websites. The colour coding is like traffic lights: green to go, yellow to slow down and red to stop.
WOT has information on over 16 million websites.
Each community member can contribute. WOT is a democratic system where everyone can participate. You can share your knowledge to help other users surf safer by giving ratings to sites that you have used. The system processes ratings and calculates the reputation for each web site. Eventual attempts to manipulate the reputation data are eliminated by sophisticated algorithms.
I've never been that crazy about using the Flickr photo hosting service. They make you click a few times before you can see the actual address of the image. That makes it more time consuming for me to post images in my PBwiki pages.
When I saw the Fireflix plugin, I hoped it would solve that problem. And it does ...
After installing the plugin, you can open up a Sidebar view in Firefox and use the Fireflix interface to add images easily. By right clicking on them, you can also grab the actual image URL as well. That's what I'd been hoping for.
If you like Flickr and you need quick access to the images and image uploads, this plugin may be for you.
Quote from the website
I wanted flickr to be convenient. I searched and I came to conclusion that I am in need of new flickr firefox extension, so I wrote one. Well, it isn't even half finished, but since it seems to already do more than similar products, I think it maybe time to release it.
Now I've found a new one called UltraDefrag and it's FOSS (free and open source software). I couldn't really find anything I didn't like about it.
I found 3 versions of it at the download page. I believe the i386 version is the one most of you should use. It looks like there are versions for AMD and 64bit as well.
Quote from the website
UltraDefrag is powerful Open Source defragmentation tool for Windows NT. It is very fast, because the defragmenting is done by kernel-mode driver. They are three interfaces to them: graphical, console and native. The GUI is very useful, because it represents your filesystem visually as a color coded cluster map. The console is another option for those that prefer the command line. It is also allows you to run UltraDefrag from the task scheduler and scripts. Finally, the native executable will run at boot time in a manner similar to chkdsk.
I like the Opera web browser and I use it quite often. When you add anonymous surfing to Opera and put it all in a portable application, what's not to like?
I downloaded the zip file, unpacked it to a folder, and within a few seconds, I was a relative "unknown" on the net. As far as I can tell, it all works fine. The Author, "Arche", has done a great job putting it all together.
click to expand picture
Quote from the website
OperaTor is a software bundle that can be easily installed on a portable memory (pendrive, usb stick, hard drive) to allow anonymous surfing while at an internet cafe, library etc.
I ran into some trouble at one of the download hosts that Arche used. I contacted him and offered to host his package here. I got permission from him and and it's now being hosted here at FreewareWiki.
Here's a review from jeroen about Total Text Container. It sounds great and it's open source freeware on top of that. You can write your own software reviews and send them to me here.
It is a PIM with some extra features not much found. This is what the author says himself:
"Short Description of Total Text Container..."
Store Documentation, Notes, Passwords, Images, Bookmarks, Contacts, Spreadsheets, Money Transactions, Calendar Events & Tasks, iCalander events, CD/DVD/Movie catalogs, Multi layer encryption, Portable, xml database, all in one powerfull PIM app.
WHAT VERSIONS OF WINDOWS ARE REQUIRED?
I have it only tested on Windows XP but it needs nothing fancy. It is all included in the download.
DOES IT REQUIRE ANYTHING ELSE? (LIKE .NET)
No
IS IT A LARGE OR SMALL DOWNLOAD?
small (3.1 Mb)
IS IT AN EASY PROGRAM TO INSTALL?
Unzip and run is all.
DOES IT COME WITH AN UNINSTALLER?
No. Just remove the directory
WHERE DID YOU FIND IT?
On LockerGnome there was a review of this software.
WERE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS?
Yes, always. I find PIM's very interesting and I am always looking for something better.
WHAT ARE YOU USING IT FOR?
Personal and business knowledge management (at home and at work).
As DokuWiki needed PHP, IIS, ect I wanted something that was trivial to install (just unzip) and had no dependencies. I also looked at TiddlyWiki but TotalTextContainer is a more complete solution in my opinion.
WHAT PROBLEMS HAS IT CAUSED?
The earlier versions had some problems with stability and saving. I have lost some data with it but not much. The developer has made some changes and they seem to work well. No problems anymore. Still frequently making backup's as it is at version 0.42 so it is not a 1.0 release. With all consequences.
IS THE PROGRAM EASY TO USE?
Yes. It is a tree with different kind of topics. Not to much options and very clear to use. See the readmettc.txt file in the unzipped directory for an explanation. You can also open the Demo.zxx file included in the download.
DOES IT COME WITH HELP FILES?
No helpfiles. There is a demo project (choose File - Open and then open the DEMO.ZXX) in which all functionality is executed and presented.
I don't try out new games often. As some of you have pointed out, I'm still stuck on the old 80's retro type of side scroller game. I still think Mario Bros rocks. Too bad for me I guess.
When I received a letter from Ryan (below), I just knew I had to try this one out. I tried the game and I wasn't disappointed. Ryan has managed to create something new, beautiful, and entertaining.
Just be aware that you have to have Firefox, DirectX, and a Yoyo addon to make it play.
Quote from the letter:
Sender Name: Ryan
Hi, if you remember back a year you wrote a review on Pixel War, which I wrote. I have recently finished another game, and thought you might be interested to have it here.
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed an entry from Tom in his Malware Advisor blog with that glaring headline about one in five PCs with rootkit infections.
The Malware Advisor post pointed to an article at PC World which details results from people scanning with the Prevx CSI service. The statistics from the scans indicated a sharp increase in the number of rootkit infections. In my last issue of this newsletter, I wrote a bit about trying out a new scanner I'd found. It was called Prevx CSI. Small world, ain't it?
After reading Tom's post at Malware Advisor, I went to his security forum and I asked him if he thought there was any truth to the statistics. He didn't disagree with the article, but he hadn't seen any sharp increases in the forums. Later on in that forum thread, Lusher, one of the regulars here, posted his opinions as well.
The PC World article may or may not contain the whole story. In any case, rootkits are something you should worry about and I've posted reviews of a few rootkit scanners you might want to try out sometime.
If you ever have a suspicion that you do have a rootkit or other infections on your PC, be sure to drop by the Temerc forums and post a question for Tom. He'll get back to you lickety-split with just the right advice.
Quote from the website
More than 725,000 PCs were scanned using the Prevx CSI malware scanner over a two-month period. Of the around 291,000 users who scanned their PCs during October 2007, some form of spyware or malware was found on one in six.
Significantly, although rootkits were detected on 15.6% of PCs during October 2007, that figure had risen to 22% by early December.
I often find great tips at Lifehacker. Take a look at their collection of tips from 2007. I'm sure at least a few of these will help you into 2008.
Quote from the website
Throughout Lifehacker's archive of over 14,000 posts, we've mentioned hundreds of free web and desktop apps that help you get things done—but which are the best? As we wrap up the year 2007, it's the perfect time to put together an authoritative guide to our favorite pieces of free software and web services for common computing tasks on every platform. After the jump, check out our favorite freebies to date in over 20 categories and counting, as we add your suggestions to the list.
I've written about several free PDF creators and viewers over the years. My favorites are PdfCreator and FoxitPdfReader. Somebody at the web site below has collected an astonishingly good selection of the best free PDF tools. Don't leave there without one.
Quote from the website
Adobe Acrobat is expensive, but that doesn’t mean you have to live a life without portable documents. What many people don’t realize is that PDF is a Federal Information Processing Standard, which means the specifications behind the format are widely published. Numerous developers take advantage of this fact and create programs that offer effective alternatives to Acrobat. Check out our list of these programs and take advantage of these tools that are full of some of the best PDF features and functions.
I have some news about new freeware that you and your readers may find interesting - we have just relaunched www.processlibrary.com (Top 100 Classic Website as voted by PC Mag) and we've added some new tools and functionality which improves a PC User's knowledge of possible threats on their computer:
ProcessScanner, has been improved. Now faster, this downloadable scan generates a detailed, informative list of items running on the user’s PC and programs these are associated with, so ensuring that PC users can find out what their computer is really up to.
ProcessQuickLink (used to be QuickAccessInfoBar) installs as a free, downloadable plug-in to the existing Windows Task Manager. This provides users with an information button next to each running process, which activates a direct link to ProcessLibrary.com. This link instantly provides relevant information about the process in a new browser window.
Why is my Firefox acting like older versions of Internet Explorer?
On my way to download the new OperaTor program that I wanted to try out ...
(click on the pictures to get a closer look at them)
The esnips site looked fine at first ...
This screen popped up telling me that my computer is at risk.
I chose neither the Ok or Cancel. I used the "x" in the window to close it.
Then I was immediately taken to this site. What is Performance Optimizer? Not good, as I later found.
After writing down the URL, I exited the site.
Another stupid message popped up.
When I closed that one, another final message popped in.
So, what's wrong with my Firefox web browser? I haven't see popups like these since the bad old days of IE6.
I went to ScanIt and used their Browser Security Test to find out. I failed one test there and it told me to update my Adobe Flash Plugin. I did so and I later passed all the tests.
Conclusion:
I can't really say what forced my Firefox into malware mode. However, a visit to places where you can check your browswer security is always a good thing to do on a monthly basis.
Gary at Internet Fixes continues to amaze me with hundreds and thousands of tips for your PC. Whatever your operating system, or how you use it, a visit to Gary's site will soon have you saying "So that's how you do this!".
I love the old Calvin & Hobbes cartoons. The artist retired and they aren't available any more. Below is a collection of the famous snowmen created by Calvin. You may want to go to the SlideShare site so you can see it in full screen mode. The cartoon captions are hard to read otherwise.
Here are a 6 links (out of dozens) from Mark's CoolSites Newsletter. Be sure to visit his site and see the rest of his links this week.
November 30 2007 COOLSITES Newsletter # 141 by Mark Donaldson
iRotate provides convenient access to the native rotation capabilities present in contemporary display drivers, via a popup menu accessible from the system tray: http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/irotate.shtm
COOLSITES is a list of safe, fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.
You need a free 2.8 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. After more than two years in beta testing Gmail is open to the public. Just go to http://gmail.com and sign up for an account.
I think Gmail works best in the awesome Firefox browser. It's free, easy to use, and it's way more secure than Internet Explorer. My favorite thing to do is to customize Firefox so that it does much more than IE ever could. You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.
Wow! Over 800 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.
Here's a small look at my frapper map.
Write your own review
I get many of the reviews in the newsletter from the readers. You don't have to be a genius or computer guru. Just answer a few questions and send me a review. I'll probably put you in the newsletter.
What do you have to say?
Just tell me what article you are talking about and leave me your comment.
Quote from the website
Quote from the website
Quote from the letter:
Quote from the website
Quote from the website
Quote from the website
Source - 
Source - 
