The rise to fame

If you were using a computer in the late 80s or early 90s you’ll remember that WordPerfect was really the only word processing program worth using. The program started life in 1982 when Bruce Bastian and Dr Alan Ashton ported their Data General app to the IBM PC and called it WordPerfect 2.20. By 1986 WordPerfect 4.2 had overtaken WordStar as the word processor market leader on the DOS platform. But it wasn’t until 1989 that the app really hit the heights, with its most successful version ever, WordPerfect 5.1. Now with support for tables, simple spreadsheets and Macintosh-style pull-down menus, the software was viewed as the choice for office professionals. At this time the WordPerfect 5.1 file format was supported by all word processors, and most publishing companies and businesses insisted documents were provided in this format. WordPerfect 5.1 would, for years, be the most respected document editing format on the planet.

I’ve decided to search for a way to minimize the amount of time devoted to these social networks, and come up with a bunch of handy Firefox add-ons. With these extensions you can update your profile and check your friends’ online activities from a sidebar or toolbar, without having to visit the correspondent website. It’s the perfect way to feed your online social side while saving time for other surely more productive tasks.

• Twitterfox – a really easy and fast way to publish tweets directly from Firefox.
• Facebook Toolbar – integrate your Facebook life onto your favorite browser.
• Flickrfox – enjoy your favorite Flickr photos at any moment, from any website.
• YouPlayer -watch Youtube videos non-stop in a browser’s sidebar.
• Unofficial MySpace Toolbar – login to MySpace right from the Firefox interface.

The rules of English spelling are so varied that learning them off by heart is a difficult task. Rather than sitting down with the Softonic” >dictionary and a very strong cup of coffee, it might be a good idea to learn while doing something else and there’s no better way than reading. If you’re looking for an occasional alternative to the books, however, you’re in luck, because spelling games are some of the most widely available, both on and off the computer. Watch out for crosswords, word searches and hangman games and play them whenever possible. Even if you find them hard at first, keep trying; they get easier with repetition, especially if you concentrate on just one, such as doing the crossword in a particular newspaper every day.

When you’re surfing the web, make sure you have a spell-check/dictionary add-on so that you can learn as you browse. DictionarySearch is one that you can customize with whatever online dictionaries you like best, while Firefox Add-Ons have a selection of spellcheckers that will check text while you write. Don’t get too dependent on spellcheckers though, because although they will catch any incorrect spellings, they won’t realize when you have used the wrong word in a sentence or accidentally crossed paths with a homophone (words that sound the same but are spelled differently, like here and hear).

There area also plenty of games that will make the task more fun. It has to be said that as a category, spelling programs are not the slickest in cyberspace, but that doesn’t mean they won’t keep you entertained. If you think that that traditional is best, there are plenty of crosswords and word searches out there. There are also lots of games that manage to combine spelling with a variety of other methods to keep you busy. One of my favorites is Find A Word, while Speak N Spell is also a bit of fun. If you’re looking for something more flashy, you could take a look at WordGrid, Letter Rack 3D or Word Up, but bear in mind that some of the more colorful games are clearly aimed at children. This doesn’t really matter for practice, but after a while you might find yourself wishing uncharitable thoughts towards the singing worms and dancing books they usually contain!

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Math

Part 3: Reading

The first thing to do is get a book or download a text and start practicing. The benefit of reading online is that you can use a program like Softonic” >Language Reader to help you on your way. You find a text, upload it to the program, and either read along with the speaking Windows characters, or listen to a specific word if you get stuck.

While you are practicing your reading, WikSpeak is a good application to have on hand. If you ever need to look an word up in a traditional dictionary, you’ll notice the weird-looking phonetic pronunciation underneath. Unless you’re a professional linguist, this ‘helpful’ pronunciation guide will probably leave you even more confused then when you started, so put the word in question into WikSpeak for both a phonetic ‘translation’, audio pronunciation and, even better, sound-by-sound guide to phonemes (the sounds that make up words), so you can learn to pronounce them yourself without opening the program the next time you need to look something up.

To get the most out of this practice though, you’ll need a few guidelines. In general terms, pick books suitable for your level, not your age, and make sure you have a private place to practice – somewhere that you won’t mind reading out loud if necessary. Again, the BBC is a great place to look for tips, while there are literally hundreds of reading exercises with questions and comprehension tests sprinkled across the Internet – look here, here and here for inspiration.

Once you have nailed the basics, it will be time to speed things up. AceReader Pro is a trial program, but even so, it provides really valuable help to speed up your reading and test your progress. As all of these resources keep reminding, the key to being a great reader is short, frequent periods of practice, a positive attitude and a determination to learn. Once you’ve got them, you’re definitely on the path to success!

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Math

All you have to do is login to Live SkyDrive, the free online storage service provided by Microsoft. If you don’t have an account in SkyDrive, you can easily create one with your Live user (that is, your old Hotmail address or Messenger user). Once, you’re inside SkyDrive, you need to upload at least one Office document to any of your folders.

As soon as there’s an Office document in your SkyDrive account, you’ll see a link to join the Preview program to test Web apps. Click the link, accept the terms and you’re in!

Note that Office Web Apps are still under development and have some serious limitations. To begin with, online Word is not available yet. Also, you’ll need to convert old Office files to the newest format (that is, PPT to PPTX, for example), though this seems to be done automatically by the suite itself, while keeping a backup copy of the old document.

As you can see, online Office apps still look quite unfinished and need a lot more polishing but anyway, this trick will be come in handy for those of us who always need to peek at new apps before they’re officially released.

As I mentioned yesterday, it was a request from a reader who had problems with math that sparked off this series. Math is a particularly nasty problem area. You can hide your lack of ability pretty easily, and you don’t have to feel to bad about it, because most people agree with you. Math sucks! At some point though, you’ll have to tackle it. It will happen some day when you are least expecting it, when there’s no one around to ask for help, and no calculator for miles. Don’t get caught out. Start working on those skills now!

As with most things in life, it’s best to start with the basics – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Grey Olltwit’s Times Tables is a sweet British-made program that will take you from the beginning right to the very end. It tests you along the way and you even get a certificate of achievement when you complete it. Why the program has an elderly man standing around in his Union Jack boxer shorts is a bit of a mystery, but at least it will take your mind off the multiplication.

Math Ninja is a bit cheesy, but that doesn’t mean it won’t help you learn. It covers all the basics – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – and lets you play at 8 different levels. The program’s pearls of ninja wisdom will keep you motivated, and by the time you are able for level 8’s calculations, you’ll have number skills to be proud of.

Math-A-Maze is definitely one to try AFTER you have revised the basics. It isn’t crazy difficult, but does require concentration and logical thinking. You are given a maze of numbers and mathematical signs and a goal. You then have to arrow key through the maze so that by the time you get to the other side, the number you are left with equals your goal. For a small program, there are actually a lot of options and, best of all, it comes with plenty of tips and solutions.BBC is always a good place to start), while almost every local government in the “developed” world will have free and easily-accessed services. Contact your local library or town/area authorities for more information, or search online.

Don’t get too down though, there’s some pretty stuff about math too – I promise! Believe it or not, the beautiful pattern above is actually the visual representation of a really complex math concept – fractals. Don’t worry about the science behind it – just stick it up as your wallpaper and look to it for inspiration when those times tables are getting you down.

Part 1: Introduction

Part 3: Reading

A while ago a reader emailed asking for help with her math skills. She wanted to know if there were any programs or applications that could help her become more comfortable with numbers and less embarrassed by her lack of math skills. The good news is that there are – lots of them! Even better news is that our reader is not alone, and there are many people who have similar problems. Lucky that our reader was brave enough to ask, right?

That got us thinking here at the office – always a dangerous thing – but this time, we’ve come up with a great idea! We’re going to produce a short series of posts with advice and software tips for people who have problems with numeracy, reading, spelling or money skills. They’ll be of use to lots of people, and best of all, you’ll be able to brush up on your skills without even leaving the house. Whatever your level, you’ll find something useful, so stay tuned and don’t forget to spread the word. You never know who might need the extra help…

Ctrl + Click: Opens the link a new tab in the background
Ctrl + Shift + Click: Opens the link in a new tab in the foreground
Shift + Click: Opens the link in a new window
Shift + Alt + Click: Forces the link to open in the current tab
Alt + Click: Saves link as…

Internet Explorer

Ctrl + Click: Opens the link a new tab in the background
Ctrl + Shift + Click: Opens the link in a new tab in the foreground
Shift + Click: Opens the link in a new window
Ctrl + Alt + Click: Saves page as…

Opera

Ctrl + Shift + Click: Opens the link a new tab in the background
Shift + Click: Opens the link in a new tab in the foreground
Ctrl + Click: Saves image as…

Ctrl + Click: Opens the link a new tab in the background
Ctrl + Shift + Click: Opens the link in a new tab in the foreground
Shift + Click: Opens the link in a new window
Alt + Click: Saves page as…

Safari

Ctrl + Click: Opens the link a new tab in the background
Ctrl + Shift + Click: Opens the link in a new tab in the foreground
Ctrl + Alt + Click: Opens the link in a new window

[Via: OnSoftware Spain]

Google Docs will automatically detect the source language and offer the selected translation in a new tab. You can then choose between replacing the original document with the translation or saving it as a new file. In either case, the page’s design and layout is preserved, so the final document will look the same.

The process is simple, but will be really useful, especially when there is something that you should use or look at every day but keep forgetting, such as a calendar like Sunbird or a task manager like Task Coach. The first step is to open up Windows Explorer – do this by right-clicking on the Start button – and choosing explore. The Start Menu folder should already be highlighted. Open Programs and drag whatever program or document you want to run at start-up into the open window. That’s it! I told you it was easy…

Preventing a program from running on start-up is also simple. Many applications automatically run on start-up, and, if you have too many of them, it can slow your system down. There are some programs that target this problem – System Explorer – for example, but if you want to eliminate a program from start-up manually, it’s easily done.

Open Run from the Start menu and type ‘msconfig’ into the box. Press ok, and a window should appear. Select the Startup tab and you’ll see a list of all the programs that currently run on start up. Uncheck the ones you don’t want and click apply, then sit back and enjoy your new, streamlined start up!