topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Thursday November 13, 2025, 4:51 am
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Recent Posts

Pages: prev1 ... 100 101 102 103 104 [105] 106 107 108 109 110 ... 264next
2601
Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]
« Last post by IainB on November 03, 2014, 01:42 AM »
...B*gger and b*st*rd are another couple.
In NZ as well, mate.    ;)
Reminds me of the time I was driving my souped-up MGB Roadster back from the docks, having just picked it up from the wharf where it had landed after being freighted over from the UK. The car was misfiring as I drove it in 3rd gear at the foot of the very steep Kaurangahape Gorge (just outside Wellington). Figuring that the sparkplugs were a bit fouled up, I dropped it down a cog (2nd gear) and booted it, thinking that that should clear the problem (it usually would).
The engine was a small ally Buick 3.5L V8 design (made by Rover UK under license) with high compression heads and fed by a single twin-choke 40DCOE Weber carb (carefully jetted by yours truly). Being ally and a V8, the engine was lighter than the standard cast-iron block, 4-cyl 1,800cc engine that it replaced, and rode more amidships than the 4-cyl block. The latter made it roughly 50-50 weight distribution, and with approx 100bhp output and lighter weight, the original power-to-weight ratio was roughly doubled.
What this meant was that whenever the loud pedal was pressed, the car had an electrifying response. It shot up the long hill at over 100mph and when I finally got to the top I put it into top overdrive and let it idle back to the statutory speed limit. The engine wasn't misfiring anymore.
A minute or so later, an unmarked police car (a Ford GT Cortina) pulled me over.
Apparently I had overtaken it at great speed at the bottom of the hill, and the cop said he couldn't even begin to keep up with me and I was due for a speeding ticket.
I apologised, saying that I had not intentionally been breaking the speed limit, but just wanted to put the engine under load as it was misfiring on a couple of cylinders from sooty plugs.
"A couple of cylinders?!" the cop exclaimed, "But you've only got four in this engine!".
Recognising that he might know a bit about cars, I explained to him what the engine was. The car otherwise looked like a bog standard MGB Roadster - its suspension and other mods were not visible to the onlooker). No bumps in the bonnet or anything. The only inkling that it was different was a slightly larger diameter tailpipe and an inconspicuously small V8 badge on the front grille.
It turned out the cop was a motor enthusiast, and he asked me to lift the bonnet, and when I did so, he said "You sneaky bastard!", but I figured it was said appreciatively.
I got off without a ticket, and was given a verbal warning and told that now they knew what the car was, I wouldn't get off lightly if I was caught speeding.
2602
@dr_andus: Sorry, I wasn't intending anything I wrote to address whatever problems people might be having with any software, as that could start a red-herring discussion in this particular thread about which PIM was "best" or should be chosen "over" another.
So, all I would say about WizNote is that it seems to be a superb PIM.

It also seems to me that the matter of choice is probably inevitably dependent on whether the user finds that a particular PIM (or some piece of software fulfilling a required function) meets their requirements - always assuming that the user actually knows or has discovered what their requirements are in the first place.

Knowing/discovering one's requirements is arguably likely to be a necessary and logical prerequisite to making an evaluation and choice between PIMs (or some pieces of software fulfilling a required function). Because I am unsure of what all my requirements really are or could be, I prefer to trial different software and gain experience on a suck-it-and-see basis. I better run the risk of discovering or learning about new possibilities that way.

My peculiar requirements tend to be constantly and incrementally evolving as I see/discover or learn of new ways to encompass the use of technology to serve discrete purposes that I might not have previously perceived as being feasible requirements.
For example, I had previously considered my requirements of automatically including text in images and spoken words in sound files to be part of my data as being largely infeasible in a PIM. They were special kinds of data that then-current PIM technology could not handle, except for some cloud-based services that could sometimes cope with them in a constrained manner. So when OneNote showed what was possible in this regard, in the client software, they became firm requirements for me, and the functionality is available for an integrated client- and cloud-based database distribution.

However, these requirements might be peculiar to me, and many users might not actually have requirements for this sort of functionality.
For example, if @motiontwelve doesn't need or want that particular functionality, but still wants a sort of monolithic all-in-one Clipboard+PIM functionality, then he could do a lot worse than plump for (say) Zoot or  WizNote (as you may have been suggesting).
2603
...there are others that are looking for more powerful information/clipboard management software.
...I have spent the last few days testing out OneNote 2013 and I must admit it is a very interesting tool.
...The "Clip to OneNote" using the port listener is really buggy.
...Not sure why Microsoft didn't take OneNote step further and integrated clipboard features.
...Also, I just discovered a new app called ClipSmartPro that could possibly take the front stage in clipboard managers if the features overview is true.  There is no download yet but I am asking the developer to sign up for beta.
________________________
  • 1. Info. Management software: There are a great many people looking for better/improved or more powerful information management software.
    Two websites (and there are several others) for useful discussion on these matters are:
    (a) the DC Forum.
    (b) outlinersoftware.com.

    The useful discussion generally hinges around PIM (Personal Information Management) software and "CRIMP":
    CRIMP defined
    Posted by Stephen Zeoli
    May 10, 2006 at 01:05 PM
     CRIMP stands for a make-believe malady called compulsive-reactive information management purchasing. Symptoms include:
       • never being satisfied with your current system of information management
       • continuously being on the look-out for something newer and better
       • purchasing every new PIM program you learn about
       • and secretly hoping you won’t find the perfect PIM, because then you’d have to stop looking for a better one

    So, when someone speaks of succumbing to his or her CRIMP, it means acknowledging that they’ve purchased another PIM program even though they really don’t think they need it.
    There must be a 12-step program for over-coming CRIMP, but who really wants to? It’s too much fun.
    Steve Z.

  • 2. OneNote: I think that for many people, one of the biggest unstated objections to OneNote might be that it is a Microsoft product. However, the very real possibility of getting MS Office Professional Plus 2013 (which includes OneNote) for US$10 must be a pretty compelling reason to at least try it out - refer MS Office 2013 US$9.95 Corporate/Enterprise Home Use Program - Mini-Review.
    I am still experimenting with OneNote, and have been recording some potentially useful/helpful notes on the DC Forum - refer Microsoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks
    To make full use of ON, I have had to unlearn some old habits of working with relational databases and conventional two-pane hierarchical PIM tools. I have not found this easy. One has to overcome learned preferences and work habits in favour of new modes of working to maximise the usefulness of the new tool's features, and this would generally tend to require some effort on the user's part to overcome paradigms. When you read users' comments following their "trial" of new software, one could perhaps sometimes be forgiven for wondering whether this effort could actually be what puts people off ever properly trialling anything new in the first place, or what causes them to give it the thumbs-down even if they do try it.

  • 3. "Clip to OneNote" (CTON): If you are talking about the third-party port listener app CTON, then no-one should be using it on ON2013. The correct tool to use is the one that comes bundled/integrated with ON2013 - Send to OneNote (STON). See image clip below:

    OneNote - Send to OneNote 01.png

    Note: STON seems to work perfectly and is very nicely integrated into all MS Office 2013 products and IE. CTON was pretty good but never worked property for me in ON2007, and doesn't support ON2013 afaik. If you clip a partial screen clip using STON, the image promptly goes into OneNote (where it is OCRd for any text, and then indexed for search in OneNote and Windows Search) and it is saved in CHS and Clipstory (if those are what you are using).

  • 4. MS clipboard integration: "...take OneNote step further and integrated clipboard features". I think they have done that with STON2013, but the MS Clipboard Management tools still leave a lot to be desired.

  • 5. ClipSmartPro: If you are expecting to find that a just-developed clipboard information management tool can be a useful adjunct to meeting your PIM needs, you are probably in for some disappointment and frustration. From experience, I would suggest that you focus on meeting your needs using tried-and-tested tools which are already well into their development lifecycle. There are many such, in PIM and Clipboard categories, and all are arguably rather good, depending ultimately on your peculiar requirements.
    On the DC forum, three clipboard tools tend to get good reviews - CHS, ArsClip, NoteFrog - with the latter being still relatively young in its development by comparison with the first two.

    Of the three, CHS and NoteFrog started out as PIM tools, but CHS development in that area (PIM) has been suspended. However, there are some seriously useful features in CHS that still give it some PIM-like functionality - e.g., the SQL "virtual folder" filters.
    Notefrog operates on quite different lines (hyperlinked stacks).
2604
Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]
« Last post by IainB on November 01, 2014, 09:16 PM »
Brit. vernacular:
On the piss = heavy drinking (usually beer, which makes you pee a lot).
Getting pissed = getting drunk.
Pissed drunk - utterly drunk/wasted.
Pissed off = annoyed about something.
Pissing the night away = regular boozing/alcohol abuse.

The song seems to be about the booze culture of Brit. youth and how they seem to have been conditioned to waste their lives boozing in bars most of their spare time, brain numbed and poorer for it. Yet behind it all, they may still have an indomitable spirit and a kind of aggression. Futile existence.
Sadly, a lot of NZ youth seem to follow a similar pattern.
2605
Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]
« Last post by IainB on November 01, 2014, 01:14 AM »
In the US, they were a one-hit-wonder, with this song, introducing Americans to the phrase "pissing the night away", which we mistakenly thought meant something else.
Curious. What did people think it meant when they first heard it?
2606
I just stumbled upon this rather Irish website today - Waterford Whispers News. The opening para on their "About" page says it all:
WWN was launched and created by Colm Williamson in September 2009 with the noble aims of  extracting the urine from everyday news and media events...
(The British vernacular for this is "Taking the piss", which is a characteristically British use of humor as a levelling tool and to poke fun at something.)

They have a "Random Article" button. Here is a random selection of some rather droll articles. Nothing is sacred:

The standard of piss-taking seems quite good. Reminds me a little of the somewhat anti-capitalist anti-bullshit anti establishment Scottish group Chumbawamba who produced some brilliant and often beautiful songs and music which not only took the piss but also were making cutting (sometimes cringingly so) socio-political commentary. If you are unfamiliar with British humour, then you might not get some of their music. When you do get it, you will find that some of it is not very pleasant at all to the people/objects they (Chumbawamba) deride/despise. (Still probably well worth a listen though.)
2607
turd mobile

I don't think so. It looks to me like it's a 'shopped image of a loaf of wholemeal bread.
2608
@motiontwelve: Your requirements look rather similar to mine, though mine might be rather more extensive in some areas - e.g., including things like OLE, OCR, and groupware potential as well, and needing offline client-based and secure online cloud-based access with reliably secure encryption.

However, whereas you seem to be looking for an all-in-one tool/database package of some sort to meet your requirements, I have gone about meeting my requirements using a set of tools: CHS+Clipstory+Clip-to-OneNote on the data and file capture front end, with MS OneNote as the primary database/PIM and primary OCR image capture tool, synced to OneDrive, and all integrated and OLE with hyperlinking (wiki-style) with/to other MS Office objects (mostly files output from IE, Word, Excel, and Access), and HTML/MHT, PDF files/documents. OneNote search is integrated with global document content index/search provided through the Win8.1 PRO OS, which I have installed with all the appropriate (as necessary) iFilters (for files including e.g., TIFF, MS Office docs, Open Office docs, ZIP, etc).

That's just a brief summary - there's more to it than that, and I haven't mentioned the very important info management/access and research roles of Calibre, Qiqqa (providing document OCR) and the Firefox extension Scrapbook and a legacy PIM called InfoSelect (IS8).
I originally trialled Evernote as the likely primary database, but the constraints/limitations in the cloud-based tool and especially in the client-based tool forced me to explore further - which was when I started to put OneNote through the hoops.

Above all, minimal $Cost is a driving criterion.
The main necessary costs for all this were:
- fairly high spec refurbished 64-bit laptop ($half-price).
- Win8.1 PRO upgrade - US$40 ($special offer).
- MS Office Professional Plus 2013 - US$10 ($offered via MS Corporate Home Use program).

I have more than enough cloud storage for my current critical data/backup needs, distributed across different providers, all free of charge - so no costs there. I am considering consolidating it all eventually onto (say) MS OneDrive, or Amazon A3, or Wuala, or something similar, for a price. Trust is a bit of an issue there, however.

One thing I have established is that, for flexible info management, having one's document files stored inside a proprietary searchable database environment is not necessarily going to be able to meet one's diverse needs for compatibility, integration and flexibility (Scrapbook and Clipstory being two examples of avoiding constraints in that regard). So I aim to have all primary documents held in the readily accessible and indexable/searchable database provided by the NTFS file system - which is only likely to be improved upon with later versions of the Windows OS and file system. I hold only secondary copies of some documents in OneNote, but I aim to keep that practice to a minimum, where possible - at least, until MS come up with a public cloud-based version of SharePoint (which I gather is in the pipeline). That could really disrupt things for the better.
2609
Post New Requests Here / Re: Power Cord Falling Out
« Last post by IainB on October 29, 2014, 08:11 PM »
...BattCursor
Thanks @MilesAhead, that looks like it could be rather more useful than any laptop power system software that I have yet come across. I shall have to try it out now.
I'm glad yellowiscool asked for this.  Just today I was plugged into a very loose outlet at the library.  With the power boxes on the floor it's very easy to pull the plug out of a loose one without noticing.
Edit:  If you set the OSD to only show when on battery power then it's more obvious what's going on.  If the battery is showing I know I lost my A/C.
Yes, I saw that setting - that's how I set it too.
The installation process for the latest available version (v1.2) was very tidy, but after install (I'm using Win8.1-64 PRO) I had to enable access permissions for BattCursor to create and access C:\Users\[User]\AppData\Local\BattCursor. It kept abending with an error otherwise when I tried to establish the operational settings. PITA.
It also abended after I had set it to auto-update for a newer or ß version. It abended at the point when it discovered v1.2.0.1 was available, but could not access the server to download it. So I disabled the auto-update. PITA.

So I tried registering on the discussion forum to leave a note about it (feedback always being useful to a developer), but the registration process kept crashing with a vague "serious error" message. I persisted however with some trial-and-error, and finally got verified registration - I think it may have been objecting to special characters (non-alphameric) in the password I was using - the rules for same seemed a bit ambiguous. However, after setting up my profile, when I tried to post a message on the forum as a registered/verified member, it crashed with the same "serious error" message, so I gave up at that point. I tried it using IE and Firefox, but the result was the same in both cases. Looks like bad exception handling or something, on the server. PITA.

Despite this, the software seems to work OK so far. The change log history looks quite comprehensive and informative too - all nicely done.
I read on there that the forum server was being provided via a relatively new service supplier, so maybe they are having some teething troubles with it, or something. I shall try to post feedback again after a couple of days' elapsed time.
2610
Post New Requests Here / Re: Power Cord Falling Out
« Last post by IainB on October 29, 2014, 02:52 PM »
...BattCursor

Thanks @MilesAhead, that looks like it could be rather more useful than any laptop power system software that I have yet come across. I shall have to try it out now.
2612
Living Room / Re: 58 Cognitive Biases That Screw Up Everything We Do
« Last post by IainB on October 28, 2014, 02:56 AM »
Simone Weil had it right about our thinking, "Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life."
Curious. I wonder on what theory or research that statistic was based. Not the Pareto Principle, anyway...

From my notes on science and thinking:
"Nullius in verba/verbo." Motto of the Royal Society, London. Literally, "Take nobody's word for it; see for yourself".
This motto indicates that currently, legitimate science seems to be based on the rejection of trust.
Thus, saying something purely on the basis of trust does not resemble genuine knowledge.
This is a new paradigm from the old, where scientific method can be seen to have developed from the 16th century perspective (Montaigne - no harm in the fact that "almost all the opinions we have are taken on authority and credit".) to the 17th century perspective (Gilbert, Bacon, Descartes and Boyle) where the approach is to take nothing on trust/authority.
So today we seek natural knowledge founded in evidence in nature - using individual reason - NOT in authority of tradition.
Thus real knowledge is NOT based on trust but on direct experience. - because reliance on the views of others produces errors.
The best scientist is thus incapable of functioning as a member of society.
The puzzle is that objective truth may exist, but human nature may preclude us from being able to experience it.

Sort of what @mouser says?:
...Without biases you would be a terribly ineffecient computational device -- slow to react and learn.
2613
Thank you for the link IainB.  I pictured the towers coming down as I read.   :(
@Stephen66515  I found all of it very moving.  Maybe you aroused a sleeper-cell .. .

@crabby3: You are most welcome. This (below) pretty much says it all - and especially the last link, if you've not already seen and listened to it. It rather encapsulates the international empathy and outpouring of sympathy/sorrow. The singer in the last item is Mark Shultz, singing Remember Me. He is apparently a well-known gospel singer. Beautiful song and voice.

...As to music that I like and enjoy singing, it is music that generally could be seen as reflecting something of all that is good about humanity: rhythm, fun, harmony, love, the expression of humour, pathos, happiness, joy, empathy, that speaks of the yearning for freedom from bondage, the yearning for peace and for the ascent of the human spirit, and that shows our ability to climb out - even if only temporarily - of the hideous, irrational religio-political ideological cesspits within which we can sometimes find ourselves imprisoned.
I think sometimes that we do not realise - or maybe we forget - what incredible beings we are and with what amazing potential. For me, music can be an expression - a communication - of this, and a reminder.
Here are two favourite examples - quite different - of such music, from the public domain:
Weird Al Yankovic - Don't Download This Song.mp3
Remember Me.swf
2614
Living Room / Re: looking for scientific calculator like this
« Last post by IainB on October 27, 2014, 06:55 AM »
hello!
can anyone point me to a standalone scientific calculator like the one below to buy? (see attachment in previous post)
thanks!
I searched for the image you provided here.

The image is apparently that of an Android calculator called the PowerCalc:
Description
PowerCalc is a powerful Android scientific calculator with real look. It is one of the few Android calculators with complex number equations support. Features:
* Real equation view editor with brackets and operator priority support
* Component or polar complex entry/view mode
* Equation and result history

It certainly has a nice-looking keyboard.
2615
If someone can code "MoveStuff.reg" it would be interesting to study that code, and see how it can be done.
Hmm. the prospect of using the Registry as you seem to be suggesting could be akin to using a fork to hammer in a nail - i.e., it's probably not the right tool for the job. However, having said that, I am aware of some small PC programs of yore that effectively used the Registry as their primary database...which is quite cunning, but probably not according to Hoyle. I mean, it's arguably not really what the Registry was designed for.

When I took a look before at FileMenu Tools in that other thread that @lanux128 refers to, I though it looked pretty useful, but I haven't tried it out yet as I have no need for it. However, it's $FREE - whereas you would probably have to pay for the greater functionality in xplorer², if you were likely to need it for the longer term.

There is another potentially useful tool that may be of interest (I haven't used it myself) - Belvedere:
2616
Coding Snacks / Re: The Best Way to handle finding and removiong Duplicate Files
« Last post by IainB on October 26, 2014, 06:15 PM »
NB: I have just modified the images in my last comment above, to make it clear that file size and contents (checksum) are being used for duplicate checking in the example given. I made the images a bit smaller (so no scrolling needed) and added some comments/arrows to them.
2617
This looks like it could be relevant/useful, and so might be of interest: MoveOut by @Skrommel.
MoveOut v1.2
Download programAutoHotkey sourcecode205KB

Make rules to move files automatically.
Features:
- Rightclick the tray icon to configure
- Choose Settings to change rules and options
- Choose Enable to Start or Stop all the rules

Use it to make a rule that moves files from the desktop to a subfolder, based on file type, part of a filename, or whatever. Have it ask to replace existing files, or rename them. It can also ignore files.
2618
...and the 9-11 memorial?
@crabby3: In answer to your Q, because he started getting flamed, @Stephen66515 self-censored his rather uplifting and positive 9-11 memorial post, and so I reposted it here: Re: Thoughts in remembrance of 911

For those who might perceive more strongly negative aspects about it, I started a thread in the Basement 911 HATE - hate what you hate or what others like or dislike about it.
2619
Coding Snacks / Re: The Best Way to handle finding and removiong Duplicate Files
« Last post by IainB on October 26, 2014, 03:28 AM »
My exercises in comparing/selecting duplicates and removing/deleting them have usually tended to be of sub-folders nested within a folder/directory, whose contents have been treated as a "flat file" (i.e., the process has not necessitated documents being moved from their original holding folders first). I use xplorer² to do this, and it has an exceptionally powerful and handy duplicate checker.
Example:

Here is a partial screen clip of the duplicate checker being selected for the nested folders shown:
xplorer² duplicate checking 01.png


The folders' contents are first treated as a flat file.
Here is a partial screen clip of the duplicate checker selection box floating above the flat file display (which is in a "scrap" pane that can be operated on in various ways as a logical object). Note the checks for "size" and "content" (checksum), and "select all duplicates":
xplorer² duplicate checking 02.png


Here is a a partial screen clip of the list of all the duplicates, with all but one duplicate (I think it might be the earliest-dated or something) being "auto-selected" in each case (this is also a scrap pane):
xplorer² duplicate checking 03.png


You can then select or unselect files on the list, at your whim, and operate on them as a set - e.g., copy them into a .ZIP file for archiving before deleting them en bloc.

I don't know the constraints (if any) on max file sizes. The user guide should describe such, and is a PDF file that can be downloaded from zabkat.com (the xplorer² website) with a trial version.
The support site is http://zabkat.com/x2support.htm , which also has an online manual.

I use the xplorer² PRO version, but the Ultimate may suit your needs better.
For comparison, refer http://zabkat.com/x2down.htm
Hope this helps or is of use.
2620
For years I have used xplorer² (a 2-pane tabbed replacement for Windows Explorer) for things like this.
xplorer² includes "Move" and "Copy" commands that pop up a panel allowing you to Move/Copy files. Here is the Move panel, with a description:

xplorer² - Move to destination folder (650).png
2621
The latest changes/updates in MS Office 2013 (including especially OCR features in OneNote) have helped to make life easier for notetakers. Example below:

25_615x3440_F8235536.png

Text of the above is in the spoiler below:
Spoiler
For research, don't make notes, just use clip-to-OneNote instead.
I wanted to record a note about the version details of a piece of software that was installed on a laptop.
To save myself the trouble of making typewritten notes, I opened the software in 3 successive windows/panels:
Desktop Assist - Toshiba Applications Installer - About I arranged the panels to overlap each other (as below) and took a clip-to-OneNote which
enclosed all 3 panels in a single image capture:
(Note: I drew the arrows onto this image later, using Screenshot Captor, to illustrate what I had done).


Once the clipped image was in OneNote, all text in the image was automatically detected and OCR'd, and also written to a hidden "Alternative Text" field. The scanned image text then all becomes searchable. This obviates the need for the user to make typed notes about the text in the image - i.e., the image contains the indexed/searchable notes. However, had I wanted to grab the actual OCR'd text from the image to use as text elsewhere, then I could have done this in two ways:
1. By selecting it via the "Select Text from Image" menu option:


The "Select Text from Image" panel can be very handy:


2. By selecting the text via the "Alt Text…" menu option: The "Picture Alternative Text" panel shows all the OCR'd text (including errors), and the user can copy this to Clipboard and also correct any OCR errors or edit/update the text with new text:

Note: There is an error visible (as indicated) in the Picture Alternative Text panel above.
The same error is in the text in the Select Text from Image panel, which, though it displays just the image of the text correctly, when you select and copy the text from that image, it copies as the error "Satelhte LSSSD - v". Though the user can correct that error in the Select Text from Image panel, as per below, there seems to be no way in which the copyable text in the Picture Alternative Text panel can be corrected/changed by the user. Each of the two panels seems to have its own peculiar text store.


        Note: The ability to makes changes/corrections may be academic anyway, as, when the user makes changes/corrections to the text in the Picture Alternative Text panel, the text of these changes/corrections apparently IS NOT included in the index/search of OneNote. This seems less than ideal from a user perspective.
       
        (If I want to make changes/corrections that I can find in searches later, then I work around this by copying the relevant Alt Text into a note below the image, and correcting any errors in that note text - which will be included in the index/search of OneNote.)

2622
General Software Discussion / Re: need duplicate word scanner
« Last post by IainB on October 21, 2014, 02:00 AM »
A few years back, I was assigned to work on a huge documentation project that was using Word 2003 as the main documentation tool. I read a book called "Taking Word for Windows to the Edge" (or something like that), and learned lots of good stuff from it. One thing it taught me to do was to switch ON all spelling, grammar-checking and proofing functionality in the settings. This greatly assisted in automated checking of all written text - including thoroughly parsing the grammar and checking for repetitive use of words. For example, if you wrote something repetitive but properly punctuated such as (say) "Very, very good but the rest of it was very, very bad and very, very smelly." it would not object to any of it, but it would spot any duplicated "very" that was without the necessary punctuation to make it grammatically correct.
However, it was not smart enough to check for bad use of English - for example, by pointing out that repetitive use of a phrase such as "Very, very something" was potential redundancy.

It could also sometimes spot the use of jargon and would suggest alternative terms.

I am currently using Word 2013, and it still has all this functionality.

I did once briefly trial an old software package called Grammatik (per Wikipedia) that went some way beyond MS Word's limits:
Grammatik was the first grammar checking program developed for home computer systems. Aspen Software of Albuquerque, NM, released the earliest version of this diction and style checker for personal computers, in 1981. Grammatik was first available for a Radio Shack - TRS-80, and soon had versions for CP/M and the IBM PC. Reference Software of San Francisco, CA, acquired Grammatik in 1985. Development of Grammatik continued, and it became an actual grammar checker that could detect writing errors beyond simple style checking.

Subsequent versions were released for the DOS, Windows, Macintosh and Unix platforms. Grammatik was ultimately acquired by Corel and is integrated in the WordPerfect word processor.

I don't know, because I haven't tried it, but SmartEdit looks like it goes some way towards doing the same kind of thing, using a different approach. It's clearly aimed at parsing/improving writing, anyway.
2623
Interesting post about an expected change to the MBM GUI:
A new UI for Malwarebytes Anti-Malware in the works | 404 Tech Support

As a relatively long-time user of MBAM, I personally feel that the GUI could well do with some of the improvements being suggested.
2624
...I wouldn't know.  As I wrote, I use the much superior Total Commander  :)
...Eh? Misses the point.
2625
...Though only the UK has had the strength of vision and fortitude to suggest re-education camps... so far. ...
_________________________

LOL. Yes, one has to admire them for that... so much for "the birthplace of Westminster democracy".
Pages: prev1 ... 100 101 102 103 104 [105] 106 107 108 109 110 ... 264next