Tag Archives | free

Download “The Elements of Style” for Free

By Matthew Guay on March 15, 2011 in Books, Quick Tips

One of the most celebrated texts for writers is William Strunk, Jr.’s The Elements of Style. If you’ve ever taken a writing class or done any extra studying about writing, you’ve likely seen this short book quoted or listed as recommended reading. Written initially as a short handbook for his students in 1918, Strunk’s work has remained a standard handbook of English writing ever since. It’s a brief book, but includes some of the best advice on correct English rules of usage, commonly misused and misspelled words, and

In the years since its original publishing, The Elements of Style has been updated numerous times, and in 1935 E. B. White contributed to the updating, causing the book to generally be known as Strunk and White. You can still purchase the most up-to-date version as a paper book from Amazon today, though oddly enough the latest editions are not available as eBooks. Both the Kindle Store and iBooks include copies of The Elements of Style, but they’re actually just reformatted copies of the original edition from others.

Since the original was published in 1918, though, the original Elements of Style is out of copyright in the US and most other countries. Thanks to that, the book was published fully on Wikisource, Wikipedia’s site for public domain books. You can read it online there, and since the chapters are quite short, it’s a great reference to keep bookmarked so you can check whenever you’re writing. Alternately, you can also download The Elements of Style in nicely formatted PDF, mobi, or ePub files from Feedbooks for free. These copies are great to save to your eBook library so you can read the whole book from your computer, iPhone/iPad, Kindle, or other device anytime you want.

Original 1918 edition of The Elements of Style in iBooks

The Elements of Style is definitely still a useful handbook for English writing, and I just read through the first section this afternoon as part of my required reading for my current technology communications class. Interestingly, it’s also a great companion book to the new book from A List Apart, The Elements of Content Strategy, which is written to help writers craft online content that’s as high quality as is demanded of traditional writers.

It’s amazing how timeless the advice in The Elements of Style is for it to still be relevant all these years later. Whether you’re a full-time writer or just need a few pointers to make your writing flow better, it’s a great guide that’s quick and easy to read. For free!

Download The Elements of Style in PDF, ePub, or mobi format from Feedbooks

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Wunderlist | To-do List Awesomeness on Every Platform

By Matthew Guay on March 11, 2011 in Featured, iOS Apps, PC Software

There’s so many to-do list apps today for all of the major computing platforms that you can quickly get overwhelmed trying to choose one. Most to-do list apps on Windows are old and clunky, while many iOS to-do list apps are an island to themselves and don’t let you sync or share tasks. It’s enough sometimes to make you just want to go back to just using a pad of paper. But wait: that surely can’t be the best solution. It’s the 21st century; can’t we have our tasks on any platform, synced, and shared with anyone we need? Can it really be that hard?

Enter Wunderlist. Wunderlist is an awesome new to-do list app that’s beautiful, feature filled, and amazingly, free! Actually, it’s is as much of a platform as it is an individual app. With to-do list apps for Windows, OS X, Android, iPad, iPhone, Android, and the web, you can keep up with everything you need to do no matter where you are or what device you’re using. While there are many beautiful and functional to-do list apps on OS X and iOS, Windows typically hasn’t had many modern to-do list apps that are both easy to use and stylish. Wunderlist’s Windows app alone makes it a winner, but add in the apps for other platforms, and it’s even better.

It contains all the features you’ll need to keep up with your tasks. You can add lists to organize to-dos, add a star to prioritize them, add a date to make sure you don’t forget when your task is due, and add notes to remember more about the task. Need to rearrange tasks? Simply drag and drop them to get them in the correct order. Then, find your tasks with the integrated search box, or reorder them based on priority or due date from the bottom buttons. You can even customize the app with a number of high quality background images. Best of all, you can share lists with others so your family, team, or business can stay connected in a simple Wunderlist to-do list. I’ve used this to share ideas with coworkers and editors over the past month, and it’s worked amazingly flawlessly.

Wunderlist works almost the exact same on every platform, but contains the small touches it takes to integrate great with particular platforms as well. On Windows, it uses a standard window and tray icon; on iPad, you’ll see iOS style pop-overs and inertia scrolling. You can enter tasks with keyboard shortcuts in Windows, OS X, and the webapp, while the mobile apps let you swipe to delete tasks and pull down to refresh a page. The same great features are there in each of the apps, though: contact syncing, sharing, organization, and a beautiful, easy to use experience. Best of all, if you’ve signed in with the same account on all of your devices, your tasks will automatically stay in sync. No more manually syncing or copying tasks between apps; you’ll just stay connected to what you need to do.

The iPhone app is especially handy since you can view and add tasks on the go. Wunderlist can even notify you when your tasks are due with standard iOS alerts and icon indicators. If you have an Android device, you can use the new Wunderlist Android app as well. Or, if you want, you can add new tasks by emailing them to me@wunderlist.com from your account email address, and can choose to be alerted via email when tasks are due. This way, even if you don’t have the latest mobile device, you can still keep up with your Wunderlist account on the go.

And, now, Wunderlist is equally at home in your browser! The newly released Wunderlist webapp brings all of Wunderlist’s features to any browser, so now you can use it from your Ubuntu computer or Chrome netbook. Or, if you don’t want to install a new program without knowing if you’ll like it, you could just give it a try in your browser. If you like it, then install it on your Mac, PC, or mobile device. Everything works almost the same as it does in Wunderlist’s Mac and PC apps; you can create new lists, drag and drop tasks to rearrange them, search across all of your tasks, and more. You can even change the background just like you can in any of the other apps. Whether on the web, an iOS device, your PC, or almost any other device, the Wunderlist experience is the same. This is easily one of the best cross-platform apps we’ve seen that merges your mobile device, PC, and browser experience.

But, hey, we could talk all day about getting organized with awesome to-do list apps, but that doesn’t help us get everything we need to do, done. Usually it’s a tough decision whether or not you should spend money on yet another productivity app. You have to decide if you need your tasks on your smartphone, PC, or online, and whether you can live without everything in sync or not. Today, Wunderlist has made these decisions obsolete. Wunderlist gives you synced, shared, and scheduled to-dos on almost any platform, for free. The only problem I’ve had is that the Wunderlist apps are somewhat slower than fully native apps that are built specifically for one platform. That said, recent updates have really improved the performance, and the iOS app now runs just as fast as Things or other similar apps. Plus, it lets me share and sync tasks, something few other apps even offered. There’s no reason not to give it a try on your browser, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet today. So go download it today, quit saying you’re going to find the perfect to-do list app, and just give it a try.

At least that’s one thing off your to-do list!

Checkout Wunderlist’s Awesome website and download it for your platform

Or, just Get started directly online with the Wunderlist Web App

Download Wunderlist for iPhone or Wunderlist HD for iPad

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Integrate Dropbox with Pages, Keynote, and Numbers on iPad and iPhone

By Matthew Guay on February 2, 2011 in Featured, Techinch

The iWork apps are some of the best apps on iPad, and each show just how powerful a touchscreen device can be with the most basic of computing functions: creating and editing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. They each work quite well with their respective Microsoft Office counterparts also. And, the latest updates turned each of the iWork apps into universal apps, so you can use the full apps on your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. In fact, there’s not much to dislike about the iWork apps.

Except for one thing: importing and exporting files. You can open documents from email attachments, download them from websites, or import them from other apps like Dropbox. Once you’ve opened your file in Pages, Keynote, or Numbers on iPad, though, you can only send it via email, upload it to a WebDAV server or Apple’s iDisk service, or wait to sync it with iTunes on your computer. Most other iOS office apps don’t offer nearly as many features as the iWork apps, but they do offer deep integration with Dropbox which makes it easy to view and edit your documents no matter where you are. Dropbox is the most popular file sync and sharing solution, and makes it absolutely painless to share folders with anyone around the world and keep your computers in sync. That is, computers and applications that integrate with Dropbox.

However, you don’t need to give up on using Dropbox with iWork apps on iPad. Today we’re going to look at how you can enable WebDAV compatibility on your Dropbox account to let Pages integrate nearly the whole way with Dropbox. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s much better than the default setup. So let’s get started!

This article only shows the iWork apps on the iPad, as iWork wasn’t available for iPhone when the article was originally published. The steps work the same, though, so you can use DropDAV to integrate Dropbox with iWork on your iPhone or iPod Touch, too!

Add WebDAV to Your Dropbox With DropDAV

WebDAV was one of the first standards for file syncing with a server, but it’s not used nearly as much nowadays. Dropbox doesn’t include support for WebDAV syncing, using instead their own syncing system to keep your Dropbox folder synced between the cloud and your computers. Third-party developers have filled in the gaps, and now with several new web services you can add WebDAV support to your Dropbox account.

There are actually two main services that add WebDAV support to your Dropbox account: DropDAV limited, an opensource app powered by Google App Engine, and DropDAV, a premium WebDAV for Dropbox offering. We’re going to use DropDAV in this example, but both services work very similarly. The biggest difference is that the open source DropDAV limited only lets you upload or download files 1Mb in size or smaller, where DropDAV doesn’t have a file size limitation but does cost $5/month.

To get started, just head over to DropDAV’s site and sign in with your Dropbox email and password to add WebDAV to your account. You can get a free 14 day trial by default, but, if you’d like to try it out longer, enter our special coupon code techinch1 to add an extra free month of DropDAV service to your account.

As soon as your account is activated, you’ll be ready to add it to your iWork apps. Alternately, you can login to your account and change your email and password to make it different from your Dropbox account if you wish.

Dropbox, meet iWork

You’re now ready to add your new Dropbox WebDAV account to your favorite iWork apps. Open Pages, Numbers, or Keynote on your iPad, then tap the export button under a document and select Copy to WebDAV.

Enter your DropDAV server address, then enter your Dropbox username and password. In general, your server address will be https://dav.dropdav.com/, then your username is your Dropbox account email address and your password is your Dropbox password or the password you added to your DropDAV account. Once you’ve added an account, you can keep using it from that app unless your password changes, though you will need to add it individually to each iWork app you wish to use with Dropbox.

Uploading Documents to WebDAV from iWork Apps

You’re now ready to start uploading documents or downloading documents from this app. As soon as your account is verified, you’ll be asked to select what format to upload. And, the next time you upload a document via WebDAV, you’ll just see this screen since your WebDAV server has already been added. In each app, you can export files as the default Pages, Keynote, or Numbers format, respectively, in their respective Microsoft Office Formats, or as PDF. If you plan to edit the files on your iPad again or in iWork on a Mac, I’d recommend always saving a copy in the native format, as well as in the format you wish to share. Either which way, you can only export as one format at once.

Now, the app will connect to your Dropbox account. Seconds later, you’ll see all of your folders listed. Browse to the folder you want to save the document in, then tap Copy to upload it.

Your iWork app will then convert your document to the correct format and upload it to the server. It may take a few minutes, depending on your document size and your connection speed. Once it’s uploaded, though, you can access it from your computer, online Dropbox account, or directly from your iWork app.

Download Documents from WebDAV to iWork Apps

Speaking of which, now that you’ve added Dropbox as WebDAV in your iWork app, you’ll be able to open and edit files from your Dropbox that you’ve saved from iWork or any other Office app. From the iWork app home screen, tap the download button and select Copy from WebDAV to get started opening files from Dropbox.

If you’ve already added your Dropbox account, you’ll automatically see all of your folders and files from Dropbox listed. Browse to the file you want to edit, and then tap it to download the file to your device. Here’s the formats that each iWork app supports, from the Apple iWork for iPad support site:

*iWork App*	Importable File Types
Keynote	.key	.ppt	.pptx	.pps	.ppsx	—	—	—
Pages	.pages	.doc	.docx	.dotx	.txt	—	—	—
Numbers	.numbers	.xls	.xlsx	.xlt	.xltx	.xlsm	.xla	.csv

Your file will start downloading, showing at first the file format logo. Again, it may take a while if your file is large, but for most documents and spreadsheets, it only takes a few seconds. Once it’s downloaded, you’ll see a thumbnail of the document in your file list just like you would from any other document.

Most files open great once their imported, though you may see warnings about any parts of the documents that aren’t supported. For example, this document used the Calibri font, so Pages substituted it with Helvetica. You may have to tweak documents a bit to work best across platforms, but for the most part it’s seamless working with documents from any common Office app.

Once you’ve edited a document, you can just repeat the steps above to re-upload it to your Dropbox. It’s still not full Dropbox integration, but it’s way better than the default setup!

Not Just iWork…

Another set of apps that are designed to work with webDAV is the Omni apps, including OmniFocus, OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, and OmniGraphSketcher. The Omni group consistently creates some of the best Mac and iOS apps, but their iOS apps also do not include Dropbox integration. If you want to upload your files directly to Dropbox, or open your files from Dropbox in them, DropDAV is a great solution for these apps as well.

Removing DropDAV From Your Account

Both DropDAV services use Dropbox’ API to integrate with your account and use SSL connections, so your accounts and personal information should be secure when using them. If you ever want to remove them, however, you can always delete your DropDAV account or deactivate from your Dropbox Apps list in your Dropbox settings. You can also try both out and change to the one that suites your needs best.

Conclusion

This is yet another example of how third party developers and an ecosystem of apps and services can make a product even more useful. With WebDAV access to your Dropbox account, the iWork apps on iPad are much more useful. Now, you can always access all of your Dropbox files and upload files to the folder you want wherever you are.

Links:

Download the iWork Apps for iPad: Pages, Keynote, and Numbers [$9.99 each | iPad only]

Signup for a Free Dropbox Account

Add DropDAV to your Dropbox

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Get an Offline Dictionary on Your PC and iOS Devices for Free with Kindle

By Matthew Guay on January 20, 2011 in Featured, Techinch

Do you find yourself needing to check a dictionary from your PC, iPhone, or iPad? While there are many dictionaries available for both Windows and iOS, many of us just default to looking up definitions online. This works, but when the internet goes down, so does your dictionary. Amazon Kindle is my personal favorite eBook reader on both Windows and iOS, and with the latest versions, it includes a free copy of the New Oxford American Dictionary. Here’s how you can put the dictionary to use so you don’t have to purchase a separate dictionary or stay online to find definitions.

Offline Dictionary in Kindle on iPad and iPhone

When you first run Kindle on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, the New Oxford American Dictionary will automatically download and be added to your Kindle library. You’ll see it right along with all of your other books, and can open it to look up words whenever you need.

Whenever you’re reading a book, you can simply highlight the word to see a quick definition of it in a small popup. Tap the definition to view that page in the dictionary.

Alternately, you can open the dictionary itself to search for words, so no matter what you need to look up, you’ll be able to get the definition in seconds. Best of all, if you’re not certain of a word’s spelling, you can flip though the dictionary like you would a paper dictionary.

And it’s not just on iPad … the Kindle dictionary works just as good on an iPhone or iPod Touch. Now no matter where you are, you won’t need to be without a dictionary.

Another good thing to remember is that many other iOS apps, including iBooks and Pages for iPad include dictionaries themselves. This really makes iOS devices great learning tools!

Using Your Free Dictionary in Kindle for PC

If you don’t have the latest version (Kindle for PC 1.3 as of this post’s publication), Kindle should automatically update. Alternately, head over to Amazon’s Kindle for PC page, download the latest version, and install it over your existing copy. The next time you start reading a book, select a word and you’ll see a small popup letting you know that the New Oxford American Dictionary is downloading. This may take a few minutes, but once it’s done, you’ll have the full dictionary ready to help you understand anything you read better.

Whenever you’re reading a book in Kindle for PC, you can now select a word and instantly see its definition in a small popup. You can then select to Google the word or look it up on Wikipedia, or alternately click Full Definition to see the whole section for that word in the included dictionary.

Oddly enough, the dictionary won’t show up in your Kindle Library in Kindle for PC even though you’ve got the full eBook on your computer. So, if you want to look up any random word, you’ll need a little workaround. Just open any book in your Kindle Library, then select any word at random and click the Full Definition link. Now, to look up any other word, just enter it in the search box on the top left. No matter where you are, you’ve now got a full dictionary offline on your PC for free!

Other Devices

While Kindle apps are available for Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, Android, and Macs, the other apps currently don’t support dictionary lookup. The PC app didn’t either until the most recent 1.3 update, so hopefully Amazon will add Dictionary support to the other apps in the near future.

Conclusion

All of us need to look up words to find their correct spelling and definition from time to time, and sometimes even today it’s not so easy to get online. Kindle makes it easy to find definitions from a Kindle device, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or PC, and best of all, it’s free! I’ve found the Kindle dictionary very handy on my iPod Touch, since I can look up definitions even when I’m offline.

Download Kindle for PC

Download Kindle for iOS (Free, Universal)

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Get a Free Graphing Calculator App for Your PC – Microsoft Math 4

By Matthew Guay on January 18, 2011 in Featured, Techinch

Does Windows Calculator not quite cut it for you? Calculator has been a default app in Windows ever since the release of Windows 1.0, and while Calculator was given a total refresh and gained tons of new features in Windows 7, it’s still not powerful enough for most Algebra and higher math. The free Powertoy Calculator that was released with XP does not work on Windows 7 or Vista, and for a while, the only other good free graphing calculator solutions for PC users have been online tools like WolframAlpha.com.

That’s now changed, however, as Microsoft recently released Microsoft Math 4. Previously a commercial program, Microsoft Math 4 is now fully free for Windows users. It’s a great app that lets you solve equations, differentiate or integrate, and create 2D and 3D graphs. Whether you’re using your keyboard or a tablet input device, you’ll be able to get your math facts figured out quickly. Plus, the entire app uses the ribbon interface, so it’s easy to learn how to use.

Microsoft Math can solve equations, differentiate or integrate them, and even show you the steps needed to find the answer. While some teachers might fear it being used for cheating, it’s actually a great way to understand how to solve more complex problems you might have stumbled through otherwise.

Then, from the Graphing tab, you can create beautiful 2D and 3D graphs in seconds. Zoom in or out with your scroll wheel. The graphics are amazingly smooth for a utility app like this!

All work and no play … well, you won’t have to worry about that either. Microsoft tucked away 7 cute calculator skins in the View tab ranging from flowered to flaming to traditional calculator styles. There’s even a cute sketched skin as you see below.

It’s a pretty handy app to have around, especially if you or anyone in your family’s still in school. In fact, the only problem with it is that you might get tempted to just use it to solve your tough math instead of using your grey matter!

Download Microsoft Math 4 (Microsoft.com, free)

Get more info about Microsoft Math 4

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