Office

I like ninjas. That being said, I don’t really associate ninjas with dictionaries. However, Ninjawords aims to change that. Or something. Ninjawords is a simple Ajax dictionary that aspires to be like a ninja: smart, accurate, and really fast. Type in your word, smack the enter key, and you definition pops up. That’s it! Yes, a very simple tool, and a pretty obvious use of Ajax at that, but I enjoy Ninjawords’ clean, uncluttered interface. It also has a couple extra features, like the ability to look up multiple words at once (just separate them with commas) and easy URL-based lookup (just type ninjawords.com/yourwordhere). It will also make spelling suggestions. While I still love the venerable Dictionary.com, Ninjawords is a great alternative, though I wouldn’t want to meet it in a dark alley.

As long as we’re talking about word processors that have come a long way since we last talked about them: Mac users should sit up and take note: NeoOffice 2.1 arrives on March 27th.

NeoOffice is a OS X port of OppenOffice.org by a group of developers who have thought from the beginning that the Main OO.o team was taking the wrong tack in offering X-11 support on the Mac. Early NeoOffice releases were all-Java wrappers for OO.o (and were known as NeoOffice/J); recent releases have been Aqua native and, as of version 2.0, included both Intel and PPC binaries. NeoOffice 2.1 will include all the features of OpenOffice.org 2.1, including support for Office 2007 XML documents and Virtual Basic (VBA) macros. And, of course, possibly the coolest icon of any app on any platform.

NeoOffice also includes NeoLight, a plugin that allows Spotlight to index both content and metadata of OpenOffice and OpenDocument files. Users of main openOffice.org distribution can download NeoLight as a stand-alone application.

NeoOffice releases are named for the OpenOffice releases they’re based on. Since this isn’t an official OpenOffice.org release but a project based on OO.o, NeoOffice releases tend to lag a little behind their official brethren, so NeoOffice 2.1 will correspond to OpenOffice.org 2.1, which has been out for a while. While that sometimes means not being on the cutting edge, the NeoOffice release cycle does have a couple of advantages for uses. The most important, of course, is that NeoOffice is a native app. A less obvious benefit is that by the time a Neooffice release is rolled out, it contains the first several rounds of bugfixes to the OO.o codebase.

For those of you who just can’t wait, there is still a NeoOffice 2.0 version available for download, and an Early Release version of NeoOffice 2.1 is available to people willing to support the project with a donation of $25 or more.

It’s probably only a matter of time before Google makes a mobile version of Google Calendar, but until then–or for those who prefer their phone’s built-in calendar thankyouverymuch–there’s GcalSync, a mobile Java app that will sync your mobile device’s calendar with Google’s. It’s a free app that will work on my Java-enabled device and has a surprising number of features, including adding new events to Google Calendar from your phone, but it’s still in development so you should “expect some rough corners.” GcalSync can be installed by visiting wap.gcalsync.com or, if you prefer, by uploading it to your phone via USB.

[Via Lifehacker]

Although keeping email in a web-based application (Gmail) is serving me very well indeed, I’m finding that I prefer to have my task list with me on my Pocket PC, so it can be anywhere that I am. With that in mind, I was quite happy to read about My Life Organized, a desktop PC task tracking application that also has a companion Pocket PC version. It can also synchronize with Outlook if you’re used to using an Outlook task-based methodology when you’re on the go.

The tree-based outline-like system used in My Life Organized seems to lend itself to organizing tasks and sub-tasks intuitively. Although it doesn’t quite follow the GTD concept of not bothering to assign priorities to tasks, MLO has an ability to weight the importance of tasks to their parent task or project.

My Life Organized starts at $45.95, but if you’re interested in the Pocket PC version along with the Professional version (the one you’ll need to synchronize them) you’re looking at $77.95. There is a 45 day trial version available, and also a free light version with many features removed.

[Via JKOnTheRun]

Google is offering public domain books for free download in PDF form. It seems a bit harder to find the free books, as it is only the ones that are not under license, which most books are. I hope they add a feature so you can just search for free books, or a even long list of them would be helpful. Google’s PDF download feature is similar to Project Gutenburg, which is a large collection of public doman works that also allows book downloads from many authors. Project Gutenburg is a much more extensive resource for e-books, however, it is nice that Google has provided this feature in their book search service.

[Via The Chronicle]

FlashcardExchange is a flashcard-sharing site that lets you create and study digital forms of everyone’s favorite 3×5 cards. The directory already has a large list of subjects, from elementary math to high-level pharmacology.

The flashcards are available to study for free via the website, and if you shell out $19.95 (one-time fee) for the full membership, you can print the flashcards and export them to Word or Excel. With a free account you can create your own flashcards by typing or text/Excel import. You can share your flashcard sets, which are maintained via the “My Flashcards” feature, and play a memory game with them.

FlashcardExchange can be helpful for test preparation, certification exam review, and language learning.

[Via MusicBizGuy]

There are dozens of alternatives to Microsoft Word for people who need to create or edit text documents but don’t feel like shelling out the cash for Microsoft Office. We’re rather fond of AbiWord and OpenOffice Writer around here. Both are full-featured MS Word alternatives that are capable of opening and editing Word documents. And they both come in portable versions which can be installed to a USB flash drive for carrying from computer to computer if that’s your cup of tea.

Jarte is another portable word processor. Although you can install Jarte to a Windows PC, you can also download a zip file that contains all the files and settings you need to run Jarte on any computer using a flash drive. Jarte is based on Microsoft WordPad, but it includes a ton of features that you won’t find in WordPad including advanced formatting options and a spell checker.

The program also has a rather unusual interface, including tabs for switching between multiple open documents. And while most word processor have a ton of toolbars atop the text field letting you change fonts, colors, or page formating, Jarte has just a few large buttons. You click on these buttons to find submenus with all of those other features, many of which you probably don’t use very often. The concept is nice, as it saves a lot of screen real estate. But it’s kind of annoying that it takes two or three clicks to perform some functions that take just one click on other word processors.

Jarte is available as a free download. But if you want some of the more advanced features like real-time spell checking, you’ll have to cough up $19 for Jarte Plus.

[via Techie Buzz]

Every year, small businesses struggle with the customer appreciation gift. Should we give one to every client? Only to new clients? What about long-term clients? Should we order pre-printed (and clever) cards? And the big question: how much is this going to cost?

Saying thanks to our clients in a better fashion is something we set out to do last winter during the re-creation of our branding model. We rebuilt our logo, changed colors, formalized templates, printed letterhead, stickers and designed mail-ready new-client packets and generally upgraded our schwag. It was time for us to have something to hand out besides business cards.

That’s why we don’t send out holiday gifts anymore; heck, we don’t send out “winter holiday” cards anymore. Instead, we thank our clients all year long. With a simple Access database, we keep track of each client who’s referred business to us and we send a handwritten note (on those new branded and printed cards we designed) and a small gift card to an omnipresent store. First referral? A five-dollar Starbucks card. Second referral? A somewhere-else gift card. If a referral turns into business? A larger Target or Paneras card is coming your way inside a handwritten custom-branded notecard. If you’re local, it might be a lunch gift certificate at a restaurant (also a client).

The trick in thanking your customers all year long is keeping track of (a) referrals (b) referrals that turn into business and (c) what you already sent as a thank you. Be sure to create a referral plan because you should expect referrals if your company does a great job. Incentives, especially unexpected ones (with your logo) are a great way to build loyalty. Always keep records of referrals and how you recognized them.

There are apps galore to help with these functions and a little customization goes a long way.

You may already own Microsoft Access and like its Office counterparts, there are free templates available online, like this contact management database for Access 2003 at Office Online. For Access 2007, you can get a customer service database, and another for contacts. A little help from an Access guru can turn this into a tool to manage what your customers do for you and what you do to say thanks. (Note to Google Apps: small business owners could really use some business-helpful templates up there!)

Of course, you can always keep a bunch of sticky notes across the bottom of your monitor if a software app or online tool isn’t to your liking.

Schwag is fun, albeit expensive if you buy decent stuff. The hardest part is thinking up something new; after all, do your customers really want hats with your logo? My Gen Yers constantly remind me that they don’t wear denim shirts and white t-shirts are boring. We spend a lot of time browsing the schwag sites looking for the unusual and out-there products we can brand with our logo.

Send schwag unexpectedly and always include a note thanking the customer for referring your business to a friend. Be sure to get stickers that you can easily slap across a product for instant branding.

The only challenge we find (after remembering to buy stamps; we don’t use postal mail a lot, but they’re available online) is coming up with new ideas for gift cards. Perhaps you can share yours with us - we just need to make sure they have branches all over the place (like Panera, Target, Coldstone Creamery, and others). Put your ideas in comments, please.

Best-schwag-that-almost-was of 2007
Starbucks - design your own card. Not only did the Flash site fail the day they mass emailed the world about it, but it won’t let us put our logo on the card. (They promise it’s “coming.”) Can you imagine the success for the company that gets that right first?

How would you like a free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, Office Ultimate 2007, Money Plus Premium, Streets and Trips 2008 or Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008? Well one of these fine (or buggy as the case may be) products can be yours for the low low cost of nothing.

But wait, you’re saying, didn’t my momma tell me there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Well, your mom was apparently one smart cookie. Because while Microsoft is offering up these applications free of charge, the company would like something in return: the ability to look over your shoulder for a few months.

In a nutshell, Microsoft is seeking volunteers for its Windows Feedback Program. In order to qualify for the free goodies, you’ll have to fill out an occasional survey and install an application that will monitor your PC usage in the background for about 3 months.

Microsot uses your data to understand how users configure their systems, what hardware they use, and how Microsoft products work with various configurations. In other words, you’ll theoretically be helping Microsoft to make better products while getting free software. But if you’re the sort who values your privacy, this might not be the offer for you, since Microsoft will potentially be monitoring every game you play, pirated piece of software you download, or web site you visit.

The offer expires December 31.

[via Engadget and http://wfp.microsoft.com/]

Microsoft is releasing Office 2007 Service Pack 1 today. You should theoretically be able to download it from Microsoft’s site, although the download link wasn’t working properly this morning. Sometime in the next 3-6 months Microsoft will push SP1 through Windows Update.

Office 2007 SP1 packs a bunch of bug fixes, including the infamous Excel calculation bug. Of course, that bug was already fixed in October, but like all Microsoft Service Packs, this one includes all the important hotfixes since Office 2007 was first released as well as a few new goodies.

The update also packs some stability, security and performance updates. You can read the complete list of changes in the Service Pack 1 whitepaper.

[via OfficeRocker!]