Writer

Ever want a simple tool to write with? Sure, TextEdit is fine for simple stuff, but often it is too simple to create anything useful. The most popular word processor is Microsoft Word, but it is a processor and memory hog. Sure, it's powerful, but when you're writing a simple letter to your boss, Word tends to be overkill.

Enter Writer. A balance between simplicity and power, Writer allows you to just get on with what you want to do, while at the same time offering powerful features to get the most out of your work. Plus, you don't have to wait an age for MS Word to fill your computer's memory with animations that ask you if you want help with your letter.

Want to place a photograph into your document? Sure thing, just click 'Picture' on the toolbar, and select your picture. Writer even allows you to scale your picture down (or up!) if your picture is too big or small to fit your document - especially helpful if you're inserting a high-resolution picture of your friends you took on your digital camera.

Writer is about words, and provides safeguards to make sure your words are the right ones. Firstly, if you have Mac OS X version 10.2 or higher, Writer has a built-in spell checker which uses the system-wide spelling service, so any custom words you've added to the dictionary in Mail, TextEdit, Safari, or any other program that uses spelling services will be recognised by Writer.

Now you've got your words spelled correctly, you might want to know what they actually mean. Simply highlight the word, click 'Dictionary' in the toolbar, and you're away. Writer connects to dict.org and retrieves the definition right there in front of you. It also proves very useful when convincing friends that words like 'torquated' actually exist after you've just complemented a girl with "When torquated with a pendant such as that, your beauty shines more than ever." You silver-tongued devil, you.

Text manipulation is also a strong point of Writer. Has a teenager written to you in ALL CAPS? Paste it into Writer, select 'lower case' from the big red 'A' on the toolbar and boom! Instant readability. Once you've managed to read and reply to his message, select 'UPPERCASE' to reply to him in his native dialect. Writer also allows you to strip emails of all those messy '>' marks, count how many times a particular word is used in your document, and much more.

So, you've got your masterpiece waiting to be shown to the world. What if your friends don't own Writer, or are on Windows PCs? Writer can easily open and save industry-standard formats that work anywhere in the world, on any machine*. Supported formats include HTML and RTF, so you can even put your documents, including pictures, onto the internet for all to see. For an example of a Writer-created HTML page, see here. Then compare the HTML to that created by Word. Smaller, you say? Of course!

You can customise Writer in any way you want. You can hide the toolbars and switch off the live word/character count so you have nothing but a blank, clean workspace in front of you. The HTML export process can be modified, so pictures don't get exported or font size information isn't included. You can pick the default font and size. You can even define where new documents are placed on screen. How nifty is that?

 

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Writer PRO

Introduction

Writer PRO is a Word Processor for the Mac OS. It is not designed to be an all-powerful, do-everything program, but a small application for reading and modifying text files, with a few unusual features to boot.

You can use Writer PRO for as long as you like without paying, and it will stay fully functional. However, you will be presented with a "Please Register!" box every time you launch it. Purchasing Writer PRO removes this message.

Writer PRO is shareware, which means that if you like Writer PRO, you should purchase it. This entitles you to free updates for Writer PRO for life.

You can register through Kagi's online store.

Features include:

- Text alignment tools.
- Paragraph indent tool.
- Line spacing.
- Show invisibles.
- More styles.
- Spell checker.
- SMS Sender (through PowerSMS).
- File finder (find Writer PRO files on you hard drive).
- E-mail sender with address book.
- Writing Aids.
- QuickKeys (Save up to ten pieces of text for easy inseration into your document).
- Rich Text (RTF) Import + Export.
- Utilities bar holding the most popular features.

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24 Clock

 

To celebrate season 4 of the best TV show in the world ever ('24') coming to UK TV (well, Sky One), we're releasing this. Perhaps the most annoying program in the universe - except the one below. However, this program doesn't need you to do anything with it to be annoying... it just is!

Simply download it, launch it and be amazed as your day whisks past as thrilling as Jack Bauer's!

 

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NetSend Utility

 

Utilising the 'net send' commands built into Windows XP machines, you can send messages to other people on your Windows network, and even send the same message to more than one computer. The great bit is the recipient doesn't need to install anything on their machine - it just pops up in a window.

The annoying part comes in when you type a number greater than '1' in the 'Send x time(s)' area. Sending "Is this annoying?" 1,000 times to the person next to you is great fun. They have to click 'OK' to every single message. If you have this treatment put back on you, NetSend Utility will click the mouse in a specific number of times at any point on screen very rapidly, clicking away all the messages.

This utility allows you to become perhaps the most annoying person in the history of the universe.

Notes: Only works on Windows LAN networks, and the destination has to be a computer name.

Requirements: Windows XP on a Windows network, and the 'net send' command working. To test this, open up Command Prompt and tpye 'net send PC Message' (without quotes). If you get something telling you the command is invalid, it won't work. Otherwise, rock on!

Disclaimer: This piece of software is just something stupid I decided to make while I was bored in a Programming class. I can't be held responsible for the shoddiness of the interface, or the RSI that may be induced from clicking away 1,000 messages.