S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 114
September 11, 2013
Building with Books
I've been gradually becoming a rabid fan of Flea Market Style magazine, and with every new issue I read I find more and more new ideas on how to upcycle and turn inexpensive yard sale, flea market and rummage sale finds into neat things for the home and office. While some of the ideas are of the DIY craft variety, many articles simply tell you how to take an alternative approach to decor by arrangement, or how you can use your antiques or unusual items in a different way (i.e. if you collect old large medicine bottles, why not clean them out and put them to work as wine decanters?)The magazine's blog, which I've just tracked down, is an ongoing online photo album of fabulous finds. At present they don't have a subsciption option, although you can purchase individual issues by mail (I get my copies at the local grocery store.) There is also not a digital version at present, although I expect that is in the works.
FMS's Winter 2013 issue is so good I've been buying extra copies and handing it out to pals. as it's chock full of some neat ideas on how to show off your thrifty finds and junklove collections (including a really neat way to display some unusual objects as wreaths, which would be cool for the winter holiday season ahead.) One of my favorite articles in the issue involves how to turn unlikely objects into side and end tables, which includes old/unwanted hardcover books (far right side of the pic):
I think the stacking of the books could be more attractively done, and I wouldn't paint it white. Still, the magazine includes instructions on how to make the table of books, and it doesn't require much in the way of supplies. For this project you also don't have to drill through the books, so ideally with a few adjustments to the project you could preserve them in their original condition while having them serve another purpose. If you collect a certain author and turn the books so that the spine titling faces out, it could make a really interesting homage piece, too.
September 10, 2013
Free Reads from XOXO After Dark
XOXO After Dark, one of my Disenchanted & Co. publisher's community web sites, is now featuring a very cool page of free reads each month:
Here you’ll find XOXO After Dark’s Free Reads—complete e-books that you can read, for free, in your browser, tablet or smartphone. A new free ebook is added each week and each book is available to read for 30 days. Just be sure to check the expiration dates listed below. And don’t worry if you don’t have time to read it all in one sitting (who does?)—our e-reader will remember your place and take you right to the page you were on the last time you closed the book.
Keep checking to find free novels in all sorts of genres—romance, urban fantasy, women’s fiction, suspense and more. And if you like what you read, we hope you’ll be encouraged to try more by these authors, whom you can find in our shop. In order to take advantage of these free books, you’ll need to register with our site the first time you use the e-reader and login every time you return. Once you’ve done that, our bookshelf is your bookshelf—enjoy!
If you want to test drive an author, there's no better way than reading one of their full-length novels, so this could help you discover some great new writers and series for the price of registering.
Here you’ll find XOXO After Dark’s Free Reads—complete e-books that you can read, for free, in your browser, tablet or smartphone. A new free ebook is added each week and each book is available to read for 30 days. Just be sure to check the expiration dates listed below. And don’t worry if you don’t have time to read it all in one sitting (who does?)—our e-reader will remember your place and take you right to the page you were on the last time you closed the book.
Keep checking to find free novels in all sorts of genres—romance, urban fantasy, women’s fiction, suspense and more. And if you like what you read, we hope you’ll be encouraged to try more by these authors, whom you can find in our shop. In order to take advantage of these free books, you’ll need to register with our site the first time you use the e-reader and login every time you return. Once you’ve done that, our bookshelf is your bookshelf—enjoy!
If you want to test drive an author, there's no better way than reading one of their full-length novels, so this could help you discover some great new writers and series for the price of registering.
September 9, 2013
Anti-Slump Ten
Ten Things to Help Defeat Writing Slumps
Alter Your Lighting: The wrong lighting can make a writing space feel more like a dentist's office or hospital room than a place of creativity. Combat this by inviting natural light into your space (open the curtains or blinds over windows during the day) or by changing out your light bulbs to softer varieties (some energy-efficient bulbs are now available with coatings that make them seem more like incandescent light). You can also create a background for your monitor (and cover up wall paint that is reflecting too much light into your face) by hanging a warm-colored length of fabric or a shawl, quilt or coverlet you like on the wall behind your computer. Don't forget that a glare screen for your monitor (or changing the display settings) can also help if the light from it bothers you.
Challenge Yourself for a Reward: Writer's don't get a regular paycheck like everyone else, so it's important to set up something in lieu of that. One reason I never stop writing is because I have a system of regular rewards for meeting my weekly goals. Last week it was having lunch out with my kid; this week it will be a visit to Barnes & Noble in the city. Having something you really love or want dangling as a carrot at the end of a writing session or work week can be a nice payoff as well as motivation to work.
Change Your Space: A writing space needs to be an oasis of creativity for you, and if yours isn't working that way it may be time for some changes. Some ideas: try moving your work station and/or furnishings to alter the arrangement of your space; remove some clutter to give yourself clean surfaces; or add an atmospheric enhancer (scented candles, a stereo to play music, or hang some new pictures within your visual field).
Do Something You Hate More First: I really hate doing laundry, and when I really want to feel good about my writing session I'll do the wash first. By the time I'm finished being able to write feels like a reward, and I've also knocked out a chore I despise.
Meditate Before Writing Sessions: I've been harping about this method for years, I know, but clearing the cob webs out of your thoughts and finding the right focus can make all the difference. You don't have to tackle meditation by any traditional method, either. Simply take a half-hour before your next writing session to sit somewhere quiet, release any negative thoughts or emotions, and reach for inner calm.
Remove All Distractions: That phone/television/gadget you love? Turn it off and then take it out of your writing space so you won't be tempted to check it. Same goes for any other device that has nothing to do with writing. Unplug from the internet, too. Don't worry, it will all still be there when you're finished.
Skip Ahead: Often one difficult-to-write page or scene or chapter can act like a roadblock to creativity. If you can't write it now, why let it derail you altogether? Set it aside and move on to the next page, scene or chapter. This skipping provides two advantages: you can recover your momentum by moving on, and give yourself some time to let that tough part percolate in your subconscious for a while. When you are ready to try tackling it again, your mood will also likely be improved, you'll have more story finished and you'll probably feel better about the work -- all of which are excellent things to have when you make that second attempt.
Talk it Out with a Writer Friend: No one understands a writer in a slump better than another writer, and if you have someone in your writing life whom you trust, it may help to reach out to them and get some practical advice. Now, that said, I don't think you should use writer friends as constant creative crutches, as becoming dependent on them to bail you out whenever you get blocked can cripple you as much as the blocks themselves (as eventually you'll get to the point where you can't write anything without their help.) Nor should you expect a writer pal to have the answer to your problem every single time. But if you do have a big problem and someone you can trust, simply talking it out can release a lot of emotional frustration and dissolve some of the reasons for the slump.
Take a Walk: Physical activity + fresh air usually = internal change. I walk my dogs every day, and lately I've been taking extra walks to soak up the sunshine before the colder weather arrives. When it rains, as it has nearly every day this summer, I can go someplace where I can walk around inside (museums and malls are great for that.) If you're not an outdoor walker type, go work out at the gym, go window-shopping, or take a bike ride. The idea is to get your blood pumping and your muscles working (but as with all new physical activity, make sure you're healthy enough to do it and/or get the okay from your physician.) Most writers spend entirely too much time indoors, and if that describes you a daily walk might be just the thing you need to stomp over your slump.
Write Something New (and Short): We spend weeks and months and sometimes years working on the same project, and growing tired of it can contribute to a slump. To combat the long-term writing project blues, take a break to write something else -- something new, short and that won't take longer to write than a day or two. This can be a poem, short story, blog post, Twitter rant, Facebook entry or whatever you like. If the new idea seems more appealing than the big project, set it aside and use it as a carrot every week to motivate yourself to finish the original story (i.e., if you reach your weekly writing goal, give yourself one day to work on the new idea.)
Do you have any special tricks you use to get out of a writing slump? Please share them in comments.
Alter Your Lighting: The wrong lighting can make a writing space feel more like a dentist's office or hospital room than a place of creativity. Combat this by inviting natural light into your space (open the curtains or blinds over windows during the day) or by changing out your light bulbs to softer varieties (some energy-efficient bulbs are now available with coatings that make them seem more like incandescent light). You can also create a background for your monitor (and cover up wall paint that is reflecting too much light into your face) by hanging a warm-colored length of fabric or a shawl, quilt or coverlet you like on the wall behind your computer. Don't forget that a glare screen for your monitor (or changing the display settings) can also help if the light from it bothers you.
Challenge Yourself for a Reward: Writer's don't get a regular paycheck like everyone else, so it's important to set up something in lieu of that. One reason I never stop writing is because I have a system of regular rewards for meeting my weekly goals. Last week it was having lunch out with my kid; this week it will be a visit to Barnes & Noble in the city. Having something you really love or want dangling as a carrot at the end of a writing session or work week can be a nice payoff as well as motivation to work.
Change Your Space: A writing space needs to be an oasis of creativity for you, and if yours isn't working that way it may be time for some changes. Some ideas: try moving your work station and/or furnishings to alter the arrangement of your space; remove some clutter to give yourself clean surfaces; or add an atmospheric enhancer (scented candles, a stereo to play music, or hang some new pictures within your visual field).
Do Something You Hate More First: I really hate doing laundry, and when I really want to feel good about my writing session I'll do the wash first. By the time I'm finished being able to write feels like a reward, and I've also knocked out a chore I despise.
Meditate Before Writing Sessions: I've been harping about this method for years, I know, but clearing the cob webs out of your thoughts and finding the right focus can make all the difference. You don't have to tackle meditation by any traditional method, either. Simply take a half-hour before your next writing session to sit somewhere quiet, release any negative thoughts or emotions, and reach for inner calm.
Remove All Distractions: That phone/television/gadget you love? Turn it off and then take it out of your writing space so you won't be tempted to check it. Same goes for any other device that has nothing to do with writing. Unplug from the internet, too. Don't worry, it will all still be there when you're finished.
Skip Ahead: Often one difficult-to-write page or scene or chapter can act like a roadblock to creativity. If you can't write it now, why let it derail you altogether? Set it aside and move on to the next page, scene or chapter. This skipping provides two advantages: you can recover your momentum by moving on, and give yourself some time to let that tough part percolate in your subconscious for a while. When you are ready to try tackling it again, your mood will also likely be improved, you'll have more story finished and you'll probably feel better about the work -- all of which are excellent things to have when you make that second attempt.
Talk it Out with a Writer Friend: No one understands a writer in a slump better than another writer, and if you have someone in your writing life whom you trust, it may help to reach out to them and get some practical advice. Now, that said, I don't think you should use writer friends as constant creative crutches, as becoming dependent on them to bail you out whenever you get blocked can cripple you as much as the blocks themselves (as eventually you'll get to the point where you can't write anything without their help.) Nor should you expect a writer pal to have the answer to your problem every single time. But if you do have a big problem and someone you can trust, simply talking it out can release a lot of emotional frustration and dissolve some of the reasons for the slump.
Take a Walk: Physical activity + fresh air usually = internal change. I walk my dogs every day, and lately I've been taking extra walks to soak up the sunshine before the colder weather arrives. When it rains, as it has nearly every day this summer, I can go someplace where I can walk around inside (museums and malls are great for that.) If you're not an outdoor walker type, go work out at the gym, go window-shopping, or take a bike ride. The idea is to get your blood pumping and your muscles working (but as with all new physical activity, make sure you're healthy enough to do it and/or get the okay from your physician.) Most writers spend entirely too much time indoors, and if that describes you a daily walk might be just the thing you need to stomp over your slump.
Write Something New (and Short): We spend weeks and months and sometimes years working on the same project, and growing tired of it can contribute to a slump. To combat the long-term writing project blues, take a break to write something else -- something new, short and that won't take longer to write than a day or two. This can be a poem, short story, blog post, Twitter rant, Facebook entry or whatever you like. If the new idea seems more appealing than the big project, set it aside and use it as a carrot every week to motivate yourself to finish the original story (i.e., if you reach your weekly writing goal, give yourself one day to work on the new idea.)
Do you have any special tricks you use to get out of a writing slump? Please share them in comments.
September 8, 2013
Comments Catchup Day
See you in comments.
September 7, 2013
All You Can Read
Digital Trends has an interesting article here on Oyster, a newly-launched reader subscription service that "allows subscribers to read as many books as they want for a monthly subscription price of $9.95." At the moment they're invitation-only, but the company is accepting invitation requests from iPhone users (which you can sign up for here).
While the article claims Oyster has 100K in available titles, I'm guessing their inventory will at first be limited to licensed/in-print works, or the usual public domain freebies (I couldn't find any titles list on their site, so what they actually have in stock is a big question mark.) But if Oyster can get authors as well as publishers on board with their service, very soon they may be able to provide readers with a very cost-effective alternative to purchasing single titles.
While the article claims Oyster has 100K in available titles, I'm guessing their inventory will at first be limited to licensed/in-print works, or the usual public domain freebies (I couldn't find any titles list on their site, so what they actually have in stock is a big question mark.) But if Oyster can get authors as well as publishers on board with their service, very soon they may be able to provide readers with a very cost-effective alternative to purchasing single titles.
September 6, 2013
Pinokio
Just imagine if your desk lamp had a personality (and mind) of its own (some background music and sound effects, for those of you at work):
September 5, 2013
ReadWave Writing Challenges
Rob Tucker, the community manager over at ReadWave, got in touch with me on a new feature at his site that can help those of you who want to develop or work on your writing routine:
ReadWave has launched a new hub dedicated to weekly writing challenges. The weekly challenges are designed to inspire you with writing prompts, and to motivate you to sit down and write at least once a week.
ReadWave is a place for writers to share articles and short stories with the world, and is now home to tens of thousands of stories which are collectively read over 200,000 times each month.
The best entries will be posted up on the ReadWave homepage and showcased to the entire readwave readership, and the author will be interviewed on the ReadWave blog.
The writing challenge page is here, and currently has the following prompt:
Don't you sometimes wish you could write a letter to your 13 year old self, explaining all the things that are going to happen to you, and the things you wish you'd known. Write it now!
The core services of ReadWave (uploading, reading and sharing) are free, and stories on the site can be shared on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. If you're interested in building an online readership with free content but would rather not meddle with a web site or blog, ReadWave is an interesting alternative.
ReadWave has launched a new hub dedicated to weekly writing challenges. The weekly challenges are designed to inspire you with writing prompts, and to motivate you to sit down and write at least once a week.
ReadWave is a place for writers to share articles and short stories with the world, and is now home to tens of thousands of stories which are collectively read over 200,000 times each month.
The best entries will be posted up on the ReadWave homepage and showcased to the entire readwave readership, and the author will be interviewed on the ReadWave blog.
The writing challenge page is here, and currently has the following prompt:
Don't you sometimes wish you could write a letter to your 13 year old self, explaining all the things that are going to happen to you, and the things you wish you'd known. Write it now!
The core services of ReadWave (uploading, reading and sharing) are free, and stories on the site can be shared on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. If you're interested in building an online readership with free content but would rather not meddle with a web site or blog, ReadWave is an interesting alternative.
September 4, 2013
Hiveword Goes Knockout
I'm a big fan of Mike Fleming's Hiveword, the online novel organizer, so when he teamed up with author James Scott Bell to create Knockout Novel I was very interested. James writes amazing how-to books (which I've recommended via my posts For Whom the Bell Toils and Writer Wars), and the idea of having him as a virtual writing coach is pretty fabulous.
Knockout Novel works with Hiveword, which you use while you go through the instructions and prompts provided by James (which are based on his #1 bestselling how-to, Plot & Structure.) As you do, you begin building your story outline in Hiveword via your responses. You can take as long as you like with each section in Knockout, and you can use it over and over again for different stories, so it's self-paced and perpetual. All of this is done and stored online, so you don't have to download anything (or worry about losing it.) According to Mike's info, updates are also automatic and free, so as the program improves you won't have to purchase newer versions.
Let's be clear about one thing: Knockout Novel does not write your book for you, or tell you how to do it in thirty days, or any of that other online how-to hokey stuff I see too many writers buy into. What Knockout does is show you how to organize and refine your existing story ideas as well as create and develop what you haven't thought about yet. I'm a self-taught writer, so I had to learn all these things by trial and error; this program virtually eliminates all that frustration. I think it's also valuable for experienced writers because it can get you out of the rut of you've been doing and show you some different directions to take with story organization (which can also help you in whatever areas you've always been weak, and/or rejuvenate your love for the craft.) Pantsers, I know the word organization makes you break out in hives, but if you want to try plotting for a change you'll have James Scott Bell as your advisor with Knockout. The guy won't talk down to you or waste your time; when it comes to teaching the craft I think he's one of the best in the business. Since the program is designed to work with all genres it will fit any type of story, too.
Knockout Novel is currently priced at $49.00 U.S., which is comparable to or cheaper than most of the how-to online programs I've seen come and go. The prospect of having James Scott Bell personally show you how to organize a story is worth that much, and since it works within Hiveword you'll also learn how to use that. I think it's definitely worth the investment so I bought in, and will be using it this winter for a couple of different projects.
Knockout Novel works with Hiveword, which you use while you go through the instructions and prompts provided by James (which are based on his #1 bestselling how-to, Plot & Structure.) As you do, you begin building your story outline in Hiveword via your responses. You can take as long as you like with each section in Knockout, and you can use it over and over again for different stories, so it's self-paced and perpetual. All of this is done and stored online, so you don't have to download anything (or worry about losing it.) According to Mike's info, updates are also automatic and free, so as the program improves you won't have to purchase newer versions.
Let's be clear about one thing: Knockout Novel does not write your book for you, or tell you how to do it in thirty days, or any of that other online how-to hokey stuff I see too many writers buy into. What Knockout does is show you how to organize and refine your existing story ideas as well as create and develop what you haven't thought about yet. I'm a self-taught writer, so I had to learn all these things by trial and error; this program virtually eliminates all that frustration. I think it's also valuable for experienced writers because it can get you out of the rut of you've been doing and show you some different directions to take with story organization (which can also help you in whatever areas you've always been weak, and/or rejuvenate your love for the craft.) Pantsers, I know the word organization makes you break out in hives, but if you want to try plotting for a change you'll have James Scott Bell as your advisor with Knockout. The guy won't talk down to you or waste your time; when it comes to teaching the craft I think he's one of the best in the business. Since the program is designed to work with all genres it will fit any type of story, too.
Knockout Novel is currently priced at $49.00 U.S., which is comparable to or cheaper than most of the how-to online programs I've seen come and go. The prospect of having James Scott Bell personally show you how to organize a story is worth that much, and since it works within Hiveword you'll also learn how to use that. I think it's definitely worth the investment so I bought in, and will be using it this winter for a couple of different projects.
September 3, 2013
SmartEdit Update
The folks at SmartEdit, my favorite fiction editing software, has just release their latest version of the program with some new features (copied the following from the change log):
Version 3.101 (Release date: August 29th, 2013)
1. Minor release, but contains key new functionality -- free to all licensed users
2. New "Export Reports & Print Reports" toolbar
3. Export results of all checks to Excel (XLSX), CSV, Text (TXT), PDF or HTML
4. Export results of individual checks in the same formats
5. Print results of single checks or of all checks
6.10 Day Trial reset for all trial users
If you have trouble editing your work, don't know what to look for and/or want a completely impartial review, SmartEdit is the way to go. A license for the full program costs $59.95, but you can still test drive it via their free trial, so you can get a real feel for the program before you purchase. I don't often recommend paying for any software, especially with so many freeware alternatives available online. That said, after I did a thorough test drive I bought this one myself, and I use it every week for something, so I do believe it is worth the investment.
Related PBW Links:
Virtual Free Editor
More on Smart Edit
Version 3.101 (Release date: August 29th, 2013)
1. Minor release, but contains key new functionality -- free to all licensed users
2. New "Export Reports & Print Reports" toolbar
3. Export results of all checks to Excel (XLSX), CSV, Text (TXT), PDF or HTML
4. Export results of individual checks in the same formats
5. Print results of single checks or of all checks
6.10 Day Trial reset for all trial users
If you have trouble editing your work, don't know what to look for and/or want a completely impartial review, SmartEdit is the way to go. A license for the full program costs $59.95, but you can still test drive it via their free trial, so you can get a real feel for the program before you purchase. I don't often recommend paying for any software, especially with so many freeware alternatives available online. That said, after I did a thorough test drive I bought this one myself, and I use it every week for something, so I do believe it is worth the investment.
Related PBW Links:
Virtual Free Editor
More on Smart Edit
September 2, 2013
Freely Ten
Ten Things You Can Have for Free
Amibook is a "Free Personal Information Manager . You get a personal information manager to make your life easier, not harder. So why use a day planner that takes a course in school to learn to use? Most of us want to be able to keep our address book, keep track of the appointments and tasks we have scheduled, and send an email without worrying about spreading a virus. Amibook lets you do all that. Features: Remember what you have planned for today; Don’t miss appointments. Amibook lets you schedule appointments for any day, any week, any year. You can set alarms, so you are reminded if you do forget; Keep the contact information for friends and colleagues at the tip of your fingers; Don’t let email viruses use your computer to spread themselves. Amibook isn’t vulnerable to them. You can use Amibook’s address book to automatically start an email to send to someone at the touch of a button, or to everyone in an address book. You can access the websites in your address book or dial phone calls with a single click; Print envelopes for anyone to everyone in your address book; Have full printing capabilities. You can print out address books for the people you select, so you can put them in your paper planner. You can also print daily, weekly, or monthly calendars of your tasks and appointments. Amibook supports full print preview so you know exactly what you’ll be printing, and by using custom page sizes you can print on paper sized to your planner; Are you using another personal organizer now? Amibook will both import and export from delimited text files, which most other programs support. It also imports other Amibook databases and the Window? Address Book; Get updates when you want them. You can access our updates page from within the program at any time to see if there is an update available. If there is, just download it and install it where you currently have Amibook installed. All your settings and data are saved; Protect your privacy. With Amibook, you have the option of encrypting your database, so only those with the password can see the contents of your sensitive personal information" (OS: Windows 2000 or higher.)
The free trial version of Budget uses an interesting envelope system for money management: "Use Budget to manage your real world checking, savings, or even credit card accounts at the same time as you're managing your expense envelopes. You Balance your account, print checks, and view your checkbook register. When you get paid you will manually distribute the income to your envelopes" [PBW notes: the free trial for this program has no expiration -- certain features are disabled and documents print with watermarks until you purchase the full version, so you can use it as long as you like to see if it will work for you] (OS: Mac OS X, Windows)
DesktopModify is a "program that cheers up your desktop making it cute and unique by arranging your icons into different shapes and styles. With it you can arrange your desktop icons into 77 different shapes and styles like circles, stars, hearts and other cool shapes which truly makes your desktop original and funny to work with" (OS: Windows)
DSpeech is a "TTS (Text To Speech) program with functionality of ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) integrated. It is able to to read aloud the written text and choose the sentences to be pronounced based upon the vocal answers of the user. It is specifically designed to quickly and directly provide the functions and improved practical usefulness that are requested by this kind of program. In the meantime, the invasiveness and resource consumption is minimal" (OS: Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7)
Lightened Dream is "a journal designed for dreamers in search of lucidity. Follow its directions and you will be bending the laws of reality while getting a good night´s rest" [PBW notes that while I seriously doubt this program could even ding the laws of reality, dream journalists might find it an interesting resource/experiment] (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)
Task Coach is a "simple open source todo manager to keep track of personal tasks and todo lists. It is designed for composite tasks, and also offers effort tracking, categories, notes and more" [PBW notes: This program is free for desktop, but there's a small charge for iOS versions] (OS: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, BSD, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch)
Todo Plus is "a free to-do list program for Windows. Features: Easy to use — TodoPlus is designed with productivity and simplicity in mind. It is both fast and easy to manage many tasks;; Sub-tasks — You can have many levels of sub-tasks, that can be opened and closed like folders. This is a great way to break down large projects into smaller projects; Filters — Focus on your most important tasks using filters. Hide the unimportant tasks and finished tasks; Password protection — You can add a password to each file. Files are encrypted and backed up; Accessibility — Keyboard shortcuts for anything! Fast access to tools. Resizable fonts. You can use your mouse, but you don´t have to; Multiple lines per task — Tasks titles can have multiple lines of text, so you can keep everything within the task list. If you need more space, just add sub-tasks; Search for keywords — Search through large files for text/TAG´s, like : ´buy´, ´email´, ´call´, ´urgent´ or just ´*´. This way you are able to finish a group of related tasks faster; Continue your where you left off — TodoPlus remembers all your settings including window size and position, font type and size, filter settings, file history, the last opened file and edit positions; Import/Export tasks — You can import text files. You can also import/insert many tasks at the same time in TodoPlus if you want to copy a checklist from a website, a text edition or an email etc. Use HTML-Previews to be able to transferred your to-do list to other software like text editors, email software, calendars and website editors" (OS: Designer notes: "Cross-platform — TodoPlus is released for both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, and you can share the same files between the two")
Ultimate Calendar is a "free, easy to use calendar with rich features and settings. Features: Calendar for any year from 1 to 9999-th in table and list; Common and personal dates differing by sets and groups; Movable, cyclical, periodical, particular dates; Internal editor for easy work with dates sets; Two view modes: Whole year and Monthly; Popup window which contains the list of nearest events and displayed when the mouse hovers over the tray icon; Tracking change of day; Options «Autostart on system startup», «Hide to tray on minimize», *new* «Run only one copy», *new* «Always on top»; Plugins support. Distribution includes the following plugins: ◦Sun and Moon. Displays, in accordance with the selected geographic location, the time of rise and set of Sun and Moon, the duration of the solar and lunar day, the current phase of the Moon ◦Julian dates. Displays the date on the Julian calendar (old style), Julian Day and Modified Julian Day; Displaying schemes support; Export to Microsoft Excel and formats BMP, RTF, TXT; Multilingual interface and Unicode support; Contains predefined dates sets with holidays and events for Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, USA" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7)
Viva Start Menu's designer notes: "In Windows 8, Microsoft has replaced the Start Menu with a new Start Screen filled with flashy "Live Tiles." The new interface is cool and has a wow-factor, but not everyone is ready to get rid of the start menu. Viva Start Menu gives you the power to restore the start menu on Windows 8. We also include a shortcut to the Live Tiles modern desktop and lots of options to customize your start menu experience" (OS: Windows 8)
X Sticky Notes is a "simple, effective, useful and user-friendly sticky notes & reminder for windows. It expands the meaning of sticky note with many features: You can let notes stay on top always, or pin notes to desktop, notes always show even pressed Win+D; You can hide your note by dragging it to any edge of your screen, When the cursor touches the hiding note´s border, it will show again; You can stick note to window or program, for e.g. document or web page; You can copy & paste anything into note; You can drag & drop files(documents, programs, pictures), folders as note´s attachments. The attachment can place anywhere in your texts, double-click to open it; You can set reminder by day, week, month, etc.; and you can save and backup all your important notes" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8 [32-Bit/64-Bit])
Amibook is a "Free Personal Information Manager . You get a personal information manager to make your life easier, not harder. So why use a day planner that takes a course in school to learn to use? Most of us want to be able to keep our address book, keep track of the appointments and tasks we have scheduled, and send an email without worrying about spreading a virus. Amibook lets you do all that. Features: Remember what you have planned for today; Don’t miss appointments. Amibook lets you schedule appointments for any day, any week, any year. You can set alarms, so you are reminded if you do forget; Keep the contact information for friends and colleagues at the tip of your fingers; Don’t let email viruses use your computer to spread themselves. Amibook isn’t vulnerable to them. You can use Amibook’s address book to automatically start an email to send to someone at the touch of a button, or to everyone in an address book. You can access the websites in your address book or dial phone calls with a single click; Print envelopes for anyone to everyone in your address book; Have full printing capabilities. You can print out address books for the people you select, so you can put them in your paper planner. You can also print daily, weekly, or monthly calendars of your tasks and appointments. Amibook supports full print preview so you know exactly what you’ll be printing, and by using custom page sizes you can print on paper sized to your planner; Are you using another personal organizer now? Amibook will both import and export from delimited text files, which most other programs support. It also imports other Amibook databases and the Window? Address Book; Get updates when you want them. You can access our updates page from within the program at any time to see if there is an update available. If there is, just download it and install it where you currently have Amibook installed. All your settings and data are saved; Protect your privacy. With Amibook, you have the option of encrypting your database, so only those with the password can see the contents of your sensitive personal information" (OS: Windows 2000 or higher.)
The free trial version of Budget uses an interesting envelope system for money management: "Use Budget to manage your real world checking, savings, or even credit card accounts at the same time as you're managing your expense envelopes. You Balance your account, print checks, and view your checkbook register. When you get paid you will manually distribute the income to your envelopes" [PBW notes: the free trial for this program has no expiration -- certain features are disabled and documents print with watermarks until you purchase the full version, so you can use it as long as you like to see if it will work for you] (OS: Mac OS X, Windows)
DesktopModify is a "program that cheers up your desktop making it cute and unique by arranging your icons into different shapes and styles. With it you can arrange your desktop icons into 77 different shapes and styles like circles, stars, hearts and other cool shapes which truly makes your desktop original and funny to work with" (OS: Windows)
DSpeech is a "TTS (Text To Speech) program with functionality of ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) integrated. It is able to to read aloud the written text and choose the sentences to be pronounced based upon the vocal answers of the user. It is specifically designed to quickly and directly provide the functions and improved practical usefulness that are requested by this kind of program. In the meantime, the invasiveness and resource consumption is minimal" (OS: Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7)
Lightened Dream is "a journal designed for dreamers in search of lucidity. Follow its directions and you will be bending the laws of reality while getting a good night´s rest" [PBW notes that while I seriously doubt this program could even ding the laws of reality, dream journalists might find it an interesting resource/experiment] (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)
Task Coach is a "simple open source todo manager to keep track of personal tasks and todo lists. It is designed for composite tasks, and also offers effort tracking, categories, notes and more" [PBW notes: This program is free for desktop, but there's a small charge for iOS versions] (OS: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, BSD, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch)
Todo Plus is "a free to-do list program for Windows. Features: Easy to use — TodoPlus is designed with productivity and simplicity in mind. It is both fast and easy to manage many tasks;; Sub-tasks — You can have many levels of sub-tasks, that can be opened and closed like folders. This is a great way to break down large projects into smaller projects; Filters — Focus on your most important tasks using filters. Hide the unimportant tasks and finished tasks; Password protection — You can add a password to each file. Files are encrypted and backed up; Accessibility — Keyboard shortcuts for anything! Fast access to tools. Resizable fonts. You can use your mouse, but you don´t have to; Multiple lines per task — Tasks titles can have multiple lines of text, so you can keep everything within the task list. If you need more space, just add sub-tasks; Search for keywords — Search through large files for text/TAG´s, like : ´buy´, ´email´, ´call´, ´urgent´ or just ´*´. This way you are able to finish a group of related tasks faster; Continue your where you left off — TodoPlus remembers all your settings including window size and position, font type and size, filter settings, file history, the last opened file and edit positions; Import/Export tasks — You can import text files. You can also import/insert many tasks at the same time in TodoPlus if you want to copy a checklist from a website, a text edition or an email etc. Use HTML-Previews to be able to transferred your to-do list to other software like text editors, email software, calendars and website editors" (OS: Designer notes: "Cross-platform — TodoPlus is released for both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, and you can share the same files between the two")
Ultimate Calendar is a "free, easy to use calendar with rich features and settings. Features: Calendar for any year from 1 to 9999-th in table and list; Common and personal dates differing by sets and groups; Movable, cyclical, periodical, particular dates; Internal editor for easy work with dates sets; Two view modes: Whole year and Monthly; Popup window which contains the list of nearest events and displayed when the mouse hovers over the tray icon; Tracking change of day; Options «Autostart on system startup», «Hide to tray on minimize», *new* «Run only one copy», *new* «Always on top»; Plugins support. Distribution includes the following plugins: ◦Sun and Moon. Displays, in accordance with the selected geographic location, the time of rise and set of Sun and Moon, the duration of the solar and lunar day, the current phase of the Moon ◦Julian dates. Displays the date on the Julian calendar (old style), Julian Day and Modified Julian Day; Displaying schemes support; Export to Microsoft Excel and formats BMP, RTF, TXT; Multilingual interface and Unicode support; Contains predefined dates sets with holidays and events for Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, USA" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7)
Viva Start Menu's designer notes: "In Windows 8, Microsoft has replaced the Start Menu with a new Start Screen filled with flashy "Live Tiles." The new interface is cool and has a wow-factor, but not everyone is ready to get rid of the start menu. Viva Start Menu gives you the power to restore the start menu on Windows 8. We also include a shortcut to the Live Tiles modern desktop and lots of options to customize your start menu experience" (OS: Windows 8)
X Sticky Notes is a "simple, effective, useful and user-friendly sticky notes & reminder for windows. It expands the meaning of sticky note with many features: You can let notes stay on top always, or pin notes to desktop, notes always show even pressed Win+D; You can hide your note by dragging it to any edge of your screen, When the cursor touches the hiding note´s border, it will show again; You can stick note to window or program, for e.g. document or web page; You can copy & paste anything into note; You can drag & drop files(documents, programs, pictures), folders as note´s attachments. The attachment can place anywhere in your texts, double-click to open it; You can set reminder by day, week, month, etc.; and you can save and backup all your important notes" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8 [32-Bit/64-Bit])
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