Software Reference

I've finally bitten the bullet and upgraded the OS that come with my eeePC 701 netbook. Things were starting to run slowly, and in particular firefox kept freezing when running ajaxy websites (such as gmail)...

Suppose you're doing a crossword and you're a bit stuck. You know the answer starts with an M, and you're fairly sure it ends ING. But you can't figure out what word it is. Luckily, you have Linux (or some other unix) on your machine, so you can run a simple command to find the answer...

The last couple of times I've been asked for help with a Microsoft Word problem, it's been about how to set up or fix multi-level lists in Word 2007. I had a bit of a head-scratcher myself this week with Word 2003. Read on to find out what the problem was and how to fix it. read more

I've made a few tweaks to the design of the Software Reference site. I think it looks a bit more friendly and approachable now. Read on to find out about the changes I made, and the resources I used to get there. read more

The following is an extract from Netiquette: Internet etiquette in the age of the blog by Matthew Strawbridge, which contains lots of background information and the reasons behind the list of netiquette rules. read more

Appeared in the May/June 2009 edition of Editing Matters, the journal of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders This sizeable work (think telephone directory) was self-published by our own Matthew Strawbridge, and is a labour of love – if that's the right term – if ever I saw one. Ma...

If you are thinking of starting a small business, do you really need any software of your own or could you "outsource everything"? There are online service providers for managing most of the processes in business...

http://www.soltys.ca/coredump/coredump.html I have to admit that my first reaction when I saw Microsoft Office Word 2007: Essential Reference for Power Users was "Wow, who needs this?" Then I started looking at what was in the book, and I quickly changed my mind. read more

Facebook does have a limited number of RSS feeds. My new mobile phone allows me to subscribe to up to two web feeds for each of my contacts. Here are the steps I had to go through to get an RSS feed for one friend's status update. (Genuine first-hand research/trial and error.) read more

I've just got a new mobile phone on a cheaper tariff. I have stayed with Orange, since they were (more or less) able to match a cheaper deal I'd seen...

Some thoughts on book cover design, particularly regarding colours. read more

The title says it all, really. A list of some lesser-known keyboard shortcuts that you can use to be more productive in Windows. read more

I'm on a train. I was just letting my mind wander, when I had the thought that good technical documentation, including computer books, should have four qualities, all (*) beginning with C...