ReviewSaurus – Technology Rocks!

BlogLines has launched the beta of Version 3. BlogLines beta looks pretty impressive with a new design interface (although not a finished product) and the way it has concentrated on making the reading of feeds easier for the users. Here are some of the highlights of the BlogLines Beta :

1. Start page to concentrate on important feeds : This feature has by far impressed the most. It allows you to drag and drop the feeds on the start page which displays the five new stories of each feed and when you click on them it opens up a small section where it displays the content of the story. This way you get the option to go through the important stories and not go through the ones in which you aren’t interested. Every time you log-in you are presented with the updated content of the chosen feeds.

2. Mark as read as you scroll through : Just like Google Reader, in this version the stories are marked as read when you scroll through them. Thus it saves your time where you don’t have to worry about marking the items as read. And, they’ve also worked on a feature where the folders are not marked as read automatically. Earlier when you clicked on the folders all the items were marked as read and in case you’d to go out then you didn’t have the option of going through the items which were still unread by you.

3. Various views for your reading convenience : There are many various views and you may chose from 3 panes view, quick view and full view to go through your huge list of feeds. Quick view did impress me as it allows to go through the headlines pretty quickly and allows to view the full content too by just clicking on the headline. I’m not a big fan of 3 pane view and that’s why it is good on their part that they didn’t force one type of view to users.

What else should have been incorporated before the launch of beta :

1. Starring or saving of the posts : It makes sense to incorporate this very basic feature. I went through some stories and wanted to star it (habitual of Google Reader) or save it, but couldn’t find any option.

2. Help or list of shortcuts : BlogLines Beta supports shortcuts but there are not listed any where. I tried the Google Reader shortcuts that is J for next item and K for previous item and they seemed to work. It would have been nice, if they would have put all that before showcasing this beta to the whole world.

All in all, BlogLines beta seems to be on the lines of Google Reader but it is the start page option and the quick view which impressed me the most and no wonder that after some finishing work and some required features, it may be able to drag many users from Google Reader.

Orkut blog had posted recently that they are going to roll out the redesign of Orkut. And today, they’ve given the quick preview of the redesign too. They’ve started rolling out the redesign in groups and soon you may get to enjoy the new and better look of Orkut.

Here’s how it is going to look like :

(click the image for bigger version)

The new look certainly looks better than the earlier one but there are not major changes. It is still following the same pattern its just that some color changes and the icons which are different than the old look. What do you think about the new look ?

TipsoSaurus reader, Don Rogers has asked a question that he forgot the password of his email account which he’d setup in Outlook as it is already saved in Outlook. Now, he wants to reconfigure the account in Outlook but can’t do it as he forgot the password.

Here are few things which you may try to fix up the problem :

1. Forgot password recovery : This is the simplest thing you can try and I.e. by getting in touch with the ISP or email service provider and make use of the forgot password recovery option. Or by calling the technical support, if at all they have one.

2. Using the password retrieval utilities : NirSoft provides the utility which can retrieve password from Microsoft Outlook and supports almost all the version of Microsoft Outlook even Outlook 2007. Note : Some anti-virus software may trigger false alarms against this utility but it’s safe to use it. I’ve used it personally and it works!

3. Unmask the password behind asterisks : Nucleus Technologies is providing the free utility which unmasks the password behind asterisks and that should simply solve the problem. Just open up the account settings window and it will show you the saved password.

continue reading »

Over the years, Microsoft Office Word has been the best and most advanced Word processing application. However, the cost of Microsoft word can be extremely high and the small businesses may feel it as a burden. So, I’m listing the free alternatives of Microsoft Word, so that you may use it for your business or for your personal use :-

Offline Alternatives of Microsoft Office Word :

1. OpenOffice.org Writer : This open source software package is an overall alternative to Microsoft Office. OOo Writer is perfect replacement of Microsoft word. Bruce Byfield has done an extensive comparison between the two programs and I’m sure you’ll see that OOo Writer is no less than MS Word.

2. AbiWord : AbiWord is similar to MS Word and MS Word users will not find much problem in switching over to this free application and will certainly love it as there is nothing better than a powerful and free word processor.

3. QJot : This particular software is not as powerful as OOo Writer and AbiWord but it’s a light weight replacement of MS word. It allows you to edit the DOC files and that’s what puts it in the list of the alternatives.

4. Jarte : Jarte is another replacement of MS Word but only because it lets you edit the word files. It’s very strange looking and I would say that you won’t like this one at all, it’s user interface is one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen.

I’ll say that only OOo Writer and AbiWord are the real alternatives to MS Word and because both of those software are available for Linux and Windows alike, so you’ll find them as the perfect solution and alternative to MS Word.

Online Alternatives of Microsoft Word (everyone of them is in beta):

continue reading »

(Image source : Confidence Course Oberon by Scott. Thanks Scott!)

I was having a word with one of my friend today and during whole conversation, I felt that he lacked on one point and that was self confidence. All the way, he was comparing himself from those people who were successful in his field of work, people around him. And he was just keeping himself “low” from them.

Well, it’s the self confidence which can make and break things. This thing applies in blogging too. Feel confident about the things you do and don’t just think that because other’s are doing well, then you are any less than them. You are equally good and it’s only you who can realize that where exactly you are good.

Here are few things which you should follow when you are losing self confidence :

1. Stop thinking that what other are achieving : Instead think that what is making them achieve that success and then work on those areas and try to gain that same success.

2. Think on the lines, where you are lacking but don’t make them the hurdle in your success : Instead, think that how you can improve on those weak points. No body is perfect and no one will ever be, so if you do lack somewhere, you just have to think that do you really lack or do other are making you feel that. If at all you think that yes, you do lack in a particular area, then go ahead and work on it.

continue reading »