Software Reference

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. Matthew has painstakingly gone down all the highways and byways, as well as the side roads and little lanes, to explore every menu, every option, every button that Word 2007 possesses, so that you don't have to.

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. This book would review what's available online, and how you can use these "software as a service" providers to outsource much of the day-to-day administrative hassle of running a 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.

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.)

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. However, having just gone through the process of switching sim cards and handsets, I'd like to record three distinct processes that should all be the same (but aren't): what is says in the box, what they say on the phone, and what happens in real life!

Some thoughts on book cover design, particularly regarding colours.

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

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.

Such documents should be
clear
concise
correct and
quick (in the sense of being timely)

(*) just my little joke

An interesting article by Raymond Chen about specialist technical authors in software development teams:

"The problem with The Month Where Everyone Focuses on Improving Documentation is that most people are terrible technical writers"

http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2009/01/30/9383996.aspx

I have recently been writing a series of articles for a website. This has involved spending hours every day typing.

Read on for some useful tips if you are going to be spending a long time at the keyboard.