I recently wrote an article for a freelance writing client comparing and contrasting Mailchimp and GetResponse. I’ve used Mailchimp for years to send out updates for my website, My Ebook Journey, and it’s worked well for me. However I learned a lot about GetResponse through the research I did for this article, so I decided to try it out for the 30 day trial. I’m only a few days into the trial, but I wanted to share my first impressions of GetResponse vs. Mailchimp. [Read more…] about MailChimp vs. GetResponse – My Experience, So Far
Expresscribe vs. Inqscribe – My Experience
I’ve used Expresscribe for years to transcribe audios that some of my clients have sent me. I love Expresscribe, but the one thing I don’t like about it is that you have to pay to be able to use a foot pedal if you have one – you can only use hot keys if you’re using the free version of Express Scribe. That’s why when I found out about InqScribe, a java-based transcription program from Apple, I decided to check it out. In this post I’ll discuss my first impressions of Inqscribe.
Being able to use a foot pedal in the free version is great, but having to transcribe in their software is not – There’s a trade off for being able to use a foot pedal – you have to transcribe in their software. If you try to use a program like Microsoft Word, which is what I usually use to type up my documents, the foot pedal won’t work. I looked up information on this, and according to Inqscribe’s website they tried to release a version where you could use the software in the background while typing in another program, but it had bugs. So what I’ve started doing is typing as much as I can in Inqscribe, then copying and pasting it into Word and making my changes there.
Not being able to save your work in the evaluation version of InqScribe is not great – If you’re willing to pay $99 for a single user license of InqScribe, you’ll be able to save your work, and you’ll also be able to do other things, such as export data, and also you’ll have to put up with the annoying dialog that comes up each time you open up the free version of InqScribe.
Those are really the only two observations I have about InqScribe so far – I actually like InqScribe pretty well, except for not being able to save my work in the free version. I’ve been able to work around the limitations, as I stated above, and when I finish the transcript I’m currently working on, I’ll probably just go back and listen to it in Expresscribe so I can add my timestamps.
If you do transcription and you’re interested in checking out either of these two programs, you can check out Expresscribe here and Inqscribe here.
Reduce Eye Strain with High Contrast Themes and Backgrounds
If you work in front of your computer a lot, eye strain can be a problem. Luckily, there’s a way that you can reduce eye strain when you’re working at your computer – use a high contrast background on your computer, as well as on any other electronic devices you use regularly. This post will provide information on the benefits of high contrast backgrounds or themes, and how to enable them in different devices. [Read more…] about Reduce Eye Strain with High Contrast Themes and Backgrounds
Why I Like Google Docs, Sheets, Forms and Presentations Better Than Microsoft Office
Recently I decided to uninstall Microsoft Office from my computer. I’ve used it for years to create documents I need to create – I’ve written eBooks with it, created newsletters, and spreadsheets to track important information. However recently I discovered that Google’s tools – Google Docs, Sheets, Forms, and Presentations were just as good, if not better. I’ll discuss what I like about Google’s tools in this post.
They’re free – This is probably the number one thing that I like. Microsoft Office is expensive. And the Microsoft Office that installed last year (can’t remember what it was called) was less expensive, but it was a subscription service which I didn’t realize at the time, so last month I got a notice saying it was time to renew it. So I started looking into alternatives for the typing I do – most of it is on Microsoft Office or WordPress, after all. I found that Google Docs was just as good, if not better – it has all the same features that I liked in Microsoft office – I can even add shortcuts like I did in Microsoft Office for the transcription I do. I’m not sure about making newsletters with it yet, but I don’t anticipate having to do that any time soon.
I can use them anywhere – Another big advantage to using Google’s tools rather than using Microsoft Office is I can use them anywhere – on my computer at home, on my husband’s laptop if we’re traveling, even on my phone if I need to. There’s not a Google Docs app for my Kindle, but I can still log into Google’s website on my Kindle and use them that way. The only thing I don’t like about Google Docs is they don’t have an equivalent for One Note, which I used to use a lot to write rough drafts of posts that I write for other websites. However, I’ve started using Evernote for some of the things I used to use OneNote for, and I’ve also started using Ilys more to write my rough drafts, so that helps.
I can type with my voice if I want to – Another feature that Google Docs has that I like is they have voice typing built in. I tried using it, and it works pretty well – much better than Microsoft’s speech recognition in my opinion. While I probably won’t use it often, it does make it easier to type using my voice, because it saves my hands.
That’s what I like about Google’s tools, so far – I’ll be sure to update you all as I find out more about them. If you’ve had any experiences using Google
Docs, Sheets, Forms or Presentations, I’d love to hear them!
Keep Your Life and Projects Organized with Workflowy
If you’re like me, you probably use to do lists a lot to keep your life organized. Well a while back, I found a great website that can not only be used for to-do lists, but also for outlines for blog posts and book chapters, among other things. It basically takes to-do lists to a whole new level. It’s called Workflowy, and I had used it quite a bit when I was the leader of a focus group that I was part of for my work, because I found it helped me keep my thoughts for the focus group meetings organized, and it also helped me keep the information I wanted to put in our newsletter organized. I got away from using it for a while though after I left the focus group to pursue other things. I recently re-discovered it, and wanted to share with you how I’m using it now. [Read more…] about Keep Your Life and Projects Organized with Workflowy