Software

Almost everyone who writes programs or web pages uses a text editor, because sometimes you just want to open a file to look at its code, and opening it in Dreamweaver or Visual Studio takes too long. Some people use the Notepad that comes with Windows, or Vim, which is famous on Linux. Others install a text editor they find online. Today’s pick, Notepad++, is a very well-known and powerful text editor. ...

MediaCoder is a very handy video converter. It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac, and it’s free. But those aren’t the main point. The real highlight is that it can use the GPU (graphics card) to do the conversion work. This technique is called GPGPU. With it, you’re much less likely to run into the problem of CPU usage spiking past 100% and the computer crashing during conversion, and conversion is ridiculously fast. I often convert videos while playing online games, and everything runs smoothly. ...

Opera Unite is a special feature built into the Opera browser. With Opera Unite, even if you know nothing about computers, you can set up a simple cloud service. Sometimes you have a great song you want to share with a friend. Besides the usual ways of sending files, like instant messaging, MSN, or email, you can also try the built-in Media Player in Opera Unite. Just send your friend the URL, and they can listen to the music right in their browser! You can also set up a WebCam so you can check on things at home while you’re away. Opera Unite has built-in features like that too. In short, Opera Unite is a great service. Normally, to build a website, you have to apply for a domain name and hosting space, and you need basic computer skills. But with Opera Unite, none of that is needed! Your computer is the server, and Opera automatically assigns the domain name. ...

Doomi is an application built on Adobe AIR technology that helps you create a ToDoList, which is basically a memo list. There are many programs similar to Doomi. For example, Google Desktop has widgets with this kind of function, and even iOS 5 plans to include a built-in ToDoList app called Reminders. What makes Doomi stand out is its intuitive, good-looking interface. You hardly need any tutorial; as soon as you see the interface, you know how to use it. Also, you need to install Adobe AIR before you can use Doomi. ...

 Several years ago, I remember reading in a magazine about so-called “distance learning,” which uses information technology so that students can take classes without going to school. SyncSpace, the app I’m introducing today, is quite similar to distance learning. It’s an app made exclusively for iPad, and its main function is a synced whiteboard! Over the internet, it lets many iPads sync with each other. For example, if you write an A on your screen, other users who have joined the same whiteboard will see an A appear on their iPads. This can be used in many places, such as the distance learning I just mentioned. Or, say you’re a business owner who suddenly comes up with an idea while on a business trip. You can use SyncSpace to jot it down right away, then sync it back to the office. ...

Today I want to introduce a very handy tool for making multilingual software: Poedit. I think many people have come across the term “Chinese localization” online, right? In short, Poedit is a program that helps you with localization work. In Taiwan this kind of work is called “Chinese localization,” but in other countries it could be called “English localization” or “Japanese localization,” so the general term for all of these is “multilingualization”~ ...

Sometimes we want to convert a Word document into PDF format, or we come across something funny or useful online that we want to keep. That’s when you’ll use doPDF! Unlike ordinary conversion software, which requires opening a main program, doPDF works through “printing.” Normally, when you print a file, you get a physical document, but with doPDF, “printing” produces a PDF file instead. ...

 Zhengdian Toolbox really is handy! It bundles the features that most Android users need, including data usage, app lock, and app management, and you can put its widget on your home screen for quick management. Things that would normally require installing a bunch of separate apps, it handles all at once! This is very convenient for people who just got an Android phone, since they don’t need to download a pile of apps to get the everyday features working~ And even though it packs in so many features, the app itself is only about 2 MB. ...

According to the latest news on Google’s official blog (see this page), Google plans to stop fully supporting old browsers starting on 8/1. The reason is that these older browsers don’t support the latest technologies well. For example, HTML5 and CSS3 aren’t supported, and they may run JavaScript too slowly. As a result, Google’s services (Gmail, Google Reader, and so on) run into many problems on old browsers, so Google has decided to stop supporting them. ...

PHP is a fairly easy language to learn. It isn’t difficult in itself, and there are plenty of resources for it. In particular, the official PHP website provides a reference of PHP functions, where you can look up any PHP function. It’s quite similar to Microsoft’s MSDN. Today I want to introduce a Chrome extension that puts the search feature of the official PHP docs into your browser, so you can look up PHP functions more conveniently~ ...