|
Jun30
|
Funny. A couple of days ago, I mentioned WhiteSmoke as a possible tool for improving writing, and promised to return with more info on the downloadable demo. Even before I've been able to try out the program, I will tell you never to use this it. First, at the end of the Flash demo is a misleading link. It says "Download a FREE trial version." I clicked, then was led to a registration screen which prompted for my name and e-mail. So far, so good. Luckily, I entered a fake name, and my yahoo "test" e-mail, as I was immediately asked to purchase the program. Disgusted, I closed the window, and checked my mail. Here's the message I received: Dear Fake Name,
Thank you for your interest in WhiteSmoke.
Write English like a professional!
With WhiteSmoke's innovative solution you can:
1. Avoid embarrassing mistakes.
2. Improve your writing.
3. Compose professional documents.
4. Write emails like a professional.
* WhiteSmoke works on all applications (email, documents, websites, messenger, etc.)
Our records indicate that you have not completed the purchasing process.
* To start writing as a professional please Click Here
* To order by phone, call toll free # 1-888-879-4104
Yours sincerely,
The WhiteSmoke Team
# If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, please click here.
I clicked on link for unsubscription, and here's what I got: Dear WhiteSmoke user,
An error occured while trying to unsubscribe you from our mailing list.
Please try the following options to unsubscribe:
1. Refresh this page by pressing on the refresh button of you web browser (usually F5)
2. If this problem persist, please send us an email to support@whitesmoke.com, and set the subject field to 'unsubscribe'.
Yours sincerely,
The WhiteSmoke Team
To quote Greg Vederman of PC Gamer: "If only I could curse... I'd be in Seventh Heaven."
|
|
Jun29
|
WhiteSmoke is a program that promises "the first context-related all-in-one solution for improving writing." Available in Standard, Business, Legal, Medical, Creative Writing, Executive, and Dating version! What more could you want? Looking at the flash demo, I was unimpressed; it...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Money is the only reason for the fierce debate between the effectivity of long and short copy in traditional media; you need more space, you pay more. So even if research has consistently shown long copy outperforms short, clients are...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun28
|
A project I'm working on at the moment has led me to interact for the first time in my career with a Technical Editor.Most companies I've worked for in the past have set up some kind of peer-review system for...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun27
|
I know some people with a certain affliction; as they write on the computer, they take great pains to format the text, trying to make it look beautiful. Time is wasted when they have to devote some of their creativity...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
David Ogilvy writes in his book Ogilvy on Advertising a piece of advice he received from Helmut Krone on the fine art of copywriting: ...until you've got a better answer, you copy. I copied Bob Gage for 5 years...And Bob...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
If you've taken a look at the Apple corporate website lately, they've been pretty aggressive with their campaign to push Macs as PC replacements. In fact, they'r epushed the campaign so far as to letting go of the "Think different"...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun22
|
Work with a computer for more than about five minutes and you'll learn that things not only can but do go wrong - often with alarming regularity.When they do, it's of paramount importance that the error message you receive not...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun21
|
I often check Linksys for the new wireless gizmos they have to offer. Today I saw how they constructed a step by step on how to build your own small business VoIP telephone network. The site caught my attention because...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun18
|
As reported by Engadget, EURON, the guys responsible for giving the tin man a heart is rolling out a guide to robot ethics.The day will come when your robot will be delivered to your house and it will come with...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun17
|
Interesting piece on The Register about how students and researchers tend to blame Wikipedia because of false information. It's actually quite funny, Students have two great resources at their disposable: a mine of material that isn't and never will appear...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With the introduction of the new Bluetooth Experience Icons, gadget box packaging and technical manuals are going to be rewritten to fit the new standards in the "Bluetooth experience." This is actually a good move, to help consumers distinguish...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun16
|
In my work as an editor, we have three magazines in the technology department. The first is computer gaming magazine with niche focus on online gaming. The second magazine is niched towards "tech you can bring with you", which includes...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun14
|
It has been my pleasure to work with many a tech writer over the years, and I'd say that most of my fellow professionals can be pigeonholed in one of two ways - as would-be novelists, or as would-be engineers.Those...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
There's a (relatively) big debate that's been going on when one of our co-bloggers. Colbert, was mentioned by Scrivs at the 9rules feature section. Scrivs pointed out how Colbert Low may be spreading himself to thin writing for several blogs,...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun13
|
... you may want to make use of this small plugin for your personalized Google homepage. Google, being the masters of search, has made it all so convenient for all of us to keep track of the World Cup whilst...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Several years back, the Internet revolution was defined as the "e" revolution where everything that was pen and paper was translated into something untangibly electronic. Hence, eBusiness, eCommerce, eTcetera ...But what's with the lowercase "i" that's been used to name...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun12
|
I've always loved how Apple made their technical manuals so "bright and cheerful" for the common folk. Like, instead of putting a stenciled drawing of a computer, you can actually see what your brand new G5 looks like in full...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
As a writer, it's always second nature to be inquisitive. Sometimes though, when interviewing people be it for ghostwriting or for research, there is a tendency to talk a bit more than warranted.The number one rule in interviews is to...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun11
|
Stuart started a working from home post a while ago so I thought I'd share some tips on keeping productive while at home.The usual temptation is to pseudo-procrastinate your writing by a few hours to catch up on sleep lost...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun10
|
I left the world of full-time, permanent employment back in October 2004 to strike out on my own as a freelance technical writer and editor. The benefits have been many, not least of which - as I wrote on my...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun 9
|
Taken from the Best Fonts of 2005, the font Etelka is the font of choice for achieving that "industrial feel." The family of 12 can be purchased for US $12.00. Designer Frantisek Storm created Etelka for product package design and...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun 7
|
In a page full of chucklesome quotes about technical writing, I came across this nugget of truth. "The problem with allowing the engineers who create a program to also write its Help and Tutorials is that you get people who...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun 6
|
I was reading a piece by John Dvorak on why we shouldn't blame the Internet for the decline of print publications. He cited that newspapers have taken the biggest impact, with a circulation decline of about 1% per annum since...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
I'm spending a few weeks working on site with a client where one of my office mates seems to spend most of his time calling round used-car dealerships looking to buy a second-hand Mercedes.I was reminded of him today when...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Speaker, television and talk show personality Ken Leebow is going to write a book. Yes folks, that book may even have your blog listed in this bestseller-in-the-making.He's looking for 300 Incredible Blogs which he can list down. If you think...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The Dropping Kowledge Campaign seems to have hit the blogosphere like a flash flood. One of the reasons for this is to build a huge search engine flood with the keywords "Dropping Knowledge." Dropping Knowledge lets people ask questions –...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun 5
|
I previously wrote about Zoodoka and how it makes for an effective alternative to RSS readers as well as promote a viral spread of emails for interesting topics.A more in depth look at Zoodoka will show the following things:For one,...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
I'm Stuart Mudie, a freelance writer and editor based in Paris, France.I've been a professional communicator since 1995, and I've worked with a number of companies in the IT and Telecommunications sectors in that time. A common thread through all...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Contrary to popular belief, not a lot of people are fond of using RSS readers - and for those who don't there's always email to keep them updated with what's going on. A service called Zookoda has been effective in...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun 4
|
DIY Portfolios had posted some tips on how to choose which writing works should be placed in your portfolio to show off. While sorting everything out, I asked myself 2 key questions: Is this the best piece that represents me...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Here's a thought about product naming philosophy which I've found to be useful when I need to conjure things from my imagination.While talking to the country manager of Eastman Kodak Philippines the other week, he explained to me how the...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Here's something quite interesting to add to your resources. It is a listing of free RSS aggregators. I personally use NetNewsWire Lite for Mac OS X. I like keeping my RSS feed separate from those built in with the browser...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The Official Google Blog has written about the new Toolbar Beta 4 that allows you to search for previously marked pages in context to your search. This is pretty neat for research purposes because human beings tend to forget a...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun 3
|
There is constant debate on whether the driving force of technology magazine covers should cater to the mass market and have sexy babes showing off their bare essentials or have pictures of devices.Here's a block from a post I made...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Tell me, is it true that as a writer, having a Yahoo! or Hotmail email account removes some sense of authority?Though this may be rather opinionated, I'd have to say that a Yahoo address would have to be reserved for...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
A few weeks back I was reading Presentation Zen's discourse on the way Steve Jobs had implemented the new 3D charts into Apple's Keynote.Turning graphs and charts into 3D may oftentimes be purely aesthetic, providing no added value to readers...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun 2
|
If you're from the UK or have a lot of cash to burn, you may want to mark off the 21st of June 7:00PM at the Babushka in Farringdon Road, London. Journalism.co.uk will be having a meet and greet. If...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Because of the "democracy of gender" where all men and women are created equal - in rights and on paper, there have been issues with the use of pronouns.Here's are some tips to help you out with writing formal or...
Continue Reading
|
|
Jun 1
|
Here's something:Avoid stock and cliche phrases such as "recent advances in XYZ" or anything alluding to the growth of the Internet. [source]Maybe back in 1998, the phrase "the continuing growth of the Internet" would have sparked a lot of Interest....
Continue Reading
|
|
|
I'd like to share with you a short article I wrote that got published in Darren Rowse's Problogger several months ago. I wanted to talk about two different schools of thought when writing about technology and also ended up talking...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Hi fellas, my name is Jayvee Fernandez and I'll be one of the contributing authors for SmartTechWriting. By profession I am involved with a publishing company in the Philippines as an editor specializing in the technology field. I am a...
Continue Reading
|
