By Adam Dachis Top 10 Awesome Things You Can Do With Text Text isn't the most glamorous type of media on your computer, but it's one that everyone creates and consumes frequently and it's not as boring as it sounds. To make the best use of the text you encounter and generate on your own, there some tips and tricks you should know. Ten, to be exact. 10. Clean Up Unwanted Formatting Copying and pasting text gets to be problematic when that text is styled even slightly. You copy a quote from a web site and suddenly it's twice the size of the text in the document you're writing. While you may want to copy the style from time to time, this is often annoying. Text cleaners can remedy that problem. Text Scrubber is a good option for Windows, and PlainClip will get the job done on Mac (although there are more expensive, more robust options like CleanText and TextSoap). 9. Batch-Rename Files You may not have to do it often, but when the time comes when you need to rename a whole bunch of files you don't want to be doing it manually. While there are plenty of downloadable tools that are designed for batch-renaming of files, Whitson's automation guides for Mac and Windows will get you up and renaming without writing a single line of code. (And you might pick up a couple of other handy tricks along the way, too.) 8. Easily Pull Text from PDFs PDFs generally have text you can copy, but it ends up in your clipboard a little bit mangled (which is probably not what you were hoping for). PDFTextOnline will just give you the plain text you're looking for. All you need to do is upload a file and wait. Alternatively, Windows users can try Text Mining Tool. 7. Make Quick Formatting Changes and Alterations via the Command Line Standard desktop applications and webapps are all well and good for basic text operations, but when it comes to making serious, more complex changes on a large scale you're going to want to turn to the command line. Finding and replacing text across multiple documents (or just one), managing your to-do list, emptying a text file, taking notes, are just a few of the many ways the command line can help you work better and faster with text. If you want to find more, take a look around Snipt, a public repository of handy coding and command line text snippets. 6. Identify Unknown Fonts Text is sometimes just text, but with the right font it can be beautiful. The problem is, unless you have a database of fonts in your head you're not going to know what's what. Tools like WhatFontIs, Identifont, and WhatTheFont can help you find an answer when your text in question is an image, but if you're just looking for a font used for text on a web page you should grab a handy bookmarklet called WhatFont. 5. Recognize Text That Isn't Exactly Text Not all text comes in an easily copy-able format, making manipulation difficult. Sometimes you find text in an image, and that's where optical character recognition can help. There are plenty of options out there from translating image-based text into actual text, but last year we took a look at the five best text-recognition tools and voted ABBYY FineReader as the winner. Alternatively, if you just need to be able to search text in an image you can do that and manage all your notes with Evernote. 4. Add Some Security and Have a Little Fun with ASCII ASCII is a type of text character encoding, but you're probably more used to hearing about it in terms of ASCII Art, or art made out of plain ASCII text. If you want to get in on the fun, there are plenty of online tools to make an ASCII portrait, image, or even a Quicktime movie. If you want to be somewhat practical you can also make an ASCII flow chart. But ASCII isn't just for fun. You can also use it to hide your email address from spam bots or even beef up your passwords. 3. Make Web Page Text More Readable You may like the content on a particular web site but not all the images and ads. When all you're really after is the text, there are plenty of tools to help you out. Readability can simplify just about any page to make it more readable, and it's even built in to some RSS readers (like Reeder). Services like Instapaper and ReadItLater provide similar functionality. Whatever you use, if all you want to do is read you'll want to start using one of these services. 2. Keep Your Notes in Sync Across Multiple Machines and Devices You have a laptop, a desktop, a tablet, and a smartphone. Well, maybe you don't have all of those or maybe you have more, but it's not uncommon these days to use multiple machines and devices productively. That poses a data problem, in that you have to keep said data in sync on everything you use. As far as your text goes, we're particularly fond of Simplenote as it makes text capture and synchronization really easy. Of course, there are several syncing note-takers for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. However you go about it, syncing your text files ensures you always have them and they're backed up by virtue of being in the cloud and on several of your devices. 1. Text Expansion Text expansion is a simple concept: you type something small, like ",lh" and it automatically expands to something larger, like "Lifehacker". There's pretty much no other trick that'll save you more time or from more mistakes. Whether you type a lot or a little, implementing text expansion is an enormous productivity booster that you won't be able to believe you ever lived without. If you're new to the concept, or just want some really good tips, be sure to read our comprehensive text expansion guide. Got any other awesome text manipulation tips and tricks? Share 'em in the comments! You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter and Facebook.  Twitter's the best way to contact him, too. Share this:

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Google Apps vs. Office 365; Tech Execs Change Sides

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• How Google Apps Trump Office 365 • Microsoft Office 365: 10 Things It Needs to Succeed • Microsoft Office 365: The Billing Question • Microsoft's Make-or-Break Year • Technology Executives Change Sides • What Office 365 Offers SMBs, Partners • Asus, Acer Work on ARM-Based Notebooks • Users Ignorant of Malware Threat • Dell Talks Cloud, Data Management The Challenges of Big Data A new report by market research firm Gartner notes that there's more to big data than just a whole lot of data, but the term "big data" puts an inordinate focus on the issue of information volume. Here's a look at other factors surrounding the technology. READ MORE >>   How Google Apps Trump Office 365 As Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announces the official launch of Office 365, it does so amid a sea of serious competitors. And while there are plenty of enterprise IT executives who would scoff at the idea of Google Apps replacing Microsoft, the benefits of Google Apps can't be ignored. Take a look. READ MORE >> Microsoft Office 365: 10 Things It Needs to Succeed With competition mounting from the likes of Google Apps and well-publicized outages of its predecessor Microsoft BPOS offerings, Microsoft Office 365 may very well have an uphill battle ahead in terms of convincing the masses that Microsoft is ready to offer applications in the cloud. Here's what Office 365 needs to succeed. READ MORE >> Sponsored by IBM Work smarter to get the maximum out of your ideas at smartertechnology.com. News, information, and resources for your IT needs. Learn more ADVERTISEMENT Microsoft Office 365: The Billing Question Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told a Web conference that Microsoft Office 365 would debut with a handful of hosting partners from around the world that would handle their own billing. Absent from the list? Exchange hosting giants Intermedia and Rackspace, as well as every VAR or MSP you might know. READ MORE >> Microsoft's Make-or-Break Year While Microsoft remains a dominant force in the software market, questions loom about the company's future as competition from Apple and Google mounts on all fronts. Here's a look at what Microsoft must prove in the next year. READ MORE >> Technology Executives Change Sides Looking for a new job? Plenty of executives these days are leaving their current companies (or being pushed out) only to join up with competitors. In some cases, fireworks have ensued with a lawsuit or two thrown in for good measure. Here's a look at some of the technology executives who have changed sides in the last year. READ MORE >> How to Get Started with Cloud Computing View this panel discussion with IBM cloud computing leaders on how enterprises can get started with cloud computing -- reviewing which workloads make sense to move first and the right type of cloud for workloads. DOWNLOAD NOW >> Oracle Databases on VMware vSphere 4: A Guide This document will also show that the same best practices, tuning tips and tricks, and skill sets necessary to deploy Oracle databases in physical environments can be leveraged when deploying Oracle databases in virtual environments. DOWNLOAD NOW >>

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Google+ Wants to Friend Frustrated Facebookers; Make Your Password Invulnerable

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TOP STORIES - July 2, 2011 • Google+ Wants to Friend Frustrated Facebookers • Make Your Password Invulnerable • Final Space Shuttle Flight Scheduled for July 8 • Microsoft Shutting Down Hohm Green-IT Initiative • Endangered-Species Conservation Efforts Turn to the Cloud SPOTLIGHT Six IT Skills With Rising Pay We take a look at what IT skills are paying, which ones are not and what certifications, if any, IT pros should work toward. READ MORE >> BEST OF eWEEK • Galaxy Tab 10.1 Takes Aim at iPad 2 • HTC Evo 3D 4G Delivers Dazzling 3D • Google Speeds Up Web-Page Downloads • Shielding Implants From Cyber-Attack FEATURED VIDEO Getting SMBs Online A robust Web presence with next-gen commerce tech could pave path to success. WATCH NOW >> MOST READ STORIES • Hot iPad 2 Alternatives to Consider • Hands-on With HTC's Evo View 4G Tablet • U2 Turns to Dell for an Extra Edge • Latest Google Flops: Health, PowerMeter IN THIS ISSUE Google+ Wants to Friend Frustrated Facebookers Seizing on Facebook's seemingly cavalier attitude toward user privacy, Google says it envisions its recently launched Google+ as a more nuanced approach to social networking. The service endeavors to give users complete control over what content they share online and with whom they share it. Take a walk-through of Google+. READ MORE >> Make Your Password Invulnerable Strong passwords are an important way to protect your data from theft -- and to avoid joining the millions victimized by identity theft each year. Although most passwords are easy to crack, fixes are easy, too. READ MORE >> Sponsored by Dell The Virtual Integrated Systems blog provides IT managers in healthcare, government, and education with best practices in leveraging a virtual computing environment. Visit the blog ADVERTISEMENT Final Space Shuttle Flight Scheduled for July 8 During the 12-day mission to the ISS, Atlantis and its crew will deliver the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station and its crew. READ MORE >> Microsoft Shutting Down Hohm Green-IT Initiative Microsoft will shut down its Hohm initiative in May 2012. The service was designed to allow users to monitor and adjust their energy consumption. READ MORE >> Endangered-Species Conservation Efforts Turn to the Cloud A major network of zoos and aquariums in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific is implementing a cloud-computing solution to improve efficiency and encourage collaboration between conservation scientists. READ MORE >> How to Get Started with Cloud Computing View this panel discussion with IBM cloud computing leaders on how enterprises can get started with cloud computing -- reviewing which workloads make sense to move first and the right type of cloud for workloads. DOWNLOAD NOW >> Oracle Databases on VMware vSphere 4: A Guide This document will also show that the same best practices, tuning tips and tricks, and skill sets necessary to deploy Oracle databases in physical environments can be leveraged when deploying Oracle databases in virtual environments. DOWNLOAD NOW >>

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