PurpleWren Archives - Successful Blog

MWSnap

December 29, 2007 by Liz

Capture Screenshots with MWSnap

Great Find: MWSnap

Permalink: http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html

Target Audience: Anyone who wants a screen snapshot

Content:

I’ve been looking for a low-cost, reliable tool to capture screenshots. You know, make an image out of selected parts of the screen. For example, when I write blog posts I often use a screenshot to explain something or display a product logo.

MWSnap is a nifty utility that’s freeware, although they do take donations. You can capture the entire desktop, a window, or a rectangular part of the screen. I really like that you can select the size of the rectangle first. You can choose from five popular formats to save your graphic and it’s available in several languages.

It also boasts a ruler and a color picker.

Be sure to check this one out!
See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: Textorizer

December 22, 2007 by Liz

Create an Image with Textorizer

Great Find: Textorizer

Permalink: http://lapin-bleu.net/software/textorizer/

Target Audience: Anyone with a photo!

Content:

Here’s a fun tool – actually two tools. They each produce a different look. For this sample I used Textorizer 2. Just locate a photo that you want to “textorize,” select the text to use, and the program creates a textorized image. That’s right – the image is created out of the text you submit.

What could be easier? There are a few parameters you can select to tweak the results. Be sure to choose an image with good contrast.

This is the original photo and the textorized image. I used an image of Oprah and some of her favorite words, “Be grateful every day! Transform your life! Help others! Stay positive!” I think it turned out well. What do you think?

This tool is on my favorites list because:

It’s easy-to-use
It’s fun
It’s free

Check out the tool yourself. How can you use a textorized image?

See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

Pro Data Doctor

December 15, 2007 by Liz

Pro Data Doctor to the Rescue!

Great Find: Pro Data Doctor

Permalink: http://www.datadoctor.biz/

Target Audience: Anyone who has lost data from a memory card!

Content:

Have you ever lost pictures from your camera’s memory card? We were vacationing in August and after two days with the grandkids, I lost all my photos. That’s crushing! The photos just seemed to disappear from the memory card.

So I put in my second memory card. I could only take 5-6 pictures and then the camera thought the disk was was full. I really enjoy taking photos, so it was quite a disappointing trip from that perspective. When I returned home, I took my camera in for repair at our local big-box store. To make a long story short, the manager at the technical repair counter looked at the memory card and suggested that there was nothing on it and to go ahead and reformat the card. I wasn’t ready to give up. After all, if CSI and the FBI can recover files, there must be a solution.

This weekend I started looking online for a program or company that could help me recover my photos.

I found Pro Data Doctor and they make a product called Memory Card Data Recovery Software. I downloaded the demo version and it found a lot of files. So I purchased the program. It was successful! Yeah! I was able to recover all the photos of the grandkids and our adventures. Who wouldn’t want this photo?

This company makes a lot of other recovery programs. Check them out if you have lost data. It’s worth a try!

This tool is on my favorites list because:

It’s easy-to-use
It works!
It’s reasonably priced

Check it out yourself.

See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

QuickStudy Reference Charts

October 6, 2007 by Liz

QuickStudy Offers Great Reference Charts!

Great Find: QuickStudy by Bar Charts, Inc.

Permalink: http://www.barcharts.com/

Target Audience: Anyone who uses a computer!

Content:

Bar Charts, Inc. produces laminated QuickStudy guides for academic and computer topics. You may have seen them in book stores. But, did you know they also offer free guides in pdf format? My favorite is Computer Shortcuts & Special Characters.

For example, do you ever forget how to add the accent to an Ã©? I use these special characters occasionally, but not enough to memorize them. So I often turn to this guide.

This tool is on my favorites list because it’s:

Free
Convenient

Check it out yourself. Maybe there’s something that you will find helpful. Look for the “Free Downloads” link conveniently located on the banner. Click this QuickStudy image to go there.

See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

ImageChef

June 3, 2007 by Liz

Cook Up Something Special With ImageChef!

Great Find: ImageChef

Permalink: http://www.imagechef.com/

Target Audience: Anyone interested in creating graphics quickly!

Content:

ImageChef was founded in 2003, so while it’s not a brand new graphics generator, they are always releasing new features and support. You can create custom images without special knowledge or software. Once registered you can email your creations to friends and host your images on the ImageChef site.

And there are so many choices! Below are some examples of graphics I created. This tool is on my favorites list because it is:

Easy-to-use
Free
Unique

Check it out yourself.

See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren