AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE
The internet packs in free
tools that simplify almost any task from correcting grammar to making timely
social media posts; designing and hosting a website to editing photos, and so
much more. Savio D'Souza and Ashutosh Desai tell you about 12 web services that
make it...
FIX GRAMMAR
If you are an author,
blogger, news reporter, professional, or student, you need to ensure that your
copy is simple to read. But not everyone can afford a good copy editor. For
such instances, there's the Hemingway App and Grammarly. Both websites have a window
into which you can type or copy-paste the text you have written.
The former named after
author Ernest Hemingway marks wordy sentences, adverbs, passive voice, and
“dull“words. All you have to do is follow the suggestions onscreen and see it
do wonders for the readability of your copy.
Similarly, Grammarly flags
potential issues in your writing and suggests context-specific corrections for
grammar and spelling. It explains the reasoning behind each correction to help
you make a decision on how to correct an issue.
Grammarly also offers a
free browser extension for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. http:www.hemingwayapp.com
| grammarly.com
SUMMARISE TEXT
Have you ever been in a
position where you have to read a long document in a short period of time? The
next time this happens, you might want to try summary generators like Auto
Summarizer, Smmry, and Text Compactor.
Paste the text you want
shortened into the text box on these websites, and click on the button. Smmry
lets you specify the number of sentences you want your shortened text to
contain. It also lets you upload a PDF file or provide a website link. Text
Compactor has a slider that lets you set the percentage value to which you want
the text shortened. While Auto Summarizer, by and large, does the best job of
shortening copy and retaining important facts. Still, try out the myriad
options available before you decide which one works for you. In our reckoning,
the best use of summarisers is to create revision cards during exams when you
don't have the time to go through entire lessons. autosummarizer .com |
smmry.com | textcompactor .com
SCHEDULE TWEETS & POSTS
Dlvr It lets you schedule
your posts to multiple social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+
and LinkedIn. Just enter the contents of a new post, select the accounts where
you want it to appear, and pick a time when it should get published. It's that
simple.
It gets even better if you
run a blog, YouTube channel or podcast. You can add your website's “RSS feed“
to Dlvr It and set it to tweet every time you publish a new post. You can
specify how often the service must check for updates; limit the number of posts
per day; force hashtags for every tweet, and it even shortens web links.
When you register for Dlvr
It's free plan, you can connect up to three social accounts and manage up to
five RSS feeds at a time.dlvr.it
DO THE MATH
Easy Calculation comprises
nearly 50 types of calculators, including one for percentage, Body Mass Index
(BMI), square root, fractions, simple and compound interest, age, cube root,
trigonometry function, HCF and LCM, and even blood alcohol. It has sections for
unit and currency conversions, mathematical tutorials (in geometry ,
statistics, algebra, chemistry and physics), math formulae and equations, an
exhaustive mathematical glossary , as well as ready-made Excel worksheet
templates.
So if you work with
numbers, then there's no excuse why you shouldn't have this one handy
.http:www.easycalculation.com
COMPOSE MUSIC
If you need a background
tune for presentations, YouTube productions, or home videos, try Jukedeck or
Computoser.
With Jukedeck, you can
select a genre and mood for your custom music, and even set the tempo for your
tune. After you enter the duration of the track you want in minutes and
seconds, it uses algorithms to render original music. The track is stored on
your cloud account, and you can even download the file to your PC.
Computoser also lets you
choose between `happy' and `sad' as moods for your music. You can select from
five different tempos; whether your music should have chords or not, and the
instrument you want it to be played in.
Both services are free to
use, but you will have to pay Jukedeck if you want to avoid giving credit, or
if you want to buy the tune's copyright.
computoser.com | http:www.jukedeck.com
DESIGN A WEBSITE
Skynova lets you design and
host simple web sites in less than an hour without typing a single piece of
code andor designing graphics.Create a free account by entering your email
address and a password, and you're set.
Skynova then lets you build
your website page by page. You can use its intuitive UI to add and format text,
embed videos and images, include a `contact' form (filled forms are sent to
your registered email address), reorder your pages if required, and fine-tune
the design.
And finally , when you're
done, choose a name for your website yourname.skynova.io for free hosting
on SkyNova's servers.
So whether you want a
simple website to promote a small business, or need one to inform folk about
your college festival, try Skynova.http:www.skynova.com
FIX PHOTOS
There are quite a few
web-based photo editors, each with its own extensive set of tools, features,
and capabilities. But very few match up to the one-touch fixes that Makeup
Photo delivers.
You can choose to upload a
photo from your PC, or use one from Facebook. Makeup Photo detects faces in the
image to smoothen wrinkles, whiten teeth, apply glamour effects, enhance
colour, and even get rid of red eye.
After that, you can use
one-touch buttons to apply colour filters, play with lighting, add backgrounds,
and more.
From Makeup Photo's retouch
page, you can also access other photo utilities, including Fun Effects, Instant
Fix, Cartoons and E-cards.
makeup.pho.to
AUTOMATE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING
IFTTT (short for `If This
Then That') lets you automatically carry out repetitive tasks from your Android
or iOS smartphone. For example, you can configure it to save the photos you're
tagged in on Facebook to a designated Dropbox folder. Or, force your smartphone
to go into silent mode when you enter your office. Or, set your latest
Instagram picture as a wallpaper.
Apart from cross-linking
your online accounts, you can activate tasks for weather notifications; receive
alerts when your Fitbit records a sleepless night, and more.
If you own a compatible
smart appliance like Philips Hue wireless lights you can even use IFTTT to
follow a routine every day, like to switch them on at sunset.
Before activating any
tasks, you will need to register with IFTTT. You can then browse its applet
collections to find those that work for you. And if you don't find any, you can
create your own and share it with other IFTTT members.
Your IFTTT profile will
list the recipes you have subscribed to along with their current status,
whether active or not. If need be, you can view and reconfigure these tasks
from a web browser too.
Whenever you choose to activate
a task or “applet“, IFTTT will request permission to access the “services“
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc you want to connect. | ifttt.com
Jan 28 2017 : The Times of India (Mumbai)
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