Sure, dictionaries have been on the Web since the begining, and they’ve been great, but like many tools, they’ve become polluted with ads, suggestions and assorted junk.  Definr is a very fast and easy to use online dictionary.

As you type, the list matching words shortens until you see the word you want defined. Click on it and the definition appears instantly. No need for a page refresh. The only thing I would change, and this is very minor, is to display the definition of the first word in the list even as the typing continues.

Dictionary Reference tools

Type a ‘w’ or the word ‘word’, and Microsoft Word is launched. Type ‘ppt’ and Microsoft PowerPoint is launched. Type ‘g’ and Google is launched in your browser. It may not seem like it, but typing a few letters is even easier than mousing over to desktop icons.

SlickRun is a utility that floats on your Windows desktop and lets you assign a program path to a short word or just one letter. For example; typing ‘w’ in SlickRun on my machine launches ‘C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE’ which is the path to Microsoft Word. You can define as many shortcuts as you like, and there are options for window size, parameters, and startup paths.

software tools Windows

A Best Buy card. A Bev Mo card. One each for Safeway and Albertson’s. Another for Office Depot and one for Office Max. All those club cards are enough to give you a 3 inch Constanza Wallet and a pain in your rear.

JustOneClubCard.com has a very simple, medium technology solution that will flatten your wallet by 7 cards. Here are the steps.

1. Enter up to 8 bar code numbers from your club cards into the Web based application at JustOneClubCard.com.
2. Print out the bar codes on a single sheet of paper.
3. Trim the print out using the trim marks. Done.

For a longer lasting card, you may want to laminate the final, cropped printout.

JustOneClubCard.com doesn’t store any information or numbers so you don’t have any real security issues. If you have more than 8 cards, do it again, and again, and again and sooner or later you will have a flatter, trimmer butt bulge.

bar code card Shopping tools wallet Website

File this one under, free, easy, and small programs that make life easier.

Unlocker is  a Windows program that puts itself on the right-click menu, and allows you to delete files or folders that don’t get deleted because they are “Being used by another person or program.” You know the file or folder isn’t in use, or shouldn’t be, but until Unlocker, there was nothing you could do.

More details at MakeUseOf.

software tools

By now, you know about online file transfer services like YouSendIt. No?

TransferBigFiles.comups the free file size limit to 2 GB, and they offer a client program that speeds up transfers which is good, because lugging around files this size is sure to take up a good chunk of time.  What I find interesting is that we are rapidly approaching the ability to transfer a full DVD’s worth of info. Hey, got a copy of the first Lord of the Rings that I can check out?

file size files software tools video Website

Easy Duplicate Finderis a free program that does just what is says. When you install and run it, you will get back a list of original files and their duplicates. Duplicates are located based on the contents of the file and not the file name. Results are presented with originals and duplicates right next to each-other for easy management. File locating can be restricted by file type, directory, folder, and size.

duplicates files software tools utilities

Sending a picture of your lovely daughter is a great idea until your email program gags on that 2.5 MB file.  Or maybe you’ve just finished that PowerPoint file only to realize that you chocked it full of 27 MB worth of images. These, as well as many other, problems can be addressed with a very good, free online tool called Web Resizer.

You may or may not know that image sizes can be reduced significantly by changing the dimensions and quality levels. For example, an image that is 500 KB can be reduced to 85 KB with a 20% reduction in quality. This level of quality change is imperceptible and the file size is greatly reduced.

With a straight forward user interface, Web Resizer allows you to upload a picture and make a variety of changes including size and quality reduction in addition to cropping, brightness, color saturation, and sharpness. The two limitations that could come into play are the 5 BM upload file size limit and the 800 pixel width limit on the reduced file.

file size graphics images pictures reduction tools