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We're always looking for a way to organize the little bits and pieces of information that clutter up our brains. Whether it's remembering to stop by the store on the way home, that list of phone calls we need to return, or more, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the minutiae of everyday life. Slips of paper aren't enough, but full-on databases to track this stuff may be overkill. You need something in the middle.

How about a personal wiki? TiddlyBackpack is just such a tool. Storing everything in just one file, there's nothing to get list, and you can put it all on a USB drive and stick it in your pocket. It works like a full-powered wiki, in that you can edit pages, add to them, and even mark them up. And since it's so small, it's no problem to FTP it or email it to somebody else. Got another project to keep track of? Just create another TiddlyBackpack file and you're off and running.

TiddlyBackpack is just a straight-up HTML file with some JavaScript code thrown in, so it will work on just about any system with a web browser.

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While they may not be the best thing since sliced bread, PDF files certainly have to be included in the top ten list of the best things ever. They're a great cross-platform file format that lets you share text and images with just about everybody. Unfortunately, creating those files can be a pain in the neck, especially in terms of how expensive it can be. A full version of Adobe's official PDF creation tool will set you back several bills, and frankly you may not need all the capability that you're buying with that expensive purchase. You may be able to create PDFs for a much more modest price—like for free.

PDFCreator is a free tool that lets you create PDFs on your own computer. Installed as a "virtual printer", if you can print a file, you can create a PDF document. You can encrypt your files so that people can read them, for example, but not copy content from them our print them out. Combining multiple PDFs into a single file makes it easier to keep track of your information. And PDFCreator can also create files of several other image formats from your documents as well.

PDFCreator is a Windows application.

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How much "stuff" do you suppose you download in a typical day? Even with a super fast connection, I'll bet you wished you spent less time dealing with downloads and more time actually working (or playing ) on your computer. Maybe it's time for you to check out a download accelerator tool.

Download Accelerator Plus might be the one you're looking for. It helps you take your already fast connection and makes it even faster. And if you don't happen to have broadband access, then you really need the help this app can provide.

It works it magic in several ways. It actually opens up multiple connections to the download site, so you can grab more of your file at one time. It's also smart enough to figure out whether your content is available in other places and then grabs it from those mirrored sites as well. And in the event of a broken connection or some other interruption, it can pick up where it left off, so that you don't have to re-download the stuff that already made it to your computer.

Download Accelerator Plus is a Windows app. It runs under Win98 or later, and it supports most recent web browsers.

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Whether you're submitting your resume for that great job you found, or you're applying for a grant or scholarship, or you're sending in your college application, you need something else to go with it: a cover letter. You have to let the folks to whom you are submitting your application or proposal know who you are, what you're applying for, and list what you are actually submitting. Your resume is no help if you don't tell your prospective employer what specific job you are applying for; your grant application has to let the institution you are applying to know what you are trying to accomplish.

The Cover Letter Examples site includes dozens of cover letter examples that you can download, edit, and submit along with your application materials. Choose from cover letters appropriate for employment, academic situations, sales proposals, contest entries, and more. Along with Microsoft Word-compatible DOC file cover letter templates, there are also resources including cover letter etiquette (don't send a cover letter with your resume to a prospective employer on your current employer's letterhead), lists of "action words" to use in cover letters, and an all-important list of "don'ts".

These Cover Letters are all available for free download. They require Microsoft Word, a GoogleDocs account, or another compatible word processing application that can read and write DOC files.

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Online productivity applications are a great breakthrough. They're cheap, easy-to-use, and they're compatible with many platforms. Google Docs is a widely used platform for word processing and spreadsheets. But there are others out there.

Zoho is a suite of tools that includes productivity and collaboration applications, Along with the word processor and spreadsheet apps you would expect, they've also got email, a presentation tool, a wiki, online organizer, and more. Along with these unlimited tools, they're got more business tools that do carry some limitations: a CRM system that supports 3 users, a project management tool that can help you oversee one project at a time, and others.

You can create documents online, or you can upload files from your local system—browse your hard drive, or even email them as attachments. If you're without Internet access, you can still work on your docs and sync them up later. And of course, you can share documents to collaborate with friends or co-workers.

Zoho is a free service. It should work with most systems running a modern web browser.

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Sometimes you just have to have a text editor. No formatting, just the facts, ma'am. Maybe you're building a web page; you might be tweaking a line of code in your latest app; or you're plowing through some log files. You don't want formatting, you just want plain-old ASCII text. Just because you want no-frill, no-nonsense text doesn't mean you want to go out there with just a clay tablet and stylus though.

Windows Notepad lets you edit text-as-text, but it's not much beyond the clay tablet we mentioned above. It seems like you ought to be able to combine the basic text editing facility with a slightly friendlier interface. Notepad 2008 may be what you're looking for here.

Sure, it's a text editor, but its application window includes a "ribbon", that little toolbar that helps make apps more useable. Want to create a new document? Click on the "new" button. Want to search or replace? Just click the button. You don't have to dig through menus to get done what you need to do. Notepad 2008 also includes a tabbed interface, so you can easily jump between multiple open documents.

Notepad 2008 is a free Windows application. It's compatible with systems running XP and Vista.

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The experts tell you that you should never go shopping without a list. You know the drill: you head off to your local Mega-Mart with the best of intentions, but between the impulse buys (but that display looks so pretty!) and the "wow am I hungry" stuff (who really needs two dozen doughnuts?), next thing you know, both your diet and your finances are history. What you need is a good shopping list.

You can make that list on a scrap of paper, or stick it on the back of an envelope, but are you really being serious then? What you need is a dedicated shopping list, a list that stands up and takes control—in other words, a shopping list that you're going to take seriously. What you need is a free printable grocery list from Free Printable Grocery Lists.

They've got two dozen different designs to choose from. Choose from simple shopping lists or more complicated shopping lists. There are lists where you just fill in the blanks, and there are "smart" lists that already include items and categories. They've even got specialty shopping lists that help you buy for your camping trip, or to fill your pantry. Or be really good and grab a Low Carb grocery list to make it easier to stick to your diet.

These lists are all free to download and use. All you need is a copy of Adobe Reader installed on your computer to print 'em out.

And you can still buy a couple of doughnuts if you really want to.

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When everything is laid-out just so, it's so much easier to get work done. When you sit at your desk, you grab your favorite pen and your pad of paper; you bring your desktop calculator over here, you push the phone over there. Now you're all set, and ready to go. Why should your computer be any different?

PowerPro lets you work the way you want to. It starts with the features of an application launch bar, and adds the ability to manipulate application windows, send keystrokes to different programs, and even run virtual desktops, a UNIX favorite. Make it easy to start your favorite apps, the ones you use every day. Add alarms and count-down and count-up timers to make sure you're staying on schedule. Use your mouse to run apps from user-configurable launch menus, or assign system-wide or application-specific hot keys, and you'll never have to take your hands off the keyboard.

PowerPro is a Windows application. It's compatible with systems running anything from Win95 on up.

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Long, long ago the talk was all about the "paperless office". People were positively giddy at the promise of no more mess, no more waste. Of course that was many reams of paper and many new filing cabinets ago. Turns out maybe there really isn't such a thing as a paperless office. But what about an office that doesn't use any more paper than it needs to? Maybe that's an achievable goal.

GreenPrint World is a tool that can help you get a handle on all the wasted paper in your organization or home. It's easy to use: just print the way you always have. GreenPrint World looks at what you're printing and tries to figure out if there's a way to print less. How about the website printout where the last page contains only the site's URL? Maybe it's the legal mumbo-jumbo that prints out and then goes directly into the trash? You'll get a display of what's being sent to the printer, with the option of not printing those wasteful pages, saving all that paper. Remove images if what you really want is the text, or remove text if you're looking for the pictures. Or you can decide to remove everything and PDF the output instead, and save all the paper you were going to use. It even tracks your savings, so you'll appreciate how much paper and toner you haven't used.

GreenPrint World is a free download. It's a Windows app and runs under any system from Win2k on. It uses version 2.0 of the .NET Framework.

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Are you hopelessly addicted to Craigslist? If you're looking to rent an apartment, buy a car, score the latest concert tickets, or even find a job, your search may well begin with this ubiquitous tool. It's a great deal if you're looking only in your local area, but what if you're trying to look in multiple areas? Telecommuting jobs, for instance, can be anywhere, but one of the great shortcomings of Craigslist is that you can only search in one location at a time. That means if you're searching in six different places, you've got to run your query through six different localized Craigslists. It'd be nice if you didn't have to work that hard for your results.

CraigsPal is a free tool that lets you do just that. You can decide where to search and what to search for, and then execute your query. You can save your old searches so you can re-use them later. Now you're really tapping into the power of everybody's favorite classified ad site.

CraigsPal is a Windows application.

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