http://tools.modernprojects.com reviews of academic research tools Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:02:26 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Bean: An OS X Word Processor I wrote my latest essay using Bean, a very able and stripped down word processor. It has pretty much everything I need for a short (undergraduate essay) document - rich text format (with pictures) full screen editing to hide everything else, word count so you ... http://tools.modernprojects.com/2008/10/19/bean-an-os-x-word-processor/ I tried to use only free and online tools for a semester - a combination of google docs, zotero and some other things. It hasn't been a success for me, but that doesn't in any way reflect the quality of the tools, just the way I wanted to use ... http://tools.modernprojects.com/2008/04/29/results-the-great-online-experiment/ 25 library research tools, posted on collegedegree.com - the best one is #7, just because my partner developed it :) Well, actually a bit more than that.  She set up an RSS - real simple syndication - feed for new arrivals in the University Library. It is the best way to ... http://tools.modernprojects.com/2008/03/04/25-awesome-beta-research-tools-from-libraries-around-the-world-rss-wonder-of-the-web/ I was thinking about using google documents for my research experiment this semester - using online 'free' tools.  ars technica had and interesting article about zoho - an online word-processor that syncs with google gears for off-line (god forbid) use.  As much as a google-head as I am, I'll give ... http://tools.modernprojects.com/2008/02/29/zoho-offline-and-online-use/ I get a few calls each year from students (but mostly concerned parents) wondering what kind of computer they should buy for student life. Mac or PC? Well, it depends. These days you get what you pay for. A reasonable standard laptop from a department store running windows ... http://tools.modernprojects.com/2008/02/19/pc-v-macintosh-and-linux/ After a few days thinking and talking to my collegues, I've decided on the software I'm going to use for the first experiment: google documents (with google gears for offline help) and zotero all running on Firefox.  The first task is going to see if I want to run this ... http://tools.modernprojects.com/2008/02/18/experiment-1-software-choices-made/ Can you do a university course using open source and free online software? I'm going to try to do an entire semester's work without touching proprietary applications. The goals are: Interoperability - everyone has to be able to read my work at the end Cross platform - I should ... http://tools.modernprojects.com/2008/02/14/experiment-1-begins/