Best free word processors
Comparing changes in Word documents
Last month I mentioned CSDiff [1], a freeware program that allows you to compare two word documents even if the documents were written with Word's "track changes function turned off. This prompted Paul Lawrence, the editor of the file comparison utilities at our freeware wiki to write:
"Gizmo, I became aware of CSDiff a few months back and was excited about its ability to compare Word docs. I had heard the whole "track changes" bit before. But then someone pointed out to me that it is not necessary for Word to have the "track changes" function turned on previously in order to use that feature. At least not in Word 2003 and later - I am unsure about the older versions. Under "Tools" there is a feature called "Compare and merge documents" but it is often hidden until you click the double down arrows at the bottom so I always missed it before. Simply have the documents open that you want to compare and bingo. Apparently all CSDiff does is add another way to use this already built in feature."
Well I checked what Paul said and he is totally correct. So you don't need a freeware program to compare separate Word documents; it's already built into Word. Well there you go.
[1] http://www.componentsoftware.com/Products/CSDiff/index.htm
Google launches Calendar, acquires Writely
Google has officially launched Google Calendar [1], a free Ajax- powered web calendar application. It's a fast, searchable, multi- calendar with reminder capabilities that allows users to store and share appointments. It's tightly integrated with GMail and can import data from Yahoo Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. One of the most interesting features is the smart text recognition that allows automatic event classification based on your text descriptions. For example, if you typed in, "have lunch with Gizmo at 12.30 at Cafe Roma," it would be automatically classified in the event database without the need for manual selection. Your calendars can be optionally shared with nominated users via RSS and reminders can be sent via SMS. During the month, Google also announced that it had acquired the outstanding Ajax-based web word processor called Writely [2]. Between this, the web Calendar, GMail and Google Chat it's clear the much speculated-on Google free web-based application suite is starting to take shape.
[1] http://calendar.google.com/
[2] http://www2.writely.com