Month: January 2007

WhatTheFont

Everyone that uses a computer to generate content (a word processor, design in Photoshop) has at some point run into a situation where one needs to emulate a font. Only problem is that you don’t know the name of the exact font or a font that is similar.

This is where WhatTheFont? comes in. It is an application that helps you identify a particular font.

WhatTheFont

You first upload or link an image for it to examine.
Next, the OCR needs some help. And voilĂ , you’ve found your font.

As this the recognition is actually quite good, you can skip the browsing through entire catalogues of fonts.

A real time saver!

My Transformers Collection So Far

I just wanted to share the current status of my Transformers collection.

* Ricochet (Alternators)* Grimlock (Binaltech)* Skids (Alternators)* Soundwave (G1 original)* Gundam Astray Red Frame (1/44 Bandai model)* Optimus Prime (Alternators)

As many of my friends and some colleagues know, I’ve recently started collecting new Transformers action figures ever since my interest in Transformers was re-awakened by the upcoming Transformers: The Movie directed by Michael Bay.

As of today, I currently own:

  1. Optimus Prime (Masterpiece MP-04 edtion)
  2. Grimlock (Binaltech edition)
  3. Meister (Alternators edition)
  4. Optimus Prime (Alternators edition)
  5. Rollbar (Alternators edition)
  6. Ricochet (Alternators edition)
  7. Skids (Alternators edition)
  8. Tracks (Alternators edition)

These toys for big boys are from from the simple toys of yesteryearbut rather highly detailed, ingeniously constructed pieces ofindustrial art.

My Transformers Display Cabinet Masterpiece Optimus Prime MP-04(with trailer). * Blaster (original G1)* Meister (Alternators)* Tracks (Alternators)* Rollbar (Alternators)

I can’t get enough of these and watch this space as I expand my collection!

Spelling Checker in Firefox 2.0

Spelling checkers used to be somewhat of a chore on the net.

For a long time, I used to prepare my texts in a real word processor before pasting them in a browser. Then came the add-ons and extensions that added the functionality to the browser. Sadly, many of these efforts failed because the dictionaries were so limited that the effect of these tools was minimal.

Thanks to the massive open-source team now involved in developing Firefox and the Mozilla family, there are now good dependable dictionaries that are directly usable in any web form you want!

As a fan of Firefox I’ve been giving the spelling a go and I can positively say that it really works well. It’s really helped me reduce the amount of typo’s I make. And that is a great thing. But how does it work?

Let Jaspio show you:

When you install Firefox, the corresponding dictionary is embedded into your browser. As I installed the En-US version of Firefox, I have this dictionary as well.

Although American English is fine for most people, I was educated in real English and so I wanted to be able to use the En-GB dictionary. You can do this by downloading the En-GB dictionary from the Firefox Add-on library. (You’ll have to restart Firefox to be able to use the new dictionary).

Next, when you are using a web form with a multi line input you can tell Firefox that you would like to use the built-in spelling checker by right-clicking on the field and checking "Spell check this field".

Activate Spell Check for the form field

The next time you right-click on the field you will see the languages you have installed and from which you can choose.

Select the desired dictionary

After enabling the language of your choice, the spell checker kicks in and uses a thin red underline to show you which words are incorrectly spelled. When you right-click on such a word, you will be presented with a few alternatives.

The spell checker in action

I hope this has been helpful to you!

Your feedback is always appreciated.