Scrabble is a one word educational game which interests people belonging to diverse age groups all over the world. A source of both fun and information, the game has also inspired many clubs and competitions. With such high popularity, it was just a matter of time before Scrabble evolved from the traditional board and letters into its present electronic version. So, for those of you who would like to play Scrabble online for free, Scrabulous is the website to visit. Of course, there is quite a controversy surrounding Scrabulous; it is alleged that the developers of Scrabulous have copied almost everything from the original Scrabble. Nevertheless the website, and its equivalent Scrabulous application on Facebook (http://apps.facebook.com/scrabulous/) is an absolute treat.
For starters, there is absolutely no compulsion to sign up or get into the hassle of creating an account. You can simply log onto the website and start playing. However, creating an account has an advantage that you can save your games and hence, if you have to get up from your PC for any reason or your internet gets disconnected, you can pause and then resume your game. This feature is not available for guest users.
There are basically three options for anyone who wishes to play Scrabble here. You can either play with yourself — which of course is a tedious option, since the game can go on for ages. You can make your game challenging by playing with the artificially intelligent robot. Or you can join any of the Scrabble rooms and play with any other online user — and this is definitely the most interesting option.
Scrabble rooms are of three levels. These levels are categorised on the basis of difficulty. So there are rooms for beginners, intermediate and advanced. Depending on the level of your vocabulary and how skilled you are at the game, you can join any of the room and either join one of the Scrabble boards which are already active, or start a new game with any of the users in that room.
There are some very handy features on this website as well. For instance, if you cannot figure out which word to play where during one of your turns, you can use the hint feature to give you a prod in the right direction. Moreover, if you want to play a word and are not sure if it is in the Scrabble dictionary, then you can use the feature which lets you look up the word in whichever dictionary you are using. This feature does not tell you the meaning of the word, though. You can simply enter a word, and the search result will tell you if this word is valid.
All in all, this website can keep you glued to your computer for hours — whether you are at work or at home. It is also a great way to unwind when you are stressed out.
To play Scrabble online for free, log onto http://www.scrabulous.com
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
How Dumb Can it Get?
If you have ever managed to come across a few books by Bill Bryson, the renowned travel writer, you will be quite familiar with the jibes he takes on product warnings which are commonsense and should be widely known. Alas, common sense is not quite so common, or so the companies of certain products believe. And since, they love to undermine the intelligence of their average consumer, they put up warnings and cautions which are plain dumb.
Hopefully, the Dumb Warnings website should enlighten them a little. This website is part of the Dumb Network which generally collects and categorises all things dumb which can be quite easily spotted in the world, offline and online. Dumb Warnings is one of their websites, and can be the pick of the day especially when you are feeling a little blue.
The best place to start would be the top 25 warnings. This section lists down the most hilarious, and obviously, the top dumbest cautions that come printed in black and white with various products. Some of these highly useful instructions tell one to avoid dropping air conditioners out of windows; not use blow dryers while sleeping, refrain from ironing clothes while wearing them and the most enlightening one – remember that the content of a coffee may be hot.
In case you have forgotten already, “Contents (of 7-up are) under pressure. Cap may blow off causing eye or other serious injury. Point away from face and people, especially when opening.” As one can imagine, these warnings are quite pointless, and a very big laugh. On the website, you cannot only just read them, but you can rate them as well.
Of course, if you have some time on your hands and you are in the mood to delve more deeply into this website, then you can access dumb warnings by category. These are mainly categories of products and include warnings on appliances, drinks, clothes, electronics, medicine, toys and lots, lots more. Within each category, you will find loads of warnings on various products. Again, you can pore through them, laugh at them, and rate them.
For instance, the Food category will inform you that Mark and Spencer’s Bread Pudding will be hot after you heat it; Sainsbury Peanuts contains nuts; and in order to enjoy American Airlines Peanuts, you have to open the packet and eat the nuts.
At the end of it, if you are in the mood for some more ‘dumb’ stuff, you can check out other websites in the Dumb Network. There are dumb quotes where you can read some pretty mind-boggling and funny statements uttered by various people. There are dumb facts where you can find totally pointless and irrelevant information on almost anything from sciences and travelling to government and history. The website on dumb bumper stickers has a collection featuring the same from all over cyberspace.
In short, whether you are having a tough day at work, or are bored at home, this is one website which will definitely enable you to while away your time, while having fun simultaneously.
To discover how uncommon is commonsense log on to: http://www.dumbwarnings.com/
Hopefully, the Dumb Warnings website should enlighten them a little. This website is part of the Dumb Network which generally collects and categorises all things dumb which can be quite easily spotted in the world, offline and online. Dumb Warnings is one of their websites, and can be the pick of the day especially when you are feeling a little blue.
The best place to start would be the top 25 warnings. This section lists down the most hilarious, and obviously, the top dumbest cautions that come printed in black and white with various products. Some of these highly useful instructions tell one to avoid dropping air conditioners out of windows; not use blow dryers while sleeping, refrain from ironing clothes while wearing them and the most enlightening one – remember that the content of a coffee may be hot.
In case you have forgotten already, “Contents (of 7-up are) under pressure. Cap may blow off causing eye or other serious injury. Point away from face and people, especially when opening.” As one can imagine, these warnings are quite pointless, and a very big laugh. On the website, you cannot only just read them, but you can rate them as well.
Of course, if you have some time on your hands and you are in the mood to delve more deeply into this website, then you can access dumb warnings by category. These are mainly categories of products and include warnings on appliances, drinks, clothes, electronics, medicine, toys and lots, lots more. Within each category, you will find loads of warnings on various products. Again, you can pore through them, laugh at them, and rate them.
For instance, the Food category will inform you that Mark and Spencer’s Bread Pudding will be hot after you heat it; Sainsbury Peanuts contains nuts; and in order to enjoy American Airlines Peanuts, you have to open the packet and eat the nuts.
At the end of it, if you are in the mood for some more ‘dumb’ stuff, you can check out other websites in the Dumb Network. There are dumb quotes where you can read some pretty mind-boggling and funny statements uttered by various people. There are dumb facts where you can find totally pointless and irrelevant information on almost anything from sciences and travelling to government and history. The website on dumb bumper stickers has a collection featuring the same from all over cyberspace.
In short, whether you are having a tough day at work, or are bored at home, this is one website which will definitely enable you to while away your time, while having fun simultaneously.
To discover how uncommon is commonsense log on to: http://www.dumbwarnings.com/
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Soulful Experiences
The expansion of print media in the past few years paved way for aspiring writers and journalists to translate their ideas into words. Publications like magazine or newspapers are a very good avenue for developing one’s writing skills. However, there is still a dearth of literary journals – and with it, a lack of avenues for those who write poems and short stories. Literary work has very little place in newspapers and magazines, and not everyone has the resources or contacts to get a book published. So where do these writers go?
It is interesting to note that there are now a number of websites in cyberspace which invite entries of short stories and poems from aspiring and amateur writers. But of course, one has to be highly vigilant, lest their work ends up getting plagiarised and someone else gets the credit for it. One of the more credible websites in this regard is Chicken Soup.
Chicken Soup series are definitely popular with some people. Some, of course, find them highly clichéd. But if you are an aspiring writer, then it does not really matters which category you belong to. If you like the series, you can seriously think about contributing to it with your own story. And in case you are one of those who think they can write much better and inspiring stories than the ones which are published, then why not give it a try?
The website of Chicken Soup has an entire list of their upcoming titles from which you can pick and choose what you prefer. Once you have decided on the title, you can go through the submission guidelines to get the essential knowledge to ensure your story fits the specified criteria and hence, has a higher chance of getting it published. Each title has a specified deadline, so you can work accordingly. And once you pen down your stories, you can use the form given on the website to submit it.
One noteworthy aspect of this website is that it does not restrict you to submit a story only for the titles which have been specified. If you have a great idea for a title of the book itself and a story which fits it, you can again use the form on the website and submit it. If the idea clicks with the publishers, they might just decide to make a book out of the title idea you submitted.
Apart from that, there are quite a few other activities on the website which will interest you. If you are a die-hard fan of the Chicken Soup series in general, you can sign up for their email service. This will deliver an inspirational story into your inbox to ensure your daily serving of Chicken Soup. Moreover, you can also browse the different and latest Chicken Soup books which have been released.
Overall, this website can be considered as a very useful resource. It is true that no one can guarantee whatever you submit will be published. But you can at least give it a try and in the process, learn to develop your literary skills. At the end of the day, it is a win-win situation.
To stimulate and test your creative juices, check out http://www.chickensoup.com.
It is interesting to note that there are now a number of websites in cyberspace which invite entries of short stories and poems from aspiring and amateur writers. But of course, one has to be highly vigilant, lest their work ends up getting plagiarised and someone else gets the credit for it. One of the more credible websites in this regard is Chicken Soup.
Chicken Soup series are definitely popular with some people. Some, of course, find them highly clichéd. But if you are an aspiring writer, then it does not really matters which category you belong to. If you like the series, you can seriously think about contributing to it with your own story. And in case you are one of those who think they can write much better and inspiring stories than the ones which are published, then why not give it a try?
The website of Chicken Soup has an entire list of their upcoming titles from which you can pick and choose what you prefer. Once you have decided on the title, you can go through the submission guidelines to get the essential knowledge to ensure your story fits the specified criteria and hence, has a higher chance of getting it published. Each title has a specified deadline, so you can work accordingly. And once you pen down your stories, you can use the form given on the website to submit it.
One noteworthy aspect of this website is that it does not restrict you to submit a story only for the titles which have been specified. If you have a great idea for a title of the book itself and a story which fits it, you can again use the form on the website and submit it. If the idea clicks with the publishers, they might just decide to make a book out of the title idea you submitted.
Apart from that, there are quite a few other activities on the website which will interest you. If you are a die-hard fan of the Chicken Soup series in general, you can sign up for their email service. This will deliver an inspirational story into your inbox to ensure your daily serving of Chicken Soup. Moreover, you can also browse the different and latest Chicken Soup books which have been released.
Overall, this website can be considered as a very useful resource. It is true that no one can guarantee whatever you submit will be published. But you can at least give it a try and in the process, learn to develop your literary skills. At the end of the day, it is a win-win situation.
To stimulate and test your creative juices, check out http://www.chickensoup.com.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Old is gold
When it comes to software updates, the general opinion is dichotomous. For some people, these updates, irrespective of how minor they are, are an absolute necessity. They just cannot do without updating their software frequently. For them, such updates are imperative in order to make full use of the new features of current software. Others could not be bothered less with the updates. As long as the software is working and giving them what they want, they hardly even check for updates.
It is quite true that not all updates work for the betterment of the software itself. There are certain updates which make the PC intolerably slow. Others take ages to install, and then eat up precious space on the hard disk. At times, you feel the previous version of the software was indeed a better option. For times such as these, Old Version is the website which caters to you most effectively.
As the name suggests, Old Version is a massive and comprehensive collection of software with their previous versions. Yes, you can get all the previous versions of the most popular software here – all for free.
All software on this website are categorised into the broad sections of communication (including all instant messengers), graphics, multimedia, internet, file sharing and utilities. Within each section is a list of software. Once you make your selection, you will be directed to all the previous versions of that particular software, so you can choose whichever you like.
The website has some additional features as well. It will inform you of the 10 popular and the 10 recently added software.
Therefore, if you keep on visiting the website regularly, you can keep abreast of the latest additions to the software database. Not surprisingly, the software downloaded most frequently from this website includes
MSN Messenger, Internet Explorer and AOL Instant Messenger.
However, it would be best to bear in mind that there are certain versions of software which just do not run. For instance, some software might ask you to perform the necessary upgrade before it runs. This is a general nuisance which happens with certain software. But all in all, most of them do work. And if you have not gotten too used to some of the advanced features of your favourite software, you can actually make do with these old versions.
You can also help contribute to this website. If you have an old version of any software which works without any glitches, and you are in possession of its installation files, then you can add them to this website for the benefit of other visitors.
At the end of the day, it is all about whatever suits you and your PC. Software updates are indeed imperative in some areas, for instance, in the case of an anti-virus, you need to keep the virus definitions updated. However, if the updates are simply new emoticons or backgrounds, then you might consider sticking to the version which is most efficient for your PC.
To access previous versions of popular software, log onto http://www.oldversion.com
It is quite true that not all updates work for the betterment of the software itself. There are certain updates which make the PC intolerably slow. Others take ages to install, and then eat up precious space on the hard disk. At times, you feel the previous version of the software was indeed a better option. For times such as these, Old Version is the website which caters to you most effectively.
As the name suggests, Old Version is a massive and comprehensive collection of software with their previous versions. Yes, you can get all the previous versions of the most popular software here – all for free.
All software on this website are categorised into the broad sections of communication (including all instant messengers), graphics, multimedia, internet, file sharing and utilities. Within each section is a list of software. Once you make your selection, you will be directed to all the previous versions of that particular software, so you can choose whichever you like.
The website has some additional features as well. It will inform you of the 10 popular and the 10 recently added software.
Therefore, if you keep on visiting the website regularly, you can keep abreast of the latest additions to the software database. Not surprisingly, the software downloaded most frequently from this website includes
MSN Messenger, Internet Explorer and AOL Instant Messenger.
However, it would be best to bear in mind that there are certain versions of software which just do not run. For instance, some software might ask you to perform the necessary upgrade before it runs. This is a general nuisance which happens with certain software. But all in all, most of them do work. And if you have not gotten too used to some of the advanced features of your favourite software, you can actually make do with these old versions.
You can also help contribute to this website. If you have an old version of any software which works without any glitches, and you are in possession of its installation files, then you can add them to this website for the benefit of other visitors.
At the end of the day, it is all about whatever suits you and your PC. Software updates are indeed imperative in some areas, for instance, in the case of an anti-virus, you need to keep the virus definitions updated. However, if the updates are simply new emoticons or backgrounds, then you might consider sticking to the version which is most efficient for your PC.
To access previous versions of popular software, log onto http://www.oldversion.com
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