**RESOURCES** For Writers (Microsoft Edge)

I wasn't sure if I should tag this as a "Review" or  "Resources". Either way, this will be of interest (again) to note-takers, writers, students, and businesspeople. Okay, it's pretty much for anybody.

Microsoft Edge is the browser you can write on whether or not you have a touchscreen PC.

Courtesy a nephew, I happen to have a nice touchscreen PC, but with the Edge, you can use the mouse to utilize the write-on feature. There are other features that can work for you, depending on your needs. I'll go through the ones I have used up to now. WARNING: There are going to be a lot of screenshots in this post...

This is the landing page that I got. It's a little confusing because you really can't do any alterations here. Instead, you have to "turn on" the interesting feature.

Keep reading. We're going to get to the good part.

First thing I figured out is that I can't "write" on the Start (or landing) page. Refer to the photo below. When on that Start page, the options I want (on far right hand side) are greyed out and not available.

So, get off that page by going to the Google tab. Or you can just open a new tab with the + sign.

I decided to use the Google home page to test this out. Notice that now I have those options on the far right top.

When you get to whichever page/site it is that you want to make notes on (in this case, Google, for me), then the main two buttons you want to deal with are...

1 - The one that gives the option to "make a web note" (see yellow arrow)

and

2 - The one that gives the option of what to do with the web note -share, save, etc. - (see orange arrow)

You can write on the screen - with stylus or finger if you have a touchscreen, and with the cursor/mouse if you don't have a touchscreen. You can use the Text Box function to type on the page. Also, you can Highlight things or use the Eraser to delete what you've added.

Notice that you can change the sizes and colors for the Pen and the Highlighter.

Now here is where I get to tell you what I had a problem with. Maybe "glitch" is the better term...

When I was using my finger to circle items on the screen, I must have touched outside the "allowed" (or the edge, heh heh) part of the screen because my markings were interrupted and had blank spots. Writing on the center of the web page/screen was okay except my onscreen writing is super sloppy. I preferred to use the Text Box function.

The one thing I don't like is that, of course, searching from Edge defaults you to the Bing search engine. I really, really hate Bing.

Another irritation is that once you Save what you've done, the Eraser no longer works on your notations. In other words, if you make a hand note then hit Save, you can only erase what you do after that last save.

Overall, though, this is all pretty cool. For me, I like being able to use the features while researching stuff for my writing. I think that's something that just about anyone can find a use for.

Best of all is the ability to share what you've done. It's fast and easy. As you can see from the screenshot below, the most popular share spots are there. If you don't see one you're looking for, you can look for one in the Windows Store.

Last of all, if you do use Edge (even only when you want to use the features I mentioned), be sure to check out the Settings. I was able to change everything I wanted (except having Bing as the default search...).

I won't be using this constantly, but I am going to take advantage of what I need from it. I haven't yet done a lot with the Cortana (the "personal assistant" built into Win10)  feature. From what I understand, there's a way to link Cortana to Edge to enhance the experience. ~shrug~ The link I just provided explains more, but I'm not there yet.

Peace
--Free

P.S.: If I made any errors in this overview, you'll just have to remember that I'm an Edge newbie.

**RESOURCES** For Note-takers (May 2016)

How is it that I am just now hearing about the wonder that is digital writing? You guys have been holding out.

If you are a writer (or student, or other notetaker) whose mind works the way mine does and- Wait. Let me back up. I don't think that anyone's mind works the way mine does. What I should say is that if you are the type of writer who:

• Comes up with the most brilliant ideas ever at the most inconvenient times, and/or
• Tends to write on any and everything when your ideas and thoughts strike, and/or
• Loses some of your amazing ideas/thoughts because of lost notes, and/or
• Sometimes like to write things down (instead of using a keyboard), and/or
• Is sometimes so much of a scatterbrained creative genius that all the mind-mapping software in the world can't help.

Basically, if you are like most writers and/or creative personalities, then you might benefit from gadgets that help you keep better track of your ideas.

Personally, I want one of those digital gadgets that let you take notes on the go, then transfer those notes to you computer. Preferably, the notes will transfer to text format. I'd dance around the moon if I could find something that would do all that and work with MS Word.

So far, I've seen some of the digital pens that sound interesting:

• Livescribe sounds neato. I'm confused about whether it works with a PC or just phones and tablets. This was one of the first "smart pens" I heard about. Thing is, apparently, you need to use a special type of paper. I'm bookmarking this for later reading.
• Equil sounds most interesting to me at first glance because I saw the words "real paper, real ink" and thought of not having to spend so much on refills and such.
• IRISNotes is on my radar because, right off, I see that it's claimed to "type what you write". That is exactly what I need. EXACTLY. 
• Like some of the other pens I've seen, the Neo Smartpen sounds like it might be more for artists than for writers. 
• Bamboo Spark sounds interesting also. I'm a little confused about whether or not it's limited to a Wacom tablet.

By the way, the drool factor was highest for the Moleskin "Writing Set". Who am I kidding though? I can't afford regular Moleskin notepads, no way am I going to get tangled up with a gadget from the brand. Besides, there are too many downsides just to have something with the "Moleskin" name on it. (There's a reason I drive an old, old Honda. Two words: cheap and reliable.)

Since there are so many potential pros and cons for any of these (depending on what the user needs), I'm checking a lot of lists and reviews. This one is where I've started.

So, if you are like me, you might have questions about which gadget would be best for writers to use. If you are more up on all of this than me, I hope you can help ease my confusion. I'm still on the hunt for a pen that will work well for me. I will be back to do another post when I've narrowed down options based on the following:

• Affordable initial cost (I'm thinking most writers I know want a range of $100 - $150), and
• Most affordable upkeep (refills on ink/cartridges/special paper etc.
• Easiest to use on the go
• Reliable at saving & transferring written notes
• An ability to recall stored notes would be nice
• Works with a PC/Not limited to smartphone or tablet. (If it works with only a PC, I'm fine)
• Out of the box "user-friendly" setup and management. (Most writers don't want to have to deal with anything but getting their ideas down!)
• Warranty/Guarantee. Better yet, a trial period.
• Decent online and/or customer support.

Is that asking for too much? I don't know, but it sure doesn't hurt to ask anyway.

Peace

--Free

**RESOURCES** For Writers (May 2016)

Some handy links I ran across in the last few weeks that might be helpful.

              

• The Word Counter blog is just good stuff. Show some support.
• Word Counter link 1 
• WC link 2 (for counting words by font/size/spacing etc.)
• WC link 3 (a quick-glance chart)
• Grammarly  is amazing (also the MS Word Add-in is extremely useful)
• I've already mentioned Scapple. Love, love, LOVE it. For PC and Mac.
• Should you market your work as "Literary" or "Mainstream"? 
• What do reps consider a decent length for fiction types? 
• Self Pub Nation has some encouragement for you.
• A helpful infographic for Kindle publishing (quick & short)

I will update this as I collect more links. For now, I am working like mad to finish reviewing the proof copy of my book. Hopefully, my sanity will return as soon as I am finished with that task.

Screenshot of Scapple
 just to show how it works

By the way, someone once saw what my "writing station" (meaning a tiny laptop table to sit at and everything else spread across my bed) looked like. They remarked that one day I might have a really nice writing office. You know what? I like my improvised situation.

Peace

--Free