EcoTen

Ten Ways to Go Green

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

Need more data storage for your netbook or mobile device? Roshi over at HowtoGoMobile.com tells you how to get a free 500GB virtual hard drive with active sharing and downloading options here.

Read Bruce Britt's post, The New Stone Age, which talks about the pros and cons of using a new paper made from stone to save trees.

eDoc Organizer (Basic Edition) is "a document management software that enables you to import your receipts, recipes, bills and other paper documents via your scanner and file them in digital format on your computer. If you have Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007 installed, you can also import any existing Word, Excel, PowerPoint, XPS, or PDF Documents from your computer and include them in the archive. The documents can be organized with custom color tags and personal comments to help you filter the list and find specific documents with the simple keyword search feature. The free basic version can be used with up to 250 documents, if you need more than that, an upgrade to the paid version is required" (OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7; see additional system requirements here)

Nokia's Green Explorer site "works with its partners to provide sustainable tips and advice on how to live green and travel clean. Share your experiences and ideas here and help make a world of difference."

GreenPrint "makes it easy to print only the pages you want saving you around $100 a year on paper and ink, as well as helping to save millions of trees" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)

Paperless Printer is "a universal document exchange utility that can be used as a Virtual Printer to publish virtually any document in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Microsoft Word Format (DOC), Microsoft Excel Format (XLS), JPEG or BMP, preserving the exact look and content of the original document, complete with fonts and graphics. You can distribute your PDF and HTML documents by E-Mail or store them on the World Wide Web, on intranet, a file system, or a CD. Other users can view your work on Microsoft® Windows, Mac® OS, LINUX, and UNIX® platforms. Paperless Printer also works as a preview tool. Users can print from almost any Windows® application to this printer and visualize the output on JPEG or BMP, without actually having to print on paper. Paperless Printer is a 100% software product. It has no hardware parts. Paperless Printer appears like a normal printer on a Windows PC. You can actually see the Paperless Printer object in the Printers folder [Start -> Settings -> Printers]. Using an application's Print command you can print anything to this printer. Instead of printing on paper, Paperless Printer creates content in PDF, HTML, DOC, Excel, JPEG or BMP files" (OS: Windows 95, 98, Millennium Edition, NT 4.0, 2000 or XP)

Did you know that each ton of paper made from recycled fibers saves 17 trees, 4100 kilowatts of energy, 7000 gallons of water and 60 pounds of air pollutants? I found out this, plus more Tips for the Environmentally Friendly Office, over at Pendaflex.com, manufacturer of EarthWise® 100% recycled office products.

Also from Nokia's Green Explorer Web site, a sub op note: "Are you a seasoned eco warrior or just a traveler with a conscience and a knack for writing? Have you got green travel and lifestyle inspiration to share? We're currently hunting for creative talents to contribute articles to the blog. A strong line in offbeat locations, thought-provoking stories, and eye-catching headlines is a must, tempered with concern for the environment and a critical eye for greenwashing. If you think you've got what it takes, send us an email with a sample of your writing and we'll be in touch!"

Text Block Writer is "a virtual index card program for writers. It can be used to organize research papers, articles, fiction, non-fiction, books and whatever related to writing. It is intended for people like me who use paper index cards to write all the notes and pieces of an essay, and then arrange the pieces and then use that to type them into the computer. With this program, you can type in the notes and arrange them on the computer, and then export them to an rtf document (that can be opened in word, open office, or just about any other word processor)" (OS: Windows)

Our blogpal LJ Cohen created TiddlyWikiWrite (TWW) to organize writing projects with an electronic relational filecard system that runs in any browser window on your local computer. She also has a link to an LB&LI workshop she gave a couple years ago that is definitely worth checking out.