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3 writing tips when using Google Apps

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Google apps have hundreds of features (some from Google, some from third parties) most users don't know about. In this short article, I want to share four tips that will make your life writing in Google apps easier (useful for students and professionals alike). 

Voice Typing

Over the years, I have spent hundreds of dollars on voice typing apps for Mac and Windows (most going to the Dragon Naturally speaking product line from Nuance software). 
For 85% of users, these expensive & complicated products are overkill, and Google makes it's excellent voice recognition engine available for free to all Google Docs users. 
Just click on tools and select Voice Typing.

  • You can check out the Google Support doc explaining this feature here but it is so simple, you should be able to turn it on and start using it immediately. Remember that you can also dictate punctuation:
  • Period
  • Comma
  • Exclamation point
  • Question mark
  • New line
  • New paragraph

Write well with Grammarly

Grammarly is a free (has a paid upgrade) service that helps improve the quality of your writing by :

  • Checking your grammar
  • checking contextually aware spelling
  • recommending vocabulary enhancements

In its simplest (free) form, Grammarly is a Chrome plug-in that works seamlessly with most web services (including Google Docs), and their correction engine is much more robust than simple word misspelling detection. 
You can upgrade to their premium service which costs ($11.66 a month when paid annually). In addition to all the features included in the free version, the premium service adds:

  • advanced check for punctuation, grammar, context and sentence structure
  • vocabulary enhanced suggestions
  • genre-specific writing style checks
  • Plagiarism detector that references more than 8B webpages

Most users will be perfectly fine with the free version so check it out.

Grade readability

The free Hemingway App allows you to paste content into its online editor and assigns a readability score. It uses colour highlighting to identify hard to read sentences. It provides tips on how to simplify the text, use of passive voice, etc. 

There is a $19.99 premium version that operates as a standalone app (Windows and Mac only) but the web version works fine and is accessible anywhere you have a web browser.

Use a Chromebook

Those that have been following me for a while know I love Chromebooks. Chromebooks aren't perfect and won't meet everyone's requirements. Chromebooks do provide a stable, safe and reliable platform when using web-based services. 


Everything mentioned in this article is based on the web or is a chrome extension. These tips will work flawlessly on Chromebooks (whether a $200 Lenovo or a $999 Pixelbook). 

Google release preview of upgraded Contacts web app

technologyEdward Kiledjian

About 70% of my readers are also Google users so most of you will be ecstatic that Google is trying to fix the broken Contacts web app. 

“[...] that makes it easier to keep track of the people you know and get the info you need, fast”
— Google Blog Post

Who can argue with a more usable experience? The new UI gives you a faster way of merging duplicates, automatically updating contacts and seeing recent emails right in the Contacts app.

You can read the Google blog posts here (link)

Unfortunately when I try accessing the preview link this morning (link) I get the dreaded 404 page not found:


The best Android and iPhone weather app

technologyEdward Kiledjian

So I lied just a little bit, Forcast.IO is actually an HTML5 web page built to look and act like an app.It works on any platform with an HTML5 compliant platform (iphone, ipad, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux). It is so well designed that it has replaced all of my platform specific weather apps. 

Forecast.io is beautifully simple, clean, easy to use but also accurate. 

What is Forecast.io?

Forecast.io was created by the programming braintrust from DarkSky, a realtime rain/snow prediction app. Darksky proved to be extremely accurate. As great as it was, it was a very specific app for a very specific use and wasn't well suited to replace any other general weather app.

Forecast.io takes all the power of the DarkSky algorithm and pushes it much further. It uses input from 16 different weather data feeds before performing its interpretation and predictive magic.

So what does Forecast.io look like?

This is a good point to show you some screenshots of Forecast.io. The mobile images come from an iPhone 4s.
The first time you visit http://www.forecast.io from your iPhone or iPad, you'll be greeted with the below message. 
Once you add the icon to your homescreen, you gain access to the web app at launch. Here you see the weather for May 31 2013 for Montreal (Quebec).
You can see a great smooth and very slick cloud/rain/snow prediction radar visualization.
If you click the little plus sign near the top of the screen, you get more detailed information about today's weather (Wind, Humidity, visibility, pressure, high, low).
The bar that says cloudy above can be pulled (left or right) to show when they predict the start of rain/snow.
If you click the 7 day forecast button at the bottom of the page, you get this beautiful week long prediction. Click on any day to see the details for that day.
The web page (on desktops and laptops) presents the same information in a larger format.

More details

There is a feature on the full web version called Time Machine which allows you to see the weather forecast from almost any location on earth from anytime in the recorded past.
When using the web app, you quickly forget it is a web page with special rendering and think its a local platform specific app. 
This has now become the only weather app on my device and I love it. This is a completely free web app so why not download and play with it now.