Restoring The Windows 8 Start Menu: The Wall Street Journal All Things D personal technology guru Walt Mossberg offers a video review of two app this week that will install the al Windows Start Menu on your Windows 8 PC! The apps are called Start8 (which costs $5) and Pokki (which is free). The Start8 app restores the Windows 7 Start Menu and its traditional functionality. Pokki also gives restores the Start Menu but additionally offers you an apps panel, accessed when you open the Start Menu, and access to the Pokki App Store. So basically Start8 will give you the traditional Start Menu experience and Pokki will give you an updated Start Menu experience.
Here’s the link to the video review titled Two Products for People Who Miss the Old Windows:
http://allthingsd.com/20130507/two-products-for-people-who-miss-the-old-windows/
Cool Vocabulary Building Apps: USA Today offers an article that highlights three vocabulary building apps. The first is titled Kids’ Vocab for kids ages 7-12, it costs $4.99 and it incorporates vocabulary building into several word games that allow kids to study the vocabulary words and earn points as their vocabulary skills improve and they gain game levels.
The second app is called The Opposites it costs $1.99, it is also intended for kids ages 7-12 and it offers a role playing game of sorts where two teens are seen talking and the words they say appear in bubbles above their heads – players must then match the words, which when correctly matched will turn green and disappear, to gain continue game play.
And the third app is called SAT Slam and costs $3.99 – this is the highest end app in that it is intended for high school age students who are studying to take their SATs and it features actors reading funny poems and explaining word meanings – the topics are well, topical and silly.
To quote from the article “For example, to learn the word “abase” an actor reads “To embarrass or humble to make one a disgrace.” And “Barry Bonds was blushing when he couldn’t steal a base. This poetic definition is then followed up with the mnemonic: “A baseball player was abased when he couldn’t steal a base.” Teens next hear a funny throw-away comment about how hard can it be to steal a base? — all you need to do is toss the thing in the back of your truck.”
Here’s a link to the article which is titled Three cool apps make learning words fun:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/gudmundsen/2013/05/05/kids-apps-learning-words/2121611/
Have a great day!
Linda R.
References
Gudmundsen, Jinny. (2013, May 5). Three cool apps make learning words fun. USA Today. Online.
Mossberg, Walt. (2013, May 7). Two Products for People Who Miss the Old Windows. All Things D. Online. Accessed May 8, 2013.
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