TYPE RECORDER SAVES LOST TYPING
How many times has this happened to you? You are typing something,
anything, a document in a word processor for example, and suddenly
your computer freezes or the application suddenly quits for no good
reason. Congratulations. Everything you've typed since your last save
to disk is now lost. Because most programs only temporarily retain
everything in memory until you save it to the hard drive, you run the
risk of losing your current work if your computer decides to go south.
This ranks in the top ten of the most frustrating computing
experiences ever. Yes, some programs such as Microsoft Word's
AutoRecover feature will automatically save your work as a certain
period of time passes, and you can constantly try to remember saving
things as you work in other programs, but there has to be an easier
way. There is.
Type Recorder is a little utility that works in the background. You
really never know its there but when you need it, you will thank the
powers to be that you had the foresight to have it installed.
Basically, Type Recorder records every keystroke you make in every
application and saves it to a text file. It's a simple idea that will
pay for itself the first time you ever have to use it. As a writer,
having something like TypeRecorder is a must.
TypeRecorder organizes your typing chronologically and by
application. So for example, if my computer locks up as I was typing a
column, I simply go to my documents folder. Actually, you can tell
TypeRecorder exactly where you want it to store its backup documents.
After restarting the computer, you go to the TypeRecorder documents
folder and locate the text file with the current date. Upon opening
the document, you will see everything you have typed up to the moment
of the crash, broken up into segments. Each segment is prefaced by the
time and the application. This is especially useful in locating the
text you wish to recover. Below each header is the corresponding text
you typed.
There are some things to note in that TypeRecorder records every
keystroke including letters, numbers, punctuation marks and cursor
movement keys such as Backspace and Delete. So it's possible that the
text may not be perfect as it keeps track of every key pressed. You
may have to do some editing and cleaning up of the captured text but
believe me when I tell you that this little extra effort far outweighs
the agony of trying to remember and retyping everything from scratch.
Other parameters let you choose what application opens the
TypeRecorder data files, turning the time and application headers on
and off, and controlling how many keystrokes you type before
TypeRecorder saves them to disk. Personally, I keep it at the minimum
number of five since I don't want to even lose just one bit of
information.
An additional feature lets you hide the data directory and make it
only accessible via a password. This feature was added for those who
may want to use TypeRecorder as a form of spyware. Spyware lets you
surreptitiously monitor what is being typed on the computer. This can
been used by parents who wish to monitor what their children are
typing, employers monitoring their employees, and even by a spouse
wanting to see what the other may be doing. The latter has actually
been used in many divorce cases and it seems like that trend is
increasing. However, if you're really looking for spyware, you may
find it's better to use a program that's specifically designed for
that application. But however you decide to use TypeRecorder, you will
feel more secure in the knowledge that there is a backup system in
place just in case the computer or your spouse decides to throw you an
unexpected curve.
TypeRecorder is available for Windows ($15.99) and Macintosh
($29.99). On the Mac, both an OS 9 and earlier, and OS X versions are
available.
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