WordExpressO (the new successor to Learn Your Words), has reached Dev Alpha 2.  This means the program is still being tested internally, but is getting well underway.  The WordList editor has been completed, testing is (tentatively) completed, leaving only various functions, and the new, updated Reporter.

And just so you can see, here is a sneak peek of the new User Interface:

A sneak peek at the WordExpressO UI

Now, if you’re wondering what’s new in WordExpressO:

Testing:

• Uses a flashcard style questioning system, where you simply respond correct/incorrect (depending on your answer).
• Hints are available, you can skip words (which can result in ‘penalties’ depending on your settings).
• Program displays a comment (included in the WordList) for each word as it comes up.
• Uses a new, intelligent algorithm which prioritizes testing of words you have trouble with.

WordLists:

• Editor is now internal to the program, instead of being a separate application.
• The ‘metadata’ of the WordList has changed, including ‘Version’, and removing the obsolete ‘Language’ field.
• Hints are now defined at WordList level, instead of just revealing the word.
• New, intelligent algorithms that prioritizes words that you have trouble with.
• All results are recorded into each individual word, allowing you to see the lifetime results of each word.

General:

• The program can now (almost entirely) be navigated using the keyboard, which allows you to quiz yourself much quicker.
• The program is contained in one executable, instead of three (like before)

Potential Extras:

• Localization (different languages for the actual program) is planned.
• Plugin support could be added (if people will develop plugins for it).
• Printable, multi-level reports are planned for a later stage.
• The potential is available for a developer to create a mono-compatible (therefore capable of running on Linux and Macintosh systems) program that uses WordExpressO WordLists (due to an ‘open’ framework, allowing other developers to use WordLists in their own applications)

All in all, I hope you will enjoy WordExpressO.

This does mean that we will leave SourceForge.  The page over there is just a shell.

However, we have a new project that should appear pretty soon!

FlipSpace is a utility designed to optimize your computing experience:
After you configure it, it watches for processes (programs) you specify and performs actions when these monitored processes start or stop.

Look at it this way: do you want a gaming client running when you are working on your thesis?  Is it a good idea to have MSN Messenger running while you are playing a high-end game like Crysis?  We don’t think so.

Features will include grouping: for example, each game you have on your computer could be put in a ‘Games’ group, so your gaming client (GameSpy, Xfire) will start when the game is running, and stop as soon as it finishes.  However, what if you have a game where you need close some other specific program?  If you assign it to a group, you can perform other actions unique to the process as well.

No ETA on this project yet, as some issues are still being looked at before we can really get going.

The expression evaluator simply takes what you put in (a mathematical equation), solves it. While the current version does not support true expressions (2x = 2 * 8 turned into x = 8), it does accept +-×÷· operators, (Written as +-*/ in program), as well as powers (denoted by the ^ symbol), and brackets to change the order of operations.

The order of operations is honoured fully, (Brackets, Indices, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction), and soon support should be added for functions such as tan, cos, sin, sqrt etc. By the way, did you know “x^0.5″ = ?x? (The square root of x)

Anyway, I hope to get this out to the public soon as a themed (thanks to W(indows)P(resentation)F(oundation)), easily accessible desktop utility. Also, once I’ve done that, I WILL actually release the source code this time, as well as a library that provides the exact same functionality as the program.

Welcome the new project soon!