spellchecker
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Ginger's spellchecking keyboard comes to iOS 8, but don't expect perfect prose
Sometimes we all need a second pair of eyes on something we're writing, even if it's curt replies on WhatsApp or a lengthy email response that you had to compose from your phone. Ginger's custom keyboard, now out on iOS, offers a way to proofread your typing with a press. The Android version has been around for a while, but it's the new version of iOS (and the ability to add keyboards), that's allowed Ginger to offer the same thing for iPhones. Once you've installed the keyboard, pressing the G button will launch out of wherever you're typing and into the Ginger app, with the ability to spell (and grammar) check what you've written, rephrase, translate and even suggest synonyms if you need to spice up that invitation to go for a coffee.
Non-Game Boy: Serious games before they were cool
Since the release of Brain Age in Japan, Nintendo has turned their attention toward casual, nontraditional fare for adult audiences. Much of it, like Brain Age, is casual game material with a slight educational slant, but other successful DS releases, like Cooking Navi and Eigo Zuke, are not games at all, but rather educational aids and tools designed to use the DS's unique interface. They're all doing massive business, which makes it difficult to laugh at them no matter how silly they are. But Nintendo was not the first company to attempt to sell application software on a gaming system, however. That distinction probably falls on BASIC Programming for the Atari 2600. Nintendo wasn't even the first company to sell application software on a Nintendo handheld. In fact, Game Boy non-games appeared in 1991. They didn't change the face of gaming. But they make for an interesting historical footnote now, and isn't that better than selling millions of copies? It is for us!
gSpell 1.1: spellcheck with Google
John Gruber points to gSpell, a neat little OS X Service that leverages the power of Google as a spell checker. The author, Nathan Spindel, had the clever realization that Google's spelling suggestions are better than the built-in spell checker because their "sites generate insane amounts of statistical data regarding the world's most common spelling mistakes [searches] and their intended spellings [results clicked]." Using it is easy; just select the text and invoke gSpell through the Services menu or by keyboard shortcut.gSpell apparently began as a programming exercise and is now available as a free download.[Via Daring Fireball]
Amendment
Long time readers of TUAW are sure to back me up on this: I'm a horrible speller. It is no shock, given this fact, that I welcome any application that is designed to correct my mistakes before thousands of people read them. Enter Amendment which bills itself as 'Spell checking, reinvented.'This $16 app is available now for $12. It only works in Cocoa apps (though not in Mail or Pages) where it gives you a Quicksilver-esque interface for correcting spelling errors.
