ActiveWords
A Paradox of Excellence
Review written June, 2008
Martin L. Korn, MD

Approximately one month ago in my search for productivity enhancing software for Systems 11 I happened to stumble across a program called ActiveWords www.activewords.com Billed as a program that could help you speed up your computing experience I decided to give it a try. In the brief 4-week period that I have utilized this little known program my computing experience has been enormously enhanced and I would even say transformed. This experience confirms the avidly enthusiastic experience of many reviewers. Here are just a few comments from some of these outstanding reviews.

“I've been using it now for over a year now, and it has truly changed my life. In what way? Well by saving me time and letting me get from get from point A to point B fast. And I mean fast.” Ernest Svenson, Attorney, 2003. For full review

“Bottom line, ActiveWords is awesome...just awesome.” Productivity Portfolio 2005. For full review

“I don’t think I can overstate how valuable this little program is…it boggles the mind when you consider what is possible across an organization.” Slackermanger, 2005. For full review

”I have found a program that will make your life, and your job, twice as easy as it is right now. A bold claim, but I stand behind it… I am at the point now that if I have to get along without it because I'm on someone else's computer, it just about kills me. Or at least tortures me to the point where I wish I was dead. Close enough.” Hava Lyon, 2007 - www.families.com For full review

“I do not want to minimize the power that this application provides. Different people that I’ve read and talked with consider this program to literally changes the way that they interface with their computer.” Brett Burney, 2002; Law and Technology Resources for the Legal Community For full review

The ActiveWords Experience

So just what exactly does ActiveWords do? ActiveWords allows you to use simple text based commands to launch programs, navigate the Internet, insert frequently used text, access files rapidly as well as many other tasks. All you see is a small menu bar at the top of the screen recording your keystrokes, searching for ActiveWords commands to launch. But what is so remarkable about ActiveWords is that it works in virtually all PC based programs. It therefore allows you to integrate your computing experience no matter what programs you are using. And you can decide the specific codes that work best for you, making your PC a truly personal experience. ActiveWords for a lawyer is very different than ActiveWords for a doctor, businessman or student. You can program the codes so that the activities you do most obtain priority commands. One can think of ActiveWords as a “hovercraft,” unobtrusively rising above all the programs that you are using and giving you easy and consistent access to their internal functions. This central role of ActiveWords is depicted in the graphic below.

ActiveWords is best thought of as a dual-acting program with two inter-related functions, productivity enhancement and program integrator:

Productivity Enhancement.
Simply put, ActiveWords lets you do things faster, much faster. Typing in a couple of keystrokes triggers ActiveWords to instantly perform a task. For example, when closing a program I no longer use the mouse to navigate to the menu bar, pull down the menu items and then click on the save command. I simple type the letter “c” and then hit the space bar twice. The 2 spaces is the ActiveWords code for triggering a command. You could also use the default F8 key. And the true magic of ActiveWords is that the “c-space-space” command works in almost all PC based programs. So I “c-space-space" to close documents in Word, Dreamweaver and nearly every program that I use. Furthermore, you can trigger the commands while in Internet browsers or on the desktop without any programs open. No longer do I navigate to the start menu to find Word. As soon as the desktop is up I hit “w-space-space” and word launches immediately. Just how much information can ActiveWords place at your disposal? When I type "bible-space-space" the "Net Bible" instantly launches in word, all 2,493 pages! Just some of the many things you can do in ActiveWords are:

Effortlessly launch any program without closing windows and searching for icons and menus Open up any Internet browser on demand (“ie” double space launches explorer for me)

• Immediately call up specific Internet sites (“a-space-space” is Amazon for me)
• Call up specific frequently used specific documents and templates
• Launch email with ease (I use the code key “e” with the individual’s initials followed by 2 spaces and Outlook email launches with the email address automatically inserted)
• Write simple scripts to allow you carry out repeated and complex tasks with ease (the code 2x6 instantly opens a 2 column 6 row table in word)
• Customize commands to suit your individual preferences

2. Program Integrator.
   The second function of ActiveWords is program integration. Since the simple commands you develop work in almost all PC programs, this allows for true software integration. Expensive software suites strive to integrate commands and functions across several programs. ActiveWords allows you to easily extend this level of integration to all PC programs you use. Furthermore, when new versions of software are released, ActiveWords still works as well as it did in the older version.

The Paradox of ActiveWords

No less astounding than the dynamic power of this delightfully simple integrative program is the fact that ActiveWords remains a very well-kept secret. Despite the almost uniformly rave reviews, the program has not achieved the widespread recognition it clearly deserves. In a society hungry for the fastest programs, most advanced microprocessors, and quickest Internet connections, why does a simple, inexpensive accelerating solution such as ActiveWords not become the platform of choice for rapid, integrated and personalized computing?

The main reason for this probably lies in the computer users and software developer’s commitment to the graphical user interface (GUI). Ease of use of graphically based programs is clear. However, keyboard shortcut commands are often more rapid but greatly under-utilized by the computing public. The rise in popularity of the Apple computers has reinforced the commitment to graphics and icons. However, once a program is learned, keyboard shortcut commands are the key to increasing program speed and performance. Reaching for the mouse and searching for icons is much slower than using direct keyboard commands. It takes some commitment however to learning and using keyboard input and the general user tends to be reluctant to do this. This is in part because the keyboard shortcuts change from program to program. However since ActiveWords works in almost all PC programs, this issue of keyboard command complexity is easily resolved.

Another reason that ActiveWords has not received the recognition that it clearly deserves is that it is a deceptively simple program. It is so easy to learn and program that one is tempted to use ActiveWords just to launch a couple of Internet sites, navigate to a few favorite programs, and insert some key frequently utilized word substitution shortcuts (your name, sincerely yours and the like). Although this by itself makes the program a very valuable tool, the true power of ActiveWords must be developed over time and with attention to the code. Which tasks should be given one letter codes such as “a-space-space” and which 2 or 3 letters. How does one make codes that are easily recalled, a key factor in ease of use of the program.

As a psychiatrist my practice of medicine has been significantly enhanced with ActiveWords over the short several week time span that I have utilized it. I now can call up medical information so rapidly that I am increasing my access to information essential to optimizing clinical interventions. In the exploding information age, all professions and businesses are faced with the task of accessing and integrating as much data and information as quickly as possible. ActiveWords clearly can help enormously in this regard. Yes it has taken me some effort to develop the appropriate ActiveWords commands and input medical data. However the benefits to my practice have been clear and dramatic and continue to expand.

What is most difficult to comprehend however, is that software developers and computer manufacturers have not had the vision to endorse and develop the vast potential in ActiveWords. Let’s take the novice computer user for example. I recently tried to set up a new user with her newly acquired computer. Teaching the techniques of mouse utilization, finding icons, launching programs and navigating the Internet proved to be a frustrating and difficult experience for her. Rather than continue along this difficult path, I decided to do one very simple thing. I downloaded ActiveWords and entered very simple codes for the few things that she wanted her computer to do. The codes came down to about 10. Google was launched with “g-space-space”, Amazon with “a-space-space,” Word with “w-space-space” etc. The set up time was 15 minutes. Then I parked a sticky pad bulletin board on the side of her computer desktop with the codes. That was the end of the learning sessions. She was now able to seamlessly go to the sites she wanted and do basic computing tasks with ease. Why computer manufacturers would instantly not see the value and potential lucrative market for such an application is beyond me. How much would Amazon pay to be the “a-double space” or Google the “g-double space” instant Internet launch on all newly shipped PCs? And since the ActiveWords system can easily be adapted to cell phones, PDAs and the like, how much value would it be to be the “a-double space” launch site of the electronic world? The potential market is almost staggering. Yet the computer gurus and decision makers do not seem to be able to grasp the importance of the simple uniform codes that ActiveWords provides.

I, along with many others, have been contemplating the switch to the MAC OS. With the discovery of ActiveWords I would no longer contemplate such a move. Without this gem of a program on the system my computing experience would be severely compromised. Since ActiveWords is only for the PC at this time why Microsoft can not appreciate the marketing power of this program for PC users is absolutely astounding.

There is no question in my mind as well as the many other ardently devoted fans that ActiveWords should be setting the standard for the PC computing environment and utilized as a base for all PC based programs. We, along with ActiveWords’ passionate founders Buzz Bruggeman and Peter Welden, remain puzzled about the reluctance of the PC world to adapt this simple yet remarkably powerful computing standard. And I truly believe that the power and potential of this elegantly simple yet sophisticated program has not yet begun to be tapped.

Martin L. Korn, MD
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Download Free Trial of ActiveWords!