It's almost September, time for me to finish up my EPIC summer and head back to school. Unfortunately, that means it's back to the dreary world of research papers, blech. Today on the show we featured DarkCopy and Think, two apps to help you stay distraction free while working on your computer. Check below for even more student resources that help you with more than just writing papers.

DarkCopy is an entirely web-based text processor. It opens up a new browser window of an entirely black screen, where you can type in green text. Supposedly, the green on black combination is supposed to ease eye strain, and the black is great for blocking out all your other windows. When you're done typing, you can export as a .txt file. However, I would worry a bit about the limitations of DarkCopy being purely web-based: what if your browser crashes? You'd lose all your precious text. Fortunately, DarkCopy is based on an actual piece of software called WriteRoom ($24.95) for Mac OS X. There is a clone of WriteRoom for Windows called Dark Room (free). Jeff Winkler has even more similar apps listed here.

Think, from the people that make Comic Life, is great for busting your procrastination. It throws a black screen over your entire desktop, allowing you to choose just one application to focus on. Best of all, it's free! Think is perfect for writing a paper, or as I'm doing right now, concentrating on writing a blog post. :) When you're all done writing your paper, don't forget to cite your sources! EasyBib is a super fast way for you to put together a "Works Cited" page (a requisite to avoid failing any paper).

For those of you moving into your first off-campus apartment (like me!), you'll need to figure out a way to fill your place with furniture. People usually turn to Ikea for cheap furniture, but how about something a little bit more sustainable? The Freecycle Network is a great way to close the loop and reduce the amount of perfectly good stuff that winds up in landfills. Be very mindful of the rules and etiquette of your local group... avoid posting too many "wanted" posts, instead keep an eye out for people with furniture to get rid of. As always, there is also the old standby of Craigslist for affordable furniture (and roommates, in case you need one of those too).

Good luck this year to all you students. Don't worry, I'll still be around on the EPIC FU blog and on MIX, so let's keep in touch! :)