Spellcheck

USEFUL TOOLS -- As with any tool, the spellcheck function can be of great value. But it is not a preventive. It does not cure the problem of words that are spelled correctly, but wrongly used. Formally, in teacher jargon of years past, they were known as homophones, or soundalikes. Four examplar, these sentence have awl there words spelled nice, end Will past thee spellcheck. Whey? Because the computer has only a lexicon, or list of words to compare with the text. If each word is spelled correctly, the computer will tell you all is well. In short, the tool is only as good as the person using it.
By all means, please, run the spellcheck program. I do it after composing the text, so the machine can catch any typographical errors. As for programs that flag suspect errors as you type, they are distracting at best, and wrong at worst. Disable the autocheck so you can focus on the writing. And while you're at it, disable the grammar check as well. It's not worth the memory space it takes up.

CONFOUND COMPOUNDS -- There is a difference between compound modifiers and multiple adjectives. Compound modifiers may need a hyphen to clarify which word modifies what. Example: A newspaper used to be called the New-York Times (as if people might confuse it with the old York Times). But an apple can be a big apple, a big red apple, or even a big red round ripe Gala apple, or with as many more descriptive adjectives you can think of to put in front of the noun. And even with some compound modifiers, a hyphen may not be needed. Example: A small business owner. It's clear that the reference is to a small business, not a small owner. Unless it is a Munchkin-owned business.