All you have to do is accept a bribe from Microsoft.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Excellent blog for your viewing pleasure as you make the transition away from Microsoft Office: Open Office Training, Tips and Ideas. And here's a terrific post on how to create multiple pages of mailing labels without using a mail merge, which is information that I could have used about 24 hours ago. Sigh. In any event, I'll keep checking her blog for more useful information. I suggest that you do the same.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Been looking for some good software, but didn't want to spend a bundle on it? Have I got an article for you:

A computer with no software is like a garden with no tools, not much is going to happen without a rake, trowel or spade. But donÂ’t worry because help is at hand. We have collected 20 programs that will quickly become indispensable; some are replacements for the offerings supplied with Windows and others are worthy alternatives to expensive software.

Wherever possible we have found software that costs nothing beyond the internet connection and will do everything that the software you buy in the shops does. To make sure you have the best possible chance of getting the software, we have put aside a dedicated part of our website for this purpose.

The article goes on to list Open Office, Firefox, the GIMP, Thunderbird, Skype and others. Their list of other free software is pretty good, too.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:03 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I've been using Open Office at home for a while now. The last version of Microsoft Office that I paid for was Office97. I simply haven't seen enough improvement to warrant spending hundreds of dollars on the latest version. Anyway, I've been irritated at not having OO with me whenever I'm traveling without my laptop. It's no longer a problem, though, as Open Office has been converted into an Open App. Details:

OpenOffice.org Portable (formerly Portable OpenOffice.org) is the complete OpenOffice.org office suite -- including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing package and database -- packaged as a portable app, so you can take all your documents and everything you need to work with them wherever you go.
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Installing OpenOffice.org Portable

To install OpenOffice.org Portable, just download the portable package at the top of the OpenOffice.org Portable page and then double-click it. Select the location you wish to install to and click OK. An OpenOfficePortable directory will be created there and all the necessary files installed. That's all there is to it..

The entire package of software, including Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw and Base are your's for the downloading.

Update: Well, lookee here. Apparently you can take the entire suite of open apps in one fell swoop. Excerpt:

PortableApps Suite™ is a collection of portable apps including a web browser, email client, office suite, calendar/scheduler, instant messaging client, antivirus, sudoku game, backup utility and integrated menu, all preconfigured to work portably. Just drop it on your portable device and you're ready to go.
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Two Bugs: The PortableApps Menu bundled has a bug that prevents it from running on pre-Windows XP systems. The 1.0 to 1.0.1 Patch fixes this. Just install it to the same directory you installed the Suite to (usually the root of your portable drive). There is also an issue with high-resolution (120dpi) displays. A fix is being tested.

Let me get this straight: a browser, office software, anti-virus software, instant messaging software, calendar/task manager, email client and Sudoku puzzle game all come bundled together and fit nicely on a 512M thumb drive(there's a slightly stripped version that works on a 256M drive). And it's all free? I believe that that sound you're hearing is the puckering of Bill Gates' sphincter.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:35 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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