Software
Coming Soon: OpenOffice.org 3.0 Support for Microsoft Office 2007 Files
I run my company using OpenOffice.org instead of Microsoft Office. It does everything we need and costs a whopping $0.00; not a bad deal for a small business. To be more specific, OpenOffice.org
Gives us word processor and spreadsheet programs that more than handle our documentation needs,
Allows us to open Word and Excel documents which clients […]
The Best Programmers’ Editor
I learned vi back in the bad ol’ days of 1980 when I was fresh out of college and working on a PDP 11/70 running UNIX version 6 with DEC VT100 terminals on a dozen users’ desks. Life was good. I even wrote a short book, How to Use Vi in 10 Easy Lessons, which […]
Free On-line Ubuntu Linux Desktop Training
Seven months ago, I switched from Windows XP to Ubuntu Linux on my primary (work and home) computer. Life has not been perfect with Ubuntu Linux (it wasn’t perfect with Windows, either) but I certainly judge the experience to be an overwhelming success.
If you are considering trying Linux, and I strongly encourage you to at […]
Software Release Guide
This is not funny. Not one bit! ;-)
Once you start playing with software you quickly become aware that each software package has a revision code attached to it. It is obvious that this revision code gives the sequence of changes to the product, but in reality there’s substantially more information available through the rev-code than […]
The Value of Documentation on Quick Decisions
When I say, “Documentation,” how do you react? Probably with one of these: Bleh. A drag. Who reads it? The code is self documenting. Or my favorite: It’s intuitively obvious to the most casual observer.
This morning, I ran across Slashdot’s article, Five AJAX Frameworks Reviewed
Dr. Dobb’s Journal reviews 5 AJAX frameworks:… [the] reviewers… eventually settled […]
Building Machines Which Learn Like A Human
Ever since I was an undergrad at the University of Michigan in the late 1970s, I have wondered how we think. Modern digital computers are marvelous machines but they don’t hold a candle to what a very young child can do. For instance, it is absolutely trivial for you to recognize a bicycle when you […]
Single Sign On - Finally
Don MacAskill over at SmugMug (my favorite photo sharing site) brought my attention to OpenID, a budding solution to an old computer problem: If you use a computer, you have way too many passwords to conveniently remember. You might use one or two passwords, perhaps a simple one for web sites that you do not […]
What’s New in Firefox 2.0
Are you wondering what is new in Firefox 2.0? Read eWEEK Labs Walk-Through: Firefox 2 Final Release.
Download Firefox (for free) from Mozilla.com.
My Working Day
I was whining to Scott Gurley about the inordinate amount of time it had taken me to fix a display bug in Internet Explorer. He sent me a copy of a pie chart which pretty accurately depicts how I spend many of my days. Enjoy:
Firefox Usage Climbing
A little article on Slashdot points out that worldwide Firefox usage has reached 13%. Within the USA, 16% of us use Firefox. Germany leads the pack, with 39% of web surfers using Firefox.
Why Windows Vista Won’t Suck
ExtremeTech.com has a great article delving into Windows Vista and explaining, in plain English, how it will improve your experience with your computer. Why Windows Vista Won’t Suck is long but well worth skimming.
We’re here to pull it all together and tell you why we’re excited about Vista. Here’s a list of what’s new […]
WordPress 2.0.1 Released
If you are considering starting your own blog, WordPress is excellent software with which to do it. Installation is trivial. Once installed, WordPress pretty much gets out of your way and simply allows you to write. The software handles the grungy details of making your web site look nice without distracting you from your creative […]
Apology: Software Upgrade
Yesterday, I upgraded the software which runs the Cheerful Curmudgeon site to the latest version, WordPress 2.0. Unfortunately, this seems to have made some articles reappear as new for some of you. My apologies if you are seeing the same articles again.
Other than that hitch, the upgrade to WordPress 2.0 seems to have gone smoothly.
Since […]
Sony BMG Replaces Invasive Music CDs
In case you are not aware, Sony BMG recently released over 50 music titles with some anti-piracy software on the CDs. The software, dubbed XCP, silently installs a "root kit" on a Windows computer, opening up some nasty security risks. The only difference between XCP and the stuff the you buy McAfee VirusScan or Norton […]
MySQL 5 Arrives
eWeek writes, MySQL 5 Arrives
Three years in the making, MySQL 5.0 was finally released on Monday. MySQL AB delivers new, and long-awaited, ANSI SQL features in this latest version of the popular open-source DBMS.
These new features include both read-only and updated views, stored procedures row-level triggers, both read-only and non-scrolling server-side cursors, and stored […]
Highly Recommended: OpenOffice.org 2.0
The long anticipated version 2.0 of OpenOffice.org (the $free Microsoft Office "replacement") was released yesterday. OpenOffice.org 2.0 is the equivalent of Microsoft Office Professional: Access, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint plus a drawing program which Office does not have. Additionally, OOo can create Adobe Acrobat files, which Office cannot. Did I mention that OOo costs nothing? […]
Free Database Software
MySQL 5.0
Database software, such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server, can be tremendously expensive, often costing more than the rest of the entire computing system (hardware, operating system, and application software). It looks like this equation may be changing.
The Register reports in, MySQL destined for ‘majority’ market share
MySQL is fast approaching […]
Laptop Will Not Hibernate
This is so frustrating. I have this nifty new laptop that I have upgraded to 1.25 GB of memory and it will not hibernate. Virtually all of the time, I get a bubble that says, “Windows - System Error, insufficient system resources exist to complete the API,” just like in this screen snapshot which […]
Coming to a Browser Near You: Microsoft Office Replacement for Free
This press release on Sun’s web site announces the new agreement between Sun and Google for Google Desktop on Sun’s Java platform. That is very nice but the last couple of paragraphs hint at something much bigger:
Only the Beginning
The distribution of Java and the Google Toolbar underscores Google’s advocacy of Java technology….
The agreement between Sun […]
Finding Support for Open Source Software
We have all heard of open source software. Many of us have even seen it in action (e.g., the Firefox web browser or the Thunderbird email program). One nagging concern still blocks many people from actually using open source software: how do you get technical support?
Certainly paid support is the easy-to-find option for many programs, […]
What New Users Need to Know About OpenOffice.org
Linux Journal recently published a nice article which introduces OpenOffice.org. If you have heard me (or someone else) rave about how great OOo is but have been hesitating to try to out, give OOo Off the Wall: What New Users Need to Know About OpenOffice.org a quick read.
Then download and try OpenOffice.org (it’s free).
2-Year OpenOffice High School Case Study
NewsForge has an article about University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy’s conversion from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org. Unlike previous articles, this one looks back with two years of perspective.
From the NewsForge article:
The cost analysis was compelling — the Linux option could be implemented for around $21,000, more than $100,000 less than the Microsoft […]
Load Acrobat Reader Faster
Forever Geek has a great tidbit on how to make Acrobat load faster on Windows. This made a world of difference for me:
Find the Acrobat Reader folder. On my system, with Acrobat 6 installed, this is C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader
Open the plug_ins folder.
Move all of the files and folders to the Optional folder except these three: […]
Bug Fixed: One Reason Why Open Source is Cool
Ever wonder about why people like me continually rave about the wonders of open source software? One reason is because bugs get fixed really fast. Witness some of the security flaws in Firefox which were reported recently and patched within a few days.
Here is a more personal example. I had been having a problem with […]
Pay Microsoft Twice
Microsoft today announced the beta test of Microsoft OneCare. In case you haven’t heard of OneCare, this is Microsoft’s anti-virus “solution.”
Doesn’t it seem odd that MS builds insecure software and then wants to sell us a second product to secure it?
Isn’t this like buying a brand-new-but-broken safe from the store and then paying the same […]
Asterisk@Home (and Office)
I started using Asterisk@Home for an office phone system a few weeks ago. Very cool! Basically, Asterisk is a phone system (a PBX) that runs on a PC. If you can imagine something that an full-up office phone system does, I can do it.
Asterisk@Home is a project to make Asterisk easy to install.
Starting Out With WordPress
I’m usually an “early adopter” but seem to be coming to the blogging world a bit on the late side. Better late than never, though.
WordPress was easy to install and that both impresses me and doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is that Verio bothered to provide a vinstall for it on my VPS.
So […]
