"The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is." E. F. Schumacher

I taught Microsoft Publisher the other day and a student, who uses a Mac at home, asked if there was a version out there he could use. It also had to be free he said. I guess I should take a second and mention what Publisher is for. It is a program that allows you to design and printout all sorts of paper goods like business cards, flyers, signs, brochure, etc. I did a lot of research on this topic and I did find one replacement called Scribus. But there are issues. First it seems slower than dirt. Second it is missing a lot of the templates that I go to Publisher for. It does have a few but mainly you are on your own. But what about the intricate brochures you designed in publisher a while back? Sorry, from what I read even Publisher has issues opening older documents made in an older version of Publisher. Also I read a lot of printer companies complaining about people who use Publisher because it has problems when trying to print professionally. So what are your choices? Unfortunately it looks like you will have to buy something like Adobe Indesign or QuarkXPress. But before you run out the door to buy you should know they are not cheap, upwards of $200 to $600. I had no luck with my usual places, Amazon and eBay. The only thing I can say is if you really need them you will have to pay a hefty price or have print shop take care of the project. I wish I had better news, sorry.

“Style is a magic wand, and turns everything to gold that it touches” Logan Pearsall Smith

Do you use Google for most of your searches and are you sick of that plain white boringness of it? Maybe it is time for you to customize it a bit. This next recommendation is purely cosmetic but so is painting your walls in your house. It makes us more comfortable so why not? Groovle is a site that allows you to make a splash screen with a Google search on it. You can use a well known pick of a celebrity that they have for you to use or you can upload your own favorite picture. To get an idea of what this is all about try the browse section to see other people’s search pages. I like a lot of outer space imagery so I am currently using this one. Now when you do a search it reverts back to normal looking Google search but you might as well like something you have to use anyway. The funny thing is that this uses the old Google search look bar that has the more button. This button is gone now from the regular but it is fantastic because it shows you all the tools Google has to offer in a list form. So if you want to style up give this one a try.

“Photography has the capacity to provide images of man and his environment that are both works of art and moments in history.”

Not too long ago I finished scanning all my photos I have had stored in the eves. I have had these photos sitting in storage forever and I never look at them. However now they are scanned and backed up I do not have to worry about the paper goods being ruined. Besides the safety of my pictures scanning is good in other ways. I started making slideshows set to music so the family could look at these long forgotten memories or I started emailing them to friends. The other big advantage is organization. All my photos are tagged with keywords and have space for comments so I can find anything easily. Doing all this is thought to be complicated but all you need is a scanner. You can pick up a decent one for less than $150. The scanners I like best have the feature that allows you to put multiple photos at once and then it divides them into different files, saves a lot of time. Once you have a scanner slap the photos down and hit scan. They usually are fairly automatic. Then use software like Picassa (free) or Adobe Photo Elements ($30) to clean them up. Or send them to an online storage place like Flickr. This way many more people can see your stuff and you can email it easily to people. At some of the Providence libraries we have Scanners for the public to use. Give this a try and reclaim your photos.

“The first human being who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization.” Sigmund Freud

So you have a gripe but do you have specific people or things that are annoying you? If so Snubster is right for you. At its core it is a stab at Facebook and Mypace’s Friends. For many people the goal of acquiring many hundreds of anonymous friends is really getting to them. Snubster on the other hand is all about the dislike. Finally a social site I can get behind. The site allows you to create lists of things that are annoying you and if they really get to you, you can label them "dead to me." It is a farcical site but sometimes just airing the injustice makes you feel better. This type of parody site has been around since friendster was popular and its counterpart fiendster came out. It may be pointless but it can be entertaining to read and revel in the someone else’s grievances. So if you need to join in a bit of whining then give this one a try.

Note: I should say this site is not always G rated when it comes to language so be forewarned.

“Don't forget to pack your courage for your journey to greatness.” David Weinbaum

Many people use the computer lab in the library because they do not own their own machine. I sometimes think this is a better idea. I mean sure you trade in convenience of having a computer in your home but it also means you do not have to buy a new one when it is outdated. Also the maintenance of a PC can be a real pain in the neck. Now it should occur to you, where do I keep my data? There are a few answers to this but lets take the easiest. A standard USB thumb drive. They are cheap, between $5.00 and $70.00, and easy to use. Alright I have a storage space for all my stuff but some programs need to be installed on the machine and many public computers are locked down so that we cannot mess them up. Also what about personal preferences and settings? I want to use a computer but I want it to work the way I want it to work. This is a bit like renting a car. I want my seat in the position I want it in. Thankfully many programs can be installed on thumb drives. The site Portable Freeware has a pretty long listing of all sorts of software for many uses. I really like Universal Extractor, it allows you to unpack any item downloaded. Open Office Portable is amazing if you need Office applications anywhere. If you are a rover or just need a computer in your pocket give these a try.

“Each bird must sing with his own throat” Henrik Ibsen

I use Microsoft Outlook for email but it is not the only game in town. Now I have written before of open source software. They are alternate choices like OpenOffice and are free. One choice that many people switch to is Thunderbird. Thunderbird is an email client which means it retrieves your email from all your different email boxes making it easier to get your mailing done. It is from the company that created Firefox and like it’s predecessor it has a lot of nice enhancements like message tagging, a way of categorizing email for later searches. Their search features and navigation are nice as well. However if your worry is one of security they do well in this area with anti-phishing features and privacy enhancements. You can also change the look of it using themes. Now I am not saying to change your email client for kicks but if grow dissatisfied with the one you are using give this one a try.

“Fortunately in my work there's always a choice: I can choose to do it willingly or unwillingly” Ashleigh Brilliant

For the past two days I have written about word processing for Macs so what about the larger percentage of people out there? Is there a good piece of software for word processing? Yes it is called OpenOffice. Below is a list of all that is comes with. Many people and business are turning to it because of two reasons. The price is free and it works. Give it a try.

• Writer – a word processor you can use for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.
• Calc – a powerful spreadsheet with all the tools you need to calculate, analyze, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics.
• Impress – the fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations.
• Draw – lets you produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.
• Base – lets you manipulate databases seamlessly. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, all from within OpenOffice.org
• Math – lets you create mathematical equations with a graphic user interface or by directly typing your formulas into the equation editor.

“Happiness and love are just a choice away.”

As of this week there are some new choices for Mac users who need to do get some work done. Apple has updated and added their office software. Now the question is why do I need another software for office work when you have Microsoft Office for the Mac. In my personal opinion Microsoft made a mistake when they tried to Macify their standard office software. For a user like myself it becomes a pain to get work done because, even though I am using the same software, everything is moved around. So this being said I find it easier to use totally different software then the same that is strangely configured. Now Mac has had their own package of software called iWork. They have reworked much of the word processor, known as Pages, and the same goes for their presentation software, known as Keynote. Keynote became popularized for its use in the movie An Inconvenient Truth. They finally added the missing piece, a spreadsheet program. They call it Numbers. The reason this is exciting is the use of templates that Mac loves to use. It does make it easier and very impressive. The price is also very very competitive. It only cost $79.00 for the package compared to $400 for office. Pay attention PC users I will not be surprised if it ever came to PCs. If you use a Mac you may want to give this a try.

"Sometimes we have to be a little bit like a chameleon and change on the fly.”

The last browser is not well known. It is K-melon and it is opensource. This means that anyone can create new code or add parts to it. It is of course free like all the others. The feature list seems a bit like a combination of all the browsers. They picked what they thought were best and created them here in this browser. Because of this I don’t think I will run through the list but to see a list of features click here. Their website is not as flashy as the others but it gets the job done. Click here for the list of downloads. I recommend giving this one a try.

“Everything in Africa bites, but the safari bug is worst of all.” Brian Jackman

Today’s browser is Apple’s Safari. Now I have mentioned Safari before saying that it is Macintosh only and not available for windows but this has changed just recently. This browser is extremely easy to use. It is elegant and it makes sense when using it. I like the built in RSS feeds and the text enlargement buttons a lot. Also the auto fill features work perfectly. Now that all being said some web pages do not support Safari so that means you may have to switch occasionally to another browser. It is hard to know how fast the browser is in comparison because they all say they are the fastest. Watch the demo at the bottom right to see some of their options. The bottom line is that it is made by Apple and they have a real talent for creating simple to use applications without making it simplistic or a weaker version. Give it a try.

“The best defense is a good offence”

Ok I am on almost any site these days and I see an ad for Match.com or some other site with nearly naked people. It does not matter where you go, you are hit with adverts that are coming close to getting people fired. Should you stop going to sites where the information is good but the ads are bad? No I say! Use the option in the browser Firefox to block these images. Just point to any of the images and right click on them and choose “Block Images from ….”. Just be careful to not block all the images on a site because you will start losing important information. It is easy to fix though. Just point to any of the images that you know are there but cannot see and right click and click the “Block Images from ….” again to uncheck it. Give it a try and tell us how it works!

Holy sardine! Batman: Hand down the shark repellent Batspray!

Lets say it is 6:45 PM. I just got home and I am tired. I check my email and my bank says there is a major problem with my account. They tell me that I must click on this link to solve the issue. I then see my bank's website and I type in my password and username and hit enter, but nothing happens.

I have just been taken in by a scam. The website looked legitimate but if I had a way to look back at the address with some tools, I would have seen that it was fake.

Phishing is a type of scam that uses scare tactics to get you to give up information. Some basics: first I should have looked at the salutation. The fake ones will usually say Dear [your email address]. The bank knows my name so they will use it. Next it will ask me to click on a link. The problem is that you can make a link look like whatever you want. It is recommended that you never click the link but instead go directly to the website in question. If there is trouble they will let you know!

Spoofstick is another tool for your utility belt that will help you spot the criminal element. When downloaded it becomes part of your browser. It will tell you if you are on the real website or not. I recommend that you go to their website and read through the examples.

Remember if you get a warning email, keep a cool head and think first, then go to the website directly. Give it a try!

Always keep a fox in your car

The question is one of vehicles. If 80% of people drive a type of car then it only makes sense that the thieves of the world will learn to break into that vehicle first. Internet Explorer is the most used browser and that means that workarounds and hacks are targeted for IE first. If this is true then I need another browser. The one that people have been switching to for a while is Mozilla Firefox. I use it because it is safer and I get less pop-ups. I also use it because it is faster and easier. It uses tabbed browsing which means I only open one window but all my open websites are just a click away. Also if there is a known problem, Firefox seems to fix it quickly by sending updates out when needed. Another useful feature is the add-ons. They range from the useful like color coding your tabs to the useless like the Abe Vigoda’s status add-on. There is also a fanlike following for Firefox. Check this image taken from space. Give it a try!