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Oct
15
Need a word processor but on a strict budget?
Filed Under purchase advice, software, word processor | Leave a Comment
Not everyone has the cash on hand to go out and buy a word processor. They can be down right pricey - a stand alone copy of Word runs in the hundreds of dollars. The going price of $300 might as well be a $1000 - its still out of reach for many home budgets.
There are some options for you.
You can opt for Corel’s Word processing suite - Word Perfect. The home addition costs around $120 - depending upon how many stores you are willing to shop to get the best deal. It is fully MS Word compatible and will provide you with all the word processing tools you need. If you’ve only used MS Word, you will have to learn a few new tricks - things aren’t in the same place. Don’t worry, the programs are much the same so the learning curve won’t be very high.
If you aren’t a fan of Corel, or don’t want the hassle of learning a slightly different program then Microsoft has 3 low cost options for you.
The first is a stripped down word processor called MS Works. With Works, you get a modest word processor, a spread sheet application, data base software and some other toys to tinker with. It comes with all the basic tools and is a great package for anyone who simply needs to write letters and documents. It is fully compatible with it’s big brother MS Word and MS Excel. Look to spend approx. $69.00 again depending upon where you purchase it. I’ve seen it as low as $59.00.
If you want more from your processor, templates to play with, and full blown Word, then you should purchase MS Works Suite. Along with the full version of Word, you get Money, Encarta, Street and Maps, and digital image editing software. You choose which options to install and which to leave out. This option runs around $150.00. If you look for an earlier edition of Works, you should be able to save even more money. I’ve seen previous year’s versions on for as low as $111.00. There is nothing wrong with last year’s model. I’m still working with Word 2002 and I have no plans of changing until I purchase a new laptop. Unless of course Microsoft, in a fit of madness, sends me Office Professional for free. Works Suite for XP requires 256 megs of ram, so check how much memory you have before committing to the latest version. An earlier version might fit the bill if you are on an older computer.
Home users are lucky - for a little more you can now purchase a modest Microsoft Office package called Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition for as little as $180.00. Yes this is the real deal, Excel, Word, Power Point and the powerful Outlook with its excellent calendar. Check your system before purchasing this - It requires XP with service pack 2, and 256 megs of ram + 1.5 gigs of harddrive space. Your monitor resolution needs to be set to 1024×768 or higher or things don’t look quite right. If you are working with an older computer and/or monitor, this might be too much for it and you’ll see huge slowdowns in your computer’s performance. If you are running on just 256 megs of ram, go for one of the lesser options - you’ll just end up being hopelessly frustrated with the bottlenecks.
The choice is up to you and your budget. All four offer proper word processing tools - dictionaries, spell check, formating etc. Its simply a matter of which suits you the best. Shop around, the prices I offer were from 2 sources Staples and Best Buy. You might be able to purchase the software on sale so keep your eyes open. Don’t be afraid to ask for an earlier version. Sometimes they are lurking around the shelf somewhere.
Oct
14
Microsoft security updates - released Feb. 13 2007
Filed Under Microsoft patch, security patch | Leave a Comment
A security patch was issued yesterday for Microsoft XP. The patch addresses the following vulnerabilities:
- in Microsoft Windows Interactive Training (KB923723)
- in Microsoft Windows (KB928255)
- in Microsoft Windows (KB927802)
- in Microsoft Windows (KB928843)
- in Microsoft Windows (KB927779)
- in Microsoft Malware Protection Engine, affecting Windows Live OneCare, Windows Defender and other antivirus clients (KB932135)
- in Microsoft Windows (KB926436)
- in Microsoft Windows, and Visual Studio (KB924667)
- in Microsoft Windows, and Office (KB918118)
- in Microsoft Word (KB929434)
- in Microsoft Office (KB932554)
- in Microsoft Internet Explorer (KB928090)
Use Internet Explorer’s Windows Update feature in the tools menu to get this patch.
Oct
13
Are you ready for Daylight Savings Time change?
Filed Under Microsoft patch, software | Leave a Comment
It’s that time again. Time to check to make sure your computer will flip over to the correct time in Nov.
You should check your computers and laptops now to ensure they will change correctly.
Go to the Microsoft time check site and follow the on screen instructions to test whether your system is ready.
Choose your operating system and then follow the instructions.
You will be asked to download a piece of software that will test your system and make any changes required.
Fast and simple - nothing to it.
If you have the software patch that takes care of the time change installed you will be told.
Make sure you do this before Nov 4.
Oct
11
Blogging for beginners - the who, what, where and when
Filed Under advice, beginners blog, blogging | Leave a Comment
Remember the old lessons from school on writing an essay?
Who, what, where and when?
I wish more bloggers remembered these tried and true methods of keeping a coherent thought on paper. Many new bloggers commit the cardinal sin of forgetting what they are writing about. This problem runs, not only through individual posts, but through the entire bog itself. It is hard to stay focused. If you remember the basic rules from school, you will succeed.
Today we are going to look at the Who of blogging.
How many times have you wandered across a blog only to find out it hasn’t been updated in months. It is hard work maintaining a blog, with a bit of pre-planning, you can simplify the job and have fun.
Before you even write your first entry, sit down and make a few decisions. These decisions will affect how the blog looks and how often you are able to update it.
Decision one: Who are you writing for? Are you writing for yourself? Or a specific audience? Forget the gloomy souls who advice you to forget about blogging if it’s personal because no one will read it. This is not true. You may never get 100’s of hits a day, but then, do you care?
Strange things happen on the Internet. You may find kindred spirits who log in to read your random thoughts, if they are presented properly. Look at the classic Julie/Julia 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen from just a few years ago. Julie Powell started the blog to detail her efforts to cook 1 recipe from the Julia Child’s cookbook everyday. It was amusing, fun to read and at times very personal. Despite all this, it reached a very wide audience and was published in hard cover form. Chances are you and I will never reach such heady heights of blogging fame. That shouldn’t stop you. It sure doesn’t stop me.
So .. decide upon your audience. Maybe its just you and your mother. Maybe its you and 20 other people who share a love of collecting small dragon figures or the problems of your particular job. Blogging is about getting your thoughts down on ‘paper’.
Remember who your audience is and design your site around them. Why do I say this? I log onto quite a few blogs and find I cannot read a thing on the page… the page is too busy, its too hard to find the posts, the colour contrast is buggered, the background screams out at me. If I land on a site that includes the above I say bye, bye to the site and move on. I don’t want to end up with a headache from trying to figure out your page. Clean and easy to read with a simple navigation menu will always win you more readers. I go for the traditional white background and black font because I have a hard time reading anything other than that.
This doesn’t mean you should restrict yourself to this type of format. This works for me. The basic look works best for this type of content. If I were writing reports on the latest punk concerts in my area then this format would well … suck. It would not suit the audience it is trying attract. A livelier format does not preclude the above rule of keeping the format clean and easy to read. There is never an excuse for a blog that is so bogged down in whirling, spinning crap and so full of ads the reader cannot find your posts. Readers come to SEE YOUR POSTS, never forget this.
A couple of rules to remember - not everyone has 20/20 vision. A lot of we myopic cats out there have a terrible time with busy backgrounds. Mute the background. Your background should never be the primary focus of the site. Wavy, swirly backgrounds just make me motion sick. Tone them down because they are competing with your posts.
Keep in mind approx 7% of the population is actually colour blind. Certain colour combinations make it impossible for people who are colour blind to read your site. I have a friend who is colour blind and he finds it very frustrating.
Blinking anything should be punishable by ostracisms. Never use the justly hated blink feature on any part of your site. Not only will it piss off the bulk of your audience, using it makes you look like a silly amateur who should have their keyboard taken away. I cannot explain how much I loath blink or any of the spiny twirly special affects I see. Some pages actually trigger off, in me, a violent headache if I stay for any length of time. Cut it, concentrate on what you are posting.
Navigation is another feature you should pay attention to. Make it easy to find info on your page. Don’t hide the navigation links.
Clutter - well this all depends upon your audience. As long as it’s easy to navigate and easy to read and your audience is of like mind, go ahead and put as many chicklets as you want on your blog. Link away. Just remember, don’t hide your posts. I have purposely left this particular blog clean because the cluttered look would detract from it. Over at the the other blog I maintain, Catpaw - diary of an angry cat, it is much busier with connections to blog catalogues etc. But then, the audience is different and likely more tolerant.
Next instalment in this series will discuss the What of blogging? What are you going to write about? And how to stay on topic.
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