My Top 5 Open Source Software Picks

As promised, I have compiled a list of open source software. After thinking about it for a few seconds and in an effort to not overwhelm anyone, I decided to only list those software items that I use on a daily basis at my job. This will demonstrate the real-world usability of these packages. It should be noted that all of the packages I am explaining below are available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS X.

OpenOffice.org – Think MS Office, only without the $500 price tag (not sure exactly what it costs). OpenOffice contains a word processing application equal to MS Word, a spreadsheet application equal to MS Excel, a presentation application equal to MS PowerPoint, a layout application similar to MS Publisher, and a database application that is almost on par with MS Access. In fact, the word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation application is almost 100% compatible with MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, respectively. In the area of macros, I believe that StarBasic (comparable to VBA in MS Office) is capable of doing most common automated tasks. But for the average small business, I feel that OpenOffice can provide a superb alternative to MS Office.

GIMP – Adobe Photoshop has become an “industry standard” in the world of graphic design, be it for print design or web design. I should mention that of the commercial software companies out there, Adobe is one of my favorite. However, spending $1000 on a suite of software that I might or might not use every day is an investment I'm not ready to make, especially since I'm not that good at design. But the Open Source community has come through again and provided a tool that, in my mind, is 99% as capable as Photoshop for editing photos and creating pixel based artwork. It's the GIMP (which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program). The GIMP offers many tools for image manipulation and adjustment. Some of the more advanced ones are: image level and curve adjustment, Gaussian Blur and Unsharp Mask. It is easy for a novice computer user to get lost in the complexity of the GIMP. It is again my hope to post a tutorial on some of its basic functions.

Inkscape – Again, Adobe holds the market in vector graphics editor with their Adobe Illustrator software package. And again, the Open Source community has thrown a punch back at them with Inkscape. If you are unfamiliar with Adobe Illustrator, you might wonder what vector graphics is. A vector is a mathematical term for a line, thus vector graphics is artwork that is created through the use of lines. In vector graphics software packages, like Inkscape and Illustrator, lines can be given texture, shape, colors, and some other cool effects. The advantage to vector graphics is amazingly enough the same downfall of pixel based artwork (the GIMP does pixel based): the inability to make an image larger without losing quality. That is, you can take a piece of vector artwork and increase the size of it indefinitely. Therefore, vector graphics is extremely useful for printing artwork or when you need multiple sizes of the same piece of artwork. In all of these basic areas, I have found that Inkscape is very comparable to Illustrator.

Audacity – Most computers have a plug-in on their computer for a microphone, but I imagine that the majority of people don't use it. This might be because there was not an easy-to-use, inexpensive recording software package. Audacity is this software package. The Open Source community again came through and created a very robust software package that turns your computer onto a digital sound recorder. In the same way that you put a cassette tape in the recorder and it the record button, when you click the record button in Audacity it begins recording every sound your microphone picks up. When you are done recording, you can save your recording as a WAVE audio file or an MP3 audio file instead of fumbling with those tapes (you must some additional software to save as an MP3). A couple cool features of Audacity is the ability to do multi-track recordings and add special effects to your recordings. Audacity is very comparible to any audio recorder I have used that you have to pay money for.

OpenClipart – Unless you are a extremely creative artist (which I am not), if you want to add some flavor to a document or presentation you reach for a piece of clip art. OpenOffice, unlike MS Office, doesn't come with a complete clip art library. Don't worry, because again the Open Source community has come together to create an extensive library of vector based (Inkscape) and pixel based (GIMP) artwork. The library contains many categories with hundreds of pieces of clip art. If you want to place a piece of clip art directly into OpenOffice or whatever application you are using. If you want to tweek the artwork a little bit before you use it, you can open the vector based artwork in Inkscape and save it as a pixel based piece of clip art. This might seem confusing, but I plan to do a post on this vector-to-pixel conversion process.

Open Source...A Community Effort

The world of computers contains a vast array of people who control the electronic destiny of us all. Some of these people are motivated by a profit to keep them sitting pretty into their retirement years while other are idealists of sorts. This second group of people found that if other idealistic computer enthusiasts are provided with the tools of software development and productivity software, they can shape their own electronic destiny, and in so doing, benefit the global computing community. These visionaries started what has become the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and have shaped the way all of us, even those profit seeking pseudo geeks, use our computers every day.

The GNU (pronounced with a silent G) Project was founded in 1983 by Richard Stallman. At the time, the project was set up to develop a computer operating system (OS) complete with development tools. Their intent was for the GNU software to be distributed to people all over the world and have the recipients continue creating software that could be redistributed to others.

The community-and-sharing idea is central to what GNU was founded under and has taken on a more globally applicable form in what GNU has evolved into: a legal mechanism. Currently, the GNU project focuses much of it's effort towards keeping GNU software legally accessible to anyone who wants to use them. The GNU General Public License (GPL) is a legal description for software that is to distributed in the same manner that GNU software was.

To aid the progression of the GNU project and similar projects, in 1985 Stallman established the Free Software Foundation (FSF). This non-profit organization provided funds that were used to pay developers to create software for the GNU project. Many of the applications developed for the GNU project are still used every day by software developers and end-users. The FSF has also worked to develop, update, and maintain new versions of the GNU GPL.

In the grand scheme, it seems that the GNU OS (which was originally at the center of the GNU project) didn't see the light of day, relatively speaking. This full-flowering and reception of the GNU OS was hindered by another community effort, actually a community of 1. In 1991 Linus Torvarlds, a Finnish software developer, began development of a operating system to replace a previously GPL licensed operating system. Since the mid-1990's Torvalds' operating system (Linux) has been developed by the free software community. Thanks to the community effort put into Linux, it's abilities rival those of commercial operating systems like Windows and the MacOS.

Thanks to a few probably misunderstood geeks, the software industry has been rocked on it's heels and has been changed forever. The hope of the free software community, I should think, is that whenever you need a piece of software to do a certain task you will look to them for a solution. The community-minded efforts of the millions of software developers to create freely available computing solutions have not been in vain. But if we allow the community to fail and their purpose to stop being realized, the efforts will fail.

Preface:

I urge all who read this article to research open source software. Unless you are a seasoned software downloader, I advise against downloading software. I will be providing a list of viable open source software in subsequent posts. PEACE!!!!!!!!!

Sources: Wikipedia

Turkey shuts down online access to You Tube

Internet Customers in Turkey found a rude awakening when trying to access "You Tube" this week.

Access to www.youtube.com site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court.

According to Reuters "A Turkish court banned Google Inc.'s
YouTube because it showed a video ``insulting'' the country's
founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Vatan newspaper reported.
The video-sharing Web site will be shut down in Turkey after
judges ruled in favor of an Istanbul prosecutor's petition
against YouTube for showing images of Ataturk and a Turkish flag
that included obscenities in English, Vatan said. It is against
Turkish law to ``insult'' Ataturk.
Unidentified officials at Turk Telekomunikasyon AS, the
fixed-line phone monopoly that runs the national Internet
infrastructure, told Vatan that access to YouTube will be blocked
as soon as they receive legal notice. The state owns 45 percent
of Turk Telekom.
The Turkish Justice Ministry has appealed to the U.S.
Justice Department for help in tracking down the person
responsible for the video, the newspaper also said. California-
based YouTube also featured a video alleging Ataturk was a
homosexual, Vatan said. That video has been removed."

Daylight Savings Time Changes, Vista, Google Apps, and Other Goodies

Last night's PCUG meeting was a nice quiet one. Dorene had Andy help her with an Access database and I ran the meeting, with a small mention of Google Apps and a quick presentation of some Vista Screen shots. We had a Vista Presentation provided by Microsoft but it was very much a reiteration of what we had talked about last fall when Vista wasn't released, and I thought that rather than here more technical terminology and specs, users might want to see what it actually looks like. Andy has Vista on his new laptop, but he tends to use the Classic View to avoid all the "new" confusion.

We answered some questions regarding preparing taxes online, and another regarding Google Desktop, which one user got on her PC and is really annoyed by. We talked her through uninstalling it through the control panel, as at least three other members, including myself, had done a trial of Google desktop and found it to be unnecessary. We also discussed concerns about the new Daylight Savings Time patch through Microsoft. Today I learned that Microsoft Windows 2000 Machines can't be fixed by adding a patch, because they are "no longer supported" by Microsoft and therefore there is no "patch" written. Other Older Operating Systems (95, 98, ME, NT) may have the same issue. There IS the option of editing the registry to get the clock set correctly (eeewwww!) and if you want to try that (please, if you don't know what the registry is, DO NOT attempt this. Messing around in the registry as an ameteur is a BIG no no.) Visit Microsoft's website for support at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914387/ For more information on daylight savings time, and how it effects everything worldwide, including our precious computers, visit Wikipedia HERE. Remember: You don't need to edit your registry or install a patch if you would like to manually adjust your clock. The match and the registry edit allow the computer to change it's own clock when Daylight Savings time happens. There is no need to panic, because even without the patch or registry edit, you can still change your clock manually.

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Tuesday March 6th Meeting

Tomorrow's PCUG Meeting will be held at 6:30pm in the basement of the Clarke House in Princeton. The Topic will be Vista, and look forward to seeing lots of Vista Screenshots! We hope to see you there!

Clear your mind, and your pockets!

Do you have sticky notes everywhere? Bits of paper by the phone, notes cluttering your desk? A long shopping list in your purse? A pocket calendar wherever you go? How about business cards cluttering up your wallet? Lists of telephone numbers?

Have you ever thought about a PDA? Oh NO! Not me! I don't need one of those fancy things! I am no high powered executive! I don't have lots of meetings to attend! I don't need to check my emails on the run! No?

But what about that grocery list in your purse? Those pieces of paper with your kid's addresses and phone numbers. That sports schedule?

PDA's are NOT just for high powered executives. They are for everyone! Mom's keeping soccer schedules, dentist appointments, grocery lists, and emergency contact information at their fingertips. Grandparents who don't want to sift through a pile of letters and notes to find that bit of information that they "KNOW they wrote down just yesterday."

PDA's can hold so many many things for the average person. PDA's provide the ability to keep a calendar, and to give you audible reminders (like the alarm on your watch) when it's time to do everything from watch your favorite TV show to taking your medication to picking up your family at the airport. They allow you to setup a phone and address list-

Let's just say you are at your sister Judy's house one Afternoon:

Judy: You know, I don't believe that I have Michael's new mailing address? I really wanted to send him this funny birthday card I bought and I just keep forgetting to ask you for his address. Do you know what it is offhand? I really should get this in the mail before tomorrow, or he won't get it in time.

You: Um... you know I have it somewhere... at home. How about I call you tomorrow morning and give it to you (you write yourself a note, reminding yourself to find the note that has your son Michael's address, and then to call Judy in the morning. The note goes into your purse with all your receipts, your grocery list, and all your other notes.)

Let's just say that you have a PDA. You are at Judy's house and when she asks for Michael's address, you reach into your purse and pull out your PDA, open your address book, and read her Michael's new address, phone number, AND email address. Wasn't that efficient? How much time and stress have you saved yourself by having that information at your fingertips? How relieved would Judy be?

PDA's allow you to keep and quickly update a complete contact list. As a matter of fact, you could have given her Michael's work mailing address, his fax number, his office suite number, his direct line, AND his company title if you had wanted to. Not to mention the birth dates of all Michael's children and his wife name, their anniversary, and her cell phone number. All of that information, literally at your fingertips.

My PDA balances my checkbook. I have purchased an inexpensive PDA version of Quicken, called Pocket Quicken. I can enter checks, debits, deposits, and all types of transactions in the PDA, and I can categorize them and Quicken will keep a running balance on my PDA that can by synced to the Quicken program on my home computer. Now when I get done with a big trip to the mall, and to get groceries, and I stop by McDonald's for a cheeseburger meal and the gas station to fill up on the way home, I can spend a few minutes in the restaurant or in the car in th parking lot, and grab all 6 or 8 receipts from my purse, and enter those debit card transactions into my PDA, and Quicken will tell me exactly how much money I have left to spend (if any!) and will categorize all my spending to be synced at home when I am ready. No more calculator, checking register, or purse/wallet full of receipts.

Next time you are at a doctor's office or a meeting and you need to schedule a follow-up appointment, you can open your PDA, check your calendar, find a clear spot on your schedule, and enter the appointment right there. No more lost appointment cards or over scheduling.

PDA's have a built in calculator (why carry one of those in your purse too?) and even fun features like games. You can even turn the sound off and play bejeweled while you wait to have your teeth cleaned!

Create lists! To do lists, Gift Idea Lists, GROCERY LISTS! You can check items off as you put them in your cart! You can check off to do list items as you complete them.

I purchased my PDA for less than $75 on eBay, used. It came with the box, the software, the paperwork, cords to connect to my computer, and a wall charger. I was able to buy an extra cradle (for sync to my computer) and a hard case for less than $15 on ebay. You don't have to pay a lot to own a PDA and you don't have to feel like you are wasting your money to try something new.

Let a PDA clear up your clutter, your purse/wallet, and your mind. Toss out all those paper notes and keep everything clear, concise, and up to date.

If you decide to get high tech, you can purchase cards that will give you internet access ANWHERE, download programs like Adobe reader that allow you to view entire books on your PDA, or accessories like foldable keyboards and wireless LAN Adapters to connect to wireless networks. The possibilities are endless and PDA's can expand to handle whatever it is you need.

Scared of Vista? Get Ready for "Vienna" in 2009

Need some weekend reading? Check out the IT News headlines for today!

• iPod integration in the automobile market
• Windows "Vienna" slated for debut in 2009
• Windows Vista "Premium" Home - 70% of US Sales last week
• 12 New Security Patches coming Tuesday Feb 13th from Microsoft
  

File Extensions and File Associations

Computer Files have varying file extensions. File Extensions can be hidden or shown, depending on your settings. An example of a file extension? Have you ever heard of a "jpg" or a "rtf" file? jpg (or jpeg) files are image files, and rtf (Rich Text Format) files are text documents that can be read by most word processors, including word, works, and word pad. A file name followed by a .doc extension is USUALLY a Microsoft Word Document. A gif document (Graphics Interchange Format) is an image file that can show transperency.

Each document or file has a file extension. If you have a word document, and you save it as "Christmas Card Addresses", your full filename, including the file extension, would be:

• Christmas Card Addresses.doc

Many programs, including word, allow you to save files in several different formats. If you use Adobe Phoshop, and create a logo or graphic, you could save it as a Photoshop Document, which supports layers and has a psd extension. Or you could save it as a jpg, gif, tiff, or png format, or one of about 14 other file extensions.

A File extension always follows the document name, after a period.

How about file associations? It's best to understand file extensions before you ask about file associations. A file association is the method that Microsoft Windows Operating Systems use to determine what program will open what type of file extension. If you have Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, you may have it set as your default viewer for jpg and gif (image files.) Windows looks at your file extension and then matches it up to the appropriate program.

Let's talk about an example of file association, in the Simplest of terms. An HTML document contains text and code that makes up a webpage. When viewing a webpage, you can use any variety of programs, called "Web Browsers." Web Browser examples: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Netscape, and Opera. Each of these programs interprets or reads the code and displays it in the webpage format that we have grown so fond of.

Sometimes when you open a program, like Internet Explorer, it may give you a message (see below) stating "Internet Explorer is not currently your default browser. Would you like to make it your default browser?"
If you answer YES to this question, windows automatically sets the program Internet Explorer as the program that opens HTML files. That is how IE becomes your default browser. If Mozilla asks you the same questions, and you answer yes, Windows will set Mozilla Firefox as the default program to open HTML Files.

This is all just a "file association," associating the file extension HTML to the program Internet Explorer. When you install Microsoft Office, it automatically associates the "doc" extension to the program Microsoft Word. It associates the "xls" extension to Microsoft Excel, and the "eml" extension (email document) is often associated with Microsoft Outlook, if not when installed, when Outlook is opened for the first time. You will be asked "Do you want to make Microsoft Outlook your default email client?" and if you answer yes, the file association "magically" takes place. This is how, when you click on an email address on the web, Windows automatically knows to open Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, to start a new email message. All of this is determined by file association.

Some of you may have experienced problems, like we discussed in our meeting in February, with files opening with a program that you don't WANT them to open with. There are many ways to change file associations, or to work around the problem, and I will share with you the two simplest ways.

1. Right click on the file that you want to open. Choose "Open With" and then "Choose Program." This will pop open a new window, from which you can choose the program you wish this file to open. If you want this to be a permenant change, you can check the box that says "always use the selected program to open this kind of file" and it will change the file association for you.
2. Open the PROGRAM first, then do a file/open and browse for the file. This is a one time work-around and will not change the file association, but will open the file in the program you chose.

There is another method to go directly to your file associations and change them. Older versions of windows (Windows NT, ME, 98, 95, and older) contained a file called "win file.exe"
Which is a file extension/association manager. I do not recommend that just anyone go into winfile.exe and monkey around, but if you have more advanced computer skills, google winfile.exe or read more about Winfile at Wikipedia.

Be My Valentine

Looking for a fabulous gift for your valentine? Here are a few clever suggestions.

• Chocolate Computer Mouse
• Chocolate "Any Key"

Short But Sweet

February's meeting was short but sweet. Attendance was low due to the weather, and Dorene received several calls and told people not to make a point to attend if they had far to travel. Those of us in attendance answered a few computer questions, and did some gossiping about the East Peoria Festival of Lights, which several of us attended this Holiday season. Although it may not SEEM computer related, the light show begins with a parade the Saturday after Thanksgiving, in which more than 40 lighted structures are taken through the streets. The structures, and many other lighted decorations are then placed in VFW Park, where visitors can drive through the park for as little as $5 per carload. Many of the light displays are very detailed and run by computers.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6th, and a presentation on Windows Vista is scheduled.