Book Review: Don’t spend a dime
We all want to save money at the moment, and computers can certainly get expensive. Hardware is always going to cost money (although netbooks are surprisingly cheap) but there’s a huge amount of software that costs nothing to use.
Don’t spend a dime takes a look at all how you can save money by using free software rather than expensive alternatives. There is a helpful guide to choosing a computer but the prices are all in dollars so specific advice is a little limited here.
Currency doesn’t matter when the software is free. The first software to come under attention is the office suite with separate chapters for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. It’s no surprise to see Open Office and Google Docs. Personally I prefer Zoho but Google Docs is still a good choice. Google is also recommended for email and calendars.
I was pleased to see that the advice doesn’t stop there and other important, but maybe less exciting, topics are also covered including anti virus protection and backup. There’s even an alternative to the ever popular (and expensive) World of Warcraft.
This is a very useful introduction to the world of free software, and includes enough help to get you started with all of the recommendations. A longer list of alternatives would be good, especially for the blogging section, although there’s nothing wrong with the suggestions on offer. This book is a good investment when compared to the cost of the software that you could otherwise pay for.
Title: Don’t Spend a Dime – The path to Low-Cost Computing
Author: James Floyd Kelly
Publisher: Apress
Price: £20
ISBN: 978-1-4302-1863-0
Windows Browser Choice annoyance
I was a little surprised to see the Browser Choice window appear on my Windows XP MCE notebook the other day.
Asking around the office revealed that it will appear if Internet Explorer is still selected as the default browser. Frankly I'd stopped it from asking and just started browsers with the Quick Launch toolbar or with Launchy.
The annoyance with the selection window was that there was no way for me to tell it that I already had several of the alternative browsers installed and wanted to use one of them as my default.
In the end I clicked on the install button for Opera just to make the window go away and cancelled the download. I restarted the computer and the Browser Choice window hasn't reappeared. Despite the fact I haven't changed the default. I suppose it's the taking part that's important.
Friday Fives: What's on show at Cebit 2010
CeBIT, held each March in Hannover, Germany, is one of the biggest showcases of new computer technology in the world, and this week Computeractive has been there to check out all the latest products that'll be on sale over the next six months. With thousands of exhibitors there are just too many to list, so we've boiled it all down to the the best products that represent five key trends from this year's show.
1) Loud Laptops
Laptop computers don't have a great reputation when it comes to sound quality, and with good reason: most have tiny, tinny speakers packed into the case as an afterthought. This year, though, several of the biggest computer names at Cebit have been showing portable computers that, they claim, are designed to sound great.
The Asus NX90 is certainly eye-catching: it's huge and completely covered in brushed aluminium. And, alongside some unusual features such as the two touchpads - one on either side of the keyboard - it has a powerful sound system provided by Bang and Olufsen IcePower. Its speaker enclosures have a volume of 108cc, and although it's very hard to judge the quality of sound in a busy trade show we can testify to the volume on offer.
A similar product was also on show at the stand of Asus's key rival MSI. Its GT660 gaming laptop packs a Core i7 processor, Blu-ray, two hard disks and Nvidia 285M graphics, but also a 2.1 sound system from Dynaudio - again, it's impressively thunderous.
2) Smart Storage
Network attached storage devices are to be found everywhere at the show, with the manufacturers seemingly adding new functions each and every year, but a few in particular stood out. The new Thecus N4200 has an unusual case with two displays, but there's also a lithium-ion battery in the back - if the mains power supply fails, this gives it enough power to shut down properly, saving your data.
Not to be outdone, rival Qnap was demonstrating its new QMobile tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch - this gives access to the multimedia functions of its NAS devices from any Apple mobile handset.
3) Neat Networking
Network storage aside, there are plenty of clever networking products on show. We particularly liked Devolo's new Smart+ powerline network adapters: instead of using LEDs to indicate the network status, these use an LCD display to provide far more information on the status of the network. The company was also showing this prototype of a new product due in September - this little white box will run at speeds of up to 500Mbps:
Also, good news for anyone who was tempted by our review of the AVM Fritzbox but couldn't stretch to the price: the company is launching a new, simpler model with the ISDN functions removed and a much lower price. The Fritzbox WLAN 3370 includes 802.11N networking, and should cost around £115 - it'll be available in a few months.
4) Powerful Programs
Although Cebit includes hall upon hall of new computer hardware, there are also dozens of software vendors showing off their new tools. As we reported previously, security firm Kaspersky Lab used Cebit to launch its new PURE antivirus product - read our story on that here.
Another clever new tool could be found on the Laplink stand. The company is adding a new feature to its PCMover software called the PCMover Image Assistant. This allows users to move both programs and files from a hard disk image to a new PC: so, for example, if you have an image backup of a Windows XP computer, and that fails, you can use the tool to move your programs onto a new Windows 7 PC without having to first reinstall XP. As well as appearing in future versions of PCMover, it'll be included with some disk imaging tools from O&O.
5) New and Unusual
From USB keys in every imaginable shape to foldable pianos to somewhat tasteless computer accessories (don't ask) there's all manner of odd goods on show at Cebit. Some look downright awful, but then there are a few unusual products that caught our eye. Thermaltake's Tt eSports brand may have a very strange name - that extra "t" is not a typing error - but its new keyboard might appeal to gamers or workaholics: reach around the back and there's a small fan that can be clipped onto the top of the keyboard to keep your fingers cool during frantic activities such as gaming or filling in an online self-assessment tax form at the last possible minute. The keys also illuminate in any one of 256 colours.
Also, while Asus and MSI compete to show the biggest range of unusual PCs - from 3D desktops and laptops to concept models and Asus's Bamboo range ("panda friendly", we're assured), there's one computer that really sticks out: the Eee Keyboard.
We saw a prototype at last year's Cebit, but with the finished product due in May this device finally seems to be ready for the market. It has a 5 inch capacitative touchscreen built in, runs Windows XP and can link up to your television via an ultra-wideband transmitter. It uses an Atom N270 processor, 1GB of memory and will be available with 16GB or 32GB of solid state storage - expect to see it on sale for less than £600.
Extending conditional formatting in Excel 2003
Excel 2003 is limited to three conditions for Conditional Formatting but it is possible to add more by using a macro instead. It’s a little harder than Excel 2007 but it is still possible.
The macro must be set to run every time the spreadsheet is updated so you can’t use the recorder. Our example uses a score sheet for the BBC Weekly Quiz.
Before we start writing any macros, though, we need to decide on the colours for the winner cell because the macro will refer to the colour by its number not the name. A list of the colours can be found at at mvps.org. I printed out the spreadsheet and wrote the numbers down as I found them.
Click on the Tools menu, Macro and then Visual Basic Editor. Alternatively you could press Alt and F11 as the keyboard shortcut to launch the Visual Basic Editor.
Double click on Sheet1(Sheet1) in the section VBAProject (7 days quiz.xls), where the text within the brackets is the name of the spreadsheet. Click on the drop down menu at the top of the right hand section of the window that says (General) and select Worksheet. Next select Change from the drop down menu on the right. Left-click in the gap above the first text [code]End Sub[/code].
Type [code]Dim winner As Range[/code], press Enter and then type [code]Set winner = Range(“E4”), where E4 is the cell with the winners name in. Press Enter and type [code] Dim winnerColor As Integer[/code], press enter twice, type [code]Select Case winner.Value[/code] and press enter.
The following section is where you enter the name of each entrant their colour. For example type [Case “Nick”[/code], press Enter, type [code]winnerColor = 3[/code] and press Enter. Repeat this for as many people are in the quiz.
When all the names are in the list, type [code]End Select[/code], press Enter and type [code]winner.Interior.ColorIndex = winnerColor[/code].
The completed code should look the screenshot on the right.
Click on the save icon in the toolbar at the top of the Visual Basic Editor to save the changes. Click on the Excel icon to the left of the Save icon to return to the spreadsheet. Try changing the scores to test that the correct colours are used.
Apart from having to use the Visual Basic Editor to add or change the entrants to the quiz, the only drawback with this solution is that Excel Macro Security must be set to Medium to allow the macro to run.
Download review TimeEdition
Tracking how much time you’ve spent on a task may not sound like fun, but it can be a helpful tool for staying on top of the todo list. I also find it helpful for staying focussed on a particular task.
TimeEdition is a time tracker that offers lots of advantages over trying to keep track of time with pen and paper. It divides time by client, project and task. If that sounds a bit corporate you could divide time up between Subject, Project and essay. All of these can be selected via the drop down menus and then started with the play button.
The link above is for the Windows version but there are Mac and Linux versions on the TimeEdition download page.
There are some helpful tools to make sure that it is as accurate as possible. It keeps an eye on the computer and will automatically stop if the computer is left idle for a certain length of time. Alternatively, the timer can be set to display a countdown to give a greater sense of urgency.
One disappointment with TimeEdition is that it has no way of keeping it on top other windows, so I found it easy to forget to start the timer again after getting a coffee or lunch.
TimeEdition is also very capable at exporting the information it gathers. Files can be created for Excel, CSV, iCal or XML. If you fancy being very open (and therefore scarily accountable) TimeEdition can create appointments in iCal, Outlook and Google Calendar based on the time spent of different projects.]
TimeEdition is open source, so there’s no charge for downloading or using it. Unlike far too many open source projects, there’s a well written manual, so there’s no need to mess about with settings getting your bearings.
I have to admit that I’m using Klok, an Adobe Air program for my own personal time tracking. This is mainly because it can show how the week has been spent and it has a simple system for making template projects. TimeEdition is a much better program if you want to charge for time spent on projects and the autopause avoids forgetting to stop the timer when nipping out for lunch or a coffee. TimeEdition also has the advantage that it is self contained in one folder, so you can run it from a USB memory key or from a folder synchronised online with a service like Dropbox.
Browser design flaw? Or is it search engines?
I took call from a reader today who couldn't access a link in the magazine because they had entered it into the search engine box rather than the address bar of the browser. It's an easy mistake to make. After all, the search box is right in the middle of the screen.
It's not always a problem, type www.computeractive.co.uk into Google and the website is the first result in the list. But, type www.snipca.com/X911 (a shortened link to Windows Update) and there are no matches.
Surely it's not beyond the likes of Google to look through the search term and warn that it might be a link in the wrong place if www or http:// is found.
There’s no such thing as privacy
Fascinating post on the F-Secure blog about what privacy settings in Facebook really mean. Sean added a photo to a Facebook account making sure that every option was set to private. Unfortunately Facebook still adds a public link for the image. Checking the link I realised that this isn’t just a link for anyone on Facebook, you don’t even need to logged in to view it.
Something to bear in mind before you post photos, no matter how funny they are.
Sage password advice from Lifehacker
Passwords. They keep our details and web accounts safe, but they are a real pain to remember. I have to rely on the good nature of our IT department every time I come back from holiday because I invariably forget my password.
The temptation is to try and avoid having to remember them whenever possible, but this can be a big problem, especially if your laptop is stolen.
Lifehacker gives some helpful advice in their article ‘Your passwords aren’t as secure as you think; Here’s how to fix that’.
It was something of an eye-opener for me. I hadn’t realised that the Pidgin instant messaging software stores all of the passwords as plain text. They have a good reason for doing so (not giving a false sense of security) but as I had never known this I still had the false sense of security.
Thankfully there is plenty of useful advice on how to keep your passwords safe with password managers that use encryption. Well worth a read.
Use Freefilesync for large file transfers
Installing Windows 7 alongside Windows Vista was convenient but I was a little lazy moving my files. When I couldn’t put it off, I dragged and dropped the files from my backup to the Documents folder. Realising that this would take some time, I went off to get some dinner.
Sadly, I returned to find that there had been an out of memory error while copying one of the files. I clicked on Retry but then it happened again.
So I went back to what I’d used to make the backup in the first place, and should have used to restore it, Freefilesync.
This is a clever (and free) utility that can be used for large file transfers or for backups. It compares two folders (including subfolders) and then copies files between them so they become identical.
In this case, where there are gigabytes of files to copy, it has the big advantage that you can save the job and come back to it later on if you are interrupted (I dislike leaving my computer on overnight). It also meant that there was no problem with the fact that I had got halfway through the files when I had to cancel copying.
Files can be compared either by size and date, or by their contents and there are several templates for how to handle situations where a file with the same name and location exists on both sides. These rules can be overruled for individual files.
Just as importantly, you can decide what happens when files are deleted, with the option to copy them to another folder, just to make sure nothing important is lost.
Keeping files in step across different computers
Hopefully I’m not too far from normal with the challenge of working on documents across several computers, not to mention different versions of Windows and Ubuntu.
USB keys are one solution provided you remember to put them back in your pocket and online office suites like Zoho and Google Docs are best used when you’re, well, online.
Enter Dropbox. It’s an online service that offers 2GB of storage at no cost (or 50GB and 100GB for $10 or $20 a month respectively) with a clever program that updates files automatically. It’s available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Folders can also be marked for sharing with other Dropbox users, which should come in handy when working on projects with several people.
Dropbox isn’t the only online storage service. I’m also using the paid for version of Humyo for backing up my work, but it’s handy to have a separate account just for working from and sharing with friends.
