Microsoft’s free online storage tool SkyDrive recently increased to 25GB of free storage (up from 5GB). With that much free storage, SkyDrive is a great way to store backups of your most important data.
OpenOffice.org 3
October 14, 2008OpenOffice.org 3 is the newly-released version of the most popular free office suite in the world. Compatible with Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), OpenOffice.org has rapidly been gaining popularity over the last few years. It is the office suite of choice for many pre-built Linux systems (including the ones being sold by Dell, HP and ASUS), and is also compatible with Windows, Apple, and Unix operating systems. The interface closely resembles Microsoft’s, and there is almost no learning curve for Microsoft Office users wishing to convert to a free alternative. OpenOffice.org can open Microsoft Office 2007 files without having to install a converter, which is something that earlier versions of Microsoft Office cannot do. OpenOffice.org can also save any office document as a PDF file without having to install any additional software.
NOTE: By default, OpenOffice.org is set to be most compatible with international opensource document formats. Follow these easy steps to make it more compatible with Microsoft Office document formats.
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UPDATE:
Because this is a brand new release, the download servers are being hit pretty hard with web traffic. As a result, the download may be pretty slow. But don’t be discouraged! Just look at all the positive press that OpenOffice has received in the past few days:
Vista4Experts makes changing Vista easy
September 29, 2008Oddly enough, Vista4Experts is likely to be most helpful to those who are not experts. Ironically-titled Vista4Experts actually takes most of the common system adjustments made to Windows Vista (turning off excessive notifications, disabling automatic file indexing, etc) and organizes them into one extremely simple interface. Just select the changes you wish to apply (the most common are preselected by default), and click the “Perform Actions” button. That’s all you need to do.
Give Vista a Performance Boost
September 8, 2008ReadyBoost is a feature in Windows Vista that allows free space on a USB flash drive to be used as RAM. ReadyBoost will only work with USB drives that have a fast read/write speed. Windows will automatically detect whether or not your drive is fast enough.
To use ReadyBoost, simply plug your flash drive into a USB port. The Windows Autorun window will pop up. Click the Speed Up My System option. (If your USB drive is not fast enough for ReadyBoost, this option will not be displayed)
On the next screen, click the box marked Use this device.
Use the slider to adjust the amount of space on the USB drive that you would like Windows to use as RAM. Microsoft recommends using at least 215MB. Click the OK button when you’re done. Vista will use that space until you remove the drive.
Create PDF files in Office 2007
September 4, 2008Microsoft offers a free add-in that allows Office 2007 to save any file as a PDF. After installing the update, you can create a PDF by using the Save As feature and selecting the PDF option.
