
 |
|
May 24, 2013
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
July 22, 2005
/ 15 Tammuz, 5765
Software diversity proves valuable
By
Mark Kellner
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
It bears repeating: It's good for most computer users, I believe, to have, or have access to, more than one type of any application. Diversity in software options is a wonderful thing.
For example, I like Microsoft Word really, I do but it's also good to have WordPerfect, among other options, on the PC, and NisusWriter Express, among others, on the Mac, as alternatives. Why? There are some things the other programs can do better or differently. As long as you can exchange files from each with Word, and you can in one format or another, you can use these alternatives without too much hassle.
On the spreadsheet side, it's a bit tougher: Apart from OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) and its variants, there's not much out there besides Microsoft Excel that will run on PCs and Macs. Yes, Lotus 1-2-3 still exists in one form or another for PCs, but one aspect of the kind of software diversity I'm thinking of involves being able to work on more than one platform: Windows, Mac and even Linux. For that, OpenOffice reigns supreme.
Another cross-platform champion, again mentioned here before, is the Firefox/Thunderbird duo, which are two popular, and free, Web browser and e-mail "client" software applications. The two programs (http://www.mozilla.org/) run on the Windows, Mac and Linux platforms. They have advantages over the commercial applications, and they are worth investigating, as well as using.
If your computer can tolerate it in terms of disk space and processing power, I think it's important to have at least one or more alternatives to your regular programs available. Not every program can handle every task equally, and sometimes program "Y" can do it better than application "X." Take Web browsing: my bank, which shall remain nameless, has a Web site that likes Firefox better than it does Apple Computer's Safari browser. I don't know why, but when I want to find my account information in a hurry, I use Firefox.
Conversely, there's nothing better to handle certain key word processing features, at least that I've seen, than Microsoft Word. I like the way you can insert and edit headers and footers on a page, and I also like the way in which it handles endnotes, something not possible in certain other applications.
Having these extra programs might seem a needless expense or burden on your hard drive's capacity, so obviously some discernment is needed. If you can't afford to buy multiple applications, scout around for "freeware" programs such as OpenOffice or the Gimp photo/graphics program.
What criteria should you have for alternate programs? One is that they shouldn't harm or disable key functions of your computer. Another is compatibility with other program file formats. If you can't exchange spreadsheet, word processing or presentation graphics files with Microsoft applications, forget about it; if you can't process the same kinds of images as Photoshop, then that potential graphics program isn't worth it.
Perhaps the greatest key is to think really, seriously think about what you do with your computer every day, where and how you do it and what you want to use to accomplish those tasks. Then, find the software you need to make these things happen, and go to it.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2005, News World Communications, Inc. Reprinted with permission of The Washington Times. Visit the paper at http://www.washingtontimes.com
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|