If you go to Best Buy you can buy MS Office "Home and Student"
version for about $130. If you go to Ebay you can find a 3 user license
of the same for $79 and even less...
Sure it is worth
shopping around. I think the other subject is how MS hangs its hook.
Getting folks in their new system, all surrounded by their new "Web
Space" of Live.com and they get us hooked. Their whole angle with these
things is to have a massive user base that no one can ignore. If all
this forces the lawyers and doctors of the world to ante up $500 a piece
for their version of Office Ultimate they have won their game.
I
am trying not to. I do like MS OneNote 2007. I bought that and it
works very well. This comes, by the way, in the lowly "Home and
Student" version which is critically missing Access Database but has the
other "more essentials" of Word, Excel and Powerpoint (yes also
OneNote).
Remember the Slogan "Just Say No"... I try
to say that about MS. They have a few great sofware pieces. FoxPro,
which they are discontinuing, they purchased from Fox Software many many
years ago. It is a wonderful piece and worth getting a hold of before
it is gone. Their angle here is to hook everyone on SQL Server. They
are doing a good job of it... but I am trying not to go there. I have
the advantage of not really knowing SQL syntax and having a great base
w/ FoxPro... but like I said "Just Say No" to MS.
The
alternatives, it seems to me, right now are OpenOffice and Google Docs.
Both are basically free. It is hard to miss the advertising in Gmail
(but worth trying to find a way). The rest of the system should at
least be explored. And OpenOffice, all I can say, lets all get it done
and jump through the hoops. MS is making their software awful "cozy" w/
their transparencies and "silverlight" system. It is on the surface.
Just emulate it. Don't get hooked. It will cost forever.
I will let you know when I am MS free. I don't know when that might be, if ever.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
PogoPlug is pulling a Fast One (or is it pulling the Plug?)
Though they advertise:
No fees, no limits
It appears that PogoPlug is changing their program and trying to sell the software that they included with their HD Sharing Devices originally. They can't even "speak straight" on their web page https://pogoplug.com/devices
Don't trust them and don't upgrade. Your time is worth more than you know.
No fees, no limits
Pogoplug devices give you unlimited cloud storage from the security of your home or office for a one-time fee.
Don't trust them and don't upgrade. Your time is worth more than you know.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Dot Net installs as part of Program installs has got to Go
The last time I loaded a program that required Microsoft's .NET framework my boot drive was corrupted. Here I am again trying to install the program and it is taking Forever and I am nervous whether, again, it will corrupt my XP system.
Java here and there is bad enough but this is a veritable Rainforest of Code that is loading, and just so I can get to a PogoPlug drive.. totally inappropriate programming technique. I don't understand that PogoPlug can have a Mac, Windows and Linux version of their software and they have to use .NET on the Windows install.
There are other irritations but this is really a big one for me!
Java here and there is bad enough but this is a veritable Rainforest of Code that is loading, and just so I can get to a PogoPlug drive.. totally inappropriate programming technique. I don't understand that PogoPlug can have a Mac, Windows and Linux version of their software and they have to use .NET on the Windows install.
There are other irritations but this is really a big one for me!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Trying to give the Postal Service money seems not enough for them.. simply wanting to provide quotes for postage
We use a very popular "open source" E-Commerce system called Magento. Magento is now owned by Ebay and though community supported it is also commercially supported in no small way.
For using FedEx all we need to do is put our account number in the back end administration panel and be sure that products have a weight assigned to them and shipping quotes and costs are provided in Magento.
So, some of the things we ship are small and the most affordable way to deliver them to customers is via the postal service. However, if we want to "enable" the "built in" USPS package we have to first "register" with USPS as a developer, then go through a series of very arcane tests of our system that are designed for people actually "coding" a system rather than just implementing the system. On their confirmation email we get, among a whole bunch of "you shalls" a User ID, Password, Phone number to call and Email address to send communications to.
They say that emails will be responded to (they don't say when)... I am 3 days now into waiting, and have sent 2 follow up emails. The Phone number provided is not answered even though the hours given are 7:00AM to 11:00PM Eastern Time.
Really I am just trying to provide shipping quotes. It seems our Postal Service is in need of more revenue. That said, they sure don't want to have it be easy for their customers to give it to them.
And on top of all this, they state, in no uncertain terms:
It sure is a pity for the poor service provider whos business it is to help companies set systems set up.. they will need to repeat this process every time a new system is set up.
I suppose I am also curious why the email does not actually come from the Postal Service, but comes from "registration@shippingapis.com" and asks that emails be sent to "uspstechsupport@esecurecare.net" ... Outsourcing to No End.
For using FedEx all we need to do is put our account number in the back end administration panel and be sure that products have a weight assigned to them and shipping quotes and costs are provided in Magento.
So, some of the things we ship are small and the most affordable way to deliver them to customers is via the postal service. However, if we want to "enable" the "built in" USPS package we have to first "register" with USPS as a developer, then go through a series of very arcane tests of our system that are designed for people actually "coding" a system rather than just implementing the system. On their confirmation email we get, among a whole bunch of "you shalls" a User ID, Password, Phone number to call and Email address to send communications to.
They say that emails will be responded to (they don't say when)... I am 3 days now into waiting, and have sent 2 follow up emails. The Phone number provided is not answered even though the hours given are 7:00AM to 11:00PM Eastern Time.
Really I am just trying to provide shipping quotes. It seems our Postal Service is in need of more revenue. That said, they sure don't want to have it be easy for their customers to give it to them.
And on top of all this, they state, in no uncertain terms:
The Web Tools User ID provided is for you and your company to use when requesting data via the Internet from the U.S. Postal Service API servers. This unique User ID cannot be shared with others outside your organization, nor is it to be packaged and distributed or sold to other individuals, businesses or e-commerce web site entities.
It sure is a pity for the poor service provider whos business it is to help companies set systems set up.. they will need to repeat this process every time a new system is set up.
I suppose I am also curious why the email does not actually come from the Postal Service, but comes from "registration@shippingapis.com" and asks that emails be sent to "uspstechsupport@esecurecare.net" ... Outsourcing to No End.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Blog This! | Blogger Buzz
Blog This! | Blogger Buzz:
'via Blog this'
Too bad it is just Blogger Specific.. But sure goes quick.
By this I mean, the Blog-This Extension that connects to blogger.com.. Link is above.
After this post I went and found a similar plug in that ties into some other content pages... All told these methods are easier than going to a web site, opening a new post, writing etc. If one can work in an extension the subject is at hand while one is actually writing... rather than this blank white sheet on this edit page I find myself in here.
'via Blog this'
Too bad it is just Blogger Specific.. But sure goes quick.
By this I mean, the Blog-This Extension that connects to blogger.com.. Link is above.
After this post I went and found a similar plug in that ties into some other content pages... All told these methods are easier than going to a web site, opening a new post, writing etc. If one can work in an extension the subject is at hand while one is actually writing... rather than this blank white sheet on this edit page I find myself in here.
You think you need one Server do you?
If you read the marketing spiel a Windows Server will do 1000 things. If you try to use a Windows server however you may easily find that you need, in fact 2, 3, 5 or 10 Servers to do all the work that is asked of it.
Take a look at the Terminal Server Farm here:
I dont even know if the Domain Controller is listed, much less the backup Domain Controller.
One Server for Licensing. One Server for Load Balancing, etc etc. Dont forget DNS. Don't forget Wins. Don't forget.. ad infinitum.
All this takes a lot of time to implement, not to speak of hardware and licensing expense. And then there is power. Virtualization helps, but the last I read, certain roles are not recomended for virtualization.. Domain Controlling is one. The Slowness of Virtualization would call into question having your Terminal Server be virtualized. Maybe the licensing server. Perhaps a backup Domain Controller, the DNS server etc (why are those not part of the primary Domain Control Role anyway). I suppose they generally are, but redundancy makes its call.
Terminal Services are, for sure, great tools. A functioning server can generally be accomplished more easily than the picture shows. Still, some very high costs are out there, especially if you are pushing the OS up from the client level.
Time to research VNC again.
Take a look at the Terminal Server Farm here:
I dont even know if the Domain Controller is listed, much less the backup Domain Controller.
One Server for Licensing. One Server for Load Balancing, etc etc. Dont forget DNS. Don't forget Wins. Don't forget.. ad infinitum.
All this takes a lot of time to implement, not to speak of hardware and licensing expense. And then there is power. Virtualization helps, but the last I read, certain roles are not recomended for virtualization.. Domain Controlling is one. The Slowness of Virtualization would call into question having your Terminal Server be virtualized. Maybe the licensing server. Perhaps a backup Domain Controller, the DNS server etc (why are those not part of the primary Domain Control Role anyway). I suppose they generally are, but redundancy makes its call.
Terminal Services are, for sure, great tools. A functioning server can generally be accomplished more easily than the picture shows. Still, some very high costs are out there, especially if you are pushing the OS up from the client level.
Time to research VNC again.
Google Pulling the Plug on Notebook..
One of the best pieces of software from Google, and for that matter anyone, has been Google Notebook. Unfortunately, back in 2008, after I had been using it for about a year, Google stopped allowing new signups. They told all of us users that our Data is not going anywhere... we just couldn't do the cool sharing we had been doing... at least not with new invites.
Well here we are 3 years later and the data is going away. Well, actually they are exporting it all to Google Docs. I just did a "test export" before their auto export... At least something.
I will miss Google Notebook. I have been using Evernote in its stead. No where near as good for my usage, except for the fact that it actually works on my Phone plus my Computer... G Notebook certainly could have pulled this off.
What is the difference? I think it is the Hierarchy that could be made in Google Notebook. The Notebook, Sections and Notes part, with the ability to very very easily move things around, search and more.
And what of Trust? Well we thought Google Notebook would be for the long term. We assume, from the name, that Evernote will be forever. None of it. Palm notes are dead. I expect X-Marks maybe short for the world. Organize and make redundant. About all we can do it seems. Try Tracks Appliance and do it yourself: Keep on top of it. Try to recreate Google Docs. This might be the best solution.
Well here we are 3 years later and the data is going away. Well, actually they are exporting it all to Google Docs. I just did a "test export" before their auto export... At least something.
I will miss Google Notebook. I have been using Evernote in its stead. No where near as good for my usage, except for the fact that it actually works on my Phone plus my Computer... G Notebook certainly could have pulled this off.
What is the difference? I think it is the Hierarchy that could be made in Google Notebook. The Notebook, Sections and Notes part, with the ability to very very easily move things around, search and more.
And what of Trust? Well we thought Google Notebook would be for the long term. We assume, from the name, that Evernote will be forever. None of it. Palm notes are dead. I expect X-Marks maybe short for the world. Organize and make redundant. About all we can do it seems. Try Tracks Appliance and do it yourself: Keep on top of it. Try to recreate Google Docs. This might be the best solution.
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