debodun
SF VIP
- Location
- way upstate in New York, USA
My first computer was a Zenith desktop tower and it had a 10MB drive and ran Windows 2.1. That was a good system in the 1980s. Two 5 inch floppy drives, too.
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Computer tips
- Thread starter 65nspry
- Start date
65nspry
New Member
Y, I always listened to rock-n-roll, but for some reason only write country
... I guess it's in my blood.
tbeltrans
Senior Member
Well since the 80s, Country seems more like rock than Country to me. It now has all the distorted guitars and pounding that had otherwise been the hallmark of rock music.Y, I always listened to rock-n-roll, but for some reason only write country
Also, it is not at all uncommon for musicians to prefer to listen to music outside their own art form. A well known (in jazz circles) jazz guitarist that I know, prefers to listen to 60s rock, for example.
Tony
shedevil7953
Member
- Location
- central Indiana
I understand exactly what you mean! I recently had to replace my 10 year old printer and was so amazed at how basically it's a 'plug & play'! It rather did everything for me!
65nspry
New Member
Well, I felt the need to share this: I started learning spreadsheets last night (I never was one to start anything at the beginning , even learned how to create a formula (kinda), not sure if I'll ever use the newly acquired skill, but it's been fun to learn. I was talking to a friend yesterday (he knows how illiterate I am) and he sent me a few youtube videos, the one I like most is a strange method of teaching but must say it was fun ... didn't even set out to learn how to make a spreadsheet but it was there and my computer came with office already on it (keeps popping up that it's a trial - I guess Microsoft doesn't have enough money :-()! Anyway, that's where I've been most of last night all morning Honestly, I'm not so social online but I do like this forum, lots of good stuff!
, even learned how to create a formula (kinda), not sure if I'll ever use the newly acquired skill, but it's been fun to learn. I was talking to a friend yesterday (he knows how illiterate I am) and he sent me a few youtube videos, the one I like most is a strange method of teaching but must say it was fun ... didn't even set out to learn how to make a spreadsheet but it was there and my computer came with office already on it (keeps popping up that it's a trial - I guess Microsoft doesn't have enough money :-()! Anyway, that's where I've been most of last night all morning Honestly, I'm not so social online but I do like this forum, lots of good stuff!
tbeltrans
Senior Member
Instead of Microsoft Office, why not try the Open Source Libre Office? It is largely compatible with the files created with Microsoft Office and doesn't cost anything. I have been using it, and Open Office before that, for years. I do the various notices, documents, and the spreadsheet we use for our condo association roster with it, and have never had a problem with compatibility exchanging files with our management company or other board members.Well, I felt the need to share this: I started learning spreadsheets last night (I never was one to start anything at the beginning
Just download it from the official site and install:
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/
Tony
There is also Google Sheets, and for word processing, Google Docs.
tbeltrans
Senior Member
Yes, though in good conscience, I can't recommend (or not) either of these since I have no experience with them. I sincerely hope, for the sake of those who read these posts and recommendations that people with real experience with the things being discussed make the recommendations.
Maybe you can address how compatible these are with their Microsoft counterparts. I cited my real world experience over many years with Libre Office in my recommendation.
Tony
They work and they are free. Not everyone requires compatibility with Microsoft like myself and perhaps the OP. Most casual users would not.
tbeltrans
Senior Member
The original post was unintentionally forceful, so I am rewording it to reflect my true intentions...
From what I have observed among non-tech people I know, they seem to increasingly use office-type software for exchanging files of one kind or another. Therefore, it would be difficult to determine what a "casual user" actually is. My sister-in-law might type up a recipe or make a birthday card and attach it as an email to send to the rest of the family, for example. So knowing that the office software a person is considering is compatible with what other people typically use may be more important than you might think.
Anyway, just something to consider...
Tony
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65nspry
New Member
I must say I agree with you Tony, I guess it mainly depends on if you use MS products at work or if you're a casual user, that would be my opinion with my very limited experience/knowledge, but it was good learning spreadsheets (or beginning to learn), I'm still learning, the site has a lot of lessons, the way it teaches is more my speed, I would say it's a 'different' way to approach learning (kinda goofy actually, but seems to work for me). I opened up spreadsheets in google today too just to check it and it would probably be good enough for me but as long as I have the free trial I will probaly use MS
and after that, I'll see, I don't mind spending the money if it's better... I think it said it's $99 a year plus it seems to have a LOT of storage space with it.
tbeltrans
Senior Member
I would say to use whatever you are most comfortable with, but know ahead of time what its advantages and disadvantages may be so that you don't paste yourself into a corner later on.I must say I agree with you Tony, I guess it mainly depends on if you use MS products at work or if you're a casual user, that would be my opinion with my very limited experience/knowledge, but it was good learning spreadsheets (or beginning to learn), I'm still learning, the site has a lot of lessons, the way it teaches is more my speed, I would say it's a 'different' way to approach learning (kinda goofy actually, but seems to work for me). I opened up spreadsheets in google today too just to check it and it would probably be good enough for me but as long as I have the free trial I will probaly use MS
Libre Office is actively supported and developed. It branched from the Open Office source tree, but Open Office does not seem to have such active support anymore. There is absolutely NO cost with Libre Office, no $99 a year or anything remotely involving cost unless you choose to donate to the project. There is no requirement at all to do that. Your storage is all local, rather than on a cloud. There are active forums that will provide answers to whatever questions you may have when using it and if you were able to do so, you could volunteer to help with the continuing development of the Libre Office project such as writing code, writing documentation, being a beta tester, etc. Libre Office is built for Windows, Linux and (I think) Mac. Also, this project is VERY mature, having been around for many years.
Also, from the same download site, you can choose to download the help files so you don't need an internet connection to access the quite generous amount of help available showing you how to do most anything you wish to do with Libre Office. When it downloads, it is available via the typical F1 help key.
Other than knowing of its existence, I don't know anything about the Google Office products. Therefore, I can comment on Libre Office only. I can't make any comparisons, so please don't interpret what I am saying about Libre Office as being any sort of comparison saying it is better than whatever else is available. Libre Office is very good and stable, but so might be all the other similar office type packages.
Tony
Libre was recommended by Kim Komando so I did consider it, however, being not just a casual user but a conservative one, I was not eager to click away and download something just because it's free. Who knows what else goes with it? I once got burned downloading some planetarium software only to find out it was not compatible with what I had on my computer. As for a recommendation by Kim Komando, she once announced that she had gotten hacked and she is an expert.
My original spreadsheet usage was back before I retired using MS Works. I recorded my expected income after retirement and current financial needs at the time and charted them. After a year I found expenditures were less than expected income, so things looked good finacially.
I chart my blood pressure readings now before doctor visits and it's interesting to see how it fluctuates so you need to take an average. I think I even impressed a former doctor I had when I printed out the results and brought it in with the visit.
I am the epitome of a casual user. My interests lie outdoors. When the sun is shining and the birds are chirping, I'm outa here.
tbeltrans
Senior Member
Nothing else comes down with Libre Office or any other Open Source project. These people are volunteers from all over the world and they have nothing to sell, nor are they involved in any kind of trickery. It really is as simple and straightforward as that.
Edit: This "casual user" thing is starting to sound sillier all the time. What does going outside when the weather is nice have to do with it? In my career as a software engineer, I worked with people who had all manner of outdoor hobbies - one guy spent his vacations deep sea diving at spots around the world. Others owned cabins on lakes and spent weekends and summer vacations there. I could go on, but my point is that you lost me with that one. If you think that for a person to be something other than whatever "casual user" is, s/he must spend his or her entire time inside huddled in front of a computer, think again.
Tony
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hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
They should just be in your ''pictures''...
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
ooooh that gives me the shudders remembering that damn BSOD... it really was the catalyst that made change from Windows to Apple
tbeltrans
Senior Member
Though I never got involved in Apple's ecosystem, among the non technical computer users I know outside the workplace, as a group, the Apple users seem much happier with their computers than do the Windows folks. From what I understand IF you stay inside Apple's ecosystem and buy your software from Apple's store (i.e. assuming it has been tested for compatibility), you have a smoother computing experience.
That description tells the difference between an Apple platform and a non-Apple platform. In the Windows PC environment, you are picking products from whatever you want, but it all comes from different places and is not necessarily tested for compatibility with everything else you are using, or with whatever hardware you happen to have installed in your computer. You, therefore, become the tester.
This is not to say that one environment is necessarily better than the other. Instead, they are different. Apparently, the PC Windows environment is much more of a DIY environment so that you become responsible for insuring that whatever you add to your system, whether hardware or software, is compatible, or at least won't interfere, with everything already installed.
This reminds me of the days of stereo equipment. You could mix and match components or, you could buy a complete MacIntosh system and just take it home and plop it down in your living room and have an excellent setup. Of course, you paid dearly for that convenience. For somebody who had more money than time (i.e. professionals such as doctors and lawyers), a MacIntosh stereo system could be ideal.
For those unfamiliar, and therefore confusing MacIntosh stereo with Apple's McIntosh:
The stereo equipment -
https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/
The Apple products -
https://www.apple.com/mac/
I never got into the Apple ecosystem because I never used these anywhere such as at work or in any computer club, so I just never got involved in that world. I am sure it is as great as its adherents say it is, if evidenced by the experiences that my non technical friends seem to have.
By the way, outside of the workplace, I really don't hang out with "computer people", so I suppose most everybody I know outside work might qualify as a "casual user" (?).
Tony
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
I'm actually serious... they go into the cloud and also simply into your 'pictures''
Nathan
SF VIP
- Location
- High Desert- Calif.
...my 2 cents: I recommended Libreoffice and also Google Sheets, which is available on any device you might be logged into your google account on, since it is in the cloud.
tbeltrans
Senior Member
This is a trend that, other than possible security issues, has long seemed to me to be a good solution for non-technical computer users - the cloud. A user could conceivably have a computer that is little more than an appliance like a toaster - no need to install software or perform local backups, nothing to crash or go wrong other than a hardware failure (like a toaster). All the software and data would be kept on the cloud by a subscription service that is essentially your IT department, handling software upgrades, data backup, and (hopefully) security.
I said this years ago, and Google seems to be stepping up to provide that service. In fact, back around 2000, I did some work with a company that was building application accelerator network appliances for providing just such a service. Unfortunately, it was not until just a few years ago that this idea started to catch on with Google's cloud offerings. For most people I know, this would be the ideal solution, assuming that Google provides real security for your data.
Tony
Nathan
SF VIP
- Location
- High Desert- Calif.
I used to shun "the cloud", considered it to be a huge security issue plus an erosion of individual data ownership. But nowadays it's just handy to use Gmail, Google Drive, Photos, Docs, Sheets etc.
BTW, someone was wondering where their Photos and Contacts were for their phone....if your phone is an Android you really need a Gmail account, once logged in your Photos and Contacts will be available to your phone through those respective apps.
BTW, someone was wondering where their Photos and Contacts were for their phone....if your phone is an Android you really need a Gmail account, once logged in your Photos and Contacts will be available to your phone through those respective apps.
tbeltrans
Senior Member
There will probably always be some security risk however small, if only by virtue of the fact that the cloud is a server farm connected to the internet. We have all heard about the massive hacks that occur from time to time. If it is on the internet, it has at least some vulnerability.
Given that, each individual must weigh the risk factor against the convenience. Just as we have various pieces of information we are comfortable keeping at home and other pieces of information we choose to keep in a safe and/or safety deposit box, so it is with our data.
To me, it seems for day to day use, having a subscription with a provider that makes both the cloud data storage and the applications you would use to create and maintain that data content, would make a lot of sense for most people these days.
Tony
Irwin
Well-known Member
- Location
- Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
I trust Google with my information less than I trust Microsoft, which is very little, so I don't use their Docs for anything other than notes and backups.
LibreOffice is pretty good, or OpenOffice from which LibreOffice branched, which is now owned by Oracle, so you don't know if you can trust them or not. They're both open source, but since OpenOffice is owned by Oracle, developers are reluctant to maintain it. Who wants to work without pay for a multi-billion dollar company? So bug and security fixes have been slow. That's not the case with LibreOffice.
LibreOffice is pretty good, or OpenOffice from which LibreOffice branched, which is now owned by Oracle, so you don't know if you can trust them or not. They're both open source, but since OpenOffice is owned by Oracle, developers are reluctant to maintain it. Who wants to work without pay for a multi-billion dollar company? So bug and security fixes have been slow. That's not the case with LibreOffice.
tbeltrans
Senior Member
So, in the end, what it comes down to is what an individual is most comfortable with. Personally, I am most comfortable with Libre Office, and have been using it for some time now as I have stated in previous posts. For others, the risks involved in keeping their data on a cloud and using cloud applications, might be outweighed by the convenience of not having to maintain their own backups and application. For still others, having a subscription to Microsoft Office might be a better fit.
Tony