DropBox

This is a review of some free, online software that I have been using for several months and have gown to like a great deal. Read the review and then go the the website for a free account.

Review Source: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/32058/review/.html

Dropbox is a newcomer still in beta testing that has some welcome features despite its simplicity. Like other synchronizers, it requires that you download and install software; but un­-like the others, it has almost no user interface. All it has is a tray icon that you click to see a pop-up window with one command for launching the Web site and another for opening an Explorer window to the Dropbox folder installed in your Documents folder.

The majority of your file syncing and sharing happens through the folder. You drag files and folders there to have Dropbox automatically upload them to the servers (beta testers get 2GB of free storage; in the future only 1GB will be free). You can also share files by transferring them to and from the Dropbox folder. If you upload a file that isn't in the Dropbox folder directly to the Dropbox site, a copy will appear--you guessed it--in your local Dropbox folder.

Although having a single place to drop your files for syncing can be conveni­ent, Dropbox makes it mandatory, not an option like SugarSync's Magic Briefcase folder. Being required to keep all your shared, backed-up, and synced files in a single folder is an annoyance that Dropbox's makers promise to correct in a future version.

Despite that flaw, this extremely simple program offers some valuable features, including maintaining copies of deleted files in the Web interface (click Show Deleted Files to see them), and providing access to past versions of edited files.

As with every other sync program I tested, sharing involves sending an invitation to collaborators--but Dropbox doesn't make inviting multiple people easy. Invitees are asked to install Dropbox, which causes the shared folder to be copied and synced with their Dropbox folder. If your invitees don't want to install the software, they can still access files through the online file manager as long as they log in and know the URL.

Dropbox's online file tool is even more limited than that of other products. To see thumbnails, for example, you must drag pictures to the Photos folder within the Dropbox folder, since that's the only one that has a thumbnail view online.

The pricing for Dropbox is not set yet, but the cost is expected to vary with the amount of server space you require.

--Scott Dunn

Road Warrior

Here is some great information on Open Source Software. Much of it I use daily. Dr. Webb is right on in my opinion.

FREE Marketing, Management and Economic Notes from Dr. Joe Webb

09/20/2008

Road Warrior: Today, Sept. 20, is Software Freedom Day

Today is Software Freedom Day worldwide, and I thought I'd support the effort by noting my favorite products.

I use computers in Linux and Windows. Many of the programs are also available for Macintosh.

My primary office software is OpenOffice. The product is available for all operating systems, and its primary supporter is Sun Microsystems. Its word processing is top-notch, its spreadsheet is very good (Excel's charting is better), and its presentation program is somewhere in between. The new 3.0 version will be out shortly, and reviews have been quite good. There's little reason to buy office software any more when free can be this good and solid. I originally started using it because Microsoft Word would misbehave at the most inappropriate times and its document formatting has always been quirky. I still use Excel for charts. OpenOffice includes PDF export capabilities, and this feature alone makes it worthwhile. Version 3.0 will have a feature that can "decompose" PDFs into editable documents.

For a word processor that's really light and quick, my favorite is AbiWord (Windows and Linux). For spreadsheets, Gnumeric (Windows and Linux) is really impressive for its quick loading and simple interface. I use them all the time for a quick note or quick capture of data.

For Windows users, PDF Creator is an easy way to make good and reliable PDFs for all applications. For quick reading of PDFs in Windows, FoxIt Reader is a great alternative to the often bloated and slow Acrobat Reader. You may still need Acrobat Reader, which is free, for some documents, but FoxIt is has been my preference for almost five years.

Though not technically part of the free software movement, PowerDesk is probably the most important software one can use in Windows if you have to deal with any kind of file management. The free version has all of the features most users need, and the paid version is relatively inexpensive. Vista computers cannot use the free version.

For audio recording, Audacity is available for all operating systems and is superb.

For desktop publishing, Scribus is available for all systems, as is photo software The Gimp. The Gimp is available and is a favorite for those who don't want to invest in Adobe Photoshop. The interface for the product can be confusing, so an enterprising software developer adapted it to look more like PhotoShop. Gimpshop is available for all operating systems.

For Internet browsing, Firefox just gets better and better with each release (Windows and Linux).

For instant messaging I use Pidgin (Windows and Linux), which consolidates all of your im sessions into one panel, rather than chasing around individual im panels around your screen. Mac users can try Adium.

Among the more amazing free programs is Skype which lets you make free calls to other users, including video, and also provides always-improving dial-up calls and conferencing capabilities.

Grisoft's free AVG antivirus software for Windows is excellent. CCleaner is one of the best of the free software programs, and helps keep Windows systems running well.

Many free software programs for all operating systems can be found at Download.com run by CNet and also at FileHippo.com. Google Pack is also a good source that includes managed downloading. The StarOffice version of OpenOffice is there for Windows users.

Of late, I have been very impressed by the growing features and reliability of online office suites such as Google Documents, Zoho, and Thinkfree. They are great choices, especially when traveling, and you might be using someone else's computer. This way your work is tucked away in your free online accounts, and you don't have to worry about whether or not you left them sitting on that borrowed computer.

For those interested in Linux, all software is free, including the operating system and all of the applications. There are two Linux distributions I recommend Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS. There's Linux for geeks and Linux for the rest of us, and these two distributions fit that well. For Ubuntu, I use the Kubuntu version which has a desktop most like Windows and the Mac. PCLinuxOS has a similar interface. The only drawback to Linux I have found is that it cannot run many of the more sophisticated or proprietary multimedia such as Microsoft Silverlight. While there is a project at Novell to have it do so, I still have a Windows multimedia computer. Otherwise, a life free of constant software license authentification has been quite welcome. Linux is solid and doesn't crash or lock up the way much other software does. I've had applications lock, but the system still works. I've had applications lock and free up without having to force them to close and restart. The feeling is odd at first.

For those who say that I should just buy a Mac, they should remember that Macs are built on top of free software, a version of UNIX called Free BSD. This brings me to answer the question about how this free software can be so good. Much of it is financed by major corporations, universities, and foundations. Google has become an exceptional supporter of open source software, funding "Summer of Code" projects that contribute to numerous programs at universities for the past few years.

I've used Linux in one form or another for two years now and am delighted I made the switch. I can run programs I need, such as Excel, in Linux through the WINE project, which is available in a paid form as CrossOver Linux. Disney Studios is running Adobe Photoshop in Linux in this manner.

There are some Linux versions that are so small they can run off of a USB memory stick. Two are Damn Small Linux and Puppy Linux. The latter is a bit less geeky.

Linux operating systems help you locate thousands of free software programs, download and install them with just a few mouseclicks. Computing life is uncomplicated for once.

Bicycles an Easy Part of the Environmental Fix

Bicycles an Easy Part of the Environmental Fix

By GREG SIPLE

My drawing, seen here (no drawing found), was first published in the Missoulian 30 years ago. The bicycle continues to be one of the most efficient machines ever devised n just as quiet and easy to park today as it was in 1978. Bikes marketed today tend to be more rider-friendly, with the comforts of flat handlebars, shock-absorbers and wider tires n having moved away from the dropped handlebars and hard, narrow tires of the 1970s 10-speeds.

Motorized traffic in Missoula has increased dramatically since my drawing originally appeared in 1978. We Missoulians drive a startling 1.5 million miles per day. That’s more than 60 times around the Earth. Every one of those miles releases a pound of carbon dioxide into the Missoula airshed. We spend huge amounts of money on infrastructure to move our car traffic more efficiently. An installation of traffic lights like the ones at Orange Street and Broadway costs $250,000. Yet we often find ourselves idling in long lines at intersections and searching for parking spaces.

Thirty years ago, few of us paid attention to the situation with world oil reserves. Now, the finite nature of the supply is generally acknowledged. We are going to run out. The worldwide demand for energy continues to push up the price of gasoline. Some say the scramble for control of oil resources has led us to war. The increased cost of oil has, in turn, increased the cost of every other commodity. We have begun to convert cropland from food to fuel production.

In 1978, global warming and climate change were concepts unknown to the public. Today, they are constantly discussed and evaluated. The bicycle, as a tool of reversing environmental degradation, is more important than ever.

Although I am a strong advocate for bicycle use, I am not going to suggest that the motor vehicle be banished from Missoula’s roadways. Legitimate needs exist for motor vehicles to keep the city running. I will continue to buy food trucked into the city. I would hire someone to haul a 2,000-pound load of building materials by truck, rather than do it myself in 40 trips with a bicycle trailer. I would accept a ride in an ambulance if I had an accident. There is a long list of legitimate needs for motor vehicles in Missoula.

What I do suggest is that we can substantially reduce that million-and-a-half motor vehicle miles a day with the use of the bicycle. We don’t need a 3,500-pound vehicle to haul 10 pounds of groceries. We can easily carry a letter to the post office on a bike. Many of us can commute to work by bicycle. Most everyone can carry out some percentage of their transportation chores car-free. Perhaps we could shave 150,000 miles a day (10 percent) off our collective total with these short rides. Less motoring means less noise, less traffic congestion, more clean air for all of us, and the health benefits of exercise for those who bicycle.

Bicycling is much easier than a novice rider might expect. It is five times easier than walking. Missoula is, for the most part, flat, and it has a growing number of bicycle trails and bridges. A new rider will soon discover that 90 percent of car traffic is using only 10 percent of the streets. Bikers travel at 10 to 12 mph, while most Missoula streets post 25-mph speed limit signs. Accordingly, bicycle travel time is sometimes only twice that of a car, and saves roughly 50 cents a mile compared to what it costs to drive a car. All kinds of racks, baskets and trailers for carrying any kind of load are available at Missoula’s bike shops. Even for the beginner, riding two to four miles is a 15-minute piece of cake.

I understand that a few people will never consider riding a bicycle under any circumstance. But they should applaud those who do ride, and also support investment in public bicycle facilities such as trails and bridges. Bicyclists do not compete for fuel and parking spaces, and they shorten the lines of cars waiting for green at our intersections. In addition, more bicycle riding and less driving overall means less wear and tear on our roads, which extends the life of the pavement.

I don’t expect the Missoulian to run my cartoon for a third time in 2038. By then, we will have made a transition to more efficient means of transportation, including common use of the bicycle. Our relationship with, and dependency on, the automobile will have changed for the better, and dramatically. The question is: Are we going to gracefully adapt now or ignore the problems we’ve created until the solutions are painful?

Jessina and Max's Wedding

Foxit Reader

As ftp files become more important we all need to have an ftp file reader installed on our computers. Most folks use Adobe's pdf reader but there is a better application that does more for you, uses much, much, less of your hard drive and is, of course, free. It is call Foxit Reader and can be downloaded at http://www.foxitsoftware.com. I have been using Foxit for over a month on several computers and I will not be going back to Adobe's bloatware.

Here are some Foxit high points from the website...

• Incredibly small: The download size of Foxit Reader is only 2.1 M which is a fraction of Acrobat Reader 20 M size.
• Breezing-fast: When you run Foxit Reader, it launches instantly without any delay. You are not forced to view an annoying splash window displaying company logo, author names, etc.
• Annotation tool: Have you ever wished to annotate (or comment on) a PDF document when you are reading it? Foxit Reader allows you to draw graphics, highlight text, type text and make notes on a PDF document and then print out or save the annotated document.
• Text converter: You may convert the whole PDF document into a simple text file.
• High security and privacy: Foxit Reader highly respects the security and privacy of users and will never connect to the Internet without users' permission. While other PDF readers often silently connect to the Internet in the background. Foxit PDF Reader does not contain any spyware.