Posts by izntmac

Netscape Communicator is Still Alive through Open Source

Netscape Communicator is still being updated via Open Source as the SeaMonkey Suite. So I guess you still can follow some of the law.

https://www.seamonkey-project.org/ Happy New Year! :)!

Softmaker

I have used SoftMaker Office on Windows and Linux for the past 10 years. I have had great luck with importing files in Word or Excel formats. I also love the fact that you can still have the traditional toolbar or classic menus style which I find more productive. There is also a tabbed interface you can use if you desire. The price of their products is reasonable and the the tech support is good. You are also not tied to the monthly or yearly subscription model like Microsoft Office is pushing. A good office suite.

The disadvantages are that there is no cloud version. I also do not like the auto-hyphenation. This can be shut off though. Not a bad Office suite and one I am happy to use daily.

Would be nice if Windows 10 LTSC was available easier for businesses and consumers. Would solve a lot of problems with Windows 10. Microsoft of course want the telemetry and wants you to moving everything into the cloud. Their cloud. Software by subscription is the wave of the future unfortunately with telemetry included. Pretty bad.

LIbreOffice Turns 10

LibreOffice is a great product and you can't beat the price. I find LibreOffice very usable with its menus and toolbars vs. Microsoft and the ribbon. LibreOffice has import filters that can open documents from old programs such as Appleworks and other really old ones. This is a nice feature.

LibreOffice perhaps has too many updates with new versions every few months or so where the entire program must be reinstalled. They do have their stable (slightly older) and fresh (Latest and Greatest) version for download. Maybe just updating the current version would be a better idea such as downloading Version 6.3 and downloading updates for that version. LibreOffice has had a few unstable features or versions over the years but overall has worked fairly well. Love some features like saving documents as a picture.

I don't think LibreOffice will ever completely take over for MS Office but it is good to have as an alternative. I also believe that a lot of LIbreOffice code contributors come from companies that sell support to businesses that use the program commercially. It may not have taken over the world after ten years but it gives a pretty good free alternative to those who have have 90% or less of the functions of office. LibreOffice, OpenOffice, and SoftMaker Office are good alternatives to MS Office and at a much better price. Also it is nice not having all your info in the cloud.

A neat find and nice to see the letters preserved. Hopefully the are also preserving digital copies of them.

Spring Ahead into the Abyss

Windows 10 will force people to upgrade their hardware sooner because of dropped support. This is much easier for Microsoft with major releases every 6 months or so. With Windows 7 and below you could keep your ancient hardware going for a decade with updates. Not so much with Windows 10. Also it adds so many features people don't want or need.

Why go totally F-35?

Maybe the UK should just buy the F-35 Carrier variant for the carriers, some regular F-35s for NATO and regular land use and also some cheaper jets for land based use for UK air sovereignty. The F-35 is a complicated machine and to be totally relying on it is not smart. Better with a mixed fleet and one that can be serviced in the UK.

OTA TV

Since the switch to the ATSC standard and digital TV in the US and in Canada, the range of the OTA signal is significantly less and also the picture is either perfect or blocky at times . I wonder if the new ATSC 3 standard will improve this? I doubt it. I've gone to streaming and find it to be fine with a Roku. I can subscribe to the channels I want and can get local news. Cable is outrageously expensive. I would rather have free OTA tv but living in a rural area, there is no signal. So no new TVs here. Digital TV isn't all it was meant to be.

I always try to use the ESR (Extended Service Releases) releases of Firefox that are supported for up to a year with security updates along the way. Since Firefox has switched to this new release model since version 3 or 4 to renaming the version every time an update comes along I felt that it has gone downhill. I still prefer the x.1, x.2 etc. version naming for minor improvements on the same version. Still I like Firefox better than Chrome or Edge. I still think Firefox is trying to compete with Chrome and emulate it with updates and features. This is killing their market share.

As a Service?

I think people will move away from Windows because of the "service" model. I don't want my computer OS tied to being part of a "service" I have to pay for. The different editions sound reasonable but I would never by the home version just because of being the "guinea pig" for patches. I think Microsoft has some good ideas with this OS such as the start menu coming back but with Windows 7 extended support till 2020 then business will be slow to adopt Windows 10. Windows 7 is the new XP!

Firefox doesn't need to become a clone of Chrome. I like having the menu bars on the top in the traditional FILE EDIT VIEW style. Moving the pull down menus to the side like Internet Explorer isn't that great of an idea. Keep Firefox similar to the way it was before or at least have it as a theme. I like the web the way I used it yesterday or at least to be able to have that option.

Rapid Release

Hopefully Microsoft keeps it simple with 6 month updates and calls this Windows 8.2 or Windows 8.1 Service Pack 1. Not too thrilled about updating every 6 months and getting big downloads and pushes for new services. I don't like everything in the cloud. Would rather use OpenOffice instead of all the cloud stuff. Hopefully the releases don't become as updated as often as Chrome or Firefox have become. There is something nice about software that stays the same for a while like ESR versions of Firefox. Microsoft is trying to make money and cloud services are one way.

Sticking with my Mac and Windows 7

A 3.5 GB downloadable update is way too much. Windows XP takes up only about 2 GB of a hard drive and Windows 2000 even less. Getting it form the MS Store is also a further insult added to injury. I will stick with my Macs and Windows 7. Or just add Classic Shell to get your start menu back.

Green Power Isn;t What it is Cracked up to Be

The cheap natural gas has hit the US coal industry hard. Gas fired power plants are a "clean" fossil fuel as compared to gas and oil. Pushing them away to reduce carbon emissions is foolish for the UK and the rest of Europe. Renewable resources such as solar, tidal, wind, and other forms of energy aren't as reliable as fossil generation of electricity and cost a lot more per kilowatt hour. Europe trying to be a "leader" in reducing carbon emissions make them a fool. Newly industrialized countries such as China and India I'm sure aren't giving up their oil and coal plants and energy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Gradually moving to "green" power is not a bad idea. but to do it in the name of "leading" is foolish. If Europe leads then who is following?

All companies go through ups and downs. I give Microsoft credit for trying with Windows 8 and the Surface. Apple back in 1990s tried with the Newton Message Pad and that failed too. Microsoft was on a run in the 1990s with Office and Windows 95, 98, and 2000. Now the situation is somewhat reversed with Apple dominating tablets and their computers being used by many more people. Microsoft has had a lot of flops lately in my opinion such as the TIFKAM user interface and also the "fluent user interface" aka tabbed interface of Office. Microsoft still sets the standards for which most desktop software is measured and still has enough of a cash cow to make mistakes like the Surface. The idea of a computer, phone, and tablet all working the same isn't a bad one but Microsoft could have implemented it better and instead of shoving it down people's throats could have had a more gradual implementation or offered users a choice.

Better than "Designed in California" but "Made in China"

At least it is "Made in the USA" which really means "Assembled in USA with American Made and Foreign Parts." It does add jobs to the US economy and gives people manufacturing jobs. New Balance makes sneakers in Maine where I live but many of the pieces come from overseas. The law says that they can be called "Made in the USA" even though they have foreign parts in them. Better than Apple's "Designed in California by Apple" but "Made in China."

Sad Kodak Moment

Too bad to see a name that dominated photography for years be downsized into something different than it was. At least Kodak will live on and will carry on a business and not be turned into a brand name that is "rented" like Westinghouse or Polaroid. May the new Kodak "Live long and Prosper" and may we remember the old.

XP "Just Works" and is "Good Enough"

Windows XP just works for many business and people. It is stable and loads fast on later processors. Many people also have a lot of many invested in software and business systems that are set up or do not work on later versions of Windows. Also it runs older pre2007 versions of Microsoft Office that many people like. People are also starting to look at computers as a mature thing until they need a new one when their computer dies. Also with many of the new approaches to technology being tied to "the cloud", XP still lets the stuff stay on my machine in my own space. Windows XP was also the last "must have" Windows upgrade. Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 weren't all that exciting to people. Even though 7 works well. XP is still "Good Enough" for many!

GIve NASA a Mission and let them Stick to It

The political process keeps spinning NASA out of control. NASA needs to get us back to the Moon and on to Mars with manned space flight. Also maybe a trip to an asteroid would be nice. NASA also needs to develop its own manned spacecrafts and own set of rockets. Space telescopes and the Earth observation also need to be kept. NASA wavers with each budget bill. Space needs long term goals with checks on the cost.NASA also needs to be able to innovate. Set some goals, fund them, and stick to them! Don't change them every political battle.

Congratulations to the New Astronauts

Congratulations to the new astronauts and hopefully they have "The Right Stuff." The most disappointing part was the line about NASA flying US made spacecrafts, designed by US companies, and shot form US soil. NASA should still be flying its own spacecraft and should have had a successor to the Space Shuttle by now. Congres and the President kept changing the funding and priorities over the years so now the US has to fly on Russian or Private Spacecraft. NASA needs to develop its own again. To bad to lose US Space leadership.

Apple did this once.

Apple in the 1990s had their "store within a store" in I believe it was CompUsa stories. This is one of the times in the past when this was done. Maybe not a bad idea for Microsoft but it will not significantly increase sales. Many people look in Best Buy and shop online. Good chance to try the products though.

Sleek Looks vs Servicability

The all in ones computers such as the iMacs look nice but are a bear to fix. You should have to rip apart adhesive to get to the guts of the machine. Jason7 had it right where you are better off to build your own or go with a Mini PC mounted on the back of a monitor. Still easier to fix in the long run or to upgrade. Good article. I guess you can look at it is that the All-in-One computers are like a giant iPad or tablet. This may be the future Microsoft wants us all to embrace with Windows 8 on phones, tablets, and computers. Scary!

Classic Shell to the Rescue

Hopefully the developers of Classic Shell and other third party utilities will fix this. The old Start Menu I am sure will be able to be brought back. Microsoft may think they know better but users know what they want and what works for them. It would be nice to have a choice of a TIFKAM interface or Classic. Or it would be even better to customize it within WIndows!

Good Job USA!

We have this space station that cost billions of dollars to build. Its orbit used to be raised every once in a while by the Space Shuttle that we didn't keep flying. The US Government is too cheap to keep the Shuttles flying or fund a successor rocket system for manned space flight. The Space Station springs a leak. What if we can't get the parts up there to fix it or replacement ammonia. We are relying on the Russians, private industry, or other "international partners'. We don't have the capacity to do it through NASA anymore. Not too smart in the long run.

Hope Kodak makes It

It is sad to see Kodak in such a shape as compared to the company it was in its glory days. Kodak digital cameras were always easy for "novice' users and sold well in the early to mid 00s. Plus Kodak's long history with film cameras. Hopefully the new Kodak can survive and doesn't just become a shell of a name like Polaroid or Westinghouse that is just licensed to be used on products sold by other companies.

It is sad the USA is doing this

It is sad to see American companies doing this. This is one of the practices that is hollowing out the middle class in America and also goes along with our loss of manufacturing job. The US has lost a lot of its economy over the past 30 years in manufacturing and in technology. Pick up an American branded computer from the late 1990s or early 2000s and it was made in the USA or at least assembled here. Now it is cheaper to make them in China and ship them. The US government also sign free trade agreements as opening up markets for US products. Usually these end up costing US in manufacturing and in other areas. This is sad and is causing our country's decline.

Hopefully New MacBooks and Othe Apple Products will be Easier to Work On

Bob Mansfield sounds like a good person but Apple products are becoming to difficult wo work on and are disposable. You can't change the battery on an iPad or IPod without buying special pentalobe screwdrivers and now this has come to the laptops. MacBooks especially the new retina display models have become the same way. You can;t even change the battery inside without destroying the machine. Waht ever happened to the easily fixable Pismos and Wall Streets PowerBooks. Unfortunately Apple laptops and others are now (No User Serviceable Parts Inside) and Apple will charge a lot to fix them. Hopefully this changes and at least the easy swapping of hard drives, RAM, and batteries comes back. Especially at the price Apple charges for stuff.