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Tag Archives: Microsoft
From Around The Web : Flock, Seamonkey, Outlook, Idol
I’ve never quite understood why people just leave a list of links to other sites, but now I do. Here is some news that I don’t have time to write about, but wanted to share.
A new preview version of Flock, based on Firefox 2, is out with many additional features. Note, it didn’t import all my previous bookmarks.
Seamonkey 1.1 is also out. It’s also based off Firefox 2 and Thunderbird 2 too. However, from the comments on Seamonkey 1.1, the real good stuff won’t appear until 1.5.
Great, Hard To Find, Firefox Themes
Firefox themes are great and I’m always on the lookout for more. But sometimes, finding the coolest ones takes a bit of work.
addons.mozilla.org is the first stop for finding any themes. However, this official listing doesn’t include everyone. Some theme developers don’t take the time to upload theirs for some reason. The second place I always look is DeviantART.
DeviantART Firefox themes are usually quite nice, but mainly designed for PCs. That hasn’t stopped me from trying them and lately I’ve been finding a few cool ones.
Mac User Installs XP
I’ve just finished installing Windows XP Home (Service Pack 2) and it was quite the process. I’m so happy to be a Mac user. 
It started off just trying to figure out how to boot off the CD. Mac OS install CDs say right on them, to startup off the CD hold down the C key. However, with Windows, all they said was go to the START menu and go from there. The problem? The PC couldn’t get to the OS, which was why I was re-installing it.
Web 2.0 Applications List
The Second Press made a quick post yesterday about IT|Redux’s updated Web 2.0 database of applications. After checking it out, I have to say this is one of the finest lists I’ve seen.
It’s a fantastic list organized by type of application and lists some features & reviews of each. I highly recommend checking it out as there is an web based application to meet almost all needs.
From calculators to file managers, text editing, spreadsheets, photo editing and even video editing all on the web! Plus much more. Most offer free accounts and are well worth the checkout.
Google Spreadsheets are Coming
Google has announced Google Spreadsheets! It’s currently limited beta but I have high hopes for it. Google has Writely, an online word processing application and now a spreadsheet application. This is one step closer to Google Office. 
I have yet to get my Google Spreadsheet invite, but I’ve got on the list. For more information check out this Sneak Peak at Google Spreadsheets.
If you can’t wait for Google Spreadsheets, check out iRows and ZoHo Sheet. They are both online spreadsheet applications that work very well and are available for sign-up today! I have accounts at each and it’s tough to say which is better, but both are excellent alternatives to Microsoft Excel.
Parallels – Emulation Done Right
I’ve taken Parallels for a test spin and I’m very impressed. VirtualPC was the best emulator around years ago and it still never worked very good. Now, with Parallels, you can run Windows (3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, Me, 2000, NT, XP, 2003), any Linux distribution, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, eComStation, or MS-DOS while running OS X.
I installed and ran Windows 98 as it’s the only thing I had lying around. The install process was pretty simple and took forever. The long install is thanks to Microsoft though, not an issue with Parallels. Once installed, the speed that Windows 98 ran was extremely impressive! No delays when you try to open a folder. No ‘this blows’ attitude like I had with VirtualPC. It was smooth, fast and ran quite good.
iRows : Web Based Spreadsheets
I searched for a web based Microsoft Excel today and I found iRows. All the basics, none of the bloat or cost!!
Today was a snow day and I was told not to come into work but rather work from home. Great idea except I treat my home computer differently than my work computer. For one, I didn’t install Microsoft Office.
I’ve had Writely for Word documents for a while now and it’s just amazing. Upload Word files, make edits, export them again and it’s all good. So, I went looking for a web based Excel. That’s when I found iRows.
Writely – Social/Web Word Processing
Recently I’ve been using a free service called Writely. Writely is a web based word processing application that is amazing.
Features include:
- Full WYSIWYG Editing (in browsers that support it)
- Import abilities for Microsoft Word (.doc), Rich Text (.rtf) OpenOffice (.odt, .sxw), HTML, Text (.txt)
- Export abilities for all the above and PDF
- Sharing abilities with anyone.
- Social editing so that more than one can edit the same document.
- Privacy controls.
- Ability to ‘Star’ important documents. (like Gmail)
- Beautiful Interface
Open winmail.dat files on a Mac
It’s bound to happen on a Mac. Someone will send you an email and tell you to check out the attachment. However, the only thing attached is a winmail.dat file. Good news though, you can open that file.
TNEF’s Enough is a little freeware application that can open winmail.dat files and extract the attachment that is inside. It works quite nice and is free.
Windows Vista Cruiser
