IBM to offer free office software, targeting Microsoft

IBM to offer free office software, targeting Microsoft
www.chinaview.cn 2007-09-19 14:22:33

BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- IBM Corp. is to start offering free programs for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, in another bid to upset the dominance of Microsoft's Office suite, media reported Tuesday.

The company was scheduled to announce the desktop software, called IBM Lotus Symphony, at an event Tuesday.

The name for the suite is the same name IBM used for its first integrated productivity suite, which it offered in the 1980s but which never took off with customers.

Mike Rhodin, general manager of Lotus Software for the IBM Software Group, said the company brought back the name to "herald in a new age" of productivity software.

The programs will be available as free downloads from the IBM Web site.

IBM's Lotus-branded proprietary programs already compete with Microsoft products for e-mail, messaging and work group collaboration. But the Symphony software is a free alternative to Microsoft's mainstay Office programs -- Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The Office business is huge and lucrative for Microsoft, second only to its Windows operating system as a profit maker.

Microsoft's Office suite of products already faces some competition from Google Inc's online tools, called Google Apps.

Stop Computer Hackers

Stop Computer Hackers

I have used a computer since about 1993. I love all the things I am able to do with one. And now that my fingers are no longer so nimble I love it even more. I am able to communicate via E-mail and to write using my word processor.

One thing about computers which I absolutely hate is the way some others use their computers -- hacking! Hackers should be jailed without regard to their age. Hackers have caused both you and me to lose a lot of money.

And they are guilty of causing unnecessary frustration and aggravation to those of us who are simply trying to enjoy our computing experience. Hackers are a pitiful group of people with nothing better to do with their time than to cause problems for the rest of us.

I expect I have spent 100 hours trying to diagnose various computer problems over the years. I will estimate that I have spent at least $5000 replacing my computers and in buying software to correct or prevent problems which hackers create.

I read recently that successful computer hackers might also be able to steal your identity. Now that is scary! Viruses, trojans, adware, and slow loading or non-functioning computers are bad enough. But now we learn that hackers could actually destroy your life by stealing your identity!

Why is all this necessary?

Many anti-virus, anti-spyware, and other similar computer protection programs are available. Many, if not most, do nothing to stop someone from placing programs on your computer. Those programs seem only work once a problem has been recognized. They do not stop the problem from being placed on your computer in the first place.

I think I have found a program which will protect my computer from hackers. I have downloaded Security Suite which runs continuously in the background and stops hackers from messing with my computer. The program downloaded in less than a minute. I feel much more secure since the free scan turned up no problems on my computer .

With a full eight week money back guarantee, there is nothing to lose.

If your computer has been acting up, you should at least get the free scan. I am certain you will agree that this product is worthwhile for your peace of mind and for your personal, or business, security.

by L. Bowlin
Keyword : Stop Computer Hackers

LCD or CRT - Which One For Me?

LCD or CRT - Which One For Me?

To have a choice sometimes makes things a bit confusing. When there's only one to choose from it's easy. So when you have to choose between LCD or CTR how do you go about it? First you need to find out what you want most; space or quality? Although with quality, the gap between the two is quickly closing. If you are a graphic designer, you might want to stick with a CRT - Cathode Ray Tube - screen for the time being. It seems to have the best resolution as yet.

LCD screens save a heap of space and are light and easy to handle. Resolution is the watchword when buying any kind of screen. The maximum resolution needs to be 1024x768 at the very least. This will enable it to support all your applications and icons. The more pixels your screen has, the better it will be to work with.

The CRT is generally thought to be cheaper, better to view and with better colour depth than the flat screens. But CRTs are falling in popularity, probably due to the ease of use that the flat screen has. It is not heavy and can fit in places that the CRT would not. There is no hot air to contend with as the CRT has, so if you don't have air-conditioning, maybe that's the one you should get.

by Melanie
Keyword : LCD or CRT - Which One For Me?

Introduction to Macro Software

Introduction to Macro Software

Macro software plays an important role in modern life. But most of you don't know what it is, and how it works. Here is a basic introduction to the software.

The macro software is a powerful utility that collects of several separate applications, all working together to act like one cohesive unit. It is designed for automating the tasks that you perform repeatedly or on a regular basis. The primary purpose of the software is to simplify and make your life and job easier. So if your jobs are plodding and repetitive, you can free from them by using the macro program.

Before you use the software, you should be familiar with the basic usage for macro software.

What's a macro? It is an essential concept you need to know first. A macro is a set of keystrokes, mouse actions and instructions that are recorded, saved, edited. The recorded keystrokes, mouse actions and instructions can be played back (executed) in further. In other words, a macro is a series of commands, keyboard or mouse actions that are recorded to perform a given task automatically when a certain key is pressed or a certain command is entered. These tasks can be something simple from typing your email address into a site to something more complex such as transferring data between two applications.

Knowing what a macro is, you can now create a macro. The macro software allows you to create macros in two ways. The most common method is to create a macro by recording keystroke and mouse activities. When the recording starts out, you can perform the activities or tasks that you want to script. During the recording process, the macro program will track keyboard events and mouse events, and then turn these actions into macro steps. When finished, you stop the recording and save the macro. The other method is to create a blank macro by editing manually. You open the script editor and inset the action list you need, and then you can edit the script for a macro manually. Later, you can use macro editor to modify existing macros and remove unwanted mouse moves or delays and optimize the performance even further. Of course, for the recorded macros, you can use the macro editor to further customize and fine-tune it.

For macro software, there are two ways to play a macro, regular playing and quick playing. For the regular playing, using hotkeys or keywords to replay recorded macros is a simple one. You can specify a hotkey or keyword for a macro, and press the hotkey or keyword to play back it when you want to perform the macro task. The quick playing differs from the regular playing. That means you can schedule or trigger a macro. Scheduling a macro is an ideal way to perform a task automatically without your supervision. You can schedule it to run at a specific time it is convenient for you; or you can schedule it to launch periodically (daily, weekly or monthly). Alternatively, you can launch a macro based on one or more system events. Whenever, a system event occurred and a macro has been triggered with it, the macro will be launched automatically.

by shujun
Keyword : Introduction to Macro Software