9 posts tagged “reviews”

So, you want to use a Mac or Linux, but, you're afraid of spreading a virus to your co-workers, friends and family. Well, never fear. Despite the stunning lack of viruses for the Mac operating system, if you want to protect others, or if you are just paranoid, you can use Clam Xav. This is open source anti-virus, its been used on Linux servers for quite some time now. So why should you use this software:

1) Its Free
2) It protects other computers on your network
3) You wont be spreading any viruses
4) On the off chance that someone makes a Mac virus that works with OSX, you will be protected.
5) If you run a virtual PC (widows on a second partition) on either your Mac or Linux machine you will be protected from data loss.

I tried this program, and found out that my co-workers (all Windows users) were passing all kinds of viruses to me, which I was forwarding, unaware of the dangers to others. My computer remains blissfully, but not shockingly, infection free, but I'm much more popular now.

So go out and give it a try. If you hate it, the worst end result is an uninstall.

You need to back up your important files and data, but you don;t want to shell out for an expensive service. Then just use Mozy.

Mozy  can be used for Mac or Windows - and when you sign up for a free account, you get 2GB of free storage, enough for critical documents. If you really need more, then you can get more for a mere 5 dollars a month.

I have used this (the free account) happily for months, by storing encrypted disk images, and files from my Mac Book.

Its worth checking it out. www.mozy.com

Get the free account.  If you hate it, you didn't pay.

There is a company

It makes millions of dollars a year

You might use their products for e-mail

Or Documents

Or to instant message with your friends

Or use their calendar to keep your life organized

And no, the owner’s initials aren’t B.G.

It’s Google, of course

So in addition to the fact that their tools are free, and reliable (two things ever business owner needs)

-          Gmail, Google’s free web based mail has insane amounts of storage – 2874. 7623 megabytes today, as of 12:30,

-          Google documents and spreadsheets lets you create word style documents and spreadsheets that can be seen and edited by a collaborative group.

-          Google calendar will hold your appointments, and send you e-mail reminders!

-          There is a chat function within Gmail, which is similar to IM for quick communications with an offsite staffer.

Oh, and you can get directions too!

What is it?

Its free 3D graphics rendering software.

How does it run?

The package installs easily, and I found it to be quick to load and run. I use and abuse this program frequently, and I have never had a problem.

How do I use it?

The controls can be a little hard to master the first time out, so read the quick start tutorials before you go at it (http://www.blender.org/tutorials-help/quickstart/ ) unless of course, you are an experienced graphic designer, who can just figure it out by looking.

What Does it cost?

 Nothing, Nada, not a cent

 Where can I get more info?

http://www.blender.org

What systems will it run on?

 Linux, Mac and Windows versions available here: http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/ 

So, you already want to migrate, but you don’t want to lose your programs. Well, have no fear, this is why crossover exists.

This handy dandy little program lets you install your windows based programs on a non-windows system and go to town!

For 39.95 you can download the software immediately and migrate all of your windows based programs to a Linux computer, and have them working for you.

 I have used this myself, and I can tell you it works. It really works, and it doesn’t take a lot of time, or frustration to get it to help you install your windows products (just remember to start crossover before you begin your install, I learned this after many annoyances)

 Don’t believe me (or just want to read another firsthand account of using crossover) then check out this link www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1886920,00.asp

 Now your wondering, will it work with my program. Well if your programs are on this list http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/rank/ then yes.

 Copying the whole list would make this posting to long (there were 506 listings), so here are some of the highlights.

Office 97, 2000, XP, 2003

Lotus Notes

Photoshop

Quicken

DreamWeaver

Direct X

Project 2000

Frammaker

Acrobat

Quickbooks Pro

I tunes

Picasa

Aol IM

Corel Draw 8

Page Maker 7.0

Photoshop Elements 2.0

FileMaker Pro 6 and 7

There are office packages out there that don’t come from Microsoft. This is just a flavor of what is out there – some of them have been around for years, and they are in their 2^nd or 3^rd incarnations. We’ll discuss them all individually later on, but for now, just browse them and get a feel for what is available to you.

Open Office

http://www.openoffice.org

Star Office

http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.jsp

Neo Office

http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php

Think Free Office

http://www.openoffice.org

Zoho (Web Based)

http://www.zoho.com

Linux is an operating system that was based on UNIX. From its one original founder, it has grown into many different types of Linux, each with their own individual traits and strengths. So let’s take a tour of the land of Linux.  Please bear in mind that your tour guide is not claiming to list all versions of Linux in this tour, just an overview.

 Red Hat Enterprise Linux
The worlds most popular Linux. Lots of support and functionality.

www.redhat.com

Don’t worry, this was a really brief guide to the world of Linux, but we will talk about these versions in their own rights when the time comes.

Blender

What is it? 

Its free 3D graphics rendering software.

How does it run?

The package installs easily, and I found it to be quick to load and run. I use and abuse this program frequently, and I have never had a problem.

How do I use it?  

The controls can be a little hard to master the first time out, so read the quick start tutorials before you go at it (http://www.blender.org/tutorials-help/quickstart/ ) unless of course, you are an experienced graphic designer, who can just figure it out by looking.

Nothing, Nada, not a cent

Where can I get it?

Linux, Mac and Windows versions available here: http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/

 Simple Authority is your e-mail security solution. It allows you to secure your emails by encryption by generating its own encryption keys; it also manages security certificates for you.  I found this easy to use, it integrates easily with my mail client and is very user friendly, allowing you to manage your encryptions with ease.

 Where you can get it : http://www.simpleauthority.com/downloads/SimpleAuthority%201.0.dmg

System: Mac

Cost :Free