Introducing Tech Talk. Think “Dear Abby” but instead of relationship advice the topic is technology. If you have any questions about software, hardware, internet, programming, web pages, blogs, video games, video consoles, cell phones, money saving technology, local tech resources, security, error messages, virus, spyware, or any other topic concerning technology that you would like answered write to Tech Talk. The questions and answers will be printed and available on “The Contemplation”.
Evergreen Country ShopperAttention: Tech Talk
P.O. Box 408
417 9th Ave. W.
Ashland, WI 54806
Email: techtalk@soketnetto.com
Most computer users use the most popular or software which is already installed on their computer. Do you really need software on your computer? If you have reliable Internet access why not just have an operating system, a browser and start merging to online applications. Start with basics documents, email, and collaboration. Here are some free online apps that are worth a try.
Document Mangagement
Google Docs (http://docs.google.com/)
You can easily do all the basics. Create and edit web-based documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Store documents online and access them from any computer.
- Upload any file – Over the next couple of weeks, we’re rolling out the ability to upload, store, and share any file in Google Docs. Your files will be stored in their original format and downloadable from anywhere. Uploading files to the cloud allows them to be safely stored and accessible at all times.
- Shared folders – Now you can simultaneously share a group of docs with your friends, coworkers, or family, by sharing an entire folder with them.
OpenOffice (http://www.ulteo.com/home/en/ooo)
The number one free open-source office software suite is now online. OpenOffice online includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics and databases.
OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.
OpenOffice.org 3 is free software. That means you are free to download it, free to install it on as many PCs as you like, free to pass copies to as many people as you like. You may use OpenOffice.org 3 for any purpose without restriction: private, educational, public administration, commercial… Free, really free.
Image: ReadWriteWeb
Peepel (http://peepel.com/)
A free online service that is more like a web-based Operating System. Peepel includes a word processor, spreadsheet, a contact manager, file-sharing, collaboration tools, and the Workspace Manager that lets you save your layout and return to it later.
Peepel´s application suite includes Peepel Websheet, a spreadsheet, Webwriter, a word processor, and a calculator. The Peepel Desktop includes a file, workspace, and task manager.
The workspace manager includes a clever bookmarking feature which marks your opened applications so that at your next session, you can start exactly where you left off. Peepel is free; all you have to do to begin is register, providing a username and password.
There is absolutely no software to download, and the peeps at Peepel are still working to expand the apps to include a broader array of office products.
Microsoft Office Live Workspace (http://workspace.office.live.com/)
It’s a free online storage place where you can save, access, and share documents (such as Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and files. This may eventually include advertising, but Microsoft is still testing different designs. At some point, Microsoft may also offer additional features or services at a charge.
Zoho (http://personal.zoho.com/)
A Web- based online office suite containing word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis, CRM, project management, invoicing and other applications. Personal accounts are free.
- Store all your documents, spreadsheets, presentations, videos, pictures etc online. View and edit all your documents, spreadsheets & presentations without downloading them to your desktop. Arrange your files in folders through easy drag-and-drop. * Word Processor Be it drafting a business letter or your next novel, do all your word processing online. Importing Microsoft Word and OpenOffice documents is also supported. Share your documents with your friends and contacts.
- Create spreadsheets with charts, pivot tables and Visual Basic Macros. Import Microsoft Excel & OpenOffice files and even sync up with remote data. All within Zoho Personal, without leaving the web browser.
- Make your presentations, edit and share them online. Do remote presentations to clients across the globe. Make your presentations public, embed them in your web space.
- Share documents and tasks with your group members.
- Add and track events, create multiple calendars for both personal and business use. Customize your calendar settings, share and view free/busy time. Create reminders for your events.
- Text chat with your friends and colleagues. Customize your profile and online status. Have your chat transcripts saved for future reference. Import and add contacts from your Google or Yahoo! accounts.
- Jot down all your important ideas and notes and categorize them. Differentiate your notes and manage them better by using different colors.
- Add tasks to yourself and your personal group members. Edit your tasks, prioritize them and generate reports based on tasks. * Contacts Import your Yahoo!, Google and other contacts from your desktop address book. Make them part of one or more of your groups. Export all your Zoho contacts if need be.
- Add other web applications / pages to your Zoho Personal dashboard. Be it Zoho’s other applications, your company’s intranet web applications or even other third party applications like Google’s.
Live Documents (http://www.live-documents.com/)
Live Documents is an online office productivity suite that gives you the powerful productivity features of Microsoft Office coupled with the collaboration and mobility of Google Docs. There is a basic free version.
With Live Documents, you can create, edit, share, control and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets and presentations.. Live Documents blurs the distinction between web and desktop applications and provides a “best-of-both-worlds” application experience for office users.
- Mobility – available anywhere, any time
- Collaborative – multiple people can work on a document in sequence or in parallel without worrying about version management
- No compatibility issues – works across all operating systems and browsers and offers the same congruent experience everywhere
- Nothing to download or install And more…
- Transforms office productivity software from static, financially draining software to a dynamic, cost-effective tool that allows businesses to invest in more innovative pursuits.
Communications / Email
There are tons of free online email services and most ISPs offer a limited number of free email accounts. If you are looking for a more permanent email the most popular are:
- Hotmail (http://ww.hotmail.com/)
- Yahoo (http://mail.yahoo.com/)
- Mail (http://www.mail.com/)
- AOL (http://webmail.aol.com/)
Business Free Online Applications
If you are looking for an online app that is a little more specific, here are some great picks.
Creative Pro Office (http://www.creativeprooffice.com/)
Project management suited for both independent professionals and small teams of graphic designers, programmers and Web developers.
CreativePro Office is the most complete set of online office management tools you’re likely to find at any price – and it’s completely free! Manage your team, clients, projects, invoices, events and quotes (coming soon) from one web-based application.
CreativePro Office is well suited for both independent professionals and small teams of graphic designers, programmers and web developers.
PlanProjects (http://www.planprojects.com/)
A wonderful solution for web site designers, software developers, and anyone else who needs to organize their projects is now available at no cost.
-
- Create and manage projects.
- Create project tasks, full with descriptions and requirements.
- Fully-featured calendar. Shows you when you have projects and tasks due. You can also create reminders (including recurring reminders) to keep track of events.
- Tagging support to allow you to include HTML-type tags in your project and task information. This allows you to create bold text, tables, and more on your project and task pages.
- Assign freelancers to your tasks. You can manage their payrates, monitor their hours, and more. Remeber that your freelancers can sign up for no charge!
- Make payments to freelancers in an instant with PayPal support!
- Collaborate easily with those working on your tasks. You can add notes to task pages to keep track of news and developments, and can also view freelancer user profiles for contact information.
- Project history allows you to view completed projects.
Etherpad (http://etherpad.com/)
You don’t even have to sign up to create a new pad, a shareable text document stored online for you by EtherPad. Don’t expect fancy formatting, but do expect real-time, color-coded editing between all collaborators. Now part of the Google family.
LucidChart (http://www.lucidchart.com/)
Do you have an addiction to flowcharts? This Web app goes back to basics with simple, black-and-white charts that anyone can make—and better yet, anyone else can easily understand.
- Unlimited-length undo and redo for every change to a document.
- Full-powered copy/cut/paste functionality for every item on a document.
- Easily and quickly zoom in and out, to page width, or to view a whole page.
- Unlimited pages in a single document.
- One-click creation of lines between blocks.
- Easily add rich text labels to lines.
- Page layout options allowing for portrait or landscape pages of most standard sizes.
- Common keyboard shortcuts just work—Cut, copy, paste, print (to PDF), undo, redo, and more using common Windows shortcut key combinations.
GMDesk (http://www.robertnyman.com/gmdesk/)
Are you a Google guy/gal? Skip the browser completely. You’ll have access to Gmail, Google Reader, and Google Docs just as you would in a browser, but GMDesk stays alive when your browser crashes.
Widgenie (http://www.widgenie.com/)
Spreadsheets are awesome! With Widgenie you can do so much more and create a beautiful graph widget, even one with animation, and you have the option to share online. One way to make the family budget fun, animation.
Plug in data from a wide variety of sources and formats including:
- Local Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets or CSV data files
- Online data feeds like Google Spreadsheets
- Or use data from one of our excellent data feed partners (coming soon)
- Drag and drop only the information you want to see
- Choose from a variety of chart and table options
- Preview your layout and publish changes in real-time
- Embed your widgenie into your website, blog, posts, comments, iGoogle and more
- Track your widgenie’s usage and reach with robust tracking and statistics
- Allow others to add your widgenies to their pages to reach even more people
SpringNote (http://www.springnote.com/)
Whether you want a personal notebook or a shareable group notebook, this wiki-based note-taking site could give Microsoft’s OneNote a run for its money.
Springnote allows you to create pages, to work on them together with your friends, and to share files. Springnote is also a great tool for group projects as it allows group members to easily collaborate. Advanced search, numerous templates, and 2GB of FREE File Storage are only few examples of how Springnote can help you. Of course, you already know that Springnote is an Internet service, meaning you can access it from anywhere anytime.
One final thought.
Caution using novelty usernames 1) not very professional to use ralphtheman@hotmail.com or thefun1@aol.com and 2) kind of hard to know it is you if the name is too generic – most will assume it’s spam. The most professional email usernames include your last name. For example Steve Howard Smith would be smithsh@hotmail.com, smith.steve@yahoo.com or stevehsmith@mail.com.
Would you like to win a new tech gadget?
Tech Talk is giving away 1 of 2 Sakar CR-72 SD 50 in 1 Reader/Writer
Enter The Tech Talk Free Raffle
I think your blog is good. I found it on Yahoo.