Practical Computer Tips
Interesting News Items
Sun Microsystems buys StarOffice
Tired of Paying every two years for upgrades, new compatibility issues, and new "undocumented features" ?I personally dread every new round of releases from Microsoft. Unfortunately, as soon as the people you work with buy into the next version, compatibility issues force everyone to upgrade. The software gets bigger, slower and more prone to problems that interfere with real productivity. Sun Microsystems has just purchased StarOffice which is touted as sharing files with Microsoft Office, but being easier to use and FREE.
see the news releases and download the software at http://www.sun.com/dot-com/staroffice.html
it's a big download ( about 40 Meg), so you might rather buy the CD Rom for $9.95. Star Office is multiplatform and the Unix version comes free with various versions of LINUX.
Putting Class Notes on the Web: Are Companies Stealing Lectures?
Students get paid to sell their class notes to companies who put them on the web. See the story from The Chronicles of Higher Education http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i06/06a03101.htmWebsites proliferating where students can post anonymous uncensored reviews of college professors
another article from Chronicles of Higher Education http://chronicle.com/free/99/09/99092901t.htm
Last Modified September 30, 1999
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R.J.Banis
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