How to Cut Microsoft Office Loose and Never Miss it! Option 2

Option Number 2: Apple iWorks; Pages

Pages is the successor to the word processing portion of Apple's multipurpose office suite, AppleWorks, which was discontinued in August 2007. 

Pages is a word processor and page layout application developed by Apple. It is part of the iWork productivity suite and runs on the Mac OS X operating system. The first version of Pages was announced on January 11, 2005 and was released one month later. The most recent Macintosh version, Pages 4, was released on January 6, 2009 as a component of iWork '09. On January 27, 2010, Apple announced a new version of Pages for iPad with an all new touch interface.

Pages is marketed by Apple as an easy-to-use application that allows users to quickly create professional-quality documents on their home computer.  A number of Apple-designed templates comprising different themes (such as letters, résumés, posters, and outlines), are included with Pages.  Among Microsoft Office applications, it competes with both Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher, and has compatibility with both. 100% compatible between Macs and PCs.

Pros: Apple product, stable, full featured; Cons: requires purchase 

How to Cut Microsoft Office Loose and Never Miss it!

The first thing I see owners of new macs scramble for is Microsoft Word. “Where’s Word?” “How do I get Word on this?” “Can I use my old version of Word on my new mac?”

You can almost see the panic set in. Microsoft would have you believe that there is no other alternative than to fork over $350 for their Office suite so you can use Word. 

Granted it considered the industry standard, but p-sssst, there are other cheaper and better alternatives. Some are free.

I can hear the reluctance now. Will it open and save all my existing Word documents? Probably yes if you’re not a “power user”.

Scientists and others in the psychological, sociological fields have asserted that humans use maybe .01 to.10 percent of our brain. Most Word users use less than .08 of its features, so why pay for them? Many people don’t use all of Office anyway. It’s a lot like buying a pizza for only the pepperoni.

Option Number 1: Google Docs

A free service from Google that allows you to upload and save documents from your desktop, edit them online from any computer, and invite others to read or edit your documents. Files are stored in Google's secure servers. Search for “Google Documents.” So you can’t lose them or delete them by mistake.

I can’t say enough good things about Google Docs and how handy it is. All you have to do is google “Google Docs” and create an account. It only takes a few moments. Not only can you create documents online you can also create spreadsheets and presentations. Yes you can even download the file if you need to.

Google Docs is the best of both worlds; online access from any computer with an internet connection and all the power and features of Word. And it’s all FREE! 100% compatible between Macs and PCs. Pros: Free, powerful, sharing; Cons: Requires internet connection (not really a “con”).

Safari and the Spinning Wheel of Pain... pt.2

At this point, power off your DSL or cable modem for 1 minute. Also power off your router if using one. Now power everything back on and check eBay or Yahoo.

As a note, sites can get overcrowded with visitors so try another site before blaming your computer or service. Another good tip is to reboot your modem at least every two weeks. Your IPS provider probably does small upgrades to services and fixes which can’t be realized by your connected computers until the modem is rebooted on your end. If you have continued slow downs call your provider for a line test.

Safari and the Spinning Wheel of Pain... pt1

Q: I often will be online and either the spinning wheel appears for a long time or Safari will crash all together. Surfing the internet seems painfully slow and I have broadband DSL. What am I doing wrong?

A: You are probably doing nothing wrong. People are quick to blame their computers first because that’s the technology staring them in the face when the trouble happens. The truth is, many smaller non-pro websites are built wrong, have compatibility issues and sometimes just poorly coded. This causes browser problems with some applications whether it’s Safari, Firefox or even on Windows using Explorer.

If using Safari, the first thing is to quit it, (if you haven’t been forced to already) and relaunch it. Under the Safari menu select “Empty Cache”. Now go to a site that’s known to be reliable such as eBay. Click on any auction and see if it comes up. Or click on a news story link on Yahoo.com. If the browser is very sluggish, it’s your broadband service. (cont'd)

You're 35mm Films and Slides are Dying Pt.V

If you value your images you should have them scanned to digital where they’ll be saved reliably for your lifetime and future generations.


Next month I explain the trials and tribulations of trying to yield good results yourself with cheap flatbed consumer based scanners. The results are lackluster.


Professional slide and negative scanning is now a service I provide to save your precious memories. So if you don’t know what I.C.E., ROC or DEE is then perhaps you should bring your film to me for professional conversion to digital. I can restore film and images too.
See my ad to the right... The clock is ticking...

You're 35mm Films and Slides are Dying Pt.IV

Mold growth on slides and negs is a huge problem, as the fungi actually eats into the emulsion layer. Trying to remove the growth with liquid cleaners most of the time results in more damage than good. Also a dry mold can spread spores very easily to other slides. Needless to say damp conditions promote this damage. Once this damage starts it’s hard to stop and precious negs and slides can not be saved.


The bottom line is that slides and negs under normal storage conditions begin to degrade after about 20 years. Some will degrade earlier and some later, based on other factors.

You're 35mm Films and Slides are Dying Pt.III

After doing some extensive research on the subject I’ve found that many people are experiencing a red color shift of their slides and negs. Although some cases are more severe than others it seems the storage conditions are a factor, but maybe not the reason. Negs and slides stored in high humidity and heat have resulted in accelerated color shift and often promoted even worse problems such as mold and fungi growth. More on that in a moment. It seems to be a feeling that poor initial developing is the reason for accelerated degeneration of film, specifically; contaminated or poorly executed rinsing at the time of developing.