It has been a long time coming, but OpenOffice version 3 has officially been released to public beta. The current stable version of OpenOffice is pretty good, but as a Mac user, I have been waiting for a native Mac version of OpenOffice. I am currently running NeoOffice for the Mac, which is good but it is a bit of a tangent.
Aside from the native Mac support (no more running X11), OO3 is going to support the OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.2 standard as well as be able to open Office 2007 documents (however, InfoWorld is reporting problems with opening Office 2007 docs). Also, according to the OpenOffice site:
The most immediately visible change to OpenOffice.org 3.0 is the new “Start Centre”, new fresh-looking icons, and a new zoom control in the status bar. A closer look shows that 3.0 has a myriad of new features. Notable Calc improvements include a new solver component; support for spreadsheet collaboration through workbook sharing; and an increase to 1024 columns per sheet. Writer has an improved notes feature and displays of multiple pages while editing. There are numerous Chart enhancements, and an improved crop feature in Draw and Impress.
I downloaded the version for Mac OS X (a 168 MB download) and installed it. I got a nice little start screen (as they said I would). The interface also looks more professional than does NeoOffice at this time. The app does seem a bit heavy at times, however.
This tip is just a simple reminder that free software is not always best or worst choice when trying to figure out the best tool for the job.
An import thing to remember is just because it is free, does not mean it is free of malware. Think about it for a second… what better way to distribute spyware/viruses than through something people will willingly download? Do you remember the G-Archiver fiasco? On the other hand, these cases are pretty rare and if you have your system properly protected, you should be Ok.
Don’t let the appealing price of “free” make the decision for you, there are many software packages out there well worth their price.
A lot of people are interested in open source software but don’t exactly know where to find it. A web site that has a very large filebase with hundreds of active projects is SourceForge. It’s been around a long time and is one of the best open source software sites in existence.
In the video below I show some simple tips on how to find the software you need faster on SourceForge.
If you are looking for a way to pass some time and are a fan of the Street Fighter or Double Dragon style games, give a look to Little Fighter 2.
Little Fighter 2 is a fighting game where you can battle against human or computer opponents. In addition to traditionally punching and kicking, there are several weapons and magical attacks you can use during combat. There are many screenshots available and while the graphics aren’t great, they are quite endearing (for lack of a better word) and more than adequate for the game play.
As stated earlier, you can play against the computer or over the Internet in either collaborative or versus mode. Additionally, there is a “battle mode” where you can have multiple human and computer controlled players all fighting at once.
Little Fighter 2 is completely free and worth a look if you like classic fighting games. And, yes, a pun was intended.
If you share a computer with others, you probably have several files which you don’t want anyone else to see. While you could make the folder hidden, it will be displayed as long as the Windows Explorer preferences are set to display them. Instead, to completely hide the folder, try Free Hide Folder.
Basically, Free Hide Folder allows you to complete hide a folder from view (regardless of Windows settings) so they do not appear in Windows Explorer at all. The program can be password protected to protect you from others going in and showing the folders.
As the name suggests, this program is free and is ideal for hiding any files you don’t anyone else to find.
Rich Menga, a native New Englander residing in Tampa Bay Florida, 
