Gaslamp Computers

Would you like to use your computer to help with cancer research?  solve complex math problems?  or look for life on other planets?  You can.

The technology that allows this is called grid computing.    Many research projects generate enormous amounts of raw data that they are simply unable to process themselves.  Grid computing combines the computing power of personal computers across the world to make a virtual supercomputer.   Since purchasing time on an actual supercomputer costs money, grid computing significantly lowers the cost of reasearch for projects that would otherwise be extremely expensive.

Here's how it works:

1. You decide what project(s) you want to be attached to.
2. That project sends a job to your computer over the internet.
3. Your computer uses its idle resources to work on the job.
4. Once completed, the job is sent back to the project and a new job is sent.

The great thing about the software is that it runs in the background without any interaction from you, the user.  You probably won't even know it's running.

Warning:  Running GridRepublic or any grid computing client can cause your computer to run hotter than normal.  If your computer has cooling issues, please do not run this software.

Note:  Your computer will consume slightly more power while running this software.  For a detailed explanation heat and energy considerations please see this page.

Software:

GridRepublic

OpenOffice is a free and open source office suite produced by Sun.  It's main commercial competitor is Microsoft Office.

• Word Processor -  OpenOffice Writer :: Microsoft Word
• Spreadsheet -  OpenOffice Calc :: Microsoft Excel
• Presentation - OpenOffice Impress ::  Microsoft PowerPoint
• Database - OpenOffice Base :: Microsoft Access
• Drawing - OpenOffice Draw ::  Microsoft Publisher
• Math -  OpenOffice Math

Compatiblity

OpenOffice is fully compatible with Microsoft Office documents.  So if your friends create a document in Microsoft Office, you will be able to open and edit it in OpenOffice. 

Functionality

The functionality of the two suites is very similar.  Most people won't know even notice a difference because OpenOffice can do almost everything that Microsoft Office can.

Price

OpenOffice is free and all of the updates are free.  It can be installed on any computer for free.  Microsoft Office ranges in price from ~$100 for the Home and Student version to $500+ for the Enterprise version.  You'll also need a license for each computer.  In a business with 5 computers, OpenOffice can easily save you over $1000 compared to Microsoft Office.

Conclusion

OpenOffice is one of the most polished examples of open source software.  It offers all the functionality of Microsoft Office for free.  There is simply no reason to spend the money on Microsoft Office unless you're an enterprise user.

Software:

OpenOffice

Sumatra PDF reader is a free and open source replacement for Adobe Reader.  Sumatra development focuses on simplicity which results in very fast startup times and a small install size.  Sumatra's  installed size is  1.2 MB.  By comparison Adobe reader is 330+ MB.  

There are numerous vulnerabilities related to Adobe Reader and javascript in PDFs.  If you insist on using Adobe reader please always keep it updated and disable javascript.  Earlier versions of Adobe Reader have serious vulnerabilities.  Sumatra does not run javascript in PDFs.

Software used:

Sumatra PDF

Free and open source software (FOSS)  is released under a specific type of license that allows a user to use, change, improve, and redistribute it freely.  One of the essential requirements of such licenses is that users have access to the source code.  Its roots are based in both a philosophy and a development model. 

'Free' in free and open source software refers to freedom, not necessarily price.  Think free as in "free speech" and not "free beer".  Although much of the available FOSS has zero cost, it is the right that the user has the freedom to adapt the software to his/her needs that makes it free software.

'Open source' is a development model.   There is no restriction on who may develop open source software.  It can be developed by a large company, government, community, group, or a single individual.  Since all users have access to the source code  they can become co-developers.   Technical users can contribute to the actual code, while non-technical users are encouraged to submit bug reports, write documentation, or simply donate to the project.  This is how open source projects are able to mature and grow so fast without the funding of a large corporation.

At Gaslamp Computers, we maintain a list of high quality open source software that we use on a daily basis.  We believe there is no reason for most consumers to pay for expensive commercial software when there is almost always a free and open source alternative.  In many cases the open source alternative is better than commercial software.

You should be getting in the habit of using unique strong passwords.  After accumulating hundreds of accounts with unique 20-character passwords, you'll need something to help remember them.  Keepass Password Safe is that tool.  With just one master password or keyfile, you can keep all of your passwords locked in an encrypted vault and access them when needed.

Software used:

Keepass Password Safe