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1. Comment - Zango Drops Lawsuit Against PC Tools

   (Aug 29, 2007 - 8:32 AM)

   It took me three days to remove this piece of garbage-ware from my daughter's system. It put hidden files with obscure names in her directories to re-install the bull excrement each time she booted up. I finally had to remove several registry entries and every file created on the day that Zango was initially installed WITHOUT our permission. We had to reinstall the operating system before we did the registry hacks (I am A+ and MCSE certified) as Adaware and Spybot were unable to fully remove the garbage setup in the OS directories without crippling the system. If this software is harmless, then I'm Moses and I part the traffic on I-84 every morning to get to work faster! BTW, she still has problems with her system -- can I sue Zango in her behalf? (I think not as I cannot afford the attorneys and the time off from work)

2. Comment - Mass. Finalizes Plan to Drop MS Office

   (Sep 24, 2005 - 10:30 AM)

   I've been using StarOffice for years (since 1997) and have built MS compatible documents and spreadsheets in that application. I have also used MicroSoft's and Corel's software packages. I found Open Source more flexible and practical in nearly all areas. Once again, MicroSoft is showing how inflexible and whinney they can be. Their limited thinking and bloated apps eat up more memory than is needed. For instance: "Easter Eggs" concealed in the program code -- who thinks it is cute to have a flight simulator hidden in a spreadsheet app or a listing of all of the product developers in a screensaver, and so on. These "hidden features" add unnessesary code and increase the risk of apps crashing or giving unpredictable results when the right combination of code and cells are used in valid business calculations. So what if MS puts all of its proprietary (wm? files) graphics and sound files in one place. Anyone that knows how to organizer their drives can do that and readily access all of their files with one or two keystrokes or mouse gestures in StarOffice. It is also easier to edit graphics and build web pages in the open source apps. MS has been the stifling power against open source since its inception and it is good that Mass is standing tall against the giant and opting for something that has been around since the early days of freeware. What company wants to fork over several thousand dollars of the profits everytime a new version of an office suite comes out when they can be universally compatible all of the time and get FREE upgrades, paying a minimal fee, if any, for the first licensure. My copy of StarOffice is an old one that I got as freeware many years ago and it is still my main workhorse when all else fails to open a document. Newer versions have PDF plugins to build PDF files from within the application. Can MS boast of this ability? NO! You have to go out and get Adobe Acrobat -- another added expense. MS keeps its code top secret for Office; Open Source companies readily give it away. This allows the user with programming skills to build plugins and improve on already good products. True, you can do that with office, but only if you know Visual Basic, C#, C++ or Java. With open source, you can use any language that will compile: basic, c, c++, tcl, perl, java, pascal, HTML, XML, etc. the list is virtually endless (even though the source is usally a c or basic variant, and NOT necessarily visual or #). MS is just jealous that Open Source is catching on in government and they are afraid that they are losing their foothold in the government sector. Once that sector falls, business is next. How many servers have switched to LINUX for NT? There's open source computing power for you! If IBM is selling servers with LINUX as an option to Windows and HP/Compaq and Dell have followed suit, then I think that the "David" of Open Source has seriously wounded the software Goliath. And that Goliath is grasping at straws to stay alive instead of opening its blackened eyes and seeing that Open Source is a real threat. People do not want congested hard drives and pretty pictures, they want something that works every time and won't crash whenever someone in the room sneezes (95, ME, etc.) We want unbloated apps that run right. For a desktop, KDE and GNOME are excellent alternatives and an easy transition from the Windows GUI AND more flexible. Windows seems to change to a closer variant of the MacOS about a year or two after a new Apple OS arrives. When WordStar was the office suite of choice, MS came out with Works and Works for networks, WordStar dissappeared and all of a sudden Office was here. New versions of WordPerfect came out and MS kept up. Has MS gotten afraid of the new kid on the block to the point that they have to be the schoolyard bully? I only can say: Way to go, Mass.! May others follow suit.