Friday, October 28, 2005

Open Office 2.0

I've recently converted my father and his church's old computer network to Open Office, it wasn't hard to do, the words "free" and "legal" really help, and since it's a phenomenal piece of software in it's own right it's a good move for anyone who is sick of the microsoft "intuative" software. Software should never be intuative, it should do what I tell it to do and as fast as I want it to, not be wasting time thinking about how I may want it to work and then stuffing me around for hours on end...

Anyhow, rant over.

So imagine the joy and excitement when I realised that OO2.0 had been released in the last week and a bit...

Open Office does all that Msoft Office does, it's got a spreadsheet creator, presenter, word processor and a paint/draw program to boot. It's free, it's a 75MB download and it's not Microsoft...

OpenOffice.org 2.0 is the productivity suite that individuals, governments, and corporations around the world have been expecting for the last two years. Easy to use and fluidly interoperable with every major office suite, OpenOffice.org 2.0 realises the potential of open source.

With new features, advanced XML capabilities and native support for the OASIS Standard OpenDocument format, OpenOffice.org 2.0 gives users around the globe the tools to be engaged and productive members of their society.


I've been checking it out today, it's a sweet piece of software and should be enough to convince even the most microsoft friendly person to give it a go.

The layout and options have increased in quality and variety since the last release, to the point that one has to take a second look at the word processor in the suit to make sure that it's not msoft word. The presenter has increased in options, and now can open ppt and pps files as well as use a variety of newly created transitions and custom annimations, 300% on the last presenter release.

And the coolest thing about the presenter in open office is that it converts to flash with the click of one button, although it doesnt seem to like the cusom annimations in the flash file...

Go and download the setup file now and give this program a chance!

Read: OpenOffice 2.0: Exclusive Interview – OpenOffice Leaders McCreesh and Suarez-Potts

Saturday, October 08, 2005

ABC radio podcasts

ABC radio in Australia is releasing a number of its shows as podcasts (ie. doownloadable mp3s)

Here are a few:

The Media Report
A critical look at the latest developments in the communications industry and how the media affects our lives.
podcast: Entire program, weekly, updating Thursdays at 10.30am.
Anticipated File size: 14MB
podcast url: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/feeds/mediarpt.xml

The Religion Report
Your guide to religious affairs: analysis of the events shaping the world of religion and the religious events that shape our world.
podcast: Entire program, weekly, updating Wednesdays at 10.30am.
Anticipated File size: 14MB
podcast url: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/feeds/relrpt.xml

The Spirit of Things
An adventure in religion and spirituality, exploring contemporary values and beliefs as expressed through ritual, art, music, and sacred texts.
podcast: Entire program, weekly, updating Sundays at 8.30pm.
Anticipated File size: 23MB
podcast url: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/feeds/spirit.xml

Street Stories
Ordinary people intrigue us just as much as celebrities do: everday life stories that connect you to the wider world.
podcast: once weekly updating Wednesdays at 1pm.
Anticipated File size: 13MB
podcast url: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/feeds/streets.xml

The entire list is here.