What program do you use to manage your business data? If the answer is none, then let me recommend an immediate free fix: Star Office 5.2. For those of you who already use StarOffice, or are interested in an upgrade from your current suite, I’m happy to announce Sun’s spring release of StarOffice 6.0.
This upcoming version claims “improved interoperability with Microsoft Office files, support for XML file formats, integrated creativity and productivity tools, and improved international support with unicode technology.” Not bad for a completely free product.
If you’re one of those programmer types you can enjoy yourself with the code for OpenOffice, which is the majority of the code of StarOffice. There are a few licensed parts of StarOffice not included, like the clipart, but it’s the meat of one of the most useful free programs available today.
StarOffice http://www.sun.com/staroffice/
OpenOffice http://www.openoffice.org
Get ready to plug your cell phone into your laptop and make calls directly through the Internet. These “data calls” are brought to us by the upcoming 802.11e standard, which makes sure that the right devices will be speaking the right language.
How long before I can call and leave a message in my sister’s email box?
networking.earthweb.com/netserv/article/0,,12091_981991,00.html
Web Developer’s Virtual Library
My programming friends here at the office tell me that this is a great constantly updated site for website developers who use programming languages, databases, and other tools. Think C++ should be a B-? Don’t worry – they even have a great section for html beginners.
Be sure and visit this virtual library, and you can skip the late fees.
http://www.wdvl.com/ http://www.wdvl.com/WebRef/Help/Begin.html
The WorldWideWeb Acronym and Abbreviation Server
You can never have too much money and you can never have enough Acronym dictionaries. Nothing makes my brain shut down quicker than a long string of capitalized letters describing a new language or device, and so I thank the heavens and Peter Flynn for this public service.
You can do your research here, as well as submit queries and new acronyms from your personal dictionary. This is a great tool for sifting through a tech salesperson’s pitch.
http://www.ucc.ie/info/net/acronyms/acro.html
Internet Surveys
What’s the web’s stickiest (that is, most popular) site? What are the most popular websites in the UK? How many Hispanics have Internet access in the US?
If these questions are interesting to you, or ever relevant to your web business, then you should visit Nua’s survey site. They’re free and packed with raw information.
Schwab.com, by the way, is the web’s stickiest site, Microsoft sites are the most popular in the UK, and half of the Hispanics in the US have web access.
http://www.nua.ie/surveys/
Garrett French is the editor of Murdok’s eBusiness channel. You can talk to him directly at WebProWorld, the eBusiness Community Forum.
