Showing posts with label computer tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computer tips. Show all posts

LibreOffice 4.0: Why It's Worth A Shot

Posted by Bhavesh Joshi On Saturday, February 23, 2013 0 comments
LibreOffice 4.0 SuiteJust last week, the Document Foundation rolled out LibreOffice 4.0. The updated version of the free open source productivity suite promises a wide range of improvements, ranging from enhanced compatibility with Office documents and document management systems to small upgrades in Writer and Calc. Beyond these, however, LibreOffice 4.0's significant improvements can be felt upon its thorough use and here are some good reasons why it is worth the shot.

Enhanced inoperability

The engineers at Document Foundation put a whole lot of work in improving the inoperability of LibreOffice 4.0. It now better supports Microsoft documents formats, allowing the import of ink annotations from Word, inclusion of comments to text ranges, and Microsoft Publisher layouts can now be opened in Draw.

The upgraded version now also supports checking documents from almost all document libraries as long as they support CMIS open standard. These include IBM FileNet P8, Visio, Microsoft Sharepoint 2010, Alfresco, Nuxeo, SAP NetWeaver Cloud Service and OpentText.

Remote accessibility of presentations

Perhaps one of the most promising features that LibreOffice 4.0 has is the Remote Control App, which allows users to control their presentations from their Android phones or notebooks over Bluetooth. Here, users can view slide thumbnails, read speaker notes, and move to the next slide using the volume control of their phones. According to Michael Meeks, developer of LibreOffice and distinguished SUSE engineer, this simple addition is something that users can utilize to carry out product or service demos at customer sites with great ease.

Although the feature is currently available for Linux users, Document Foundation assured that in the next upgrade (which they promise will be released soon), the Remote Control App can be supported on MacOS X and Windows.

Better-looking user interface

The interface still has the usual menus, toolbars and icons. However, what makes the UI more interesting is that it now supports Firefox themes, which means you can choose from multiple icon sets or pick one from the thousands of personas available to spiff up the interface. In addition, the Linux version integrates with the Unity interface for GNOME. Other notable upgrades in the UI include Template Manager dialog and the ability to preview fonts.

Faster reaction time

LibreOffice 4.0 is faster than its 3.5 version. There is a significant improvement in the way it loads and saves different kinds of documents, but this is more noticeable for larger .xls spreadsheets, .ods and .rtf files.

It is free

Of course, the biggest draw about LibreOffice 4.0 (or LibreOffice in general) is that you can get it for free. And since it is an open source solution, you have the power to customize it according to your needs.

Although LibreOffice 4.0 may not be as powerful as the other ones available as it has areas that still needs tweaking, it cannot be denied that for a two-year old office suite, it shows a lot of promise, especially now there is an influx of developers who are working on providing neat improvements for the program. Simply put, if you are looking for a free alternative to the usual expensive office suites available, LibreOffice 4.0 is a smart choice.
READ MORE

How Computer Generated Imagery Allows You To Visualise Your Business Ideas

Posted by Bhavesh Joshi On Monday, February 18, 2013 0 comments
How Computer Generated Imagery Allows You To Visualise Your Business Ideas
Computer generated imagery comes in many forms that can help visualize a business idea. This can be done by using a variety of applications for computers and mobile devices. There tools are available for anyone that needs a variety of visualization options, such as word clouds, mapping and the creation of traditional graphs or charts.

Google Drive

This is a free set of utilities offered by Google that include Drawings and Fusion Tables. These allow a business owner to use their data to create charts, diagrams, and maps. You can use the imagery that has been created in an existing document or for enhancing a business presentation.

Google Drawings allow users to create and edit a drawing to share online. There are many ways that a user can benefit from this application. Drawings that are created can be shared with others and edited on the fly in real time. Users can even chat with one another as a drawing is edited. This is a great way for a business owner to visualize a business idea with others in the organization.


Google DriveGoogle Fusion Tables is an application that can be used to visualize and share data tables gathered by a user. A file containing a data table can be uploaded to the application in a variety of formats that can be displayed in many ways. A user can choose to visualize data as a table, bar graph, pie chart, and even a map or storyboard. This can be done by choosing a specific filter.

Impure

Impure App This application offers users a drag and drop workspace that provides a way to visualize data. This is a good way to see a graphical representation of specific data that is highly polished. Different modules are able to be connected by clicking and dragging with your mouse. The visual interface provides users the tools to create visualizations of their data. Data can be imported into the application or that is found on the Internet. Visualization options include tables, maps, geometry, and nodes. Users can share any type of visualization they have created by sharing a URL for their workspace.

Many Eyes

Many Eyes AppThis is a visualization application that is available from IBM where users can upload data and share a set of data. The app combines social media with graphical analysis of information. This is an option for a business owner that wants to share a visual representation of a business idea. Users can choose to have their data displayed as graphics, charts, word clouds, and network diagrams. Anyone is able to see and browse a user's account that they can create for free. A minimum amount of data is needed to create an impressive visualization.

Additional Information

Business ideas come in many forms and often result from numbers that have been crunched to see how sales and marketing have performed. Visual representations offer a way to display the results of a marketing strategy. The goal may be to see if there are new areas to generate sales leads.
READ MORE