Bundled Software Continued

After last week's article about dodgy software bundles with new PCs I was delighted to receive the following email from a regular user.

"Hi Chris, I've got a couple more suggestions for you...

Avoid: Microsoft Office 2007

Why?: Its annoying interface is a step backwards in usability and as usual Microsoft have put even more bloated junk in there Worse still, they attempt to up sell features like SharePoint to get the customer into expensive server software.

Superior Alternative: OpenOffice.org 3 (www.openoffice.org) which is available for Windows and now natively for MacOS X and Linux. It's free and does the job perfectly well and it's compatible with all current and previous Microsoft Office formats.

Avoid: Microsoft Outlook Express

Why?: Like Internet Explorer, it's prone to security vulnerabilities and it wouldn't think twice about e-mailing everyone in your address book if the user were to open a dodgy attachment.

Superior Alternative: Mozilla Thunderbird (www.getthunderbird.com) - Like Firefox it's much more secure by default, it has a more intelligent spam filter and can be expanded with add-ons (such as the really handy Lightning Calendar add-on).

I wonder if you might be worth pointing your article readers in the direction of www.theopendisc.com where they can find a whole load of other great free software including things like The Gimp, OpenOffice, Inkscape and my kid's favourite, Tuxpaint.

Rob Beard, Devon and Cornwall GNU / Linux Users Group"

I purposely did not mention Office 2007 in the previous article as in my experience it is rare to find it bundled with a new PC, presumably due to the hefty price tag it inevitably comes with. However I would like to stress that I firmly believe Open Office to be a true contender to Microsoft Office's crown and the new Office interface is certainly not a step back in usability. I have found recent versions of Microsoft applications actually come with a slight learning curve even for experienced users, due to them having moved away from the established look and feel we have all come to know and love.

With regards to Outlook Express I certainly agree; it is a horrid application and I find it interesting that Microsoft will not be bundling Windows Mail (the successor to Outlook Express) with their forthcoming Windows 7 Operating System. Users will be given access to Windows Mail by way of a separate download but without the software being pushed on them, Thunderbird will almost certainly increase in popularity.

I also enjoyed the mention of the free painting application Tuxpaint (www.tuxpaint.org) which is a worthy download for anyone with a child between the ages of around 3 and 12. The program has been designed to not only be incredibly easy and fun for younger children to use but also give parents the confidence to leave them unoccupied with the computer. As an example, the application runs in a full screen mode so that the child doesn't have access to the start menu or any other computer functions; there is also no obvious 'quit' button that would land them back in the Operating System. Saving and loading files doesn't rely on any knowledge of the computers file system but instead a saved file will appear as a thumbnail which can then be clicked on to open it back up again. A range of fun drawing tools (which all have their own sound effects) are provided including a range of paintbrushes, shape tools, rubber stamps and even 'magic tools' which provide basic image manipulation and distortion effects.

by: Chris Holgate

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