Download Squad

Download Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.comDownload Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/media/feedlogo.gifDownload Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.comen-usCopyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Zoho Share takes on Scribd, DocStoc document sharing serviceshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/21/zoho-share-takes-on-scribd-docstoc-document-sharing-services/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/21/zoho-share-takes-on-scribd-docstoc-document-sharing-services/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/21/zoho-share-takes-on-scribd-docstoc-document-sharing-services/#commentsFiled under: Internet, Office, Social Software, Search

Zoho Share

Zoho officially has more online office applications than most people could ever possibly need. But the latest addition makes a lot of sense. Zoho Share lets users upload documents (PDF, DOC, XLS, etc) and share them with other users either via the Zoho web site or by embedding docs on another page. In other words, Zoho Share doesn't do much of anythin gthat Scribd and DocStoc don't already do. But Zoho will also let you import documents from Zoho Sheet, Zoho Writer and other online office docs, which means you can easily create and share your files using the same service.

Zoho Share is available as a public preview, and is still pretty rough around the edges. For example, I was unable to upload any documents, and thanks to the lack of a FAQ, it took me a while to figure out how to import docuements from other Zoho services. Eventually I figured out that by marking a Zoho Writer/Sheet or other document as public, it would show up in a Zoho Share search.

If you're looking for PowerPoint style presentations with pictures of cute kitens, or sample resumes, you can find them at Zoho Share. But like any YouTube-for-documents style service, Zoho Share will only really be useful if the company can build a strong enough user base to ensure that you'll always find what you're looking for -- or if Zoho decides not to emphasize the search and find functionality of the site as much as the fact that you can use Zoho Share to embed documents you upload yourself on your own web site. You know, if the company ever fixes the upload feature.

[via CNET]

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]]>docstocdocument-sharingscribdzoho-shareBrad Linder2008-08-21T13:00:00+00:00ididwork.com helps keep track of... work, surprisingly enoughhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/21/ididwork-com-helps-keep-track-of-work-surprisingly-enough/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/21/ididwork-com-helps-keep-track-of-work-surprisingly-enough/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/21/ididwork-com-helps-keep-track-of-work-surprisingly-enough/#commentsFiled under: Office, Productivity

ididwork.com chart

ididwork.com is a great site to use if you a freelancer or if you want to keep track of what you have accomplished at the office. You are given simple text entry points to log what project you did and you can tag it into a certain category, things like presentations, blog posts, report, etc.

This gives you a running list of what you have accomplished, it provides charts of daily accomplishment, what you have done the most work on according to your tags and a graph of overall performance.

You can also use the feedback button to email your manager your recent progress and get comments from him or her. It's very simple to use and free to sign up. I think it will be a great place to keep track of my blog posts and time spent on other writing projects I am doing.

And, the most useful part if you are working in a team, you can add feeds to your teammates ididwork accounts. For example, if Brad, Lee and I are working on a joint feature post and I need to wait for Brad to be finished with his portion before I can complete mine, if we link up, I can tell as soon as he is done. Then Lee can see when we are both finished and work on his portion.

You can also use the feature as a manager or supervisor and keep track of what your team has completed.

The best part? Since it's on the web you can use it from any computer you are at and if IT decides to "fix" your computer overnight, you won't lose all your data.

[Via The Golden Pencil]

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]]>productivityChristina Clark2008-08-21T11:00:00+00:00EyeDefender Helps You Avoid Computer Use Injurieshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/11/eyedefender-helps-you-avoid-computer-use-injuries/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/11/eyedefender-helps-you-avoid-computer-use-injuries/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/11/eyedefender-helps-you-avoid-computer-use-injuries/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Office, Productivity, Freeware

While computer work tends to not be physically risky, that doesn't mean you should assume it's not impacting your health. Carpal tunnel and Computer Vision Syndrome are no laughing matter, and it's important to take steps to avoid them.

EyeDefender helps by starting breaks at intervals of your choosing (you choose the length of the break as well). To rest your eyes you can choose either your default screensaver, an image, or the visual training mode. The training mode is a bit reminiscent of the relaxation portion of Flash Focus for the Nintendo DS.

If you stick to the schedule you set up, EyeDefender breaks will also help prevent repetetive strain injuries. Like anything designed to help your quest for improved health, you've got to stick with it to see benefits.

For web workers that have a hard time tearing themselves away from their screen, EyeDefender is a handy application with tremendous potential benefits. It's free for non-commercial private use and runs on Windows only.

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]]>carpal tunnelCarpalTunneleye strainEyeStrainhealthrepetetive strainRepetetiveStrainLee Mathews2008-08-11T17:00:00+00:00Invotrak adds new features for invoicinghttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/06/invotrak-adds-new-features-for-invoicing/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/06/invotrak-adds-new-features-for-invoicing/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/06/invotrak-adds-new-features-for-invoicing/#commentsFiled under: Business, Finance, Utilities, Office

invotrak

Invotrak is a simple to use, online invoicing tool for small businesses or freelancers produced by Draconis Software. While we have covered it before some new additions make it worth another mention.

Basically this is a simple invoice app that you can use to create and track invoices and time sheets for yourself or your small business. You can use limited services for free or pay for three levels of account depending on how many invoices you plan to send.

Updates features include: the ability to upload invoices you have created yourself, add line items from time sheets to the invoice and adding reports to your invoices. You can also save your invoices as PDF or TXT files.

You can also read the Invotrak blog to get tips on using the new features and general small business tips - like how to get paid on time.

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]]>invoiceinvotraksmall businessSmallBusinessChristina Clark2008-08-06T08:00:00+00:00Google Docs introduces template galleryhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/18/google-docs-introduces-template-gallery/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/18/google-docs-introduces-template-gallery/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/18/google-docs-introduces-template-gallery/#commentsFiled under: Business, Design, Internet, Office, Productivity, Google

A lot of desktop word processing and text editing apps feature templates you can use to jazz up your documents -- or make them look terrible, depending on your opinion. Now Google Docs gives you the same option, with a new template gallery. There are over 300 templates, featuring everything from resumés to cards to calendars.

The selection of different templates is impressively versatile. Expense reports, presentations, invitations -- it's all there. Styles range from minimal (basic blue bars) to ostentatious (robots!). Something that immediately struck us as clever is the selection the Avery Dennison-sponsored themes, so you can print to those Avery labels and business cards that every office seems to be up to its ears in. If you use templates in your desktop writing app of choice, you'll probably also find a use for them in Google docs. Although the designs are hit or miss, there are enough of them that you should be able to find what you're looking for.

[via Lifehacker]

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]]>designdocumentsGoogle DocsGoogleDocstemplatesJay Hathaway2008-07-18T10:00:00+00:00Microsoft Equipt (subscription based Office) to go on sale this weekhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/14/microsoft-equipt-subscription-based-office-to-go-on-sale-this/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/14/microsoft-equipt-subscription-based-office-to-go-on-sale-this/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/14/microsoft-equipt-subscription-based-office-to-go-on-sale-this/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Office, Microsoft, Commercial

Equipt

Can't justify spending hundreds of dollars for Microsoft Office? Starting this week, Microsoft will be offering Equipt for $69.99... per year. Equipt is an office suite which features the applications from Microsoft Office Home and Student, Microsoft OneCare, and comes bundled with several (already free) Windows Live services.

When you consider the fact that Microsoft puts out a new version of Office every few years for $300 or more, Equipt might seem like a bargain. But when you factor in the fact that you can pick up a copy of Microsoft Office Home and Student for just over $100, things might start to look a bit different.

Still, your $70 gets you working versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and other programs. You also get free upgrades. And as much as we love free alternatives like OpenOffice.org, we have yet to find one that's 100% compatible with Microsoft Office. Nothing screams unprofessional like opening a document a boss or colleague sends you and completely messing up the formatting.

At launch Equipt will be available only at Circuit City stores. Microsoft is expected to announce more distributors soon.

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]]>equiptmicrosoftmicrosoft-equiptmicrosoft-officeofficesubscriptionBrad Linder2008-07-14T14:00:00+00:00KOffice comes to Windows: A brief loook at KOffice 2.0 Alpha 8http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/04/koffice-comes-to-windows-a-brief-loook-at-koffice-2-0-alpha-8/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/04/koffice-comes-to-windows-a-brief-loook-at-koffice-2-0-alpha-8/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/04/koffice-comes-to-windows-a-brief-loook-at-koffice-2-0-alpha-8/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Linux, Office, Open Source

KOffice windows

The K Desktop Environment, or KDE, is best known as a user interface and software suite for Linux. But for the past few months a team of developers has been hard at work porting KDE applications to Windows. When we looked at the KDE on Windows project earlier this year, it was still in the early stages and there honestly weren't many applications worth running. Now that's all changed. The problem today isn't that there isn't any software you want to run, the problem is that the applications are still pretty buggy.

A few weeks ago, the developers of KOffice, an open source suit of office applications released KOffice 2.0 Alpha for Windows, Mac, and Linux. In order to install the Windows version, you need to download and run the KDE on Windows installer utility and then select the KDE applications you want to install. To install KOffice, select the package labeled KOffice-msvc. Once it's installed you should be able to access KOffice applications like KWord and KSpread from your Windows Start Menu.

While we were able to get KWord up and running, it did crash periodically. KSpread and several other applications were non-starters. We kept getting error messages telling us that files or components were not found, which is a shame because the whole point of using the KDE on Windows installer utility is to automatically download and install any dependencies necessary to run the software you select.

The Kate and KWrite text editors seem to work pretty smoothly. But applications take a long time to start and are prone to closing unexpectedly. We wouldn't recommend replacing Microsoft Office or OpenOffice.org with KOffice on Windows just yet. But KOffice 2.0 is still in Alpha, and the KDE on Windows project is still in the early stages. Perhaps one day this little office suite could konquer the world.

[via Slashdot]

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]]>kdekofficeofficeBrad Linder2008-07-04T15:00:00+00:00Zoho Show now supports PPT export, Picasa importhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/26/zoho-show-now-supports-ppt-export-picasa-import/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/26/zoho-show-now-supports-ppt-export-picasa-import/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/26/zoho-show-now-supports-ppt-export-picasa-import/#commentsFiled under: Internet, Office, Web services, web 2.0

Zoho Show

Those folks at Zoho just don't quit, do they? Last year the company rolled out a major redesign of its powerful, web-based PowerPoint clone. And now Zoho Show 2.0 has 8 new features, some more exciting than others.

Export to PPT, PPS, PDF, and ODP. You've been able to export files as HTML for a while, but the addition of PowerPoint and PDF export brings Zoho Show a bit closer to being a true PowerPoint replacement
You can now import images from Picasa (Zoho Show already supported Flickr importing)
Support for up to 50 undo/redo actions
Support for 9 new languages: Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Portguese, Spanish, and Swedish.
Create contact groups for sharing your presentations with
Copy and paste slides from one presentation to another
Enhanced remote presentation user inteface
Advanced options for embedding presentations on a web site

You can see a demo presentation highlighting the new features after the jump.

[via Mashable]

Continue reading Zoho Show now supports PPT export, Picasa import

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]]>powerpointpresentationszohozoho-showBrad Linder2008-06-26T13:30:00+00:00HELP! Windows cannot open this filehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/20/help-windows-cannot-open-this-file/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/20/help-windows-cannot-open-this-file/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/20/help-windows-cannot-open-this-file/#commentsFiled under: Internet, OS Updates, Utilities, Features, Windows, Office, Shareware, Freeware, Open Source, How-Tos

Can not open dialog

You've just downloaded that must have program only to realize that Windows has no idea what to do with it. After an hour of Google searching, forum posting, and being called n00b, you finally figure it out.

If only there was a guide that showed you how to get all those needed programs. We at Download Squad feel your pain and have put together a list of 10 free programs that will take care of those pesky "Windows cannot open this file" messages once and for all.

Note: See a blatant omission or oversight? Please add it to the comments. With your help, we hope to re-post a more complete list the future.

K-Lite codec pack

File Types: DivX, XviD, AVI, Mpeg 1-4, AC3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, FLV, OGG, VOB, and tons you've never heard of.

Description: Why there are 85,000,000 different audio and video types we have no idea. What we do know is trying to install codecs one at a time generally ends in a reformat.

Thankfully, the good people from K-Lite (Koors Lite?) have bundled all the software and codecs you need into one executable. Cheers!
Real Alternative and QuickTime Alternative

File Types: RM, RA, RAM, RPM, RMVB, RPX, SMI, SMIL, RT, RP, MOV, QT, 3GP

Description: Before the days of Youtube, the Real Player and QuickTime were kings of Internet multimedia. Sure you had to deal with popups, reminders, updates, and bloatware, but that 1" video was so worth it.

Fortunately, the Real and Quicktime Alternatives removed the real in Real Player and restored the quick to QuickTime. Enjoy your 1" video!

Continue reading HELP! Windows cannot open this file

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]]>codecsextensionfreewaresharewaretoolstweet-thisutilitieswindowsAlan Silcott2008-06-20T19:00:00+00:00IBM updates free office suite, launches Lotus Symphony 1http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/15/ibm-updates-free-office-suite-launches-lotus-symphony-1/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/15/ibm-updates-free-office-suite-launches-lotus-symphony-1/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/15/ibm-updates-free-office-suite-launches-lotus-symphony-1/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Linux, Office, IBM, Freeware

Lotus Symphony 1

IBM has put the finishing touches on Lotus Symphony, a free Microsoft Office competitor based on OpenOffice.org. The company pushed out version 1.0 of the office suite which has been available as a public beta since last year.

Unlike OpenOffice.org, Lotus Symphony is not open source software. While IBM is providing it for free, Lotus Symphony is based on OpenOffice.org 1.1.4, which is the last version of OpenOffice.org that had a license allowing developers to modify the code and keep the changes private.

According to Linux.com, IBM hopes to target the enterprise market with this software. The goal is to provide Lotus Symphony as a free alternative to Microsoft Office, while charging $25,000 per year for support. Of course, if you know how to use word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation applications, you probably won't need to spend the money. But you also might not find much in Lotus Symphony that isn't already available in its open source cousin, OpenOffice.org.

So what's new in Lotus Symphony 1? Here are a few highlights:

Critical crash and freezing issues have been fixed
Improved performance when creating new documents, spell checking presentations of spreadsheets, redrawing a presentation page, saving PPT files, and performing other actions
Improved interoperability with Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org, and SmartSuite documents
Added support for 4 more languages, bringing the total to 28

Lotus Symphony is available for Windows and Linux. While the only supported Linux platforms are SUSE Enterprise Desktop 10 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, you can install Lotus Symphony on other distributions. You just might run into a few errors here and there.

thanks Hessel Olijve!

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]]>lotus-symphonylotus-symphony-1officeopenoffice.orgBrad Linder2008-06-15T16:00:00+00:00Show your work with Project Calculatorhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/show-your-work-with-project-calculator/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/show-your-work-with-project-calculator/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/10/show-your-work-with-project-calculator/#commentsFiled under: Finance, Office, Productivity

Are you a freelancer, a student, or someone who just really likes to bill people by the hour? You might get some use out of Project Calculator, an OS X app that helps you keep track of how much time you put into each of your projects. It lets you run a timer or enter your hours manually, and then does all the calculation you need to send someone a bill. You can output your Project Calculator in a number of formats, including PDF, HTML and plain text, so your clients will never give you the old "I couldn't open the file" excuse.

We almost balked at the $20 pricetag for Project Calculator, but after trying it out, we realized that this app can save you a lot of time for the money. Keeping a spreadsheet from scratch is ok, but having everything set up for you and organized by customer and by client is a lot easier and less fiddly. Appropriately, Project Calculator frees up some time for you to actually work on projects.

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]]>billingbusinessfinancefinancesfreelanceProject CalculatorProjectCalculatorJay Hathaway2008-06-10T11:00:00+00:00280Slides: great new web-based presentation softwarehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/05/280slides-great-new-web-based-presentation-software/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/05/280slides-great-new-web-based-presentation-software/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/05/280slides-great-new-web-based-presentation-software/#commentsFiled under: Business, Utilities, Office, Productivity, Web services, Beta, web 2.0

280slides

The first thing you'll probably notice about the new web-based presentation creator, 280Slides, is that it looks an awful lot like Apple's Keynote. As great as Keynote is, 280Slides has a few advantages: it's free and it's web-based. It's got all the features you would expect from good presentation software: you can present in full-screen mode straight from the web, download your slides, or share your presentation to SlideShare. Vimeo and Youtube integration let you add video to the mix, too.

We can already see 280slides saving numerous butts at conferences. Equipment failure? No big deal, just borrow a computer (any platform will do!) and pull your stuff from the web. Presentations were a good candidate for the next desktop function to hop aboard the "cloud computing" bandwagon and go web-based, and the folks at 280 North have pulled it off with style and functionality. Frankly, we're a little relieved that we'll never again have to ask, "Hey, does this machine have PowerPoint?"

[via Daring Fireball]

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]]>280slideskeynotepowerpointpresentationweb 2.0web2.0Jay Hathaway2008-06-05T11:00:00+00:00OpenOffice.org keeps getting slower with each new releasehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/29/openoffice-org-keeps-getting-slower-with-each-new-release/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/29/openoffice-org-keeps-getting-slower-with-each-new-release/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/29/openoffice-org-keeps-getting-slower-with-each-new-release/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Office, OpenOffice.org, Open Source

OpenOffice.org speed test

Open source software advocates like to point to OpenOffice.org as a viable alternative to Microsoft Office. It can open, create, edit, and save Office-compatible documents including text, spreadsheet, and database files. It might not have every last bell and whistle of Office, but it gets the job done. But OpenOffice.org also has a dirty little secret: It's kind of slow. And apparently, it's getting slower all the time.

OpenOffice.org Ninja ran a battery of tests and found that with each major release, OpenOffice.org has gotten a little slower when performing common tasks like opening, closing, and exporting documents. OpenOffice.org 1.1.5, for example, launches about 40% faster than OpenOffice.org 2.4. That figure holds true whether you're doing a cold start (loading the program for the first time since rebooting your computer) or a warm start (starting the program a second, third, or 15th time).

The developers have certainly been tweaking the open source office suite to improve performance. But they also keep adding new features, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, sometimes those new features slow down program performance. Of course, if you can't wait 20-25 seconds to load your office suite, you could always just buy more RAM, a faster CPU, and umm... Microsoft Office. Or try an online office suite like Google Docs or Zoho, which load faster than OpenOffice.org if you already have a browser window open.

[via Digg]

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]]>openoffice.orgperformancespeedBrad Linder2008-05-29T15:00:00+00:00Bean for OS X - Great features baked right inhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/27/bean-for-os-x-great-features-baked-right-in/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/27/bean-for-os-x-great-features-baked-right-in/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/27/bean-for-os-x-great-features-baked-right-in/#commentsFiled under: Business, Utilities, Macintosh, Office

Bean - Free Mac OS X Word Processor

So you love Mac OS X. We love Mac OS X. But you don't have the money to pony up for Office 200whatever, or maybe you don't even like it. Microsoft Office is overkill for most people who just need a simple word processor. We've used Open Office, but it's probably too much to play around with if all you want to do is write a document.

Enter the Bean.

We've mentioned Bean before, along with other Mac "toolkit software", but a new version came out late in April (version 1.2.0)l, so we felt it deserved another look.

Continue reading Bean for OS X - Great features baked right in

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]]>applebeanmacwordWordProcessorDrew Olanoff2008-05-27T10:00:00+00:00Backpack adds Journal functionality for teamshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/22/backpack-adds-journal-functionality-for-teams/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/22/backpack-adds-journal-functionality-for-teams/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/22/backpack-adds-journal-functionality-for-teams/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Office, Productivity, Web services, Commercial, Freeware

Fans of 37signal's online task management and information gathering tool Backpack will be excited to hear about the tool's latest addition, a Journal page.

Backpack recently underwent a major update that moved the tool from a single-user focus to a tool intended to allow teams that are working together to keep information organized. The new Journal function continues the tool's move to more of a team focus, which is both exciting and a little frustrating. While none of the functionality that makes Backpack a good tool for individuals has been lost, it's disappointing to see 37signals lose their focus with respect to Backpack. Considering they already have three team-focused products (Basecamp, Highrise, and Campfire) it would have been nice for Backpack to have remained focused on individual productivity.

Opinion aside, the new Journal functionality allows teams to keep tabs on what each other are up to. There are two main elements. The first is the current status field, which can be thought of much like a private Twitter or Facebook status update. You use this field to tell everyone what you are currently doing. The second field allows you to enter what you have just completed, and these items are logged. This allows you to see what your team members are currently busy with, and what they have recently accomplished.

It seems to us that this might seem a little too much like big brother looking over your shoulder, but on the other hand almost all jobs require some sort of accounting for your time. Is this a feature you could see yourself using? Why or why not?

If you're still not quite sure what to make of this, a video demonstration of the new Journal page is available.

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]]>37signalsBackpackJournalJason Clarke2008-05-22T18:30:00+00:00Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 will add support for Open Document Formathttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/21/microsoft-office-2007-sp2-will-add-support-for-open-document-for/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/21/microsoft-office-2007-sp2-will-add-support-for-open-document-for/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/21/microsoft-office-2007-sp2-will-add-support-for-open-document-for/#commentsFiled under: Office, Microsoft, OpenOffice.org

Microsoft has announced plans to add support for a several new document formats to Office 2007. The company plans to release Office 2007 SP2 during the first half of 2009, and it will add support for XPS, PDF 1.5, and ODF 1.1 files, among others.

Users will be able to create, open, and edit ODF documents, and save documents as XPS, PDF, or ODF files. The Open Document Format, or ODF is an open source challenger to Microsoft's Office formats. A few years ago the company released an add-on for Microsoft Word that would allow users to open ODF documents. But with the launch of Office 2007 SP2, support for ODF and PDF files will be built right into the applications. No add-ons necessary.

Or you could just use OpenOffice.org today. No waiting until 2009 necessary.

[via OStatic and CNet]

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]]>formatsodfofficeoffice-2007office-2007-sp2pdfBrad Linder2008-05-21T17:30:00+00:00OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta now availablehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/07/openoffice-org-3-0-beta-now-available/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/07/openoffice-org-3-0-beta-now-available/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/07/openoffice-org-3-0-beta-now-available/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Office, OpenOffice.org, Open Source, Beta

OpenOffice.org 3.0 is due out in September. But if you just can't wait that long, today the developers released a beta of the open source office suite. Back in March we took a look at a pre-beta version of OpenOffice.org, but the latest build is a bit more stable. And while we wouldn't recommend replacing the software you use to balance your companies books with a public beta, you can just check it out if you're an office suite geek looking for a rush. We won't judge.

So what's new under the hood? Here are some of the highlights:

OpenOffice.org 3.0 is the first version to run on Mac OS X (there are also Linux and Windows versions)
OpenOffice.org Start Center gives you a one stop shop for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, databases, or templates
Support for collaborative spreadsheet editing
Improved Writer notes features
View multiple Writer pages while editing a document
Improved crop features in Draw and Impress
Support for ODF and MS Office 2007 formats

Keep in mind, this is beta software. So while it will probably work properly 99% of the time, don't blame us if it crashes your system or goes crazy and starts messing up the formatting of that manuscript you've been working on for the last 10 years. In other words, remember to backup your documents, and think twice about using OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta to create or edit really important files.

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]]>officeopenoffice.orgopenoffice.org-3.0-betaBrad Linder2008-05-07T15:00:00+00:00Ulteo releases Linux desktop; bent on world dominationhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/22/ulteo-releases-linux-desktop-bent-on-world-domination/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/22/ulteo-releases-linux-desktop-bent-on-world-domination/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/22/ulteo-releases-linux-desktop-bent-on-world-domination/#commentsFiled under: Internet, OS Updates, Linux, Office, Open Source, Beta

Ulteo Desktop Screenshot

When we last left our favorite evil geniuses at Ulteo, they were diligently plugging away at making OpenOffice.org applications accessible through a browser. Now, they've taken their plans for global domination one step further with Ulteo Application System Beta 1 (codename "Sirius"). For those of you wondering what exactly an "Application System" is: Think operating system.

Yes, Ulteo's Sirius is a Linux distro designed to integrate nicely with the online applications they provide. For instance, saving a document to a specific folder "auto-syncs" with the Ulteo servers online. It's then accessible from other computers through your Ulteo web account.

Of course, that isn't all of Ulteo's new tricks. Allegedly all upgrades, patches and bugfixes for installed applications will be automatically downloaded and installed on your system. You know, without any human intervention. We'll be the first to admit that it's our all-too-human intervention that mucks up a lot of our software, but not always. Somehow, we're just a little uneasy not knowing exactly what our machine is plotting against us with each new update.

Still, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially for people who use their computers for dedicated office work fewer than twenty-seven hours a day and don't want to bother learning Linux (or Windows, or Mac, for that matter). It'll be nice to see this project unfold and emerge from beta.

Continue reading Ulteo releases Linux desktop; bent on world domination

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]]>betaLinuxlivecdOpenOffice.orgSiriusUlteoKristin Shoemaker2008-04-22T13:00:00+00:00Microsoft Works Sponsored Edition launcheshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/22/microsoft-works-sponsored-edition-launches/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/22/microsoft-works-sponsored-edition-launches/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/22/microsoft-works-sponsored-edition-launches/#commentsFiled under: Office, Microsoft, Commercial, Freeware

MS Works

As predicted almost a year ago, Microsoft has begun offering a free, advertising supported version of Microsoft Works, its office application suite for people too cheap to spring for Office. But it doesn't appear that there's any way to download and install Microsoft Works SE (Sponsored Edition) yourself just yet. Rather, computer makers are starting to install the software on new PCs.

Basically the program works just as well (read that statement however you'd like) as the full version of MS Works, but users will see a small advertisement in the program window, whether they're editing a spreadsheet or text document.

The new version of Works is available to computer makers for free. Of course, OpenOffice.org is also available for free, but you don't see PC makers including that on computers that ship with Windows yet. Works SE isn't available everywhere yet. It's apparently showing up on selected computers in the US, Canada, and a handful of European countries.

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]]>advertisingmicrosoft-works-seofficesponsored-editionworksBrad Linder2008-04-22T09:00:00+00:00DarkCopy: web-based, distraction-free text editinghttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/10/darkcopy-web-based-distraction-free-text-editing/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/10/darkcopy-web-based-distraction-free-text-editing/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/10/darkcopy-web-based-distraction-free-text-editing/#commentsFiled under: Office, Productivity, Freeware

Dark Copy

DarkCopy is a web-based alternative to programs like WriteRoom and DarkRoom that lets you compose text files in full (or almost full) screen to eliminate distractions like instant messages, Flash games, LOLcats, etc.

You can type in a regular browser window, or go full screen to make most of your screen (except for the browser's toolbar) black with greenish text. When you're done writing, you can save the file to your computer as a plain ole' .txt file.

This is handy if you want to work on a blog post, business idea, school paper, or love note without your attention being lost to something less significant.

[Via del.icio.us]

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]]>texttext editorTextEditorwritingTodd Ritter2008-04-10T08:00:00+00:00