John Ager's Home on the Web!

There are many ways of sharing files over the Internet, but often there’s a downside – intrusive adverts or malware, for example. GE.TT has recently been launched, and offers speed with simplicity. Just select the file you want to share and it will immediately upload, you can then email the link or quickly share on Facebook or Twitter. The files are stored for 30 days, or (if you register) for 3 months, with the ability to see how many times each file has been downloaded. If you’re looking for a more long-term and secure file sharing site, then Box.net is a good place to start! So, what are you waiting for? GE.TT started and Box.net clever!

The Police and the Home Office have today launched a website that enables you to see crime figures in your locality. This is what happens when you type in Downing Street!

If you’re a Gmail and Chrome user, you now have an option (within Gmail settings) for desktop notifications whenever an email arrives! There’s also an option for chat. Just go to settings and change your preferences!

The latest version of OpenOffice.org has just been released! OpenOffice.org is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It can be downloaded and used entirely free of any licence fees, and is available in many languages and works on all common computers. I use it alongside Microsoft Office 2010 on my Windows machine, and as my sole office suite on a Linux Mint netbook. One very neat feature is that it’s compatible with Microsoft Office, and will create, read and write MS Office documents – Word, PowerPoint and Excel etc.

It has been developed over twenty years, and was designed from the start as a single piece of software. The completely open development process means that anyone can report bugs, request new features, or enhance the software. It’s easy to learn, and if you’re already using another office software package, you’ll take to it straight away. There are also many extensions and templates available, and you can use it for any purpose – domestic, commercial, educational, public administration. What are you waiting for?

Note: There is also a very similar office suite called LibreOffice. ‘Libre’, of course, means ‘free’ in Spanish!

When people call me a geek I take it as a term of endearment, as a badge of honour! In my case it’s generally related to computers, but there’s a wide range of meaning with which I identify. As I’ve suggested, it’s often considered as a pejorative, but the term is also used self-referentially as a source of pride!

My friend Chris Hinton runs a site called Geek-Speak which is devoted to all things geek! He says about it: Why isn’t there a “geeks anonymous” group around here? You know, something to help people with an unnatural interest in technology, cables, and sci-fi manage their habit? The kind of people who would buy a soldering iron just because they didn’t have one and might need to solder something one day…

If you recognise yourself in this description, now would be a good time to check out his site!

A recent WordPress suggestion for a daily post was: What’s the most important thing you’re putting off? Why haven’t you done it yet? What do you need to make it happen? I guess this is an easy one for many people with the deadline of 31 January for tax returns coming soon! Each year everyone probably has good intentions of getting them done early, and some may even achieve this, but for the majority I suspect it’s left until the last minute! I certainly count myself amongst this number, perhaps another year I’ll get it done earlier!

I prefer to submit tax returns electronically, and the software I use is illustrated. Unfortunately the activation key didn’t work when I installed the software, I’ve emailed for another one and written TAX RETURNS in my diary for Monday!

Note: It appears that the activation key didn’t work because I had restored my computer after the key was received, and it can only be installed on one computer. I informed them of my situation and they have now forwarded me another activation key. So there really is no excuse for me not to get my tax returns done now!

Today’s Google logo is a pastiche of one of Cézanne’s still life paintings, with the objects forming the name of the ubiquitous search engine. It was commissioned because today is the painter’s 172nd birthday! Cézanne is one of my favourite artists, and I especially love his landscapes (example above) and still life paintings.

Wikipedia describes his work in this way: Cézanne’s work demonstrates a mastery of design, colour, tone, composition and draftsmanship. His often repetitive, sensitive and exploratory brushstrokes are highly characteristic and clearly recognizable. He used planes of colour and small brushstrokes that build up to form complex fields, at once both a direct expression of the sensations of the observing eye and an abstraction from observed nature. The paintings convey Cézanne’s intense study of his subjects, a searching gaze and a dogged struggle to deal with the complexity of human visual perception.

Receiving a belated Christmas card and present in the post this morning made my day! You know who are are, and you know me well! I also appreciated the home made and thoughtful card. Thank you! My brief (in less than 140 characters) bio describes me as a Salvation Army Officer who likes computers, Radiohead and F1. The present reflects two of these interests: it’s a sports car shaped computer mouse! Funny thing is, I’m listening to Radiohead as I write this!

I love writing and communicating! Choosing my words carefully and crafting sentences, paragraphs and completed works. Both writing and public speaking play a major part in my work as a Salvation Army Officer, but I also like to write for leisure. This website is one opportunity for me to do just that!

Recently I came across QuietWrite which provides a writing space without distraction. The website says about itself: Focus is necessary for good writing. And, in order to focus, you need a quiet place to think, to ponder, and to dream. Finding a peaceful place to write online is challenging. Most interfaces are too cluttered and too crammed full of the unnecessary. QuietWrite is different. It’s your peaceful online editor: a place where you can be alone with your words and thoughts. Think of QuietWrite as your online writing workspace. A place where you can do your best writing.

You can publish on QuietWrite itself, but can also export to your WordPress site, and this post is testing out this option. If you are looking for a software alternative to this web-based service you could try FocusWriter, a minimalist multi-platform word processor.

Note: Because QuietWrite is a minimalist word-processor (it’s great strength), it does mean that you have to work on the text later, but the creative work can be done distraction-free. In the case of exporting to WordPress, you have to edit the text in WordPress to categorise, tag and link etc. You can view my original post on QuietWrite by clicking here!

If you just want to make simple notes in your browser, you might like to check out this post!

My friend Chris Hinton has also written about QuietWrite here on Geek-Speak!

Do I need to pay for computer security software? This a question many people ask, and quite often they feel that paying for software means they get a superior product! If that’s you, then think again!

Every computer with Microsoft Windows needs anti-virus software and a firewall, and probably some protection against malware and the like. There are plenty of free programs out there, the only difference from their paid-alternatives often being no support for the software. Also, many of the free programs out-perform many of the well-known ones that you pay for!

AVG Anti-Virus and ZoneAlarm are popular choices for free security, although they do have paid versions. But don’t overlook the program featured in this post from Microsoft. In December 2010 they quietly released a major revision of their impressive and free Security Essentials and anti-malware tool. The new version is slowly being rolled out via Windows Update, but you can grab it right away. MSE 2.0 is a nearly total rewrite of Microsoft’s security tool. Although there are some visual changes in the software there are some very significant enhancements which have convinced me to use it on my desktop computer. Why not check it out?