Open Source Productivity

OpenOffice.org 3.2

Gary — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:43:28 +0000

The latest release of this full office productivity suite is now available. Improvements include faster start up times & compatibility with Office 2007. Available as a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux.

www.openoffice.org

Ambient Sound

Gary — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:49:12 +0000

Need a little ambiant sound to help you focus or drown out a noisy workspace.

Checkout Rainy Mood. A simple calming rainstorm for your work environment.

Use One Mouse and Keyboard to Operate Multiple Computers.

Gary — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:28:46 +0000

Synergy, an open source program for Windows, Mac and Linux allows you to easily share one mouse and keyboard between multiple computers. You can move from one computer to the next using your mouse by simply moving off the edge of one screen onto the next. All clipboards are merged as well allowing you to cut and paste between systems. If you have ever wanted to work on your laptop and desktop at the same time Synergy is for you.

What Matters Now

Gary — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:22:43 +0000

A just released free ebook from Seth Godin “What Maters Now” is a must read with incites and ideas from seventy of today’s most brilliant thinkers. As Seth Godin says:

“Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around.”

Music @ Work.

Gary — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:16:37 +0000

If you’re like many, you enjoy listening to music while you work. I for one find listening to music actually helps me stay focused on the projects I’m working on. Below is a list of some of the available sites that allow you to download or listen to streaming music online. Check them out.

Office Distractions

Gary — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:07:29 +0000

Do you find yourself being distracted by fellow employees during the day? These distractions can take a big chunk out of your valuable, productive time. Here are some ideas on how to keep them out of your office.

Meet them at the door - If you sense someone is coming that you know is distracting, meet them at the door. As you head off to the restroom or on an errand, suggest that they “walk with you” while you talk.

Stand and approach them – If you are both standing, it will likely be a much shorter conversation. This is good if you think they are just coming in to chat. If you want them to stay, sit back down and offer them a seat.

Don’t have a seat available for them - If you have a chair, drape a coat over it or stack some papers and books on it. It’s always easier to get someone to leave if they haven’t sat down yet.

Don’t look up right away – Keep your head down for a few extra seconds before looking up and acknowledging their presence. This sends a very clear message that you are busy and focused on what you are doing. If this doesn’t give them the hint, tell them you’re right in the middle of something and ask them to please make it brief.

Take notes – If a meeting is unavoidable get out your pen and paper. If they see you writing everything down, people will be far less likely to waste time on idle chitchat.

WinFontView

Gary — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:42:11 +0000

Ever wanted an easy way to view all the fonts you have available on your system. WinFontsView is a small utility that shows all the fonts installed on your system in one easy to read list. WinFontsView shows 5 samples of each font in different sizes, so you can easily choose the font that you need. WinFontsView also allows you to see the fonts in Bold, Italic and underlined. WinFontsView is a free download for Windows only.

The Office Gift Exchange with a Difference.

Gary — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:51:01 +0000

Christmas time is fast approaching and if your office is like many you may be having a Secret Santa gift exchange. Where I work we exchange gifts too, but we do things a little different. As with the usual exchange each of us picks out a name from a hat. Instead of buying each other some silly little trinket we purchase a toy we think they may have enjoyed as a child. The toys we exchange give us all a good laugh and when we are done we collect up all the toys and donate them to a local charity. It makes us all feel so good knowing that there will be gifts under the tree for those children in our community less fortunate than ourselves.

Web Based File Backup and Syncing.

Gary — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:50:13 +0000

Dropbox is software that allows you to back up and sync your files online across all your computers. Simply put your files into your Dropbox folder on one computer, and they’ll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you’ve installed Dropbox on. You now have the freedom to work on any of your computers and always have the files you need. Because copys of your files are also stored on Dropbox’s secure servers, you can also access them from any computer or mobile device using the Dropbox website. Need to share files or collaborate on team projects. That’s easy too. Simply send the people on your team a link to the specific files within your Dropbox and they will be able to access those files as well. Dropbox offers free 2GB accounts and runs seamlessly across Linux, Mac and Windows.

100,000,000 downloads of OpenOffice.org 3

Gary — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:54:37 +0000

On October 28th. 2009, the one hundred millionth person clicked on the Download OpenOffice.org button since version 3.0 of the software was announced just over one year ago.

This full office productivity suite contains everything you need for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, graphics, databases and more. Available as a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux in many different languages.