Do you really need Microsoft Office?

Microsoft Office has been around for years and it is arguably the top in word processing and spreadsheet software. However, it is not free. If you buy it outright, it costs anywhere from $149 for the home and student edition to $229 for the home and business version. There are also monthly subscription packages available from $6.99 – $9.99 for Office 365. For a breakdown of the features that each package offers, click the link below.

https://products.office.com/en-us/buy/compare-microsoft-office-products

If you work in an office environment, you may definitely need the features of Microsoft Office. What if you just want something to write letters with and dabble in the occasional spreadsheet? There are a few free alternatives that will open Microsoft Office files. One of my favorites is called LibreOffice. (libre = free) It’s available for Windows, Mac and Linux. If you don’t have any office software on your machine it is worth checking out LibreOffice. Click the link below to download it.

http://www.libreoffice.org/

One other popular Office alternative is Google Drive. It is web-based which means you can access your files from anywhere you have internet. You can also share documents created with other people and collaborate in real-time. If you already have a Google or Gmail account, you just need to sign into the website. Check out the link below.

https://drive.google.com/

Do you use Microsoft Office or any of the alternatives? Let me know in the comments below. Happy writing!

Firefox 52.0 update

Firefox 52.0 was released earlier this week with some noticeable changes. This new version increases awareness of insecure sites by showing a warning message where there are username and password fields.

One other big change is the removal of NPAPI-based plugins with the exception being Adobe Flash. So if you need sites that use Java and Silverlight, you will need to use a different browser or stick to an older version of Firefox.

To update, try the following steps:

Windows: Go to the Help menu and select About.

Mac: Go to the Firefox menu and select About Firefox.

To download a fresh copy of Firefox on either Windows or Mac, you can go to the link below and click the green Download Firefox button:

Link –> Mozilla Firefox

SOURCE: Mozilla

Why I Block Website Advertisements

Opinion: Why I block website advertisements

It seems every website has advertisements. I get it. Everyone wants to make a buck online which is fine. Here are my issues with advertisements on the web and why I block them.

Quantity vs Quality

I can understand the good old banner ad at the top of a website. I can also understand a small ad in the sidebar. However, it seems a lot of websites are cramming ads everywhere. If I’m reading an article, I don’t want ads showing up in the middle of the article. It is distracting.

Slows down your web browser

The more ads that have to load when you visit a website, the slower the site is going to load. This is especially detrimental for folks on older computers and slower connections that can’t handle the bombardment of simultaneously loading ads. Many ads use Flash which can slow even the fastest computers to a crawl. (Pro tip: Uninstall Flash!)

Security risk

There are various ad networks out there which all have their own screening process. Unfortunately the bad folks still find a way to infiltrate those networks with malicious ads. Have you ever seen one of those pop up ads that says there is something wrong with your computer and you need to call “Microsoft” immediately?

You most likely didn’t even click on anything, it just popped up on its own. Maybe you’ve seen an update for Adobe or Firefox, but the actual link doesn’t take you to the legitimate site. (but it looks so real!)

Controversy

Some say it’s not right to use an ad blocker. You’re hurting the company and employees if you block their ads. Some sites like Forbes and Wired even detect if you are using an ad blocker and shame you into shutting it off. Ironically, according to The Stack, they lost web traffic when they enabled the ad blocker detection. (Karma!)

You are threatening the safety of my computer with your insane amount of ads. Why not focus your advertising efforts on products and services that your company sells? If there are sites you want to support, you can always exclude them from the ad blocker.

My recommendation

I used to use Ad Block Plus but their acceptable ad program seems a bit shady to me. Companies can pay for their ads to show up in place of other ads that you are blocking. (what!?!?!?)

I have moved on to an ad blocker called uBlock Origin. It works really well and doesn’t slow my machine down. It’s free and works in Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. (The Safari version is in testing and may be more buggy than other browsers.)

Follow the links below to install uBlock Origin on your browser.

Firefox –> https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/ublock-origin/

Google Chrome –> https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm

Microsoft Edge –> https://www.microsoft.com/store/p/app/9nblggh444l4

For more information about uBlock Origin, check out their website below.

uBlock Origin –> https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/

Feedback:

Let me know what you think about blocking advertisements in the comments below. Do you block them and if so, what blocker do you use? Thanks!

Firefox 51.0.1 update

Firefox 51.0.1 update

There were a few bugs in the Firefox 51.0 update released earlier this week. Mozilla has released version 51.0.1. Here are the changes:

– Multiprocess incompatibility did not correctly register with some add-ons
– Geolocation not working on Windows
– Reference link to 51.0 release notes

To update, try the following steps:

Windows: Go to the Help menu and select About.

Mac: Go to the Firefox menu and select About Firefox.

To download a fresh copy of Firefox on either Windows or Mac, you can go to the link below and click the green Download Firefox button:

Link –> Mozilla Firefox

SOURCE: Mozilla

Firefox 51.0 update

Firefox 51.0 update available

Mozilla has released Firefox 51.0 for Windows and Mac. This update includes various security updates and several new features.

– URL bar shows zoom level percentage.
– Non-secure login pages shows warning message.
– Added FLAC audio support.

To update, try the following steps:

Windows: Go to the Help menu and select About.

Mac: Go to the Firefox menu and select About Firefox.

To download a fresh copy of Firefox on either Windows or Mac, you can go here and click the green Download Firefox button:

Mozilla Firefox

SOURCE: Mozilla