Does Free Software Always Equal Bad Software? by Jennifer Jahedkar
Free software can be more trouble that it is worth, especially since programs that come from questionable or untrustworthy sources can include all kinds of spyware and malware. Many legitimate companies and organizations do provide free applications as well, but it can be difficult to know where to get them. To make this a bit easier we have identified a few free programs that people have found useful.
Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 Starter Edition is a free program that a number of users have found useful for organizing and sharing pictures. This is a limited-feature version of the product that allows you to organize photos, fix common flaws, resize, print, and share photos. You can also create a PDF slideshow which will automatically present photos in a sequence that you specify. Slideshows are easily linked from a webpage as well. An example is available at http://eit.tamu.edu/resources.html.
When you visit the Photoshop Album download page you will notice that the file to be downloaded is zipped, to make the file smaller and the download quicker. In Windows XP and 2000 it will automatically unzip, but with other Windows versions you may need a zip utility to open it and install it. A couple of good, free programs include CoffeeCup Free Zip Wizard and Quick Zip.
Another free application has recently been released by Microsoft to help the fight against spyware and other evils. At http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security you will find a link to the Windows AntiSpyware download, as well as a lot of information about spyware. Anti-spyware applications are only effective if they are updated and run regularly, though, so no matter what anti-spyware programs you are using, make a note on your calendar or your computer to run an update and a scan at least once a month.
The December 2004 TnT Newsletter contains an article about CutePDF Writer, another useful application. A free version of a commercial PDF creation software, it can create a PDF document from any Windows applications that can print.
Be careful with downloading free software applications. Although there are some safe, legitimate applications out there, there are even more that are not. It is best not to install anything that was not provided or recommended by a reliable source!
To get more information or download any of these applications, visit the Downloads section of the EIT website at http://eit.tamu.edu/downloadlist.html#TNT.
Sessions are offered via Centra Symposium. To enroll or browse events, or to learn more about Centra, click the Centra Symposium link from the EIT webpage at http://eit.tamu.edu. If you miss an event or would like to view it again, go to http://eit.tamu.edu/recordings.html or click the Public Recordings link in Centra to view recorded events.
with Greg & Jennifer Have you wondered why the System Check is important in Centra? Where your headphones get plugged into your computer? How to make GroupWise notify you of new messages or appointments? This is your chance! Bring your pressing or not so pressing questions to see if we can answer them.
More information, including specifications and order forms are available from the Spring 2005 Cost Share Program Announcement and Details link at http://eit.tamu.edu
We have online training from Elementk available. To request an account or get more information contact Jennifer Jahedkar at jenj@tamu.edu or 979.845.2290 or Susanna Coppernoll at 979.845.2250.
The Brazos Valley Macromedia Users Group-Summer Wilson The Brazos Valley Macromedia User’s Group will meet April 11th at MicroAge. For more information visit
The Brazos Valley Web Guild-Summer Wilson The Brazos Valley Web Guild will meet Fri May 6th. For information visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bvweb/
FCS -Military Family Resource Center - http://mfrc.calib.com
AG and Natural Resource -AgriSurf- The Farmer's Search Engine - http://www.agrisurf.com/
4H- Global Nomads Group - Fostering understanding of youth - http://www.gng.org/
It can be very helpful to save important GroupWise attachments, either to a hard drive or a network drive. But you may get tired of navigating from the default folder GroupWise uses to save in to the folder you really want to save attachments in. You can change the default folder GroupWise opens when you go to save an attachment, and it is easy to do.
First of all, take a minute to think about where you would like the default location to be. Then create a folder there and name it something meaningful, like 'attachments'. I use C:\myfiles\grpwise\attachments but you can use an existing folder or create a special project folder if you would like.
Then start GroupWise 6.5 if it is not already running.
Next click Tools > Options. Double-click the Environment icon to open it. Then click the File Location tab.
Type in where you would like to save your items in the 'Save, check out' text box. Or click the folder button to the right of the text box to navigate through your folders to choose a directory to save into. Then Click OK.
Finally, it is important to test what you have done to make sure the default save directory is set up correctly and working properly. To do this, close GroupWise and restart it. Find an email message with a paperclip icon next to it, indicating that it has an attachment. Right-click the message and select 'Save As..'.
Examine the text in the box for 'Current Directory' to make sure it shows the directory you specified. If it is the right place, click Save to save it there, or Cancel to close the Save As dialog box. If the current directory is not showing the location you specified, go back to the Environment tab and repeat the earlier steps, making sure to click OK.
That is all there is to it!
Taking the time to specify a default save location in GroupWise can save you time later by helping you keep track of your attachments quickly and easily.