Links and Open Source Software   

   Another Way

We have to admit an historical bias against Microsoft Office and Internet communicating products. Our engineering background makes us want to design the best products for our customers using the most appropriate tools and materials. We also expect what we make to be reliable and to last a long time, so we need good reasons to replace anything we use.

We started using WordPerfect when it was DOS based. The continued reliability and the ease of use of this program has always impressed us. With its different owners over the years it grew into a full office suite. The superior handling of images and tables in documents and the fact that Quatro Pro spreadsheets can be saved in Excel format for some customers has been a boon. We can also say that we have never lost a document because it cannot be opened again after changing it slightly then saving it. This is not the experience some colleagues have had with other word processors.

The combination of moving to a different Internet Service Provider and taking on a major new customer, who is using Word and wants better documentation compatibility with us, led us to join the Open Source community and embrace some new tools.

Open Office  is an open source suite of programs including a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet (Calc), presentation software (Impress), a database (Base), a vector graphics editor (Draw) and an editor for mathematical formulae (Math) in one free package. The components of this suite can read and save to equivalent Microsoft programs very accurately.

   A Small and Fast Web Browser

Mozilla Firefox   is a free and open source web browser. It is our default web browser and is credited with less vulnerabilities and faster bug fixes than the opposition.

   Our Preferred Email and News Client

Mozilla Thunderbird,   also free and open source, has replaced Outlook Express at PCM. We like its simplicity, reliability and price, of course.

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