Database |
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MS Access
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It was an easy switch, financially, to MicroSoft's Access 97 from the DBaseIII which I had been using since 1984, and it has proven to be a wise switch too.
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I finally had to upgrade when I needed SOAP and xml capabilities. I don't have enough experience yet to compare with 97, though the help files seem weaker at first glance.
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Utilities
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I've been doing my own tax returns for a quarter century. Now I can do it with the best of them.
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This is a bridge between MySQL and other databases like Access.
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This utility is a great way to connect to a MySQL database either at home, or on-line, however it only works on-line where the host has granted permissions beyond its own, local environment.
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Internet |
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Servers
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Personal Web Server |
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Microsoft
| Free with Windows 98
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This Windows server, which comes bundled with FrontPage, has been more than adequate for development work. It has allowed me to test all aspects of a web site that is destined for a Unix/Linux server home, including Perl cgi scripts and MySQL database functionality.
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Once I got over the setup hurdles for this Perl for Windows installation I've had no troubles at all running perl scripts on my personal computer
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MySQL for Windows | (v3.23.49)
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MySQL AB
| Free
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This Windows version of the MySQL database server has also been trouble free since its installation.
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Browsers
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I don't care for the Microsoft monolith any more than next person, but I'm not above taking advantage of their taking advantage of me (short-sighted as that may be). Internet Explorer is free and it works. I've been upgrading regularly and I did pay a bit (twice already) to have new versions sent to me on CD-Rom so I'd have a backup. I'd pay more, if necessary, to keep it.
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Netscape came to me bundled in my server's setup package. It was free too, and I have updated it since then, but I use it only to check on the compatibility of my web sites. Netscape seems slower than IE and more quirky.
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I use this utility regularly to locate files in my cache, to selectively clean it out and to archive sites for reference purposes. Files are presented in an Explorer type window with domains on the left and all the files cached from a selected domain on the right. A separate version is available for Netscape users.
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Editors
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Microsoft strikes again. First they hooked me by offering Access97 to DbaseIII users for the upgrade price, then again by offering FrontPage98 to Access97 users for the upgrade price.
But I haven't been sorry. FrontPage98 is reliable and very useful. The WYSIWYG editor alone is worth the price and the FrontPage98 Explorer is just my cup of tea. I'm forever renaming pages and images as a site develops and the Explorer nicely fixes all the relative links for me.
I was leery of FrontPage at first because its 'extensions' or 'web-bots' are useless on a UNIX server. I was relieved to find that simply ignoring them did not reduce the possibilities and that my published FrontPage webs worked perfectly.
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- I almost always work from the FrontPage Explorer's Folders View. Occasionly I'll use the All Files, Hyperlinks and Hyperlink Status to check for broken links and orphan files. I've used the Navigation and Themes Views only on my own, local intranet since they both require FrontPage web-bots.
- I used to regularly Publish my webs from the FrontPage Explorer. If I've only edited and added pages this is very reliable, but for moving files around or setting up cgi scripts I used an FTP program. Now I do all my publishing with SitePublisher
- In the FrontPage Editor I use almost all the items on the Standard, Format and Table Toolbars. I tend to use outside applications to deal with graphics, scripts and other active elements.
- The New Frames Page dialog is useful to set up frames, and the split window Frames Editor mode works well, although it is somewhat cumbersome when you're only making simple changes.
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There are many times when I need to escape the confines of the FrontPage editor. Sometimes it is simplest to quickly call up Notepad, but for any extensive work on html, javascript or perl, Note Tab Pro has become my principal text editor. It's like a faithful (quiet!) dog that waits patiently on my toolbar, always remembering where I left off and where I've been. Besides the regular text editing features, these have proven most useful to me:
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- open many files at once, each with a tab for quick access
- recall all previously open files and positions when Note Tab is restarted
- reopen files from a long history list
- open a second window for file comparison
- undo and redo many steps
- backup files automatically
- hilight html with color coding
- number lines for error location
- indent automatically
- match brackets in complex javascripts
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Microsoft Gif Animator |
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Microsoft
| Free with FrontPage 98
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This very basic GIF Animator also comes with FrontPage98. It simply allows you to string together a bunch of GIFs that you've made elsewhere into your very own animated GIF, or to take apart and fine tune the speed or sequence of any animated GIF. No help is offered and little is needed.
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This conversion program for Word Perfect (and now also Word) files does what Word Perfect and Word should have done for themselves -- create html that is appropriate and isn't burdened with a thousand useless tags. The configuration syntax proves again that short term pain means long term gain.
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FTP
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CuteFTP is the file transfer protocol program that I use to do specialty maintainance for web sites on servers, like setting up and maintaining CGI scripts or retrieving logs and guest books. CuteFTP was introduced to me by my first server and seems highly recommended by other software sources as well.
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After messing around for years with the FrontPage publisher and doing manual uploads with CuteFTP I knew what I really wanted. When I finally found Site Publisher, it matched my specifications exactly. This program is the cat's meouw. It maintains multiple sites with options in each site to exlude files, to set permissions for certain types of files and to sychronize local copies with changing pages (like guestbooks) on the server.
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PuTTy has added SSH capability to my telnet needs (useful for testing CGI scripts and for setting up MySQL) wherever permission is granted (which is less and less).
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E-mail
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After suffering through a deluge of unfiltered spam and then the hit-and-miss filtering of Spam Weasel I now know again what it's like to get no mail some days. Spam Sleuth's sophisticated filtering rarely misses it's mark.
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There are lots of mail programs out there (some also free). I've tried a few but I can't see any reason to switch from Outlook Express. I like its familiar, lean look and its reliable functionality. But I know it's vulnerable so I leave the preview pane off, stay away from unknown attachments and keep my Norton Anti-virus up to date.
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Graphics |
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Editors
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For fine tuning and creating icons, this mini graphics editor is perfect.
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This funky little app searches for and displays all the icons on your computer for you to pick and choose for your own designs.
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This paint program is my workhorse in the graphics department. No doubt it would have been nice to get Adobe's graphics program, but Paint Shop Pro does what I want, and more, for a reasonable price (It has been likened to a David against the Adobe Goliath).
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Microsoft Image Composer | (v1.5)
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Microsoft
| Free with FrontPage98
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FrontPage98 comes with its own image editor. It has unique effects and layering options that complement those in Paint Shop Pro 4.
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Pixel 3D, which was sold to me by the makers of Paint Shop Pro, is a powerful program for creating 3D objects and logos. It took a great deal of time and effort to wrap my mind around the (probably generic) 3D editing concepts, but it was worth it. Pixel 3D's help was written by techies for techies and isn't of much use to the novice. But trial and error is often a more thorough teacher anyway.
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Utilities
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After years of guessing pixel numbers and holding rulers up to the monitor I finally found a great little virtual ruler that I can drag around the screen to measure objects and distances with magnifying glass precision. It even declares the colour value of the end point pixel.
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In any situation where I need to quickly match a foreground or backround colour to some object without opening that object in an image editor, this little utility allows me to set my sights, through a maginifying glass, on colours anywhere on the screen, and then hold on to the Hex colour value for later use.
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This quick alternative to the hassle of changing screen resolutions in order to check on the compatability of web pages simply resizes your browser window at the current resolution to mimic any of the three common screen sizes, even to the point of making it larger than your screen (in which case you'll need to drag it around to see it all).
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Text |
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Editors
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NotePad is nice to have for quick peeks and simple edits. Thank you Microsoft.
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Most of the text attachments flying through cyberspace are simple, paper plane, documents burdened down with jet engine functionality. Rich Text Files are mostly more than adequate. Everybody has WordPad (or whatever on Mac) so why doesn't everybody use it?
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We've been WordPerfect users for nigh on twenty years now. I''m not about to get on the Microsoft bandwagen now. Diversity is good
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Utilities
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I quite like the trend to internet transactions. I do all my banking on-line and I'd like to do my billing that way too. When I finally decided to enable the latter I decided that e-mailed PDF statements was the way to go. Not wanting to spend the money on Adobe's product, I settled on this very functional, much cheaper product.
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I haven't looked aroung for alternatives to FontNav -- it does the job of displaying and installing available fonts.
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People keep sending us pesky (potentially dangerous) Word attachments. I keep using the Microsoft supplied Word Viewer to look at them, cutting and pasting whatever I need.
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Acrobat Reader | (v4.0)
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Adobe
| Free
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I don't really like using Acrobat Reader. It loads too slowly and I find it awkward for viewing, although I'm sure it prints up fine. But this is one you just have to have.
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After looking in vain for a flexible meta tag editor I opted for this still more flexible general purpose tool. There are no limits here - any kind of wholesale replacement operation is possible and can be saved to a use-again script. The scripting syntax is not for the faint of heart but it covers all the bases.
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This free version of a more capable shareware program has proven very useful in comparing versions of the same script and hilighting the differences so that I can bring things into line.
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System |
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Desktop
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With all this software coming at me my desktop has had to be cleaned out repeatedly. I finally tired of using folders as desktop extensions so I went looking and came up with a solution that works perfectly for me. Menu bars hidden around the edge pop in when you bump up against them and give me another fifty odd icons in groups to satisfy my need for organized access.
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This simple control lets me start my slide show (or any other) screen-saver at will.
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As an amateur photographer with a son now coming along-side, I have enjoyed watching 'slide shows' of our own making when the screen needs saving.
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I tried half a dozen address books, most of which had too many blanks and required too much clicking around to get to the phone number. This simple solution comes up like a phonebook/spreadsheet and lets you select tabbed pages so that you can quickly scan phone lists by category.
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Now what was the password that the computer remembered for me?
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Habit helps me to keep track of my car keys. Now I have a place to put internet keys that doesn't require lot's of digging to retrieve them. One click to bring up the web page and one drag and drop to insert username and password info. No retyping or cutting and pasting.
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Files
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It's amazing what people will give you for free just to prove that they can do better than Microsoft. This is more than twice as good as Windows Explorer.
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Now that I need to Zip files as much as unZip them I can't do without this.
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Audio
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The free version of AudioGrabber has met my occasional need for ripping music CD's.
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BladeEnc is an internal MP3 encoder recommened by AudioGrabber. My son says it works.
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Tools
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It took me a while to concede the need for any anit-virus protection, but now I wouldn't do without. It came bundled with my last computer and I've been able to upgrade cheaply as part of a Quick Tax package.
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AIDA32 Worldwide Sysinfo Tool | (v3.10)
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AIDA
| Free
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This is a nice diagnostic summary of system information. I hope I never need it.
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My computer doesn't keep time nearly as well as a much cheaper Swiss watch. So I zap it every once in a while with this reality check.
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Note: The rest of this page is generated from five MySQL database tables.