Computer matters

Can anyone recommend a good alternative to Microsoft Word? Thanks.

Libre Office seems ok. Hi Heathite, I don't know if this is the best alternative but it's free so it's worth a try. Other options at Money Saving Expert

Hello Helen, thank you, I'll give it a try

WPS (Chinese copy of microsoft) or Open Office

I've used Open Office for the past 5 years. The word processing and spreadsheets are compatible with Microsoft Office. It's free.

Old Maps have introduced a monthly limit for maps. Can't say that I blame them.

Do old PC users have an advantage over newer ones? Back in the day, when we saved or moved files we were given several drop down menus - drive, directory, file name and we could even see the file type eg pic1.jpg. At some point they renamed 'directory' into 'folder', replaced details with icons, hid file endings eg .jpg and ran all the drives, folders and files into the same long list. Try as they might, many users can't get to grips with drives, folders and file types. When saving, they essentially throw stuff into the computer door and hope they'll be able to find it again. Admittedly it's confusing to start the drives at C: because only us oldies remember what A: and B: were for. Apart from a 'do as you're *****ing told button, I wish they'd bring back the drop down menus for drives and folders. The thing I'd like them to stop is the way they are determined to make people put stuff on the cloud. That adds another place for people to lose track of.

I think so, Helen. I always change the options in Windows Explorer (Documents, Pictures etc) if I need to see extensions, hidden files and file names listing instead of icons as well as the directory and folder structure. However the long filenames are a great improvement from the pre-Windows era. In addition the fonts available, or importable, are so much easier than having to create your own fonts for portrait or landscape as well as size and style. Was it "Norton Commander"? It's been a while since I used that! I use the cloud for backup only as it really is rather inflexible as far as I can see, or maybe I just haven't got familiar enough with the processes!

Me too, but we know it's possible to do that. Who learns it now? The Details option is great for sorting into date or name. My only issue with fonts is that I keep losing ones I like as software packages change. I keep meaning to round them up from old machines and create a disk of them for each time I buy a new laptop. I don't bother with the Cloud because there's sooooo much to copy. I try to keep an up to date backup with relatives. Wearethemods, I keep thinking 'ooo I could go do....' and then I remember that I can't.

I have just suffered the failure of an SSD drive, so should warn anyone considering such an investment that they are less reliable than traditional hard drives. They are of course much quicker at reading data which is especially noticeable when starting up, but they are limited in how much information you can write to them, and when they fail, everything goes, not just windows, the whole C drive and even in my case the D drive where I stored my backup copies. It isn't even recognised as a drive anymore so it can't even be re-formatted and used again, it's junk. In fact my policy of backing up to the D drive is adding to the amount written, so increasing the onset of failure. I've been involved in the computer business ever since the late 60s. The first job I had was running the only computer in the whole of Warwick University, an Elliot 4130 with 32K words of storage, about a million times less than the computer you're reading this with. It was about the size of 6 wardrobes, no disk storage, just punched cards or paper tape. Later I was part of the first company in the world to offer mobile computer disaster recovery, based in the Midlands. If a customer's machine was damaged by fire, flood, sabotage etc, an air conditioned caravan with an identical rescue machine would be sent to their site, powered up and restored from backup tapes. This was when computers had reduced in size from wardrobes to washing machines, long before PCs and the internet. That period highlighted the need for proper backups and a documented procedure that had been tested by recovery on one of the rescue machines. If you have data/photos/videos/music that you want to keep, it's essential to have a minimum of two copies. For example if you spend a day taking pictures/videos, always copy them to a computer (your own or the cloud) at the end of the day. At the end of the year, copy them to a CD or DVD before you delete them from the camera. Fortunately I'd taken a copy of my important files on a memory card at the year end, so have only lost a few days after my SSD failure. Memory cards and USB memory sticks offer the simplest way to create backup copies, but should of course be kept separate from the computer to minimise the risk of both being burnt/flooded/stolen. Easy to recommend, I know, but logistically hard to arrange. Microsoft have deliberately made copying your windows system difficult, even if you take your hard drive and put it in a near identical machine it's unlikely to start up cleanly. To them it ensures you have a license for every copy. I'm now going through the process of configuring my laptop to as near to how it was before the crash, documenting each step, based on the procedure I wrote when I first did this when the machine was new. Nevertheless, I'm sure I'll find some files that I've lost in the recovery process.

Thanks for the warning mcsporran. I have a machine with an SSD but it also has a traditional drive too. All my data goes on the second drive. I'm glad now that I paid extra.

I had a SSD drive, which I just used to have my programs on and data on my Z drive. I was told to only use half the data, but it gradually got fuller and fuller until it was not able to do any updates. It was more or less impossible to find out what was filling it up. One guilty party I found was Photoshop which added something to the SSD drive every time I saved a photo. With that and Windows starting to block changes to files from anywhere it didn't like I got completely fed up and have moved to a dreaded Mac, which I am quite enjoying at the moment.

I wish we could still get printers that printed continuous paper. It would be so much easier to print out large family trees instead of having to stick A4 pages together.

My sister wanted something similar but it's quite expensive. You can get A4 width sheets at more than 1m long or rolls much longer. I got some for my laser printer but you still have to stitch them together. She concluded in the end that it was easier to get them printed at a poster shop. When she's stopped adjusting the data... I have to say, that despite the initial outlay, colour laser printers are a great option for non arty printing. Inkjets take ages to print long documents and ink's very expensive (not to mention inclined to bung up the printer). The biggest downside of laser printers is the size and weight of them.

Helen, I have just invested in an inkjet printer that takes ecotanks (again something else that has gone wrong lately, my much lived Canon suddenly decided I had the wrong printhead, searches on the internet could only suggest scrapping it). You use bottles of ink, easy to fill, so far quite pleased with it.