Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
May 20, 2007
Volume 2, Number 49 — Sunday, May 20, 2007
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
3. Using OpenOffice Calc instead of Microsoft Excel
First, let me say it this way: "If you can use Excel, you can use Calc."
It's really that simple. Learning to use a spreadsheet — learning the concepts of putting variable data in some cells and putting formulas in other cells to calculate results based on the data — is the hard part.
With one tiny exception... Excel still has one of the Lotus 1-2-3 features that, for some reason, has not been implemented in OpenOffice. In both OpenOffice and Excel, you can start a formula with an equals sign ("=").
In both OpenOffice and Excel, if you start a cell with a number, but then use any other character (alphabetic or an arithmetic operator like a plus sign), both will treat the cell contents as test — as a label.
But, if you start a cell with a plus sign, they differ. Excel will consider the cell to have a formula. Calc, like Quattro Pro and some others, will consider the cell to be text (a label).
That's it in a nutshell.
That's the hardest — and most frustrating — thing that I've found in OpenOffice Calc.
If I load an Excel spreadsheet into Calc, it works just fine. The above issue is a keyboard-entry issue. Excel saves "+5" as a formula and Calc reads the formula.
With the arrival of Office 2007 on the scene, you may want to consider OpenOffice instead of one of the expensive copies of Office. After all, it's powerful, it reads and writes Excel files (as well as Word and PowerPoint files).
And, OpenOffice is free.
4. Vista, Parallels & the MacBook Pro
Subscriber Glenn Young wrote about power problems and vista running on his MacBook Pro:
Message: Two comments, Terry - First, sometimes Entergy can solve voltage problems, and sometimes not. The "in house solution" is to use a variable ballast-transformer. These have a primary & secondary coupled by a moving, iron core. The voltage in the primary causes the core to move providing variable coupling to the secondary winding. The voltage coming off the secondary remains constant within plus or minus 20% on the primary. These aren't cheap, but they DO provide constant voltage. Secondly, just a comment on Windows Vista. I'm running the Home-Basic version on my MacBook Pro and just LOVE it! The virtualized Vista runs faster and more trouble-free on my Mac than on any PC I've yet to see. I'm using a "Parallels" software that allows the Vista (or Linux, or any operating system you wish) to run virtually in the Mac OS. I don't know why this works so well, but I'm profoundly impressed by how fast it is. The virtual machine uses NO resources once it is shut down, and Vista is ready to use almost instantly when resumed. Glenn
Thanks, Glenn. It sounds like the MacBook Pro is a cool system, especially with Parallels (www.parallels.com) installed.
I've been tempted by the concept of running virtual computers within my computer, but prices haven't been too realistic (that is, not cheap) in the past.
Parallels puts an end to that complaint.
Parallels Workstation is priced at $49.99 for Windows and for Linux. Parallels Desktop for Mac is $79.99 (the Apple tax?).
It looks like Parallels can handle almost any operating system I might consider, either as the Primary OS or a Guest OS. Their OS list is here. I might have to find my old OS/2 Warp CD's!
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Volume 2, Number 49 — Sunday, May 20, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.
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