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Who still uses Wordperfect?

Dave Farquhar Software July 7, 2017January 23, 2022excel, keyboard shortcuts, Microsoft Office, microsoft word, office 2007, troubleshooting

I had an odd question come up the other day: Who still uses Wordperfect? It’s a fair question. Wordperfect, as you may know, is still very much in production. Corel releases new versions every year or two. It’s the #2 word processor in the market, still. Someone is still using it, then.

Wordperfect is a software classic, especially the old version 5.1 that ran under DOS. For a time, Wordperfect 5.1 was one of the two most famous programs for IBM compatible PCs. The other was Lotus 1-2-3.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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What can I do to improve the security of my digital information?

Dave Farquhar security March 11, 2017August 12, 20181990s, Adobe Reader, apple, computer security, Libre Office, Microsoft Office, office 2007, password strength, passwords, toshiba, USB flash drive, Western Digital

On Monday, March 13 at approximately 10:30 AM CST, I will be appearing on KFUO Radio’s Faith and Family program to discuss home computer security with host Andy Bates. One of the questions he’s planning to ask: “What can I do to improve the security of my digital information?”

This, fortunately, may be the easiest question to answer and the easiest step to implement.

Dave Farquhar

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So I’m not the only one ditching Microsoft Office

Dave Farquhar Software March 21, 2014March 20, 2014excel, keyboard shortcuts, Libre Office, Microsoft Office, office 2007

Rick Broida wrote a fairly harsh piece on Cnet about why he’s ditching Microsoft Office. Our reasons differ, and while I agree with all of his reasons he may not agree with all of mine. That’s OK.

I stuck with Office 2003 because its user interface is familiar and makes sense. By using the program, you learn the keyboard shortcuts from the menu and can graduate from casual user to power user relatively quickly. That went away in Office 2007, so I never moved on. Office 2003 was the best version Microsoft ever made, but it loses security updates next month, so it’s the end of the road.

Fortunately, Libre Office has a traditional user interface and most of the same keyboard shortcuts. If you don’t use mail merge, it’s a capable replacement, and it’s free and actively maintained. It’s not as fast as Office 2003 was, but neither is anything Microsoft has made since.

Now, in corporate environments, with a recent version of Office and Sharepoint you can do some really nifty things, like automatically building Powerpoint presentations from Excel spreadsheets created by different people. You could probably approximate the same thing with other software, but what I saw a Sharepoint-literate colleague build this week with MS Office was very impressive.

But I don’t need that at home, and I don’t want to pay $100 per year for the rest of my life to use a program that I tolerate at best, so I’ll save my money and move to Libre Office.

Dave Farquhar

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Bombshell: Ballmer steps down from Microsoft

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized August 24, 20131980s, 1990s, Bill Gates, Digital Research, IBM, office 2007, Spare Parts, Steve Ballmer, vista, windows 8, Windows Vista

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Steve Ballmer is retiring. It’s time. If anything, I agree with the people who say he would have been better off retiring years ago. But I really didn’t expect it. In spite of the immense pressure to step aside, at least in public he never gave any indication of having any intention of doing so.

To a degree it’s understandable. He’s more than set for life, but he’s 57 years old. He’s only worked two years anyplace else–at Proctor & Gamble–since graduating from college. It would seem he could work 10 more years pretty easily. The company is his life.

And I have to believe that if it weren’t for Ballmer, Microsoft could have just as easily flubbed up the IBM deal for PC DOS 1.0–the deal that put Microsoft on the map–as Digital Research did. Ballmer, after all, was the one who told Bill Gates to buy a suit. Early photographs of Microsoft employees that look like a bunch of hippies and transients that have become popular memes date back to before Ballmer joined the company and brought a bit of his alma mater, Harvard Business School, with him. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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The trouble with bringing your own software

Dave Farquhar security, Software May 3, 2013November 22, 20181990s, adobe creative suite, apple, hp, macintosh, micron, Microsoft Office, Missouri, office 2007, pc magazine, university of missouri, windows 2000, windows 7

PC Magazine is advocating a bring your own laptop, with your own software approach to business. It likens it to mechanics who bring their own tools.

The trouble is that while mechanical tools in a toolbox operate autonomously and don’t interfere with one another, software residing on a computer does. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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R.I.P.: Netbooks

Dave Farquhar Hardware January 1, 2013March 30, 2024acer, asus, garage sale, hp, Microsoft Office, netbooks, office 2007, playstation

The last two netbook vendors standing, Acer and Asus, have both announced they’ve produced their last netbook. So they’re joining the Playstation 2 in the land of the digital dinosaurs, though I suspect more people will miss the 12-year-old game console than the netbook. The Guardian has an analysis, but basically they blame the emergence of tablets, and the increased cost of producing netbooks with Windows.

Dave Farquhar

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How to send banking documents securely over e-mail

Dave Farquhar security October 9, 2012Adobe Acrobat, AES, office 2007, PKZIP

When you’re getting a loan, sometimes you have to send documents like bank statements electronically. If you want the money in those bank accounts to actually stay there, you need to protect those documents before you send them.

There are three relatively easy ways to do it, depending on what software you and the person on the other end have.

Dave Farquhar

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Office 2010, early impressions

Dave Farquhar Software September 3, 2012October 30, 2012excel, Libre Office, office 2007, office 2010, Open Office, windows 7, Windows XP

I’ve mentioned several times that I hadn’t seen Office 2010 yet, so I couldn’t comment on it, and would reserve judgment until I’ve seen it. I’ve been working for companies that were a bit behind the times on that.

I’ve been working with it for a week now. I won’t be buying it for my own use at home.

Dave Farquhar

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Ways to keep your password from being guessed–today

Dave Farquhar security August 23, 2012August 23, 2012AES, Ars Technica, excel, office 2007, password list, Password Safe, passwords, steve gibson, Two-factor authentication

Articles like Ars Technica’s Why passwords have never been weaker — and crackers have never been stronger are getting more and more common these days.

In a positive development, I don’t think the story had been live more than an hour or two before people started asking me questions. That’s good, because that tells me that people care.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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A tool for learning Windows and Office keyboard shortcuts

Dave Farquhar Windows August 19, 2012August 19, 2012keyboard shortcuts, office 2007

Sometimes my coworkers will watch me write, because they like a freak show. I guess they’ve never seen someone who uses the mouse as little as I do. If I know a keyboard shortcut, I use it. It’s faster, I say, and they agree I have a point.

This morning I found a tool called Keyrocket, via the Raymond.cc blog, for learning Windows and Office keyboard shortcuts. Think of it as a helpful, non-annoying, non-evil Office Assistant. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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