NEW

Balking at the cost of Microsoft Office software?
Give these a try...

Office Productivity Software & Services
(from PC World)

[Comment by Gilles: The first three resources below are free web-based applications, i.e., you can access, edit and share your work files from any computer with Internet access. The last item below, OpenOffice, is a full suite of programs that you download and install on your computer. All OpenOffice programs are Microsoft-compatible - they can create and edit all Microsoft files and save in Microsoft format. ]

Zoho
What makes Zoho the winner is that it doesn’t merely try to copy Microsoft Office functionality. It’s web-based, so you can collaborate with others on your documents, for example. But the functionality of even the base software beats Microsoft’s offering in some areas; for creating HTML and graphics-heavy documents, for instance, it surpasses Word. This is the best and most comprehensive web-based office suite you can find. Included are a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation program, and a database builder – and plenty of other productivity applications are being added all the time.

Google Docs and Spreadsheets
Like Zoho, the web-based Google Docs and Spreadsheets lets you work with others as well as create and edit documents and spreadsheets. Its collaboration features are particularly noteworthy, and it uses Google’s search to make finding any document fast.

Num Sum (create and share spreadsheets for all occasions)
While Num Sum includes all of the features you would expect it to have, it’s also a social-networking site where you can share spreadsheets with like-minded others. It’s a great setup for anyone who’s interested in sharing spreadsheets to track home maintenance, a workout schedule, or a Rugby Sevens pool, for example.

Ajax 13
This web suite has more features than competitors like Zoho, including everything from a word processor to a drawing program, a spreadsheet, a presentation app, and even a digital music player.

OpenOffice.org
Not happy with the idea of a web-based office application? Then you want the downloadable OpenOffice.org, the free competitor to Microsoft Office. A complete suite, it provides a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation program, a database – and, for übergeeks, a “mathematical function calculator” (if you have to ask what it is, you don’t need it).

NEW


Here's what you'll find on this page:

- Some information about my web experience as a surfer and a website author
- Some information about my tools of preference for the type of work I do on my website (pretty simple tools, really, until I bought Macromedia Dreamweaver in the spring of 2001)
- Some links to sites about computers and software that I've picked up over time
- Lower down on the page, a large section of links to Internet and web authoring tools (Click to jump there directly)



My "tech" experience:

I started surfing the net in the fall of 1995 at the office.
By early summer 1996, when I bought my first home PC, I'd accumulated over 1,600 bookmarks on various social research themes and jurisdictions, mostly focusing on social assistance (welfare) in Canada. I started playing around with web authoring tools like Hot Dog and NaviPro (an "old" America Online web authoring program) in the summer and fall of 1996, but it was only in the fall of 1997 that I finally established my presence on the web. I was a dial-up subscriber with Comnet from October 1997 to December 1998 when Rogers cable offered cable Internet in Ottawa, where I live. I've been with Rogers since then. Comnet hosted my site for the first year; then I moved it to XOOM, where I could get more webspace than with Rogers (11megs VS 5 megs). When XOOM started offering unlimited web server space in the summer of 1999, I found that access to my site was slowing down, gradually but noticeably. I moved the site to the Rogers server in September, and Rogers subsequently increased its member server space to 10MB per e-mail account and up to seven e-mail accounts per household. I was generally pleased with access to my pages, especially compared with XOOM. Then there were other times when access to my site on the Rogers server was very slow. Over time, though, I've found Rogers' service to be constantly improving, and I'm pleased with that.

In September 2000, I bit the bullet and registered canadiansocialresearch.net with a domain name service and moved my site to a local web hosting service, CVO.CA.
I made the move ($70 for registering the name for two years and $20/mo. for the web hosting) for a few reasons :
- canadiansocialresearch.net can be picked up more easily by search engines than members.rogers.com/gilseg because it's a top-level domain (some search engines give higher priority to top-level domains); I've noticed a significant increase in traffic to my site since I made the move (averaging 40-50,000+ page views a month in the fall of 2003)...
- a web hosting service offers more support and tools (visitor logs, CGI script, e-mail tools, etc.) than an Internet service provider.
- My new web address is more meaningful - hence easier to remember, I hope
- If I become disenchanted with cvo.ca, I can move my site virtually anywhere I want and visitors won't even know they're seeing my site on a different server - my domain name is my ID wherever I am on the net.
- canadiansocialresearch.net is my way of saying I'm committed to doing this for awhile.
On October 17 (2003), I retired from the federal civil service to work full-time on Canadian Social Research Links.

Patriotism vs Practicality

In the summer of 2004, everything was going along swimmingly when I started noticing a spike in visits to my home page. When I checked the origin of my sudden popularity by analysing my user stats, I discovered that I had a visitor who was hitting the home page of my site every half hour on the hour. From BC Hydro, of all places. I sent the nice folks at BC Hydro an e-mail with screen captures and a long-winded explanation about the unwanted visitor on my site. Well, it turns out that BC Hydro weren't overly concerned about the Trojan Horse or Worm or whatever it was on one of their machines, because this went on for several months. My son Daniel finally convinced me to move my site to a different web hosting service, one that had an "I.P. Deny" feature, i.e., where I could actually block someone with a specific Internet Protocol Address from even accessing my site. I'd originally gone with CVO because they're located in Ottawa, where I live, and I wanted to be a good, patriotic webmaster by buying Canadian, and also to know that the folks who take care of my account are just a short drive from my home.Turns out that CVO.CA is located in Ottawa, but the physical location of my site is somewhere in Florida - something about the company needing an American outlet if they want to do business with Americans. Argh - so much for patriotism.

In the summer of 2004, I opened an account with Total Choice Hosting, and that has proven to be a very good choice indeed --- my "Starter Plan" account costs me $44 (U.S.) per year for 700MB of server space and 20GB of traffic, and Total Choice offers a wide range of "features" and add-ons along with an exceptional member forum. I activated the IP Deny feature and haven't heard from anyone at BC Hydro since then. And what a price! Quite different from my old outfit, CVO.CA, which was charging me $20 (Cd.) per MONTH for 100MB storage and 6GB traffic.

My tools of preference:

For my first year on the web (1996-1997), I was perfectly satisfied with Netscape Navigator Gold (version 3.04) for just about all of my webwork. It was free, and it worked. Problem is - it killed Javascript. When I added some Javascript-based drop-down menus to each page using another program, I quickly realized that I was somehow corrupting the Javascript code by simply opening the file in the Navigator Edit function.  I upgraded to Netscape 4.5 Communicator, and Composer (the Edit function) worked very well with everything, including my drop-down menus. And the price was right : $0.

Early in 2001, I decided it was time to move up in the world. I'm planning on maintaining this site for awhile, so I should use the tools that help me to work more effectively. I consulted with a number of people, then decided to give Dreamweaver 4 a try. It's pricey (~$500 Canadian), but it does help me work more effectively AND it's got tons of features that I haven't even begun to explore yet. DW4 is an excellent site management tool, too - synchronizing the local (hard drive) version of my site with the remote live site is a snap. File management is impressive, as is the search-and-replace feature. Check out this product at the Macromedia site by clicking on the DW4 link above. It does SO much more...

My browser of preference? I started out in '95 with the Netscape browser, and I continued to use it as my default browser until Firefox came out in 2005. I use the latest version of Firefox as my main browser, and I occasionally open Netscape version 7.1 just to make sure my website looks OK in Netscape. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is much more forgiving with HTML coding errors and Javascript quirks, because those errors and quirks are caused by proprietary coding for IE. The bottom line for me is the vulnerability to viruses of the Internet Explorer/Outlook integrated package. I use Microsoft Internet Explorer (v.6) like Netscape, only to ensure that my web pages look OK in Mr. Gates' browser and to open those pages that crash or otherwise mess up the Mozilla engine that powers both Netscape and Firefox. From time to time, I've also used Opera, a browser from Norway.

As for e-mail, I used the Netscape Messenger program (integrated with the Netscape browser) as my only mail from the time I cranked up my first home system wayyyyyy back in '96 until late 2005 when I started using my Rogers/Yahoo mail service as an online e-mail storage system. Internet clients of Rogers are automatically signed up for *Premium* e-mail service from Yahoo which entitles us to 2 GB of free online storage - the same service that anyone can purchase from Yahoo for something ridiculously cheap like $19.95U.S./yr. --- I recommend it!

As for graphics, my site is not cutting-edge stuff. Simple things like buttons, lines, a plethora of icons and a bazillion graphics can be found on the net -- for free. A number of sites even offer custom banners that you can design yourself online (you'll see links to all this stuff below). I use a version of Paint Shop Pro that came packaged with Dreamweaver, but my site isn't graphic-heavy, so I've never tried to learn all of the fancy-shmancy graphics stuff...

Here's what my "physical setup" looks like



General Computer and Software Links

Free Alternatives to Microsoft Office Suite

As a rule, I don't promote computer software products on this website.
However, I know that many small non-governmental organizations operate on shoestring budgets and can't afford the latest versions of word processing, presentation and spreadsheet software. Here are two alternatives that are compatible with all Microsoft products.

OpenOffice 1.1 [65.0MB] W98/2k/XP FREE
"
OpenOffice is a free, open source alternative to MS Office with a Word-compatible word processor, a complete Excel-compatible spreadsheet program, and a PowerPoint-like presentation software and drawing program. It also allows you to save to a PDF file. In addition, it offers enhanced printing capabilities and options for direct connection with external e-mail software as well as form- letter management to send letters to addresses in a database. Also included are Indexing functions, a layout manager, third- party import filters, HTML export capability and a context-sensitive HTML editor. OpenOffice also includes a variety of graphics tools and manipulation options as well as slideshow support and an option to create "portable" presentations. If you are looking for a free Office suite, take a look at this one - you'll be impressed!"
Source of this review: Lockergnome

OpenOffice Reviews - from OpenOffice.org

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602PC Suite 4.0 [for the Windows Operating System] - 21.5MB
"For those looking for an alternative to some of the more mainstream computer office suite packages, the free edition of 602PC Suite 4.0 may be worth a look. The package of programs includes a word processor, spreadsheet, photo editor, and a digital photo organizer. Additionally, this application is compatible with MS Office document types, and supports a number of different languages. The program is a bit large (approximately 21.5 MB), so those persons using a dial-up connection will want to keep this in mind. 602PC Suite 4 is compatible with all systems running Windows 98 and higher."

Reviewed by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2003.

Personal note: my wife tried the spreadsheet package, and she found it to be identical to Microsoft Excel. And it's free.


What's My IP Address? - this little javascript program simply opens a popup window with your IP. Sometimes useful when speaking with techies, or just to impress people with your technobabble. This Javascript doesn't work in Internet Explorer, for some reason... (;-)

File Extensions - File extensions are often used to determine the program that created the file. While there is no guarantee users will not rename files and/or associate odd extensions with particular programs, the following are some fairly standard associations.


If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 
But if it is broke, check these sites for an extensive collection of technical information covering many aspects of computer hardware and software.
Try these before flippin' out...

Bud's Troubleshooter - Everything from soup to nuts about Windows 95, 98 and 2000...
 -  Setup problems, fine-tuning, maintenance, upgrading, etc., etc.
The PC Guide - Hardware question? Here are all the answers. How to install, to fix, to test, etc...

HouseCall - online virus scan-n-fix. I highly recommend HouseCall if you're worried about a virus on your home PC. When I caught the MTS virus back in November 2000 from a newsgroup posting, several people told me that the only workable solution was to reformat my hard drive. As a measure of last resort, I found a web page that gave precise instructions on removing this specific worm and fixing its damage. With nothing to lose, I blindly followed the instructions, which included a visit to HouseCall. Everything worked out well - I didn't have to reformat my hard drive. HouseCall is very impressive...

Related Link : Canadian Social Research Links Virus and Virus Hoax Links Page


Canada Computes! The Canada Computes! series boasts national resources with a regional focus. Each publication contains up-to-date information for the computer savvy. They are must reads for the latest products and deals.

Un Nouveau Guide Internet (UNGI) - Excellent guide (très exhaustif) au réseau Internet et Netscape
Hints on Using Your Web Browser
Internet Discussion Groups from tile.net
Micromedia's Home Page
Microsoft home page
PaintShop Pro
Search.com- c|net Computer Product Finder
Technocracy/HumHome Page
WebBuddy Home
What is Usenet?
Windows Magazine
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)




Internet and web authoring tools


Computer Technology Tips and Tricks in plain language
- from DisAbled Women's Network (DAWN) of Ontario

How Non-Profit Organizations Can Use the Internet and Open Source Software
- from Womenspace


From the University at Albany Libraries' Internet Tutorials
Excellent resource for Internet-based research! 
19 subjects in all - here are just a few:
A Basic Guide to the Internet
Conducting Research on the Internet
Checklist of Internet Research Tips
How to Choose a Search Engine or Directory  - how to pick the right tool for the job
Second Generation Searching on the Web - review of newer search engine services that make use of technology that organizes search results by concept, site, domain, popularity and linking.
Searching the Internet: Recommended Sites and Search Techniques - includes reviews of AltaVista - Argus Clearinghouse - Ask Jeeves - Excite - HotBot - Go.com (Infoseek) - Lycos - MetaCrawler - Yahoo!

 

Searching the Internet - from The Internet Scout Project

Yale Web Style Guide
This online web authoring how-to book is a very good starting point for beginners.


NOTE
See the Canadian Social Research Links Reference page for links to my favourite search engines and metasearch services (the ones that perform searches on many engines at once).


General Webpage Info

Mega Web Tools - includes Backgrounds & Textures - Animated Gifs & Icons - Icons / Bullets / Bars - Hot Java Resources - Free Java Applets - Free Traffic Builders - Free Chat Rooms - Free Guestbooks - Free Counters & Stats - Free - E-Mail - Online Website Utilities - Free Site Submission - Forms / Tables / Imagemaps - Cut & Paste HTML - Tips & Tricks - Free / Low Cost Web Space - Free Custom Graphics - Sound Files 
Create Your Own Web Page
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design 
Beginners Central
Internet & Computer Basics 
Learning About The Internet
Helpful advice 
WebDesignHelper (U.K.)
Everything you need to start you off on your web creation adventure - tutorials, templates, graphics, scripts and much more! There are also resources for the more advanced web designer...
Online Tools (Google)

Where to find Web Editing & Authoring Tools

Nonags Software
Free Software - no "nag screens" 
TUCOWS- The Ultimate Collection of Free Winsock Software -- TUCOWS Canada site
Pass The Shareware (Shareware And Freeware Sites And Downloads)
Shareware.com

 

Free Web Space
These are just some of the sites that will host your website for free, but you must accept their advertisements on your page(s). Check them out before signing up - terms and conditions vary quite a bit. Another consideration is ease of access to your webpage(s). My site was hosted by Xoom, and I was quite pleased with 11MB of server space. Then Xoom started using frames and offering unlimited web server space - overnight, access to my site slowed down to a crawl (15-20 seconds to even connect with a page). I moved to the Rogers@home web server, and things improved improved for awhile. Then, in September 2000, I started paying for commercial hosting of my website when I acquired the domain name canadiansocialresearch.net.
Anyhoo - here are some of the remaining freebies...
Angelfire Communications
Crosswinds
Tripod
Yahoo! Geocities

Free Storage sites on the web

These sites offer varying amounts of online server space for you to upload files either as backup to your system or when you're travelling and don't feel like carrying files around with you. Many of them also offer free web space.

FilesAnywhere - Filetopia - FreeBack - FreeDiskspace - FreeDrive - i-filezone - Anuvio (formerly i-drive) - MyDocsOnline - SwapDrive - XDrive
 

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

HTML Goodies
The Bare Bones Guide to HTML
Web Reference
How-To On Graphics; HTML; Site Design 
Introduction To HTML
- Covers basics, such as documents, formatting, links, images, lists, tables and forms
Source: Clockwatchers
Online Tools (Google)
HTML Tutorials (Google)

Hacking H T M L
A Beginner's Guide to HTML 
Dynamic Drive Dynamic HTML

Webpage Graphics

The Clip Art Connection
Virtual Free Stuff
Webpage Graphics/Tools 
Barry's Clip Art Server

Webpage Background/Link Colours

Colour Specifier For Netscape
Shows All Colours Used On Webpages 
Colour Selector Page
Try colour combinations on this site   
Colour Manipulation Device for web authoring

Online Graphic Adapters

GIFBot (from NetMechanic) - Reduce the size of your graphic files without sacrificing quality - online, instantly and free!
Banner Generator Form
Make Your Own Banner In Seconds   
Transparent GIF's
Make Your GIF Transparent 
*CoolText Image Generator *
- Try it, you'll like it! 
 

Website Maintenance Tools

Site Analysis & Validation
Bobby
Doctor HTML
Dr. Watson
NetMechanic
SiteMechanic
WC3 HTML Validation Service

InfoLink Link Checker

LinkScan

Search Meta Tag and Keyword Analyzer
- free detailed analysis report of keyword density and meta tags for optimized search engine placement

Telling the World about your Webpage


SubmitWolf PRO - Why pay a submission service to promote your web site?
SubitWolf PRO

ADD ME!

@Submit
Auto Submit

Guestbooks
Webpost Free Guestbook
Free Guestbooks

Javascript

JavaScript 

Counter
Extreme Tracking (this is the one I use and highly recommend

HitBox.com 

Miscellaneous
Browser Archive : all versions, all browsers --- most you didn't know existed!
Browser Analyzer
ListBot makes starting your own FREE mailing list quick and easy
ANYBROWSER - Your Source for Browser Compatibility Verification

 


Accessibility

 

Assistive Technology Links
"Led by Industry Canada, this site will assist persons with disabilities and employers to find information on assistive technologies, accommodation issues and accessible information."
- incl. links to tools to help people who buy electronic or information technology or other services for their organization to ensure "universal accessibility" of products and services.
- also includes links to federal and provincial government accessibility websites (+ nine related international sites)

Workplace Accommodation Toolkit - excellent collection of information on how to accommodate the workplace for a person with a disability. Covers a number of areas, including : General Office Accommodations - Hardware - Media and Content - Software - Telecommunication Products - Training - Web sites / Web Applications.

Source: Industry Canada

Related site:
Starling Access Services - "Access a World of Possibility"

Designing Web Sites to be Disability Friendly
September 8, 2000
From the Web Developer's Virtual Library

Bobby - Page Troubleshooter
Analyzes web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities as well as their compatibility with various browsers

PDF to HTML conversion by Online Form
Access.adobe.com
Access.Adobe.Com is a tool that allows blind and visually impaired users to read any document in Adobe PDF format. The tool converts PDF documents into simple HTML or ASCII text which can then be read by a number of common screen reading programs that synthesize the HTML as audible speech. All you have to do is type in (or cut and paste) a URL to a PDF document into an electronic form and select the Get This PDF Document As HTML button. The PDF document will be converted on-the-fly to HTML, and will be returned to you immediately in your browser application. Does not convert graphics, but does a quick job with text... 
(e.g. 50-page PDF document converted to HTML online in 15 seconds)

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Web design tip:
If you want to point to a specific page in a PDF file on a website, try this:
(Example)
http://socialunion.gc.ca/ecd/2003/RH64-20-2003-AE.pdf#page=56
i.e., add "#page=XX" after the .pdf extension (without the quote marks, substituting the page you want for XX)
NOTE: this does *not* require any anchors in the PDF file - it's a linking trick that works in your browser...
Thanks, Peter!
http://www.interpresence.ca/

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Free Word 2003 Viewer (for Windows)
- if you wish to view a Word file without actually having the software...
- you can't edit the text, but at least you can read it

See the Canadian Social Research Links Reference page for links to surfing tools (search engines, etc.)



Back to Canadian Social Research Links

Google
Search the Web Search Canadian Social Research Links Only
TIP:
How to Search for a Word or Expression on a Single Web Page 

Open any web page in your browser, then hold down the Control ("Ctrl") key on your keyboard and type the letter F to open a "Find" window. Type or paste in a key word or expression and hit Enter - your browser will go directly to the first occurrence of that word (or those exact words, as the case may be). To continue searching using the same keyword(s) throughout the rest of the page, keep clicking on the FIND NEXT button.
Try it. It's a great time-saver!
 

E-MAIL

Site created and maintained by :
Création et mise à jour : 

Gilles Séguin