Switch to OpenOffice

Would it be possible to switch over to OpenOffice from MS Office? I can use OpenOffice, but I can't force my fan-of-MS Office friend to do so, can I? One roadblock in adopting OpenOffice is the compatibility with MS Office- How does an OpenOffice document you created and e-mailed your friends display when they open it on MS Word?

The idea is to create and edit your documents on OpenOffice. When you are done with the edits and about to email it to your friends, save it in MS Word format and open it with Word Viewer (which is a free download from Microsoft). This is how your friends will see your document on their $200 copy of MS Office. If you are a "linux-only" user, you can try installing Word Viewer on Wine .

This reminds me of the "sign-off" technique used in the semicondcutor industry to ensure performance with an accurate and expensive (and hence limited license copies) EDA tool before the tape-out.

Tagging software anyone?

I'm looking for a simple and useful software. I need to archive lots of documents (PDFs mostly) under multiple categories or 'Tags'. For instance, a document on Indian history should be placed both in "History" and "India". Users of Gmail would understand what I mean. Normal folders won't work because one needs to store multiple copies of the same file under each folder. I could think of one simple way out: Store the actual files in a master folder, and place the appropriate soft links in each category folder. This way, one would get a nice file view (as though the files are actually placed in that folder), while each file is stored only once. But how will I search for files common to both tags? I can always write a script to do all this, but why bother if someone has done it before? I actually found couple of applications that do exactly what I want, but they are all paid software or beta versions (with a disclaimer on stability!!).

Vote from home

'Work from home' seems to be the latest buzz word in corporate circles. People who spend most of their working hours in front of a computer are given the option to work from home. I was thinking if 'Vote from home' is possible. The elections are nearing and we read reports of voter list being inconsistent or incomplete. Why do I need to register in a voter list to vote? If I can prove that I'm a citizen of this country and I've not already voted in the same election, I should be allowed to cast my vote. And why should I travel only to the polling booth which carries my name in its voter list? For instance, If I've relocated to Surat from Kolkata just before the elections, do they expect me to chase the babus and get my name included in the Surat voter list? Or travel to back to Kolkata to cast my vote? And blame the educated middle class for not voting in large numbers. Are technologies like smart voter card or online voting far fetched for a country which already uses Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)? This will ensure people can vote from their place of comfort.

Knowledge for free!!

I was wondering if useful things come for free. Free as in without any price. For instance, nature gives us good things for free-clean air, pure water to drink, fruits, vegetables, land etc. Our society has ensured that all these things- save the air we breathe- come attached with a price tag.

Though not entirely free, the internet has become very affordable . My bet is that one day there would be enough sponsors displaying ads to make internet browsing free, just like listening to radio. And there are lot of services that come free on the internet. The e-mail services, chat, blogs, social networking sites etc. Of course the companies that own these make money by displaying ads, but the end user is not charged a fee.

In developing countries like India, finding qualified instructors, particularly in the higher education sector has been a challenge. Internet has the potential to rival traditional techniques of knowledge dissemination like attending schools,reading up textbooks etc. Schools of excellence which can afford high quality instructors and distinguished faculty can webcast their lectures for free, while generating revenue by displaying ads to the target audience. For instance, a webcast lecture on archaeology can carry ads from History channel. A lecture on VLSI design can carry ads by semiconductor companies. This would lead to seamless knowledge sharing at an affordable price .