Synergy

I would like to introduce you to, Synergy. This incredible cross-platform application makes it EASY to use a single keyboard / mouse combination to control multiple computers. It even syncs the system clipboards, screensavers, etc. Today, more and more of us use more than one computer at a time. There have been hardware solutions to this challenge for years. Synergy is a software solution, eliminating the need for clunky switches and other hardware-hacks.

Right now I have two computers sitting on my desk at work. My "primary" machine uses Ubuntu. My secondary system is a Windows XP machine with SQL Server 2005. Ever since my neck-pain / headaches returned a couple of months ago, I have tried to improve the rather dismal ergonomics of my workstation. Running two laptops on a desk is hardly "ergonomic" but it does have it's uses. I have considered buying an external keyboard/mouse combo for work, but I didn't feel like playing the plug-it-in game. Synergy eliminates this dilemma. With this and a few other tweaks, it should be possible to really create something nifty.

I am required to use Microsoft Access at work. I don't like it, but that's how life is. Unfortunately, OpenOffice.org does not provide file compatibility with Access .mdb files. This has been a real problem in my efforts to use Ubuntu as my primary desktop operating system at work (quietly).

When I'm in the office, it's not a problem. I have another computer with Access on it that works just find. But, when I'm on the road, it's not fun to carry two computers around, just to make sure I can open an Access file. To solve this problem, I started Googling. Most of the stuff on the Internet makes it clear that you can not use Access under Wine emulation. Fortunately for me, these resources are wrong. It can be done. In fact, I posted a long How-To on the Ubuntu Forums this morning. Here's a link.

Linux @ Work

Back in August of 2008 (has it really been that long) I made an executive decision. I quietly took an old laptop at work and installed Ubuntu on it. Since then, I have used this old laptopn (Intel Centrino, 1GB RAM) as my primary system. It's not the fastest computer in the world and the "ancient" ATI card has caused me considerable grief, but I have succeeded.

Earlier in 2008, I tried to convert to Ubuntu at work and failed. I reinstalled Windows and took a few months to learn what I could to address the shortcomings of Linux and my understanding of it.

In the intervening months, I became the Network Administrator in the office. Among other duties, I was asked to maintain the office's supply of computers, including several old laptops. In August, I installed Ubuntu on one of these laptops. It's an old reliable Dell and with a quick memory upgrade, it was once again ready to be a road warrior.

Although I have successfully used Linux for my primary system, I have only been able to do so because I have a second system with Windows on it. I have used this "secondary" system for working on complex Word files and Access databases. I also installed SQL Server on it for projects that would have been too much effort to do in Access. Although I don't like their products, I do have to be able to work with them.

This set up worked acceptably well in the office, but was a real PITA when I was on the road. Recently I took a copy of Office 2003 and installed Word and Excel via Wine. I was impressed. Recently I have been working on getting Access to work as well. I Googled and I Googled but was unable to find any directions to installing Access on Linux.

My solution? Start experimenting. Although it's not the perfect solution, yet, I have succeeded. It is possible and I think it could work even better with more effort and attention. I'll write more later today.

The Road Warrior Cometh

Next month, I become the ultimate Road Warrior! Mad Max can't touch this insanity. I leave on September 8th for beautiful Oklahoma, a state I have not spent much time in. I will not return until September 26th.

This means I will spend two weekends in Oklahoma. And here's the really crazy part - I'm OK with all of this. Oklahoma is not a particularly large state and it just happens to have several nifty looking climbing areas. I'm going to lug the gear down there with me and spend the weekends climbing and camping in the Wichita Mountain Wilderness Preserve. I don't have a lot of granite experience and this looks like my opportunity to get some!

Now I just need to get some partners. If you happen to know any climbers in the Lawton Oklahoma region, give them my name and number please!

Recycling

I convinced the powers that be here at work that we really should be recycling. After they researched my proposal they discovered that it would cost the company $0 to recycle paper. I work for a consulting firm and we go through paper like Sherman went through Atlanta.

Years ago I thought being dedicated to the environment meant I had to go to protests and get arrested occasionally. I'm not sure I accomplished much but it was a good time. Today I actually accomplished something very real and very tangible (you'd have to see the piles of paper around here to believe it) and I didn't even piss anyone off.

Be the change.

Biking To Work

Yesterday I took the plunge and bought a road bike. I guess that means I'm a "roadie" now. I took my new toy out for a spin yesterday and loved every minute of it (except the long grueling hill at the end, but I was expecting it). Now that I own a road bike, it's time to put it to use. This week or next week I will commute to work for the first time (ever) without a car. By the end of the summer, I intend to be riding roughly 3 times per week. But I have to start off slow or risk hurting myself. So, this week I _may_ make the commute once, or I may just ride some more and commute next week. We'll see how sore I am tomorrow from Sunday's ride.

--andy

Didn't Work Out

Well, it happens. I wound up deleting Kubuntu from my work machine and restoring XP to the entire hard-drive. My boss is kinda wondering why I was unproductive for a couple of days :-).

Why you ask?

Simple. More and more people are sending me .docx and .xlsx files which are files made by Office 2007. I can't open them under Linux. I can't keep asking people to convert them to .doc and .xls forever. With Office 2003, I was able to install a simple update from MS that will let me open and edit these newer files.

I have also developed a disturbingly long list of problems OOo has when saving .doc files. For example, if you highlight text in OOo, Word users will struggle to un-highlight the text because it's not highlighted. OOo uses a different Word function / featurethat NOBODY ever actually uses besides OOo.

So, I am back on Windows but at least I'm using a large number of cross-platform open-source tools. OOo IS installed and I use it when / where I can. I have Songbird installed as my media player. I'm using R for statistical analysis. And there are a few useful Windows-Only Apps that I'm using like Tinn-R. I may have to try and install Tinn-R in Wine to see how it works.

The upshot? I'm stuck with Windows until OOo, or some other Linux Office Suite, offers compelling, stable, accurate and complete Office Open XML read/write.