pomjim

I concur, use Gimp, very good prog, and for free, it's a bargain!

I have tried all (I think) office suites, and, although I like using some of them, I have to say that M/S Office is way ahead in features. The main thing about it is that it has just so much, in fact, most people have no idea what a powerful suite it is, especially Word. In fact, M/S Office is, in my opinion, the best thing they have done.

Well, if as you say, doomsday is near and Allah is pissed off, is there any point in trying to help? In theory, would not that be going against the wish of the one true God?

It is, which is why I said a GOOD freeware site.

Well, most good freeware sites will only include software that is adfree etc, so if you use a site to look for freeware you should be ok.

It could be that your copy is a pirated version, which is why the activation key will not work.(this happened to me, but I was aware of it 'cos I scored my copy in Asia)

No matter how much they compress, if they have a good few thousand users, all with even 0.25 full mailboxes, the amount of space needed is huge.The wqhole thing sounds like a business stunt to me.

The drive you refer to is called Gmail Drive. It's software from an outside source, NOT from Gmail themsleves. You merely download it, and it then installs, and you can use Gmail as a spare online drive, very useful. The only drawbck I have found is that when Gmail alter anything serioulsy, then GMail drive stops working (as in cannot connect). However, the guy who designed it is pretty quick to get it working again, and usually has another model ready in a few days.

NO, it doesn't exist.However, it's a pity, 'cos it would be nice to find such a creature in this day and age.

I've tried F/F and prefer Explorer.I found that both of them have security issues, so little difference there.It just comes down to which "feels" better I guess.Personally 'tho I prefer Opera to both of them, and now it's free, suggest you all give it a try.

Yes, at the moment Google are a damn good company, with quality products at a good price (generally free, and you can't get a better price than that).It will be interesting to see if they stay this way, or slowly but surely change into just another momey making enterprise which starts to overlook the customers needs and wants.Time will tell I guess.

akijikan,I have actually emailed the guy who wrote GMail Drive asking hi if it's possible he can do the same thing for 30gigs. com. As yet I have heard nothing form him, but I have my fingers firmly crossed!!

gazkin, I assume the programme you refer to is GMail drive? When GMail change anything to do with their login or whatever, then GMail frive gets "logged out". The guy who wrote the programme is on the ball about it, and usually upgrades the programme fairly quickly. All you need to do is to go the the website and download the updated version. URL: GMAIL DRIVE

Would be ideal if there was something for it like GMail drive, then it could be useful.Otherwise, it would be a waste of time (and space) for most people I think.

IWroteCode - Then why do you use windows? Seems a little odd to me. If I hated all things Micrsoft I'd simply use another o/s.

derouge, I fully agree. For the vast majority of people, the large amount of space Gmail gives is not needed, (hell, for most of us we'll not need that much for mail), and they don't want to store files anywhere either, which I would suggest is the main reason most here would use Gmail.

I made the origianl post asking the question, is windows as bad as it's made out to be.Why has it come to the usual my o/s is bettter than Windows? I never suggested Windows was the best, and I wonder why, whenever a post is made about Windows being.........well, ok, people who use another o/s start on?The answer I think is contained in many of the above posts. It is that many users of o/s like linux feel "superior" to windows users becasue linux is sopposedly a better o/s, and it's free (or some versionsa are).Now, that may be true (as a user of both, I don't think any linux is that much better than windows) but so what? You have to realise that most people who use them are not particularly "into" them as machines, but merely as something to play games on and send email etc.As long as it works and is easy to use, that's all they care about.So how about we get back to the origina question, which was is Windows as unstable as made out?My answer is no, and we are talking here about XP, not 95!!! l

Yes, I know what you mean, I have trouble sometimes because at home I use Open Office, but at work I have to use M/S, and occasionally they don't gell too well.However, for small business and home use, I think paying a small fortune for M/S Office is silly when you can get either Star for a small amount or Open for free.

Phew, well that was quite a rant! Sorry, but I disagree with your post regarding the fact that Windows makes people rely on it as an o/s instead of learning more about how they work etc.Because that is (to me and most people in the world who use computers) the whole point about Windows! I DON’T want to know how the thing works, I just want it to work. If we all went with your way of thinking we would be typing code all day just to send an email. Simplicity in a computer o/d is the key to usage. The majority of people use their computers for email, instant messaging, game playing and camera related things. For none of these do you want anything but the thing to be easy to us and effective. Remember that it was Windows 95 which led to widespread computer use. And why? Because it made it easy to use, as simple as that.

Here in Australia one of the big banks is looking very closely at fingerprint technology for it's ATMs. I think that it could work, mainly because the only fingerprints it would need on it's data base would be it's own customers, and storing a couple opf million prints shouldn't be that difficult. (at least I wouldn't have thought so)What with FP technology, biometric passports and suchlike, in a few years we'll all be embedded with a bar code at birth and that will be that, instant ID!!!

I have to say that the lack of social skills you mention is something that tends to worry me about a lot of the kids today. From what I can see and hear around me, it appears that for a lot of them who spend a great deal of time at the computer, their “friends” are mostly online ones, as in people they have never actually met. In itself of course there’s nothing wrong with that, basically it could be seen as an electronic “pen-pal” type thing.But if it means that they have few real life people to relate to, then that is a problem. Conversation skills will drop, which in turn would lead to even less exposure to real people, which in turn……… etc etc, a spiral or domino affect.

WeaponX, yes, you're right there, I forgot to mention that.Mind you, it depends on the file type doesn't it? JPGs can be restored no matter how long they've been deleted (well, they appear to be all right after a month).

Actually, one of the manin reasons I've found with the problems with installed software is that so many people fail to update their drivers. What I do is devote one day a month to giving my machine a good clean up and refresh. This includes disc scanning and checking for new drivers, defragging etc etc. I generally clean out the inside as well, (yeah, I know, bad English usage there!) blowing out all the dust & **** that gets inside the case.

Sun have announced the release of Star Office #8. ALthough not freeware, it is a damn sight cheaper ($60 -$100 AUS) than Microsft, and a bit better than it's freeware competitor Open Office I have to admit.Well, #7 was, I haven't actually managed to check out #8 yet, but when I do so I will give you a report if you like.

I have been using Windows since about 1993, and have spent a lot of that time puzzling over the “instability” and “dangers” of the O/S.I say puzzling because personally, I have had few problems with any Windows O/S I’ve installed, and have never understood what all the fuss is about regarding these famed “crashes” etc.I have had the dreaded “blue screen” only 3 times in 12 years! I have found that virtually every problem I’ve had has NOT been anything to do with Windows itself, but either a software programme I’ve installed, or my own stupidity, playing around in the registry or something similar.As for safety issues, a firewall and a decent anti-virus programme have kept me virus free over that time, except for one incident, which seems pretty good to me.So, my question: have I just been very, very lucky, or is the Windows instability and danger problem vastly exaggerated?