I do a fair bit of programming in Access 2007, after having started in Access 97 and moved on to 2000. The 2007 versions of Office programs had many significant changes, including the Ribbon, but one change that slipped under most people’s radar was the removal of user-level security. Access 2007 files no longer used… Continue reading Controlling form access in Access 2007
Category: Tech
Another tech fix: Dealing with AOL
I was lucky enough to have to deal with a somewhat vexing problem this week that once again, in lieu of a computer utility, here’s a story about battling the ISP that every loves to hate, AOL…
Computer stupidity: NVidia drivers and the BSOD
Instead of finding a utility today, this is about a recent computer stupidity I had to deal with. Warning: this gets into computer geekery, so if you aren’t interested then you should pass on this one.
Computer Utility: WinRAR and 7-Zip
It’s harder and harder to come up with these good computer utilities, but here’s one I use just about every day: WinRAR. It’s a file compression/decompression utility that supports many file formats, with a nice GUI. However, it’s main use for me is its command-line options: it has a very powerful set of options, and… Continue reading Computer Utility: WinRAR and 7-Zip
Computer Utility: Knoppix
It’s hard to call an entire OS a “utility”, but Knoppix, a distro of Linux on a live CD, has come to my rescue many, many times. By far, the most common situation I find myself in where I am using Knoppix is when I’m faced with a Windows box that gives me a bluescreen… Continue reading Computer Utility: Knoppix
Computer Utility: Ultimate Boot CD
If you don’t have the Ultimate Boot CD in your CD collection, you should. It lives up to its name: its got pretty much everything you need to do maintenance on a computer: hard disk diagnostics, disk wiping tools, partitioning, memory and processor tests…it even has DOS boot disks in case you want to pull… Continue reading Computer Utility: Ultimate Boot CD
Computer Utility: PDF Split and Merge
I really don’t like working with PDF files. They have silly DRM that interferes with your ability to copy and paste, they crash browser, they can be huge if incorrectly generated, they are generally not accessible to people who need to use special software like screen readers, sometimes you can’t search them…in short, they usually… Continue reading Computer Utility: PDF Split and Merge
Computer Utility: WinSCP
Every once in a while, you need a good FTP client. For Windows, I use WinSCP. It’s pretty simple to use, it allows you to save login information, and it has a good bunch of features. My only quibble with it is that it defaults to SFTP as the protocol, but as long as you… Continue reading Computer Utility: WinSCP
Computer Utility: CutePDF Writer
I hate PDF files for many reasons, but there are times when creating a PDF is useful, such as when you want to have an electronic copy of a document instead of printing out a paper copy. Many programs these days now come with integrated PDF converters, such as Open Office and even Microsoft Office,… Continue reading Computer Utility: CutePDF Writer
Computer utility: Notepad++
There’s always a need for a good, simple text editor when you need to edit text files or make up a simple document (a blog post, perhaps?). Windows comes with Notepad, but that’s about as bare-bones as you can get. A much more powerful, yet still free, alternative is Notepad++. It’s especially useful for programmers,… Continue reading Computer utility: Notepad++