Open Office

Open Office is a free, open productivity suite. The download includes a word processor as well as software to create spreadsheets, presentations, and databases. The real boon for math-science sutdents and professionals is the software that can be used to write papers that involve lots of formulas.

Unlike Microsoft Word, Open Office is supremely compatible across different operating systems. It is also very easy to collaborate and share documents on Open Office. According to my father, Xingping Sun, the entire math department at Texas A&M is now using Open Office.

Avast Anti-Virus

Are you still paying for high-quality virus protection software? If so, why?

Avast is the best virus protection I have ever used, and I used to pay like a sucker, too. Avast is free for personal use--the company makes most of its money by selling contracts to protect business networks.

I recently downloaded Avast when a particularly nasty virus destroyed even my anti-virus software, Symantec. I quickly deleted the destroyed software from my laptop, and then Avast did a full system check, finding viruses and adware in the strangest nooks and crannies. My laptop now runs like it did two years ago.

imgfave

imgfave is delicious.com for images. Bookmark the images you like and come back to them later. It's perfect for saving design and fashion inspiration, funny images, and anything else you enjoy. Like delicious, imgfave gives you your own webpage filled with the things you've saved, so that you can share them with friends.

WARNING: imgfave can sometimes (but not always) become a stockpile of softcore porn, depending on what other users decide to "fave." Don't visit imgfave at work or with your grandparents.

imgfave is a more accessible knockoff of ffffound, the latter of which is an elite image-bookmarking website popular among professional designers. Images on ffffound tend to be a great deal more lovely than those on imgfave, but ffffound is invite-only, while anyone can start an account on imgfave.

Here's a link to my imgfave.

Missouri: State Tax-free Weekend

Today is the last day of the annual Back to School MO State Tax-free Weekend.

Pay zero state tax on school supplies, clothes, computers, and computer software and accessories.

There are price limitations, so read the official details here.

Internet Time Monitor

Every summer, I develop the habit of spending way too much time online. This makes going back to school rough.

I've decided to internet detox early this year. I'm starting by simply becoming aware of how much time I spend online. Over the next few days, I'll be trying out some internet time monitors:

Toggl

Tick

yaTimer

If you try these or any other timer, let me know how it goes!

Homeless in The Sims 3

Alice and Kev is the story of a family of two homeless Sims. The blog follows their lives from the day they became homeless, and the story is still going.

What makes Alice and Kev a worthwhile read and not unvarnished digital cruelty is that the author of the blog and player of the game, Robin Burkinshaw, is telling a story, not just performing an experiment. He's created two compelling characters, and he doesn't control every aspect of their lives--in The Sims 3, created characters come with more "free will," so to speak.

Alice and Kev reminds me of one of my favorite plays, Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello. The idea in that play is that once created, characters each posess their own "plot drive," and basically tell the story on their own. Alice and Kev are two characters so interesting that they're just overflowing with plot drive.

Alice, a young girl, is kind-hearted, but clumsy and not very assertive.

Kev, the father of the family, is mean-spirited, inappropriate, and clinically insane. He hates children and has a nasty temper.

Although it may sound over-the-top, it works, and well.

Mind Maps

FreeMind excites me because it illustrates the flow of my thinking. FreeMind is open-source mind-mapping software, and the download is free.

It's going to change how I do everything--plan projects, outline papers, and study for my Game Theory class next semester.

You can open up a mind map to editing by by a team, and there are handy icons to help you prioritize items in your map.

There's even a smiley face icon to show when you're happy and you know it.

F.lux

F.lux is free software that changes the "temperature" of your computer screen according to the time of day. This means that at night, your computer can emit a warm glow instead of headache-inducing blue light.

F.lux makes for less eye-strain and better sleep. At night, it makes your computer screen look like a sunset.