What else ?...

Today (thanks to lifehacker web site) I discovered a curious list :

61 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For

I have to admit I already used most of the top ten ones, for private or professional use... Most of daily use of IT tasks are covered here. So for a company, specially on these hard times, the question is : what else ? Why to pay more !

I suggest here some questions IT Manager should ask before switching to free app :

Is there any return on investment ? 

are thezy reliable ? 

what about security ?

what about the long term developpments ?  

is there a support available ?
does this soft needs long term training ?

We were used to ask these when buying software. We should not forget them wimply because it's free.

Last but not least, never forget to test a free app (on key platform with key users)before company launch !

 Question : are you using professionaly one of these ? why and how ?

PS : I trend to work more and more on web application or services , but this is another question

Of Torrent risky downloads...

I recently discovered that some people I know, some Geek as they call themselves, are using Torrent downloads to get free MS Windows 7 and free MS Office 10 !

Two of them already got some major infections ! A third one had to completely reinstall his computer...

I was quite sure that Microsoft did not give any new product for free... Specially if the product is not stable ! RC programs and test phases are important project process...

This has been confirmed on the new blog of the new MS Office 10 team blog !

I never use torrent to download fake software and other 'free' tools, do you ?

Of surprise when teaching IT to the young kids in the 21st century

I do love « IT » even in my personal life. So far that I did accept to teach my oldest boy (10 years old) class on a Saturday.

I was ready for a 386 computer for twelve kids , a crappy MS Dos and children only ready to play with it…as we dealy hear that public schools are so poor. I was so wrong.

They had a Dell Computer for two kids and all of them networked to a laser printer ! So 12 computers whith flat panel screen running the very last MS Windows XP.

Then I discovered that children had to follow a very strict program : being able to correct a poem , colorize it , and then print it. Teacher was only there for spelling correction ! They were working with the very last Open Office writer !

I was thinking of the billions that companies’re still paying for MS Word to write simple letters…

Then I saw most of the kids jumping, once poem printed -without any help- on the fantastic Google Earth tool and sharing all together they summer vacation localization… still without any help ;-)

Here are the future generations : how’ll they fit in companies where internet access is prohibited and MS Word is still a standard tool for daily work ?

PS last night I had to help a father with a 12 years old girl blogging ! That achieved me !!...