Building the Internet Barn

Posted by Dave Klamet July 4, 2008 at 5:16 p.m.

In the early 80's computers were still called "personal" computers to distinguish them from the large computers owned by businesses. Most software, though the term "programs" was more common", were written by people for their own use on their computer. Sometimes people would share them with friends most likely met through a computer club. It was also common to type in programs that were printed in computer magazines. It seems archaic now, but there wasn't a better way to distribute programs at the time.There were very few commercial programs available, only word processors and spreadsheets and not many of those. The idea of paying for something that wasn't physical and tangible seemed strange. Soon, though, the best programs cost money and the early camaraderie of computer hobbyists took a back seat to the desire to be paid for what was now a profession and not a hobby.That camaraderie didn't disappear, though, and when the internet blossomed in the early 90's, one of the its first uses was to allow people to collaborate and create software that was ever more powerful and useful. Not surprisingly, most of the software used to run the internet was developed by these people and was (and is) freely available to anyone.There are a number of names for this free software, but the most common one is "Open Source." The term comes from the fact that the "source code". Source code are the commands that guys like me write. They are converted to "machine code" that the computer executes. If you want to add something new to a program, you need access to the source code so you can add new things to it. Open Source means that the source code you need to do this is available, or "open" to anyone.And, like the barn raisings of yesteryear, many people contribute a small part to make it work. A board here, a shovel of cement there, and soon it all adds to something useful. The more that is added, the more useful it becomes and, unlike a real barn, everyone can use and benefit from it.The software that delivered the web page you're reading now to your computer (called a webserver) is called Apache. It is the most common webserver on the internet. You can go to apache.org, download and install it on you're own computer, if you really want to. Not that you would want to, and it takes a bit of effort to learn how to do so, but, if you wanted to, you could...for free.There are thousands of free programs out there besides Apache. Over the next few weeks, I'll be telling you about some of them. Some that may save you some money, or help you do something more easily, or do the things you already do faster. Some are better than their commercial counterparts, some are not, but you may find them "good enough" especially considering that they are free.The software I'm suggesting this week is called Open Office. If you can justify the expense of purchasing a word processor or spreadsheet like Microsoft Office, you will likely find that Open Office does everything you need and more. Even if you need to share documents with others using Microsoft Office, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.If you already have and use Microsoft Office, and extensively share and edit documents with others, then it's probably not for you. However if you have a computer want to do some writing, or create presentations, I think you'll be surprised, even amazed. It's free, and you can get it for you Windows PC, or your Mac, and Linux. And if you write in Russian, or Norwegian, or any of many other languages...well...that's no problem either.You can get it at http://www.openoffice.org/.There are many more and I'll talk about another one next week.

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phlash (anonymous) says…

I love open office.What more can I say?Well, one thing that open office isn't set up to do is collaborate. (Oops! Am I giving it all away?)I LOVE zoho.com!Office-like applications hosted online AND you can invite others to participate (collaborate) with you.A person can get to their shiznit from anywhere in the world that has an Internet connection. (may not apply in China)How cool is that?!?Peace!/Brother Dave
July 4, 2008 at 7:38 p.m.
phlash (anonymous) says…

If my computer would let me install anything - well, I probably would install anything too!Crud - I owe you a computer re-work that works, don't I?
July 4, 2008 at 7:41 p.m.
femail (Linda Hanney) says…

I was thinking of trying open office on my new laptop, but I still have the trial edition of Word. I now know where I can go if I have trouble with the installation. This is a wonderful idea, Dave. I'll look forward to your posts.
July 4, 2008 at 11:40 p.m.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…

I am also looking forward to further installments. this is a good concept for a cja blog. okay, what's a shiznit...or will it stink if I uncover it?
July 5, 2008 at 12:04 a.m.
notajayhawk (anonymous) says…

Do we need Al Gore's input to build an internet barn?
July 5, 2008 at 12:26 a.m.
liggyon (David Lignell) says…

Hey Dave, I agree with gnome; this is a great idea for a blog. Now how can I increase my wireless netware connection signal? My work laptop is very strong, put our regular pc is often low. Should I reposition? Don't suppose there's any software on the Internet to download? (Can you tell I've been waiting for a post like this?)
July 5, 2008 at 10:10 a.m.
dklamet (Dave Klamet) says…

Dave,I'm assuming you're talking about your home wireless connection??There are a couple of possibilities I could suggest.1. The easiest is to try changing the position of the antennas on your wireless router or access point. The strongest signal should be perpendicular to the antenna, so if you're wirless router is on the second floor, or in the basement, and you use it on the first floor, orienting the antenna to say, 45 degrees might help. However it might make some spots in your house better and other's worse...2. You can buy larger antennas for your wireless router. I am most familiar with Linksys and know they have larger antennas available. There are also add-ons to help with signal strength, but I haven't used any... Google for "Wifi antennas" and you'll find more than you want to know. I think there even some home-made things you can do.3. You can, possibly, change the software in your router. I have a Linksys WRT-54G (actually a couple). Some of the older ones, like I have, allow you to load new.. open source... software. Many other routers can also be updated with Open Source software. This software will do many things, but the important one here is that it will, at least on Linksys routers, allow you to crank of the transmit power. The stock software that comes with it has the power set to about 1/3 of the maximum the router is capable of. That might not solve everything, as your router has to receive what your laptop WiFi is sending out, but it will probably help. One big caveat, though. Installing this software is pretty easy, configuring it a little harder, and if you mess up or have a problem, it can turn your router into an art-techo sculpture. e.g. it will cease to work and not be repairable. If you're not faint of heart, the place to start is dd-wrt.com, although there are several others. But let me say again, if you choose this route, read all the instructions, make absolutely sure your router is one that can be updated, and make sure you have the right software for your router! i have not turned any of mine into bricks/sculptures yet, but I came close once.Note: I put the warning at the end of #3 in all caps, but the comment software changed it to lower case, so beware of doing #3.
July 5, 2008 at 11:53 a.m.
liggyon (David Lignell) says…

Good Golly, Dave! You know everything and more about computers. I'll definitely put some of these to good use. Thanks. (Probably look into the antenna, first, because when I change the position of the CPU slightly, it tends to change the strength.) Appreciate your help.
July 5, 2008 at 2:26 p.m.
pdecell (Paul Decelles) says…

Thanks Dave,I just installed open office on my Vista machine and it works very nicely. By the way, another option for people who need to work with *.doc files and spreadsheets is to use Google documents. Not as good a solution as Openoffice but Google documents has saved my bacon on a couple of occasions.
July 5, 2008 at 8 p.m.