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June 13, 2004

Random thought:

It's not Word and it's not perfect

It's not WordPerfect, either, but if you need an adequate word processor that's also free, maybe you should take a look at Abi Word. It's distributed free under terms of the GNU Public License. If you're looking for a full-featured word processor such as Word or WordPerfect, this isn't it. But it might be enough and the price is certainly right.

Abi Word is an open-source Linux application that has been ported to Windows. It has its own file format, but it also reads and write Word files (including templates), RTF files, and text files. It has Word-like style-based formatting, but two flaws are immediately apparent and are certainly indicative of others. (Click the image for a larger view.)

First, the help file doesn't work. The installation routine copies the help file to the computer. It's an HTML file instead of a standard Windows help file, so the help system will open your default browser. I prefer standard help files to browser-based help, but the industry is moving toward the browser-based system. I'll accept browser-based help if it works and Abi Word's help file does not work.

The problem is that the link to the help file doesn't "escape" space characters. The help file was installed in "C:\Program Files\AbiSuite2\AbiWord\help\en-US". Note the space in "Program Files". When a user presses F1, the browser opens and says "File C:\Program cannot be found." That's because the browser (Mozilla in this case) sees the space as a terminator.

The workaround is as easy as it is obvious. Create a bookmark in the browser and, when the page fails to open, just click the bookmark. The point is that I shouldn't have to do something like this. If the people who wrote Abi Word missed something this obvious, when else have they missed?

Second, the program claims to use "smart quotes". To me, this means "typographic" or "curly" quotes instead of inch marks and foot marks. I can't get them to work, though. I've tried several typefaces and I've tried turning the feature off and back on. Nothing works. I get inch marks and foot marks. Ugly.

The only way I can get true typographic quotes is to enter them manually (Alt-0147 for the open double quotes and Alt-0148 for the close double quotes, for example). This is a pain in the asterisk. Oh -- there is one other way I can get typographic quotes: I can type text in Word, copy it, and then paste it into Abi Word.

Another problem I've seen appeared to involve spacing between paragraphs. The first few paragraphs of a document have single spaces between paragraphs, but then -- for no apparent reason -- the spacing expands to add an extra half-line between paragraphs. As it turns out, every paragraph had the extra spacing, but a problem with the way Abi Word displays the document kept the extra space from being visible until I resized the document window.

Abi Word reminds me of early versions of Microsoft Word. In terms of features, it's about where Microsoft was a decade ago. It's a word processor for someone who has an extremely limited budget, who doesn't need a lot of features, and who is willing to put up with some annoyances.

Technology corner rating for ABI WORD
	TWO CATS: If you don't have the budget for Microsoft Word, take a look at Corel's WordPerfect. If even that is too rich for your wallet, consider Sun's Star Office or the Open Office project's free version. Abi Word may eventually be ready to join the ranks of the world's word processors, but for now it's just rank.
How the Technology Corner rating system works.

If you must try it out, see the Abi Word website.

Microsoft and Apple patch holes

Owners of computers that run either Microsoft or Apple operating systems should head off to the companies' respective websites to obtain the latest security patches.

Microsoft

Microsoft released two security updates this week. One fixes a security fault in DirectPlay, the DirectX function that supports multi-player on-line games. The flaw could have allowed an attacker to crash the game. All operating systems from Windows 98 and later are affected.

The more significant fault affects the Crystal Reports Web Viewer, which is not a Microsoft product. The viewer allows users to view and modify documents created with Crystal Reports, an application by Business Objects. Microsoft includes it with Visual Studio Net 2003, some versions of Outlook 2003, and Microsoft Business Solutions CRM 1.2. Exploiting the flaw could give an attacker access to data on the computer or allow the attacker to run a denial-of-service attack.

Microsoft rates both risks as "moderate". These are Microsoft's 16th and 16th security updates for 2004.

The patches are at windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

Apple

Apple's security update released this week increases security by alerting the user when an application is opened for the first time via document mappings or an Internet address. All users of OS X, 10.2 and higher, should obtain and install the patch.

According to Apple, LaunchServices, a system component that discovers and opens applications, has been modified to open only applications that have already been explicitly run on the system. Attempts to run a new application will result in a user alert.

Also, an application that attempts to automatically mount a remote disk image will be foiled by changes made to the operating system.

The operation of the Safari browser has been modified so that the "Show in Finder" button will reveal files in a Finder window and will no longer attempt to open them. This modification will be installed only on systems running OS X 10.3.

Users of Mac OS X v10.3.4 (Panther) and Mac OS X Server v10.3.4 need SecUpd2004-06-07Pan.dmg from www.apple.com/support/downloads/. Users of For Mac OS X v10.2.8 (Jaguar) and Mac OS X Server v10.2.8 need SecUpd2004-06-07Jag.dmg, which is available at the same location. For more information, see www.apple.com/support/security/security_updates.html.

This worm is no half-wit

The Witty worm affected about 12 thousand machines world wide, all of them in businesses, but security experts are warning that -- despite the low impact -- Witty and its progeny will be back.

While 12 thousand machines seems like a small number, what's important to understand that it represents approximately 100% of the installed base Witty targeted. It infected only computers that were running BlackICE/RealSecure products. But it got just about all of them in 45 minutes. Worldwide.

If you're a system administrator and this doesn't make you just a little bit nervous, maybe you should consider another line of work.

What has security experts more than a little worried was the speed with which the worm was written and the quality of the work. It was a short program -- less than 1K -- and there were no errors. Most "script-kiddies" patch together pieces of code they find on the Internet and release them, which is why most worms are dismal failures. Unless the person who wrote Witty was uncommonly lucky or unusually smart, the worm had been tested before it was released.

If you're a system administrator and the thought of worm and virus writers setting up even minimal QA doesn't make you shiver, please accept the next fry-guy job offer from McDonald's.

It's impossible to know what the writer was thinking. What his intent was. His target was small and well defined. The worm effectively destroyed every computer it landed on by erasing random chunks of data. Imagine the result if the writer had targeted a Windows vulnerability that affected millions of machines worldwide.

You may not have to imagine it for long. Witty's writer is still out there and presumably working on something to bring a little entertainment to your life.

Nerdly News

Steve Jobs has a cloudy crystal ball

Mac Daily News writer Steve Jack is taking Apple to task for missing a forecast: "On June 23, 2003, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the Power Mac G5 line saying, 'The 64-bit revolution has begun and the personal computer will never be the same again. The new Power Mac G5 combines the world’s first 64-bit desktop processor, the industry’s first 1 GHz front-side bus, and up to 8GB of memory to beat the fastest Pentium 4 and dual Xeon-based systems in industry-standard benchmarks and real-world professional applications.'

" Jobs also said the systems will soon get faster. 'Within 12 months, we will be at 3GHz,' Jobs said. 'Believe me, this architecture has legs.'"

Where are we? Let's do the numbers on Apple's top-of-the-line Mac:

To be fair to Apple and Steve Jobs, the company has announced plans to ship a 2.5 GHz dual processor computer soon (maybe in July), but that's not 3 GHz and, except for a lower price and a faster Super Drive, the top-of-the-line Mac today is exactly what the top-of-the-line Mac was a year ago.

Burning the competition,
Sony says a 12X DVD+R burner will ship in July

"Now that DVD burning is a mainstream technology, users are seeking faster speeds to reduce the time it takes to burn their home movies, digital scrapbooks, and music DVDs." That's how Sony marketing manager Robert DeMoulin announced the company's intent to start shipping 12X DVD burners.

How much? Remember when DVD burners added $1000 to the cost of a computer? The internal drive (model DRU-540A) will be priced at about $180. Sony said that the new drive will be able to burn at 12X speeds on 8X media. It also supports 8X DVD-R and 4X DVD+/-RW burning. If you're burning a CD, it burns through CD-Rs at 40X and CD-RWs at 12X.

Should one be more impressed by the speed or the price?

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