Best alternative to MS Office?

[rjrules1909]

we use exclusively google docs, google sheets for home and even in office. you can download files in various formats in case you want to send anything. its free to use too and they adding lot of features


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rhino]

we use exclusively google docs, google sheets for home and even in office. you can download files in various formats in case you want to send anything. its free to use too and they adding lot of features


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nothing with Google is truly free when YOU are the product... and yes, the company I work for has me use the Google platform a LOT, to my chagrin.

 

[no2gates]

Nothing with Google is truly free when YOU are the product... and yes, the company I work for has me use the Google platform a LOT, to my chagrin.

I hear your pain. My company switched to Google mail for our mail and it does NOT integrate well with Outlook. You have to use their "G-Suite Sync" that, to say it sucks, puts a bad connotation on things that only suck, like Democrats and tornados.
Google Meets is such a CPU hog when using it for video conferencing that we have multiple people with fairly new laptops that aren't able to use it since it's maxing out the CPU.

 

[Rhino]

we use exclusively google docs, google sheets for home and even in office. you can download files in various formats in case you want to send anything. its free to use too and they adding lot of features


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In case you aren't aware, Google wants to be a part of EVERYTHING you do...

 

[Byrd666]

tag

 

[rjrules1909]

In case you aren't aware, Google wants to be a part of EVERYTHING you do...

yup. i am aware of it but every eletronic device we have has tracking now. phones, watches, music systems with alexa or hey google, insurance apps. cars with touchscreen etc, arko or ring or other camera systems we use, internet service providers. there is no way we can avoid that tracking unless we stop using everything which is kinda impossible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sam Colt]

Not impossible. Just inconvenient.

 

[Army 1911]

What bothers me also is the black box in cars. The maker can track location, speed, time, and other data that can be used against you. How long will it be before this info is sent to insurance companies and used to increase your rate?

 

[Tnhawk]

What bothers me also is the black box in cars. The maker can track location, speed, time, and other data that can be used against you. How long will it be before this info is sent to insurance companies and used to increase your rate?

The last few years I was employed, my employer used a device to track our vehicle use.
They told us it was for insurance purposes however the birddogging sobs quickly used as a way to track our every move. Although most of us had no traffic violations from law enforcement, we were followed for the entire day by bored managers, in the name of safety.

 

[rjrules1909]

What bothers me also is the black box in cars. The maker can track location, speed, time, and other data that can be used against you. How long will it be before this info is sent to insurance companies and used to increase your rate?

insurance companies already started something like this. if you call insurance company they will say have special program like driveeasy program. you insurance rate will be low when you download that app and let it allow tracking.
i have geico and their app is driveeasy program


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tnhawk]

USAA offers a discount for allowing their black box to monitor your driving. The savings isn't worth having a babysitter device transmit how and where I drive. It may see an abrupt maneuver but doesn't provide the explanation requiring that action.

 

[toddnjoyce]

USAA offers a discount for allowing their black box to monitor your driving.…

And most other large insurers.

 

[pronstar]

So the Event Data Recorder (EDR, aka Black Box) is built into every new automobile. Its built into the vehicle, taps into the CANBUS and ECU, and records a ton of vehicle data before and after a crash.

Seatbelt on?
Were you pressing a pedal?
Vehicle speed?
RPM?
Wheelspeed data?
Steering wheel angle?
Pretty much every vehicle parameter is recorded.

It’s totally separate from the dealio that insurance companies use, which basically plugs into the OBDII port.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Army 1911]

I don't think it will be long before car companies sell that info along with location to the insurance companies. That way they will know where and when you speed. They just need to marry it up between the black box and the nav system.

 

[rjrules1909]

So the Event Data Recorder (EDR, aka Black Box) is built into every new automobile. Its built into the vehicle, taps into the CANBUS and ECU, and records a ton of vehicle data before and after a crash.

Seatbelt on?
Were you pressing a pedal?
Vehicle speed?
RPM?
Wheelspeed data?
Steering wheel angle?
Pretty much every vehicle parameter is recorded.

It’s totally separate from the dealio that insurance companies use, which basically plugs into the OBDII port.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

yeah i heard about it too but my cars are old so i am safe for now from those. not sure how long tho


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rjrules1909]

I don't think it will be long before car companies sell that info along with location to the insurance companies. That way they will know where and when you speed. They just need to marry it up between the black box and the nav system.

they will. they have financial benefits to do that and corporate only cares about stock value and profits. privacy doesnt mean shit to them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[benenglish]

What bothers me also is the black box in cars. The maker can track location, speed, time, and other data that can be used against you. How long will it be before this info is sent to insurance companies and used to increase your rate?

I remember when the EasyTag system came into being. It was sold as being solely as a convenient way to pay for using a toll road. We were repeatedly assured the information would be kept confidential.

It was less than six months later that I first read of an attorney using a court order during a divorce to get EasyTag data proving patterns of movement consistent with an alleged affair.

 

[benenglish]

So the Event Data Recorder (EDR, aka Black Box) is built into every new automobile. Its built into the vehicle, taps into the CANBUS and ECU, and records a ton of vehicle data before and after a crash.

Seatbelt on?
Were you pressing a pedal?
Vehicle speed?
RPM?
Wheelspeed data?
Steering wheel angle?
Pretty much every vehicle parameter is recorded.

It’s totally separate from the dealio that insurance companies use, which basically plugs into the OBDII port.

What bugs me about that is standard operating procedure (at least for Harris County Constables, as of the last time I was in a wreck) was to never access that data unless there had been death or serious injury during an accident.

I was (barely) involved in a 3-vehicle tie up on Beltway 8 at the toll plaza just west of I-45 on the north side of Houston. Since my car could still drive, the first Constable on the scene ordered me to proceed to the next exit, turn left, turn into the gas station parking lot, and wait. It took a couple of hours but the other wrecked cars were towed to the same spot. All the other people had left the scene in ambulances.

The Constable finally arrived and asked me what happened. I told him. He looked me dead in the eye and said "That story bears absolutely no resemblance to anything I heard from the other drivers and passengers. Here's a pen and paper. Go write down your statement and I'll make it a part of the accident report." It took forever but he left as soon as I gave him a written report.

Months later, both insurance companies of the other drivers deposed me because both parties were in disagreement over just about everything.

I told both sides the exact same thing. "Look at the Event Data Recorder <although I'm sure I called it something else>. I'll bet you dinner at Ruth's Chris that it will clearly show that the silver car had been exceeding 100 mph within 10 seconds prior to the crash. Also, I heard the silver car's engine rev to full acceleration just before the crash, so the EDC will also show the throttle position 1/10 of a second prior to impact as wide open. Besides, just looking at where the red car was hit, left or right rear corner, will tell you which side is lying. In my opinion, the silver car was completely at fault."

After the depositions were over, both sides opened up and told me the exact same things.

• The EDC is never consulted except in the case of a death.
• The on-scene Constable did not record which side of the red car was hit. Both guys agreed with me that if they had that information, the whole process would have been concluded weeks or months prior but since both cars had been junked and were no longer available, there was no way to go back and look. Nobody took any pictures at the scene.
• The accident report had zero mention of my name and my written report was missing. They found me via my license plate number which was recorded in a single sentence saying a third vehicle was basically uninvolved but had minor damage.

What good is an EDC if LEOs don't use it after most accidents?

PS - I hope SOPs for accident investigations have changed in the years since the incident described.

 

[andre3k]

What good is an EDC if LEOs don't use it after most accidents?

PS - I hope SOPs for accident investigations have changed in the years since the incident described.

Usually you need a grand jury subpoena or a warrant to pull data from the recorder. Like you said those were only for fatality crashes or cases were felony charges would be filed.

Pulling the data requires training and the software/cables and knowing how to interpret what the data is telling you. None of that will likely happen with a normal major/minor crash.



Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Kar98]

Since MS office is a subscription service now, what is the best free alternative for windows.

I’m not comfortable just downloading free software off the internet to see what works vs what will kill my computer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s like $100 a year, less if you buy the renewal on eBay, and you can share it with half a dozen people. Cheaper than buying the latest version outright every few years.