Bill Sux

Hello John,

Well, start with MS-Works database then which comes pre-installed on many PCs. Often people don't know they have received a database with that. It's bascially the same thing but limited in number of entried IIRC. Probably a huge limit.

I bought a book that explains it, cost me $20 at a bookstore. "Works Companion" by Cobb. I don't know if still in print but there should be plenty of others. After that it was all a breeze and I set up databases for everything that needed one. All my biz book keeping runs that way, then the parts database, billing records and so on.

A database has the advantage that you can sort, select and organize any way you want. Sales tax reporting and stuff like that reduces itself to entering the month for which you want to do it and then clicking on the desired report. That's it. It's the same when you want to figure your tax pre-payments. Just run that a couple weeks before due date and you'll know (if you were diligent with entries). If I want to know what kind of Schmitt trigger chips are on hand in the lab it's the same process. No more need to rummage through the parts bins.

Regards, Joerg

I read in sci.electronics.design that Joerg wrote (in ) about 'Larkins website sucks[was Re: Bill Sux]', on Sat, 20 Aug 2005:

Thanks, I will investigate. My bad experience with Access was with a not very large but badly-organized database from someone else. I found that the easiest thing to do was to lose the original data! Luckily, I already expected trouble, and had a back-up file.

Hello John,

Be careful with other people's databases unless they come from a reputable CPA or a source like that. A telltale sign of trouble can be, for example, if the sums between two reports are off by one or a couple pennies. That usually indicates that rounding hasn't been propagated correctly.

The nice thing about Access or Works Database is that once you created one database you can use that over and over again, and develop other databases from it.

Regards, Joerg

"Joerg" schreef in bericht news:Nc6Oe.53$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...

I was under the impression that MS is about to stop with Acces. An alternative is mysql and php, web server stuff etc.

I read in sci.electronics.design that Joerg wrote (in ) about 'Larkins website sucks[was Re: Bill Sux]', on Sun, 21 Aug 2005:

I disregarded all of the financial data in the database, because it was an incomprehensible mess. We went back to hard copy invoices and reconstructed the accounts part of the data in Excel, which our accountant is happy with.

That applies to a lot of 'soft-copy' stuff, SPICE files, graphics, even technical articles, etc. In fact, it may be the biggest advantage of computer processing, for stuff that isn't 'real time'.

Somewhere under either the "Edit/Preferences" or "Tools/Configure" or something like that - you might have to poke around in your menus for a while - there's an "Office Assistant" checkbox or button or something, where you can turn it off.

Cheers! Rich

Hello John,

My CPA prefers Excel as well. Guess they are not too used to databases. But it's no problem to copy a database report into Excel or Word.

Still, I believe Excel is not the suitable software here. Sorting and the extraction of information is so much easier in a database. I wouldn't want to go back.

Regards, Joerg

Hello Frank,

So? We'll just keep using what's there. It's good enough and should be fine for the next 20 years. After that, it won't be so important for me, hopefully ... 8-)

Regards, Joerg

Yes. This is called "The Darwin Effect." >:->

Uninstall M$ Office and download and install the free Open Office. For one thing, it's about 1/10th the size. For another, it is not a product of the Evil Empire.

Ted

Directly above the puppy are the words "Change preferences." Click there. You can have other animated characters, or none. (I wonder if we can create our own...)

As for the purpose of the puppy, I assume it is to entertain bored office workers with an IQ of 80.

RTFP Ted,

I dont *have* M$ Orifice installed *AT ALL*

And I *do* have OpenOffice

The puppy in question is the start-search-files or folders puppy

Cheers Terry

RTFP Rich,

How can it be an office assistant when I dont have office?

start-search-files or folders. that puppy

Cheers Terry

Sorry, I misunderstood. In that case, it's some kind of XP artifact, and I have no idea.

Sorry, Rich

Thanks Mate, that did the trick nicely.

substitute "programmers" for "office workers". That would also explain the registry....

Cheers Terry the puppy hater.

I also misunderstood. There are very few things I use 'doze for and they are, fortunately, getting fewer. I've heard all the reasons why people continue to patronize the Evil Empire and as long as they continue to knuckle under, M$ will prosper and we will loose.

Ted

mine is simple - all my sim & cad s/w runs under it. buggered if I will use IE, outhouse or Orifice though. OO has so far handled everything I've ever thrown at it, including every orifice document I've ever written. Thanks, those responsible :)

I've played with a few linux-based cad programs, but the problem there is partly the learning curve (I'm lazy, and have used protel for 15 years), partly the OS learning curve (cant be bothered learning about an OS, I just want it to go when I switch the machine on), and partly a compatibility issue with board houses, contract manufacturers etc - at present I just supply my pcb files to them, they have the same software.

Cheers Terry

Exactly. And real programmers don't use lowercase.

We recently designed a VME module: 6-layer board, 68332 CPU, two Xilinx FPGAs with 100% new logic designs, 32 DACs, 1 ADC, 48 floating power supplies, 1050 parts total. It has a 3.3 volt CPU we haven't used before, a new P&E background debugger, and we designed a new adapter to let us plug a 4M TSOP ram into the eprom socket for debugging.

We got the first assembled prototype yesterday at 2PM and fired it up. By the time we left at 5:45, the CPU was up, my code was relocating itself from slow eprom into fast CPU ram, it was configuring both of the FPGAs, we were talking to both FPGAs, the VME interface was working, and the front-panel LEDs were blinking. No cuts or jumpers so far, but a couple of the led's are too bright so we'll have to change some resistors.

Programmed in assembly, of course.

John

AND, with all UPPER CASE, of course. :>)