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The Newton Falls Public Library has a total of 10 computers reserved for public use.
We provide the software necessary for our patrons to browse the internet or create word processor
documents, spreadsheets and slide presentations. To best serve our patrons, most of the software in
use on our computers is available at no cost to the public. Below is a list of the programs in use.
Remember that if you have a slow web connection at home, you can always come to the library to download
these programs and burn them onto a CD-R or CD-RW to take home!
Open Office
www.openoffice.org
Open Office is a suite of productivity programs similar to Microsoft Office. We have been using it
at the Newton Falls Library since January 2006. It is capable of opening
Microsoft Word, Works, Excel, and Powerpoint files as well as Microsoft Access databases. In addition, Open Office
is capable of opening documents of several other formats as well. An excellent feature of Open Office is it's ability
to save directly to a PDF file. This is a very powerful tool, especially for patrons who are working on electronic resumes.
Saving to a PDF ensures that your document's layout will look the same on any computer that opens it.
Google Earth
www.earth.google.com
Google Earth is a graphical mapping program that combines satellite images together to create a map of the
entire globe. Locations can be easilly searched for and bookmarked for later use. Google Earth can also be used
to get directions from one address to another. There is a professional version available for a fee, but the free version fills
most users' needs.
Other Useful Software
Most people don't realise that it is possible to properly protect their home computer from viruses and spyware
without buying costly software. In this section is a list of free programs that can be used for this.
Antivirus
Antivir (www.freeav.com) is an excellent antivirus program. Its features include
automatic virus definition updates and scheduled virus scans. No computer running Microsoft Windows and an internet connection
should be without antivirus software.
Spyware Removal
Spybot Search & Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org)
is a spyware removal program. This program is very easy for beginners to use and has features built in to make
backups of your system settings before removing spyware. If you are seeing alot of popups or icons on your computer that
you do not recognize, you should check for spyware.
Spyware Prevention
Spyware Doctor (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com)
is a program that instead of removing spyware, prevents it from becoming installed on the computer in the first place by
restricting access to websites that are known to install malicious software on your computer.
Web Browser
Most users of the internet beleive that Microsoft Internet Explorer is the only web browser available for them to use. This
is not the case. Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.com) is a very well designed alternative. It allows
users to open up new web pages inside of "tabs" instead of new windows, has a built in popup blocker and is not nearly as vulnerable
to malicious websites as Internet Explorer.
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