Friday 11 March 2016

Back with an apology.


I was forced to take a break due to  my previous computer giving up the ghost.

For someone  who is unemployed however despite the fact that my health is not good suffering from Acromegaly which has led to other issues including  Osteoarthritis a computer is something I have to access everyday.

That is because   I have to look for jobs and make applications daily and if I haven't access at home , I have to complete my "agreement" BY  accessing via a Library or my local jobcentre.

I am lucky in that  being 62 I have a Bus Pass so would not see myself paying a daily fare .

Supposing you were forced to attend your local Library or Jobcentre and had to  travel Monday to Friday incurring a cost of a modest £15 a week from already your meagre allowance? How much of a burden would that be?

I was also fortunate in that my local Library  being closed by our Labour council, it has reopened due the valiant effort of our local community.

Readers of this Blog may sense of hypocrisy from this writer, because when it was proposed that  we should seek to retain our Library by staffing it with volunteers , I argued that  I was not taking part in this. Because if it was successful. It would encourage the council to close more Libraries.

 I still worry that might happen but having seen what the people who have taken over the Library have achieved . I have become a volunteer myself .

The Library  has become a hub of our Villages of Beddau and Tynant once again , not  only providing Library and Computer services but a centre for numerous groups and WEA lectures and ironically a place for our local Labour councillors to hold surgeries.

Indeed it is probably more indispensable than it was previously and I must apologise for my failure to join in from the start..

So if you live in a community that is threatened with Libary closures to follow the example of Beddau and seek to take it over.

Because waiting for a change in government or council will not result in your Library being reopened in a few years. 

On another note even if you do have access to a computer at home , you may not be able to afford Microsoft's Office word processing facilities.

There are alternatives  in Apache Open Office  which is free to download and contains nearly everything most of us needs , Word processor, Spreadsheet which are compatible with Microsoft products.


However because such a download can come with some unwanted programmes you may want to copy me and paying £5 or £6 pounds for a disc which will install Office.



 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can I suggest LibreOffice for a good, free Office Suite. It comes with most Linux distributions but is also available for Windows and Mac.
AFAIK it does not have any add-on programs during installation.

Rich

Cibwr said...

I used to work for a recycling charity and one of my initiatives was to provide computers with Linux and a suite of software installed, these were free or very cheap (to cover cost) - there doesn't seem to be anyone doing this locally at the moment - which is a real shame.

Anonymous said...

Glyn - good to have you back!

glynbeddau said...

Yes Linux such as Ubuntu is a great alternative to Microsoft Windows Its free and if you buy a computer with no Operating System it would be great alliterative. Though ou may consider buying it for about £15 rather than downloading for free.

Bored of Labour said...

Glad to have you back Glyn, ESA and JSA rules are petty and mean spirited in the extreme and the staff are very unsympathetic, I went to a JobCentre with a friend who’s just had a baby, they treated her like dirt. So I’m glad you’ve got a computer back and don’t have to face them or the trip to the library everyday.

As for you other problem Open Source software is a good website, I’ve used it and they have similar programmes to Word, Excel to download for free, here’s the link https://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source