There are some very large, very powerful companies out there that have saved quite a bit of money using an Oracle database. Will your company be one of those? Or, will you simply overlook this opportunity? In order to know if in fact an Oracle database will help you, perhaps you have to know a little more about it. Also, you need to realize the differences that are out there in various versions of the Oracle database. Gathering this information will help you to make a sound decision about the use of this product in your business.

First, realize that the Oracle database is available to be used and can be benefited from by virtually any size business. Large corporations, medium sized companies, and even small organizations can all benefit here. What makes it nice to everyone as well is the lower prices that are currently being offered on Oracle database systems. There is no doubt that the introductory price is something to turn heads.

The system we will mention here is the Oracle Database 10g Products. These are, believe it or not, the first databases designed for grid computing in the industry. Your options are many:

• Enterprise Edition: Packed full with the highest level of performance and scalability. You will find reliability in OLTP as well as in decision support, and management activities.
• Standard Edition: Clustering support is provided with this 4 processor version.
• Standard Edition One: Same great stuff with a 2 processor version that is perfect for the entry level.
• Personal Edition: Perfect for the individual
• Lite Edition: Great option for managing mobile database applications.

While the features of each of these Oracle database options are many and very versatile, it makes sense for each and every business out there to find out how well these products can serve their basic needs. Take a moment to see what they can do for you and you may just be impressed with the options that are available to you in Oracle database.

for more information please see http://www.oracle-db-info.co.uk

Now is the time to look at an alternative to Microsoft Office.

Are you locked into using Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint? Are you spending extra because you need a database, and Access does not come with the basic Office package?

Well, the time has come to look at alternatives, or at least the one I¡¦ll discuss here in a few moments. Whether you are a writer on a tight budget, but need to send your submittals in Word format or an employee wanting to do work at home without either paying hundreds of dollars for Office or installing an illegal copy at home, there are inexpensive options.

(Just as an aside, do NOT ever install or use unlicensed software from Microsoft or anyone else. It is simply not worth the headaches, including huge fines and possible jail time. And if you take a copy home from the office, you may lose your job.)

How much would you pay for office productivity software with these features?

o runs on Windows (R), just like Microsoft Office

o all files can be saved in Microsoft Office formats

o a word processor

o a spreadsheet

o a presentation tool

o a database

o a drawing tool

o export to Acrobat PDF format (requires third-party add ins to do this in Microsoft Office)

o save in Flash format (.SWF) for use on the Web; this cannot be done at all in Microsoft Office

Are you interested yet? Want to know the price?

FREE.

For more information, visit the OpenOffice site: http://www.openoffice.org

How can this be? Well, there is a movement among programmers around the world referred to as ¡§open source.¡¨ I won¡¦t bore you with great detail, but the idea is that programmers from all over will donate their time to working on a specific product (in this case, OpenOffice) and leaving it in the public domain. You may have heard of the Linux operating system; it is still the most famous open source collaboration.

Just as RedHat and SuSE, among others, take Linux and add tools to make it easier to use, Sun Microsystems has StarOffice available starting at $79.95. This includes limited technical support (OpenOffice does not have technical support.) This is still a bargain, and Sun sponsors OpenOffice. In case you are not familiar with Sun, they are a very solid Silicon Valley company, primarily known for their workstations and inventing the Java programming language.

Instead of upgrading to Office 2003, I recommend at least investigating the OpenOffice option. Whether a home user or a business with hundreds of copies of Office installed, it just makes sense.

After all, it is free!

About the author: Gregory S. Diehl has almost 35 years experience in applying technology to solve business problems and expand opportunities. He has worked as a systems analyst, programmer, technical writer, Web developer and numerous other roles. A Master CIW Designer, he is currently starting a Web design and development firm in Las Vegas.

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