There's nothing worse than getting a file from a friend and not having the right program to open it. Here are some common file extensions and the programs needed to open them:
.doc - Microsoft Word
.pps - MS PowerPoint
.xls - MS Excel worksheet
.wpd - Corel WordPerfect
.pdf - Adobe Acrobat
.jpg - JPEG graphic file
.zip - Zip (compressed) file
.sit - Stuffit (compressed) file
.scr - Windows Screen Saver (DO NOT OPEN)
.pif - Program Information File (DO NOT OPEN)

The good news is that most software developers offer freeware viewers that will allow you to see, but not alter, content. NOTE : These addresses are long, so you may need to copy and paste the whole address into your browser if it breaks into more than one line.
.doc - Microsoft Word Viewer
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0e56d944-38f6-4eb5-aca6-8bd280d5e6b1&DisplayLang=en
.pps - PowerPoint Viewer
http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D1649C22-B51F-4910-93FC-4CF2832D3342&displaylang=en
.xls - Excel Spreadsheet Viewer
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c8378bf4-996c-4569-b547-75edbd03aaf0&DisplayLang=en
.wpd - Wordperfect
Corel no longer offers a viewer
.pdf - Acrobat Reader
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
.jpg - You can view these in your web browser or most imaging software.
.scr - USE CAUTION if you receive a screen saver via email. They can contain worms or viruses.
.pif - DO NOT OPEN! This is most likely a virus. Clicking it will run a program or code that can mess up your computer.
As for compressed files (.zip & .sit), you can Stuffit! No, I'm not telling you off. Stuffit Expander is a great program that will open most compressed files.
http://www.stuffit.com/win/expander/index.html

There are also freeware/shareware programs for opening .zip files such as WinZip. In addition, with Windows XP you can save any zipped file to your desktop or a folder and access the files without unzipping. Just click it like any other folder and drag items out to run them.
So, next time you get an attached file in your email but don't have the program to open it, just grab a viewer. 

Google plans to hire programmers to improve OpenOffice.org, a demonstration of its affinity for open source initiatives and one the company believes also shows sound practical sense.

OpenOffice has its roots in Sun Microsystems' StarOffice suite of programs. Five years ago, Sun turned its proprietary software into an open-source project. Only recently, however, has the competitor to Microsoft's Office attracted serious attention.

Now Google believes it can help OpenOffice--perhaps working to pare down the software's memory requirements or its mammoth 80 MB download size, said Chris DiBona, manager for open-source programs at the search company.

"We want to hire a couple of folks to help make OpenOffice better," DiBona said.

Google has shown an affinity for open-source software, which are programs developed in the open and available for free. Many of the company's programmers came of age in the open-source era, so advancing the open-source agenda comes naturally, DiBona said. But the company also has business reasons to justify its open-source embrace.

"We use a fair amount of open-source software at Google. We want to make sure that's a healthy community. And we want to make sure open source preserves competitiveness within the industry," he said.

Earlier in October, Google and Sun announced a partnership to boost several software projects, but released few details. Asked about OpenOffice collaboration, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said at the time only that the search engine power would "work to make the distribution of (OpenOffice) more broad." But OpenOffice, like the other software projects the partners intend to work on, competes directly with Microsoft software--a point that has not gone unnoticed. 
More at:  http://news.com.com/Google+throws+bodies+at+OpenOffice/2100-7344-5920762.html?part=dht&tag=ntop&tag=nl.e703

Intel is showing off a future technology called Robson that could cut that annoying boot-up time.

With Robson, a PC pulls data and applications off an add-in flash memory card and Intel software, rather than the PC's hard drive. Flash reacts more quickly than hard drives, thus cutting down the time it takes to launch an application. Potentially, notebook users could experience a longer battery life because the hard drive, which is spun by a motor, wouldn't have to work as hard.

While an Intel representative did not provide exact boot-up time comparisons, she said Robson will cut the amount of time it takes from when you hit the "on" button to when the PC can operate, the time it takes to go from a sleep state to an active state, and the time it takes to launch an application.

A Robson card can contain 64 MB to KGB of memory. Increasing the memory, the amount of data or the number of applications that can take advantage of Robson. The more things on the chip, the more things that can go up quickly.

The technology was shown off on Monday at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei. Intel has not said when the technology might hit store shelves.

Flash is moving deeper into PCs and other devices, thanks to dropping costs and increasing data densities.

Earlier this year, Samsung and Microsoft showed off a prototype hard drive with an internal KGB flash memory chip that also cuts power consumption. In that prototype, incoming data (words, photos, songs and so on) gets written to the flash memory chip.

While Intel developed the software for Robson, the chips come from outside. Robson relied on NAND flash memory, produced by Samsung, Toshiba and others. Intel makes NOR flash memory, which is not used for these sort of read-write-erase functions.

Belarc is that super third party program to identify all your specs including software installed.  It is actually much easier than remembering all those locations in Windows. (Mike)
The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

WhoIs    Discover who owns Internet Domain Names, and how to contact their owners.  We used this tool to determine actual ownership of URLs.  This is very handy if you suspect a site is  Phishing scheme related.  Query the 200+ top-level domain registries and Regional Internet Registries around the world, and returns information about Internet sites. Information available includes owner of domain name, and often owner's mailing address, email address, phone number, and fax number.
In the past I used Go Daddy and Networksolutions for these queries.  Their data bases for address identifications are limited so I would run into no identification for the address. Karen program queries all URL data bases.
Find the WhoIs download at:  http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptwhois.asp

Countdown Timer II v3.4   Keep track of important events. Karen's Countdown Timer II continuously monitors future events, and reports how much time remains before they occur. Don't let another meeting, anniversary, deadline or new year catch you by surprise!  Second generation of the original Karen's Countdown Timer. Makes use of Microsoft Agent technology to add animation and speech synthesis. It can also play WAV files and send e-mail reminders.  
This is the neatest little date reminders I have found.  
Download Karen's Countdown Timer II:  http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptcount2.asp  
A complete listing of Karen's free programs is:   http://www.karenware.com/powertools/powertools.asp

Reverse Phone Numbers:  Reverse Telephone Number Lookups - Lookup telephone numbers using multiple online reverse phone books and directory assistance to find a person's name and street address from their phone number. United States Phone Numbers and Canada Telephone Numbers - Lookup any telephone number in the United States and Canada to see who lives there. 10-Digit Reverse Phone Number Lookups - Ten digit phone numbers work the best although some directories support partial phone number searches. Unlisted Phone Numbers and Cell Phone Numbers - Unlisted phone numbers and cell phone numbers may not be included in the results. 411 Cross Reference Directory Assistance Information - Double check your results by looking up the same phone number on each directory. Every directory is updated independently and may yield different results. New Telephone Numbers and Disconnected Phone Numbers - New and disconnected phone numbers may take time before they are added or updated.  
Reverse Phone Numbers:  http://www.reversephonedirectory.com/

Phone Spell: The PhoneSpell® search engine provides 3 services in one! You may have heard that now you can take your phone number with you when you move. Enter a 6 to 10 digit phone number and we'll show you what words and phrases your phone number spells to help you decide if you want to keep it. Opening a business and need a new phone number? Pick a new 7 or 8 digit phone number by typing in an available exchange (first 3 to 5 digits) and see what one-word numbers you can choose from. Searching for just the right toll free number to advertise? Type in letters and it will show you the corresponding phone number.
Phone Spell:  http://www.phonespell.org/

You'll find the navigation of the site on the tabs across the top under the title. The sections are Home, Stories Timeline, Icons of Invention, Everyday Life, Guided Tours, and Learning Modules.

The Stories Timeline has a timeline dated all the way back to 1750 and ending at 2000. You can click on each block. For example, click on the gray block for "1750 to 1820 Enlightenment and Measurement", and a drop down menu gives you three stories: "Measuring the Universe", "Empire, Navy, and Trade", and "Rational Manufacture." At the very bottom of the menu, there is a link titled Read More, which will take you to a page where you can learn a little more about the subject and access the three stories. I like the Read More option for navigation of the timeline and I'm greatly appreciative that they included it.

Icons of Invention has information on the inventions that have changed our world. It's divided into three sections: Science, Technology, and Medicine. Beneath that, you can browse the Icons of Invention either from clicking on the examples provided or by scrolling through the pages with the page numbers at the bottom.

If you choose the Browse Category option above each section, you can view the icons of invention through another timeline setting. I really love this option because it gave you a real feel for the progress that was made over time. Take a look at that Apple I Home Computer! It's amazing to think how far just computers have come since their invention.

Everyday Life shows inventions that have changed (you guessed it!) everyday life. Everything from appliances and toothbrushes to synthetic fabrics. I am so amazed by this section and I adore the three examples that they put right out on the front. The first is about the Singer Sewing Machine, the second is about re-inventing a shovel, and the third is about house plants. Beneath that are more sections – Personal, Home, Work, Leisure, Control, and Health. Each of these sections is again set up in a timeline so that you can see the time progression. There's even a button for an audio version of the stories!

Guided Tours has three pages of tours, each tracing a different aspect of progression. From the impact that woman have had in science to advancements in healthcare, you'll find a lot of interesting information presented in pictures and text. I found Making Modern Health interesting as it tracks the progress of healthcare, from the x-ray to pharmaceuticals.

Last, but not least, is the section Learning Modules. Here you will find demonstrations, activities and media designed on a level to be used by just about everyone. This section is broken down into separate areas, like Biology, English, Chemistry, History, Geography, Mathematics, and Psychology. My favorite, Psychology, talks a lot about stress and stress management. Everyone has stress at some point in their life, but not everyone manages stress in a healthy way or knows how to channel it out of their system at all. This section was really useful.

This site is a great way to stimulate your brain.
http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/

Since 1990, Sagalassos has become a large-scale, interdisciplinary excavation of the Catholic University of Leuven, directed by Marc Waelkens. We are now exposing the monumental city center and have completed, or nearly completed, four major restoration projects there. We've also undertaken an intensive urban and geophysical survey, excavations in the domestic and industrial areas, and an intensive survey of its vast territory. Whereas the former document a thousand years of occupation, from Alexander the Great to the seventh century, the latter has established the changing settlement patterns, the vegetation history and farming practices, the landscape formation and climatic changes during the last 10,000 years.
http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/sagalassos/