There are many reasons why you may need mult-core support for Excel. I still wish Excel was faster at some parts. Financial models, and lookups with a bunch of data still is easier than a true database. Some formulas don't require it, but toss in a few volatile formulas, and some lookups for validation and it can slow down. Most everything i have may only slow down to a minute for a calculation, but i know of sheets that take longer.

I have found that making an Excel file more dynamic in some cases can actually reduce the risk. Put in a good formula and let it to checks instead of hard coding references as I have seen some do.

What about all the different batch files people have for simple tasks that have been brought up from one system to another over the years.

I was also disappointed they did not make a strong monospace and even proportional font with distinctions for zero and O, sometimes one and letter I for some fonts and etc. Even for proportional writing it would be helpful.

The two fonts I have used in the past but only good for normal Latin characters are these two (below). Still can't decide what font like better in an editor though.

* Hack -- Open Source Coding Font (Free, Open Source) http://sourcefoundry.org/hack/ or https://github.com/chrissimpki...

* Monoid -- Open Source Coding Font, and my current favorite (Free, Open Source)
  http://larsenwork.com/monoid/ or https://github.com/larsenwork/...

You can put something over a camera, these days an external web cam may have a microphone, the laptop itself may have a mic, if you have a headset plugged in it may have a mic. If a webcam can be turned on to see you then a mic can and it can get much more information and it is harder to block (can't just put some paper over it).

How does one secure all the mics via hardware or (software that can' be overridden).

My parents were just hit with the Windows10 upgrade. I had not bothered to block it on their computer. They are older and now more confused than ever about what happened without their permissions. Many of their saved passwords were cleared out to sites. They struggle to use Windows as it is and Microsoft does not make it easy on a normal day. I truly think that a massive class action suit against Microsoft would easily win hands down.

The first law firm to step up and push it right could make some money. End users may not get a whole lot out of it, but it might make MS shut up and listen.

An no I normally don't like these types of law suits and don't like most lawyers, but this clearly shows need.

My folks were already on the verge of going to a Mac. this may push them over the edge.

Apple is new to reacting effectively to security. Microsoft gets beat up about security, but they have learned to attempt to react better. May not be perfect.

I know so many Apple people that think Apple immune security issues. I seriously wonder if we will see a day when Apple is is hit with the same type of security questions that have plagued Microsoft over the years.

What about Monoiod? It sounds like Monoiod may be a better choice for many. Sounds like it does not have the same drawback,s.

http://larsenwork.com/monoid/

https://github.com/larsenwork/...

I have long wanted to know what photo viewing software they have on all the CSI and other style shows. They can take a blurry picture of a big area and zoom into a reflection in a window and tell you the license plate of car in the reflection or zoom into other things that all the software I have can't do.

sorry this post is messed up ... see next post down for better formatting .... i could not delete it after posting.

I have not used Agent Ransack.... the free version does not look to search inside Office files.http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/features ...

I am curious have you compared Agent Ransack to either DocFetcher or Regain?
DocFetcher -- Open Source desktop search application: It allows you search the contents of documents on your computer (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://docfetcher.sourceforge....

Regain -- Search engine similar to web search engines like Google, with the difference that you don't search the web, but inside your own files and documents (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://regain.sourceforge.net/

This list is part of a much longer list that I maintain and sometimes publish.

* 7-ZIP -- Create/Extra ZIP and many other other file compression formats, very powerful. Note can open some installer EXE and MSI files (see Microsoft Orca for more MSI options) (free, open source, Windows, there may be Linux/Mac variants). http://www.7-zip.com/

* CCleaner -- System optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. (free, closed source, Windows) http://www.ccleaner.com/ **Alternate Tool** BleachBit -- Free cache, delete cookies, clear Internet history, shred temporary files, delete logs, and discard junk you didn't know was there. (free, open source Linux/Windows) http://bleachbit.sourceforge.n...

* Greenshot -- Good Screen Shot tool with simple annotation options. (free, open source, Windows) http://greenshot.sourceforge.n...

* IrfanView -- Image Program View, convert, crop, optimize, sideshow, batch Processing etc (free noncommercial, closed source, Windows) http://www.irfanview.com/

Instantbird -- Multi Protocol Instant Messaging (IM) Client - AOL, MSM, Yahoo, etc (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) **Alternate Tool** Pidgin - Multi Protocol Instant Messaging (IM) Client - AOL, MSM, Yahoo, etc (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://pidgin.im/

* KeePass Password Safe -- Good Quality secure password manager, stores passwords encrypted. (free, open source, Windows Linux/Mac with Mono) http://keepass.info/

* LibreOffice -- Power-packed Open Source personal productivity suite for Windows, Macintosh and Linux, that gives you six feature-rich applications for all your document production. Excellent replacement for other Office Suites, can open many different and sometimes odd file types -- (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://www.libreoffice.org/

* Mozilla.org FireFox -- Web browser for more security then Internet Explore (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://www.mozilla.com/ http://www.mozilla.org/

* SpeedCrunch -- fast, high-precision and powerful cross-platform desktop calculator (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://www.speedcrunch.org/ & http://speedcrunch.blogspot.co...

* UltraEdit -- Probably the absolute best most powerful text editors around, edit huge files, FTP, column mode, and more (shareware, closed source, Win/Mac/Linux) http://www.ultraedit.com/ **Alternate Tool** Noteppad++ -- Good Text / Source Code Editor replacement for Microsoft Windows Notepad/Wordpad (free, open source) http://notepad-plus.sourceforg...

* VLC Media Player -- One of the best media players out there. Highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. (free, oen source, Linux/Mac/Windows)
http://www.videolan.org/

This list is part of a much longer list that I maintain and sometimes publish. There are few others, but some are more as needed special use cases. * 7-ZIP -- Create/Extra ZIP and many other other file compression formats, very powerful. Note can open some installer EXE and MSI files (see Microsoft Orca for more MSI options) (free, open source, Windows, there may be Linux/Mac variants). http://www.7-zip.com/ * CCleaner -- System optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. (free, closed source, Windows) http://www.ccleaner.com/ **Alternate Tool** BleachBit -- Free cache, delete cookies, clear Internet history, shred temporary files, delete logs, and discard junk you didn't know was there. (free, open source Linux/Windows) http://bleachbit.sourceforge.n... * Greenshot -- Good Screen Shot tool with simple annotation options. (free, open source, Windows) http://greenshot.sourceforge.n... * IrfanView -- Image Program View, convert, crop, optimize, sideshow, batch Processing etc (free noncommercial, closed source, Windows) http://www.irfanview.com/ Instantbird -- Multi Protocol Instant Messaging (IM) Client - AOL, MSM, Yahoo, etc (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) **Alternate Tool** Pidgin - Multi Protocol Instant Messaging (IM) Client - AOL, MSM, Yahoo, etc (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://pidgin.im/ * KeePass Password Safe -- Good Quality secure password manager, stores passwords encrypted. (free, open source, Windows Linux/Mac with Mono) http://keepass.info/ * LibreOffice -- Power-packed Open Source personal productivity suite for Windows, Macintosh and Linux, that gives you six feature-rich applications for all your document production. Excellent replacement for other Office Suites, can open many different and sometimes odd file types -- (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://www.libreoffice.org/ * Mozilla.org FireFox -- Web browser for more security then Internet Explore (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://www.mozilla.com/ http://www.mozilla.org/ * SpeedCrunch -- fast, high-precision and powerful cross-platform desktop calculator (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://www.speedcrunch.org/ & http://speedcrunch.blogspot.co... * UltraEdit -- Probably the absolute best most powerful text editors around, edit huge files, FTP, column mode, and more (shareware, closed source, Win/Mac/Linux) http://www.ultraedit.com/ **Alternate Tool** Noteppad++ -- Good Text / Source Code Editor replacement for Microsoft Windows Notepad/Wordpad (free, open source) http://notepad-plus.sourceforg... * VLC Media Player -- One of the best media players out there. Highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats ) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. (free, open source, Linux/Mac/Windows) http://www.videolan.org/

I was in a very similar situation about 3 months ago, but with 80+ gigs of data. I had pictures that don't compress well, personal documents all sorts that needed to save. I used to just back them up to an external drive. Then i would hear stories about something happening to peoples computes and their external drive that was left connected. I never wanted to go to the "cloud" and loose my data, besides I had a very slow DSL connection so uploading would be a pain. I went researched the cloud solutions went round and round then held my nose and purchased a subscription to Mozy. Yes it took about 4 weeks to get my data upload. Of course i was using the internet connection for other things at the time also. At the time I figured what is 4 weeks when i have gone for so long with very few other options. After everything was done I now have Mozy running in the background and every few house it backs up. I love it I feel more comfortable about my data being safe. I don't have to worry as much about it. I still use my external drives for things like an extra copy of my Quicken data but that may change as I change my habits as Quicken data is also backed up by Mozy. For me I worry, what could happen to a computer, drive, even raid corruption, fire, flood, tornado, etc. I am paying for it and i know some want something free or less cost, but if i want to spend less i guess i could use the free version of Mozy and just do a few docs and no pictures. However family pictures are just as important as some of my personal documents. I know some may prefer one of the other backup services but right now I can say I am impressed with Mozy, even on my slow connection.