Sunday, May 20, 2012

Microsoft Access 2010 or Apple Filemaker Pro 12?

I have used and taught others to use Microsoft Access for the past 15 years but must consider changing to Apple Filemaker Pro.  Why? -- because Filemaker Pro is available for both the Mac and the PC.  Furthermore, Filemaker Go is a free app for the iPad.  Finally, Filemaker Pro is must easier to use than Access!

The only plus for Microsoft Access is the cost.  Microsoft Access is one of seven apps available from Office University 2010 for $99.99.  The academic version of Filemaker Pro costs $179.

I am teaching an informatics course this summer and discovered that 1/3 of the students are Mac users.  What it means is that I cannot use the lessons I developed on relational databases using Access 2010.  As a result, I spent time over the last couple of weekends working through the Filemaker Pro tutorial to learn how to use the software.

Although Microsoft Access 2010 is a great improvement over earlier versions, it is still clunky and not intuitive for learners.  There are essentially four different views - tables, queries, forms, and reports.  In contrast, Filemaker Pro allows the user to do the same functions using different "Layouts."

Filemaker Pro is available as a 30 day preview, so I can incorporate it into the course without additional fees for the students.

My next step is to import the tables for the Metabolic Syndrome database I created from Access into Filemaker Pro.  That process should help shed new insight on the differences between the two applications.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Blog Translate Gadget Added

Over 1/3 of my blog audience are readers from countries around the world.  It is really amazing. Examples include Russia, Philippines, Germany, UK, France, Greece, and India.  To make it easier for the worldwide audience to use my blog, I have added a translate gadget.  Scroll down to the bottom of the blog to access the translator.  I hope that you find it to be helpful.

iPad Tips and Tricks

MacWorld has great tips and tricks videos on YouTube.  One of them, Seven iPad keyboard tricks, demonstrates some really helpful keyboard features. The original video is online at http://www.macworld.com/article/1166748/seven_ipad_keyboard_tricks.html

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Microsoft SkyDrive File Size Storage Change

When Microsoft first offered SkyDrive, users were allowed to upgrade to 25 GB of file storage space.  Flor told me that she only had 7 GB of space.  I opened SkyDrive on the iPad - and sure enough - I was limited to 7 GB.  I did a little research from the PC and discovered the change.  Those of us who originally took advantage of the 25 GB have to tell Microsoft that we wanted to keep the 25 GB, otherwise the space would automatically be reduced to 7 GB.  There is now an additional fee for additional space.

Google Drive - Another Free Cloud Storage App

Google Drive is another free cloud file website. Google Drive is available for:
  • PC and Mac
  • iPhone and iPad (coming soon)
  • Android devices
Google Drive provides 5GB for files. You can read more about the website at https://drive.google.com/start#home