5 Very Useful OpenOffice Extensions

Calc2LaTeX is an OpenOffice.org Calc (Spreadsheet) macro for converting tables. It makes making tables on LaTeX very easy.

This extension will allow you to select a region in a spreadsheet, and generate a LaTeX tabular format of the spreadsheet.

Sun PDF Import Extension allows you to import and modify PDF documents. Best results with 100% layout accuracy can be achieved with the "PDF/ODF hybrid file" format, which this extension also enables. A hybrid PDF/ODF file is a PDF file that contains an embedded ODF source file. Hybrid PDF/ODF files will be opened in OpenOffice.org as an ODF file without any layout changes. Users without this extension can open the PDF part of the hybrid file with their PDF viewer.

The PDF Import Extension also allows you to import and modify PDF documents for non hybrid PDF/ODF files.

OOTranslator is an OpenOffice.org wrapper for Google Translate. In simpler terms, it's a utility which allows users of OpenOffice.org office suite to translate text from a document opened to any language. It does this using Google Translate library at the back end.

An OxygenOffice Extra - Gallery adds pictures, Clip Arts easily and briskly to your document.

Sun Weblog Publisher allows you to quickly create, edit and publish weblog entries on many popular Blog servers. It is easy to use so that any user can start blogging right away! Use the advanced word processing features of the Writer to create blogs with tables, bullets, hyperlinks, graphics, and spellchecking via the office suite's spellchecking technology
Supports a number of Blog platforms, including Roller, WordPress, Generic ATOM and Generic MetaWeblog.

You may also want to check out our other list of 8 amazing OpenOffice extensions which includes addons such as OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs or Professional Template Pack II.

If you are using Ubuntu, read how to Install OpenOffice 3.1.1 in Ubuntu

Cross-Platform Data Recovery Solution: TestDisk & PhotoRec

If for any reason, you have lost information of any of your disks: either hard drives, memory cards or flash drives, you should try TestDisk & PhotoRec, a free, open source multi-platform application distributed under GNU Public License which is very efficient on retrieving data from those drives.

PhotoRec supports data recovery for the following filesystems:

* FAT,
* NTFS,
* EXT2/EXT3 filesystem
* HFS+


You can download PhotoRec and TestDisk from HERE (packages available for: Windows (9x/NT/XP/2000/2003/Vista), Mac OSX, and Linux).

Ubuntu users just have to run the following command in a terminal:

sudo apt-get install testdisk

The, to run it (still in a terminal):

sudo photorec

PhotoRec works with HardDisks, Cdrom, memory card (Compact Flash, Memory Stick, SecureDigital/SD, SmartMedia, Microdrive, MMC...), USB Memory Drives, DD raw image, EnCase E01 image, and also various portable media players including iPod and various digital cameras.

JDownloaded 0.7 (7.569) Released

JDownloader, the open source, platform independent Rapidshare, Megaupload (and others) download application, has been updated to version 0.7 (7.569).

JDownloader simplifies downloading files from One-Click-Hosters like Rapidshare.com or Megaupload.com - not only for users with a premium account but also for users who don't pay. It offers downloading in multiple paralell streams, captcha recognition, automatical file extraction and much more. Of course, JDownloader is absolutely free of charge. Additionally, many "link encryption" sites are supported - so you just paste the "encrypted" links and JD does the rest.

The most important, noticeable change is that JDownloader 0.7 (7.569) is a lot faster than the previous versions. Another interesting change is that now it supports anti-captcha for more than 60 websites. Read on to see a list of other important changes.

What's New in 0.7

• After lots of complains about performance we redesigned the gui to be much faster.
• Better Browser integration - The famous Firefox Extension Flashgot now supports JDownloader and is bundled together with it.
• New, and most important, faster themes. Install Substance Themepack to get more Style and Themes.
• Updated JDChat, Scheduler, LanguageFileEditor.
• You can now continue downloading while updating.
• The new External Interface provides an API for Websites to interact with JDownloader.
• More supported Hosters and Decrypter than ever before.

Download JDownloader 0.7 (7.569)

[thanks Adrian for the tip]

Avidemux Version 2.5.1 Was Released - Fixes A Lot of Bugs

Version 2.5.1 of Avidemux was released, a free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. I've been having some problems with version 2.5.0 and as you can see from these comments, I wasn't the only one experiencing this.

2.5.1 release changes and fixes:

* Re-enabled several video and audio encoders (regression introduced in 2.5.0)
* Updated the FFmpeg libraries
* More video encoders are now plugins
* DV video encoder now supports more profile
* Fixed loading and saving issues with LAME, x264 and Xvid options (regression introduced in 2.5.0)
* Removed support for libamrnb and replaced with opencore-amrnb
* Removed support for libdca and replaced with libavcodec's DCA decoder
* AMR-WB audio decoding support using opencore-amrwb
* Fraps video decoding support
* Lowpass-5 mode added to libavcodec deinterlacer filter plugin
* Fixed formatting of parameters for various filters on 64-bit platforms
* Updated libass
* Fixed sizing of the bitrate control on various video encoder configure windows (regression introduced in 2.5.0)
* Improved filter dialog for GTK+ interface
* New navigation icons for GTK+ interface
* Fixed the behaviour of several GTK+ open/save dialogs (regression introduced in 2.5.0)
* asharp filter's Block Adaptive mode can now be disabled using the Qt interface
* Re-enabled the colour chooser dialog using the Qt interface (regression introduced in 2.5.0)
* GCC 4.4 support
* Fixed issues with CMake build scripts when using multiple make jobs (regression introduced in 2.5.0)


Download Avidemux 2.5.1:

- .deb (Ubuntu) - altough I recommend you add the GetDeb.net repository
- .exe (Windows) from Berlios.de or SourceForge
- .tar.gz (Linux source): from Berlios.de or SourceForge

VDrift, TORCS, SuperTuxKart: 3 Free, Open Source, Cross-Platform Car Racing Games

VDrift, TORCS and SuperTuxKart are 3 free, open source car racing games which run on Windows, Linux and MacOSX. Read on for more info...

VDrift

VDrift is a driving simulation game, made with drift racing in mind. The driving physics engine was recently re-written from scratch but was inspired and owes much to the Vamos physics engine. It is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL) v2. It is currently available for Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and Windows.

Even tough VDrift is still in it's early stages of development, it's already playable. Features

• Simulation-grade driving physics
• Tracks based on famous real-world tracks
• Cars based on real-world vehicles
• Competition against AI players
• Mouse/joystick/gamepad/wheel/keyboard support
• More...

Download VDrift

TORCS

TORCS, The Open Racing Car Simulator, is a highly portable multi platform car racing simulation. It is used as ordinary car racing game, as AI racing game and as research platform. It runs on Linux (x86, AMD64 and PPC), FreeBSD, MacOSX and Windows. The source code of TORCS is licensed under the GPL ("Open Source").

Also, there are various sites on the Internet dedicated to TORCS with additional content (such as cars, tracks, documentation, patches, etc.), which I am sure you will find interesting once you start playing.

TORCS allows you to drive in races against opponents simulated by the computer and to develop your own computer-controlled driver and features more than 50 different cars, more than 20 tracks, and 50 opponents to race against. Your can steer with a joystick or steering wheel, if the device is supported by your platform. It is also possible to drive with the mouse or the keyboard. Graphic features lighting, smoke, skidmarks and glowing brake disks. The simulation features a simple damage model, collisions, tire and wheel properties (springs, dampers, stiffness, ...), aerodynamics (ground effect, spoilers, ...) and much more. The gameplay allows different types of races from the simple practice session up to the championship. Enjoy racing against your friends in the split screen mode with up to four human players.

Download TORCS

Super TuxKart

SuperTuxKart is a free 3d kart racing game you should play if you want to have fun more than you want a realistic, car racing simulation game. It runs on Linux, Windows and MacOSX and you can play it with up to 4 friends on one PC, racing against each other or just try to beat the computer. (a network multiplayer feature is under development).

This describes the game best:

See the great lighthouse or drive through the sand and visit the pyramids. Race under water or in space, watching the stars passing by. Have some rest under the palms on the beach (watching the other karts overtaking you :) ). But don't fall into the volcano.

You can do a single race against other karts, compete in one of several Grand Prix, or try to beat the high score in time trials on your own.

Download Super TuxKart