Brokelyn

The day PCs started coming factory loaded with trial software, I made the switch—after draining my bank account to buy a computer, the notion of also paying for software was almost offensive. It wasn’t hard at all, because I discovered a parallel universe of free, open-source software—which is collaboratively developed and modified by users rather than licensed by a single company—that you don’t have to be an IT guy to figure out. In recent years, open-source alternatives to bread-and-butter applications like Microsoft Office have become novice-friendly and in some cases, better than their commercial counterparts. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I’ve had to cut my  book buying from a few new ones a month to just a few a year. Then I  came across a new web site called www.paperbackswap.com—and it’s great. Basically, you sign up and post books you are willing to send out. For each book you send out, you get a credit you can exchange for a book from another member.  To start, if you list 10 books, you even get two “free credits.” Your only cost is the postage for the book you send out  (so don’t list the Oxford English Dictionary!) Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s one of the more curious finds on Craiglist’s free-in-Brooklyn’s boards over the weekend. Eighty 5-cent Ukrainian coins from 1992, doled out in pairs only. “2 per person so there is coins for 40 people, all you have to do is call me and come meet me in Brooklyn by train station Kings Highway on B and Q line …. if you need more coins bring someone with you :)” This sounds sketchy in too many ways to contemplate, all the more so because 10 cents Ukrainian is only worth 1.3 cents U.S., according to current exchange rates. We’re no expert on hryvnia, as the consonant-dense currency is called, but the 24 fake Christmas trees in Sunset Park seem like a better deal. With lights!