File Extension RTF may not be familiar to newer computer users. In these days of MS Office 2007’s docx format and backwards file version compatibility, the rtf file has fallen by the wayside, forgotten as the format that can be read by almost any other word processing software.

The Rich Text Format (often abbreviated File Extension RTF) is a document file format developed by Microsoft in 1987 for cross-platform document interchange. Most word processors are able to read and write RTF documents.

Unlike most word processing formats, good RTF code can be made human-readable. That is to say that when an RTF file is opened in a text editor, the text is legible and the markup language is not too distracting or counter-intuitive. The RTF files produced by most programs, such as MS Word, will contain such a large number of control codes for compatibility with older programs that most files will easily be an order of magnitude larger than the raw text and very difficult to read. Formats such as MS Word’s .doc are, in contrast, binary formats with only a few scraps of legible text.

So next time you would like to share an MS Word document with someone who does not have the Microsoft program to open it, try saving it with file extension RTF.

It’s not often that I get out of the cold confines of the Dev Room where I work. Last time I was out was to Cotabato, teaching the staff of an NGO how to use their high tech computer gear. That was in 2006.

This time it’s not going to be as far as Mindanao, but never the less adventurous. I’m heading off to Masbate for the introductory meetings leading to the two-week teaching stint that will start on the last week of November and will run into the first week of December.

I am going as Project Manager and Trainer for the Corporate Social Responsibility program of one of our clients at work. The startup project involves 13 computer systems to be spread out to four schools in the city of Masbate, and Municipalities of Baleno, Milagros and Balud. The packages each include a Lenovo K300 desktop system, an HP 5610 printer, an APC BackUPS E500 and a SmartBro USB Internet kit, complete with computer table and chair.

The package also includes Ate Vikki to teach the teachers how to use the system, and how to milk the internet for all its worth.

My first trip will consist of a plane ride from Manila to Legaspi, hired car from Legaspi to Pilar, a ferry ride from Pilar to Aroroy in Masbate, drive down to Baleno and then Masbate City to meet the two nearby schools representatives, determine who the training participants will be, and to help decide on the best places to position the computer sets. On the second day we will be heading off to the Municipalities of Milagros and Baleno to meet the representatives there, and then back to base in Aroroy, for the trip back home the next day.

On the 25th of November I will be back there with one of our tech guys to put in all 12 computers in the respective schools, and start the round of 2-day training sessions on the use of Windows Vista and basic MS Office.

As small and medium scale offices slowly work their way towards connectivity and security, the main concern still is and for a long time will be, cost. A start-up office can have two or more computers, but only one of them will have an internet connection, for want of a router and switch. Those that are networked through a router and switch however may not have a firewall, for the simple fact that no one had realized the need for it.

As a result, an office that is just starting up is an open gate to all things malicious on the internet, because while they can afford to have at least a DSL connection, they cannot afford the necessary protection, may it be hardware or software. As a consequence, the purchase of these necessary appliances are forgone, the need for them dismissed with the words “We can’t afford them.” Or cheaper versions of appliances such as 3COM, Cisco and HP are purchased, without thinking that while these alternative versions are affordable, they become more expensive in the long run because they have a shorter lifespan compared to that of the leading and well-established brands.

But if one looked hard enough, it is possible to have the best networking and security software for a startup office. Refurbishsed switches and routers, firewall appliances and security products may be the answer for the network administrator who is handicapped by a small budget but needs to come up with the best security possible. He can either rent or lease new and refurbished hardware at a fraction of the cost it would take to buy the same branded appliances from HP, Juniper, Avaya or Cisco manufacturer’s distributors.

Renting or leasing brand name appliances buys the small office enough budget time to eventually decide on an outright purchase, while being on the same level of performance and protection. It enables them to function on a level at par with major league networks as well as be protected from the dangers that come with a broadband internet connection. And a networking equipment supplier that caters to these needs, one that knows that listening to their customers is actually more important than just selling to them, is obviously on the right track.