Can OpenOffice.org replace Office 2007 when it comes to your business or personal computing needs? How compatible is OpenOffice.org with other applications? Do you get the same value from a free application as a paid application? How far has OpenOffice.org evolved since its release a number of years ago? What are the differences between these two office suites? Come to today's Learn It At Lunch session to hear more about this continually evolving product that packs alot of punch and is giving Microsoft a run for its money. Come and have your questions answered by Sun representatives Murtz Kizilbash and Iyer Venkatesan.

Murtz Kizilbash has been in the IT industry for the past twenty years, the last eighteen with Sun Microsystems, Inc. He has held customer facing positions in sales, sales management, M&A and managed teams for several vertical markets including Healthcare, Government, Financial Services and Education. He currently is responsible for sales within the Education and Healthcare markets in the great state of California and previously held positions covering APAC, EMEA and North America geographies. He holds a BSEE and a MBA.

Iyer Venkatesan is a Product Marketing Manager at Sun Microsystems in their Cloud Computing division. Iyer has been at Sun for 11 years in various product marketing and management roles covering StarOffice, OpenOffice.org and Solaris. Before Sun he worked in semiconductor product management at Xilinx and as a chip design engineer for IBM. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a MBA from University of Michigan.

Los Angeles residents face the possibility of a range of disasters, including earthquakes, home fires, wildfires, flash floods and heat emergencies among others. Knowing what to do in any emergency can save lives. April is California Earthquake Preparedness Month, take some time to prepare for this and other emergencies by attending Learn It At Lunch in Donovan Hall from noon to 1 pm, Wednesday, April 15th. The Los Angeles Chapter of the American Red Cross will infuse the lunch hour with important tips that include letting your loved ones know you are Safe and Well, and how to save those important documents using the latest technology.

Videogames are more than just child's play these days. The Nintendo Wii harvests advanced technology to allow users the ability to work out in front of their TV sets and develop personal fitness plans. Curtis Yee, a UCLA doctoral student in social psychology with a strong interest in virtual worlds and human/technology interactions, will lead Wednesday's Learn it at Lunch session, "The Nintendo Wii Fit: The Future of Fitness or Just Hype?" Yee will discuss the various uses of the Wii interactive game console for yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance games. Take this unique opportunity to experience the Wii first-hand!

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When was the last time you gave out personal information on the Internet? If you’re like most of us, it was this week, today – or maybe even 20 minutes ago. Every time you purchase something online, join a web group or send an email, your personal information is transmitted over the Internet and potentially vulnerable to identity theft. What’s more, Internet scammers are constantly sending seemingly innocuous emails, “phishing” for personal information by masquerading as a legitimate bank or other entity. This can lead to fraudulent purchases, downgraded credit and other forms of fraud. The upside: It’s all preventable.

Lynn Edgington, founder of Eagle Research Associates, will lead the lunchtime discussion, Identity Management: Who’s in Your Wallet? He has spent the last three years researching Internet investment scams, how they operate, the lack of investment knowledge by the general public and the problems facing law enforcement agencies in dealing with the explosion of Internet investment fraud. In working with others, who are now a part of the team, he was encouraged to form a company to help stop Internet investment fraud and educate the public.

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