Hello again from beautiful downtown Ephrata. I know it has been a couple of months since you heard from me...and for that I apologize. But, as many regular readers know, Spring, Summer, and Autumn are busy times for me with art shows all over the Northwest. In addition, I've been doing a fair amount wedding, portrait, and event photography, so it has been a very busy 6 months. Finding time to write a blog is hard when one's head is in so many places.
But, the season is winding down (2 shows left as of this writing) and its time for me to get back into the blog mode...so let us see if I remember how to write. On this blog, I want to make some amends for all the months I have missed, so I will start out with two free gifts...outstanding free software...guaranteed.
The first is a program call Auslogics Disk Defragmenter. As the name implies, it is designed to defragment your hard drive so that your files are all in the same location on your drive...making it faster for your computer to load. Defragmenters have been around for years and you should use one at least twice a year. For several years I have used the one that comes with Norton Systemworks or the one that comes with Windows.
The problem with both of them is that they are so slow and it can take hours to do a complete defragmentation. The Auslogics Disk Defrag is much faster, according to reviewers and users who have written their own reviews. And after using it a few times, I agree. It is much faster than any defragmenter that I have ever used. Now, don't expect lightning speed. It still takes a while to run a defragmenting operation. But this one is the fastest I've used.
You can download this great, free program by clicking here.
My second free software gift is a program called "Xplorer2." The best way to describe it is that it is a replacement for Windows Explorer (not to be confused with Internet Explorer). I have never liked Windows Explorer and have been looking for a better file management software program for years. Along the way, I found a few that were good, but not great. Xplorer2 is great.
It works just like Windows Explorer, except that it gives you three columns instead of two, so you can work on two directories at the same time. When you start it, the program remembers where you were the last time you used it whereas Windows Explorer makes you start all over every time.
There are several other improvements that Xplorer2 offers that are too numerous to list here. If you would like to try it for yourself, you can download it here.
I promise more good blogs in the very near future and more good (free) software tips. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Best of the Free Firewalls
Greetings from beautiful downtown Kalispell, Montana. I am here for a 3 day art show called Arts-in-the-Park and have done well, so far. It was a long day getting here and I will head for home on Sunday night as soon as I take down the tent and load up the van. I have another big show in Richland on Friday and Saturday next week and need all the time I can have to get ready for it. Its warmer here than at home, but I am parked under a huge oak tree and am very comfortable.
On to the business at hand. As you know, I travel a lot these days, always with my laptop, and always on the lookout for free wireless connections. I usually find them in non-Starbucks coffee houses, like the one I am in right now (City Coffee here in Kalispell...highly recommended). I have been doing some thinking lately that I need to add a software firewall to my laptop, at least something better than the built-in firewall that comes with Windows.
Until now, I haven't made it a priority since my home and studio both have routers which act as firewalls. But, after reading a couple of articles on laptop safety while traveling, I decided to look for a free firewall that would help me out on the road and act as a second firewall when I am back on my home turf. In talking with the technician at my ISP, they recommend a software firewall on all my computers, even though they are behind router firewalls.
Of course I wanted a free one, if possible. I did my homework and found that there are three free firewalls that rank fairly high for the protection they provide. The first, and probably the best is Comodo, a very good firewall product that has won some Editor's Choice Awards and raves from several user's reviews that I have read.
The second is the free version of ZoneAlarm. It also has some decent reviews, but several users report that it has slowed down their computers. Other on-line reviewers have stopped recommending it because it just hasn't kept up with some of the newer firewalls that have come out.
The third is a new firewall that caught me offguard when I found it. It is made by PC Tools, the maker of my new favorite spyware detector, Spyware Doctor. It came in third in a couple of reviews I read, but because it has the familar interface of Spyware Doctor, this was the one I chose. It is a very good firewall, but not my first line of defense (at home, anyway), and it will do the job I wanted, both at home and on the road.
In working with it for a few days, I have found it easy to use and set up. And, as I said, the screen interface makes it so easy to use in my case. It takes up very little memory and system resources, which also makes me happy.
Like all firewalls, it has to be trained, meaning that every time something on your computer tries to access the Internet, the software asks you if it is OK. If it is something like your Web browser, you obviously want to permit it, but the software also lets you make this a permanent "yes" so the program won't ask you again.
So what is the big difference between the built-in Windows firewall and all of the ones I have listed above? And why do most computer security experts recommend you use a software firewall other than the Windows one?
The answer is simple. The Windows firewall is a one way firewall, meaning it only monitors and blocks any possible illegal access attempts coming in from the outside. It does nothing about attempts to get on the net from inside your computer. So, if you picked up some bad rootkit, or unknowingly have a spyware program inside your computer that wants to send your personal information out along the Net, the Windows firewall can't do anything for you.
On the other hand, these other firewalls I've mentioned here monitor both traffic directions and notify you when a program tries to access the net from inside your computer. That is why you have to train it so it will not block your regular programs. So, if spyware is trying to send personal information out, you are notified and can decline to let it access the Internet.
The one unfortunate thing about most firewalls, especially the free ones, is that they don't block any potential malware coming in from bad site. For that, you need a good spyware software like Spyware Doctor or CounterSpy.
I hope this is of help to you.
On to the business at hand. As you know, I travel a lot these days, always with my laptop, and always on the lookout for free wireless connections. I usually find them in non-Starbucks coffee houses, like the one I am in right now (City Coffee here in Kalispell...highly recommended). I have been doing some thinking lately that I need to add a software firewall to my laptop, at least something better than the built-in firewall that comes with Windows.
Until now, I haven't made it a priority since my home and studio both have routers which act as firewalls. But, after reading a couple of articles on laptop safety while traveling, I decided to look for a free firewall that would help me out on the road and act as a second firewall when I am back on my home turf. In talking with the technician at my ISP, they recommend a software firewall on all my computers, even though they are behind router firewalls.
Of course I wanted a free one, if possible. I did my homework and found that there are three free firewalls that rank fairly high for the protection they provide. The first, and probably the best is Comodo, a very good firewall product that has won some Editor's Choice Awards and raves from several user's reviews that I have read.
The second is the free version of ZoneAlarm. It also has some decent reviews, but several users report that it has slowed down their computers. Other on-line reviewers have stopped recommending it because it just hasn't kept up with some of the newer firewalls that have come out.
The third is a new firewall that caught me offguard when I found it. It is made by PC Tools, the maker of my new favorite spyware detector, Spyware Doctor. It came in third in a couple of reviews I read, but because it has the familar interface of Spyware Doctor, this was the one I chose. It is a very good firewall, but not my first line of defense (at home, anyway), and it will do the job I wanted, both at home and on the road.
In working with it for a few days, I have found it easy to use and set up. And, as I said, the screen interface makes it so easy to use in my case. It takes up very little memory and system resources, which also makes me happy.
Like all firewalls, it has to be trained, meaning that every time something on your computer tries to access the Internet, the software asks you if it is OK. If it is something like your Web browser, you obviously want to permit it, but the software also lets you make this a permanent "yes" so the program won't ask you again.
So what is the big difference between the built-in Windows firewall and all of the ones I have listed above? And why do most computer security experts recommend you use a software firewall other than the Windows one?
The answer is simple. The Windows firewall is a one way firewall, meaning it only monitors and blocks any possible illegal access attempts coming in from the outside. It does nothing about attempts to get on the net from inside your computer. So, if you picked up some bad rootkit, or unknowingly have a spyware program inside your computer that wants to send your personal information out along the Net, the Windows firewall can't do anything for you.
On the other hand, these other firewalls I've mentioned here monitor both traffic directions and notify you when a program tries to access the net from inside your computer. That is why you have to train it so it will not block your regular programs. So, if spyware is trying to send personal information out, you are notified and can decline to let it access the Internet.
The one unfortunate thing about most firewalls, especially the free ones, is that they don't block any potential malware coming in from bad site. For that, you need a good spyware software like Spyware Doctor or CounterSpy.
I hope this is of help to you.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Free Fish Tank
If you have ever walked into a retail store that carries computers, you have probably seen the aquarium screen savers show different kinds of fish swimming lazily either an ocean or aquarium environment. With today's high resolution monitors and video cards, these screen savers look hauntingly realistic.
Psychologists have pointed out for years that having an aquarium is a good way to relax and lower stress if you just sit and watch the fish do their thing. My brother has had an aquarium for years, and while it is very relaxing to sit and watch the the little fishies swimming around, I found that your stress levels go back up because you have to feed them every day and clean up the tank on a regular basis. Thanks, but no thanks. All pets are high maintenance, which is why at this point in our lives, Susan and I live in a pet-free environment.
But, along with many other folks, I enjoy watching fish swim, either in an aquarium, or in their natural environment. Enter the aquarium screen savers. You get to watch fish swim without having to perform any maintenance. The problem has been that these screen savers, including the one from Microsoft, cost money. And while I enjoy watching fish swim, I was not moved to spend any money for it.
A few months ago, when I had some extra time to do some research, I looked for a free aquarium screen saver. No such luck...they all cost money.
But, the other day, I ran across a free one called "Sim Aquarium." It comes in a free version as well as more complex aquariums that do cost a few dollars. I downloaded the free one and enjoy it very much. It looks good on all my monitors, especially my 20" wide-screen monitor at home.
If you have always wanted a fish screen saver, give this one a try. It is available on the ZDNet web site. Enjoy.
Psychologists have pointed out for years that having an aquarium is a good way to relax and lower stress if you just sit and watch the fish do their thing. My brother has had an aquarium for years, and while it is very relaxing to sit and watch the the little fishies swimming around, I found that your stress levels go back up because you have to feed them every day and clean up the tank on a regular basis. Thanks, but no thanks. All pets are high maintenance, which is why at this point in our lives, Susan and I live in a pet-free environment.
But, along with many other folks, I enjoy watching fish swim, either in an aquarium, or in their natural environment. Enter the aquarium screen savers. You get to watch fish swim without having to perform any maintenance. The problem has been that these screen savers, including the one from Microsoft, cost money. And while I enjoy watching fish swim, I was not moved to spend any money for it.
A few months ago, when I had some extra time to do some research, I looked for a free aquarium screen saver. No such luck...they all cost money.
But, the other day, I ran across a free one called "Sim Aquarium." It comes in a free version as well as more complex aquariums that do cost a few dollars. I downloaded the free one and enjoy it very much. It looks good on all my monitors, especially my 20" wide-screen monitor at home.
If you have always wanted a fish screen saver, give this one a try. It is available on the ZDNet web site. Enjoy.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Securing Firefox
Hello again from beautiful downtown Ephrata. I know it has been a couple of weeks since I've written anything, but, as longtime readers know, this is the busiest part of my art season, where I go from show-to-show displaying and selling my art works. And I am now beginning really busy time of the season. This weekend I will be in Gig Harbor, WA and next weekend in Kalispell, MT. After that I go directly to Richland, WA, followed by Coeur d Alene in the first weekend of August.
It is major crunch time for me as I have to come back to Ephrata after each show to restock my traveling van before heading out for the next one. Sometimes I only have 3 days to do that. So, I just don't have a lot of time to write these blogs, as much as I love doing it. I will make up for it in the winter months, I promise.
Susan and I did take 10 days off for both a vacation on the Olympic Peninsula and a family reunion in Seaside, OR. We had a great time, although I haven't had much time to even look at the photos I took on the trip. After the vacation, we headed to Tacoma where I had a very successful 3 day show.
So that sort of catches you up on my comings and goings. I will write a quick blog when I can, as I am still keeping up with the latest trends in technology on a nearly daily basis. I have several blogs planned and hope to find time to write them.
Today, I want to recommend and important article I just read about Firefox, my favorite Web browser. If you are a Firefox user you need read this article. It is entitled, "Securing Firefox: How to Avoid Hacker Attacks..." It is 11 pages long but most of it is illustrations showing how to set up your browser to be as secure as possible. Again, I strongly recommend that you read this article.
Almost as I write these words, a new security flaw has shown up in Firefox that you should also be aware of. This one is interesting (and weird) because it really isn't Firefox's fault. If you have both Internet Explorer and Firefox installed on your computer and you are browsing a malicious Web site using IE, Firefox can be attacked and used to hack your computer. I said it was weird.
If you browse the same bad site with Firefox, you can't be hacked as the site is geared to attack IE. So, the easiest solution is not to browse a malicious site with IE. As for me, I never use Internet Explorer, so I am safe. I also have set up my Firefox using the recommendations in the article mentioned above. Look for the folks at Mozilla to fix this flaw soon.
Happy computing and I will write when I can.
It is major crunch time for me as I have to come back to Ephrata after each show to restock my traveling van before heading out for the next one. Sometimes I only have 3 days to do that. So, I just don't have a lot of time to write these blogs, as much as I love doing it. I will make up for it in the winter months, I promise.
Susan and I did take 10 days off for both a vacation on the Olympic Peninsula and a family reunion in Seaside, OR. We had a great time, although I haven't had much time to even look at the photos I took on the trip. After the vacation, we headed to Tacoma where I had a very successful 3 day show.
So that sort of catches you up on my comings and goings. I will write a quick blog when I can, as I am still keeping up with the latest trends in technology on a nearly daily basis. I have several blogs planned and hope to find time to write them.
Today, I want to recommend and important article I just read about Firefox, my favorite Web browser. If you are a Firefox user you need read this article. It is entitled, "Securing Firefox: How to Avoid Hacker Attacks..." It is 11 pages long but most of it is illustrations showing how to set up your browser to be as secure as possible. Again, I strongly recommend that you read this article.
Almost as I write these words, a new security flaw has shown up in Firefox that you should also be aware of. This one is interesting (and weird) because it really isn't Firefox's fault. If you have both Internet Explorer and Firefox installed on your computer and you are browsing a malicious Web site using IE, Firefox can be attacked and used to hack your computer. I said it was weird.
If you browse the same bad site with Firefox, you can't be hacked as the site is geared to attack IE. So, the easiest solution is not to browse a malicious site with IE. As for me, I never use Internet Explorer, so I am safe. I also have set up my Firefox using the recommendations in the article mentioned above. Look for the folks at Mozilla to fix this flaw soon.
Happy computing and I will write when I can.
Friday, June 15, 2007
What We Really Need - Another Browser
Apple is a good company, and for years it has stood by itself, flaunting its technology at the Windows world, not trying to beat it... or join it, for that matter. It said, we are here and we are good and we offer products that are unique and can't be beat. Besides their high quality computers, they have been wildly successful with such unique products as the iPod and the soon-to-be released iPhone. They were smart in that they made sure their unique products integrated with Windows computers, but they didn't try to take out Microsoft.
With that in mind, it does make one wonder why, all of a sudden, they would release a version of their MAC-only browser for Windows. In case you are not familiar with MAC computers, the most popular browser in that world is a product called Safari. I have heard it is a good browser, although not great and can be a little buggy at times. But it belonged only to the MAC world, which for MAC users, makes it special. It was something that Windows users couldn't have which made it even more special.
But this week, it was released in beta form for us Windows users. And of course, within 48 hours, hard core Windows users and tech reviewers got their hands on it to see how good or bad it is. And what did they find?
In the first 24 hours, a security expert found a serious security flaw. OK, it is still a beta product so we will give it a break. I am sure that will be fixed. Then, the folks at Wired magazine ran speed test pitting Safari against IE7 and Firefox. And guess what? Safari came in dead last against those two popular browsers. It is much slower, according to Wired. But that is not what Steve Jobs promised when he announced the release of Windows Safari. Here are his words at an Apple conference only last week:
“So what we’ve got is the most innovative browser in the world. but we’ve also got the fastest browser on Windows. It’s twice as fast as IE, 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2, and features built-in Google and Yahoo search."
Sorry, Steve, but the first test results say you are wrong. But, again, it is a beta version, so we will cut you some slack.
The most interesting part of this move by Apple, at least to me, is why do it at all? From what I read, some MAC users won't use Safari, so why port it over to Windows, especially when this market is so dominated by Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and to a lesser extent, by Firefox. And don't forget about Opera, a really terrific and fast browser. And to add to that, the re-emergence of our old friend, the latest incarnation of the Netscape browser that was released only last week. There is no reason for Sarfari to try and break into this market, especially since the first few days of its release has given Apple a black eye.
But, what do I know?
With that in mind, it does make one wonder why, all of a sudden, they would release a version of their MAC-only browser for Windows. In case you are not familiar with MAC computers, the most popular browser in that world is a product called Safari. I have heard it is a good browser, although not great and can be a little buggy at times. But it belonged only to the MAC world, which for MAC users, makes it special. It was something that Windows users couldn't have which made it even more special.
But this week, it was released in beta form for us Windows users. And of course, within 48 hours, hard core Windows users and tech reviewers got their hands on it to see how good or bad it is. And what did they find?
In the first 24 hours, a security expert found a serious security flaw. OK, it is still a beta product so we will give it a break. I am sure that will be fixed. Then, the folks at Wired magazine ran speed test pitting Safari against IE7 and Firefox. And guess what? Safari came in dead last against those two popular browsers. It is much slower, according to Wired. But that is not what Steve Jobs promised when he announced the release of Windows Safari. Here are his words at an Apple conference only last week:
“So what we’ve got is the most innovative browser in the world. but we’ve also got the fastest browser on Windows. It’s twice as fast as IE, 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2, and features built-in Google and Yahoo search."
Sorry, Steve, but the first test results say you are wrong. But, again, it is a beta version, so we will cut you some slack.
The most interesting part of this move by Apple, at least to me, is why do it at all? From what I read, some MAC users won't use Safari, so why port it over to Windows, especially when this market is so dominated by Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and to a lesser extent, by Firefox. And don't forget about Opera, a really terrific and fast browser. And to add to that, the re-emergence of our old friend, the latest incarnation of the Netscape browser that was released only last week. There is no reason for Sarfari to try and break into this market, especially since the first few days of its release has given Apple a black eye.
But, what do I know?
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Free Anti-Rootkit Software
The three biggest threats to our computers right now (if you use the Web) are viruses (include worms in this category also), spyware (some of which is VERY dangerous) and rootkits. Rootkits are very dangerous as they can be installed without your knowledge at the very heart of your computer and can be difficult to detect as the computer thinks they are part of its makeup.
The good news for us is that AVG, makers of some very fine anti-viral software, including a great free version that is rated very highly by most testers, has now released a free anti-rootkit software that searches out your system for any little devils that may have been installed without your knowledge. You can get it for free on their Web site. Highly recommended!
I have come to the conclusion that anyone who doesn't have a quality anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed on their computer is nuts. Lately viruses don't seem to be much of an issue, at least for me, as I don't open suspicious e-mail's and my computer makes an awfully loud noise when the anti-virus software detects an incoming threat.
Today, the biggest threats seem to come from spyware, which can be picked up just by visiting a Web site. Case-in-point, my 4 year old laptop has finally failed to the point where it is not worth fixing. 48 hours ago, I received via UPS, a new terrific laptop from Gateway with 2 Gb of memory, a dual core processor and a big hard drive at a very good price. I am very pleased with it. I have spent much of the last two days loading software on to it and very little time surfing the web.
In the first 24 hours, my Spyware Doctor software picked up 7 spyware products, all of which were very low-level threats, mostly advertising trackers. Then, just a short time ago today, I ran another check on the system and found 52 spyware products on my new computer, some of which were listed as very dangerous. Good, God, I have only owned the computer for two days and it was already loaded with spyware! That is scary.
And as a side note, I ran a deep spyware scan on my home desktop computer this morning and found a very dangerous tracking spyware that can be used to pick off personal information when I, for instance, access my bank accounts. I don't know how it got on my computer as Spyware Doctor is supposed to prevent this. All I can think of is that it was a new one that got on my system before the software was updated with the newest threats.
Since I wrote about Spyware Doctor vs Counterspy a few months ago, I have done a little additional testing and found Spyware Doctor still able to find some spyware that Counterspy misses, so I am sticking with it.
With so many people trying to steal my personal information and track how I live my life, it is tempting to give up using the Internet altogether. But, of course, that is not possible in this day and age, especially if one is in business. A person just needs to take all the proper precautions. I hope some laws can be passed in the near future that can slow down this terrible growth of spyware.
The good news for us is that AVG, makers of some very fine anti-viral software, including a great free version that is rated very highly by most testers, has now released a free anti-rootkit software that searches out your system for any little devils that may have been installed without your knowledge. You can get it for free on their Web site. Highly recommended!
I have come to the conclusion that anyone who doesn't have a quality anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed on their computer is nuts. Lately viruses don't seem to be much of an issue, at least for me, as I don't open suspicious e-mail's and my computer makes an awfully loud noise when the anti-virus software detects an incoming threat.
Today, the biggest threats seem to come from spyware, which can be picked up just by visiting a Web site. Case-in-point, my 4 year old laptop has finally failed to the point where it is not worth fixing. 48 hours ago, I received via UPS, a new terrific laptop from Gateway with 2 Gb of memory, a dual core processor and a big hard drive at a very good price. I am very pleased with it. I have spent much of the last two days loading software on to it and very little time surfing the web.
In the first 24 hours, my Spyware Doctor software picked up 7 spyware products, all of which were very low-level threats, mostly advertising trackers. Then, just a short time ago today, I ran another check on the system and found 52 spyware products on my new computer, some of which were listed as very dangerous. Good, God, I have only owned the computer for two days and it was already loaded with spyware! That is scary.
And as a side note, I ran a deep spyware scan on my home desktop computer this morning and found a very dangerous tracking spyware that can be used to pick off personal information when I, for instance, access my bank accounts. I don't know how it got on my computer as Spyware Doctor is supposed to prevent this. All I can think of is that it was a new one that got on my system before the software was updated with the newest threats.
Since I wrote about Spyware Doctor vs Counterspy a few months ago, I have done a little additional testing and found Spyware Doctor still able to find some spyware that Counterspy misses, so I am sticking with it.
With so many people trying to steal my personal information and track how I live my life, it is tempting to give up using the Internet altogether. But, of course, that is not possible in this day and age, especially if one is in business. A person just needs to take all the proper precautions. I hope some laws can be passed in the near future that can slow down this terrible growth of spyware.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Freeing Up Additional Memory
Hello again from beautiful downtown Ephrata. Am keeping very busy these days with portraits, weddings, and, of course art shows. And speaking of the latter, I hope you can stop by the Sage 'n Sun Festival here in Ephrata this weekend as I will be there with some of my art and photographs. I will have my tent up on the courthouse lawn, so please come by for a visit.
As a photographer and artist, I use several graphic software programs like Photoshop, which like gaming software, uses a huge portion of my computers resources. So, I am very aware of my memory usage (no jokes here please). My computers have from 1.5 to 2 GB of memory each, and sometimes, even that doesn't seem like enough.
Sometimes, computer memory gets stuffed with data that doesn't go away when you close out the program. When that happens, your computer slows down noticeably and the only way out is to reboot your computer. That can be annoying to say the least. So, wouldn't it be nice if there were a memory manager program that can monitor memory usage and continually optimize your memory at all times.
Well there is one...and it is free. It is called FreeRam XP Pro. Here is a description of the product by the manufacturer:
"FreeRAM XP Pro includes automatic memory monitoring and optimization; advanced tray support; fast, threaded freeing with a stop option; multiple system-metric monitors; a simple and attractive GUI; memory reporting and diagnostic logging; and real-time memory information. FreeRAM XP Pro's AutoFree feature intelligently scales how much RAM is freed with your current system status, thus optimizing RAM without slowing down your computer. Additionally, FreeRAM XP Pro's unique Global Memory Compression technology frees memory instantly in a way that is completely unlike other memory managers. FreeRAM XP Pro has been designed to be easy to use yet highly customizable by computer novices and experts alike."
I installed it and it works quite well. I freed up quite a bit of additional memory when I pushed the optimization button for the first time. When running in the background, the program puts a small icon in the system tray that tells you how much memory is available to you at that moment.
Although it has only been running a short time in my computer, it has been doing a very good job. You might want to give it a try to see if it helps you. It can be downloaded at the ZD Net Web site.
As a photographer and artist, I use several graphic software programs like Photoshop, which like gaming software, uses a huge portion of my computers resources. So, I am very aware of my memory usage (no jokes here please). My computers have from 1.5 to 2 GB of memory each, and sometimes, even that doesn't seem like enough.
Sometimes, computer memory gets stuffed with data that doesn't go away when you close out the program. When that happens, your computer slows down noticeably and the only way out is to reboot your computer. That can be annoying to say the least. So, wouldn't it be nice if there were a memory manager program that can monitor memory usage and continually optimize your memory at all times.
Well there is one...and it is free. It is called FreeRam XP Pro. Here is a description of the product by the manufacturer:
"FreeRAM XP Pro includes automatic memory monitoring and optimization; advanced tray support; fast, threaded freeing with a stop option; multiple system-metric monitors; a simple and attractive GUI; memory reporting and diagnostic logging; and real-time memory information. FreeRAM XP Pro's AutoFree feature intelligently scales how much RAM is freed with your current system status, thus optimizing RAM without slowing down your computer. Additionally, FreeRAM XP Pro's unique Global Memory Compression technology frees memory instantly in a way that is completely unlike other memory managers. FreeRAM XP Pro has been designed to be easy to use yet highly customizable by computer novices and experts alike."
I installed it and it works quite well. I freed up quite a bit of additional memory when I pushed the optimization button for the first time. When running in the background, the program puts a small icon in the system tray that tells you how much memory is available to you at that moment.
Although it has only been running a short time in my computer, it has been doing a very good job. You might want to give it a try to see if it helps you. It can be downloaded at the ZD Net Web site.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wal_Mart and Dell?
In about 2 weeks, you may see something new in the electronics section of your local Wal-Mart store. Computer manufacturer Dell has entered into an agreement with Wal-Mart that will put its desktops in 3,400 of the chain's stores beginning June 10. They will retail for under $700. Dell, it appears, may be changing its ways. A Dell spokesperson described the deal as "our first step" into global retail, possibly indicating that the company may be working on other deals, although it declined to talk about any possible deals. Wal-Mart will initially carry two different Dimension desktop models in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. No details were given as to whether the company planned to eventually sell Dell laptops.
As for Wal-Mart, partnering with Dell is part of their strategy to remodel and expand the electronics section of its stores. The company is increasingly looking to top-name brands as a way to entice more affluent customers into its stores to help sustain its growth.
Although exact details of the PCs have not been released, but both companies say the desktops will be built exclusively for sale at the world's largest retailers. The deal marks the first time in 15 years that Dell has not been involved directly in the sale of its machines. While the company recently began selling its PCs in retail, they were through company-owned outlets. It also once sold clearance machines through Costco.
As for Wal-Mart, partnering with Dell is part of their strategy to remodel and expand the electronics section of its stores. The company is increasingly looking to top-name brands as a way to entice more affluent customers into its stores to help sustain its growth.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The Final Solution for Junk Mail May be at Hand
Yes...a new technology is emerging that just might put an end to most spam forever, especially the fraudulent ones that try to steal your identity. The Internet Engineering Task Force, a key Internet standards body gave preliminary approval this week to a powerful technology designed to detect and block fake e-mail messages. It's called DomainKeys Identified Mail, and it promises to give Internet users the best chance so far of stanching the seemingly endless flow of fraudulent junk e-mail.
Yahoo, Cisco Systems, Sendmail and PGP Corporation are behind the push for DomainKeys, which the companies said in a joint statement will provide "businesses with heightened brand protection by providing message authentication, verification and traceability to help determine whether a message is legitimate." Insiders say the technology is more promising than most other anti-spam and antiphishing technologies because it harnesses the power of cryptographically secure digital signatures to thwart online miscreants.
Yahoo, Cisco Systems, Sendmail and PGP Corporation are behind the push for DomainKeys, which the companies said in a joint statement will provide "businesses with heightened brand protection by providing message authentication, verification and traceability to help determine whether a message is legitimate." Insiders say the technology is more promising than most other anti-spam and antiphishing technologies because it harnesses the power of cryptographically secure digital signatures to thwart online miscreants.
The way it works is straightforward: if, for instance, PayPal sends an e-mail notice to customers about their accounts, the company's outgoing mail server will quietly insert a digital signature into the legitimate message. (Because the signature is embedded in the message headers, it's generally not visible to human readers.)
Let's say the recipient has a Yahoo Mail address. Yahoo's mail servers can automatically check PayPal's Internet domain name listing to verify that the digital signature is valid and the message truly originated at Paypal.com. Signatures by authorized third parties are permitted as well, which is useful for outsourced e-mail.
If the signature doesn't check out, the message is probably spam, or a phishing attack designed to try to fool someone into divulging their details about their PayPal account. While the DomainKeys standard doesn't actually specify that messages with invalid signatures should be flagged as junk, Internet service providers are likely to do just that.In the long run, DomainKeys is more promising than existing antispam and antiphishing technologies, which rely on techniques like assembling a "blacklist" of known fraudsters or detecting such messages by trying to identify common characteristics. But spammers have invented increasingly creative counterattacks, such as inserting image advertisements in the text of messages and appending excerpts from news articles and fiction works in an attempt to defeat the popular antispam method of Bayseian filtering. That kind of counterattack is called Bayesian poisoning.
DomainKeys represents a radical shift in the arms race between phishers, in particular, and Internet users: it's effectively a tactical nuclear attack that can't be countered. The digital signatures, which use public key cryptography, are viewed as unforgeable. But the DomainKeys approach does suffer from one serious, short-term problem: it's only effective if both the sender and recipient's mail systems are upgraded to support the standard.
We shall endeavor to keep you informed of the progress of this product.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Over 400 People Clicked on an Ad Promising to Infect Their Computer
Sorry that I haven't written for a few days, but it is the start of the art show season for me and I am busy getting ready. I also have been doing some photographic jobs for clients, so that is keeping me doubly busy. This is the time of year that my blogging is drastically reduced because I am on the road so often, with sometimes only 3 days between shows. I shall endeavor to write a blog here and there when time permits just to let you know that I am alive.
If you would like to see a current list of where I will be this summer, click over to my Web site for the most current list of my upcoming shows. Keep in mind that it is not yet completed yet as there are still more shows that will be added. By the way, if you would like to see some of my new works for this year, click here and you can see some of them. More will be added very soon.
Now for today's blog:
Would you believe that 409 people have clicked on an on-line advertisement that promised to infect their computer with a virus? The ad offers infection for those with virus-free PCs. The ad was placed by a person who identifies himself as security professional Didier Stevens. It reads like this:
If you would like to see a current list of where I will be this summer, click over to my Web site for the most current list of my upcoming shows. Keep in mind that it is not yet completed yet as there are still more shows that will be added. By the way, if you would like to see some of my new works for this year, click here and you can see some of them. More will be added very soon.
Now for today's blog:
Would you believe that 409 people have clicked on an on-line advertisement that promised to infect their computer with a virus? The ad offers infection for those with virus-free PCs. The ad was placed by a person who identifies himself as security professional Didier Stevens. It reads like this:
Drive-By Download
Is your PC virus-free?
Get it infected here!
drive-by-download.info
Stevens, who says he works for Contraste Europe, a branch of the IT consultancy The Contraste Group, has been running his Google Adwords campaign for six months now and has received 409 hits. Stevens has done similar research in the past, such as finding out how easy it is to land on a drive-by download site when doing a Google search.
First, Stevens bought the drive-by-download.info domain. .info domains are notorious for hosting malware, he points out. Then he set up a server to display the innocuous message "Thank you for your visit" and to log the requests. No PCs were harmed in this experiment, he emphasizes. The site is benign and has never hosted malware or other scripts or code.
Of the 409 people who clicked, 98 percent were running Windows machines, according to the user agent string, which is a text string that identifies a Web site visitor to a server. Stevens says that he designed his ad to make it look fishy, but he had no problem getting Google to accept it and has had no complaints to date. And, although a healthy amount of people clicked on it, he said there's "no way to know what motivated them to click on my ad. I did not submit them to an IQ-test."
I shall contain myself from any further comments and just let you be the judge.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Lightroom - A Must for Serious Photographers
I am in love...with a new software from Adobe (the makers of Photoshop). It is called Lightroom and is described by Adobe as "an efficient way to import, select, develop, and showcase large volumes of digital images." It is designed for professional photographers or amateurs who take a lot of photos.
It is not an easy products to describe and I really didn't understand it until I watched a couple of Adobe's on-line videos and downloaded a 30 day trial description. Within two days, I was in love and plunked out my money. It is so good that a recent article in Popular Photography said its biggest competitor was Photoshop and people might not need buy Lightroom's expensive big brother. Personally, I need both products, but Lightroom does some neat things that Photoshop does not...and Lightroom does some things better than Photoshop!
Another description from Adobe: Lightroom software is the professional photographer's essential toolbox, providing one easy application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs so you can spend less time in front of the computer and more time behind the lens. It is especially designed for photographers who shoot in RAW mode, although it will easily handle just about every known image format on the market today.
Its main purpose is to improve your work flow when you take lots of pictures. Here is how I use the product: I first transfer my images from the camera to a special folder in my computer. After that, I open up Lightroom and "import" the pictures into into the program. When you "import," the program let's you add additional meta data information such as copyright info, and also lets you add keywords to help you organize your photos.
After bringing the photos into the program, you can easily add additional keywords. For instance the first thing I did when I acquired the program was import four days worth of shooting that I did in Yosemite last year. I first added keywords such as Yosemite and California to help organize them. Then I easily clicked on all the photos I had of Bridalveil Falls over those four days and added the keyword Bridalveil and Waterfalls to them. I then did the same thing for the other famous landmarks in Yosemite Valley.
As you add keywords, the program creates a category on the left side of the screen so that you can easily click on a keyword, and only those photos come on line, making it easier to compare and find your best photos. You then can quite easily rate your photos by stars or by color coding them.
After organization, you then can go to work on the images to improve their quality, either individually or on a group basis. You can create your own presets so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of controls to improve your images, far to numerous to describe here. I especially like the Luminance control which is a more subtle way to add saturation to your images without changing people's skin color.
Its ability to turn color images to black and white is amazing and is far better than Photoshop, (with the possible exception of their brand new version CS3)...but it also adds split toning for b&w images which no version of Photoshop has. There are many more controls for improving your images than those I have briefly mentioned here, but you can go to the Adobe Web site to learn more about them.
As I mentioned above, Lightroom is designed to improve a photographer's work flow. So far we have taken the pictures, organized them, then processed them. The next logical step in the work flow that Lightroom follows is to output the final images...either to prints, the Web, or a slide show. Again, Lightroom has made these steps easy with several different built-in templates for all three. Printing different size prints as well as proof sheets is easy...just pull up a template, add your pictures and print. For the Web, there are several templates, either regular HTML or using FLASH. Again just choose your images, push a button and your Web pages are created for you.
If you think that Lightroom might be for you, head over to the Adobe Web site and watch the videos and see for yourself. You can then download a 30 day trial version and try it out. By the way, the trial version is NOT a crippled version. It is the full version. Lightroom now sells for $299, but Adobe originally put it on sale for the first few months as a special buy for $199. There are still a few places on the Web where you can still get it at the $199 price, so if you think Lightroom might be for you, I would think about looking at it right away.
It is not an easy products to describe and I really didn't understand it until I watched a couple of Adobe's on-line videos and downloaded a 30 day trial description. Within two days, I was in love and plunked out my money. It is so good that a recent article in Popular Photography said its biggest competitor was Photoshop and people might not need buy Lightroom's expensive big brother. Personally, I need both products, but Lightroom does some neat things that Photoshop does not...and Lightroom does some things better than Photoshop!
Another description from Adobe: Lightroom software is the professional photographer's essential toolbox, providing one easy application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs so you can spend less time in front of the computer and more time behind the lens. It is especially designed for photographers who shoot in RAW mode, although it will easily handle just about every known image format on the market today.
Its main purpose is to improve your work flow when you take lots of pictures. Here is how I use the product: I first transfer my images from the camera to a special folder in my computer. After that, I open up Lightroom and "import" the pictures into into the program. When you "import," the program let's you add additional meta data information such as copyright info, and also lets you add keywords to help you organize your photos.
After bringing the photos into the program, you can easily add additional keywords. For instance the first thing I did when I acquired the program was import four days worth of shooting that I did in Yosemite last year. I first added keywords such as Yosemite and California to help organize them. Then I easily clicked on all the photos I had of Bridalveil Falls over those four days and added the keyword Bridalveil and Waterfalls to them. I then did the same thing for the other famous landmarks in Yosemite Valley.
As you add keywords, the program creates a category on the left side of the screen so that you can easily click on a keyword, and only those photos come on line, making it easier to compare and find your best photos. You then can quite easily rate your photos by stars or by color coding them.
After organization, you then can go to work on the images to improve their quality, either individually or on a group basis. You can create your own presets so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of controls to improve your images, far to numerous to describe here. I especially like the Luminance control which is a more subtle way to add saturation to your images without changing people's skin color.
Its ability to turn color images to black and white is amazing and is far better than Photoshop, (with the possible exception of their brand new version CS3)...but it also adds split toning for b&w images which no version of Photoshop has. There are many more controls for improving your images than those I have briefly mentioned here, but you can go to the Adobe Web site to learn more about them.
As I mentioned above, Lightroom is designed to improve a photographer's work flow. So far we have taken the pictures, organized them, then processed them. The next logical step in the work flow that Lightroom follows is to output the final images...either to prints, the Web, or a slide show. Again, Lightroom has made these steps easy with several different built-in templates for all three. Printing different size prints as well as proof sheets is easy...just pull up a template, add your pictures and print. For the Web, there are several templates, either regular HTML or using FLASH. Again just choose your images, push a button and your Web pages are created for you.
If you think that Lightroom might be for you, head over to the Adobe Web site and watch the videos and see for yourself. You can then download a 30 day trial version and try it out. By the way, the trial version is NOT a crippled version. It is the full version. Lightroom now sells for $299, but Adobe originally put it on sale for the first few months as a special buy for $199. There are still a few places on the Web where you can still get it at the $199 price, so if you think Lightroom might be for you, I would think about looking at it right away.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Technologies That Flopped
Happy Mother's Day from beautiful downtown Ephrata!!
I recently came across and interesting and fun article (actually its a slide show) on the Web that I thought I would share with you. It is a list of the top ten technologies of the past that failed, as evaluated by tech author Jim Rapoza. It took me down memory lane and actually made me laugh as I began to remember some of these disastrous tech innovations. A few of them made me scratch my head at the time thinking that they would probably bomb...and they did. I love to be right.
Remember Microsoft BOB, or DIVX? How about CueCat or Network PC's. If you would like to check out these colossal failures and maybe have a few chuckles, check out Jim Rapoza's article.
I recently came across and interesting and fun article (actually its a slide show) on the Web that I thought I would share with you. It is a list of the top ten technologies of the past that failed, as evaluated by tech author Jim Rapoza. It took me down memory lane and actually made me laugh as I began to remember some of these disastrous tech innovations. A few of them made me scratch my head at the time thinking that they would probably bomb...and they did. I love to be right.
Remember Microsoft BOB, or DIVX? How about CueCat or Network PC's. If you would like to check out these colossal failures and maybe have a few chuckles, check out Jim Rapoza's article.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Explaining HD Radio
For the last couple of years, we have heard a lot about High Definition TV. Walk into any store that sells TV sets, and about 90% of every demo set they have on the floor is HD. But, did you know there also HD radio? What is that, you say?
HD radio is the radio equivalent of HDTV...high quality sound over the airwaves. We are not talking about satellite radio now such as Sirius or XM. This is the same type of broadcast radio you hear now all over the world...only in high definition. Believe it or not, more than 1,200 radio stations currently broadcast in HD, with over 600 offering HD2 multicasts, giving consumers crystal clear digital sound and more choices, with no subscription fee. But of course, you need a special HD radio set to enjoy HD radio.
Right now, there are over 1,000 standard analog radio products on the market, but you'll find no more than a smattering of consumer-level HD digital models. But that is about to change. Best Buy Stores has made a solid commitment to carry HD radio sets. According to their press release, "Best Buy is the first national retailer to make HD Radio technology available to customers throughout its national chain. Customers will find a premium HD Radio experience in their cars with the JVC KD-HDR1 Mobile HD Radio receiver and the Visteon Zoom. Throughout 2007, the HD Radio line-up will expand to home products and more mobile offerings."
A very short history of radio is needed here. AM Radio was invented long before any of you or me were born. FM radio came upon us in 1961...and neither has changed much since. Both AM and FM added stereo, but that is about it. Satellite radio came along a few years ago and drastically improved the sound quality, but at not only the cost of a new receiver, but also a monthly subscription.
HD radio gives you the same or even better sound quality, equal to CD quality and, unlike satellite radio, you only have to buy a receiver. There is no monthly fee; once you have the radio, you're good to go forever and roam the world at will at have radio to listen to.
Interestingly, in the United Kingdom, digital radio has found a firm foothold because the technology is standardized and open, in much the same way that high-definition television was rolled out. In the U.K. 4.7 million digital receivers have been sold since 1999. In fact, these actually outsold traditional radios last year. U.K. enthusiasts of digital audio broadcasting, liken the phenomenon to that of the digital camera overtaking the traditional film camera in popularity. Many of the digital radios sold in the U.K. have TiVo-like functionality, letting you time-shift programs, save interesting broadcasts, and bookmark your favorite stations.
My only qualm about this new technology is not with the technology...it is with what is being broadcast over the airwaves. Out here in the hinterlands, 99% the radio stations are not worth listening to, except maybe for NPR. As most broadcast stations are owned now by larger corporate companies that operate many stations at once, the quality of the music has deteriorated to the point that it is not worth listening to, no matter what the genre. It has been homogenized to the point of being something that won't offend anyone (like a McDonald's hamburger) and offers very little variety and only a select number of artists. And AM radio is mostly talk shows, so who needs HD for that?
Maybe in large metropolitan areas where there are a large variety of music being played over the many stations, it might be worth doing...but even there you run into the same issues. But, occasionally there are the interesting small stations that haven't followed their bigger brothers and sisters into programming boredom.
The bottom line is garbage in...garbage out. Garbage being broadcast in HD is still garbage. I wrote this blog while listening to classical music coming in over my satellite system. There is never anyone talking, no ads, no public service announcements...just pure unadulterated music. Can you guess where I stand?
If you would like to learn more about HD radio, as well as information about receiver availability, a station guide and more can be found at http://www.hdradio.com/.
HD radio is the radio equivalent of HDTV...high quality sound over the airwaves. We are not talking about satellite radio now such as Sirius or XM. This is the same type of broadcast radio you hear now all over the world...only in high definition. Believe it or not, more than 1,200 radio stations currently broadcast in HD, with over 600 offering HD2 multicasts, giving consumers crystal clear digital sound and more choices, with no subscription fee. But of course, you need a special HD radio set to enjoy HD radio.
Right now, there are over 1,000 standard analog radio products on the market, but you'll find no more than a smattering of consumer-level HD digital models. But that is about to change. Best Buy Stores has made a solid commitment to carry HD radio sets. According to their press release, "Best Buy is the first national retailer to make HD Radio technology available to customers throughout its national chain. Customers will find a premium HD Radio experience in their cars with the JVC KD-HDR1 Mobile HD Radio receiver and the Visteon Zoom. Throughout 2007, the HD Radio line-up will expand to home products and more mobile offerings."
A very short history of radio is needed here. AM Radio was invented long before any of you or me were born. FM radio came upon us in 1961...and neither has changed much since. Both AM and FM added stereo, but that is about it. Satellite radio came along a few years ago and drastically improved the sound quality, but at not only the cost of a new receiver, but also a monthly subscription.
HD radio gives you the same or even better sound quality, equal to CD quality and, unlike satellite radio, you only have to buy a receiver. There is no monthly fee; once you have the radio, you're good to go forever and roam the world at will at have radio to listen to.
Interestingly, in the United Kingdom, digital radio has found a firm foothold because the technology is standardized and open, in much the same way that high-definition television was rolled out. In the U.K. 4.7 million digital receivers have been sold since 1999. In fact, these actually outsold traditional radios last year. U.K. enthusiasts of digital audio broadcasting, liken the phenomenon to that of the digital camera overtaking the traditional film camera in popularity. Many of the digital radios sold in the U.K. have TiVo-like functionality, letting you time-shift programs, save interesting broadcasts, and bookmark your favorite stations.
My only qualm about this new technology is not with the technology...it is with what is being broadcast over the airwaves. Out here in the hinterlands, 99% the radio stations are not worth listening to, except maybe for NPR. As most broadcast stations are owned now by larger corporate companies that operate many stations at once, the quality of the music has deteriorated to the point that it is not worth listening to, no matter what the genre. It has been homogenized to the point of being something that won't offend anyone (like a McDonald's hamburger) and offers very little variety and only a select number of artists. And AM radio is mostly talk shows, so who needs HD for that?
Maybe in large metropolitan areas where there are a large variety of music being played over the many stations, it might be worth doing...but even there you run into the same issues. But, occasionally there are the interesting small stations that haven't followed their bigger brothers and sisters into programming boredom.
The bottom line is garbage in...garbage out. Garbage being broadcast in HD is still garbage. I wrote this blog while listening to classical music coming in over my satellite system. There is never anyone talking, no ads, no public service announcements...just pure unadulterated music. Can you guess where I stand?
If you would like to learn more about HD radio, as well as information about receiver availability, a station guide and more can be found at http://www.hdradio.com/.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Microsoft Updates
The boys and girls from Redmond are keeping pretty busy these days. Here is a quick update of some of the things going on over on the other side of the Cascades.
Vista:
Microsoft is making a major public relations push to counter the perception by many in the industry that Windows Vista is floundering, 100 days after launch. According to them, the biggest problems people are having have to do with updating hardware drivers that will work with the new operating system, and they claim that problem is rapidly disappearing. However, given the number of complaints floating around on the Net, the problems may be more than that.
Still, Microsoft has yet to announce when they are going to launch Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1. The internal wisdom at Microsoft seems to be that by not talking about SP1, they will convince users to change their long-established planning ways and not wait for SP1 to hit before taking the upgrade plunge.
Microsoft to Buy Yahoo?
Two newspapers reported last week that Microsoft has stepped up its pursuit of a deal to buy Yahoo as the two companies reenter talks to strike a deal amid huge growth from rival Google. The two companies have held informal deal talks over the years. But the latest approach comes as Microsoft seeks to ink a deal in the wake of Google's expansion. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, put the price tag at around $50 billion, although the Journal said it is more in line of a merger. Reports today indicate that the deal still has a long way to go.
Vista and Laptop Batteries
Many people, especially those in companies where there are many laptop users, are reporting that Vista is sucking up battery power much more than Windows XP. The main culprit appears to be the Aero Glass interface, a spiffy new user interface that makes Vista more pleasing to the eye with transparent windows and animated transitions when moving from one application to another. When Aero is turned off, battery life is equal to or better than Windows XP systems. But with it turned on, battery life suffers compared with Windows XP.
But, laptop users who spent extra money on powerful laptops to handle the graphics requirements of Vista and the Aero interface are forced to run the aesthetic equivalent of Vista Basic, the low-cost version of Vista, if they care about battery life. Reports that Vista was an energy hog started to surface during beta testing last year. At the time, Microsoft said many of the problems would be cleared up by the time the operating system launched. Uh huh!
Redesigned Hotmail
Some of you who use Hotmail know that Microsoft has been beta testing a new version of their venerable old e-mail program. But, users who are testing the new beta are not reporting great results. In fact, Microsoft is being told by most of the testers that they prefer things just the way they are. However, the Redmond folks want to stay up with Google's GMail and the new Yahoo Mail (see previous blogs).
The new version of Hotmail is now called Windows Live Hotmail, although it retains much of the classic design of the original Hotmail, much to Microsoft programmer's chagrin. Microsoft also is holding back from quickly forcing its users onto the new version. Although those who sign up for Hotmail will automatically be taken to Windows Live Hotmail, existing users will still have to opt in, though Microsoft does hope to move all users over in a period of months. In a couple of weeks, Microsoft plans to make available a new test version of its Outlook connector software that will enable anyone with a copy of Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007 to use the software to access Windows Live Hotmail messages and contacts.
Vista:
Microsoft is making a major public relations push to counter the perception by many in the industry that Windows Vista is floundering, 100 days after launch. According to them, the biggest problems people are having have to do with updating hardware drivers that will work with the new operating system, and they claim that problem is rapidly disappearing. However, given the number of complaints floating around on the Net, the problems may be more than that.
Still, Microsoft has yet to announce when they are going to launch Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1. The internal wisdom at Microsoft seems to be that by not talking about SP1, they will convince users to change their long-established planning ways and not wait for SP1 to hit before taking the upgrade plunge.
Microsoft to Buy Yahoo?
Two newspapers reported last week that Microsoft has stepped up its pursuit of a deal to buy Yahoo as the two companies reenter talks to strike a deal amid huge growth from rival Google. The two companies have held informal deal talks over the years. But the latest approach comes as Microsoft seeks to ink a deal in the wake of Google's expansion. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, put the price tag at around $50 billion, although the Journal said it is more in line of a merger. Reports today indicate that the deal still has a long way to go.
Vista and Laptop Batteries
Many people, especially those in companies where there are many laptop users, are reporting that Vista is sucking up battery power much more than Windows XP. The main culprit appears to be the Aero Glass interface, a spiffy new user interface that makes Vista more pleasing to the eye with transparent windows and animated transitions when moving from one application to another. When Aero is turned off, battery life is equal to or better than Windows XP systems. But with it turned on, battery life suffers compared with Windows XP.
But, laptop users who spent extra money on powerful laptops to handle the graphics requirements of Vista and the Aero interface are forced to run the aesthetic equivalent of Vista Basic, the low-cost version of Vista, if they care about battery life. Reports that Vista was an energy hog started to surface during beta testing last year. At the time, Microsoft said many of the problems would be cleared up by the time the operating system launched. Uh huh!
Redesigned Hotmail
Some of you who use Hotmail know that Microsoft has been beta testing a new version of their venerable old e-mail program. But, users who are testing the new beta are not reporting great results. In fact, Microsoft is being told by most of the testers that they prefer things just the way they are. However, the Redmond folks want to stay up with Google's GMail and the new Yahoo Mail (see previous blogs).
The new version of Hotmail is now called Windows Live Hotmail, although it retains much of the classic design of the original Hotmail, much to Microsoft programmer's chagrin. Microsoft also is holding back from quickly forcing its users onto the new version. Although those who sign up for Hotmail will automatically be taken to Windows Live Hotmail, existing users will still have to opt in, though Microsoft does hope to move all users over in a period of months. In a couple of weeks, Microsoft plans to make available a new test version of its Outlook connector software that will enable anyone with a copy of Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007 to use the software to access Windows Live Hotmail messages and contacts.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Walter Mossberg's New Web Site
For about a year (mostly in 2006), I had a free subscription to "Wall Street Journal." If you don't read it on a daily basis, you probably aren't aware that this publication goes way beyond just being a financial reporting publication. There are any number of in-depth articles about very interesting subjects that have nothing to do with stocks or financial matters.
One of the columnists I looked forward to reading was Walter Mossberg, who focuses on today's high tech issues. From computers to software to cell phones to MP3 players, Mossberg always gives us the "straight dope," praising when it is deserved and being strongly critical, also where deserved. I like that, and it is sometimes hard to find these days where publications fear to criticize products made by their biggest advertisers (case in point being the Editor-in-Chief of PC World magazine who resigned a few days ago for that very reason).
Walter Mossberg did not live under that kind of edict and it was always good to read his articles and know that you were getting his honest opinions. Anyway, he now, after many many years, has put up his own Web site, aptly named, "All Things Digital." And, it is a good one. The site delivers a combination of commentary, news analysis, product reviews, and video. Instead of following the model of a traditional blog or the multistory approach of other content sites like CNN and The Wall Street Journal, the site plays up its editors' reputation and personality. It delivers a mix of new and old features that should appeal to Mossberg fans.
Mossberg is not alone on this site. He is joined by Kara Swisher, reviewing partner Katherine Boehert, ex-San Jose Mercury senior editor John Paczkowski and others...and has financial backing from The Wall Street Journal. His partners are all seasoned veterans of high tech journalism and worth reading. For years, I read Paczkowsi's satirical daily newsletter "Good Morning Silicon Valley" and missed him when he left. I am glad to see him back on line with Mossberg.
I think this is a good Web site worth bookmarking in your browser and I encourage you to head on over and take a look. Who knows, maybe you will stop reading this blog after you visit "All Things Digital."
One of the columnists I looked forward to reading was Walter Mossberg, who focuses on today's high tech issues. From computers to software to cell phones to MP3 players, Mossberg always gives us the "straight dope," praising when it is deserved and being strongly critical, also where deserved. I like that, and it is sometimes hard to find these days where publications fear to criticize products made by their biggest advertisers (case in point being the Editor-in-Chief of PC World magazine who resigned a few days ago for that very reason).
Walter Mossberg did not live under that kind of edict and it was always good to read his articles and know that you were getting his honest opinions. Anyway, he now, after many many years, has put up his own Web site, aptly named, "All Things Digital." And, it is a good one. The site delivers a combination of commentary, news analysis, product reviews, and video. Instead of following the model of a traditional blog or the multistory approach of other content sites like CNN and The Wall Street Journal, the site plays up its editors' reputation and personality. It delivers a mix of new and old features that should appeal to Mossberg fans.
Mossberg is not alone on this site. He is joined by Kara Swisher, reviewing partner Katherine Boehert, ex-San Jose Mercury senior editor John Paczkowski and others...and has financial backing from The Wall Street Journal. His partners are all seasoned veterans of high tech journalism and worth reading. For years, I read Paczkowsi's satirical daily newsletter "Good Morning Silicon Valley" and missed him when he left. I am glad to see him back on line with Mossberg.
I think this is a good Web site worth bookmarking in your browser and I encourage you to head on over and take a look. Who knows, maybe you will stop reading this blog after you visit "All Things Digital."
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Making Firefox Work Better
Here are a couple of quick tips, via video, to help your Firefox Web browser work a little faster, courtesy of CNET TV. I tried some of them and they do work.
The first video is entitled "Speed Up Firefox." The second video, which I found even more helpful is called "Another Way to Speed Up Firefox." Both of these videos show you how to change some of the configuration values to make things better. If Firefox is your browser of choice (which it should be) these videos are worth watching...and they are only a couple of minutes long.
Another good video I found on CNET was about better ways to view a PDF file in Firefox. You can watch that video by clicking on this link. Occasionally, I have had some difficulty with a PDF file on the Net. The add-on recommended in this video really helped.
And speaking of Firefox, here are some links to other Web sites that talk about some of the best Firefox add-ons (aka extensions)
http://websearch.about.com/od/dailywebsearchtips/qt/dnt0528.htm
http://best-firefox-extensions.blogspot.com/
http://db.rambleschmack.net/pc_tips/best_firefox_extensions
http://www.listible.com/list/best-firefox-extensions-for-power-users
Extensions are great as many of them really make Firefox perform better or allow you to customize your Web browser to the way you do things. In one of the above mentioned videos, they recommend that you don't overload your Firefox with too many extensions and I agree with that. You should download as many extensions as sound interesting to you then try them out. If you find yourself not using them very much, get rid of them.
Here is a list of the add-ons that I use, which, of course, makes them my personal favorites (at least for this moment in time):
The first video is entitled "Speed Up Firefox." The second video, which I found even more helpful is called "Another Way to Speed Up Firefox." Both of these videos show you how to change some of the configuration values to make things better. If Firefox is your browser of choice (which it should be) these videos are worth watching...and they are only a couple of minutes long.
Another good video I found on CNET was about better ways to view a PDF file in Firefox. You can watch that video by clicking on this link. Occasionally, I have had some difficulty with a PDF file on the Net. The add-on recommended in this video really helped.
And speaking of Firefox, here are some links to other Web sites that talk about some of the best Firefox add-ons (aka extensions)
http://websearch.about.com/od/dailywebsearchtips/qt/dnt0528.htm
http://best-firefox-extensions.blogspot.com/
http://db.rambleschmack.net/pc_tips/best_firefox_extensions
http://www.listible.com/list/best-firefox-extensions-for-power-users
Extensions are great as many of them really make Firefox perform better or allow you to customize your Web browser to the way you do things. In one of the above mentioned videos, they recommend that you don't overload your Firefox with too many extensions and I agree with that. You should download as many extensions as sound interesting to you then try them out. If you find yourself not using them very much, get rid of them.
Here is a list of the add-ons that I use, which, of course, makes them my personal favorites (at least for this moment in time):
- AdBlock Plus - the name says it all and it works really well.
- Foxmarks - a bookmarking add-on that synchronizes your bookmarks on all the computers you use. A fantastic tool!
- Google Notebook - I wrote about this one in my last blog and I am using more and more everyday.
- Google Preview - Lets you look at a page in Google and Yahoo searches before you open it.
- McAfee Site Advisor - Lets you know if a Web site is safe or not when you do a Google search. This one is a must.
- PDF Download - see above.
- Tabbrowser Preferences - Allows you more control over your tabs.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Google Notebook for Firefox and IE
Sorry you have not heard from me for a few days. I just haven't had the time to write or do any research. The art season is beginning soon and I am busy getting ready for that plus throw in a wedding shoot last Saturday and a few other things and the result is not much time for doing fun things like writing this blog.
Recently, I came across a browser add-on that you may find useful. It is from Google and is called "Google Notebook." In fact, Google Notebook is more than just an add-on...it is also a Web tool you can use without an add-on. But the add-on makes it more useful to use to add notes and bookmarks in a small, closeable, separate window while you are browsing or doing your research on the Internet.
First, you must have a free Google account to use the extension. Once you sign up, you can download the free add-on. It puts a small icon down at the bottom of your web browser. By clicking on it, you can expand it to add notes or bookmark a page that you want to come back to. Notebook is a Web-based product so that you can access your notes on any computer at any time by just logging into your Google account.
And, Notebook does not limit you to just one notebook. You can create several notebooks, each with a specific subject. For instance, I can have one notebook just for research for my blog, and another notebook for information about photography. And since I use three different computers for almost all my work, having access to all my notes no matter which computer I use is a real bonus.
Recently, a fellow by the name of Mitch Keeler made his own version of the Google Notebook that opens in a sidebar of Firefox. To me, this made the program even better (especially on my wide screen monitor at home) as it expands the viewable area of my notebook...and it is always on the screen, if you desire. To use it, you need to visit his Web page and follow the simple instructions.
To learn more, visit the Google Notebook home page...then take a quick tour of the product to get ideas how to best use it to your advantage.
Recently, I came across a browser add-on that you may find useful. It is from Google and is called "Google Notebook." In fact, Google Notebook is more than just an add-on...it is also a Web tool you can use without an add-on. But the add-on makes it more useful to use to add notes and bookmarks in a small, closeable, separate window while you are browsing or doing your research on the Internet.
First, you must have a free Google account to use the extension. Once you sign up, you can download the free add-on. It puts a small icon down at the bottom of your web browser. By clicking on it, you can expand it to add notes or bookmark a page that you want to come back to. Notebook is a Web-based product so that you can access your notes on any computer at any time by just logging into your Google account.
And, Notebook does not limit you to just one notebook. You can create several notebooks, each with a specific subject. For instance, I can have one notebook just for research for my blog, and another notebook for information about photography. And since I use three different computers for almost all my work, having access to all my notes no matter which computer I use is a real bonus.
Recently, a fellow by the name of Mitch Keeler made his own version of the Google Notebook that opens in a sidebar of Firefox. To me, this made the program even better (especially on my wide screen monitor at home) as it expands the viewable area of my notebook...and it is always on the screen, if you desire. To use it, you need to visit his Web page and follow the simple instructions.
To learn more, visit the Google Notebook home page...then take a quick tour of the product to get ideas how to best use it to your advantage.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Update on Vonage vs Verizon
This is a quick update on my 4/7/07 blog posting about Internet phone company Vonage. A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the company can sign up new customers while it appeals a patent infringement ruling. In our previous post on the subject, a lower court had ruled Vonage could only service its existing customer base and that they could not sign up any new customers. That ruling is now reversed permanently reversed, at least until the appeals court rules on the case.
The federal circuit appeals court, which specializes in hearing patent cases, put Vonage's appeal on a fast-track schedule, with arguments now set for June 25. Usually, it takes the appeals court more than a year to rule on most cases. But lawyers involved in the Vonage appeal said it could be decided as soon as this summer.
Verizon is seeking to bar Vonage from any use of its patented technologies after a jury in March found Vonage had infringed three of their patents. Verizon, through its lawyers, praised the decision by the appeals court to expedite the case, saying it would limit Vonage infringement of Verizon patents.
The extended stay ruling came about two hours after the appeals court heard arguments from lawyers representing Vonage and Verizon.
Vonage's legal team argued that the trial judge in the case had misconstrued key claims in three of the patents at issue and given the jury the wrong instructions on how to interpret technical terms such as data "translation" and "destination address." Lawyers for both companies faced a barrage of technical questioning by three judges during the hearing that lasted about 90 minutes.
Vonage said after the ruling it would pay a quarterly royalty of 5.5 percent into a reserve during the appeals process and post a $66 million bond as required by the court.
Monday, April 23, 2007
The Best Price Comparison Sites
As a frequent on-line shopper for both business and personal items, I always want to make sure I get the best possible price. I also like to make sure that the Web site I buy from is reliable. How do I do that? Of course, I use the Net, specifically price comparison sites where prices, shipping costs and vendor reliability are all available. There are a number of them out there, many of whom you find when do a Google search on a particular item.
I recently read an article in Computer Shopper magazine that compares eight different price comparison sites and rates them. I won't bore you with all the results and some of them rated pretty low and are not worth using. The two top-rated sites were both head and shoulders above the others and deserve your notice.
I've used PriceGrabber.com for several years now and found it extremely reliable and accurate. It has been, and still remains the source I use the most. From there, I can get prices usually from a wide variety of sources for any given product. Surprisingly, to me at least, this site actually came in a close second in the Computer Shopper ratings.
The winner by a slim margin was Shopzilla.com, a site that I must admit I was not aware of until I read the article. Of course, I had to try it and did. It is a good site and I have added it to my repertoire. Now, when I look for something, I use both sites to see if one might have a better price that the other missed. Both sites mostly show the same retailers in their list when looking for the same item, but I have occasionally found some listed on one that are not on the other.
Besides prices, both sites give you the ability to put in your zip code to get shipping costs. By doing that, the sites can also calculate whether or not you will pay sales tax as well as determine your shipping costs. Remember though, shipping costs might be somewhat inaccurate as many places will give you free shipping if you are buying more than a certain dollar amount. With both shopping comparison sites, you can click on the vendor to learn more about shipping.
You can also see the ratings, as voted on by users like ourselves, as to how good (or bad) a particular company might be who is listed. You can also read actual comments by buyers as to why they thought this company was good or bad. More than once I have seen the lowest price on a product being listed by a firm that had many dissatisfied customers. Fortunately, it usually doesn't work out that way.
I recommend that you give both PriceGrabber and Shopzilla a try. PS: I have sometimes used these sites to compare prices on the Net with our local stores. For instance, I found that my studio's next door neighbor the Gourmet Kitchen Store, has very reasonable prices as compared to those on the net and you can't beat the convenience of walking into a store in your home town.
I recently read an article in Computer Shopper magazine that compares eight different price comparison sites and rates them. I won't bore you with all the results and some of them rated pretty low and are not worth using. The two top-rated sites were both head and shoulders above the others and deserve your notice.
I've used PriceGrabber.com for several years now and found it extremely reliable and accurate. It has been, and still remains the source I use the most. From there, I can get prices usually from a wide variety of sources for any given product. Surprisingly, to me at least, this site actually came in a close second in the Computer Shopper ratings.
The winner by a slim margin was Shopzilla.com, a site that I must admit I was not aware of until I read the article. Of course, I had to try it and did. It is a good site and I have added it to my repertoire. Now, when I look for something, I use both sites to see if one might have a better price that the other missed. Both sites mostly show the same retailers in their list when looking for the same item, but I have occasionally found some listed on one that are not on the other.
Besides prices, both sites give you the ability to put in your zip code to get shipping costs. By doing that, the sites can also calculate whether or not you will pay sales tax as well as determine your shipping costs. Remember though, shipping costs might be somewhat inaccurate as many places will give you free shipping if you are buying more than a certain dollar amount. With both shopping comparison sites, you can click on the vendor to learn more about shipping.
You can also see the ratings, as voted on by users like ourselves, as to how good (or bad) a particular company might be who is listed. You can also read actual comments by buyers as to why they thought this company was good or bad. More than once I have seen the lowest price on a product being listed by a firm that had many dissatisfied customers. Fortunately, it usually doesn't work out that way.
I recommend that you give both PriceGrabber and Shopzilla a try. PS: I have sometimes used these sites to compare prices on the Net with our local stores. For instance, I found that my studio's next door neighbor the Gourmet Kitchen Store, has very reasonable prices as compared to those on the net and you can't beat the convenience of walking into a store in your home town.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thunderbird Version 2 Now Available
Mozilla has released Version 2 of its popular (and FREE) Thunderbird e-mail software. Long time readers know that this is now (and has been for some time) my own personal choice for e-mail. This new version is pretty slick and adds some nice new features. I have installed it, used it, and really like a lot of their new additions.
Here is a list of their new features as outlines by a Mozilla spokesperson:
You can get more information and download the new Thunderbird at the Mozilla web site.
Here is a list of their new features as outlines by a Mozilla spokesperson:
- Message tagging -- users can organize emails by assigning tags like "From Mom" or "Weekend Projects" to easily track and search for information; users can choose from default tags -- such as Important, Personal, To-Do, Later, and Work -- or create their own custom tags; users can also add as many tags as they want to a message. In addition, the tags can be color-coded for easier identification.
- Message history – Thunderbird 2 offers message history navigation similar to Web browsing history navigation; users can move backward and forward through their messages and easily browse through their message history.
- Search -- the find-as-you-type pane speeds up searches within displayed messages, and a quick search feature starts showing search results as soon as users begin typing search terms; additionally, Thunderbird 2 saves users time by allowing the storing of searches as folders and facilitating the rerun of saved searches by clicking on the saved search folder in the folder pane.
- Easy access to Web mail services -- Thunderbird 2 lets users integrate and access popular Web mail services simply by entering their user names and passwords.
- Customization -- users can customize Thunderbird 2 with hundreds of free add-ons that change the look, feel, and functionality of the email client to suit their tastes; users can also create their own message templates to save time.
- Visual theme -- Thunderbird 2's theme and user interface have been updated to improve usability and maximize screen real estate.
- Advanced folder views -- customize the folder pane to show favorite, unread or recent folders.
- Updates to the extension system -- the extension system has been updated to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions.
You can get more information and download the new Thunderbird at the Mozilla web site.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Internet Sales Tax Update
Are the days of no sales tax on most purchases made over the Internet about to change and disappear forever? Frankly we are closer to that happening than ever before. A powerful alliance of politicians, including key U.S. senators and the National Governors Association, is arguing that out-of-state retailers must be required to charge sales taxes on purchases. Companies like Amazon.com, based here in Washington state, are only required to collect sales made to customers in this state. Most of its many millions of customers in other states pay no sales tax on their purchases.
Of course, there is nothing new here that we haven't heard before. Members of the the governors' association have been pressing Congress to enact such a law for at least six years. They invoke arguments, which have been unsuccessful so far, like saying that reduced sales tax revenue threatens budgets for schools and police. Of course, what has changed to make this a more likely possibility is the political dynamic. The Democrats now control both houses of Congress and they are seen as more likely to agree to the idea than one controlled by Republicans.
"When you have a Democratic majority in Congress, that Congress will be more friendly to imposing new burdens on business if it means additional tax collection," said Steve DelBianco, executive director of the NetChoice coalition, which counts as members eBay, Yahoo and the Electronic Retailing Association. They, of course, oppose the sales tax plan.
Another factor that could tip the scales in Washington, DC in favor of the pro-sales tax forces is a concept called the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement, invented in 2002 by state tax officials hoping to straighten out some of the notorious convolutions of state tax laws. If that ever happens, they believe it will be easier to convince Congress to make sales collection mandatory for out-of-state retailers. There is very little doubt that some form of a mandatory sales tax collection law will be introduced in Congress very shortly.
Pro-sales tax lobbyists say state governments lose over $15.5 billion dollars annually from non-taxed Internet sales. They also say that local small businesses suffer because they do have to collect sales taxes and on-line retailers do not. While all states that have sales taxes also have a Use Tax that requires residents to pay taxes on purchases where no sales tax was collected (or if the purchase was charged an out-of-state sales tax that is less than their home state taxes) very few people pay it and state enforcement of these laws is spotty at best.
Of course, a sales tax law that would cover Internet sales would have to be modified a great deal to cover the differences in each states sales tax laws. For instance, while Washington residents don't pay sales tax on food, Idaho residents do.
All this may make for some interesting times ahead on this issue and we plan to watch it closely and will let you know when something important happens.
PS: Don't confuse this sales tax issue to the debate over the Internet tax moratorium, which only limits taxes on access charges such as DSL or dialup connections. Congress renewed the ban in 2004, and it expires this November.
Of course, there is nothing new here that we haven't heard before. Members of the the governors' association have been pressing Congress to enact such a law for at least six years. They invoke arguments, which have been unsuccessful so far, like saying that reduced sales tax revenue threatens budgets for schools and police. Of course, what has changed to make this a more likely possibility is the political dynamic. The Democrats now control both houses of Congress and they are seen as more likely to agree to the idea than one controlled by Republicans.
"When you have a Democratic majority in Congress, that Congress will be more friendly to imposing new burdens on business if it means additional tax collection," said Steve DelBianco, executive director of the NetChoice coalition, which counts as members eBay, Yahoo and the Electronic Retailing Association. They, of course, oppose the sales tax plan.
Another factor that could tip the scales in Washington, DC in favor of the pro-sales tax forces is a concept called the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement, invented in 2002 by state tax officials hoping to straighten out some of the notorious convolutions of state tax laws. If that ever happens, they believe it will be easier to convince Congress to make sales collection mandatory for out-of-state retailers. There is very little doubt that some form of a mandatory sales tax collection law will be introduced in Congress very shortly.
Pro-sales tax lobbyists say state governments lose over $15.5 billion dollars annually from non-taxed Internet sales. They also say that local small businesses suffer because they do have to collect sales taxes and on-line retailers do not. While all states that have sales taxes also have a Use Tax that requires residents to pay taxes on purchases where no sales tax was collected (or if the purchase was charged an out-of-state sales tax that is less than their home state taxes) very few people pay it and state enforcement of these laws is spotty at best.
Of course, a sales tax law that would cover Internet sales would have to be modified a great deal to cover the differences in each states sales tax laws. For instance, while Washington residents don't pay sales tax on food, Idaho residents do.
All this may make for some interesting times ahead on this issue and we plan to watch it closely and will let you know when something important happens.
PS: Don't confuse this sales tax issue to the debate over the Internet tax moratorium, which only limits taxes on access charges such as DSL or dialup connections. Congress renewed the ban in 2004, and it expires this November.
Monday, April 16, 2007
G-Mail vs Yahoo Mail
Many Internet users are switching from standard E-mail (ie: e-mail addresses provided by your Internet provider) to Web-based mail such as GMail, HotMail, Yahoo Mail, and others. The main reasons are that Web-based mail is available wherever you travel in the world via the World Wide Web and that when you change Internet providers, you don't have to change your E-mail address and go through the hassle of notifying everyone. It is something worth considering.
I am fortunate in that I have my own domain name (Corkrum.com) complete with Web site and E-mail. My hosting service provides a fantastic Web interface so that I have both the advantages of Web-based E-mail as well as my own standard E-mail software on each of my computers. Their Web-based mail program is so good that I have even considered switching permanently to it (but I haven't done it yet). And since my Web-hosting provider has some good E-mail filters, spam is not much of a problem either.
But before I had a Web interface for my own domain's e-mail, I needed a Web-based E-mail program for those times I was traveling. Many years ago, I tried out both Yahoo Mail and Hotmail. I quickly dumped Hotmail because of the amount of spam I received. Yahoo, to this day, has always provided a superior spam filtering software so that it was extremely rare that any garbage mail slipped through. I am sure that Hotmail has improved over the years, but I have no reason to go back to them for anything and they left a really bad taste in my mouth. I feel Yahoo still has a superior product in this area, so I am a bit biased.
Still, it was with interest that I watched a video comparison on CNet-TV of the new Yahoo Mail (Beta version) and GMail (provided by Google). Gmail, although a relative newcomer, has rapidly caught on with users, especially techno-nerds. CNet compared the two e-mail providers on a head-to head basis in several categories. If you don't want to watch the 3+ minute video (see above link), I will give you the bottom line...GMail won, although not by much. Here is a breakdown of how they compare, category-by-category.
I am fortunate in that I have my own domain name (Corkrum.com) complete with Web site and E-mail. My hosting service provides a fantastic Web interface so that I have both the advantages of Web-based E-mail as well as my own standard E-mail software on each of my computers. Their Web-based mail program is so good that I have even considered switching permanently to it (but I haven't done it yet). And since my Web-hosting provider has some good E-mail filters, spam is not much of a problem either.
But before I had a Web interface for my own domain's e-mail, I needed a Web-based E-mail program for those times I was traveling. Many years ago, I tried out both Yahoo Mail and Hotmail. I quickly dumped Hotmail because of the amount of spam I received. Yahoo, to this day, has always provided a superior spam filtering software so that it was extremely rare that any garbage mail slipped through. I am sure that Hotmail has improved over the years, but I have no reason to go back to them for anything and they left a really bad taste in my mouth. I feel Yahoo still has a superior product in this area, so I am a bit biased.
Still, it was with interest that I watched a video comparison on CNet-TV of the new Yahoo Mail (Beta version) and GMail (provided by Google). Gmail, although a relative newcomer, has rapidly caught on with users, especially techno-nerds. CNet compared the two e-mail providers on a head-to head basis in several categories. If you don't want to watch the 3+ minute video (see above link), I will give you the bottom line...GMail won, although not by much. Here is a breakdown of how they compare, category-by-category.
- Interface - Yaho0 wins this one because it has a much better drag-and-drop function.
- Features - Both have calendar integration, but GMail has the ability to to integrate chat with e-mail and save conversations. However, Yahoo does a better job with RSS feed integration. Tie score.
- Speed - GMail is much faster with screen loading, but Yahoo is still in beta so this might improve with time. Advantage: GMail.
- Organization - GMail wins because of its superior filtering ability.
- Spam Filter - A tie score.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Storm Worm Warning
Yesterday may have seen the largest largest proliferation of e-mail virus attacks in more than a year, according to security company Postini. According to them, two variations of the Storm worm virus, which originally spread across the Internet in January, have quickly driven global virus levels 60 times higher than their daily average. E-mail users should be on alert for messages with "love"-related subject lines and an executable attachment that would contain a Trojan virus, as well as messages with "Worm Alert!" subject lines that contained a .zip file full of malicious code.
Postini, which is based in San Carlos, Calif., says it processes more than 2 billion messages per day in order to compile its reports. They warn that clicking on the executable file in one of the new Storm worm e-mails installs a rootkit with anti-security measures that mask the malicious software's presence from virus scans and shut down security programs that may be running. The virus then taps into a private peer-to-peer network where it can download new updates and upload personal information from the compromised computer. Additionally, the virus scans the machine's hard drive to locate e-mail addresses to which it can replicate itself. Ultimately, computers infected with this virus become unknowing "zombies" in a botnet that are used to send out spam and further attacks.
Keep up your vigilance.
The End is in Sight for Windows XP
Well, my headline may be a bit of an exaggeration, but in one case it is absolutely true. Computer manufacturers are being told by Microsoft that by the end of this year, they will no longer be able to install Windows XP in new computers. This comes in the face that consumer demand is still high for Windows XP in new systems and that Vista still has some on-going hardware and software compatibility issues.
Despite Microsoft's relentless promotion of Vista, manufacturers are still seeing plenty of demand from customers for systems preloaded with XP, especially in the finicky small office/home office market. In a recent post on its Direct2Dell blog, Dell reaffirmed to concerned customers that it wasn't about to force small business users, who typically purchase PCs piecemeal, rather than in large enterprise-style orders, to shift to Vista, which has experienced a less-than-stellar reaction from many buyers because of driver issues and moderately beefy hardware requirements.
There's general agreement amongst PC resellers that Vista has provided a minor boost to PC sales, but hasn't produced blockbuster numbers. One blogger I read recently said he thought Windows Vista should have been called Windows Edsel as it is the product Microsoft thought we should all have. Good one!
Despite Microsoft's relentless promotion of Vista, manufacturers are still seeing plenty of demand from customers for systems preloaded with XP, especially in the finicky small office/home office market. In a recent post on its Direct2Dell blog, Dell reaffirmed to concerned customers that it wasn't about to force small business users, who typically purchase PCs piecemeal, rather than in large enterprise-style orders, to shift to Vista, which has experienced a less-than-stellar reaction from many buyers because of driver issues and moderately beefy hardware requirements.
There's general agreement amongst PC resellers that Vista has provided a minor boost to PC sales, but hasn't produced blockbuster numbers. One blogger I read recently said he thought Windows Vista should have been called Windows Edsel as it is the product Microsoft thought we should all have. Good one!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Transferring Records and Cassettes to Your Computer Part 2
Now that we have connected your cassette player to your computer, we need the right software to bring this whole project together. The right software, at least for me, came after a lengthy search, which I briefly described in the last blog. The program I found is called, "Spin It Again," and is made by a firm named Acoustica.
The good news? Before you spend your hard-earned $34.95, you get to use the program for free for a time, the only limitation being that you can only make three recordings before the free trial expired. Actually, it turned out to be four times as the software is programmed to give you one extra recording if you try to make it work after your free time has expired.
The program is very elegantly designed to make it easy to use. A lovely female voice will guide you through the whole process if you so desire. The opening screen asks you to choose whether you want to make a digital recording from a record or a cassette. There is also a helpful tutorial to help you make the proper connections from your audio equipment to your computer.
Lets say you choose to make a recording from your cassette machine. This takes you to a screen called the "Recording Wizard." The first thing you should do here is set your sound recording levels. There is an automated process to do this, which our lovely voice will guide you through. Basically, you turn your cassette player on so that the music comes through to the computer. It's best if you find a particularly loud section of your music. The program will then sample your music for 30 seconds and set the right recording levels for you. It couldn't be easier.
After you have set the levels, rewind your cassette to the beginning and push play (making sure to set your player for the proper type of tape and Dolby settings). Then push the record button on your screen and sit back. Your computer is now recording the music. At the end of Side 1 of your tape, pause the recording, turn your cassette to side two, then start the recording process up again.
Now comes the fun part. After your recording is complete, the software will ask you if you want it to divide your digital recording into individual tracks. Obviously, you will want to do this. The software does a pretty good job of doing this automatically, although it occasionally makes an error, especially when it detects a very quiet section in a song that the program mistakenly assumes is the end of a song. You can adjust your detection settings to accommodate for this.
Then the software will begin what is called a preview. It goes track-by-track, playing the
opening and closing of each track for four seconds to let you see if it got it right. If it doesn't, you can use the sliders on the screen to adjust the beginning and ends of each track. If one song has incorrectly been split into two or more tracks, you can merge them back together with the click of a button. Conversely, if two songs have been mistakenly been blended together as one, you can split them into two, again by the click of a button. If there is a track that you don't particularly like, you can eliminate it, again by the click of a button. Each track is clearly marked using different colors, as you can see from the above illustration.
Once you have your tracks all set and correct, the next step is to label each song along with the artist and album, if applicable. All three of these items are optional, but you should do it for future reference. Once this is done, Spin It Again will ask you what you want to do...make a CD, create files, or both. You can choose the type of recording you want to make including WAV (the standard file structure for regular music CD's), MP3 (compressed to a smaller file size with the amount of compression set by you), and several other lesser known file types for music.
That's it...easy enough. As you close down the program, it will ask you if you want to retain the file that the software created when you were recording the music. In most cases, you will want to eliminate it as it is quite large and there really is no reason usually to keep it. You have already saved the music on CD or in files.
There is one other important part of the software that I will mention just briefly. If you are recording music that has sound problems, like clicks and ticks from records, or high hiss levels from cheap tape, the software has several automatic corrections that can clean up your sound quite nicely. But, of course, when you apply a correction, the sound of your music will change slightly. It is best to compare an uncorrected version of the music versus the corrected version to hear how much the music is changed. The program makes it easy to do while the song is playing, allowing you to switch back and forth so you can choose the final version wisely.
Incidentally, I have used the software successfully to record music off of my satellite system. You can hear some of it in my studio as I use it for background music. God bless the inventor of MP3's.
For more information on this software, please visit the Acoustica Web site. I am sure there may be some other software out there that does the same thing just as well, and if you know of one, I would really love to hear about it. Personally, I really like Spin It Again very much and was happy to fork out $35 for it.
The good news? Before you spend your hard-earned $34.95, you get to use the program for free for a time, the only limitation being that you can only make three recordings before the free trial expired. Actually, it turned out to be four times as the software is programmed to give you one extra recording if you try to make it work after your free time has expired.
The program is very elegantly designed to make it easy to use. A lovely female voice will guide you through the whole process if you so desire. The opening screen asks you to choose whether you want to make a digital recording from a record or a cassette. There is also a helpful tutorial to help you make the proper connections from your audio equipment to your computer.
Lets say you choose to make a recording from your cassette machine. This takes you to a screen called the "Recording Wizard." The first thing you should do here is set your sound recording levels. There is an automated process to do this, which our lovely voice will guide you through. Basically, you turn your cassette player on so that the music comes through to the computer. It's best if you find a particularly loud section of your music. The program will then sample your music for 30 seconds and set the right recording levels for you. It couldn't be easier.
After you have set the levels, rewind your cassette to the beginning and push play (making sure to set your player for the proper type of tape and Dolby settings). Then push the record button on your screen and sit back. Your computer is now recording the music. At the end of Side 1 of your tape, pause the recording, turn your cassette to side two, then start the recording process up again.
Now comes the fun part. After your recording is complete, the software will ask you if you want it to divide your digital recording into individual tracks. Obviously, you will want to do this. The software does a pretty good job of doing this automatically, although it occasionally makes an error, especially when it detects a very quiet section in a song that the program mistakenly assumes is the end of a song. You can adjust your detection settings to accommodate for this.
Then the software will begin what is called a preview. It goes track-by-track, playing the
opening and closing of each track for four seconds to let you see if it got it right. If it doesn't, you can use the sliders on the screen to adjust the beginning and ends of each track. If one song has incorrectly been split into two or more tracks, you can merge them back together with the click of a button. Conversely, if two songs have been mistakenly been blended together as one, you can split them into two, again by the click of a button. If there is a track that you don't particularly like, you can eliminate it, again by the click of a button. Each track is clearly marked using different colors, as you can see from the above illustration.Once you have your tracks all set and correct, the next step is to label each song along with the artist and album, if applicable. All three of these items are optional, but you should do it for future reference. Once this is done, Spin It Again will ask you what you want to do...make a CD, create files, or both. You can choose the type of recording you want to make including WAV (the standard file structure for regular music CD's), MP3 (compressed to a smaller file size with the amount of compression set by you), and several other lesser known file types for music.
That's it...easy enough. As you close down the program, it will ask you if you want to retain the file that the software created when you were recording the music. In most cases, you will want to eliminate it as it is quite large and there really is no reason usually to keep it. You have already saved the music on CD or in files.
There is one other important part of the software that I will mention just briefly. If you are recording music that has sound problems, like clicks and ticks from records, or high hiss levels from cheap tape, the software has several automatic corrections that can clean up your sound quite nicely. But, of course, when you apply a correction, the sound of your music will change slightly. It is best to compare an uncorrected version of the music versus the corrected version to hear how much the music is changed. The program makes it easy to do while the song is playing, allowing you to switch back and forth so you can choose the final version wisely.
Incidentally, I have used the software successfully to record music off of my satellite system. You can hear some of it in my studio as I use it for background music. God bless the inventor of MP3's.
For more information on this software, please visit the Acoustica Web site. I am sure there may be some other software out there that does the same thing just as well, and if you know of one, I would really love to hear about it. Personally, I really like Spin It Again very much and was happy to fork out $35 for it.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Transferring Records and Cassettes to Your Computer
For quite some time, I've thought about copying some my music on cassettes into my computer, then burning a CD. I have some rare recordings that are no longer available in the marketplace and I was worried that some day the cassettes would break and that music would be gone forever. I knew that the technology to do this has been around for a few years, but I just never had to excess time to do it...or more correctly put, I had other things on my platter that were more important.
Recently, with the addition of a new, more powerful computer at home, I finally made time to do it, or a least make a good start at it. I thought I would share some of my experiences with you in case that is something you might want to consider.
In order to do it, the first thing you need is a special cable to connect your turntable or cassette player to the sound card in your computer (I will focus the rest of this article on using a cassette player since I don't have records or a turntable anymore). Music-playing devices have long used what is called RCA jacks to interconnect. There are usually two RCA plugs to connect each device, one for left
channel and one for the right channel. On the other hand, computers do not use RCA jacks. Rather they use a smaller plug that has both left and right channels together on one plug.
So, you need to purchase a cable that has two RCA jacks on one end and a single computer-type jack on the other. And since your music system is probably some distance from your computer, you would need a long cable. While not always easy to find, they are available...and they come in lengths up to 50 feet. And the good news is that they are not that expensive. For instance, Tiger Direct carries a 12', 25' and 50' versions of this cable for under $20 (25' is $9.95). I bought mine at Fry's Superstore over in Renton, WA , although I had to pay a little more for them there (I was there, so I just did it).
Just plug the ends with the RCA jacks into your cassette player and the
other end into the input jack on your computer's sound card. But, of course, this is only the beginning. You need the right software to make this all work.
As you know, I love free software and that was the first place I started looking. And guess what...I came up empty on this one. There just wasn't anything out there that I could find that did the job. Next, I looked at my Nero CD and DVD burning software to see if it might have what I was looking for. It does...but it stinks!
Soundtrax is a small program that comes as part of the Nero package. I tried to make it work and it just wouldn't do the job easily. I even read their instructions, which were worthless. It is not a good option. So, I gave up and accepted the fact that I would have to spend some money to do this. So I started doing my research.
And to make a long story short, I found a good one. I was able to try it out for a short time with no limitations and decided I had found the perfect program for only $34.95. In the next blog I will tell you all about it.
Recently, with the addition of a new, more powerful computer at home, I finally made time to do it, or a least make a good start at it. I thought I would share some of my experiences with you in case that is something you might want to consider.
In order to do it, the first thing you need is a special cable to connect your turntable or cassette player to the sound card in your computer (I will focus the rest of this article on using a cassette player since I don't have records or a turntable anymore). Music-playing devices have long used what is called RCA jacks to interconnect. There are usually two RCA plugs to connect each device, one for left
channel and one for the right channel. On the other hand, computers do not use RCA jacks. Rather they use a smaller plug that has both left and right channels together on one plug.So, you need to purchase a cable that has two RCA jacks on one end and a single computer-type jack on the other. And since your music system is probably some distance from your computer, you would need a long cable. While not always easy to find, they are available...and they come in lengths up to 50 feet. And the good news is that they are not that expensive. For instance, Tiger Direct carries a 12', 25' and 50' versions of this cable for under $20 (25' is $9.95). I bought mine at Fry's Superstore over in Renton, WA , although I had to pay a little more for them there (I was there, so I just did it).
Just plug the ends with the RCA jacks into your cassette player and the
other end into the input jack on your computer's sound card. But, of course, this is only the beginning. You need the right software to make this all work.
As you know, I love free software and that was the first place I started looking. And guess what...I came up empty on this one. There just wasn't anything out there that I could find that did the job. Next, I looked at my Nero CD and DVD burning software to see if it might have what I was looking for. It does...but it stinks!
Soundtrax is a small program that comes as part of the Nero package. I tried to make it work and it just wouldn't do the job easily. I even read their instructions, which were worthless. It is not a good option. So, I gave up and accepted the fact that I would have to spend some money to do this. So I started doing my research.
And to make a long story short, I found a good one. I was able to try it out for a short time with no limitations and decided I had found the perfect program for only $34.95. In the next blog I will tell you all about it.
Friday, April 06, 2007
No New Customers for Vonage
A federal judge has ordered Internet Phone provider Vonage not to accept any new customers while it continues to infringe on Verizon Communications patents covering some aspects of Internet phone calls. It's a temporary setback for the leading voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) company and its some 2.2 million subscribers. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton said it was the only fair option that would minimize harm to both companies for now.
In case you didn't know, a federal jury on March 8 found that Vonage had infringed three Verizon patents. The New Jersey-based Internet phone provider was ordered to pay $58 million in damages. Vonage is expected to appeal the decision, which Hilton plans to make effective this next Thursday. A federal appeals court could then decide to save the VoIP provider from having to deny new customers by granting a full stay of the injunction.
Verizon general counsel John Thorne said the judge was able to "craft a middle path that allows Vonage to continue serving its existing customers while protecting Verizon's patents from increased infringement during the appeal process," adding that he fully expects the decision to be affirmed on appeal.
Roger Warin, Vonage's attorney, protested Judge Hilton's no-new-customers order. Arguing the decision was just as threatening to Vonage as a full injunction, he said "it would be the difference of cutting off oxygen as opposed to a bullet to the head." He also told Hilton that "in effect, what you are doing is slowly strangling Vonage because it cannot preserve that customer base" indefinitely. He noted that Vonage's customer turnover rate is 2.5 percent per month.
Being hamstrung in this way could be particularly devastating for Vonage, as it faces stiff competition from other VoIP companies like Packet8 (my own provider) as well as cable operators, which are also targeting residential phone users with their own VoIP services. Then there are the Internet companies, such as Skype, Google, and Yahoo, that are also offering VoIP services that allow people to make calls to traditional phones as well as cell phones.
Even before the jury found that Vonage was infringing on Verizon's patents, the company was struggling to add new customers. In the fourth quarter of last year, Vonage added 166,000 new subscribers. That was down from 204,591 subscribers in the third quarter and 256,000 in the second quarter of 2006. This drop in new subscriber growth occurred despite the fact that the company spent $365 million on marketing in 2006, a 50 percent increase from the previous year.
Who knows, we might have seen the last ad featuring someone in a beat-up old orange van throwing a Vonage cardboard box and hitting someone in the head.
In case you didn't know, a federal jury on March 8 found that Vonage had infringed three Verizon patents. The New Jersey-based Internet phone provider was ordered to pay $58 million in damages. Vonage is expected to appeal the decision, which Hilton plans to make effective this next Thursday. A federal appeals court could then decide to save the VoIP provider from having to deny new customers by granting a full stay of the injunction.
Verizon general counsel John Thorne said the judge was able to "craft a middle path that allows Vonage to continue serving its existing customers while protecting Verizon's patents from increased infringement during the appeal process," adding that he fully expects the decision to be affirmed on appeal.
Roger Warin, Vonage's attorney, protested Judge Hilton's no-new-customers order. Arguing the decision was just as threatening to Vonage as a full injunction, he said "it would be the difference of cutting off oxygen as opposed to a bullet to the head." He also told Hilton that "in effect, what you are doing is slowly strangling Vonage because it cannot preserve that customer base" indefinitely. He noted that Vonage's customer turnover rate is 2.5 percent per month.
Being hamstrung in this way could be particularly devastating for Vonage, as it faces stiff competition from other VoIP companies like Packet8 (my own provider) as well as cable operators, which are also targeting residential phone users with their own VoIP services. Then there are the Internet companies, such as Skype, Google, and Yahoo, that are also offering VoIP services that allow people to make calls to traditional phones as well as cell phones.
Even before the jury found that Vonage was infringing on Verizon's patents, the company was struggling to add new customers. In the fourth quarter of last year, Vonage added 166,000 new subscribers. That was down from 204,591 subscribers in the third quarter and 256,000 in the second quarter of 2006. This drop in new subscriber growth occurred despite the fact that the company spent $365 million on marketing in 2006, a 50 percent increase from the previous year.
Who knows, we might have seen the last ad featuring someone in a beat-up old orange van throwing a Vonage cardboard box and hitting someone in the head.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Wal-Mart and the Right to Privacy
Listen up all Wal-Mart employees, contractors, critics and shareholders: The chain that promises great value places no value at all on your right to privacy (at least until recently, if you believe the company). In a Wall Street Journal article that broke on Wednesday, Bruce Gabbard, a Wal-Mart security worker fired for unauthorized phone-call recording and pager intercepts, took the lid off the discount chain's Threat Research and Analysis Group, with plenty of details that the Journal confirmed with other company sources and security experts.
Here are some of the lowlights (All quotes are from the Journal story):
* After 9/11, "Mr. Gabbard says he was directed by two former FBI agents working for Wal-Mart to set up a system that could track any calls to and from Syria, Yemen and Iran, among other countries. The search was unsuccessful, only flagging an apparent call from Iran that turned out instead to be from an Indian jeweler, according to Mr. Gabbard."
* "Concerned about the leaks, Wal-Mart began working with Oakley Networks Inc., a developer of 'insider threat management' gear to track employee and suppliers computer usage over its network, according to Mr. Gabbard and an industry source. One Oakley system is able to record an employee's computer keystrokes and deliver a TiVo-like replay of his or her computer activities, according to Tom Bennett, Oakley's vice president of marketing. ... The system goes beyond keystroke capture products and e-mail filtering packages by 'providing a view of content moving over your network,' says Oakley's Mr. Bennett."
* "Suspecting that the leaks of confidential memos might have come from McKinsey employees who had been working on a health-care project at Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters at the time of the leaked memo, Wal-Mart's security experts used an Oakley device to monitor the McKinsey Internet activities, according to Mr. Gabbard and others."
* "Wal-Mart also used an Oakley product to monitor suppliers' use of the Wal-Mart network. Mr. Gabbard says that using the program that can monitor flesh tones on a computer screen, his team found a vendor downloading pornography and reported it to Wal-Mart and the vendor's executives."
* "Wal-Mart sent a long-haired employee wearing a wireless microphone to Up Against the Wal's Fayetteville, Ark., gathering, and eavesdropped from nearby, says Mr. Gabbard. 'We followed around the perimeter with a surveillance van,' he says."
* "Wal-Mart also directed its surveillance operations at critical shareholders. According to a January 2007 memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, security units were asked to 'do some preliminary background work on the potential threat assessment' of those submitting proposals to its June shareholder meeting, particularly those whose resolutions the company was trying to block.
As Gabbard says, "I used to joke that Wal-Mart paid me to be paranoid and they got their money's worth." Indeed. Wal-Mart's defense came in two parts:
One, these are standard, legal security measures that any big company uses.
Two, we're not doing it anymore.
The group "is no longer operating in the same manner that it did prior to the discovery of the unauthorized recording of telephone conversations," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sarah Clark. "There have been changes in leadership, and we have strengthened our practices and protocols in this area."
If true, it's not a moment too soon. "They should stop playing with spy toys and take the criticism of their business model seriously. The success of the company depends on it," said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch, and one of the targets of surveillance.
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