30deg

InkSaver - Save money on inkjet printer cartridges

2005-07-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

Just bought two copies of InkSaver. This neat utility changes the default printer settings to use less ink while maintaining picture and text quality. InkSaver has a one click disable/enable feature, so you can print crystal clear reports and then go back to the default saving mode.

Costs 35$, worth every penny.

I had a problem with the first copies' registration key, but the quick response from their tech support solved it. With the second copy, I used the built-in registration applet (under the Help menu click Register) and had no problems at all.

Itai

Kaspersky Anti Hacker - Review

2005-03-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

Kaspersky Anti-Hacker v1.7 is a relatvly new firewall for home and home office users.

1. Outside Protection
Anti-Hacker protects your computer completly. The user must remeber to check the "stealth mode" checkbox in order to get full protection.

2. Inside Protection
Anti-Hacker monitors application activity and requires your approval for new software. It identifies software type quite well.

3. Advanced users
Kaspersky has an intuitive user interface for new application rules or packet rules. For example, when asked to approve a new software you can click customized and then change instantly the rule using a few mouse clicks. The seperation between application rules and packet rules allows to permit a certain activity for all applications (for example connecting to a DNS server).
Much much bettern that Norton's.

4. LAN support (irrelevant for standalone PCs)
I tried to work with a license server on my PC that serves other computers on my Local Area Network. Unfortunatly, it worked only when Stealth Mode was unchecked, even when I gave it full permissions to work. This is a real drawback if you must setup an intranet server of some kind (proxy server,license server,etc...) on the same computer that connects your LAN to the internet.

5. Documentation
The software is so easy to use, that no documentation is necessary. Anti-Hacker comes with a 100 PDF userguide that explains each step for those that want to understand more.

6. Mother control
Kaspersky allows to easily change between training mode (for advanced users) and do-not-bother-me mode for my mother. This is a great advantage for those of us that setup the firewall for somebody that always clicks the "I Agree" button.

Overall, I would recommend Anti-Hacker for standalone PCs.

Itai

Home Office - Online Security

2005-02-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

What are the basic security steps needed for your Home Office PC ?

1) Windows XP.
Windows XP best feature is the Restore Point. It allows you to undo installation problems and goback to a safe system restore point. However, sometimes you will need to use the Windows Rescue Disk. Take the time and create one !

2) Windows Update
Visit Windows Update and install Service Pack 2. Vist the site repeatedly until you have installed of the latest critical security patches.

Do not forget to turn on automatic updates.

3) Baseline Security Analyzer
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer helps you tweak Windows XP against hackers.

4) Norton Internet Security 2005
This peace of software got some bad user reviews in ZDnet - most concerning installation problems. However, technically speaking this is the best package availalble:
Best Antivirus, Smart Firewall, Intellegent Antispam and fairly well AntiSpyware.
A) Try NIS2005 before you buy
B) Follow the installation instructions to the letter (including "what to do before installing")
C) Install only on drive C: (not D , E , F ... - to avoid problems with Liveupdate). If you stil expirience activation problems see the activation hotfix or activation troubleshooting.
D) After the installation enter the control panel click Liveupdate and change to express mode. This will ensure automatic updates from Symatec Website.
E) Visit Symantec Security Check to make sure you set up your firewall correcty.

Itai

Home Office - Hardware

2005-02-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

1) If you are enjoying hot summers - buy Intel. AMD works good in Canada. If all you need is office applications buy Intel Celeron - its cheaper than Intel Pentium and works just as good.

2) Buy a UPS for every computer. Its worth every cent. Your PC will live much longer.

3) Clean dust behind the computer. Do not let the Power Supply to choke from dust.

4) HDDLife keeps track on your hardisk physical condition. Every hardisk has the ability to restore data since it has some redunduncy. So - as it grows older, the redundancy is lower and your data is more at risk. HDDLife lets you know that, before the disaster happens.

5) SmartSync Pro
SmartSync Pro is the best file synchronization program available. Make sure that you keep your important files in more than one hardisk - schedule for daily or weekly synchronizations.

6) SpaceMonger
Out of disk space ??? Use SpaceMonger to map your hardisk graphically.

Itai

Microsoft's Antipiracy initiative

2005-01-27T11:24:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has finally started dealing with the biggest problem in the software industry today - piracy.

Stage 1:
Microsoft developes an ActiveX component that determines if your Windows-XP copy is geniun using digital signatures.

Speculations 2:
Microsoft will offer the service to major software vendors, so IT managers will be able to scan all Windows PCs in their organization and detect "unsigned" software.

Speculations 3:
Microsoft will allow IT managers to block Windows from installing "unsigned" software completly.

Speculations 4:
Governments outlawing "unsigned" software. By that time each citizen will have an approved Digital Signature that will allow him to sign his own software.

Funny, the CD plays now Last night I had the strangest dream :)

Is .NET really s l o w ???

2004-10-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

ACT! is a very propular Contact Management for salesmen. The latest version was released (after 2 year) is ACT! 2005. The user reviews in pcmagazine are very very bad. It seems the main problem is that it is s l o w.

"The main problem we encountered is that it is agonizinly slow loading and although we have speeded up actual usage by changing our computers settings, it is still slow to go from screen to screen. We contacted ACT and they admitted to a problem with the Microsoft.net Framework. They are working on it and I suggest to wait unitl there is an upgrade." (October 2004)

"I returned my copy for a refund as I found the slow response time to be unacceptable."(October 2004)

Is .NET really that slow? or is it just bad programming ?

I'm waiting for the upgrade before I will buy my copy.

AutoPlay Internet Explorer

2004-10-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to create a CD that automatically opens Internet Explorer with a certain HTML page. It seems this simple act is not so simple. The best reference I found was MSJ from 1999.

The solution below works on Win2000 and WinXP. Notice that Norton Antivirus asks the user to permit the script to run.

File: Autorun.inf
[autorun]
OPEN=Wscript autorun.js

File: Autorun.js
// Create an instance of the scripting Shell Object
WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell");

// Have the Shell Object call ShellExecute on our HTML
// file
WshShell.Run('iexplore "' + WshShell.CurrentDirectory + '\index.html"', 3, 0);

// Destroy the Shell Object
WScript.DisconnectObject(WshShell);

Personal Web

2004-10-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

Both Yahoo MySearch and Google Desktop are able to limit search results to preffered website. Yahoo requests to manually specify pages to be indexed, while google index any webpage you have visited. This allows to manually or automatically create personal webs on specific subject or interest.

The next obvious step is to allow users search in your personal web. Children safe browsing, people with common interest, virtual online libraries , curiosity about others, ideas for birthday present ...

P.S.
Copernic Desktop might also be of interest.

I decided not to use the desktop search engines because of their privacy policy.

Update 7-feb-2005. MSN Desktop Search privacy policy is good enough. And their software works !!!

Drag and Drop & Webshots

2004-09-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Today my mom asked me how to add photos from "My Photos" folder into webshots.
It appears that in Webshots v1 it was possible to "Drag-and-Drop" images into Webshots, but in version 2 this option was disabled. After a quick search I found the following instructions in the Beginner's Kaffee Klatch website:

Select the My Computer tab at the top of the webshots window.
Find the folder that contains your photos. Highlight the folder.
On the right side of the screen, click on the Add to WP & SS button.
Highlight the name of the collection in which you plan to insert the photos. (If you wish to create a new collection folder for your photos, click on the Create New Collection button.)
Click Next
Select the photos that you wish to add to Webshots.
Click Open.
Click Next. This action will automatically add your selected photos to the designated Collection.
Click Finish.

????? What the hell ?????

In contrast, Picasa, automatically recognizes existing and new image files on your hardisk and groups them by their file folder.

Web Hosting Terror

2004-09-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

Israeli foriegn minister has ordered to expose the identity of western companies that host terrorist websites. This tactic was succesfuly used by MEMRI and CSS to expose online terroris message boards and terrorist fund raising websites. (reported by Yediot Aharonot newspaper)

In most democratic countries there is no law that forbids hosting terrorist web sites, but public pressure ussually does the trick. Other countries have no legal problem to shut these websites down, and by failing to do so - they are marking themselves as terrorist hosting countries.

I hope that terrorist websites will suffer from longer downtimes and loose visitors. This same pressure could then be used on banks that allow terrorist organizations to raise money online.

Piracy Concerns & ClickOnce

2004-08-21T01:12:00.000-07:00

Microsoft ClickOnce is a new installation technology which makes installation as easy as web browsing. The magic is powered by Code Access Security, that makes sure the installed software does not act as a Trojan horse/virus/worm and an auto-update engine that provides seamless software updates. IT managers were not left behind and they could use a central update server to control the update process.

But... Unless properly designed, ClickOnce could be very useful to distribute software cracks.
First, cracked versions of software could be trusted (thanks to Microsoft Code Access Security). Second, pirate auto-update servers will make sure you will always be using a cracked copy and of course the latest (cracked) version available.

Web-based applications, on the other hand, cannot be copied (or cracked and will still provide a true return-on-investment.

P2P Dating

2004-08-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

I keep wondering, how come there is no popular P2P dating software - like kazaa / skype - but for dating. I found some info on a project request in rent-a-coder and it mentions some patent infrigments. After a quick search in the US patent website, I found that IBM has a patent that covers P2P dating

Nevermind, P2P does not solve the real problem of online dating- fake pictures, fake age , white lies .. The real thing will be GPS enabled Smartphones. After you spot someone interesting (in the real world) you can check his public details that his smartphone is revealing. If you are shy you can start chatting with SMS (or Instant Messaging) and if it works out you can actually meet (without all of the blind date pressure).

I found that Bluetooth dating is almost there, but I do not think it has enough distance to keep your identity hidden.

Fighting Trolls - A proposal

2004-08-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

I recently participated in a gathering of an on-line discussion forum. It seems that their biggest problem is trolls that post off-topic or insulting remarks.

Since there is a fine trade-off between fighting trolls and maintaining a free and growing web-forum, the trolls keep appearing again and again.

Trolls need attention, so when their post is ignored and (finally) deleted, they move along to the next forum. Unfortunatly, sometimes they decide to stay and each post from an occasional visitor must be inspected before it is published. Moderating was found effective but is not practical in big forums.

Filtering out trolls could work, as long as they cannot change their ID. Email addresses are easy to switch and IP address can be changed using web-proxies. The last resort are computer IDs. Each time a visitor logs into the forum, a simple ActiveX (or Java Applet) can calculate a unique hardware ID and use it to filter out trolls.

J# will rescue Smartphones

2004-08-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

WMS (Windows Mobile-based Smartphones) does not have many games and is not doing so well in the consumer market. Game developers prefer Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME), becuase it is supported by Symbian and proprietary mobile operating systems. In this market Java == Games, and each mobile phone must have it.

Microsoft has to accept the fact that they entered the mobile market late,and they need a shortcut to keep up with J2ME success. Fortunately, Microsoft has developed J#.NET, which allows to compile Java source code and run it in .NET. With a small effort, Microsoft could adapt this technology and make hundreds of J2ME games available for Windows Smartphones.

Sun has to fight software piracy

2004-08-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

Sun provides a low cost alternative to Windows with a new per citizen per year pricing model that allows developing nations to purchase license for their citizens. Unfortunatly, most of the developing countries have a high rate of software piracy: China - 90% . Eastern Europe - 71% , Latin America 63%.

Even in western countries there is still much work to do: USA - 22% , Germany - 30% , Japan - 29%. BSA is leading the fight against software piracy, with worldwide members such as Microsoft,Intel,IBM andHP.

Had Sun joined the fight, maybe more citizens were using Sun's Java Desktop instead of an illegal copy of Windows XP.

Snakes and Ladders

2004-08-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today I had a few moments of nostalgy when my niece asked me to play "Snakes and Ladders" on a real board game. Of course, we both got bored after a few snakes, but still...
When I returned home, I found a reconstructed version of "Load Runner" but it was nothing like the original PC game.

Oh well, I can always play Joust .

Longhorn is not Windows

2004-08-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

In his article “How Microsoft lost the API War” Joel claims that Microsoft made a mistake when they decided to sacrifice backward compatibility. Developers that decide to rewrite an application for Longhorn will need to provide two versions of their software. On the other hand, web-developers can upgrade to the latest ASP.NET technology, while their users are still using the same web browser. As an example Joel mentions the bug-tracking application he is developing.

I claim that even shareware applications written in Longhorn will outperform any web-application successfully.The reason is that Longhorn applications will enjoy integration , synchronization , customization, offline work, interoperability and a comprehensive development platform.

Let's take a closer look at a bug-tracking application simmiliar to the one Joel has mentioned.

Integration and Synchronization
Longhorn provides applications with a common database that allows relationships between different objects. In our example, bugs, emails , contacts and even sales opportunities will all be connected. Together with P2P synchronization, you can exchange information between the QA, Sales and Development teams.

Imagine one of your customers encountered a bug that is crucial for his work. You open a new bug report and set yourself as the contact point by linking the bug to your contact details. In order to later track this bug, you link it to a reminder in your calendar.

The sales person in charge of this customer is working for a distributor. Although he has limited access to the database, the synchronization process automatically gives him access to bugs linked to his customers.

Customization
Loose coupling between the user interface and the code allows multiple user interfaces for the same application. Customizing the user interface for different users increases the usage of the application in the organization.

In our case, user interface for Engineers includes a detailed description of the bug. Managers, however, would like to see linked sales opportunities that imply on the amount of money a bug costs. And a list of the linked customers gives an insight on a specific market segment.

Another example are users that propose an enhancement. This user interface should focus on his need or benefit rather than a detailed description of the new feature.

Offline Work
Offline databases allows you to work when you are out of the office.

Imagine you are visiting an angry customer that claims your software does not get the job done. While listening to the complaints, you summarize them on your laptop. The bug tracking application, guides you to ask the right questions - Is this problem repeatable? Will you be able to provide the required files? Why is this feature important for your work?You also use the application to find known workarounds, and an estimated date it will be resolved.

Interoperability
Longhorn uses Schemas to describe the bug data format. Since other bug tracking systems are using the same schemas your databases are inter-operable with each other. When you are working with a 3rd party or a distributor, they could be using a different bug-tracking or CRM application , and still able to read and even change bug reports.

Comprehensive development platform
A bug tracker is an application that describes the original software. Since both were written using the same development platform, the bug tracker can be used to extend the original application.

In order to reduce customer-support expenses, the user should have access to the "known bugs" database. Assuming that this help application provides relevant answers, the user can solve most issues by himself. For example, installed software version can be detected to filter out irrelevant issues. In addition the user could point on the relevant dialog box or menu item of the original application to narrow the search results.

Customers that are using an old version, do not feel it necessary to upgrade. The application can log which software features are frequently used. If a newer version is available, it advises the user with relevant new features and the benefits of upgrading.

Avalon and Barbie

2004-08-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

Microsoft intoroduced a new concept in user interface design flow with Avalon. It consists of a simple HTML-like language called XAML (pronounced Zaml). This easy-to-understand language is suitable for graphics designers, but also has a seamless interface to VB.NET and C#.
XAML allows the program developer and the graphics designer to work concurrently. Changing the look-and-feel by the graphics designer has little effect on the code, and changing the onButtonClick() implementation has no effect on the graphics designer. When the design is complete, the XAML can be complied just like any other .NET code, and enjoy better performance.

In the future, commercial software will look more like commercials on websites. 2D graphics, animation, sound effects all targeted for the end-user of your market segment. A good example is the barbie web site (http://www.barbie.com/ ). This site uses flash technology which is simmiliar to what you would be able to do in Longhorn. Think of it as a PC application, and you will notice two things. First, how intuitive the navigation is. Second, how you can achieve relativly complicated tasks - Create a custom painting , design an ice skating show and play games. Ofcourse, this is not a full-blown application, but it is a good example for things to come.

WinFS is good news for shareware developers

2004-08-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

The new Windows File System (WinFS) will allow integration of data from different applications. For example, I could replace Outlook, with a seperate email client , todo list , calendar , spam protection, address book - without loosing the integration.

Since developers will be free from writing data translators and plugins for other programs, they will focus on improving their product. All-in-one do-everything missing-many-features expensive applications will gradually disappear and that is good news for (smaller) shareware developers.

Microsoft Office - lookout.