August 30, 2010
WEAK PASSWORDS
Previously:
Passwords: computer login
Passwords: e-mail
Passwords: Google Accounts & Windows Live ID
Passwords: password managers
Passwords: online passwords and LastPass
Let’s go over a few facts of life.
No one is enjoying the need to have a lot of passwords. It’s hard to remember the passwords, of course, but in our complicated world it has become even harder now to understand when passwords are required or what they’re for.
I feel your pain but I can’t change the world. At the moment your passwords are your defense against identity theft, financial loss, […] continued
August 17, 2010
EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CLOUD COMPUTING
Previously:
The Sad State Of Law Office Software
Law Office Case Management In The Cloud
Advologix Practice Management
Postscript On Cloud Computing
Larry Port, founding partner of Rocket Matter, dropped by the news page yesterday and gently suggested that Rocket Matter is actually a fine name for a law office practice management program. (He might be right. It does have the advantage of using words in the English language, which seems hard to come by for new products these days.)
It drew my attention to a short collection of articles that can be […] continued
August 11, 2010
POSTSCRIPT ON CLOUD COMPUTING
Previously:
The Sad State Of Law Office Software
Law Office Case Management In The Cloud
Advologix Practice Management
Take a step back and look at the technology in your business. There has been a large shift that you may not have noticed in technology costs.
Here’s the idea in this article (which happens to stand opposed to the idea of cloud computing, but never mind that):
“First recognize the old rules for the cost of computing have been reversed.
“The greatest cost components from highest to lowest:
- “Past: 1) hardware 2)
[…] continued
August 11, 2010
GOOGLE TRANSLATE
If I’d thought about it, I would have realized that Google Translate had to exist. It does exactly what you’d expect from an online translator: type in a phrase and it can be translated into another language; type in a web address and it will present the entire page translated into another language. Try it! It’s fun to see your favorite web site in Turkish or Lithuanian.
Google has been updating it frequently with additional languages until now it’s possible to go back and forth between dozens of languages, including a couple of Chinese variations, Japanese and other […] continued
July 26, 2010
FACEBOOK FRIEND SUGGESTIONS – HOW DOES IT KNOW?
When I joined Facebook, I was asked if Facebook could rummage through my Outlook address book looking for a match with other Facebook users. I politely responded, no, absolutely not, thank you very much, and I thought that was the end of it.
My Facebook page fired up right away, empty except for the suggestions on the side of the page listing Facebook users that I might know. I assumed it would suggest people based on common schools or common employers; since I hadn’t supplied that information to Facebook yet, I didn’t expect to see any familiar names. […] continued
July 12, 2010
THE ROLLOUT PROBLEM
There is an interesting consequence to the development of a global population obsessed by technology: it’s become very difficult to introduce a new service and have sufficient capacity for it to start successfully.
It’s nothing new. Back in 2004 online gaming service Steam crashed repeatedly in the first few days after Half-Life 2 was released. In 2006 Google had to suspend signing up new accounts for its web site hosting service due to heavy demand after it introduced a new web page creator. In 2008 Microsoft underestimated demand for Photosynth, a service for linking photos into […] continued
July 8, 2010
SOCIAL NETWORKING PRIMER
If you’re over 35, you will be secretly relieved by David Pogue’s helpful column in today’s New York Times. Bless his heart – he’s written concise, easy-to-understand explanations of the hot social networking services that everybody assumes you understand. (Apparently the Times got an outraged reaction from the Internet literati when it tried to ban the use of the word “tweet” in articles last month. How could anyone not know what that means?)
The article covers Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, FourSquare, and Yelp. A sample:
FACEBOOK This is the biggest social networking service, with
[…] continued
June 4, 2010
LOGMEIN EXPRESS
I’m going to tell you about a new free service from LogMeIn that will make some of you so happy that you will clap your hands in childish glee.
You already know LogMeIn as the company behind LogMeIn Free and LogMeIn Pro, the best software available for remote connections to an office or home computer – fast, secure, with a sleek, intuitive interface and features that outdo the competition. LogMeIn also powers LogMeIn Rescue, the support software that I use to connect remotely to your computer when I need to look over your […] continued
May 12, 2010
UPDATED GOOGLE SEARCH PAGES
Google has officially rolled out an update to its search result pages, a three column design that provides search options on the left to help refine and redirect your searches. Spend a few minutes learning about the new features – this is the basic tool that shapes much of your online experience, every day.
I wrote up a short description of the new search options a few months ago. There’s a much more complete description here, with examples of all the different ways that the left column might help you improve your search results. There are […] continued
May 6, 2010
FACEBOOK AND PRIVACY
In the golden glow of hindsight, there was a wonderful time when big companies would do things that were good for their customers because that was likely to be the most profitable choice, and because it was the right thing to do.
Big companies still consider doing good things for their customers – but it’s only one element in their thoughts and can easily be jettisoned if there’s more money to be made from treating customers badly and profiting from the ones who feel locked in or don’t have any reasonable options.