bruceb news

Exactly twenty years ago the World Wide Web opened to the public.

Yesterday, crack web site designer Andrew Berls finished work on the refresh of www.bruceb.com.

Those things aren’t related, I just thought it made the web site redesign sound more important. But the redesign does give me an excuse to give you a tour of some of the things we’re doing at the global headquarters of Bruceb Consulting!

We have modest goals: the Internet Favorites page is simply meant to be the most useful tool on your computer. Make it your home page, become familiar with the layout, and you’ll be able to navigate online faster than ever. […] continued

If all goes well, you’ll see Bruceb.com and Brucebnews.com wearing shiny new clothes next week after being redesigned top to bottom by Andrew Berls, who has been slaving away for weeks on a long overdue rewrite. If you use the Favorites page as your home page, you’ll be very happy with the updated version, I think.

The project has given me a healthy respect for how difficult it is to write web sites from scratch. Hours and hours pass during the process of dealing with details large and small. The version of Bruceb.com that you see today is my work, built on an inadequate knowledge of HTML and complete ignorance of CSS or modern web standards. […] continued

Greetings from Flat Creek Ranch, a bit of paradise at the end of a truly fearsome jeep trail, where the sun came out to celebrate our arrival and wonderful people are standing by to give us good food and take us on adventures. I will come back with stories of hikes and horses and canoes and snowshoes.

I really need you not to need my help, because I’m way further off the grid than I expected. The ranch is far beyond the reach of any wires. Electricity is generated from solar panels and a radio phone handles most of the communication. […] continued

Loyal clients know that every year I take a two week sabbatical in the Fortress Of Solitude, honing my technical skills in utter seclusion and emerging stronger than ever and ready to take your business to a higher level of Techno-Awesomeness.

That’s the theory. It’s good, isn’t it? Let’s gloss over the sad reality – I’m just abandoning you for a family vacation that I will spend wandering aimlessly around some hills.

Andrew has finished his freshman year in UC Santa Barbara’s Engineering school, picking up a leadership award for his work with the Resident Housing Association along the way. […] continued

My mother Helen Berls has friends all over the world. Maybe you’ve met someone like her. You’re on a cruise, or visiting somewhere exotic on a tour, or standing in line, or sharing a table for dinner, and you find yourself in easy conversation with someone who’s interested in you and tells funny stories and makes you feel warm and comfortable right away. By the end of a few minutes, you feel like you’ve made a new friend and you might have exchanged addresses so you can stay in touch. My mom is like that.

The stories, ah, the stories she can tell! […] continued

One of the interesting mysteries of our time is how Wolfgang’s Vault has been able to stream live performances by hundreds of artists for the last few years, in an era where record labels have fought so bitterly to keep us from hearing music in the name of “copyright.” Apparently Bill Graham signed contracts with different terms than other promoters, giving him liberal rights to rebroadcast the audio and video of the shows, and his successors have been able to capitalize on that.

A few days ago the site added hundreds of concert videos for free streaming, including some priceless bits of history that have had me drenched in nostalgia this evening. […] continued

I updated the “What I Use” page on the bruceb.com web site, where I describe the hardware, software, and web services running the enormous Bruceb Consulting empire. Why in the world would you want to read that? No, wait, that’s not rhetorical, I really don’t know the answer. But there it is, just in case.

An interesting change since I started maintaining that list. The section on “Software” used to be the centerpiece. Now it’s relegated to last place, as my world (like yours) changes its focus and comes to depend on cloud services far more than any locally installed software. […] continued

I’m finishing a busy month rolling out the software agent that monitors workstations and installs updates to Java, Flash, Adobe Acrobat & Reader, and more. On Friday, clients will get the first weekly reports on the health of their servers and workstations. I’m adding checks to ensure that Microsoft Security Essentials is up to date and sorting out the initial reports about updates that stubbornly refuse to install correctly. It’s been hectic but the result is that several hundred computers are happy and up to date, and that helps me sleep better.

If you’re not signed up for my monitoring service, or if some of your computers aren’t covered, call me! […] continued

Previously:
Bruceb Consulting Offers New Patch Management Service

Yesterday I announced that my monitoring software will also install patches and updates for my clients. Let me give you a few more details about that service.

This works just as well for home computers and laptops. Monitoring a single home computer is easy and effective and just as important as protecting an office computer. I can bill you once for a year of service (separately from the office account, if you like), and have you up and running in five minutes. Drop me a line or give me a call to get started! […] continued

I am excited to announce a new service for all my clients – patching and updating your workstations.

Bruceb Consulting Monitoring will review and install updates to Windows, Office, Firefox, Java, Flash, Adobe Reader, and other important programs and utilities – automatically and silently.

I will review the updates that are necessary for you to be safe online, and I’ll install them on your computers.

There’s a monthly charge for my monitoring service. It’s a small price to pay for two important reasons:

• SECURITY You’ll be at less risk from malware delivered by poisoned web sites, because browser add-ins like Java and Flash will be up to date on your computer.

[…] continued