bruceb news

Live Mesh is Microsoft’s program for syncing folders between multiple computers and online storage, making your files available to you wherever you are.

I think Live Mesh is dead, and I think I know why: Microsoft is deliberately cutting back on what it could have delivered to protect the revenue it wants from Office 2010.

Live Mesh was built on promising technology and it fulfills part of its promise: once it’s set up, it syncs files accurately and quietly.

Its quirks were easy to overlook – for a while. Two examples:

• There is nothing intuitive about setting up Mesh. It has enough flexibility to sync any folder on your computer but that comes with a price – non-tech types are confused by the nondescript Mesh blue folders, while everyone immediately understands a special folder named “My Dropbox.”
• There are a few other half-baked features: remote access like LogMeIn that is poorly designed technically and buggy in practice, and uninviting web access to files, for example.

[…] continued

If you use more than one computer regularly, then you understand the need for an easy way to access some of the same files from each of your computers.

I want to add Dropbox to the programs you consider to accomplish that. At the moment, it combines simplicity and exactly the right features – and the basic version is free.

The idea is simple: after installing one of these programs, you have a magic folder on your office computer and your home computer or your laptop. Anything you drop in the folder at one end automatically appears at the other end almost instantly. […] continued

There’s finally a solution to a bug that Adobe has allowed to stand unpatched for far too long. This only applies to a few of you but you’ll be glad to see it if you’ve been one of the victims.

Background: if you use Outlook 2007 to open an e-mail message with a PDF attachment, you should be able to preview the attachment directly in the Reading pane. When you click on the attachment, you’ll first see the dialog asking you to confirm that the attachment comes from a trustworthy source. (Leave the box checked for that warning – you don’t want to automatically preview every PDF file that arrives in your mailbox.) The dialog looks like this:

The bug: If you run a 64-bit version of Windows, you get an error message if you click the button to preview the PDF file in Outlook 2007 or Windows Explorer. […] continued

Mozilla has released Firefox version 3.6, with increased security, faster display of web pages and Javascript, and some new features for add-ins and themes. Here’s a description of the new release and a video demonstrating some of the new features.

If you are running Firefox, you can get the new version by clicking on Help / Check for updates. Presumably it will soon be offered automatically when you launch Firefox.

Switching from IE is easy: start at this page and you’ll be given lots of information about what to expect. Firefox imports favorites and passwords from IE automatically. If you’re using LastPass, you can separately install the Firefox add-in and all of your passwords will begin working immediately. […] continued

Previously:
Passwords: computer login
Passwords: e-mail
Passwords: Google Accounts & Windows Live ID
Password: password managers

LastPass will help you manage all of your online passwords. You should learn about it, install it, and use it every day. This is seriously good stuff.

LastPass is a free program that memorizes each password typed into a web site and automatically fills it in when you return to the same site. Once it’s up and running, the master password for LastPass is the only password you have to remember.

The feature that makes this genuinely exciting: your passwords are stored online (safely). You can use LastPass on more than one computer – an office computer, a home computer, a notebook, a netbook – and your passwords will be automatically filled in on all of them. […] continued

Got a system yet?

Today I just want you to step back and look at the scope of the problem.

At the moment passwords are the only method of authentication in widespread use. There are lots of alternatives for more security or easier use – facial recognition, fingerprints, possession of a card (your debit card, for example), retinal scans, and who knows what else. At the moment, you are required to remember passwords and numbers in virtually every part of your life.

• Every online site that has individual knowledge of who you are – banks, social networking sites, shopping sites, gaming sites, online publications, software sites, web services, mail, music, forums, and on and on
• Bank account numbers and credit card numbers
• PINs for the bank and the IRS and your voicemail
• Drivers license numbers and student ID numbers and social security numbers and medical plan numbers and frequent flyer plan numbers – frequently with PINs and passwords for the online services that go with them
• Safe combinations, locker combinations, alarm codes

That’s just what I can think of off the top of my head. […] continued

If you got a new Windows 7 computer for Xmas, I hope you thought about security before you spent too much time playing online. I know, it’s not very exciting, but it needs to be done. I’m spending Monday morning trying to recover data from a computer that was taken down by malware, so I’ve got security on my mind.

Most of you would do best to remove any preinstalled security software from your new computer, then put on Microsoft Security Essentials, the new free software from Microsoft that protects against viruses, adware and spyware. Here’s more information about Microsoft Security Essentials. […] continued

What software do you use to listen to music on a computer?

Most people use iTunes. A few lonely folks have gotten the new Zune HD and use its software. Still others use Windows Media Player. All of them are just fine. They’re very attractive and they handle basic functions to help you buy and listen to music. If they make you happy, don’t change!*

Some of you are outgrowing those programs.

If you’ve accumulated a large music library, you’ve probably realized that iTunes and the others are terrible at handling collections of more than a few hundred songs. Navigation is clumsy and it’s nearly impossible to do a lot of handy operations on the files and tags. […] continued

Billing Matters, the LexisNexis law office billing and accounting program, was killed last week. This was circulated Thursday and appeared in the TechnoLawyer newsletter.

"Effective September 1, Billing Matters® will be placed in maintenance mode. During maintenance mode, LexisNexis will continue to resolve known issues and provide technical support in accordance with our standard practices, but no new features or functionality will be added. Billing Matters will continue to be released in conjunction with new versions of Time Matters until Billing Matters is sunset on 12/31/2013. Existing users of Billing Matters will continue to have access to update versions of the software and access to technical support through the purchase of an Annual Maintenance Plan until 12/31/2013.

[…] continued

Windows 7 is great. The combination of Windows 7 and improved hardware makes it far more likely that you will be satisfied with your next computer.

There is still one way that you might wind up frustrated – an old problem that has not gone away. Manufacturers are still stuffing new computers full of crapware. You’re all too likely to find your memory, hard drive space, and especially your startup times are crippled by trial versions of programs you don’t want; advertisements for useless services; poorly chosen security software; proprietary and badly written children’s software and games and media software; and toolbars and desktop icons and other crud chosen because the manufacturer did a bundling deal with another company for its own benefit and with no consideration for our experience. […] continued