On the assumption that my choices are endlessly fascinating to an ever-growing number of people - really, really bored people - I've added a page with details about the hardware and software that I use here at the high-tech headquarters of bruceb consulting. I'll try to keep it up to date. Heck, my computers are happy - you could do worse than follow my example in precise detail.

Click here for all the prurient details!

Labels: audio, backup, broadband, bruceb, computers, file_sharing, hardware, mobile, phone, photos, printers, SBS, security, software, video, web_services

posted by bruceb at 7/30/2008 01:02:00 AM | permalink

This is getting to be an old, old story.

The story is: a manufacturer forces unwanted software on consumers, and the software slows down or breaks perfectly nice devices.

This time, the villain is HP. The device is HP's version of a Windows Home Server, called the HP MediaSmart Home Server.

Microsoft finally delivered an important update for the Windows Home Server software, potentially a turning point for devices that should be better known and more widespread.

HP released an update at the same time for the proprietary software that runs on top of WHS, enhancing some of its features and controls. So far, so good.

At the same time, HP is also automatically downloading two addins - McAfee security software for Windows Home Server, and third-party software for media streaming.

Windows Home Server installs a little icon down by the clock on each networked computer to report on the "network health." If a hard drive on the server fails, or a backup isn't completed, it turns red and shouts that the network is "AT RISK!"

HP's automatic download of the addins causes the icon to shout that the network is "AT RISK!" The reason for the warning? The addins have been downloaded but they have not yet been installed.

Does that sound to you like your network is "at risk"? It doesn't to me. Maybe that's the only way that HP can call attention to this wonderful gift, but it's annoying and scary.

It gets worse.

The media streaming software is unnecessary for many or most people using the server, and I've seen criticism that it's poorly chosen in any case. There are reports that it can take more than 24 hours of disk thrashing to complete an index of media files, during which time the server console is unusable.

And sure enough, McAfee lives down to its reputation. If you install it, multiple reports confirm that it will slow your server to a crawl, making the console slow or crashing it. Here's one place where this is being discussed, and here's another. HP is forcing down a trial subscription to a paid service. It's a long trial - 7 months - but it's just a trial, nonetheless.

HP's MediaSmart servers are shipped with an adequate amount of RAM to support the WHS software, but nowhere near enough to support these addins.

The addins can be uninstalled, but wouldn't it be nice if we weren't put in this position in the first place? As I've said before: You already know about the bad guys, but in the long run, we can't trust the good guys either.

Labels: computers, hardware, Home_Server

posted by bruceb at 7/29/2008 12:18:00 PM | permalink

Microsoft has put up a web site for "The Mojave Experiment," with film footage of people responding favorably to what they believed was a brand-new secret operating system, then catching their reactions when told they were looking at Vista. It's pretty effective advertising! And the video wall on the web site is pretty cool. Go take a look!

Labels: business, Microsoft, Vista

posted by bruceb at 7/29/2008 10:47:00 AM | permalink

Windows Search 4 was released last month as an upgrade to Windows Search 3.01 (Windows XP) and the built-in search capability in Windows Vista. It is an important upgrade for every Windows user; it will be pushed through the Windows Update system soon. Here's more information about Windows Search 4.

For the first time, Windows Search 4 can be installed on servers running Windows Server 2003 or Windows Home Server. This gives businesses an important new tool for finding information but there is one new trick to learn.

Many offices with Small Business Server have almost all important business files in a shared folder on the server, which is mapped to a drive letter and is universally referred to by its letter - "The file is stored on the N: drive." Normal people in small businesses don't have to be aware that the file is really in something like \\sbsserver\Company.

When the server is running Windows Search 4, it compiles an index of the business files. When a user with Windows Search 4 searches for something in the shared folder on the server, the server does the work of searching its index and providing the results. The search is completed nearly instantly and it is consistent for all users.

(The underlying technology is referred to as "remote query" or "remote index discovery." A computer with Windows Search 4 responds to a search query from a remote computer by consulting its own index and sending the search results. This works between any computers with Windows Search 4, not just searches on a server - a Vista computer can do a remote query on a shared folder on another Vista computer, etc.)

This is a significant improvement over Windows Search 3.01, which required each individual computer to compile an index of the files on the server. That created a lot of network traffic and search results were uneven - there was always a question of whether an individual computer's index was up to date or complete.

Note the requirement for this to work: Windows Search 4 must be installed on the server and on the workstations. As far as I know, the only way to tell if it has been installed is to look in Add/Remove Programs.

Putting this to use requires a simple technique for searches.

HOW TO USE WINDOWS SEARCH

SEARCHING OUTLOOK AND FILES ON YOUR COMPUTER

Use the toolbar by the clock (Windows XP) or the search bar above the Start button (Vista) to search files stored on your own computer and everything in Outlook.

SEARCHING FILES ON THE SERVER - WINDOWS XP

Open the folder with the business files. (Example: open My Computer and click on the N: drive.)

Click the Search button and do the search from Windows Search on the left.

SEARCHING FILES ON THE SERVER - VISTA

Open the folder with the business files. (Example: open Computer and click on the N: drive.)

Use the Search bar in the upper right corner of the window.

As far as I know, there is no way to do a single search that covers Outlook and files in a shared folder.

Now go find something interesting!

Labels: network, Outlook, SBS, search, software, Vista, WinXP

posted by bruceb at 7/28/2008 01:43:00 AM | permalink

Microsoft will be using new advertisements and other marketing tricks to turn around the public perception that there is something wrong with Vista. A CNet writer just ran across one idea that worked well. Microsoft gathered a group of Windows XP users who had negative opinions of Vista, and gave them a preview of a new operating system under development at Microsoft code-named "Mojave."

The users were enthusiastic. More than 90 percent gave positive feedback on what they saw in "Mojave."

Then Microsoft told them that they were looking at Vista, not some mysterious project in development. With cameras rolling, Microsoft got some invalusable footage of people saying, "Oh, wow!"

It's long past time for Microsoft to fight back. Vista's problems are not technical or compatibility issues - those have been unimportant for a long time. The real problem is turning around years of attacks by Apple and by commentators with little perspective and too much space to fill.

Labels: Vista

posted by bruceb at 7/25/2008 12:40:00 PM | permalink

The latest outbreak of virus-laden spam purports to be a message from UPS about an undeliverable package. The attachment is a ZIP file with an executable program inside that does something evil - blows up a cruise boat or something.

These messages appear and morph and tomorrow this might be a message from FedEx or the IRS or anything else. Your first defense is your common sense: never, never, never open email attachments unless you know with 100% certainty that the attachment is something you expected and want to receive.

Never.

Many of my clients use Exchange Defender to filter out spam and viruses from incoming mail. Here's the update on ED's struggle with this new outbreak.

"It has been quite an evening at ExchangeDefender as we continue to fight the outbreak of the UPS trojan. You may have seen this:

Subject: UPS Tracking Number 6431834482

Unfortunately we were not able to deliver postal package you sent on July the 1st in time because the recipient's address is not correct.

Please print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our office

Your UPS

"What is interesting about this is that the message does look fraudulent to the casual observers and people that do domestic business with UPS. However, we have encountered this format (with attachments and all) being used by UPS Commercial shipping departments in the past, which is why messages with the specific patterns received lower SPAM scores and were allowed through.

"We still stripped the attachments but the attachments inside the ZIP file are passing through AV scanners as the variants change. We are now up to over thirty definitions used to track this specific worm and have taken the following steps:

UPS messages are only processed if they come from UPS.

UPS Tracking numbers are only accepted as valid if they start with 1Z.

UPS messages instigate a callback function against UPS servers.

"Dealing with these extended rulesets and checks has made mail move a little slower today as we've dealt with onslaught of messages while this worm becomes more prevalent. UPS is also issuing a warning on their behalf:

"We currently have this issue under control and it should not pose any further problems. However, expect the UPS messages to be taken with higher scrutiny and always warn users not to open executable attachments."

Labels: mail, security, spam

posted by bruceb at 7/24/2008 09:50:00 AM | permalink

Two weeks ago, Microsoft announced new services that might drastically change the email technology used by small businesses. Let me give you some background, then give you some information about Microsoft Online Services - a way for a small business to have its Outlook folders stored online by Microsoft.

Companies running Exchange Server for Outlook reap tremendous benefits. For example:

• The same Outlook folders can be displayed on multiple computers at multiple locations. You can use your Outlook folders seamlessly from a desktop computer at the office, a desktop computer at home, and a notebook computer on the road, and Outlook is always up to date at all locations.
• Calendars and address lists can be shared.
• Outlook folders can be accessed online through Outlook Web Access - full access to all Outlook folders presented in Internet Explorer, like other webmail services.
• Windows Mobile devices can sync over the air.

It's a rich environment.

Traditionally that has required a small business to run its own Exchange Server (included with the Small Business Server suite). A small business does not strain Exchange Server, which is remarkably robust and frequently troublefree, but make no mistake - it is fiercely complex and problems can happen. I dive for the phone to pay Microsoft for support when there's a problem with an Exchange database.

Microsoft developed a community of partners - big companies offering "hosted Exchange" mailboxes. A small business would pay a monthly fee to the big company to have the Exchange database stored online for all the business users. Outlook works completely smoothly with that arrangement; for the users, there's literally no difference between that setup and having the Exchange Server down the hall. The responsibility for backups, database maintenance, security updates, and upgrades is shifted to the big company.

Until recently, small companies mostly stayed away from hosted Exchange accounts. The big companies were unfamiliar (heck, the whole concept was unfamiliar), and the prices were just high enough to dissuade business owners from moving away from traditional standalone copies of Outlook. (I set up several people with individual hosted Exchange accounts, offered by 1and1.com, but even those were tough because people weren't familiar with the concept.)

Two weeks ago Microsoft announced the details of Microsoft Online Services. Microsoft is bypassing its partners and offering hosted Exchange services directly. Pricing is still not cheap - $10 per user per month for 1Gb of mailbox storage space, with more space available at a cost for oversized mailboxes. But it comes with Microsoft's name behind it and it comes at a time when people are being bombarded with references to storing things "in the cloud." People are becoming familiar with the idea of having important data stored online.

As always, there are a lot of details to process. You can see from the chart that there are many levels of service, and other services in addition to Exchange. I've been testing the beta and there were kinks getting things set up. It's possible to integrate this service with an existing onsite Exchange Server, and it's possible to migrate from an onsite server to the hosted service, but there will be some technical hurdles to make that work.

Meanwhile the partner community is reeling, feeling betrayed, because this puts Microsoft in the position of competing with them directly and even potentially taking customers from the partners. Microsoft has set up an elaborate commission structure to try to soothe them but there is a lot of bitterness out there. I don't think that will slow things down but be alert for yet another round of Microsoft-bashing.

This might be one of those moments that changes the standard setup of computer services for a small business. The demand is already there for universal access to email, calendar and contact lists; this responds to some very real needs being expressed by every business. I expect to be talking about this with many of my clients that do not presently have a server.

Even more interesting, there are consultants in the Small Business Server community who wonder whether this will be such a compelling alternative that they should not recommend Small Business Server 2008. It could be that a small business will have a server onsite to do nothing more than file and printer sharing, and all the other company technology will be online services.

There are changes ahead! This is another one that deserves some attention. Here's more information about the presentation of Microsoft Online Services at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in early July. There's a demo at the MOS beta site. Here's an overview of Microsoft's step into this space. It's interesting stuff!

Labels: business, mail, Microsoft, mobile, Outlook, SBS, web_services

posted by bruceb at 7/23/2008 01:52:00 AM | permalink

Microsoft has released Power Pack 1 for Windows Home Server, fixing a rare but embarrassing data corruption bug, adding new features, and improving stability.

Reports of occasional data corruption were enough to seriously tarnish the reputation of a new product that deserved better. Many people would appreciate having a WHS device - centralized storage of files, remote access to home computers, and especially a tremendous system for backing up all the networked computers.

The WHS team decided to issue the fix for the data corruption bug along with "Power Pack 1," perhaps to make completely sure that the bug was quashed, since it was sufficiently obscure that it had not surfaced during any of the testing of WHS before its original release and it proved difficult to reproduce in the labs. They are confident that it is behind them; I'll go back to recommending WHS to home users and small businesses.

If you own a Windows Home Server, the service pack can be manually downloaded and installed here. It will be automatically installed on your server next month through the Automatic Update system. Manufacturers like HP will be adding their own features with accompanying updates.

Labels: Home_Server

posted by bruceb at 7/22/2008 12:01:00 AM | permalink

From a column today by Ed Bott:

"Sony is finally taking on its crapware problem. For the past two months, I've been using an astonishingly light and agile Sony VAIO notebook and loving every minute of it. The best part of all was that this machine was absolutely, completely, unequivocally crapware-free, which meant I was able to be productive within a few minutes of unboxing.

"That's a huge switch for Sony, which has taken a beating as 'the poster child for negative experiences' with new PCs running Windows Vista. And it was a happy surprise for me. When I wrote about my hands-on experiences with two older VAIO notebooks earlier this year, I called it a 'truly miserable experience.' It took a crapware-cleansing clean install to fix a 2007-vintage Sony notebook, and I spent hours replacing outdated drivers and removing unwanted software from a 2008 model (if you haven't read that installment, see Fixing Windows Vista, one machine at a time).

"In a March interview, Sony Vice President Mike Abary assured me that Sony was 'listening and taking action.' The first phase, he said, was a new program called Fresh Start, in which Sony promised to remove all trialware and unnecessary software for customers who chose the Fresh Start option as part of a custom-configured VAIO. Sony announced initially that it would charge $49.99 for the privilege of ordering a crapware-free PC and then quickly reversed its decision.

"In early May, I ordered an ultraportable notebook from Sony's website, configuring it to order and choosing the Fresh Start option (no extra charge).

"The notebook arrived a few days later, and I've been using it since then for a variety of real-world tasks. The bottom line? Sony's Fresh Start delivers exactly what it promises: a crapware-free PC. It runs Windows Vista remarkably well, and the hardware has been a sheer delight to use."

Details further on in the article about performance, battery life, drivers, and where to buy a Vaio with the Fresh Start option (online only - a Vaio purchased in a local store will come loaded with crap).

Labels: computers, hardware, software, Vista

posted by bruceb at 7/21/2008 02:13:00 PM | permalink

Microsoft Exchange and Outlook dominate the market for corporate email. Small businesses running Exchange Server use Outlook almost exclusively. Until recently, even individuals and businesses without a server would use Outlook with their POP3 mail accounts.

But in the last couple of years, almost everyone has started to chafe at a singular disadvantage of an individual copy of Outlook: it can't be used easily anywhere except by sitting at the computer where it's installed.

We want to read our mail from any computer, anywhere. We want to use more than one computer - a desktop in the office, another one at home, or perhaps a notebook for the road - and we want our email on all of them. We want our mail on a Blackberry or iPhone or Windows Mobile device. All of those things can be done with Outlook but not easily and not without compromises.

It's driving people to set up their mail online with Google Gmail or Microsoft's Windows Live Hotmail or Yahoo Mail. There are some compromises there, too, but the convenience is starting to outweigh everything else. The webmail providers are adding features right and left, so it's possible now to use the online services without regret.

Google Gmail has devoted followers who love its presentation of messages in organized threads and unparalleled search options. Google is constantly tweaking it to offer more storage space, more options for displaying mail on more devices, and more features.

Here's a lengthy comparison of Outlook and Gmail. It's worth reading - your attention will be drawn to things you might not have considered, and you may find yourself nodding unexpectedly at one choice or the other. I think the author undersells Outlook a bit. (One point he doesn't mention, for example: people are very upset when they click "Send by email" in Internet Explorer or Word and nothing useful happens - the webmail services don't integrate with Windows that way.) And in the end, personal taste may outweigh any of these features; some people hate Outlook; personally, I can't use Gmail - I find it unintuitive and clumsy and unattractive.

The next few years will be a blur. Outlook's profile is dropping for home users; Microsoft does not even include Outlook with the Home and Student Edition of Office 2007, presumably because more people are using the online services instead (and perhaps because Vista's Windows Mail is a really nice mail program, better suited for many people who don't need Outlook's complexity).

On the other hand, Microsoft just announced a new program that may change the game completely for small businesses and keep them with Outlook. I'll tell you about that on Wednesday.

Labels: Google, mail, Microsoft, Outlook, software, web_services

posted by bruceb at 7/21/2008 01:45:00 AM | permalink

For those of you following along at home, here's a comparison of Microsoft's overlapping services for sharing and syncing files and storing files online, taken from this forum post. This is rapidly evolving - in an ideal world, these will be consolidated in the next year or two.

SkyDrive:

• Private and contacts & public sharable online file storage (5GB)
• Integrated within Live Spaces
• Permissions:
  • Anyone on the internet (public)
  • Contacts, by entering email manually, or selecting from messenger contacts
  • Private

Pros:

1. Ability to share with public
2. Thumbnail views

FolderShare:

• Private & contacts shareable folder/file syncing
• Remote file access
• Permissions:
  • Contacts, by entering email manually

Cons:

1. Cant view files in folders online
2. Permissions limited, folders/files not able to be made available to public, only individual contacts

Live Mesh

• Private & contacts shareable online file storage (5GB)
• Folder/file syncing (automatically compulsory sync to online storage as well as intended device/s)
• Remote Desktop
• Platform
• Permissions:
  • Contacts, by entering email manually

Cons:

1. Permissions limited, folders/files not able to be made available to public, only individual contacts
2. Syncing between devices requires syncing to Live Desktop, which may not be desired, or have enough space (5GB)
3. Cannot browse drives/folders/files of connected devices without going into Remote Desktop
4. Adding contacts is tedious via manually entering emails 1 by 1, should have ability to add via messenger contact list, and public in general

Labels: file_sharing, Microsoft, web_services

posted by bruceb at 7/20/2008 11:29:00 AM | permalink

Small Business Server is aimed at businesses with 5-25 computers. (Its license allows it to be used for up to 75 computers but it's time to look at moving to the next step when you get above 25 or so.) It can be tempting to save a buck by having a well-meaning friend set it up instead of hiring a consultant.

Here's a story that illustrates why it's important to get someone involved that has experience with SBS. In this case, consultants were called in to look at an SBS setup done by the business owner with a little help from Dell. They discovered there were no backups, there was no security on the Internet connection leading into the server, port 3389 was open, all users were logging in with domain administrator privileges, and two out of three hard drives in the RAID array were not working. It's a recipe for a disaster that in many cases would quite literally shut the doors of a small business.

If you're considering Small Business Server, it should be set up by a specialist. When it's done right, monthly maintenance costs are minimal - but don't try to avoid that up-front cost!

Labels: SBS

posted by bruceb at 7/18/2008 12:54:00 PM | permalink

Small Business Server 2008, the successor to SBS 2003, will ship on November 12. The first few months will reveal any lingering issues and clarify the procedure for migrating to the new platform from SBS 2003. In early 2009, I'll be talking about it to my clients with SBS 2003 running on servers that are more than three years old - it will be time to refresh the hardware that runs the business, part of my long-time belief that it is always preferable to replace a computer on your schedule rather than the computer's breakdown schedule.

In some ways, SBS 2008 sounds similar to SBS 2003 - a single server for small businesses to handle file storage and Exchange mailboxes, plus remote access and some other nice features. Many of the differences result from six years of progress on the underlying products - Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2007, Sharepoint Services 3.0, and more. That steps up the hardware requirements - new 64-bit boxes with lots of memory are required. Existing SBS 2003 servers will be relegated to backup roles or retired. Here are some notes I wrote about SBS 2008 a few months ago.

There are architectural differences based on the increasing need that all businesses feel for 24/7 reliable computing. Small businesses have frequently relied on a single server, creating a single point of failure that can paralyze the entire business. That will still be true in part, but the Premium edition of SBS 2008 will include a license to run Windows Server 2008 on a second server and will include SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition, making it far more cost-efficient to run a line-of-business application on a second server. Law offices, for example, will be more likely to move their case management or accounting programs onto a second server, leaving the SBS 2008 server free to focus on file and printer sharing and running the huge, active mailboxes that we're all accumulating.

SBS 2008 will integrate deeply with Office 2007 and Microsoft's online Office services, making it easier for small businesses to begin using online file storage and collaboration tools.

Windows Live OneCare for Server is a new product that will be included with SBS 2008. Details are hazy but at a minimum it will provide antivirus and spyware protection for the servers, currently difficult to accomplish with SBS 2003 (third party products are available but they are quirky and frequently too complex for a small business relying on an offsite consultant). Apparently the server OneCare program will finally allow central management of OneCare on the individual desktops and facilitate backups of files on the individual computers.

It's going to be an interesting year. Now that a nearly final version of SBS 2008 is available for testing, I've just ordered a server that I'll be using for learning and breaking things and in general, feeling that my brain is too small.

Small businesses that have not yet installed a server do not have to wait; it's possible to buy a license for SBS 2003 with "Software Assurance" that will minimize the cost of the licenses to upgrade to SBS 2008 next year. Adding a server with SBS 2003 can be a tremendously important step for a growing business! In a slowing economy, though, businesses that want to postpone taking that step would be well advised to plan on next spring for their new servers.

Labels: business, computers, hardware, Microsoft, SBS, security

posted by bruceb at 7/18/2008 12:56:00 AM | permalink

Microsoft is developing a platform capable of lots of interesting tricks. I wrote about Live Mesh a few months ago; now an updated version is ready for testing and it's quietly been made available to anyone with a Windows Live ID. You can get started at www.mesh.com.

FILES ARE SYNCED ON MULTIPLE COMPUTERS AND ONLINE AUTOMATICALLY

Live Mesh starts with online storage space where you can create folders and store up to 5Gb of files. A small bit of software is installed to integrate the "Live Desktop" into Windows so the online folders can be accessed easily.

The next step is to add a computer to your "mesh" and tell Live Mesh to sync a folder on your hard drive with a folder in the online Live Desktop. Immediately, all the contents of the folders are synced back and forth, and any changes in the future at either location are synced right away.

Now add a second computer and similarly designate a folder on the second computer to receive a copy of the same files. Now everything is in sync in folders on both computers and in the online folders. When you make a change on either computer - add a file, edit a file - the change is immediately synced so all locations are identical.

Random trivial example: I set my Favorites folder to sync on both my desktop and notebook computers, so I've got a constantly updated list of Internet favorites in both places.

FOLDERS CAN BE SHARED SO MANY PEOPLE CAN WORK ON THE FILES

Okay, now add someone else to share one of those folders. When they install the Live Mesh software and designate a folder on their computer to hold the files, they'll get a complete copy of the folder synced on their computer, and any change they make is immediately reflected on your computers. A log is displayed whenever you look at the folder to show what changes happened recently and who was responsible.

That's powerful stuff for collaboration. It's similar to the online storage with Windows Live Skydrive and Office Live Workplace, but with easier access to the shared files and more information about what's happening with them.

REMOTE ACCESS TO COMPUTERS RUNNING LIVE MESH

This is exciting! From the Live Mesh website, you can start a remote control session with any computer running the Live Mesh software. The software starts a Remote Desktop session easily and does some technical magic to avoid firewall problems. Reportedly it allows remote control of a computer running Vista Home Premium, which is not otherwise able to host a Remote Desktop session.

MORE

The recent update added the ability to sync folders among several computers without also storing a copy online, which might be useful in some circumstances. This makes Live Mesh almost completely overlap the features of Foldershare but with much added functionality. It's hard to predict but it sure looks like this will make Foldershare irrelevant.

You can find a long writeup of Live Mesh features and lots of screen shots here.

Microsoft is designing Live Mesh as a platform that will be extended to mobile devices and other operating systems (including Macs), and that will be able to do many more things in addition to file syncing and remote access. I can see the possibility that it will become a standard tool for many of us.

Labels: file_sharing, Microsoft, remote, web_services

posted by bruceb at 7/16/2008 02:01:00 AM | permalink

Few people browse Internet pages on a mobile device with a three inch screen. A few sites have pages that are optimized for a mobile device but they're pretty hard to come by. (The iPhone does better with its ability to zoom in and out on a page but it's still difficult to make sense of most web sites.)

If you've got a Windows Mobile-based phone, try going to Microsoft's "Windows Live Search for Windows Mobile" at http://wls.live.com. You'll install a small program and get a surprisingly useful collection of online tools for the city you entered. There are maps and driving directions, searchable lists of theaters and restaurants and other businesses, weather, and a few more things, all designed for the small screen.

Here's a description and some screen shots. One of the gadget sites liked it better than Google Maps for Mobile.

posted by bruceb at 7/15/2008 02:09:00 AM | permalink

I still buy most computers from Dell - it's not perfect, but in my experience it's still a step ahead of the other manufacturers in quality and support.

• It's easy to get Vista Business from Dell, the version of Windows required for small businesses and a good choice for many home users; it's virtually impossible to get Vista Business on computers from other manufacturers, especially the ones in the local stores.
• If you order from Dell's Small Business division and carefully uncheck as many choices as possible, a new computer arrives with a bare minimum of preinstalled crap. (I just lost a Sony Vaio notebook and had to reformat the hard drive. It didn't have a virus or spyware but it was made completely unusable by the preinstalled craplets. My experience matched the report a couple of months ago from Ed Bott.)

Dell's home division changes its models frequently; I couldn't tell you what the differences are between Inspiron, Studio, XPS and "Gaming" laptops, for example, without studying the specs.

Dell has also turned its support options into an exotic array of plans. It's far more than just a choice between a standard 1-year warranty or an extended 3-year warranty! On the business side, there's not only a choice of the term of the hardware coverage but there's an extra layer of "Pro Support" if you want a guaranteed connection to tech support in North America. There's coverage for accidental damage and services for laptop tracking/recovery/data deletion. You can prepay for a data recovery service in the event of  hard drive failure. It's a bit dizzying.

There's another choice now offered when you buy a computer from Dell's home division. For $99/year, you can sign up for "Your Tech Team," a "premium" support option. Here's the press release for the new premium support option. As far as I know, this is what you get:

• Hardware warranty support from call centers in North America. Really, this is what it's all about. If you've ever had to call Dell's support center in India, you might think this is a small price to pay.
• The coverage is provided for all Dell devices "in your household." I assume that means it only covers Dell equipment purchased through the home division. Your "household" is determined by the billing address on the purchase so it covers notebooks that travel off to college.
• The coverage only extends to devices that are still covered by the regular hardware warranty. You'd pay twice for an extended warranty - once for the extra years of coverage, then $99/year to talk to a native English speaker if there's a problem.

Don't you wish things like this weren't necessary?

Labels: computers

posted by bruceb at 7/14/2008 01:36:00 AM | permalink

If you are using Windows Live OneCare, it will be automatically upgraded to version 2.5 in the next few days. You don't need to do anything. The new version does not change anything you will notice - it fixes a few problems, speeds things up a bit, and set up OneCare to be licensed as part of the Microsoft Equipt package.

You may see various warnings for a while during the upgrade. OneCare may turn red, or the icon may disappear and be replaced with warnings about security problems. Do not be alarmed.

The upgrade process is a little wobbly. There's no warning before it starts and it can look as if you're exposed to the bad guys. As I understand it, you're not in danger - OneCare locks things down during the upgrade and the warnings are incorrect.

If you see those ominous signs, wait a few hours or overnight. Restart your computer if requested. Chances are that OneCare will go back to work by itself.

posted by bruceb at 7/11/2008 02:26:00 AM | permalink

The new iPhone will be available next week, including support for Microsoft Exchange and Windows Mobile/ActiveSync. That means businesspeople in companies run by Small Business Server 2003 should be able to connect to their Outlook email, calendar and contacts over the air, continuously updating both directions. Well, we'll see - time will tell whether there are glitches or unexpected shortcomings. (I've seen one early unconfirmed report that using Exchange over the air sucks the battery dry in short order.)

David Pogue's column in the New York Times today mentions one thing that I had misunderstood. Apparently the iPhone 2.0 software will also be rolled out to current iPhone owners, enabling them to do exactly the same things.

That means all iPhone owners will have access to the new applications being developed on the iPhone 2.0 platform - there will be thousands of them, a rich new area for blogs to write about endlessly. You might see some that look tempting:

"One coming program, called iCall, will give you free phone calls when you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot. Another, called G-Park, exploits G.P.S. to help you find where you parked. Yet another, Urbanspoon, is "a cross between a magic eight ball and a slot machine:" you shake the phone, and it randomly displays the name of a good restaurant nearby, using the iPhone's G.P.S. and motion sensor.

"You can also expect to see a time and expense tracker, home-automation remote control, voice recorder, Etch-a-Sketch, a recipe box, tip calculator, currency converter, e-book reader and so on.

"Above all, the iPhone is about to become a dazzling hand-held game machine. The games revealed so far feature smooth 3-D graphics and tilt control; in one driving simulator, you turn the iPhone itself like a steering wheel, and your 3-D car on the screen banks accordingly. Other games exploit the multitouch screen, so you and a buddy can sit at opposite ends of the screen and fire at each other."

I'm a bit skeptical because I'm dull and unimaginative. There are hundreds of gadgets that can be added to Vista's sidebar, but I kinda turned off the sidebar because they weren't all that interesting. There are thousands and thousands of applications for Windows Mobile devices but once my phone started syncing reliably with Outlook, I was pretty much done with twiddling with it.

Interesting stuff. Just remember, the iPhone is an expensive thing to have in your pocket and there's no way around its Achilles heel.

Oh, and I finally found the map showing the Sonoma County coverage of AT&T's higher speed 3G network.

If you're outside the shaded area, data speeds will continue to be limited by AT&T's slower EDGE network, roughly the same as having web pages delivered to you by a glacier.

Labels: Apple, mail, mobile, phone, SBS

posted by bruceb at 7/10/2008 12:20:00 AM | permalink

Small businesses (less than 50 employees) can get free telephone support from Microsoft for any Vista-related issues on new PCs running Vista Business or Vista Ultimate purchased between July 1 and September 30. Now that Windows XP is off the market, Microsoft is trying to rebuild Vista's battered image and let people know that Vista works just fine.

Details about the Vista Small Business Assurance program - free phone support and other resources aimed at businesses - are here.

Labels: business, Vista

posted by bruceb at 7/09/2008 03:04:00 PM | permalink

Vista Service Pack 1 was delayed briefly when it was discovered that a handful of hardware device drivers occasionally kept the service pack installation from finishing correctly. New drivers were developed and Microsoft designed Windows Update so it would offer the new drivers and withhold Vista Service Pack 1 until they were installed.

I rarely find Service Pack 1 installed when I sit down to Dell computers. Something seems to be going awry with that process. When I've installed it manually, it has always gone smoothly and all hardware has worked perfectly afterwards. Microsoft didn't plan to offer SP1 to all Vista users simultaneously, so perhaps it's just being rolled out more slowly than I expected - but Service Pack 1 smooths out a lot of rough edges for Vista and I want you to have it.

If you have a Vista computer, check to see if Service Pack 1 is installed - click on Start / Computer, then click on System Properties at the top of the window. You'll see the screen on the right - if it doesn't specifically mention Service Pack 1, you don't have it installed yet.

There's more info here about Service Pack 1 and what to expect during the installation. It's a big deal, like all service packs - go slowly.

You can download and install Service Pack 1 manually from this page. It's daunting - it's a 440Mb download, and there's always the possibility that it hasn't been offered to you through Windows Update for some good reason. Call me if you want me to take over. But frankly, I suggest you give it a try if you have time, a fast Internet connection, and a good backup. (If you're running Vista Business and you have an extra external hard drive, use Vista's "Windows Complete PC Backup And Restore" feature to create an image of your entire hard drive that can be used to restore everything in a single smooth operation after a catastrophe. If you have it, you won't need it, right?)

Labels: computers, Vista

posted by bruceb at 7/09/2008 01:48:00 AM | permalink

On July 15, Microsoft will begin selling a product that many of you should consider for your next computer.

Microsoft Equipt includes Office 2007 Home and Student, Windows Live OneCare, and some Windows Live programs and services (Office Live Workspace for online storage of files, plus Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Mail). It will be sold as a seventy dollar per year subscription for up to three computers, and theoretically cannot be used on an office computer.

I wrote some extensive notes about this bundle when it entered beta testing. It's cheaper than the earlier rumors suggested. Some people object to the subscription pricing but Microsoft has picked a good price point; this is only a couple of hundred dollars worth of software at best, but seventy bucks makes it really cheap to get started and you wouldn't even arguably come out ahead for almost three years if you bought and installed everything separately.

It's worth noting that the subscription will include free upgrades if new versions of programs are released - and Office is scheduled for a new version in the next year or two. Theoretically that gives this bundle a price advantage.

But the more significant reason to buy this is because it's the right software for most home users and students setting up a new computer, delivered in a reasonably simple way. If your next computer had Vista and this bundle, you'd be able to do just about everything most people do with a computer!

There are two problems.

• "Equipt" is a terrible name. What is it with Microsoft and names? It's meaningless and silly sounding and fails to gain any leverage from the "Microsoft Office" brand name.
• At first it will only be sold at Circuit City.
• At first it will only be sold at Circuit City. I had to repeat that to be sure you got it. What? I'm supposed to tell people Microsoft has a great new package for their new home computer and they have to schlep to Circuit City to get it? What, nobody else would sell it? Circuit City is falling apart, for gods sake! Who in the world made that decision and why do they hate us?

Really, the marketing people at Microsoft need a long holiday.

Labels: Microsoft, Office, OneCare, software

posted by bruceb at 7/08/2008 02:21:00 AM | permalink

Adobe has released Acrobat Reader 9, the new version of its PDF reader; the full version of Acrobat 9 will follow shortly. We'll be pressured to install the new version by reminders popping up from our toolbar, by notices when an earlier version of Acrobat is opened, by ads and news items and blogs.

Part of the difficulty with our computer experiences comes from updates like this - well-meaning manufacturers adding complexity that will not be useful to the vast majority of users.

Acrobat 8 was a significant improvement and I encouraged people to upgrade to the Reader and the full Acrobat program. Acrobat Reader was much faster than previous versions; Acrobat Professional 8 offered genuinely exciting new features that would be used by many people.

Acrobat 9 - well, I haven't seen anything compelling yet. The new features in the full program are:

• Improved launch speeds. Great, but I haven't found that to be a big problem recently.
• "PDF Portfolios," a new way to create a single PDF file that contains drawings, e-mails, spreadsheets, and videos. I haven't been in any offices likely to use PDFs for this purpose and I sense compatibility problems, just as the new formats for Microsoft Office 2007 caused confusion and grief.
• Support for embedding Shockwave and Flash movies in PDFs. Are there a lot of people waiting to do this?
• Integrated access to Acrobat.com, the uncompelling online portal for storing and collaborating on files. Again, I expect that to be ignored by most people.

Here's what I'm reading about Acrobat Reader 9. (Blog examples: vicious brief writeup, vicious longer writeup, another unhappy user, screenshots of a Mac installation leading to a program crash.)

• The installation file is huge! It's a 33Mb download that unpacks into 200Mb of installation files.
• The installation process is glacially slow, even worse than Adobe's notoriously slow installations from the last few years.
• The installation includes Adobe Air, which is wholly irrelevant to using Acrobat Reader. Adobe Air is technology that can be used to build interactive web services. Bundling it with Acrobat Reader is ostensibly done to assist the integration with Acrobat.com, but in fact it's a stealth installation so Adobe can tell potential licensees that Adobe Air has a big installed base.
• The default installation includes the eBay desktop program, a demonstration of Adobe Air that will be superswell for the twelve people who will use it and just more useless crap for the rest of us.
• It scatters links on desktop and Start menu for Acrobat.com.

I'm going to delay installing Acrobat 9 for as long as possible. I don't think it's harmful or evil but it sure doesn't look necessary.

Labels: Acrobat, software, web_services

posted by bruceb at 7/06/2008 03:15:00 PM | permalink

[Originally posted June 7, 2007]

Many people should buy the Business edition of Windows Vista, even for home computers. Here's Microsoft's chart comparing the features of the various versions of Windows Vista, and here's another one with a few more details. No one should buy Vista Home Basic, so ignore that column. Vista Home Premium and Vista Business are roughly the same cost. Here's the unique features in each.

WINDOWS VISTA HOME PREMIUM

• Windows Media Center (the living room interface for sitting across the room using a remote control)

I've never seen anyone use the Windows Media Center interface on a computer. I'm one of the rare people using Windows Media Center on a living room computer, purchased specifically for that purpose. If you have an XBox 360, it can connect to a desktop computer running Vista's Windows Media Center, but no one over 25 cares.

• Windows DVD Maker and Windows Movie Maker (HD version)
• Parental controls

These are nice features. You should buy Vista Home Premium if you might use them.

WINDOWS VISTA BUSINESS

• Shadow copy

Vista Business periodically makes copies of everything in your document and picture folders and tucks them away - typically twice a day, retaining each copy for a couple of weeks. You can use it to quickly recover deleted files or previous versions of files or folders.

• Windows Fax and Scan

Most people will never send or receive faxes from their computer, but the fax & scan wizard is genuinely helpful for scanning documents or photos. Many people buy inexpensive all-in-one print/scan/copy machines but ignore the scanner because the printer manufacturer's software is so horrible. The Vista wizard helps get past that.

• Complete PC Backup and Restore

An additional backup method to create an image of your entire hard drive. Vista's built-in backup (or OneCare's nearly identical backup service) is sufficient for most home users, but people who create the "Complete Backup" image will have an unexpectedly quick way to recover from a hard drive failure.

There are other differences that are less important for home users and very small businesses - Vista Business is required for business networks run by a server, for example, and only Vista Business can host Remote Desktop sessions for remote use or support.

If you're buying a computer for your home, Vista Home Premium is a fine choice. But you don't give up much if you get Vista Business, and I find Shadow Copy to be pretty darned compelling stuff.

Labels: Microsoft, Vista

posted by bruceb at 7/03/2008 12:31:00 AM | permalink

[Originally posted February 26, 2008]

Microsoft has upgraded Windows Live Skydrive, its service offering free online file storage. You now can store up to 5Gb of documents, pictures and other files, using an intuitive interface - even a convenient tool for dragging and dropping files from your computer into the online folders. Here's the announcement of increased storage space in the new release.

At the moment there's no option to get still more storage space but everyone expects a "premium" service soon offering more space for a subscription fee. There are three other minor issues:

1. The maximum size of each uploaded file is 50Mb. No videos!
2. You can't drag and drop an entire folder with a single click. You can drop a group of individual files, but not folders and subfolders.
3. Skydrive does not integrate with your mail program. You can send an e-mail link to files in your Skydrive folders but your mail program won't automatically store a file attachment in an outgoing message on Skydrive like the YouSendIt plugin for Outlook does.

Like most of the new Microsoft services, Microsoft has built Skydrive on its Windows LiveID authentication system. Don't be intimidated! It's just an e-mail address and a password! You'll need to sign in with a free Windows Live ID, and other people will need a Windows Live ID to retrieve a file that you share with them.

• If you're using Windows Live OneCare, you have a Windows Live ID! It's the e-mail address and password you used to purchase OneCare.
• Here's the best place to check your existing Windows Live ID credentials or set up new credentials.

Here's what I wrote about Skydrive when it started beta testing. The design is really compelling in its simplicity - I've come to prefer Skydrive over some of the other services I've tested.

Labels: file_sharing, Microsoft, web_services

posted by bruceb at 7/02/2008 12:26:00 AM | permalink

[Originally posted November 26, 2007]

Thinking about a new computer - home, home office, small business? Let me give you some generalizations that will help you get started. (As always, gamers will be looking for faster processors and hard drives, more memory, and - particularly important - choosing from an array of high-end video cards. Notebook computers also require consideration of size and weight, which will trump some of the considerations below.)

• PROCESSOR Intel's Core 2 Duo processors are significantly better than the other Intel and AMD processors. Within the Core 2 Duo line, at some point there's a step up to a 4Mb L2 cache, another bit of technical wizardry that's worth a hundred dollars or so. That being said, all of the processors on the market will serve you well - processor speed is no longer the defining point of a computer.
• MEMORY 2Gb of RAM is mandatory for a new computer - it's required for a satisfying experience, and it's sufficient for most people.
• VIDEO It is essential to look for a video card with 256Mb of RAM! There are many more differences between video cards than that but you'll get what you need if you just focus on that single number. If your new computer doesn't have a 256Mb video card, you'll be disappointed in ways large and small - perhaps you might just not be able to turn on Vista's eye candy, but at worst the computer's entire performance will be compromised.
• HARD DRIVE You'll get lots of storage space with any new computer, but the speed of the hard drive is a new and important consideration. The speed is measured in RPM; you want a speed of 7200RPM or above. If you see 5400RPM, avoid it - the whole system will be slow regardless of the other specs. (You'll run into this problem more often on notebooks.)
• OPERATING SYSTEM Vista Business is the best choice for most people; get Vista Home Premium if you're interested in one of its specific features, but be aware of what you're missing. Vista Ultimate is a safe choice because it includes all features.
• The general answer to your question about Vista is: Yes, it will ________. (Fill in the blank: work; run your programs; network with your other computers; work with your printer/scanner/camera; etc.)
• OPTICAL DRIVE Make sure you get a drive that can read DVDs - software is being distributed on DVDs now.
• SOFTWARE If you're ordering from Dell, you can get Microsoft Office preinstalled at an attractive price. Other manufacturers almost never include MS Office. Make sure your budget is ready for the $150 Student Edition of Office if the computer will be used at home, or $300 and up for the standard versions.
• SECURITY Your first job with a new computer is removing unnecessary software installed by the computer maker - and the most important products to remove will be any preinstalled software from Norton or McAfee. Windows Vista has a very capable firewall and adware/spyware protection, so you're safe while you decide what to install instead. I continue to recommend Windows Live OneCare for comprehensive protection.

Happy shopping!

Labels: computers, hardware, Office, security, Vista

posted by bruceb at 7/01/2008 12:19:00 AM | permalink