May 2005 Archives

I've been using web conferencing software, namely Microsoft's Live Meeting (formerly known as Placeware) and Webex, for over 4 years now. These are great tools, and honestly, I can't remember how we lived without them!

But trust me, presenting to a group of 10 people in a room is quite different from presenting to 10 people in diverse locations, none of whom you can actually see. I infinitely prefer the first scenario, but I don't always relish spending time and money traveling to a remote location to give a short talk or training session.

I'm still learning how to make the best of these online sessions, but for those of you out there just getting started, I thought I might be able to offer a few useful tips.

I guess I'll be wondering about his one for a while. Why did Amazon send me an email with a recommendation for the....

Panasonic ER411NC Nose and Ear Hair Groomer
Panasonic

Amazon.com
For fastidious groomers, this trimmer takes care of unsightly nose and ear hair for an impeccable turnout. A much safer alternative to scissors, the ergonomic stainless-steel blade retains its... Read more

Was this a result of an anonymous tip? Is there something I should know? I will simply HAVE to assume that there is something not quite right with their personal recommendations.

I should have paid better attention when AOL bought Mailblocks. I've been using Mailblocks for well over a year, and was really liking the clean interface and disposable email addresses, though I'd given up using their challenge-response system. (People just figured the challenge email was more spam, and almost never responded.) But for the last few months, I was getting annoyed about the space limit of 15 meg on my basic (paid) account, when Gmail was offering 2 gig, free of charge.

I also found it odd that no new features had been added to Mailblocks for some time. And I took note when Genie Tyburski reported the difficulty in getting technical support when she experienced blocking of email from Mailblocks by certain services, such as, ironically enough, AOL. But I was sending to AOL members just fine, so I wasn't concerned.

Duh. After all, what did I think AOL was going to do with a web email service? They're quite clear in the press release, which I probably should have read before now! They purchased Mailblocks to get their award-winning spam-battling technology for AOL members, which would not be me.

So when technical troubles hit Mailblocks last week, getting them fixed was probably a low priority for the folks at AOL. That's when I checked the web site and realized they weren't taking new customers, which I must say made me question their commitment to the original Mailblocks product. Oh well, obviously time for me to move on.

Okay then, I've been meaning to try Gmail for some time, now's my chance! I'll report on my impressions of Gmail soon.

There are a couple of things happening this week in the area of desktop search tools. First, Google has introduced a free enterprise desktop search tool. According to Google, it "includes key standards-based administrator features that provide enhanced security, centralized configuration and easy company-wide deployment." A premium support option is offered.

MSN Desktop Search has been renamed Windows Desktop Search. No change in functionality from what I've heard, and you still need to install the MSN Search Bar as part of the package.

[Spotted on Office-Watch. Editor's Note: The site is ugly, but the information is good.]

Free web services makes me feel like it's the late 90's again. And there actually are a few popping up here and there. For example, if you're looking for a way to access a computer in a remote location, such as your home computer while you're away, you'll be interested to know there are several free options available. While we all like free, these services are especially appealing to those of us who only need very occassional access to a remote computer, making a monthly fee seem too burdensome.

The recently introduced MyWebex offers a basic, free service. But it's LogMeInBasic that gets a PC Magazine Editor's Choice in the remote access category. I've been using it happily for the last month or so, and am favorably impressed.

For more information on remote access services see:

Remote Access Software - MyWebExPC.com

Managing Your Email Remotely

There's always room for improvement, and that's certainly true for web browsers. For example, I'm quite attached, as are many others, to the Google Toolbar, a PC Magazine Editor's choice in their recent Internet Utilities article. The article also includes a variety of tools in each category including browser toolbars, add-ons, trace removers and instant-messaging aggregators.

I was recently looking for a utility to do a scheduled download of a couple of web sites. Judging from the description of Copernic Tracker 1.1, included in the browser add-ons category, it would pretty much fit the bill.

Considering all the passwords we inevitably must have these days, a password manager and form filler is an excellent browser addition. (Though you might be interested to know that Firefox offers one built right into the browser.) Editor's Choice in this category went to my favorite, Roboform.

We spend enough time browsing the web (does anyone surf the web anymore?), we might as well enhance the experience!

Books aren't dead yet! In fact, they're becoming more accessible than ever because of projects such as Google Print and Amazon's Inside the Book which offer the digitalized, full-text of thousands of books. Since you can actually search and view the content of included books, the likelihood of finding just the right book for you is really much greater.

But as Gary Price points out in his recent article, "Going Under Cover with Book Search Tools", they don't make it easy to limit your search to ONLY full-text books. That's okay because Gary helps you out with several strategies for searching.

Also keep in mind that Amazon online books can be searched via their A9 search engine. Just add books as a column and you'll see all the book results in one place.

Another option to use for Google Print is a new bookmarklet by the Distant Librarian. Just drag the bookmarklet link to your favorites, and with one click up pops a search box that will limit your search to full-text Google Print materials. That's easy! [Spotted on Librarian in Black.]

Both OCLC and the Research Libraries Group (RLG) are doing something that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. They're making information from their union catalogs available via the web to the general public.

The two vendors have taken decidedly different approaches. OCLC offers it's Worldcat records via Yahoo and Google, while RedLightGreen offers a full-featured, search-able, union catalog. According to a recent article by David Mattison, "RedLightGreen and Open Worldcat",
"RedLightGreen gets right down to it, just like Google, with an in-your-face keyword search field. Once I viewed the search results and individual bibliographic records display, the site gave me the impression of working with a really cool library OPAC (online public access catalog), one that even found Google search results within some bibliographic records."

Doesn't it make you wish that they'd offer a custom version of this product to act as an OPAC for a specific library or group of libraries? At least, that's what I found myself wishing! No more downloading of records from RLIN into a separate product, just catalog your records in RLIN, then have them automatically include them in your very own RedLightGreen!

I can dream, can't I?

For more details on these resources, see "RedLightGreen and Open Worldcat", by David Mattison in the April 2005 issue of Searcher Magazine. (Available for $2.95 from the Information Today web site.)

There's good news and bad news. The good news is that Factiva has announced that they will provide Factiva track folders via RSS to subscribers at no additional charge. The bad news is that it appears that this will only work on Newsgator. Can somebody explain to me why they would require the use of Newsgator??? I'm missing something obvious, I'm sure. Maybe it's a security issue? Help me out here...

I was feeling a tad stressed the other day. I'm sure you know the feeling. I was trying to keep up with all the emails coming my way, and also attempting to concentrate on a project that needed to be completed. Finally, I turned off the email notification feature in Outlook 2003, you know, the one that pops up the little message in the lower right-hand portion of the screen to let you know you have new mail. And I felt so much better for it.

Now come to find out that once I stopped monitoring my email in real time, my IQ probably went up 10 points! If you, too, suffer from info-mania, you might want to read this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, E-Mail Addles the Mind. (Thanks, Joan!)

My work computer's hard drive crashed the other day. I know that sounds like a bad thing, but, as the saying goes, there's always a silver lining. And my silver lining was a handsome new desktop replacement, flat screen monitor and upgraded Blackberry. It's taken a little time to get familiar with all this shiny new equipment, but I soon forgot all about my old computer with its cluttered hard drive and boring exterior.

Of course, now I have to re-install any "non-standard" software, which would include Google Desktop Search. (GDS) On the other hand, perhaps this is just another opportunity to play the field. GDS is a wonderful product, but since it's release, several other desktop search engines have surfaced.

But which one should I download? Choosing a desktop search engine is a commitment; you really can't install and run more than one. It would simply take up too much in terms of system resources. Apparently even one can sometimes takes its toll as some desktop search products are, how shall I say it, high maintenance. So background checks on prospective candidates seemed like a prudent idea.

I've read the recent reviews in PC Magazine and PC World, but the detail provided is necessarily limited. That's why I decided to buy an online PDF book, The Desktop Search Handbook, by Peter Deegan. There's a lot of information there for $9.95, though you have to provide your own paper and ink.

For example, right up front (p. 17) they address one of my concerns, the lack of support for Microsoft OneNote. It's not my imagination...according to Deegan none of the desktop searching programs support the .one format, not even Microsoft's product. The solution? Treat .one files like text files in those programs that allow you to define your own file types. Though GDS doesn't accommodate this, there's a plug-in for GDS that will do the job. (p. 40)

I had just about decided to go to the dark side, and install the Microsoft product. But I got cold feet when I realized I couldn't JUST get desktop search, I had to take the whole family, the complete MSN Toolbar Suite. Nuh-huh, not me, I'm not ready for that.

After all this research, I'm leaning towards PC Magazine's Editor's Choice, Yahoo Desktop Search. Though I'm a little nervous about installing anything on my pristine hard drive. On the other hand, I really miss the ability to actually FIND emails and files, so I"ll have to take the plunge soon. I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, I'm still open to suggestions...