Search Engines

Posted on August 10, 2008 by Mark Urbin

There have been two new search engines that have caught my eye recently.  One good, the other not so good.

First, the good.  Searchme.com.  They did a slick job in finding a new way to present pages in an eye catching way. The results it returns are useful and relevant as well.

On the not so good side, the over hyped cuil. To start with, I’m not really thrilled with the search results.

Then then there was the “coding slip” that flooded its search results with porn.

Third strike, the buzz is that “ego searches” for key VC investors and tech pundits produced the “best” results. Hand coded? Perhaps, it is an interesting exception to their otherwise lack luster search results.

Searchme.com is the clear winner here.

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Friends don’t let friends…

Posted on August 6, 2008 by Mark Urbin

This is the basic Internet security tip I give everyone. Don’t load Outlook & don’t run Internet Explorer unless you have to.

Friends don’t let friends run Outlook.

Think about it. The vast majority of email based virii (viruses or however you want to spell it) take advantage of the huge security holes in Outlook.

It’s not even that good an email client. Really, you are better off with Mozilla’s Thunderbird.

As a groupware scheduling program, it is actually pretty good.  That doesn’t make up for its general, and I’m going to use a technical term here, suckage as an email program.  If you are using Outlook for your personal email, just don’t. Use a web based solution, like Yahoo mail or Google Gmail.  You can even use a client program like T-Bird in IMAP mode with Gmail for free.

I’ve run a couple of small corporate IT departments, which included supporting their Exchange servers and Outlook clients, so I know of what I speak.

For small companies, especially non-profits, going with Google Apps makes a lot more sense.  Outsourcing your email means at least one less bit of server hardware you have to maintain on top of any software related costs.  Even if you are running Linux for your mail server, there is an associated cost for the geek to maintain it, on top of the hardware costs.

Take a look at Worcester State College for a good example of how outsourcing a basic function like email frees up not just money, but the talent of the IT department to help their clients.

Not using Microsoft IE browser is another simple way to improve your basic Internet security.  Web based security attacks focus on IE because it is the default browser for a large majority of computers in use.

Switching to a third party browser, such as Firefox, will not only improve your security, it will also improve your overall browsing experince by using a better designed product.

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NetShare pulled from the Apple Store

Posted on August 4, 2008 by Mark Urbin

Netshare is a very useful iPhone app that allows you to share the iPhone’s Internet connection with other devices over the WiFi connection.

Too bad it isn’t available anymore.  It was on the iTunes app store, but then it was pulled, put back, and then pulled again.

The app was produced by Nullriver Software.

No explanation from Apple on why this extremely useful app was pulled.

Update: Nullriver Software claims that they are “working with” with Apple about getting NetShare back in the iTunes Apps store.

Filed under: Apple, Gadget, Internet, Smart Phone | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

Another reason to stick with the old hardware

Posted on August 2, 2008 by Mark Urbin

AT&T decided to change the data plan rates with the second gen iPhone. The data plan I have with my first gen is a flat $30 a month charge that includes 200 SMS text messages month. I’m not a big text user, so that is more than enough.

The new plan doesn’t include SMS text messaging. It’s $30 a month pluse $0.20 per SMS text message. That’s coming and going. Someone sends you a text and you are tossing two dimes in the jar for your next bill. To get that 200 messages a month, AT&T now charges $5 a month.

AT&T isn’t alone in this price gouging. Most of the other US cell phone carriers are doing similar Evil to their customer basis.

Why is it Evil? IMNSHO, it is because a SMS text message is just data traffic. No different from sending an email from your phone. Hell, even your voice traffic (i.e. old school phone calls ) is just data traffic now.

The cell phone carriers are charging more for SMS text messages because kids are sending them more than crack addicts are looking for their next fix.

As one pundit (either Leo Leporte or Glenn Reynolds I think) put it, his daughter views her cell phone as primarily a texting device that can, in a pinch, be used to actually talk to people not hip enough to text.

One of my kids had just over 350 text messages on his monthly bill. That’s incoming as well as outgoing, and he claims he isn’t a heavy text user. At $0.20 a pop, 350 text messages translates to an additional $70 on your bill. All of a sudden, paying an additional $5 or $20 a month for a texting package isn’t so bad.

Unless you keep in mind the words of Malcolm X, “When someone sticks a knife six inches into your back, and then pulls it out two inches and claims he’s doing you a favor, don’t believe him.”

Filed under: Apple, Internet, Smart Phone | Tagged: , , | 13 Comments »

Google breaks into college email

Posted on August 1, 2008 by Mark Urbin

According to Mass High Tech, Worcester State College replaced its Microsoft Exchange based email system for Google Apps for Edu.  This is expected to save the College IT department $120,000 the first year and $70,000 each following year.

This is a trend I’m seeing in college IT departments.  Very traditional services, like email & database hosting are being outsourced so the IT departments can focus on more innovative services that directly meet the needs of the facility and students.

There are “privacy” issues raised about handing the campus email system over to private company.  On the other hand, I can see a mail server at a college getting hacked at lot easier than a Google based server.

Google Apps also includes Google Docs, so I can see more students storing their files “in the cloud” instead of on their local systems.  Of course, there will be those, both students and facility, who just don’t back up their files.

Filed under: Internet, IT | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

The Digg/Google rumors

Posted on July 30, 2008 by Mark Urbin

MIT Tech Review is now covering this story.  Kevin Rose was on the lastest episode of TWiT and talked about it.

He said the company policy was not to comment on such rumors and then went on to say it was not the kind of deal that Digg was looking for at this time.

I wonder if all of his board is as immune to massive amounts of google bucks as he appears to be.

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Mobile blogging

Posted on July 30, 2008 by Mark Urbin

I am writing this post on my iPhone using the new WordPress app.

For this to be a serious tool, a portable Bluetooth keyboard is needed. Too bad Apple doesn’t even support their own Bluetooth keyboard.

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New Search Engine

Posted on July 28, 2008 by Mark Urbin

I’ve been using searchme.com lately and I find it to be a useful way to do quick searches.

The slick thing about it is that it displays the webpages in your search results.  People are primarly visual creatures.  If you are looking for a page you once saw, you are more likely to recognize it by seeing it than by a line or two of text.

This is a search engine geared toward people, not other computers, which makes it pretty cool.

Filed under: Internet | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

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