5. Stupid licensing terms and anti-piracy protections
The new licensing terms for Vista only allow you to reinstall the OS once. I’m not a pirate — I have no problem paying for software I use, but I’d rather not have to purchase it multiple times if the OS itself breaks down. If a reinstall is needed (which unfortunately has been frequently necessary on my Windows machines), I would need to purchase a new copy of Vista. Plus, what happens if I decide to upgrade my CD drive to a DVD burner? What if my hard drive crashes and I need to replace it? Why can’t I reinstall the copy of Vista I already own? Also, some have pointed out potential problems with WGA, an anti-piracy application that will occasionally report back to Microsoft on the status of my copy of Vista, and can disable most functionality of the OS if it is suspected to be a pirated version. No, thanks.

4. Exorbitantly high cost
Pricing for Vista is out and it is expensive — the Ultimate edition comes in at $399. Ouch. Of course the other flavors and versions are less expensive, but with less functionality. Plus, remember this cost is only for the OS; and most users need other software to be productive. Shelling out so much cash for just the operating system requires considering alternatives to additional expensive software.

3. Nefarious malware
Windows has been and will continue to be the main target for malware. Spyware, adware and lots of other garbage can will turn your computer into a spam-messenger or bot awaiting nefarious commands of some remote hacker kid. I doubt a new OS will be totally hardened against it, despite Microsoft’s claims to the contrary.

2. Perpetual security issues
Even with a greater focus on security, critical patches and serious flaws are being found every month. Admittedly, Microsoft has made great strides to make their operating systems more secure, but it’s just not there yet. But, as stated above, Microsoft OSs are the biggest target out there. Exploits found in the OS is one way to get malware onto the system, the other way is user-error — usually by installing infected programs.

Also, all of Vista’s security features are new — which means they can’t be totally secure. Microsoft is rewriting all of the networking program stack, which is sure to be the focus of future critical patches. Only history can measure security. Look at how XP matured — it’s relatively solid now, but it took it to SP2 to get it even close to where it should have been. I doubt Vista will be much different.

1. Better alternatives
Microsoft should be carefully monitoring two competing operating systems: Mac OS X and Ubuntu Linux. Although neither is perfect, Mac OS X and Ubuntu Linux are shaping up to be tough competition for Vista.

OS X is notoriously easy to use and just works. Apple’s stock continues to rise because once people learn OS X, they won’t go back to Windows. The iLife suite provides functionality for all of the fun stuff computers can do and Apple’s hardware is sleek and sexy. My next computer will be from Apple, largely because of OS X and iLife.

Ubuntu continues to get better; it’s a great alternative operating system. Sure it’s another flavor of a million flavors of linux, but I like where it’s heading. First of all, you can’t beat the price — Ubuntu is totally free. And it comes bundled with tons of great open-source software. Once it’s installed, you have a whole bunch of great applications and the ability to easily download and install thousands more. I have been using Ubuntu for quite some time now on an older computer, and it’s great. I certainly won’t be replacing it with Vista.

I recently ran into a problem which forced me to figure out how to create a scheduled ftp job. I needed to post results from my fantasy football league draft to a website so the slackers who couldn’t be at the live draft could more easily follow along and know who had been drafted so far. The software I use to conduct my draft (FFLM) can automatically generate HTML reports after each pick. I needed to create an FTP job that would take those HTML reports and post them to a website for the remote drafters to see.

I’ve used Linux and cron before, and I was hoping to get something like that in Windows. Although it’s not too difficult in Windows, I needed to do a little research to figure out how to create a scheduled ftp job.

I found an article on the Microsoft Help and Support site that shows how to use an FTP Batch script. If you open up Notepad, you can create a simple file that contains all of the commands you need to type in for your ftp job. Just type in the commands you would use in the ftp command-line utility. For example, my .scr file looks something like this:

open 10.0.0.1
user
password
lcd "C:\Files\ToFTP"
cd website/Fantasy/Football/Directory
put DraftResults.htm
put TeamRosters.htm
bye

The first line connects to the FTP server, the second and third lines are the username and password to connect to the server. The fourth line changes my local dirctory to C:\Files\ToFTP, where my files are located. The fifth line gets to the proper directory in the FTP server, it’s where my files are going to be placed. The sixth and seventh lines transfer the two report files to the server. The eighth line disconnects from the server.

Saving this file as a .scr file means that I now have an FTP script to run. From the command line I can simply type:

ftp -s:Test.scr

The script will run and the two files will be placed on the server.

Now that we have the ftp script, it’s time to automate it. All we need to do is create a very simple batch file. Again, this can be done simply using Notepad. The batch file will basically run the ftp command line script as shown above. Here are the contents of the batch file:

::DraftFTP.bat
::Uploads Draft Files to Website
@ECHO OFF
cd "C:\Files"
ftp -s:Test.scr


The first two lines are comment lines. The third line tells the batch file not to display the command prompt as the commands are executed. The fourth line changes the directory to where the Test.scr file is located. You should recognize what the fifth line does from what we did above.

Now we have a batch file. Double click it and it will run, placing the two files on to the webserver.

So we’re almost there. Now that we have the ftp script and the batch file to run it, all we need to do is create a scheduled job to automatically run the batch file at a given interval.

Open the Scheduled Tasks (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Scheduled Tasks) and create a new Scheduled Task. Don’t bother going through the wizard, just right-click and select New > Scheduled Task. Give it a name and then open it up. In the Task tab, select the batch file you just created as the program to run. Then simply fill out the Schedule, Setting, and Security options as desired.

Then sit back and enjoy as the Scheduled Task runs your batch file containing your FTP script, automatically putting your files according to the schedule you have defined.create a scheduled ftp job

As mentioned above, there is usually more than one way to accomplish a task. If you know a better way to create a scheduled ftp job please share your tips below, or let me know if this solution worked for you.

I have been a fan of Thunderbird (read my review) for quite some time, and recently came across an extension called Enigmail which promised to give me the PGP security capabilities I was looking for. The Enigmail extension provides the security in a simple and straightforward way and nicely integrates into Thunderbird. The encryption is handled by the GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG), a free version of PGP.

Here is a simple example of how PGP works. Dave wants to send Jesse an email. Both Dave and Jesse have Thunderbird and Enigmail installed. Both use Enigmail to generate a key pair. Dave gets a private key and a public key, and Jesse also gets his own public and private key. The public keys are public; Dave and Jesse share those with each other. The private keys are private, they should never be shared. The two keys work together to encrypt and decrypt messages. If something was encrypted with the public key, it can only be decrypted by the corresponding private key.

OK, back to Dave and Jesse. When Dave sends Jesse an email, Dave encrypts the message using Jesse’s public key (Dave has access to Jesse’s public key because it is public). When Jesse receives the message, Enigmail will automatically decrypt the message using Jesse’s private key and Jesse will read the message. To anyone else viewing the message it would look something like this:

-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.3rc2 (MingW32)


hQIOA6x3yUQjMAdqEAgAvyC+x6frLRnxE8u67BRQAFb2Jrj
NQdBoN2uFKH6x2DGJeggTSL2aGyABsFSr8eva4j4QWSnVfa
DC5P5EOwEQykSvK65TC9Mi5nX6DpEaClQAz/FDIyM+gr3r0
WYWE560YS4KSKz8CHPkIK3E3MruZVNTSn7CVQjHNbzJmgpJ
fgij2jFt59PgXpUgYxX5idkV0TitdR2O7Uv/VBSbRJCpWlK
hQDcX/k21Gcd89sqES6g6iP/pYXYghCo36pitjIhIwf7Bhk
Tv7rCDjQ8QR4+WFnYk9UVjL9KbWlqbn2awBejVQOqSH2j/f
QV4ry7qPVDODGlY0plIy28nUv7WaNt18E+9mS1e+AcGc/5V
WswmxMwM65qV7/1MiqaJ9fc8NdzUsA3peAfiv56dJuJJQRp
W/PD5WKWf9dDUmwRX6Qql36MMQCguwcBfhZZ1rVFQuZYARh
aiMjOS1+Xhrk8FQZnRYu+rmEpT6sXdkpAdvKelE1y/v5lDs
PdLACAEOW7aQoaxAm03WL4w/jGZAI5FB70VUG9kyEN+Xy2E
fUPF2LBTc/72pjvDrxb6O7lMXtpfgy49Lt+2clg2yqvefBt
jg/GmbdxGZMz1rWXDUuZsd9GdfKwxrmvQN8fSTc7FKcIC7h
1uYv7X8dpubuVdParSQKS4WX7d+7J/CNgUQkWytrMtcdWuH
pRgPtdSlxbIC1GQ7
=OCNT
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

When Jesse wants to reply to Dave’s initial encrypted email. Jesse encrypts the entire message using Dave’s public key and sends it to Dave. When Dave gets the message, it is decrypted using Dave’s private key. Neither person ever touches the other’s private key — it remains private. Dave and Jesse have now exchanged emails securely using PGP.

PGP is strong stuff. Famous cryptographer Bruce Schneier said PGP is “the closest you’re likely to get to military-grade encryption” (Applied Cryptography, p. 587). The reason it is so strong lies deep in PGPs cryptographic and mathematical roots, which we won’t delve into here. Just know that it’s not going to be cracked. Experts doubt any groups, even large government agencies, are capable of decrypting PGP messages. It’s good encryption.

Another great tool I found for PGP encryption and message signing is WinPT (Windows Privacy Tray). It’s a free, open source program that manages your PGP keyring (your public and private keys) and the public keys of others. One of the cool things about WinPT is that it’s a standalone application that you can use to encrypt or sign messages in a regular text document. So, for example, if you’re at work and don’t have access to your Thunderbird application, but you do have webmail access, you can still send encrypted and signed messages from your webmail client. You can also decrypt messages sent to you. All you need to do is copy and paste the plain text into the WPTray clipboard and select the Encrypt, Decrypt, or Sign options. WPTray will do the dirty work, and you simply copy and paste the results into the message body and send the email.

You can check out my public key page to import my public key into your PGP key manager so you can send me an encrypted email. Please don’t send anything which may compromise national security, but if you want to keep Mom’s famous apple pie recipe safe, PGP is great encryption, and using Thunderbird and Enigmail together make it easy and available to the masses.

I decided to install an alternative operating system. Even though I own a license for Windows XP Pro, I decided to use Ubuntu linux as the primary operating system for the machine. I used Ubuntu for several reasons:

• It has what I need

Ubuntu is a linux distribution, meaning it contains the operating system (linux) and a collection of other open-source software packages. When I install Windows XP, I don’t get a whole lot included with the operating system. I still have to purchase or download free alternative software for word processing, virus scanning, image editing, etc. With Ubuntu, most of the software I need was included on the installation disc.

• It’s free

I can’t afford to shell out big dollars for software, and I’m not a software pirate. The operating system and included software are totally free. The folks who create Ubuntu will even ship you the CDs for free.

• It’s secure

With Ubuntu, I don’t need to worry about viruses or spyware. Because Ubuntu is a *nix-based OS, the user accounts are not machine administrators and each user has individual settings and storage space. That means the kids can’t change system settings and wreak havoc on the computer. They don’t have access to other users’ files, meaning they can’t destroy Mom’s recipe cards she has been typing up for the last two weeks.

There are several other reasons why I chose Ubuntu. Installing new software and updating software is a breeze, so system maintenance is drastically decreased. I can also use the system as a file server, so it can act as a central repository for all of our mp3s, photos, other files, and backups. The data can be accessed from Windows, Mac, or other Linux computers on our home network. Ubuntu can also act as our print server, so all other computers in our home can print to the printer hooked up to the Ubuntu machine.

However, Ubuntu isn’t perfect. I didn’t like that it didn’t support mp3s and other video formats out of the box. It also didn’t have support for Flash or Java. However, I have discovered a few scripts (Automatix and EasyUbuntu) which can easily add all of the formats, codecs, and other niceties missing from the install discs. One other thing missing is power management. Since this computer can go long periods of time without being used, I would like to have it go to a standby mode to shut off the hard drives and monitors after a period of inactivity; but it would need to support wake-on-LAN. I have read power management is currently being developed for the next version of Ubuntu, so I am looking forward to easily updating my software for this feature.

Overall, Ubuntu has been great for my needs and is getting better. I have had some issues getting the file and print sharing just right (fodder for future articles), but Ubuntu has been a great alternative operating system so far because it has what I need, it’s free, and it’s secure.

Overall, Thunderbird is a very viable option as an email client. While it may not shine in a corporate environment with the need for calendar sharing and other corporate features, Thunderbird is great for the home user. It handles the basics very well. Sending, receiving, writing and organizing email messages is nice and easy, with all the features the average home user needs.

The inline spell checking is a nice addition to this version. Words are spell checked as you type and underlined in red if amiss. I like the automatic spell checking feature, although I’m sure the red lines and automatic correction will eventually produce a generation of the worst spellers (sans computer) the world has ever known.

Unfortunately, having a junk-mail filter these days as part of an email client is a must-have feature. Thunderbird’s filter is very easy to use and gets better as you get more spam. I haven’t noticed too many false postitives (messages that are not spam that get directed to the junk-mail folder) in the past year I have been using Thunderbird. It seems to do a good job.

Setting up Thunderbird was a breeze. It can grab all of your addresses and email from previous desktop clients. Adding and editing email account settings was also very easy. I have several email accounts and I like how Thunderbird handles the multiple accounts. It’s a simple thing to compose an email and send it from one account and not the other.

One thing missing is an integrated auto-archiving or backup feature that would let you easily schedule and create backups of all important emails. Since another key selling point of Thunderbird is all of the extensions (or plugins), someone could write a simple extension that provides this functionality, but it would have been a nice included feature in version 1.5.

In conclusion, I like Thunderbird. It’s easy to use and extend, it has the basic features that most users need, it’s completely free, it won’t propogate viruses, and it does a good job of handling spam. What else can the average home user ask for?

• Keep it short

Long, rambling emails are rarely read thoroughly; most people skim or totally skip over them. If you want someone to read your email, make it short. If you want someone to read the email and do something, make it even shorter. Proofread your emails and edit liberally; take out any verbose verbiage — emails should be fluff-less.

• Mind your tone

Emails don’t have context. Don’t be sarcastic or try to use any type of tone because it will inevitably be read differently than the way you wrote it.

• Reply with original text

Most email applications automatically do this, but I have received several replies where the sender has not included my original email. This is especially frustrating if I can’t remember what my original request was and the reply is along the lines of, “OK, let’s do it.”

• Use only one space

Spaces are like exclamation points — you only need one to make it work. Using more than one is unnecessary; it simply takes up more space and makes it harder to read.

• Choose descriptive subject

Don’t get too clever with your email subject line. Use a good subject that summarizes the body of the email. Having a well-written subject line is extremely beneficial when digging through old email archives.

• Keep it topical

If your email contains more than one major topic, break it up and send as many emails as there are topics. It doesn’t take much additional effort and makes it much easier keep it short and choose a descriptive subject.

• Respond promptly

This can be taken to an extreme, but just don’t let your emails sit around and get stale. Promptly may mean different things for different emails. Prioritize what you need to reply to and take care of them. Don’t let unread messages accumulate in your inbox.

Learning and practicing these simple principles will make your email life much easier, and your savvy email readers will appreciate it too.

Whether it is a software demo, a PowerPoint presentation, or an online meeting, there are several guidelines to follow:

1. Set up early

Nothing will erase credibility faster than watching someone struggle setting up for a presentation. “If he can’t figure out how to hook up a projector, how is he an expert on [Insert Topic Here]?” Arrive early (probably 20-30 minutes early if you’re unfamiliar with the equipment) and be ready to go when the first person arrives.

2. Avoid distractions

The audience will be tempted enough, so don’t provide any additional distractions. Here are a few common distractions which can totally kill (the bad way) a presentation:

• Email

Outlook 2003 has a desktop alert activated by default which pops up the subject and the first few lines of each message you receive. I was in a meeting once where I spent most of my time being distracted by the emails the presenter was receiving. At one point, one with a very personal subject line popped up and I had to hold back my laughter. Be safe and simply turn off your email during the presentation — it can wait.

• Power settings

Laptops usually have default timers to shut off the screen or go to standby mode after a period of inactivity. Make sure you change those setting on your laptop when leading a presentation. In the same meeting with the email snafus, the presenter had several open discussions with the group. During each conversation, his laptop went to standby mode. (Yes, that meeting inspired this article)

• Messaging clients

Having an IM client running during a presentation is just asking for trouble. Any friend or family member may decide to send you an instant message on any number of embarrassing (and potentially career-threatening) topics. Be safe and make sure to turn off any instant messaging programs.

• Other

Simply be aware of the things that may be displayed during your presentation. If you accidentally minimize the main window, should the group really see the picture of you in your bathing suit from your last vacation? Do you have a shortcut to your Death Rock Music folder on your desktop? Do you have any other programs which occasionally send pop-up notifications? Clean up and turn anything off that you don’t want shown on the projector screen.

3. Use dual screen

Although this is a little more advanced and doesn’t apply to all types of presentations, using the projector as a second monitor can be a very useful technique. Windows XP supports dual monitors by default, but you may have to tweak your video card settings to pull this off right. If properly done, this technique can really help your presentation.

Following these simple guidelines won’t make you a great presenter. You will need to master your message, voice characteristics, body language and many other factors to deliver a polished presentation, but at least you won’t look like a total rookie.

iTunes still doesn’t have great support for ripping audiobooks; it’s certainly not a one-click operation. I also haven’t found a good resource explaining how to import audiobooks online, therefore I have decided to document the process I use.

1. Get disc information
Let’s get the obvious steps out of the way: start iTunes and insert the first audiobook CD (most audiobooks I’ve seen span several CDs). iTunes will try to find the information for the author, album, and tracks and will populate it if it exists. If not, the best way to populate this information yourself is to right-click the CD in iTunes and select Get Info. You can add the title, author, disc number, and other information for the disc.

2. Select audiobook format for import
As stated before, iTunes (as of version 6.0) still doesn’t make it easy to import audiobooks. Follow these steps to select a good audio format for importing:

1. Choose Preferences from the Edit menu
2. Click on the Advanced tab
3. Select the Importing tab subsection
4. Choose the AAC encoder from the Import Using dropdown list



5. Select Custom from the Setting dropdown list
6. In the AAC Encoder window, choose 64 kbps from the Stereo Bit Rate dropdown box and check the Optimize for voice checkbox



7. Click OK until you get back to the main iTunes window

(Note: You can select a lower bit rate if you need a smaller file size and don’t mind the decreased quality)

3. Group and rip
Most audiobooks I’ve come across have about 25 tracks per CD. You don’t want to listen to an audiobook by track, but rather by CD (audiobooks are bookmarkable — see the next step). Select all of the tracks on the disk and choose Join CD Tracks from the Advanced menu. This will join all of the tracks on the CD into one track on your iPod. Then simply click on the Import icon and let iTunes work for a few minutes.

4. Make files bookmarkable
After all of the discs have been imported into iTunes, one crucial task remains. Tracks imported by iTunes with the AAC encoder are saved with and extension of .m4a. To make the file bookmarkable, simply change the extension to .m4b.

Windows XP hides the extension by default, so you will have to change that setting. Simply go to the Control Panel, switch to the classic view, and open the Folder Options. In the Folder Options window, click on the View tab and scroll down the list of Advanced options and uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types checkbox.

Finally, find the imported audiobook tracks and change the extension from .m4a to .m4b. iTunes will automagically recognize those files as audiobooks. Sync them to your iPod and enjoy the commute!

Even though most of us know the Second Law of Thermodynamics (few have it memorized, but most understand it intuitively), somehow we still fail to perform one of the most basic and essential tasks in computing: the all-important backup.

We’re now in the digital age, photos are no longer stored in shoeboxes, songs aren’t on CDs, recorded TV shows aren’t on videotape, journals aren’t written by pen on paper and hidden under a pillow — they are all stored on your hard drive. As digital media proliferates, computer users still back up as much as they always have — rarely, if ever.

Having a complete and comprehensive backup solution takes a lot of work. However, a few simple steps can prevent major disasters. Here are three basic recommendations everyone should be following:

1. Indentify the data (pictures, emails, address book, Quicken files) you can’t lose. Make this step easier by separating your data from all of your program files and operating system. Windows XP does this by default (for most files) by storing them in your My Documents folder. Beware of other user profiles on that machine and the location of their important files if the computer has more than one user. This is the data you will be backing up.

2. Put the data (from step 1) on removable media. Almost all computers these days come with a burner. CD and DVD media are very inexpensive and should have plenty of room to store your most important data.

3. Repeat Steps 1 & 2 at regular intervals. It won’t do you much good to have a backup from a year ago. You need to get into the habit of backing up your files. The frequency is really up to you, but I would suggest at least monthly.

These three steps should make losing a hard drive an inconvenience instead of a total disaster. Sure you will still need to install an operating system and all of your program files, but most people keep the original install discs around. Restoring the OS and the programs is the easy part — it’s the loss of those personal files and data that hurts. Performing these three steps will prevent much pain and heartache when the Second Law of Thermodynamics pays an unexpected visit.