A few months back, Microsoft bought an anti-spyware company. It has now re-issued that software under a Microsoft name, without changing much else. The beta of this software is available for free.
I just did a scan of my own workstation, and the software reported that there was no spyware on my computer. I then rescanned with my old favorite SpyBot Search and Destroy, and…yup…15 problems were detected.
Wireless networking allows you to roam about an area with your laptop computer unteathered to a network connection…and (hopefully) your power cord, if you have a fully charged and functioning battery.
In buildings where it is difficult or impossible to run network cable, a wireless network allows you to connect to your local area network or the internet with much the same speed and convenience as you would with a wired connection.
In rooms where you want to set up a temporary network, such as a conference room, a wireless access point can be plugged into an existing wired connection to extend the network to laptop computers throughout the room.
Wireless gear from vendors such as D-Link, Linksys and NetGear is inexpensive. You can equip yourself with a wireless access point, and network card for a laptop for under $200.00. Speeds have increased from 10 megabits per second to 54 megabits and beyond. The D-Link AirExtreme series will exchange data at a theoretical 108 megabits per second with other AirExtreme units; that is, you need to have both an AirExtreme networking card in the computer and a router or access point from D-Link. This brings you into the realm of speeds similar to a wired network.
If you tried wireless a couple of years ago and were disappointed, get the latest generation of hardware and try it again. You will be amazed at the improvements.
A couple other ideas:
When you create your wireless network you have the opportunity to change the name of the “broadcast beacon”. Typically this is set with a default name like “linksys”. If you choose to change this, remember that the name will be visible to other wireless users, so don’t choose something obscene (like a bonehead neighbor of mine has), or something readily identifiable.
Once you have got your network connection running, satisfactorily be sure to turn on the encryption feature. Without this, anyone can connect to your network, just as if they plugged into a network jack.
Resource: Jeff Duntemann’s Wi-Fi Guide Second Edition
After looking at blinkx, Goggle Desktop, and X1, I settled for the moment on X1. It seems to remain unobtrusive as it maintains an index to all eMails and files on both my local disk and the network. The program has saved me a great deal of time as I dig out the odd fact, social security number, or eMail address from three or four years of back eMails and files. There is a fifteen-day evaluation available.
Dell Inspiron 5160 laptop
Mobile Pentium 4 2.8Ghz
512K memory
40 megabyte hard drive
CD R/W+DVD reader combination
Enhanced 15″ SXGA screen
Internal modem
Internal network card
Nylon carrying case
2 year business warranty includes breakage
Windows XP Professional
$1367
Note this configuration does not include:
Antivirus software
Microsoft Word or Excel.
A floppy diskette drive (Use a “memory key” instead)
Extra battery (not needed if you usually plug in)
If you wanted to save a little more, you could cut back the screen and shorten the warranty period.
Follow up: 1/5/2005
I configured the laptop today and have to say, I’m not wild about it. Unlike the Inspiron 8500/8600/9200 series, the 5160 is heavier and thicker. It has a power brick that is the size of…well… a brick! That is, the power brick is twice the size and weight of the similar brick for my 8500. The 15 inch screen is nice however. This laptop would be more suitable for those who don’t really expect to carry it around much. If you want to get a better machine for a similar price, look at the Dell Refurbished section.
As part of a creating a Technology Plan, you need to know what, (if anything) you are working with. If you are a new, or tiny organization, you may have a PC or two, some software, and not much else. If you have 3-5 PC’s you may have purchased these at various times. Above 5 or so it may be difficult to keep all this in your head.
While this can get complicated, you really don’t need to keep a wealth of detail on each machine. Consider keeping the following information regarding each machine:
Make: example: IBM
Acquisition: December 1999
Memory: 512Kb
Operating System: Windows XP Release 2
Hard Disk: 40 gigabytes
Location: Receptionist’s Desk
Primary user: or “owner” Sheila
Alternate Users: Tom, Dick, Harry
Word Processing: WordPerfect 12
Spreadsheet: Excel
Database: FileMaker Pro
Monitor Type: LCD 17″
etc. etc.
Place this information in a spreadsheet, one item per row. This allows easy comparison between similar items. Be sure to include printers.
You can use the mem program to find out how much memory your computer has.
Click on Start | Run and type in cmd to get to a command line, and then type mem. You should see a window that shows the current memory.
For years, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has been bundled with the Windows operating system. Microsoft chose to take what was arguably a “public” application, the web browser, and embed it deeply within operating system, to the extent that it remains difficult, if not impossible to separate out Internet Explorer from Windows. Over the past five years or so, IE was used as the default web browser until it owned the market, with an over-90% share, and in the process, defeating the then-popular NetScape. However, Microsoft Explorer was last updated about three years ago, and in the interim, it has become the target for malicious programs that are automatically downloaded to your computer.
For that reason alone, FireFox, the latest version of Netscape, is of interest. If you surf the web with FireFox, instead of IE, you are automatically protected from a host of malicious spyware programs and pop-up advertising. The icing on the cake, is that FireFox also provides an enhanced browsing experience…with snappy performance, and an improved interface. FireFox also works on Macintosh and Linux computers.
You can download and install FoxFire on to your machine, and run it separately from IE.
Voice over IP is one of the “next big things” in technology and is starting to get some play in the mainstream and technical press. The main effect I’ve found is if you call some tech support lines, or catalog call centers and notice that the voice quality is bad, you may suspect that they’ve installed a VoIP system. Like cell phones, it turns out that voice quality is only one of many parameters that can be evaluated, along with cost, function, and configurability.
One of the best ways of playing with VoIP is to get an account with Free World Dialup.
I’ve created a VoIP Resource Guide with pointers to equipment vendors, software developers, and theory behind VoIP. It is a little long in the tooth, last revised in June 2004, but I did a quick check of several links and many if not most entries are still applicable. A visit to the VON trade show in Boston in October of 2004 also confirmed that there still needs to be some work done before VoIP will be fully practical.
Here’s a plug for the “Hacks” books by O’Reilly. I’ve bought several, and so far my favorites are:
Google Hacks (update: 1/20/2005 now in a second edition)
There is a whole web site at O’Reilly devoted to hacks.
A very typical problem for people who travel with laptops is getting their laptop to work in multiple locations. Upon arrival at home, or a branch office, it is not unusual to spend several minutes changing the network setup, including IP address. A quick way to solve this problem comes from the book Windows 2003 Server Hacks:
You can switch IP addresses, using the NETSH command.
Create a file containing the current configuration: (including network card)
Netsh -c interface dump > filename.txt
Then, to use this configuration:
Netsh -f filename.txt
Obviously, you can create multiple files, one for each location, and name the files appropriately.
A windows shareware program is available that also does this. www.netswitcher.com, $14.00. Netswitcher not only will allow you to configure your IP address, but it also includes settings for eMail (smtp and pop settings) startup applications, domain membership, and proxies, mapped drives, mapped shares and default printer. The program’s help file includes a thoughtful discussion on the issues of working with Windows 2000/XP user accounts. Their web site faq also has some very nice background about networking in general.
Available in small, medium and large sizes. A 10 pack medium (the most useful size) goes for $9.49 The large size is useful for bundling power cables. The small size is useful for gathering up the keyboard, mouse, and video cables behind a desk. The nice thing about these is that they are completely reuseable, and easy to change or move. Do a “trial” bundle with CableClamps, and if you decide the bundle should be permanent, replace them with standard cable ties.
tfnp 