Sharing Files between all of your devices

I would be interested how you share information between all of your devices. If you are like me you may use more than one device on a moment to moment basis and you may be generating information that you need to share or have access to no matter what device you current have at hand.

I use primarily five devices on a weekly basis. I have desktops at home and at work, a netbook in a backpack to keep me mobile, an iPad and an iPhone. I also have a Kindle that I have used but it isn’t one of these primary devices that I use to share information for personal or company business. When I look at a service or application that I am thinking of using on any one of these devices the first thing I look at is how device independent is it and how available is the program/data that it works with to all of my devices. I have come up with a few that I have found indispensible and I would like to share them with you.

Note Taking – EVERNOTE is my application of choice for this that I use to share information between my iPhone. iPad and computers. I use OneNote a lot on my computer but until recently it was only available on my PC’s and that wasn’t quite flexible enough. Recently Microsoft released an iPhone version of OneNote that can access notebooks that are stored in the cloud (SkyDrive). While this is interesting it isn’t quite as useful as Evernote is for me. The iPhone OneNote application isn’t as functional as the PC version and leaves a lot to be desired. In a pinch it has some use though. If they come out with an iPad version with more of the PC version’s capabilities then I might consider jumping back to this program for more use.

When I am sitting down with a client I am using a program called FastEver XL that allows me to quickly and easily type in text that can be saved to my Evernote account. I then save it and it becomes available no matter which device that I am currently using. So when I am out on the road collecting information at a client’s site that I will need at my desk later on, I am typing that info into FastEver XL and before I get back to the Office it is already waiting for me at my desk.

I have also been playing with an application called aNote (Awesome Note) that also integrates with  Evernote. It synchronizes with the Evernote folders so that you can use it’s capabilities It is meant to be used as a To-Do List manager with hooks to both Google and Evernote.

Document Access – I store many of the documents that I need to have access to using either Microsoft’s Skydrive or Dropbox. Skydrive gives you 25GB’s storage for free and this is where I put data like my OneNote Notebooks so that they are synchronized between all of my systems. However, Dropbox is the storage are that I primarily use because it is compatible with many iPad/iPhone applications for document storage. A Dropbox account comes with 2GB’s of storage for free and you can purchase upgrades to the service as you necessary. I have increased my storage to 50GB’s at a cost of $99/year and you can increase that to 100GB’s for $199/year. I also have storage over with mobileme and Google docs so there is plenty of places I can drop a file and have it available. I opened up my subscription to mobileme only because I decided to play with Pages and Keynote which are Apple applications that I am using on the iPad. I am not a big Google docs user but I know that it is there if I need it.

So what kind of information do I store in Dropbox. Most of it is temporary but some of it includes documents that I am constantly sharing with my clients. Things like product brochures can easily be shared through email on the fly when I am at a client’s site. I also create and store reports that I use when I am at a client’s site. This gives me instant information wherever I am. I will also store an office document here if I need to continue working on it from home. That way I can pick up right where I left off without having to save it off to a flash drive. I seem to be constantly losing those anyway. I have also stored program files here so that when I go to a customer’s site I can download those onto their machine quickly and easily. There is no concern of malware contamination because I’m not using hardware to transfer between systems.

Research – I use Instapaper quite a bit as I am going through my RSS feeds and from my internet browser. If you haven’t used this internet service before you will really love it once you do. One of the biggest benefits is that it will strip out most of the unwanted material from the website that it is pulling the article from and makes it much easier to read. I can access this information from my iPhone, iPad or any of my computers. It is easy to organize and I do this mainly from my computers. The browser based controls are much easier to use to organize my captured documents and once I have them there they are very easy to share with others as well. One of the ways that I am using this is to allow me to collect information from different photography blog sites that I am putting together as a self-help guide in MS Word. I have set it up with a table of contents and then saved it as a PDF file. I then send it up to my iPad and store it in the iBooks application. The articles in the document are then accessible using the table of contents to jump to the page that it is located on in the document. This makes it very easy to move around in the document using either the TOC or using the search feature to find keywords about something that I am searching for.

Photo’s -  If you have been following me at all on any of my blogs, you know that I love to take photos. The one thing that a photographer loves better than the taking of a photograph is the ability to share it with someone. I do this in a number of ways but the two primary ones are using my iPad as a presentation device and a website called SmugMug as my online gallery. SmugMug is accessible from most any device that has internet access and allow you a pretty large number of choices to separate you pictures and to be able to document them. It’s a great way to backup your pictures from your local storage and it allows you setup several layers deep of gallery settings. But the ability for me to point friends and family to this site easily and for them to self navigate makes for a great experience for them or for me when I am showing them using my devices as well.

I hope this article has given you some ideas of how you can set yourself up to be as productive and satisfied with all the programs and data that you want at your fingertips when you want it.

Microsoft disables AutoRun on Windows XP/Vista to prevent malware infections | ZDNet

If you are still using Windows XP/Vista you may notice that the AutoRun function will stop working on removable media like flash drives. It will still work with CD’s and DVD’s but in an effort to help cut down on malware infections caused by the AutoRun attacks.

According to Microsoft, Win32/AutoRun remains the most popular method used by malware families of software. Microsoft suggests that XP user are more likely to be infected as compared to Windows 7 users.

A similarity all of these worms share is a common propagation method. They all abuse the autoplay feature of Autorun, many by creating or manipulating Autorun.inf files on network drives and removable media, so that when a user connects, the malware is automatically executed on their system. On average in 2010, about 9% of Windows 7 Security Essentials users reported seeing one of these families at least once per month in comparison to 13% of Windows XP users. In other words, a Windows XP user was 43% more likely to report one of these Autorun detections in any given month in comparison to a Windows 7 user..

Here is a good article on how Autorun.inf works and what it is used for.

Microsoft disables AutoRun on Windows XP/Vista to prevent malware infections | ZDNet

Good Reason for putting up Video Surveillance Cameras

Chicago Surveillance expert catches neighbor stealing his shovel and takes revenge on her.

States that he would have gladly loaned her his shovel but she didn’t ask and walked away with it after using it to dig out her car. I’m not sure that I would have posted it to YouTube but it does satisfy some dastardly inner feeling to get even when someone does steals from you.

InFocus also makes LCD Thin Industrial Grade Panels

If you are putting together a meeting room and are deciding to for go the typical projector/projector screen setup, you may want to consider InFocus’s line of industrial grade panels. Business Class LCD Screens provide you with a  product that is designed from the ground up to support the type of use you will need in a heavily used product.

These screens are built thin to take up less depth in your room, with metal frame construction to help protect the unit. Even the connectors are made of metal instead of plastic to withstand constant plugging and unplugging that occurs with daily use. These screens contain 5 times more PC and video modes than most consumer TVs, so you can be assured that it will recognize your device’s output and fill the screen automatically.

InFocus thin display advantages

• Automatically syncs to your device’s resolution and fills the screen
• 70+ data and video modes – up to 5X more than consumer flat panel TVs
• Saves valuable meeting time

Consumer TV disadvantages

• Not really designed for computer input
• 3-10 modes -- mostly for video, not data
• Wastes time to manually adjust your computer settings to fit the TV

Durable For Shared Use - A consumer TV's weak warranty, plastic parts, and cheap components can't stand up to the multiple users, long hours, and frequent connecting that occur in meeting rooms every day. InFocus thin displays are built for business

InFocus thin display advantages

• Metal construction stands up to multiple users in a shared meeting room
• Commercial-grade components handles frequent connecting and disconnecting
• 3-year limited factory warranty and extended warranty options
• Industrial strength power supply

Consumer TV disadvantages

• Plastic construction not designed for use in shared spaces
• Lower-quality components designed to be hooked up once and left alone
• 1-year warranty that may be voided if TV is used in a business setting
• Low-grade power supply, which is often the first component to fail

With InFocus’s accessories and these displays you are sure to have a great result!

Download Brochure…

Meeting Room Size Constraints–InFocus has a Solution!

InFocus  has long been known for being a leader in projector technology. February 7th they announced a new product the IN146 short throw projector that will allow you to display a 60-inch image from as little as 2.5 feet away. This projector has native WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution and  2,700 lumens brightness. With the projector placed close to the wall, shadows caused by tabletop objects or presenters are virtually eliminated. Priced at about $825 this is an affordable portable projector that will meet many situations.

InFocus Press Release

Trojan horse called “Trojan Horse Agent_r.XT

Our Service Department has come across a Trojan horse called “Trojan Horse Agent_r.XT” and AVG and MalWareBytes will not get it.

The fix is coming for Kaspersky Labs and can be found here: http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/solutions?qid=208280684

The utility TDSSKiller.exe supports 32-bit and 64-bit operation systems.

Disinfection of an infected system

• Download the file TDSSKiller.zip and extract it (use archiver, for example, WInZip) into a folder on the infected (or potentially infected) PC.
• Execute the file TDSSKiller.exe.
• Wait for the scan and disinfection process to be over. It is necessary to reboot the PC after the disinfection is over.

Good Luck!

QNAP adds iOS streaming via WiFI and 3G

While this is the headline streaming through the technology blogs, QNAP (Quality Network Appliance Provider) has a great inventory of products to choose from for your network storage needs. While this announcement highlights some of the neat features in their latest home designed appliances that provide digital media streaming to more of your devices in your home, they are much, much more than a home media streaming company.

The QNAP TS-x12 Turbo NAS Product line provides an All-in-one NAS Server with iSCSI for SOHO and Home Users. The TS-412 appliance supports a 3-bay hot swappable  system with RAID 0/1/56/5+Hot Spare and JBOD. It also supports both 2.5” and 3.5” drives as well.

If you are looking for a repository for all of your Home Entertainment needs to share Photos, Music Movies and Videos, you can do worse than this device. With support for PS3, Xbox 360 or other network media players you will be able to stream full HD 1080p movies to your TV or Projector. You can even provide access to your digital media over the Internet by web browsers or iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android mobile devices.

Of course you will have file share and backup of all your network devices as with most NAS compatible devices. With DLNA and iTunes Server support.The NAS features high-speed data transfer of exceeding 70MB/s, fast enough to support multiple 1080p HD streams. The whisper-quiet design brings you the best cinema-grade home theater experience right in your living room.

QMobile is an application dedicated to iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android users. You can view and play Terabytes of photos, music, and video files on the NAS by QMobile from anywhere regardless of the actual storage size of your mobile devices. You can also upload photos to QNAP NAS straightway from your iPhone for instant sharing.

If you are using a Surveillance system at home you can easily use this NAS device as a central storage area for your IP cameras. The Surveillance Station of QNAP NAS enables you to connect to multiple IP-based security cameras for real-time monitoring, recording, and playback. It supports leading network camera brands such as AXIS, D-Link, IPUX, LevelOne, Linksys, Panasonic, and VIVOTEK. By using particular models, you can use two-way video and audio monitoring and recording, and smart PTZ control to control the monitoring direction of the IP cameras by a web browser.

Versatility seems to be the watch word with these new devices by QNAP.