DocSyncer: Sync your MS office with Google

For the not so techie, It works like this, you have a word, excel, powerpoint document on your pc, that document gets uploaded online automatically. Every changes that you make on that document whether on your PC or online, you’ll be able to see the updated one whichever file you open.

You have to download an application on your computer.

REQUIREMENTS:

Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
(Mac OS X version coming soon!)

500 MHz processor or above

10 MB of disk space

64 MB of RAM memory

Broadband Internet connection

When you’re done installing, your DocSyncer admin page will automaticall open. Then it will start syncronizing the documents on your PC. But currently, it will only sync any document that is in your My Documents and Desktop folders.

So if you just want to sync the contents of a single folder, you can do so. Just click edit on the menu above the Folder List view (left side of screen). I guess, you just place all the docs that you want to be synced in a single folder - that’s if you don’t want DocSyncer to sync all your docs.

Ok so WHY use DocSyncer?

So that when you’re not infront of your PC and you want to access a document, then you could just go to an internet cafe and open the document from there. You can open it using Google Docs or download it to the PC that your are currently using and change it there. (but if you do that then it doesn’t get re-synced - so just use Google Docs)

Or, since Google Docs can be accessed through a mobile phone, you can access your document on your cellphone, edit it there then access the updated docs on your pc when you get back.

As you can see from the pic above its a “previous version feature”. So if you want to see your previous versions of the file - old contents versus new changes you’ll be able to see it (i don’t know yet up to want extent the editing history tracking will be).

One more thing, It serves as your back-up if ever you loose your file due to a virus or your pc crashes or you accidentally permanently deleted your file.

Oh.. I checked my Google Docs admin page. I saw the documents that were uploaded by DocSyncer.

I’m a big fan of automatic synchronization. I’m using Foxmarks for my bookmarks. I can open my bookmarks anywhere!

File Associations
Now you can launch Google Docs just like Microsoft Office! This feature allows you to auto-launch documents into Google Docs should you click on them anywhere on your computer - just like a file association. As long as the file is synced to Google Docs, it will launch instantly in your browser. If the file isn’t on Google Docs, the default application for that file will launch instead (such as Microsoft Word). If you’re disconnected from the Internet (such as on an airplane), DocSyncer will detect this after a few seconds and launch the document in your default application. A few points on this feature:

* You need to reinstall DocSyncer (which only takes a minute - no need to uninstall first) for file associations to work.
* File associations are completely optional for now and can be turned on in your My Account Settings.
* Only works on XP - Vista support coming soon.

Open Files Locally through My Account
While using My Account through your browser, you can now open files locally in their default application by clicking Open Locally. It takes a few seconds after you click Open Locally - we’re working on getting this speed down to less than a second. This feature is great for those who are still wanting to operate in both worlds (Google Docs and Microsoft Office).

Expanded File Support
In Settings, you can choose what file types should and shouldn’t sync to DocSyncer and your Google Docs account. We’ve added support for RTF, TXT, CSV, and HTML as well as the ability for you to turn off certain file types. We also sync XML Microsoft Office files (such as DOCX, XLSX, PPTX) by default, even though Google Docs doesn’t support them yet (when they add support, we will sync them to your Google Docs account).

Changing Your Google Docs Account
In Settings, you can now disconnect your DocSyncer account from your Google Docs account. This isn’t recommended unless DocSyncer was hooked up to the wrong Google Docs account (such as the case where users have more than one Google Account).

Custom Folders
During the beta, only the My Documents and Desktop folders are synced. However, now you can edit which folders inside these folders are included or excluded. Just click Edit on the top left of the My Account page.

What we’re working on…

* Google Apps for Your Domain support. We hear you and it’s coming soon!
* Google Docs Folder Support - Through Google’s API, we have no way to assign documents to folders. We’d very much like to do this so your Google Docs account is just as organized as your computer. We’re trying to work with Google to add support soon.

Nokia PC phone - turn your PC into a Mobile Phone

Nokia PC Phone is an experimental service that gives you a possibility to use your mobile phone with your Web Browser. You can call, text and manage contacts from your phone.



I’ve used a similar program before. But it was only for receiving and sending messages using the phone. The nokia PC suite actually does this. You can send messages via PC as long as your phone is connected via bluetooth or data cable.

One of the difference with the PC phone is that it uses your web brower. Although you still need to download and install set-up file (which is less than 15mb)

Once the phone is connected, you will be able to access your contacts from your browser. You’ll also be able to see your messages, and call logs.

When a new message arrives, It will automatically be shown on the screen.

It will also show the number of unread messages.

I tried calling from my PC.

I think its telling me to pick up my phone! and i though i can use the PC speakers and microphone!

Hide your firewalls! Adobe's CS3 may try to disable them

There are a lot of users out there who don't like to use the firewall included with OS X for various reasons. It does, however, provide at least a decent amount of protection, especially for those who aren't behind another, perhaps a hardware firewall. The firewall also doesn't do much if you think you have it on, and it gets disabled thanks to some software that hasn't been tested for quite long enough.

If you are using the OS X firewall, and you've recently installed Creative Suite 3, you should probably be checking your firewall right about now. That's because the Adobe Version Cue CS3 installer will shut off your firewall. More specifically, during the installation for Version Cue, the installer has to turn off the firewall in order to set up some TCP ports. These ports need to be open for communication to and from the Version Cue server, and the firewall would otherwise prevent the installer from tinkering with them. The problem occurs once Version Cue setup is done. Rather than turn the firewall back on at the end, the Version Cue installer inexplicably leaves it turned off, opening your Mac up to all sorts of nastiness. There's no word on if it's a bug or just a curious omission, but if you buy any of the affected versions of CS3 in the next few months, it would be a good idea to check your firewall after installation.

The bug happens with any of the Design or Web versions of the Creative Suite, so there's a fairly large number of systems that are potentially affected by this. If Version Cue CS3 did turn off your firewall, all you have to do it go to the Sharing pane in System Preferences, find the Firewall tab, and start the firewall yourself. It's not a particularly malicious bug or a particularly hard fix, but it's definitely a bit sloppy, especially for a big release from a company like Adobe.

WinRAR Goes Unplugged

WinRAR has truly gone unplugged. The first beta of WinRAR Unplugged 3.62 will enable users to utilize the 32-bit Windows version of RAR Archiver on-the-go. WinRAR Unplugged 3.62 does not require installation and is designed to work independently from a single computer via devices including USB/Flash drives or external hard drives. While making WinRAR platform-independent, win.rar GmbH, publisher for RARLAB software still enable users to access their profiles, AV-Code and themes.

“win.rar GmbH is dedicated to providing users around the world easier access to WinRAR and with the release of WinRAR Unplugged, they have once again ensured that WinRAR continues to be the most complete and technologically up-to-date compression tool,” stated the press release announcing the WinRAR 3.62 Unplugged beta.

Flexibility and mobility come inherently with WinRAR 3.62 Unplugged beta, as well as other common product features such as storage, backup and data management. Only that by placing WinRAR 3.62 Unplugged beta you will be able to use the compression tool with any PC available. In this context, win.rar GmbH has also addressed the issue of data security. When users take out the portable device containing WinRAR Unplugged, their information is transferred to the device.

win.rar GmbH has informed that current users of WinRAR will automatically get to use WinRAR Unplugged at no extra charge due to the fact that WinRAR product keys will also function with the Unplugged version.

“WinRAR Unplugged also supports 7 interchangeable languages in one version! Supported languages are: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese and simplified Chinese,” also informs the press release.

Winrar 3.62

Winrar 3.70

Uninstalling Windows Vista from a multiboot system is a little trickier than you might initially think. Microsoft's perspective on this issue is clear: “you cannot uninstall Windows Vista” from a multiboot system. Hmm... But where there's a will there's also a way. This scenario refers to systems that have Windows XP or Windows 2000 installed in parallel with Windows Vista. Simply removing Vista won't do the trick.

In order to uninstall Vista from a multiboot system you must first modify the master boot code. “Before you begin, back up your programs, files, and settings. Removing Windows Vista is an advanced procedure that could result in losing information stored on your computer,” is a Microsoft advice that I have found is “healthy” to adhere to.

Modifying the master boot record in Windows Vista means actually altering the code that starts the operating system. Only then will you be able to uninstall Windows Vista. And with Vista out of the way you will be able to go back to Windows XP or Windows 2000. In order to proceed with the operating system's uninstalling procedure, you must have the Windows Vista installation disk handy.

Here are the steps you need to follow as presented by Microsoft:

1. Insert the Windows Vista installation disc.
2. Click the Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. Type

CODE

[DVD drive letter]:bootbootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force

and then press ENTER.
For example, if the DVD drive letter is F, type

CODE

f:boot bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force

.
4. Eject the Windows Vista installation disc.
5. Restart your computer. Your computer will start in the previous version of Windows that you have installed.
6. Delete Windows Vista files and folders, such as the Program Files, Users, and Windows folders, manually.

Online Virus Scanning Tools

To those who did not like to install a antivirus program on their pc online virus scanning tools are very useful. Online virus scanning tools has many advantages like the virus database of online scanning tool is upto date so that it can detect the latest viruses.

Many companies provides online virus scanning software along with spy ware detectors..

Some of the major online virus scanning tools are

(Note : Most of the tools work only in Internet Explorer 6.0 or +)

Symantec Security Check

Trend Micro - Free online virus Scan

BitDefender Free Online Virus Scan

Windows Live OneCare

Windows Vista Debuts with Strong Global Sales

Initial sales figures from Microsoft show its new operating system Windows Vista made a splash in its debut. In the first month of Windows Vista’s general availability, sales exceeded 20 million licenses, more than doubling the initial pace of sales for its predecessor, Windows XP. These initial figures reflect the broad interest in the security and usability enhancements in Windows Vista.

“We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to Windows Vista right out of the gate,” said Bill Veghte, corporate vice president of the Windows Business Group at Microsoft. “While it’s very early in the product lifecycle, we are setting a foundation for Windows Vista to become the fastest-adopted version of Windows ever. Working with our partners, we are helping our customers leverage new tools and programs to accelerate the transition and provide a great user experience.”

Windows Vista license sales after one month of availability have already exceeded the total of Windows XP license sales in the earlier product’s first two months of availability. In January 2002, the company announced sales of Windows XP licenses had exceeded 17 million after two months on the market.

The more than 20 million copies shipped represent Windows Vista licenses sold to PC manufacturers, copies of upgrades and the full packaged product sold to retailers and upgrades ordered through the Windows Vista Express Upgrade program from January 30 to February 28.

Microsoft’s PC-maker industry partners confirm consumer interest is strong. “Since the launch of Windows Vista, Dell consumer customers have overwhelmingly chosen premium versions of the operating system that enable them to have a richer experience with music, video, photography and other computing applications they choose,” said Neil Hand, vice president of Dell’s Consumer Product Group. “Customers' initial experience with Windows Vista has been quite positive, and we will continue to try to deliver the best customer experience possible,” Hand added.

"HP worked extensively with Microsoft to ensure that our Windows Vista-based PCs offer consumers our easiest, safest and most satisfying technology experience yet," said Mark Sanchez, vice president and general manager, consumer PCs, HP. "We are pleased with the customer acceptance of our Windows Vista offerings, including our innovative new TouchSmart PC."

Microsoft has made several new tools and programs available to help customers get the best experience with Windows Vista. Windows Upgrade Advisor is a downloadable tool offered online at WindowsVista.com that helps consumers determine whether their Windows XP-based PCs can be upgraded to Windows Vista, and also helps choose the edition of Windows Vista that best meets their needs. The tool scans the computer and creates an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device and program-compatibility issues, and recommends ways to resolve them.

The “Certified for Windows Vista” logo program is designed to make it easier for consumers to recognize products that deliver premium experiences with Windows Vista. Hardware devices and software bearing the logos at retail help consumers make educated choices when purchasing devices and software to use with Windows Vista. There are more than 4,500 “Certified for Windows Vista” products to date - 2,500 of which were certified just since the January 30 launch event.

Windows Update keeps customers’ computers up-to-date and more secure by providing Windows Vista software updates from Microsoft. In Windows Vista, the update process is designed to be less disruptive than in previous versions of Windows. Users can elect to automatically receive new updates, and updating occurs in the background or may be scheduled for a time convenient to the user. If an update requires a restart to complete installation, a user may complete the restart at a more convenient time. On occasions when an update applies to a file in use, Windows Vista can save the application's data, close the application, update the file, and then restart the application. In the initial phase after launch, Windows Update has delivered new drivers at a rate of more than 1,600 per month, bringing the total number of drivers above 27,000.

Mozilla Puts New Add-on Site Back Up

Okay, so a few days ago we reported that Mozilla had launched their new Add-on Site on the day that they scheduled it. Shortly after they posted it they were forced to remove it because of an overloaded server. I just noticed that the new site is now back up, but I’m not sure if it is for keeps.

All of the new features that I mentioned last time still stand, but now they also added a bunch of extensions to the main site. There are currently about 852 available instead of the measly 152 that were posted last time. I think all of my favorite extensions were pulled out of the Sandbox and are now on the main site, which is good to hear.

If you want to search for extensions that are in the Sandbox area then go ahead and follow the instructions that I posted on the last article. I did, however, try going to Google again to see if they fixed the broken links to existing extensions in the Sandbox. They don’t appear to have changed that as I still receive an error saying “Add-on not found” if the extension is located in the Sandbox.

According to the Mozilla Web Development blog the load on the server with the new site was too much when they updated it last time, and so they had to roll back to the old version. I’m skeptical as to whether this one will actually stick around, or whether they will have to pull it back again. They probably put it up today so that they could analyze it a little further when there isn’t as much traffic. After all, who installs Firefox extensions on a Sunday?

Hopefully the Mozilla Web Development team will find the good news that they are looking for!

Red Hat Launches Open-Source Exchange

Ever since its launch in 1993, Red Hat (RHAT) has kept a laser-like focus on one thing: creating software capable of competing with tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW). In fact, the No. 1 distributor of Linux—the operating system for PCs and server computers—has done quite well for itself. Red Hat's revenues for the year ended Feb. 28 are expected to top $400 million, up 40% from fiscal 2006. And the Raleigh (N.C.) company just introduced the first new version of its flagship product in two years, which is expected to stir a fresh wave of growth.

Now the question is whether an outfit that has done so well as a lone wolf among "open-source" software providers can transform itself into the leader of the pack by helping companies that make open-source software products that run on top of Linux.

Red Hat signaled a strategic shift on Mar. 14 when it announced an initiative called the Red Hat Exchange (rhx), an online marketplace where it will sell products from more than a dozen open-source companies including Mysql, Sugarcrm, and Al Fresco Software. The exchange could make a wide range of software attractive to businesses large and small that have been put off by the challenges of buying from lesser-known suppliers and piecing it all together.
Community Center

In a sense, rhx is Red Hat's attempt to create an ecosystem similar to the one Microsoft has created for companies whose software runs on Windows (Microsoft declined comment on the development). It's also similar to more recent moves by Salesforce.com (CRM) and Amazon (AMZN) to build communities of software developers to support their efforts (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/10/97, "An eBay For Business Software").

When rhx goes live in the second quarter, Red Hat will guarantee that the other companies' products work well with its own, and the company will provide tech support for all of them. The marketplace will be much more than just an online product catalog. It's designed to function as a community where users of open-source software can read reviews, rate the products, and compare notes.

Open-source software is made collaboratively by developers from around the world and is available for anybody to use, free of charge. Red Hat and others sell commercial versions that include extra software, documentation, and support. Says Red Hat chief executive Matthew J. Szulik, "Rhx gives us the opportunity to be the flag bearer for open-source software."
Seal of Approval

It also could be a brilliant move for Red Hat if wide adoption of other open-source products boosts demand for Linux. "With this exchange, Red Hat is able to broaden the landscape of open-source choices for customers, and it puts itself in the middle of things," says analyst George J. Weiss of researcher Gartner.

The exchange may turn out to be most critical for the smaller companies riding on Red Hat's coattails. Linux has gone mainstream in corporations, but so far, most open-source programs that run on it, such as customer relationship management software, haven't seen that kind of uptake. A not-yet-released survey by Gartner of North American and Northern European information technology purchasers shows that 59% use Linux on server computers, yet only 16% are using open-source software for customer relationship management.

"Rhx is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for applications," says Paul Doscher, chief executive of JasperSoft, a small San Francisco company whose software program for business decision-makers will be sold there. "I think it will knock down the last barrier delaying companies from adopting open-source applications."
Sharing is Caring

Red Hat executives had been considering doing something like rhx for years but didn't have the heft to pull it off. The turning point came last February when Szulik called a gathering of the open-source clans at San Francisco's St. Regis Hotel. Managers from 16 other companies showed up. Red Hat had a reputation for being difficult to deal with, so some were surprised when Szulik told them he wanted to become a hub for the industry and asked for feedback.

"Hand after hand went up," recalls Matt Asay, a vice-president at Al Fresco, which makes software that helps companies organize and manage their documents. "People said: 'We need Red Hat to stop being selfish and think about us as much as you're thinking about you.' "

Leopard Coming Sooner Than Expected?

We like Jesse Tortora. Jesse is an analyst for Prudential and something of a Mac fanboy, or so it seems, as he’s always upgraded Apple’s valuation and is contact with many nebulous “inside sources” that even we corrupt bloggers can’t get our vodka-scented hands onto. So it comes as no surprise that he’s a source of many of the fun Apple rumors we find and relay, deliberately or not.


The latest wisdom from high on top Mount Tortura is in regards to the ship date for Leopard, the latest rendition of Apple’s OS X. While most analysts and developers are expecting an early Summer/late Spring launch, perhaps around mid-May, Tortora sees it happening much sooner, perhaps as early as this month. His argument is that as Adobe is launching CS3 a couple months early, it makes sense for Apple to launch its flagship product at the same time. And with new Macs due at NAB this year, it makes sense for Apple’s pro gear to be upgraded across the product spectrum, from hardware to software.

We like the idea, as we’ve been with Tiger for so long we’ve forgotten what the touch of another OS is like. In addition, many of the features in Leopard are drool worthy indeed. Once you’ve used the tabbed Finder, you’ll wonder how you ever navigated your Mac before.

Tortora’s track record is so-so on Apple rumors, however, so we’re carving out a nice, big grain of salt to serve with this rumor. We recommend you take it.