For a while now my team and I have been using Xobni, an Outlook plugin that improves e-mail client’s search for both messages and contact information. It also goes a step further by aggregating and correlating data between different social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.

Xobni also provides data from Hoovers on companies your contacts work for and a number of very useful statistics when it comes to your contacts’ usage of e-mail and sending/responding patterns. It also keeps track of e-mails (and attachments) exchanged between you and all of your contacts in easy to follow threaded conversations.

Due to features mentioned above I find it to be a valuable, fast and easy tool to use. Also, did I mention that it is FREE. Yes, there is a paid version (Xobni Plus) which also includes calendar data search among other features, but the free version is already a massive step in the right direction when it comes to organizing your e-mails, contacts and more.

If you are an avid Outlook user you will definitely appreciate this plugin. Go and get it now then let me know which feature has the greatest impact on your daily computing productivity.

Post from: Milos Topic

Make your Outlook better with Xobni

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In today’s world where network and system security is of great importance and we live and operate behind firewalls, VPNs, SSH, encryption, anti-virus software and many other tools that help make us more secure, it is often difficult figuring out that winning combo to stay safe online and protect your personal information.

One component that in a sense started it all, but is now often overlooked (especially by non-Windows users thinking that viruses and malware don’t apply to them) are Anti-Virus products. Today, they go beyond simple signature scanning and early days of amateur heuristics behavior; most of them also include HIPS (host-based intrusion prevention system) and can even blacklist/white list applications, files and directories. Having said that and considering that many of the above mentioned technologies work on protecting your data while it travels from and to your computer it is still important to have a good local solution for when unwelcome code enters your file system. Over the past several years I have tested numerous AV products and while they performed most functions as advertised I didn’t find any of them to be impressive (Kaspersky being the exception in this case). They are either memory/processor hogs; too slow in updating they definitions or cause more problems then solutions they provide (anyone remember few years back Norton locking down your system and outbound ports if something wasn’t to its liking?).

Here’s where my question comes in. As I look to test new products for both internal use and to recommend to clients I want to make sure we use the best solution currently available. Based on your knowledge and experience even if it is derived from simple observations of what was installed by your IT department what anti-virus software keeps your data secure? Ideally, I’m looking for a solution that works equally well on Windows and OS X based systems. Furthermore, if it worked on popular Linux distros (Ubuntu, SUSE to name a couple) as well I would be grateful.

Post from: Milos Topic

Anti-Virus software

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Attacking the market leader

There’s a new cell phone TV ad where Apple iPhone’s disadvantages are clearly outlined by a new, soon to be released device powered by Android. At the end of the ad they flash a URL, droiddoes.com which redirects to this page and makes it clear that it will be a Motorola phone, running Google’s Android on Verizon’s network. You can also see its features and benefits over iPhone and other popular smartphones.

This better be good, very good

Will this device be able to weaken the iPhone following and take away some of Apple’s/AT&T’s market share? Can Google, Motorola and Verizon produce a device which will outshine all others and become the most sought after phone? The number of questions is endless and answers to them will soon be available once the phone hits the market in November.

I personally hope that we will see the best smartphone ever! Better than iPhone, or Palm Pre or any of the Blackberries, I hope to see a phone I would really want to have. I currently use an iPhone 3G and while there are features I wish it had and things I wish it did better, overall I’m satisfied with it. Other phones are out there now, from 3GS to MyTouch to Palm Pre, but none of them appear to be much better from my current phone to actually make the switch.

Will it deliver?

Looking at features alone it seems like a promising device with a lot of great technologies all combined into one device. If implemented properly, there is no doubt that it will become another good smartphone and will attract tons of new customers or those who have waited for something new to come out (those who have refused to purchase an iPhone so far), but will current iPhone users make the change? What will this device need to do in order to get hardcore mac-heads away from their beloved iPhone? Then, there are people who might switch at the next contract renewal cycle (like me) if they find anything better. I’m not attached to any particular device and will use whatever addresses my needs best, but it has to be better (much better) then what I already have. Considering the number of recently over-hyped devices which looked great on paper, but failed to deliver I’m a bit skeptical in its success. I honestly hope they prove me wrong and produce an amazing device as with great competition we all win.

Post from: Milos Topic

How well will “Droid Does” do?

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I have recently experienced pixelation, temporary loss of audio and/or picture with Verizon FiOS which all pointed to signal strength issues.
I called Verizon and here’s the first thing they had me do in order to confirm (or deny) poor signal strength:

1. On your FiOS remote click on Menu
2. Then select Help
3. Go to Self Diagnostics and click start.

This should take less than a minute and if everything is ok all tests should clearly pass and results should be written in green text. If any of them fail then you need to call Verizon for further assistance. Also, note that according to Verizon’s support your signal strength should be 25 db or higher (even though lower db’s might work fine as well).

Post from: Milos Topic

Verizon FiOS diagnostics you can do yourself

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Windows 7 will be released into the wild on October 22, 2009 and will bring many improvements over Vista while simultaneously introducing new features. Being in the IT field I was fortunate enough to play with Windows 7 since its early RC days and must say that it is (or soon will be) the best operating system released by Microsoft to date.

From graphical interface, to stability, reliability, responsiveness and features to the overall user experience, I believe that it will be a welcomed change for all users (especially those still running Windows XP).

When it comes to enterprise users they will have even greater benefits (some mostly appreciated by IT staff) such as

AppLocker (”Specify what software is allowed to run on a user’s PCs through centrally managed but flexible Group Policies.*“)
BitLocker / BitLocker To Go (”Help protect data on PCs and removable drives, with manageability to enforce encryption and backup of recovery keys.“)
DirectAccess (”Give mobile users seamless access to corporate networks without a need to VPN.*“)
BranchCache (”Decrease the time branch office users spend waiting to download files across the network.*“)
Federated Search (”Find information in remote repositories, including SharePoint sites, with a simple user interface.*“)
* all descriptions taken from Microsoft.com

These are just a few new (or improved) features introduced in Windows 7 and they alone warrant an investment in this new operating system. In addition to new features, stability and responsiveness is significantly improved over Vista which should make many people smile.

So my answer is yes. The wait will be well worth it for all Windows users especially considering the PR nightmare caused with their previous half-baked OS.

Post from: Milos Topic

Windows 7 is almost here, but will it be worth the wait?

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It’s been a while since I went to a real professional conference (been to a number of one day seminars, presentations and demos), but not a real targeted conference. I think it’s time to change this and become more involved in the technology world outside my immediate area.
Also, considering that I’m planning to introduce additional improvements within our team getting involved in industry specific conferences in order to educated myself further and see what’s out there could prove beneficial to us.

I’ve looked into several conferences ranging from information technology in higher education to the technology industry in general. Some focus on applications, others on servers, some on web content while a few are technology support (help desk) driven. While they are all interesting to me I would like to narrow it down to a conference or two that I should try to attend next year. Here’s where I need your suggestions. Please share your experiences and knowledge when it comes to conferences that someone with the following focus can benefit from:

- Information technology in higher education
- Management of people, processes and technology
- Focus on technology support and process improvements
- Introducing new technologies and tools to improve user experience and internal operational environment

Even if you have only heard from your colleagues of a particular conference, but haven’t attended it yourself mention it here so that I could keep it as an option. Since in higher ed (and most other industries today) there is no money to waste and I would like to provide a tangible ROI to our college and as such this conference needs to be valuable.

As you can see, I haven’t listed any conferences I’m currently considering as I didn’t want to influence your opinions and suggestions.

Post from: Milos Topic

Selecting the most valuable conference to attend

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Recent phishing schemes targeting Microsoft’s Hotmail, Google’s Gmail, Yahoo and other e-mail providers represent a new larger wave of an ever-present problem and it once again emphasizes the importance of educating your users, clients and staff how to recognize threats and stay away from them.

Basic things to remember:

- Your bank, IT staff, utility company or any other service provider will NEVER ask for your login credentials of any kind (password, PIN, social security number…). They simply don’t need to do that as other means of accessing your account (should there be a need for it) are already in place.

- Don’t open attachments you don’t expect/need or know where they came from. Same goes for links, don’t get click happy by clicking on every link you see. Also, when placing your cursor over a link you should look at the status bar (lower left hand corner to see if the two match).

- Don’t use public computers to access your financial (or other important) data. Why? Well, you simply don’t know who maintains those machines and how frequently; you don’t know what’s installed on them and if someone is capturing your keystrokes for later use.

- Change your passwords and change them often. Also, maintain multiple passwords for different account groups. You shouldn’t be using the same password for your banking that you use to access a simple news site. Furthermore, try not to keep your passwords simple and guessable. “welcome” ” password” “12345″ and other similar choices are examples of poor selection. I know what you must think, secure passwords are complicated and difficut to remember. Not true. All you need to do is try sentences.

Ex. “I was born on a Thursday” and then group them together “iwasbornonathursday” and if you really want to get fancy (read: SECURE) change some letters for numbers and you come up with “1wa5b0rn0nathur5day”. Simple enough and a lot more secure than “welcome”, isn’t it?

Post from: Milos Topic

Friends don’t let friends go phishing

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Writing an effective, job specific, custom tailored cover letter is extremely important when applying for a job. Well written cover letter makes a difference and can help you get that interview and ultimately the job you are after. Please take them seriously and don’t overlook what they say about YOU.

Post from: Milos Topic

The importance of a cover letter

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When you are asked to write a recommendation letter, do you always say yes? If so, do you always write in positive light about that particular individual? If you said yes to both questions, why? What makes most people uncomfortable to saying no to most requests?

Post from: Milos Topic

Recommendation letters

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Here’s a video sent to me by a friend this morning that made me smile as it does ring true for some folks.

By the way, if you are not seeing the embedded .WMV video in Firefox you will need to install the following Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin.

Post from: Milos Topic

Is your job boring?

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