NEWS FROM THE EDGE

Tech Tips and Advice from the Experts at Dynamic Edge

KeePass to the Rescue!

Looking for a better way to keep track of all the login names and passwords you use to access information on a regular basis? At Dynamic Edge, we’ve been using password databases for years, which makes our lives simpler because all the passwords we need are stored in one location.

After serious searching, we’re happy to say that we’ve found a free, open source password manager that you can use to manage your passwords in a secure way — just like us!

On any given day, you probably use a password to log onto the Windows network, another one for your e-mail account, one for your website’s FTP site, and that’s just at work! You’ve also got a password for online banking, one for Facebook, one for LinkedIn, and the list goes on and on… Wouldn’t it be nice if there were something that could helps you to manage all of these passwords in a safe, secure way?
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Michigan Radio, the University of Michigan’s public radio station, just announced that during their spring fund drive, they were able to drum up $620,000 in pledges, exceeding their goal by nearly 15%.

Why are we reporting this on the Dynamic Edge blog? Because we’re proud to say that at least 2% of that total was collected by DE staff last Wednesday, when a group of us volunteered to answer the phones and take pledges during the drive.
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Hey Readers! We’ve had a lot of calls today asking about the Conficker worm problem that is threatening to wreck havoc on 9 million-plus PC’s tomorrow (April 1, 2009). We understand the concern and are doing our best to protect ourselves — and we suggest you do the same.

In October, we sent out an e-mail blast alerting all of our contacts that Microsoft had released an urgent security update that was essential for any PC using any version of windows. This patch was designed to protect against the Conficker worm, specifically, as well as similar future attacks. The following directions come straight from Microsoft’s Technet. At this time, we strongly suggest you follow all of these precautions, knowing that we will be here to support you, should this worm prove to be as destructive as the media is presenting it to be. Protecting PCs from Conficker (Directly from Microsoft Technet)
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For months, Dell has been teasing a new laptop that everyone is certain “to fall in love with.” The new PC, aptly named Adamo, is sleek, stylish, and slim — three accolades for which any slave to trendiness would willingly perish.

So, what’s the story on Adamo? You’ll remember the uproar over the MacBook Airthe super-light, super-slim piece of Apple eye candy that fits inside of a manilla envelope (as advertised on TV just over a year ago).
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Check out Launchy!

Looking to break yourself of that Start Menu addiction? Why not try out Launchy, an open-source Windows and Linux utility designed to give you easy access to your favorite programs, documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks in seconds.

In essence, Launchy is a search program that hides in the background until you hit the alt+space key combination; at which point, it tries to guess which program or file you are looking for, and it’ll launch it when you hit the enter key.

A few years ago, a guy named Josh Karlin set out to develop a personal-use application
that eliminated the need for hunting through applications hidden in unexpected locations throughout the Start Menu. It wasn’t long before he and his friends realized how useful such a tool could be. So he decided to release it to the world, for free!
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Rudimentary E-mail Tip

I’m writing today about a hard-fought lesson I’m learning. While I completely understand the “why” aspect  of this little chat, I find myself hung up on the “how.” So, without further delay, here’s the tip:

Don’t send huge file attachmentseven if people know they’re coming!

A little background…
In marketing, I find myself sending drafts, revisions, and proofs of projects I’m working on all the time. (I e-mail a lot of mock-ups as well, but they’re generally low resolution to begin with, so they’re not so much of a problem.) But when it comes time for the boss to see the final version of a new brochure that we’re about to send to print, how do I make sure he gets the full effect of the project’s image quality / layout / design, etc. without bombarding his Outlook Inbox?
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