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Web thoughts
The 21st century (OK, the 1998-present) buzz is the internet and mobility. We want to stay near the cutting edge and use technology to its highest level. Here are some thoughts on how I use computing as I go from home to work to visiting and use a dozen different computers in the course of a day. I contend that the end of the personal computer is soon. Instead, we will have personal computing such that wherever you are, whatever device you're using, you'll be using your personal data and environment. When you signed up for internet service, your ISP gave you a disc to install. Most likely this includes additions to Internet Explorer such as a custom toolbar and default homepage that send you to the ISP every time you log on. It will also have a wizard to plug their mail settings into Outlook Express. Unless you're using AOL for dialup, you don't have to use anything from the ISP! Broadband connections are all made through your router and the ISP doesn't support that, anyway. You can enter your dialup settings in Network Connections under the Control Panel. In both cases, just go to your ISP's web site and look for "Support" to find the appropriate settings. I know a lot of you are tired of hearing it, but one of the easiest security practices you can take is to stop using Internet Explorer as your default browser. The tide has been turned back: in the past 6 months IE has apparently fallen from a 97% share of browsing to less than 90%*. Most of this has gone to the advantage of Firefox, the open source browser that started wide distribution about then. If you're an AOL user, as soon as you've made the connection, you can minimize your AOL window and use alternative programs for internet access. Even though they share a large amount of code and functionality, there are reasons to consider Netscape instead of Firefox. I had installed Mozilla (the web suite which includes Firefox as its browser) on a client's computer and it worked fine until he signed up for a webcast seminar. For some reason, the webcast plugin was available for IE and Netscape, but did not work with Mozilla. Netscape also can act as a mail client to AOL so you don't have to sign in and wait for all their ads to download. There are alternatives to Outlook Express, too. Read on to check your mail anywhere in the world. Of course, you know about the free mail services from Hotmail, Yahoo and others. With 100 MB or more of online storage, you access your mail from any internet browser. If you get your mail account from your ISP, did you know most of them also provide a webmail link into your account? Usually it's merely http://webmail.yourisp.com. You may even be able to access your office email account online; just ask your IT department what the address is. You can create folders to organize your mail and with clever use of attachments to yourself, can even store a few files here. All the services provide an address book where you can enter a lot more contact information than just their email. A lot of them include a decent appointment calendar and even a free-form notepad. Yahoo mail can synchronize addresses and appointments with your desktop Outlook and other programs. If you want to keep your mail on your desktop, you don't have to use the Microsoft products and be a target for all the viruses looking at that market share. Netscape, Mozilla, and Eudora all offer free, efficient, and less vulnerable mail clients; although they don't include an appointment book. Most ISPs have a wizard or detailed instructions for setting up these programs. If you need heavy-duty contact management, programs such as ACT! can also function as a mail client. If you're ready to jump in and use your own computer from anywhere in the world, there are programs that let you see and control it over the internet just as though you were sitting at your own desk. These utilities may require a client on the remote computer or work through a web browser. Either way, you have to open a hole in your router to allow the connection through. Running remote control is not for the faint-of-heart, but it can be liberating for someone who uses many computers. If you need something from home, just open a browser and you're sitting at your desk. The granddaddy of commercial remote control programs is Symantec pcAnywhere. I last used it in a totally dial-up environment where I was connecting directly to the other computer. At that time, a component of pcAnywhere had to be installed on both computers. It also allows you to connect over a network, including the internet. The best and easiest to get remote control program is the open source RealVNC. It's small, clean and fast to install and use. You can access the remote computer through any JAVA-enabled browser but runs faster with its own client. GoToMyPC is advertising heavily lately and provides an internet server-based solution similar to instant messaging. This comes from Citrix, a heavy-duty business support company and is appropriate for corporate use. You can connect to home from either a browser or their client. The downside is that it comes with a hefty monthly subscription fee. Windows XP includes Remote Assistance available from Start > Help & Support that you can use to invite someone to work on your desktop. You can also configure NetMeeting, which is now a component of Messenger, to allow control of your computer either with your active initiation or automatically. Of course, these carry the same big target for hackers as all Microsoft programs. Very advanced users may be able to establish a VPN connection or ftp server on their home network that they can access from the internet. Next month: The Crystal Ball First published eBytes & Bits, January 2005
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IE Market Share: http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2004/122004buzz.html |
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