Mac Users
Alexander Muse , November 29, 2005
More and more of you are throwing out your XP machines and buying Macintosh computers. This is a good thing, but there are a few things you need to know. Paul Stamatiou listed the ten things every new mac owner should know in his blog found here. Here are the high points:
- 256MB RAM won’t cut it. Get 1Gig (I suggest 2)
- Don’t Defrag (this is an XP thing - not a Mac thing)
- How to close unresponsive applications (force quit is good)
- Where did the window go? How to find stuff.
- Updates (you need to get them)
- System Profiler will tell you everything (or a lot anyway)
- Expose allows you to see all windows at the same time (makes life easier)
- Login items - set them up to save time!
- How to Eject Optical Media
- Keyboard Shortcuts
Check out Paul’s tips and start enjoying your Mac!
Email = 58% non-business
Alexander Muse , November 29, 2005
Would you be suprised to learn that 58% of emails handled by your corporate email system were non-work related? Would you be surpised to learn that 25% of the mail your corporate email system handles is personal in nature? How about the fact that 33% of all email messages are spam? Add them together and 58% of the email you handle is non-business related.
According to a new study, 72% of employees use their work email accounts to forward “jokes, photos, video clips and other nonwork related messages to coworkers.” More worrisome is the fact that 12% of workers ‘admit’ to sharing music files through their company email address “violating copyright laws, occupying server storage and eating large amounts of bandwidth.” This can be bad for business. Ask yourself:
- If my employees are writing emails personal emails during work, are they working?
- If my employees share illegal music on my network can I be sued?
- If my employees share explicit or insensitive jokes or photos can I be sued?
- If half of my resource are tied up with non-work related business am I paying too much for my systems?
- If my employees open personal messages with virus, worms and spyware does that create downtime and work for the IT staff?
[via]
Word: Track Changes
Alexander Muse , November 29, 2005
How to remove hidden data (like track changes) from Word documents:
If you create documents in Word be careful when editing an existing document and forwarding that document to someone. They will be able to see the original document, when it was changed and who made the changes. Sort of a bad idea when sending out employment offers and other contracts… Lots of folks have been burned including [via]:
- The UN as documented here, here, and here.
- The Home Secretary of the UK as documented here.
- Microsoft as documented here.
- SCO (the Unix guys) as documented here and here.
- The California Attorney General as documented here.
Microsoft offers a tool that you can use to remove all hidden data (like track changes) from your documents found here. Here is the overview:
With this add-in you can permanently remove hidden and collaboration data, such as change tracking and comments, from Word 2003/XP, Excel 2003/XP, and PowerPoint 2003/XP files.
When you distribute an Office document electronically, the document might contain information that you do not want to share publicly, such as information you’ve designated as “hidden” or information that allows you to collaborate on writing and editing the document with others.
The Remove Hidden Data add-in is a tool that you can use to remove personal or hidden data that might not be immediately apparent when you view the document in your Microsoft Office application.
You can run the Remove Hidden Data add-in on individual files from within your Office XP or Office 2003 application. Or, you can run Remove Hidden Data on multiple files at once from the command line. In either case, to run the tool you must have the application installed in which the document was created.
The Offrhdreadme.htm file included with the add-in includes a complete list of all of the types of data that the tool will help to remove. By default, you can locate this file in the \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Remove Hidden Data Tool\1033 directory in the drive where you installed the tool. If you installed the tool to a different directory, you can locate this file in the \1033 directory, a subdirectory of the add-in installation folder.
Notes
- You should run the Remove Hidden Data add-in on files when you are ready to publish them. This is because some of the data that the tool removes is used by Office for collaboration features, such as Track Changes, Comments, and Send for Review.
- You should always save to a new file name, rather than overwrite the original file with the new document, in order to preserve a copy of the document containing the original data.
- The Remove Hidden Data add-in does not work with Information Rights Management-protected or digitally-signed files.
Internet Speedtest
Alexander Muse , November 28, 2005
Wonder what your Internet speed is? Think it is too slow? The InternetFrog has a great tool you can use to test your speed. Check it out here.
Keep it Cool
Alexander Muse , November 28, 2005
Many small businesses have small closets where they keep their servers and and networking equipment. The closets/rooms usually are the worst place for computer equipment as they are poorly ventilated. The climate is often controlled along with the public spaces - so as winter arrives these closets/rooms are actually HEATED! This is a VERY bad idea as it will cause your equipment to fail - the equipment is already ‘cooking’ and always needs help cooling down. In some buildings the landlord shuts down the HVAC system in the evenings and on the weekends so in the summer your computer closet/room can get very hot.
So what can you do about it? First, in the winter (assuming the ventilation is tied to the public space) turn off the vent bringing heat into the room. In the summer you can ask your landlord to keep the HVAC system on for your suite. Next, you can ask your landlord to install an additional cooling unit specifically for the closet/room. Sometimes they are happy to do so at a reasonable price. In some cases they are not so willing and we have a suggestion: buy a Spot Cooler.
Portable air cooled air conditioners are a good solution (especially if you will be moving soon as you can take it with you). Some considerations: 
- You will need to size the unit based on load (i.e. heat) and space (volume of space). Typically somewhere between 10,000 and 24,000 Btu will do the trick.
- You will need to have the electrician install a dedicated outlet. The low-end 10,000 Btu will run on a standard outlet (110v15amp), but you should have a dedicated outlet as it will be drawing more than 10amps. The higher-end 18,000 or 24,000 Btu units will require a 220volt outlet (something like your washing machine needs, don’t worry your electrician will understand).
- You will need to have a plumber install a drain line so that you can empty the water out of the unit (the units typically have five gallon tanks that you can use instead, but on a humid day they will fill up every few hours).
- Finally, you will need a way to vent the hot air from the unit. Typically if you have a drop ceiling you can cut a hole in a tile and vent into the ceiling (otherwise known as the plenum).
Another tip is to buy a used/refurbished unit. We like a company called Spot Coolers and their Classic 10, Classic 18 and Classic Plus 26 units. Tell them Architel sent you so we can get better deals from them for our own needs!
Open Source Contracts
Alexander Muse , November 28, 2005
Architel has taken a big step by releasing SimpleTicket under the GPL open source license. It allows anyone (even our competitors) to utilize the single most important tool we have. What next? How about releasing everything it takes to run an IT support business - i.e. to create an open source business model?
Terms and conditions. When we started Architel we had a very lengthy contract. Customers had a hard time signing it because it was so difficult to understand. As a result we created a simple one page SOF ’service order form’ that contained the description of the service we offer with a single part number and the price we would charge. The SOF then pointed to a set of terms and conditions that could be found online. At first these were complicated and had a lot of little legal ‘tricks’ in them. Several customers complained and as a result we finally sat down with a lawyer and explained what was important to us and asked how we could protect the company. The result was the following terms and conditions. Feel free to use them as you see fit. We are releasing them under the Creative Commons ShareAlike 2.5 license. (also, they were written for Texas - talk to a lawyer before using them - there is NO warranty)
These Terms and Conditions (the “Terms and Conditions”) are applicable to [Your Company Name] (“Company”) Service Order Form (each, a “SOF”) and are incorporated in their entirety. Each SOF executed by Company and Customer (as defined in the SOF), together with these Terms and Conditions, is referred to collectively herein from time to time as the “Agreement”.
1. Services. Services ordered by Customer pursuant to a SOF will be referred to herein as “Services”. The applicable description(s) for any Services ordered by Customer pursuant to a SOF are hereby expressly incorporated into and form a part of these Terms and Conditions. Services are provided on as-requested basis; in the event that during any month Customer does not request Services, Customer acknowledges and agrees that Customer is still obligated to pay the Monthly Recurring Fee detailed in the SOF. Capitalized terms used in a SOF that are not otherwise defined therein shall have the meanings given to them in these Terms and Conditions, and if any capitalized term is not defined in these Terms and Conditions, such undefined term shall have the meaning generally given thereto in relevant industry practice. In the event of a direct conflict between the terms of a SOF, on the one hand, and these Terms and Conditions, on the other hand, the relevant terms of these Terms and Conditions shall control.
2. Term. The Term for the Services (the “Term”) will be for the number of months stated on the SOF, and will commence during the month specified on the SOF. Unless otherwise stated, the Term shall be month-to-month. Upon expiration of the Term, Services will continue to be provided until canceled by either party with 30 days written notice as required under Section 12.
3. Pricing. The pricing for Services will be as set forth on the SOF. Pricing shall be adjusted on each anniversary of the date of the SOF (each an “Adjustment Date”) by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index, All Urban Consumers, All Items, published by the U.S. Department of Labor (the “Index”). The Index published for the month immediately preceding each Adjustment Date shall be compared with the Index published for the month immediately preceding the Commencement Month in order to determine the percentage increase in the monthly pricing for the Services.
4. Warranty. Company warrants the Services only as and to the extent set forth in the applicable SOF. ANY SUCH EXPRESS WARRANTIES AND RELATED EXPRESS REMEDIES ARE EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES OR REMEDIES, EXPRESS, STATUTORY, OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
5. Customer Responsibilities. In performing the Services, Company may instruct the Customer to perform certain tasks relating to the Services. Customer shall perform all such tasks. Upon Commencement, Customer will be asked to provide detailed information regarding authorized users. Customer must keep this information up-to-date. Customer will also provide Company, or its authorized representative, reasonable and free access to Customer’s networking equipment and computers. Throughout the term of the SOF, Customer will be contacted regularly via telephone or email and required to make various decisions regarding Customer’s networking equipment and computers; Customer agrees to promptly respond to such emails and phone calls.
6. Payment Terms and Suspension of Service. Invoices for Services will be issued monthly, in advance. Payment for Services is due by the first day of the calendar month. Payments not received by the 5th day of the month are considered late. Company may suspend service by the 10th day of the month if payment has not been received. All charges identified on the SOF are exclusive of any sales, use or similar taxes. Any such taxes will be calculated and invoiced by Company when and if levied by the State of Texas.
7. Termination. Upon expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement as to a SOF or a Service (a) Company may cease providing Services; (b) any and all payment obligations of Customer will become due and payable immediately; and (c) Customer will return all Company equipment located at Customer’s location.
8. Default and Remedy. (a) Customer shall be in default if (i) Customer fails to pay an invoice by the 10th day of the calendar month, (ii) Customer fails to abide by any material obligation or condition of these Terms and Conditions, including Customer’s failure to make timely payments as specified herein; or (iii) Customer fails to materially perform its responsibilities in any applicable SOF; or (iv) Customer is insolvent, has made a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, has filed, or had filed against it (without obtaining a release within sixty days of filing), a petition in bankruptcy, or has had a receiver or trustee appointed for it or any of its assets. (b) In case of default, Company may, in its sole and unfettered discretion, (w) continue to provide Services and allow customer to cure the past due payments; (x) cancel the Services provided under any or all SOFs hereunder; (y) immediately terminate all of Customer’s rights under all SOFs; and (z) require Customer to pay to Company, upon demand, all unpaid fees.
9. INDEMNITY. CUSTOMER HEREBY AGREES TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND, PROTECT, AND SAVE COMPANY AND ITS GENERAL PARTNER, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, PARTNERS, MANAGERS, MEMBERS, SECURITY HOLDERS, AFFILIATES, AND AGENTS, HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST, AND HEREBY ASSUMES LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO: (I) ANY PERSONAL INJURY TO ANY PERSON, INCLUDING DEATH; AND (II) ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE TO ANY TANGIBLE PROPERTY OR FACILITIES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATING TO ANY BREACH OF CUSTOMER’S OBLIGATIONS UNDER THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OR THE ACTS OR OMISSIONS, NEGLIGENT, INTENTIONAL, OR OTHERWISE, OF CUSTOMER OR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, PARTNERS, MANAGERS, MEMBERS, SECURITY HOLDERS, AFFILIATES, OR AGENTS.
10. Limitation of Liability. Company shall be liable only for direct damages due to gross negligence and willful misconduct. Under no circumstances shall Company be liable for any indirect, incidental, economic, special, punitive, or consequential damages, whether for breach of contract, negligence, or any other cause of action. Company’s total aggregate liability for any direct damages arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be limited
to the lesser of (a) $10,000.00; or (b) the amount actually paid to Company by Customer for Services under the SOF(s) to which the damages relate.
11. Notices. Unless specifically provided for otherwise herein, a notice under these Terms and Conditions or otherwise relating to the Services shall be in writing, delivered to the address of the receiving party as set forth on the applicable SOF, and deemed effective (a) three business days after such notice is sent via registered or certified mail, or (b) when received if sent via a recognized national delivery service with proof of delivery. Each party may change its address by providing notice in accordance with this Section 12.
12. Confidentiality. Each party, for itself, its agents, employees, and representatives, agrees that it will not divulge any confidential or proprietary information it receives from the other party, except as may be required by law; provided, however, that no liability shall arise hereunder as a result of the dissemination of any information which (i) was in the possession or control of one party prior to the date of disclosure to that party by the other party hereunder, or (ii) was in the public domain or enters the public domain through no improper act by the party to which such information was disclosed or any of that party’s agents or employees, or (iii) was rightfully given to a party by a source independent of the other party. Any report or other document prepared by Company in the performance of the Services for use by Customer shall be deemed to be confidential information hereunder. The terms and conditions of this Agreement shall also be considered confidential and proprietary information under this paragraph. Customer agrees that Company may refer to Customer by trade name and trademark, and may briefly describe Customer’s business, in Company marketing and on its web site. Customer also agrees not to hire or attempt to hire, or cause anyone to hire or attempt to hire, any employee or independent contractor of Company during the term of this Agreement and for a period of three years following the termination of this Agreement, without the express written consent of Company’s Chief Executive Officer.
13. Force Majeure. Not withstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Company shall not be liable to Customer for any loss or damage, or deemed to be in breach of this Agreement due to a failure to perform, wholly or in part, if such nonperformance is due to causes beyond Company’s control, including acts of God, fire, explosion, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, wind, flood, storm, or other natural occurrences; vandalism; third party theft; computer, voice mail, e-mail, or other telecommunications system failure; any law, order, regulation, direction, action, or lawful demand of any federal, state, local, or foreign governments having jurisdiction over Company or of any department, agency, commission, court, bureau, corporation or other instrumentality of any one or more such governments, or of any civil or military authority; national emergency; insurrection; riot; war; strike, lockout, work stoppage, or other such labor difficulty.
14. Entire Agreement. These Terms and Conditions and all SOFs executed by Customer and accepted by Company constitute the entire agreement between the parties, and supersede any prior agreements between the parties (whether oral or in writing), with respect to the subject matter hereof. Any SOF or other documents received by facsimile transmission by either party containing signatures of approval of the other party shall be deemed originals and fully enforceable. Any SOF may be executed by the parties in counterparts.
15. Binding Nature / Assignment. These Terms and Conditions and all SOFs between Company and Customer shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns. This Agreement shall not be pledged, mortgaged, encumbered, assigned, or delegated (any, an “Assignment”) by Customer, in whole or in part, without first obtaining the prior written consent of Company. Company’s consent to one Assignment shall not be deemed to be consent to any other or subsequent Assignment. Company’s waiver of or consent to any Assignment shall be ineffective unless set forth in writing, and Customer shall not be relieved of any of its obligations under this Agreement unless the consent expressly so provides. Any purported Assignment without the required consent shall be null and void and of no legal force or effect. Customer shall reimburse Company on demand for any reasonable costs that may be incurred by Company in connection with any proposed Assignment.
16. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas. The parties agree that this Agreement, including each SOF, is entered into and performable in substantial part in Dallas County, Texas. No cause of action may be asserted against either party that accrued more than one year prior to the time the facts giving rise to the cause of action are discovered or should have been discovered. In the event a suit is brought by either party, or an attorney or collection agency is retained by Company to collect any moneys due hereunder, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover reimbursement for reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, court costs, collection costs, costs of investigation and other related expenses incurred in connection therewith.
17. Severability. If any provision(s) of these Terms and Conditions are held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and the parties further agree to substitute a valid provision that most closely approximates the intended economic effect of the invalid provision.
18. Survival. The portions of these Terms and Conditions that by their sense and context are intended to survive the performance thereof by the parties hereto shall survive the completion of performance and termination or cancellation of any or all SOFs between Company and Customer, including, without limitation, the making of any and all payments due hereunder.
29. Corporate Authority. This Agreement is a legally valid and binding obligation of Customer, and is enforceable in accordance with its terms. If Customer is an entity (including but not limited to a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company), Customer represents and warrants that each individual signing this Agreement on its behalf is duly authorized to execute and deliver this Agreement on behalf of Customer in accordance with applicable law and Customer’s governing documents, and, if and to the extent necessary and applicable to an entity of Customer’s type, Customer’s Board of Directors or other governing body has approved this Agreement and authorized the individual signing this Agreement to do so on Customer’s behalf.
Architel® created this work and it is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license,visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
FBI SPAM’d You?
Alexander Muse , November 26, 2005
If you are getting emails from the CIA or FBI don’t worry - they are not after you. The FBI does not send emails, they just show up at your house (if the CIA is after you, you will just disappear).
What you are getting is what is being called the “worst computer worm this year.” The official name is the Sober X worm. DO NOT OPEN THE MESSAGE - DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT! Here is the scoop from Symantec:
“This particular virus is a mass-mailer worm and is the largest one we have seen this year,” said Alfred A. Huger, senior director of engineering at Symantec Corp., which sells Norton AntiVirus software. “It’s as bad as it gets. With this particular type of virus on your system, there is a high probability that your personal information will be stolen.”
McAfee indicated that more than 73,000 of their customers got the worm since it was discovered on Monday. [via]
Bullfighting with Word!
Alexander Muse , November 22, 2005
There is a saying that goes “If you can’t flounder them with facts, baffle them with Bull…” you can guess the rest. As ludicrous as this may sound, it seams that it is being put into practice on everything from ads to resumes.
“separate the sale from the salesman”- (thanks Dad). The small application analyzes a phrase or passage using Microsoft Word and gives you the real meaning of the text. Not only can it help for things that you are reading but also for your own copy that goes to you own customers.
SimpleTicket Update
Alexander Muse , November 22, 2005
Our team has been busy trying to get the first release of SimpleTicket ready before Thanksgiving (we are not sure they are going to get it ready in time for turkey). The plan is to release it to Architel clients first and then release it publically within a few days. We are going to strip the Architel-esque features out of it and apply the SimpleTicket branding. What do you think about the new logo?
QuickSilver = Productivity!
Alexander Muse , November 21, 2005
Okay MAC fanatics, if you have not seen QuickSilver Click here NOW!!
QuickSilver is an adaptive search application that can help you get things done by learning what you like to do. It can Launch programs and then learn which ones you open the most and give those to you first. The cool thing is that any type of object that you “Drag” into it can perform a series of “actions” and then learn from them.
A great application of this adaptive searching can be found over at 43Folders where you can take any text you find or are typing and have it add that to a categorized TXT file.
