Category Archives: cool tools

a potpourri of hardware, software, and website tools

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Instant Camera Not Dead

In the not too distant past, most agency producers and claims adjusters had an instant camera with them at all times. Digital cameras have replaced most of these older cameras, but there are still times when an instant photo can be useful. To serve this need, Fujifilm has released its Instax 200 Instant Film Camera and Instax Instant Color Film in the United States.

For years, the instant photo system has enjoyed great success among customers in Asia and Europe. As availability of instant film has declined, Fujifilm has received an influx of requests from photographers in healthcare, law enforcement, insurance, real estate, and other industries to make the complete Instax instant photo system available to U.S. customers.

The Instax instant photo system includes: LCD control panel displaying focal distance and film count; programmed electronic shutter, 1/64-1/200 sec; automatic flash for low-light shooting; two-range selectable shooting options; and sharp, vivid, super fine grain prints. The Instax 200 is available through dealers and photo labs that support the professional photography market, at a list price of $70.

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Protect Information on Mobile Devices

JumpVault is software that addresses concerns from a growing number of businesses whose employees regularly use BlackBerry, USB flash drives, and other mobile devices to transport and transfer data. JumpVault transforms an ordinary USB flash or mobile device, such as a BlackBerry, into a secure virtual container. JumpVault, created by QuickVault, Inc., is password protected and offers the option for meta data logging to track movement of mobile data files.

The company says JumpVault fully protects information on any mobile storage device with internal flash memory—no matter the file size or type. The product also functions as a backup unit for laptops and workstations often overlooked by enterprise business continuity and disaster recovery programs. That means contracts, proposals, business plans, personal documents, confidential documents, spreadsheets, and legal documents can be protected on mobile storage devices.

Sarbanes-Oxley, Payment Card Industry (PCI), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandate by law that record holders safeguard certain types of information. JumpVault’s data loss prevention features protect mobile data from unauthorized access or disclosure.

JumpVault software is fully contained on the USB-enabled mobile storage device and operates across a variety of computer operating systems including Windows, Vista, and Mac. JumpVault has a built-in 256-bit encryption and offers the option of scheduled transfer of data from PCs to corporate servers. Data stored on a BlackBerry, for example, cannot be accessed without authentication.

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Does Your Web Site Look Good?

Traditionally, Web developers only needed to worry about how your Web site displayed in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE). No longer. Multiple Web browsers are commonly used by your prospects and clients. A bad looking page on a non-IE browser (e.g. Firefox, Safari, Opera) could make a prospect abandon your site.

Browsershots.org is a complimentary service that lets you test your Web design in 55 different combinations of Web browsers and operating systems. It’s a handy tool to make sure you know how your Web site will look on different systems—which sometimes mangle sites using nonstandard code.

It’s simple to use. Put your Web site address into the input bar, select the different browsers and operation systems you want to test, and click submit. Browsershots proceeds to make screenshots of your Web design in different browsers.

Here’s how it works. When you submit your Web address, it is added to the job queue. A number of distributed computers open your Web site in their browser. Then, they make screenshots and upload them to a central server. This process can take a while, depending on how many combinations you selected. The screenshots are then displayed on the site and you can download them to view in more detail.

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Evernote: Store Notes in One Place

I read lots of information from many different sources. The problem I have is deciding where to store all of this information so that I can find it again when I need it. I have tried several methods. I have copied and pasted text into a Word document. I have used Microsoft’s OneNote. Both worked—sort of. Then, I discovered Evernote.

Evernote allows me to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform I happen to be using, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere. Evernote has three parts: a program (for Windows or Mac), a Web site where all data is synchronized and stored, and a mobile phone application. Here is how it works.

First, I capture the things I want to remember using whatever platform I am using at the time—my Windows laptop, the Web, or my mobile phone. If I am reading an article on the Web, I can select the text of the article and trigger the Evernote hotkey (Windows-A). Then, the text is stored in the Evernote program database that resides on my laptop. That information is synched with my Web account when I am connected to the Internet. I can also use my mobile phone to take a note or a snapshot. This information is uploaded to my Web account and then synched with my desktop the next time I connect to the Internet.

For example, I have taken a snapshot of a bottle of wine that I wanted to remember. That picture went to my Web account and then to my desktop—seamlessly. Best of all, the information is run through a recognition technology and indexed for fast searching and retrieval.

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How Secure is Your Password?

People tend to choose passwords that are easy to remember. That can be very dangerous because it makes it easier for a hacker to break the password. The following passwords are most common. If you use one of these, change it immediately:

Password, 123456, qwerty, abc123, letmein, monkey, myspace1, password1, link182, (your first name)