The Tenuous Link

According to the terms and conditions for the Google adverts I've put in these blog pages, I'm not allowed to click on the ads to see what's being offered. Just after I posted about Synergy, where I moaned about the effort keeping files synchronised between two computers, I saw an ad for file synchronisation software. How useful, but I can't tell you any more than that it cost US$19.95, because I obeyed the T&Cs, and didn't click!

I've been using the ancient Microsoft Briefcase to keep the files on my laptop upto date with my main PC. Briefcase has been around since Windows 95, and is still available as an optional part of the Windows XP install. I've been using it for a few months, partly as a backup solution, and partly as a quick way to copy files off my desktop (which has a scanner plugged in to it) on to my laptop. It's been pretty good, except that recently it has decided that both copies of some PDF files that I know haven't changed are different from each other. Another annoyance is that on the "remote" drive, only one application is allowed to look in the briefcase at a time, and that includes Windows Explorer. I want to stop using Briefcase.

Another option if you happen to be using Windows XP, is Offline Files. That requires you to switch off fast user switching though, which I want switched on, so I haven't tried it. I noticed Windows online training (part of Windows help!) had a section on it, so I did pretend to use it for a few minutes. It looks useful.

However, the best solution seems to be SyncToy. Like the briefcase you can either synchronise between two computers, or between a computer and removable storage, like a USB key. It also lets you chose what kind of synchronisation you want (like copy new files only, delete files removed in the source, ...), and it doesn't have any restrictions on how many applications can use the synchronised folders at a time. Perfect. You do need to go through some very annoying "Genuine Windows" validation procedure to get it though. Anyway, try it, it's cost free!

// posted by Steven @ 9:11 PM 2 comments

Gary at work showed me the Russian web site AllOFMP3.com. If you deposit money in to an account with them, then you become a VIP member of their web site, which means that you can download any tracks from any of the CD albums that they have in their library.

I don't download much music (I don't even listen to much music these days). I sometimes used to choose CDs to buy according to the picture on the cover anyway, but this website has two interesting features: the cost is US$0.20 per 10MB downloaded, and you can chose the file format and bitrate (quality) of the file you download: mp3 (choice of lame or blade encoders), wma, ogg, mpeg-4 (aac?), or MPC. The help files talk about lossless formats too, but I don't know if any of those are.

Pricing music by "weight" (file size) feels a little wrong to me, and clearly EMI aren't going to be happy about me being able to buy a song for 3p that they would rather was sold to me for £1 or more via some other online service. So is it legal? The company itelf says that it's service is designed and mainly used by Russian customers. Reading this FAQ at Museekster I get the impression that they have a sort of broadcast license, like a radio station. They also say that any copyright royalties due to song authors are paid (but not to performers or record companies). I'm pretty sure that the service is as legal as it needs to be in Russia.

So what about me using the service from the UK? The site has a full English transation, and there is no technical issue that stops me from using the site from outside Russia. I'm not a lawyer, but copyright law in the UK is all about copying, right? If I don't copy anything, then surely I'm fine? Well, then who is making the copy if a site in Russia encodes an MP3 for me, squirts it across the internet, and then my computer hard disk saves it for me to listen to later?

The comment attributed to Ren in this blog digg.com/music/Is_AllofMp3_Legal_ makes that point, but also notes that, unlike a peer-to-peer (P2P) download network, it would be harder for the RIAA (or their UK equivalent) to find out that you use the service, and then take you to court. And even if they do, you aren't sharing the file with anyone else (as you would be using P2P software), so they couldn't make the same extravagent claims that have been made against P2P users.

I wasn't going to bother joining, but I spotted a listing for "I Don't Like Mondays" by Bon Jovi. Wierd. I decided that had to be worth US$0.17 of my money for a listen. (Actually, there's a free, low bitrate, version of all files available to members, but 17 cents is closer to the right price ;-) ). I paid in $10 -- the cash was extracted from my credit card by a Netherlands payment service, appeared as credit for me at ALLOFMP3.

A few minutes later, Bob Geldof has earned his tiny fraction of 17 cents, and Bon Jovi nothing. Dom says that is natural justice.

// posted by Steven @ 7:00 PM 0 comments

One desk; one desktop computer, keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Put my laptop on to the desk, and not only am I out of desk space, but I get confused and start typing on the wrong keyboard.

A solution would be to use the same keyboard, mouse and monitor for both machines. That's easy to do, either buy a KVM switch, or even use the desktop sharing software that's built in to most computers now (like Remote Desktop in Windows XP). But that leaves one of the monitors redundant; isn't there a way to share the keyboard and mouse of the desktop, but still use the screen real-estate of the laptop?

Why, yes there is! I've been using Synergy. It's a free (GPL open source) application that runs on several different operating systems, some of which don't even have "Windows" in the name. All of the computers have to be networked together: the machine with the keyboard and mouse that you want to use is the server, and any other machines are the clients. I've got my desk arranged with my laptop sitting to the right of my main monitor, and I've configured the Synergy server so that when I move my mouse pointer off the right edge of the monitor it carries on moving from the left hand edge of the laptop screen. Characters typed on the keyboard are directed to whichever screen the mouse pointer is on.

Astounding? (#2 !) What's even better is that you can copy and paste text between the computers, but unfortunately not files. As the computers all have to be on the same network anyway, it's pretty easy to copy files to and from my laptop without using the clipboard though. But what's the best way to keep all the copies in sync?

WARNING: I've been using Synergy for a couple of months now with no problems, but Derek said that he can't use it because it completely locked his client machine. So, save your work before you try it!

// posted by Steven @ 8:57 PM 0 comments

OK, astounding laptop accessory #1. It's an extrusion. It's a piece of aluminium. I present to you -- The Prop-Forward. Can you guess what it does (BEFORE you click the link to look at the picture)?

I did slightly resent having to pay £30 for it, because it must cost a tiny fraction of that to make. And compared to, say, the DVD writer I just bought for the same price, the technology involved is negligable. However, I do want to avoid getting a stiff neck from being hunched over my laptop. I decided it was better to buy it than waste the time making something similar myself and then get fined for sending my tax return in late, so out came my credit card. (There is a cheaper "portable" version in their product list, but I didn't spot that until I'd ordered the normal stand.)

You have to respect the web-site trying to spin needing to buy a new keyboard and mouse for your laptop as a positive thing. I have an IBM laptop, so I've already paid dearly for a nice keyboard, but that's the extra price I pay for a good posture. Having the screen lifted up to (almost) eye level does make it more comfortable to use my computer, and that's a good thing, because I'm using it 8 hours a day at work right now.

If I've sold the idea of comfortable working to you, then Prop-Forward have an interesting twist on an affilite scheme. If you ask me, I can use my recommenders ID to make you a special code that gives you 10% off the normal price (that I paid). And I get -- erm, "points". Let me know if you want a code then.

One niggle is what to do if I also want to use a traditional computer/monitor/keyboard/mouse on the same desk. I then have two keyboards (plus the one on the laptop that isn't being used), and nowhere to put my hot drink. Surely there has to be a better way?

Update:
There is a better way: see tomorrows post ;-)

Update²:
Use the link below to leave your email address as a comment if you want me to generate you a discount code for a Prop-Forward. If you like, disguise the address from spam robots, but don't make it too tricky for me to decode!

// posted by Steven @ 8:20 PM 5 comments

Well, here it is. My first blog post. Everyone else is doing it, and if you can read this, then now I am too!

I was going to set up my own server to let me host and write these blog entries, but the free service from blogger.com just has everything I want. Even an obsessive twiddler like me can't justify not using it.

Stay tuned for more exciting insights, which initially will be about the three astoundingly useful laptop accessories that you don't own yet, but I do.

See you then!
Steven

// posted by Steven @ 10:11 PM 3 comments