IB: InfoBulletin

1. Choosing a search engine to fit you

What is it ?
SelectSmart is basically a surveying tool and works by getting you to answer questions about any topic you want to make a decision on - from choosing a search engine to a religion.

How it works
You simply fill in the appropriate SelectSmart survey questions and click the "Show my results" button at the end. By giving their questions an importance rating, you help refine the decision.

Once you have got used to the annoying adverts which pop up over the top of your "back" button", you just go ahead and answer the questions (only 5 to do for the search engine one) - there's no registration process.

The search engine example:
Search Engines are found via the "Computer Selector" link

You can specify indicators like :

1. LIMITS - adding a specific restriction to the search
2. FIELDS - designate a search term will appear in say The title, the URL, an image tags, or a hypertext link Rather than anywhere on a Web
3. SORTING - ability to organize search results by date or alphabetic title rather than by 'relevance' as is most common.

2. How to get good IT phone support: be nice!

What is it ?
This might sound a like a pitch from us to make our support work easier!

To some extent it is, but a calm structured phone technique will pay dividends when you contact other support departments, like your telecoms company or the suppliers of your finance software.
Moreover, if you give support to IT users within your organisation, mastering a comfortable phone style will get the user 'on your side', even before you've started diagnosing the problem.

Benefits

3. Microsoft Office upgrades: to buy or not to buy?

Waas happenin ?
Yes, what is it all about?
Microsoft is changing their Office licensing. Resellers are suddenly popping up from everywhere to sell you 'upgrade versions' or 'upgrade advantages' or 'assurance'.

So what's behind it all ?
Microsoft will only ever sell the latest licence for an Office suite or operating system.
As part of their "Open 6.0" programme, they are effectively 'pulling the plug' on sales of their older suites - after all, there are only so many ranges they can sell and support upgrades from and to. The process is complicated by the fact that, despite being announced in summer, many details are still being decided - notably prices and scheme formats - hence the rather short notice.

To buy or not to buy? The short answer
In essence it's all about "do I stay on the upgrade path or wait awhile?".
Examine your upgrading plans for the future. If you are not going change your Microsoft Office software more than once in the next 3 years, you're better off not buying upgrades now. After a certain time, you will fail to qualify for upgrading from your present Office suite, but buying a full package will still be cheaper if that's going to be some years away.
Unsure about your upgrading plans? You'll have to get into a bit more detail. Be warned it's gets more complicated as you go down!

Benefits of upgrading
You will always have the latest Office software.
Understanding licensing should be easier from here on.

Drawbacks of upgrading
Aside from the upgrade costs for the licensing, there will be time and staff costs involved in 'rolling out' (implementing) new versions on all the workstations in your organisation. Training might be a consideration too.

The Proposed Timetable

• Now:
  If your Office upgrade plans include 2 changes in the next 3 years, now will be a cheaper time to :
  
  1. upgrade to the latest Office version (called a Version Upgrade, VUP)
     OR
  2. buy 'Upgrade Advantage', available until 28th February 2002 to 'buy-in' to new Software Assurance (SA) scheme.

• 1st October 2001:
  All Microsoft product upgrades will be withdrawn after the end of September. Only full product licences will subsequently be available. (This doesn't apply to operating systems on your desktop like Windows 2000 Professional Upgrade).
  Software Assurance 3-year subscription scheme becomes available.

• 28th February 2002:
  Upgrade Advantage ceases to be available.
  Software Assurance only available with a new licence.

4. Copying Windows screen contents

What is it ?
You've seen those fancy screen shots of new software in computer magazines.
How do they do it?

What can I use it for?

• Making presentations in your documents or slide shows.
• Illustrating on-screen instructions for IT support, DIY installations and manuals
• Copying images or photographs if you do a lot of DTP work, although DTP-specific software usually provides better ways of reproduction

5. Women go surfing

What's happening ?
Women are increasingly using the Internet more than men.

Internet research firm NetValue's survey shows the number of female browsers rising from 1.8 million at the beginning of 2001 to 5.8 million in May. They are also spending longer at their favourite sites, averaging of 11% longer on a monthly basis (7.7 hours) than men (6.9 hours).
Women are also the more adventurous racking up 18% more unique sites in a month than their male counterparts.

With more than a third of all UK households now connected to the Internet, five million out of the total of 12 million surfers are women. NetValue claim the increase in home use is a result of employers are clamping down on Net use at work.
According to Which? Online, 9% more of the UK population are connected up than last year, but 63% of us are averaging less than 5 hours a week surfing time.

Scandinavian countries Sweden, Denmark and Finland lead the UK however, with Internet connection levels of over 50 per cent.

Contacts
http://www.netvalue.com?##

[Acknowledgements: Caroline Gilmour, Darren Lock]

6. Pegasus Mail version 4 available

What's new ?
The long-awaited new version of Pegasus Mail v4.0 is now available.
The 4.0b40 version I'm testing here as I write is still in the 'wet paint' category (public preview), but the full release will probably be on the Web by the time you read this.

Benefits
Overall, the emphasis is on making the email client even easier to use than before, while retaining the openness and advanced features that make it so desirable for techies.

Features

• Overhauled message reader
  Messages are easier to read, with some of the status indicators (like 'has been forwarded' or 'has had reply') being editable inside the reader window.
  Attachments and message parts are shown on a separate tab (like in the composition window) in a logical tree-style layout, which is clearer than any other mail client.
• A 'preview' style option, similar to Netscape and Outlook defaults (a mode where highlighted messages are already open for reading in a third panel). Can be a slightly risky mode on other mail clients since your messages are opened automatically, but is nevertheless safe within Pegasus which is less susceptible to email-borne viruses.
  A click button instantly reverts to the old 'list-style' with separate windows, if you prefer.
• Improved forwarding
  Forwarding has been improved especially where attachments are concerned. There are now more choices:
  1. a simple edited mail,
  2. a true forward (redirect),
  3. start a new message with all parts attached,
  4. or create a MIME digest (for digest-compatible mailers)
• In the composition window, a superb 'addressing centre' window now pops up from the button next to addressing headers giving access to address books, recently-used mail addresses and distribution lists on different tabs.
• At-a-glance Address books and Distribution Lists One click gets you to a new window combining both address books and distribution lists on separate tabs. You can switch between books and their entries just by highlighting. Address books allow unlimited notes of any size, including pictures and formatting.
  Also promised is the ability to keep a comprehensive history of the mail you've sent to a particular entry and to set dates and alarms. Creating your own address book fields either on an entry-by-entry basis , or as common fields for the entire address book is a possibility.
• Compositions allow more HTML and more addresses Extra buttons appear in the composition window for adding HTML tables, pictures or hyperlinks.
  The header fields now take up to 32,000 characters.
• The Preferences section (Tools | Options menu) is presented in a more logical fashion, similar to Netscape's 'tree-style' layout.
• At last, a link from within the pull down internal help takes you straight to the Web site via your browser.

7. A Secure Future? Threats versus Biometrics

What is it ?
Businesses around the world are facing increasing numbers of security threats every day. With the growth of the Internet and e-commerce, companies have to be more careful than ever with protection against threats, whether it is the hacking of company web sites or an employee accessing confidential data.

Due to this increase, the market for security solutions is widening to meet more challenging security threats, with the introduction of new hardware and software. There are no revolutionary changes in the market, however the way that security products are sold is going to change dramatically. Since unauthorised means of accessing a secure system will always be discovered by intruders, addressing security issues will become more complex in the future.

Getting personal
Threats from external hackers are not the only danger facing companies. There is proving to be a bigger danger in the form of company employees - especially disgruntled ones - accessing unauthorised data. It is often lack of awareness of the potential threat that is the main problem.

Getting really personal
There is no simple solution to the problem of internal security, but many experts believe that the best solution will come in the form of biometrics being used to control and manage access. Biometric systems rely on an individual's unique characteristics, such as fingerprints, voice, and retina scans to ensure security.

However, biometrics technology isn't quite the answer to everyone's prayers. Many believe that it may cause more problems unless it is completely reliable, as there could be a case of a genuinely authorised access to data being denied if the scan was misread. There is also the added cost and time companies would need to implement such ideas.

Data, data, everywhere
There is also now a growing awareness of another important security risk arising from mobile data communications. Devices such as next-generation mobile phones (so-called '2.5G' and '3G') are increasing in power and popularity. Soon they will be able to handle most of the main functions expected of a desktop PC. As more users store and transmit work with these devices, higher amounts of confidential information will become available. This poses the serious security risk of having business sensitive data in circulation beyond the corporate security boundaries; addressing these risks will become increasingly important in the future.

Summary
The way businesses conduct themselves is constantly evolving and therefore new types of security risks are being introduced. As businesses rely more on information, security is becoming a major concern. The security industry is starting to address these concerns, and resellers who show expertise in security solutions are likely to benefit from increased demand.

[Tony "Woo-Hoo!!" Weeks]