I got several emails about a column from a couple of weeks ago regarding Live Mesh (mesh.com).  I have been using it since then and really enjoy its functionality and ease of use.

However, one of my readers, who shall remain nameless, really despises Microsoft and doesn’t want anything to do with Live Mesh, since MS is the owner/developer.  I suggest they don’t knock a good thing no matter who the developer is.  It is a very good product and improving almost daily and I like it the BEST.

To be quite honest if it weren’t for Microsoft many people would not be able to enjoy the jobs they have today, me included so I am thankful for their contributions to technology.  OK, I’ll climb down off of my soapbox now and stop bragging about MS.  But I really think they are top notch.

There is one other site I am aware of that is similar to Live Mesh although there may be many.  However, I don’t believe it is as easy to work with or even access as Live Mesh.  This one is named, “Jooce” (www.jooce.com).

Jooce allows you to create your own online computer desktop for your private use and a public desktop for things you wish to share.  So you can have your secret documents on the private one and share your music, pictures, etc. on the public or Jooce Desktop.  But I believe (I couldn’t find a very clear answer to this) that a person has access to your public area only if they are a Jooce member.

It is nice and pretty and uses Web 2.0 devices to the max, but it just isn’t as easy to work…which may change over time.  To add a folder to Jooce you have to create it and then upload your files to it.

I just like the ease of use in the Mesh.  I create the folder; show it which folder to match it to on my computer at home/work/school and when I save something locally the file is automatically transferred to the Mesh.   I don’t have to perform any extra steps.

For instance, this column, once saved to my home computer will be in my mesh folder by the time I log into the site.  Then I can have full access to that file from anywhere in the world almost immediately.  I can send an email to anyone I wish to have access to a folder.  When they get the email they log in and can use the files.  That seems pretty slick to me.

I got a good email from Robert in Elkton this week.  He mentioned that he hadn’t seen anything about protecting people (especially kids & teens) from the darker side of the internet.  I did write a column about this but in May, 2002; it definitely needs updating.

Back in those days the best program for blocking questionable sites was called We-Blocker.  However, having referred people to that great software for years I find that as of May of this year it has pretty much disappeared from the scene.  If you are still using We-Blocker and depending on it, don’t as it no longer updates or works properly.

It is time for a new recommendation, OpenDNS (www.opendns.com).  OpenDNS does many things but basically provides a fairly simple method for home users to block objectionable content from their computers.  Whether it is alcohol, pornography, file sharing networks, video sites, podcasts or even chat rooms.  OpenDNS has approximately 50 categories which you may block from your computer.  You also have the option of stopping individual sites.  So if you didn’t want your husband spending all day long reading the great articles at DoubleClicks.info you could block just that site…but I know you wouldn’t, please.

OpenDNS is controlled by one password account and from what I can see in using it over the last several days; you cannot control it by individual users.  That means if you block “weapons” from your computer because you don’t want you kids buying assault rifles, it will also block you from browsing for a new hunting rifle or a pocket knife.  I do believe that this will be solved over time but it doesn’t appear so at this time.

They also threw in another neat feature.  It is cosmetic but still worth mentioning.  If you try to log into a blocked site you will get a reference page telling you which category blocked it, i.e. “weapons”.  The page can be customized by you, the administrator of your network.  Mine has a picture of me glaring at the user and a sentence telling them that they shouldn’t try this site again or I will come after them.  Of course, my wife has a better glare than me and this probably won’t have much effect since the kids are grown and gone.

Also, if you get blocked the reference page has an email form which allows the user to notify the administrator.  They can say that they don’t believe that particular site should be blocked.  Then you may allow its use if you agree.

I think this is a very useful tool in keeping your kids safe online.  I forgot to mention the price…free!

I reread a few of the last columns and I felt bad.  I realized that I haven’t said much about Microsoft lately at least in a positive way.  So I will make up here with some good MS news.  They have an extremely new, useful and free program (one of my favorite components) that may be of great benefit to you.

For years now several companies have produced a couple of programs that you may purchase which allow you to log into your computer from a remote location.  This permits you to operate as if you are actually sitting at your home or work computer from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection.  The benefits are obvious.

For example, you are at home after work and someone calls you about an emergency, the only way to resolve this situation is to be at your work computer.  With these programs you could log into your work computer and have everything quickly taken care of, without leaving the comfort of home.  Another one could be that you are at your brother’s home in WV (me) and you have some pictures of your granddaughter which you want to show his family.  You can just sign onto your home computer and show them all the pictures that you have of them.  Similar to years ago when you brought your slide projector from home and bored the relatives to tears that way.

Microsoft’s relatively new program, Live Mesh (more mesh), allows you to do that and more.  Previously, to get into my work or home computer from another location I used another MS program called, Remote Desktop or RDP.  I’ve never written about it because it is a very geeky application and too confusing for most users to easily use.  Not so with Live Mesh.

To use Mesh you basically go to their site, mentioned previously, install the software and follow the simple directions.  Now to log into a computer from another computer you need to install Mesh on the computer you want to access.  While I am experimenting with Mesh I have my work desktop and notebook, home desktop and notebook and finally my wife’s notebook all on my Mesh account.  That way I can get to any computer I need from most anywhere I happen to be.

Will I actually keep that many computers on my Mesh account?  It’s doubtful but for now when checking a new program out, I usually try to abuse them to see if they can take the punishment.

Another and maybe even better benefit to Mesh is that you can also copy files from your local computer to the Mesh cloud.  See some of my past columns if you don’t know about the cloud.  Once they are copied to the cloud you can get them to be automatically copied to your other computers too.  That way you always have the latest copy of a file on all of your computers.

So far the only limit seems to be the file space available to you on the Mesh.  It is currently 5.12 GB; however, I bet that will go up in time.

Several weeks ago I wrote about having gone to the dark side in my latest choice of “favorite” internet browser, Firefox (mozilla.com).  Don’t misunderstand me it is still my favorite … right now.  However, last Tuesday a new browser became downloadable that not many people even heard about until the day before.  That browser is called, “Google Chrome” (GC here to save a little space) at www.google.com/chrome.

If you are a regular reader of this column you realize that I am a big fan of Google.  I like everything that they come out with.  Well, OK one exception in Gmail but more on that another day.  I’m looking forward to liking GC in the future but not yet.

Last Monday rumors started to hit the net about GC.  Many people, including yours truly, at first thought it was a joke which Google is well known for.  The reason the joke rumor persisted for a while is that they were advertising it through a ’60s styled comic book that was very, very simple (google.com/googlebooks/chrome).  Later that day the “buzz” turned real and everyone started talking about the new browser.

It became downloadable in the late afternoon of Tuesday and here are some of my first impressions.

It is fast, really fast starting up and opening websites.  One main reason for its speed is that it is very basic without many frills added yet.  It is in Beta so it will change overtime but note; Gmail continues to be in beta since it arrived several years ago.

The new layout with the tabs at the very top of the window is very nice, I’m not sure why but it just works well.

An unseen feature — each tab is engineered to be a separate browser window so that if one site you are on crashes the other tabs stay open and just the “bad” one shuts down unlike other browsers who totally collapse.  Another neat characteristic is that you can right click on its tab bar and see what browser processes are running and shutdown a “stuck” one.  Although that hasn’t happened to me yet.

According to some news reports GC took 1 percent of the browser market in the first few days it was available, which is phenomenal. Internet Explorer is said to currently have 70 percent, so Chrome has a way to go to get to the top, but ask again in five years.

It is interesting that MS just came out the week or so before with MSIE 8 (www.microsoft.com) which is also a beta version.  Note that if you install MSIE 8 it will remove any previous versions.  I have included links for all three major browsers so try them and see what you think.