Last week I said that I would write about Robin of Harrisonburg’s second question.  Basically, that is why should you keep all of your files in the “My Documents” (“Documents” in Vista) folder?

One reason is for organization.  If they are there you know where to find them.  Another reason and possibly even more importantly is that if you ever have a hard drive crash it would be good.  It has happened to yours truly several times.  And a friend had it happen recently to them.

When a technician has the dying drive up and running their most important task is to retrieve the owners’ important files.  This is a standard procedure. 

When the drive is going you quickly take all of the users “data” files and save them to a new hard drive.  That way you have all of your tax-returns, business letters, leases, rental agreements, financial statements, etc. on your new drive. 

Get the picture?  This is all of that important documentation that you will most likely need to use after the old drive is gone.

My friend’s problems started when he didn’t know exactly where he had stored all of the “essential” documents.  He knew they were somewhere on their computer but not exactly where.  Their 1996-03 tax returns were in the “My Documents” folder (where they should be), but the ones from 2003-2007 were somewhere else.  But he couldn’t remember where!?!?  He lost a lot of their family’s data due to the fact that the repair technician could not find it all…the user didn’t know where to tell them to look.  History…poof…gone…up-in-smoke…nada!

You know Bill Gates and his buddies don’t always do the absolute best in their software design (although some of us would tend to differ) but “My Documents” was a stroke of genius.  Your “My Documents” folder is where you should keep all of the important data that you have on your computer. 

After looking at the above case study you should realize why.  If your computer’s hard drive goes kaput, the person trying to fix it will know where to find all the important data and rescue it for you.  It is just that simple.  You can load up the folder with an almost unlimited amount of sub-folders and files, so size isn’t a consideration. 

Also, if you ever have to use “System Restore” to bring back your computer to a previous point in time, “My Documents” items are treated with tender loving care.  “System Restore” allows your computer to be set back to a previous time before a “bad” program was installed on your computer causing tribulation.  When restoring your system the “My Documents” folder is left alone so that none of the files in it are damaged.

A great couple of questions came in from Robin, in Harrisonburg this week.  The first one she asked I had written about in August but she needed more details.

Robin said, “At home when I type in a user name to sites that I have visited before the browser starts filling it in immediately - then when I finish the user name the password automatically pops in?”  This is called, “Auto Populate”.  She went on to say that while she is at her work computer she has to type in both each time she logs into a site and nothing auto populates.  “What’s up with that?”

I will cover the answer in the two most popular browser formats.

For Microsoft Internet Explorer you start with TOOLS then INTERNET OPTIONS.  Once there choose the “Content tab” and your settings will be found under “Auto Complete” where you then click “Settings”.  You have several choices as follow:  “Web Addresses”, “Forms”, “User names & Passwords on Forms” and “Prompt me to save passwords”. Forms are basically web sites and the text boxes in them.  I check all four items which are pretty self-explanatory.  The reason I check the last one about prompting is that I really don’t want someone to easily use my bank password if they happen to be on my computer.  That feature allows you to avoid that issue with sites you choose.

With Firefox it is slightly different and (sorry MS lovers) seems more complete than the offerings in MSIE mentioned above.  In FF go to TOOLS then OPTIONS and then select the Security tab.  Now about halfway down the window that opens under Passwords you have three choices, “Remember passwords for sites”, “Use a master password” and “Saved passwords” button.

The first should be clear.  The master password allows you to set one “master” password that has to be entered for the other ones to be auto-entered.  This feature gives you more protection against someone using your computer and logging into your sites.  They have to have the master to make the others work.  The final very interesting item, “Saved passwords” allows you to view all of the sites that passwords have been saved for and even view the actual passwords if you wish to.

All of the other modern browsers allow similar functionality.  Just look at their options to find them or contact the vendor if you can’t.

Next week, the other good question from Robin.

Apparently some of my readers are really into not using Microsoft products.  A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a replacement for Microsoft’s Live Mesh, or cloud computing application named Jooce. Next, I told you about two MS Office replacements, Open Office and Lotus Symphony.

I’m hoping this will be my last (sort of) anti-Microsoft column for a long time, since I am a MS fanboy.  Even though there are replacements, I like MS products best.  However, money is a big factor so I understand people’s reluctance to plunk down hundreds of dollars for a program that may get limited use at home.

I received several emails this week about how people tried them both out and were happy with the change.  They, along with one of my readers that I ran into at the grocery store also consistently mentioned another issue.  That issue is they liked the office replacements but, “…where is a replacement for Outlook the email program?”

Now, Outlook is the email app that I much prefer over any other so I am biased on this topic.  Yes, I know it is expensive, being listed on the Microsoft site for $109.95 by itself.  You may also purchase it along with Office.  It is still the best in linking with different smart phones, etc.

Now, let’s look at some Outlook replacements.  Please note that I have tested each with good results; however, I do not continue to use them and have uninstalled them so I am not a pro on them.

Outlook Express - This would be my #2 choice and came free on all MS Windows computers until Vista.  However, MS no longer produces it.  It may still be downloaded for free.  If you search for it, make sure you get version 6.0; the most recent.

Windows Vista replaced Outlook Express with Windows Mail, which is my last in line for a replacement.  I just don’t care for it and it is only available for Vista (at this time).

Windows Live Mail is a replacement for Vista’s Windows Mail and is in the cloud.  It does the job well and is an adequate replacement for Outlook.  But if you really just want to get away from MS please note that all of these mentioned so far are Microsoft products.

Next, I have experience with two non-Microsoft replacements for Outlook.

First, Thunderbird which was created by the developers of the Firefox browser.  This is an excellent replacement and it still has full support from Mozilla so it will be safer to use as time goes on.  If you want a change get this one first.

Finally, Evolution was originally designed to be used in the Linux OS but is now available for Windows.  Good choice too.

Happy hunting as there are hundreds of others but these are my choices.

Well wouldn’t you know it? Last time I mentioned one person being anti-Microsoft and this week I heard from several others. I will respond to one question I got from you since it was a reasonable question and was asked by several unique readers.

Also, I will ignore you Apple/Mac lovers since that is a war that I get tired of fighting. And if you admit it we all already know that if it hadn’t been for the iPod they would have already been ancient history.

The question went like this, “I like MS Office OK, but it costs so much I can’t afford it, especially with gas, food, health insurance, college and most everything else being so high.” OK, I added the last part but that is what some referred to – especially the gas, but this is a computer column so I’ll get back to it.

There are actually two excellent replacements for Office and both are free, “Open Office” (www.openoffice.org) and “Lotus Symphony” (symphony.lotus.com).

In my opinion, Microsoft Office is the best office product on the market; however, its cost is prohibitive to most home users. You can find it from around $600 retail to about $60 but only if you are a student.

I would like to discuss Open Office which is currently owned by Sun Microsystems and was formerly known as Star Office (when it cost a bundle), and Lotus Symphony owned and developed by IBM (it used to cost a bundle too). To be honest I have tested Open Office extensively and if I didn’t own MS Office I would switch…especially for that price.

They both have dynamic word processing capabilities along with replacements for Excel and PowerPoint (along with a couple of extras from Open Office). So why doesn’t everyone use them – one word? Business.

The part of society that runs the business world simply rules for office type products. Those who rule, chose Microsoft Office long ago and continue to stick with it as their processing system.

Is that bad for those of us with shallow pockets? No. We just need to give one or both of the freebies a try.  Both can be downloaded from the links above.

Don’t fret over compatibility with the Microsoft world. Both products will easily integrate with MS products. If you create one in one of the office suites they can all be used in the others so that isn’t a problem for us.

I also pointed out Google Docs a while back which also incorporates the world of Microsoft but not quite flawlessly.

Give the competition a try and maybe one day Microsoft will be free too. OK, I don’t think that is likely in my lifetime anyway.

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.

Tammy asked me about the “Junk E-mail” folder that she noticed when she installed Microsoft Outlook 2007 recently.  Today we will all take a look.

The “Junk E-mail” folder is another form of spam protection for your e-mail.  For you newbies out there, spam is the term widely used for unsolicited e-mail.  This e-mail usually has a plan to get money out of your pocket into someone else’s.  Think of it as regular postal mail that you receive addressed to “Occupant”.  Spam is most times sent simultaneously to hundreds or even millions of inboxes and can sometimes contain viruses.

This junk filter is turned on by default with the protection level set to “Low”. This level is supposed to catch only the most obvious spam messages. You can make the filter more aggressive, but if you do it may sometimes remove legitimate messages. Any message that is caught by the Junk E-mail Filter is moved to a special Junk E-mail folder.  Before deleting messages from this folder you should review them to make sure that genuine messages that you need didn’t end up there (bad illustration below).  To delete them just right click on the Junk E-mail folder.  Once deleted you cannot get them back.

There are two parts to the Junk E-mail Filter: Junk E-mail Filter Lists create by Microsoft and technology developed by their researchers that evaluates if an unread message should be treated as a junk e-mail message or not.  This evaluation is based on several factors, including the time the message was sent and the content of the message. The filter does not single out any individual e-mail message. The filter is based on the content of the message in general and uses “advanced analysis of the message structure to determine the probability” that a particular e-mail message is spam.

To make you Junk E-Mail suit your needs, while in Outlook, go to Tools / Options / Preferences and then click the Junk E-Mail button.  Just be careful you don’t set it too aggressively or you may miss e-mail that you need…read on.

An example and a personal plea here.  I looked in my Junk E-mail folder recently and found 75-100 emails.  I chose to delete them after a very quick visual scan.  Right as I clicked delete I saw an email from one of you that mentioned something about your wireless internet.  The name had “William(s)” in it.  If that was you, email me again and I will make sure to look for it.  So don’t be mad at me if I occasionally don’t respond to your emails, try again and then yell at Bill Gates the next time you see him.

Several months ago I wrote about how frustrated I was in the computer age when the following can occur.

1. Items from unknown, online vendors can be ordered on a Monday from a foreign country and be received at my home in Harrisonburg, VA, USA by the following Thursday.  This is a non-emergency, unneeded item.
2. I can place a Netflix DVD in my mailbox on a Monday and by Thursday (and a couple of times by Wednesday) they will have received it and a new movie will be back in my mailbox. This is also a non-emergency, unneeded item.
3. I order prescriptions from “a company I choose not to name” online for life preserving drugs and receive them in, oh, one to three weeks and sometimes longer.  This could be an emergency, much needed item.

But that is enough of the inequities of life that we all deal with from time-to-time.  Now I just want to thank Netflix for being the apparently well run and oiled machine that it is!

There were reports all over the news (online and offline) about the problems that Netflix faced this week with their delivery system actually collapsing and not sending out any, to very few, shipments from Tuesday through Thursday.  I, along with the other members got a nice form email stating basically that Netflix had the most severe outage in its history which stopped distribution to a third of its 8.4 million customers.

They also went on to say (get ready for this one as I know my drug company wouldn’t do this), “If your DVD shipment is delayed, we will be issuing a credit to your account in the next few days.   You don’t need to do anything.  The credit will be automatically applied to your next billing statement.”

I got some of this information from CrunchGear; however, it was available in a multitude of locations and of course even in direct email from Netflix.

Here is the way it played out for me:

1. Put DVD in my mailbox Monday morning.
2. They received it Tuesday.
3. I got the email about delivery problems on Tuesday afternoon.
4. I receive the next DVD in my queue on Friday, not late by my standards.
5. I checked my Netflix account just now and have a 15% credit which will be added to my next billing statement.

Now I am still waiting for prescriptions that I ordered the week before I dropped my DVD in the mail!

Netflix appears to me to be a quality company with good, pro-active customer service.  Netflix rules and the drug company that my insurance company requires me to use-drools.