August 6, 2007
Most businesses provide some sort of remote access so that employees can do work from home, or access services like e-mail when away from the office. LogMeIn provides a free service that allows you to remotely access your PC at work or at home if both you and it are connected to the Internet. I don’t use this service often, but it is really handy when I do.
- Sign up for a free account
- Use your web browser to install a small software component on the PC you want to remotely access
- From a remote location, go to the LogMeIn web site, and login to your account
- Select the PC you want to remotely access
- Remotely view and interact with your PC.
The free service allows you to have more than one PC associated with your account (I have seven.) The software works through most firewalls without issue. LogMeIn publishes a security white paper which describes the mechanisms in place to ensure only you can access your PC, and to protect the data in transit. LogMeIn also provides information for system administrators to prohibit LogMeIn on their networks.
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Encryption, How To, Remote Access, Security, Software, Web | 
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Posted by Brendan Moon
August 2, 2007
If you travel much you have likely seen advertisements and perhaps even kiosks in airports for NeatReceipts. The NeatReceipts product bundles a small USB scanner and custom software tailored to managing receipts and business cards. The product web site does an excellent job of describing how NeatReceipts works.
I like the product because I hate having small scraps of paper around my desk. Receipts and business cards are scanned and organized quite easily. The included software stores all information about your receipts and business cards (both images and OCR text) in a Microsoft SQL Desktop style database. Routine database backups are done automatically according to a schedule you set. I keep my database backup file in the My Documents folder.
Receipts are quickly scanned and automatically OCR’d for the vendor and total price. This OCR process isn’t always successful, but it is easy to make adjustments if the metadata is important to you. Receipts are organized using folders to group them together for the same trip and/or expense report. Printouts can contain receipt copies and a summary of the data. For my purposes I just print the receipts without the fancy report. The software can even arrange smaller receipts to print on the same page.
My employer uses a custom expense reporting system (as many larger companies do.) After scanning in my receipts, I generate the official report in my employer’s system and print the report to PDF. I then use NeatReceipts to print the receipt image(s) to a PDF file too. Since my employer accepts faxed reports, I can then transmit the two PDF files electronically without ever generating paper.
Receipts go in… reimbursement comes out via direct deposit. Perfect.
In addition to receipts, the software does a good job of importing business cards. Cards scan quickly into the same database that stores receipts. After importing you can choose to synchronize your scanned cards to your Outlook Contacts. This process worked easily for me, and even added missing information (like mailing addresses) to my existing Outlook contact records.
I have also used the included scanner to scan handwritten notes into Microsoft OneNote. While the scanning software controls are better suited to receipts and business cards, it does take in loose paper easily and the scanning device is small enough to stick in my laptop bag if I wanted to take it with me.
So is it worth the retail cost of $200? If you travel for work and/or accumulate lots of reimbursable business receipts it may be. I purchased mine through Amazon.com and paid only $170 with shipping.
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Backups, Hardware, How To, Review, Software | 
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Posted by Brendan Moon
August 1, 2007
Many computers support a dual-monitor display, and I would bet that many people don’t even realize it. For instance, most laptops allow you to use the internal display and a monitor plugged into the VGA port at the same time. Many PC video cards support both VGA and DVI ports, both of which can typically be used at the same time. Newer PCs even allow you to insert more than one video card at a time.
Why? Because you spend most of your computer time using one application — but that is not all you use. Your primary application may be a web browser, your e-mail client, a word processor, or perhaps even custom business software. Having two displays allows you to dedicate one monitor to your primary application, and use the other monitor when the occasional need to multi-task arises.
You will also find dual displays useful if you need to reference one file while accessing another. For instance, when typing a report in Word, you need to reference a spreadsheet in Excel. Or perhaps you want to reference a web site when authoring an e-mail. Just think about times when you most often switch between open applications. Dual monitor displays may offer you an easy way to boost productivity.
Windows XP and Windows Vista support multiple displays out-of-the box. The first time you boot your PC with both displays active, you may see the same image on both. Once Windows is running, open your display properties/settings to confirm that two monitors are visible to Windows. Then select the second monitor and enable the option “Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor.”
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Hardware, How To, Review, Software | 
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Posted by Brendan Moon
July 31, 2007
I recently purchased a professional repair manual for my 1999 Acura TL. I am not a mechanic, but the car is long out of warranty, and there are no nearby Acura dealerships. This isn’t one of the cheap repair manuals available at auto parts stores. This is the same book the dealership service technicians use. Within a month the book (~$70) paid for itself several times over.
- The first repair I performed using the manual was a replacement of my faulty ignition switch. The dealership wanted $350 for the repair. The part was $85. I replaced it myself in under 20 minutes.
- The second repair was to fix an automatic door lock that didn’t automatically do anything. The dealership wanted $250 to replace the actuator. The part was $45. I replaced it in under an hour (most of the time was wasted by me not following directions in the book.)
- Most recently I changed my transmission fluid for under $30 in under an hour using all OEM parts and fluid (including replacing the metal washers that I otherwise would have easily overlooked.)
If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty on occasion, I highly recommend you purchase a services manual for your aging automobile from Helm, Inc. They carry publications for many manufacturers including Ford, GM, and Honda.
Why Buy Original OEM? Why Helm Publications?
- Helm only sells manuals written by the manufacturer (Original OEM), designed specifically for your vehicle or equipment.
- Original OEM Manuals are more accurate and complete than any other service information available. OEM Manuals contain thousands of pages of diagnostic and repair information!
- These are the same manuals your dealer service center uses so you know you’re getting the technical information needed to service and maintain your vehicle or equipment.
- Many OEM Manuals include diagramed repair and replacement procedures, electrical diagrams and training information. More about Helm publications, click here.
3 Comments | Auto, Book, Repair, Review | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Moon
July 31, 2007
An ISO image file is a duplicate copy of a complete CD or DVD disc saved in an industry standard format. Storing frequently used CD/DVD discs as ISO image files on your hard disk is an effective way to keep your most important software organized and easily accessible.
I create ISO files of every computer CD and DVD that comes across my desk. Driver discs and software discs alike are stored on my desktop PC’s large hard disk. Whenever I need to reinstall software, or simply reinstall a driver, it is easier for me to find the correct ISO file than it would be to find a physical disc.
ISO Recorder is a free add-on to Windows XP and Windows Vista. It will allow you to create ISO image files from CDs you already have. It will also write an ISO file to a blank CDR. Note that ISO Recorder is not designed to make image files of protected disks, like games or movies, which incorporate copy protection techniques. There are utilities that offer that capability for a fee such as CloneCD.
ISO files are even more useful when combined with an ISO mounting utility like Virtual CloneDrive. Virtual CloneDrive allows you to mount an ISO image file as if it were inserted into a virtual DVD drive. Virtual CloneDrive can mount ISO image files of either CD or DVD discs.
The combination of ISO Recorder and Virtual CloneDrive is very useful and best of all — free!
3 Comments | Backups, ISO, Review, Software | Permalink
Posted by Brendan Moon
