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  1. Free cloud sync services comparison

    April 27, 2012 by Andrew Block

    Looking to sync your digital stuff to the cloud? Look no further than these handy comparison charts to help you with your decision.

    Share
    Versions
    Web GUI
    Windows
    Mac
    Linux
    iOS
    Android
    Bberry
    WinPhone

     

    Notes:

    • The free version of Dropbox only saves 30 days of version history. To get unlimited versions, you have to buy their PackRat feature.
    • Google Drive has an iOS version in the works.
    • iCloud lets you share calendars and contacts with other iCloud users. That doesn’t get it true sharing marks in my book.
    • iCloud’s Web interface was in beta last time I checked.
    • SugarSync’s Windows phone version was pending last time I checked.

     

    Dropbox
    Google Drive
    iCloud
    SkyDrive
    SugarSync
    Free
    2GB
    5GB
    5GB
    7GB
    5GB
    Tier 1
    100GB / $50
    25GB / $30
    10GB / $20
    20GB / $10
    30GB / $50
    Tier 2
    200GB / $100
    100GB / $60
    20GB / $40
    50GB / $25
    60GB / $100
    Tier 3
    1TB / $795
    200GB / $120
    50GB / $100
    100GB / $50
    100GB / $150
    Tier 4
    400GB / $240
    Tier 5
    1TB / $600
    Per-file upload limit
    300MB via Web; no limit via desktop app
    10GB
    25MB basic; 250MB paid
    2GB
    No limit

     

    Notes:

     

    Personally, I use Dropbox (I love its simplicity), although SkyDrive hooked me with their limited-time offer of 25GB for free. What do you use?

    Category Cloud sync services, The Cloud, Windows | Tags: ,,,, | No Comments

  2. Password management bliss on Windows 7 (for free)

    April 5, 2012 by Andrew Block

    Looking for a free password solution that works on Windows 7 that syncs “to the cloud,” is highly secure, allows you to automatically enter your passwords into your browser — and you don’t feel like paying a dime? You’re in luck. Here’s what I’ve found that works best for me.

    You’ll need:

    • KeePass installed
    • A free Dropbox account; the Dropbox programs installed on all your PCs (Macs and Linux, too!)
    • Firefox installed (optional)
    • The Firefox plugin “KeeFox” installed (optional)

    It sounds like a lot of moving parts, but it really isn’t that hard. If you want to have forms auto-filled on your Windows 7 machine, install Firefox (if you haven’t already) then download and install the KeeFox Firefox plugin (this entire step is completely optional, but if you don’t do it, you’ll have to copy / paste passwords manually from KeePass into your browser).

    Now go download and install Dropbox on your Windows 7 machine. Sign up for a free Dropbox account, if you haven’t already. Make sure Dropbox is set up and working correctly.

    Next, download and install KeePass, then run the program and create a new database. Make sure you save the database somewhere in your Dropbox location! If you associate a Key File with your database, make sure it is stored in Dropbox as well. If you need a tutorial to get you up and running, try this.

    Next, install KeePass and Dropbox on every other PC where you want synced passwords. Make sure to point all other instances of KeePass to the password database and key file that are located in your Dropbox folder. Now, every time you update your KeePass database, it will automatically be synced to Dropbox! Also remember you can use the KeeFox plugin in Firefox to autofill your passwords into Web forms.

    Note: if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution, try 1password. It’s not free, but I’ve had many people at work recommend it to me.

    Category Firefox, iOS tips, Operating Systems, Tech Tip, Web Browsers, Windows, Windows 7 Tips | Tags: ,,,, | No Comments

  3. Mozilla Firefox vs. Google Chrome vs. Internet Explorer memory usage (Windows 7 64-bit), part two

    January 31, 2012 by Andrew Block

    In the first post, we took a look at the memory usage between Firefox, IE9, Chrome, Safari — and the oddball, Outlook — on Windows 7 32-bit. However, I only had one tab open in each browser, so it wasn’t a very good test. I should also note: this time around, I’m using Windows 7 64-bit.

    So for test #2, we’re opening eight tabs in each browser! And we’re getting rid of Safari and Outlook, because frankly — who cares? To be fair, I opened the same websites in each browser, which were:

    1. Google
    2. ESPN
    3. download.com
    4. eBay
    5. Lifehacker
    6. ign.com
    7. Wikipedia
    8. Facebook

     

    So will Firefox remain the king of bloat, as we saw the first time around? Or will it be succeeded by a surly rival?

    OK, you’re sick of drama. Without further ado, here is the memory usage of each browser, all of them running with eight tabs open for about 15 minutes:

     

    The facts:

    • Firefox used 197,812 KB or 263,412 KB (193 MB – 257 MB), depending if you count the plugin-container.exe that it seemed to spawn (when I killed Firefox, it went away).
    • Internet Explorer 9 gobbled up 419,568 KB (410 MB) (!) when running with eight tabs open.
    • Chrome consumed 300,572 KB (294 MB)

     

    My, how the tables have turned! The trend reverses, and IE9 becomes the memory hog, and Firefox becomes the most “lean” by a long shot!

     

    Contrast this to the chart from Part 1 (remember, this was 32-bit Windows):

     

    So what does this mean? One of two things:

    • Browser memory usage is wildly different on 32-bit Windows vs. 64-bit Windows
    • Firefox is much more efficient when the amount of tabs increases

     

    I’ll let you draw your own conclusions! If I do another test, I should definitely stick to either 32-bit or 64-bit, to remove that variable. What do you think? Has your experience of the browsers’ memory usage been consistent with my test, or different?

    Category Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Web Browsers, Windows | Tags: ,,, | 2 Comments

  4. Firefox vs. Internet Explorer 9 vs. Chrome vs. Safari vs. Outlook memory usage (Windows 7 32-bit), part one

    January 23, 2012 by Andrew Block

    So which browser is the ultimate memory hog? Is Outlook really as “bloated” as everyone complains it is? Is Chrome as lightweight and fast as it claims to be? I dunno…let’s find out!

    Here are the rules:

    1. Each browser had only 1 tab open to google.com; Outlook had no child windows opened.
    2. I fired up each browser/application, waited about 10-15 seconds, and then took a screenshot of task manager.
    3. I tested in the latest versions as of this writing, which are: IE9, FF9, Chrome 16, Safari 5.1, and Outlook 2010 w/ service pack 1 applied.

     

    First off, the qualitative results. IE9 and Chrome launched the fastest, coming up almost instantaneously (I couldn’t tell which was first, so I’m calling it a tie). Safari came up second, and Firefox dead last (for the browsers) by quite a long shot. Outlook pretty much tied with Firefox for last, coming up just after Firefox loaded.

    Now for the good stuff — memory usage.

    The facts

    1. Firefox was by far the most bloated, weighing in at 110,288 K (108 MB!). In Firefox’s defense, I do have about 5-6 plugins installed. I need to re-do this with a clean install, but I’d guess most people have a plugin…or five.
    2. Safari used the second-most memory, at 53,984 K (53 MB). Safari spawned WebKit2WebProcess.exe, if you’re wondering where I got my number.
    3. Internet Explorer and Outlook practically tied for third-most memory used, at 37,456 K (37 MB) and 37,012 K, (36 MB), respectively.
    4. Chrome used the least memory at 33,224 K (32 MB).

     

     

    Observations

    This wasn’t a very scientific test. I should have done more testing with multiple tabs, a clean install of Firefox, let them all run for some time, etc. But it does shed some light on how these applications use your system resources. The biggest surprise  — to me, anyway — is how little memory Outlook uses compared to the browsers (side note: I have seen Outlook consume closer to 90 MB after it’s been running all day, but I’ve also seen Firefox push upwards of 200 MB or more).

    It is surprising how much memory Firefox uses, but I’ll be honest — it doesn’t matter all that much. Most machines have plenty of free RAM these days, and unless you’re running hardware that’s more than 5 years old, I don’t think it’s going to affect you very much. Firefox is still my browser of choice, although the snappy loading of Chrome is IE9 is nice. And Safari on Windows…meh.

    So the King of  Bloat award goes to Firefox; Outlook wins the Scapegoat Award. IE9 and Chrome both get the Snappy Award.

    Oh, and Safari gets the Who Cares award.

    Update: I’ve added a part two: testing with more tabs.

    Category Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Web Browsers, Windows | Tags: ,,,, | 3 Comments

  5. Suddenly can’t access USB hard disk in Windows 7: how to fix (reset permissions)

    January 10, 2012 by Andrew Block

    I fixed our neighbor’s laptop the other day, and I plugged my USB hard drive into it to transfer some files. After I plugged the drive back into my own computer, Windows 7 suddenly couldn’t access the disk (notice the drive space indicator disappeared in the first screenshot, below.

    No amount of fiddling with the security/permissions/owner would bring it back, either.

    This fix is to use the “icalcs” tool to reset the drive’s permissions. To do so, follow these steps:Launch the Command Prompt as an administrator (Start > Search for “cmd” > Right-click on “cmd.exe” and select “Run as Administrator”)

    1. Switch to your drive that is having problems (replace H: with your drive letter): CD /D H:
    2. Type: icacls * /T /Q /C /RESET
    3. Wait for a while. Mine took about 10-15 minutes.

    When it’s done, you should be able to access the drive as normal.

    Sources:

    http://lallousx86.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/resetting-ntfs-files-security-and-permission-in-windows-7/

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318754

    Category Tech Tip, Windows, Windows 7 Tips | Tags: | 5 Comments

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