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March 30, 2007
Is File Sharing a Crime?
The legality of sharing files is certainly a controversial topic.
Italy's top criminal court has recently ruled that "downloading content and software over the Internet isn’t a crime if profit wasn’t the motivation".
And here's a well thought-out perspective from Peter Hurly of McGill University: "Transfer protocols are used for many legal and legitimate purposes.... If you didn’t download illegally, you won’t be uploading illegally. Can people use file sharing programs to download illegal files? Yes, but people can also use streets to transport illicit goods. People will choose the most efficient way of getting what they want, legal or not. Blame the letter, not the post office".
So, what do you think?
Posted by Hugh Garber at 09:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 29, 2007
FTP for Starters Video
If you have already browsed through the Discussion Group forum and read through the Online Tutorials, there is also a short video to help folks new to setting up an FTP Server and using WS_FTP to transfer files.
It's a simple walk-through, but sometimes that is the easiest way to figure something out!
Posted by Erik Small at 08:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 28, 2007
Voice-over what?
The VOIP giant Vonage continues to get some troubling news. Appears they are struggling to grow a profitable business. Check out the recent analyst rating.
Has anyone ever used their phone service? Good or bad experience? Plenty of TV ads running, but sounds like the clock is starting to tick.
Posted by Erik Small at 07:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 27, 2007
Offline to Online
More and more services and applications are moving to a web service. I noticed this recent announcement from Adobe mentioned on ZDNet about their popular Photoshop image-editing application. They are moving to a hosted web version possibly this year. CD-ROMs and the fancy-packaging days are slowing dwindling.
At least for me, what comes to mind is that each task or service that moves online will mean ANOTHER login and ANOTHER password to remember! Yikes.
Posted by Erik Small at 07:13 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 26, 2007
Laptop Causes Car Crash
"Authorities say a man who appeared to be driving while using his laptop computer died when his vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic..... Officers investigating the accident say they found the victim's computer still running and plugged into the cigarette lighter of his Honda Accord."
The article doesn't specifically state whether the driver was using the computer while driving or not so I won't assume the worst. But the key take-a-way is to always give your full attention to operating a vehicle.
Holding a cell phone or using a handheld device or computer while driving is putting your safety at risk and more importantly also endangering the safety of other people.
Be smart. And remember, friends don't let friends compute and drive!!!
Posted by Hugh Garber at 08:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 23, 2007
New to FTP?
For anyone new to FTP and you're looking for your first step into a new way to easily transfer music, photos, videos -- Ipswitch's WS_FTP Home 2007 software is a great start. Better yet, you'll also be automatically entered for a chance to win a pair of Bose Noise Cancelling headphones when downloading your evaluation copy.
http://www.ipswitch.com/_download/wsftphome.asp
Posted by Erik Small at 08:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 22, 2007
Saving Favorite Server Connections in WS_FTP Professional
Here's a question that I received from an FTPplanet reader: "Can I automatically reconnect to frequently used server connections in WS_FTP without having to re-enter the server addresses or my username/passwords every time?"
Answer: Absolutely! WS_FTP Professional has a great feature called "Workspaces" that lets you save and instantly reconnect to multiple local and server connections. Here's a link to a short video tutorial on Workspaces in WS_FTP Professional.
Workspaces is similar to saving "favorites" in a browser except that you're saving server connections. The best part is that you can instantly recall multiple FTP, SSL and/or SSH server connections with literally 1 mouse click. This feature is an amazing time-saver, especially for those who are constantly connecting to multiple servers.
Feel free to email me at hgarber@ftpplanet.com with any other FTP questions you have.
Posted by Hugh Garber at 08:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 21, 2007
Only 161 billion gigabytes?
161 billion gigabytes is the estimated amount of space necessary to store all the worldwide information generated in 2006. Here's an interesting NY Times article from the AP with a few projections of how many 1's and 0's are flying through our world.
Think of all the photos, videos, e-mails, Web pages, instant messages, and phone calls.
Posted by Erik Small at 07:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 20, 2007
Who did YOUR website?
Here's a real nice blog post from Len Vincenti that describes how he created his website. It's a real good perspective directly from the mouth (i mean hands) of a non professional web designer.
"Anybody can put together a very presentable website fairly easily.... As far as uploading new stuff to the site is concerned, there are three ways I can do it. I can use the Geocities file transfer, upload directly from Front Page, or use an FTP program. Most of the time I use WS_FTP. It is not the newest thing around, but I have used it for years and I am comfortable with it."
Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 16, 2007
WS_FTP Home for a great price
I just got an email from Ipswitch about a discount on WS_FTP Home. If you need file transfer software this is a great deal.....
"Buy now and get 25% off a single user license of WS_FTP Home.
IMHO, getting such a quality piece of software for less than $30 is a bargain. Sure, there are freebies available but they have much less functionality, speed or customer support. Here's a list of many of the product features with screenshots. I especially like the integrated desktop search capability that's built into WS_FTP Home -- no more wasted time looking for those hard-to-find files that I've misplaced!
Posted by Hugh Garber at 08:20 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 15, 2007
Food For Thought: Computer > Spouse?
Interesting survey tidbit: Americans prefer computer over spouse. 65% percent of Americans polled said they spend more time with their home computer than their spouse or significant other, according to research by Kelton Research Inc.
I remember someone warning me about this possible phenomenon. My recollection of this conversation is a little fuzzy, but it was definitely a familiar female voice....
Do you spend more time with your computer than with your meaningful personal relationships? Does your computer act as a crutch to shield you from reality? Now, if we could only spend as much time on our home computers as we do on our work computers!
Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:49 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 14, 2007
Mapping our roads and potential commute
I've always had an interest in maps and geography, and amazed how quickly digital mapping & the GIS industry is growing and expanding. Google Maps announced that it now offers real-time traffic updates in a color-coded system. My personal coding system sounds something like this: Green = 'smooth sailing', Yellow = 'keep your foot close to the brake' and Red = 'it's gonna be awhile'.
Here's an example real-time traffic view of Boston in action on Google Maps.
Another use of technology to make life easier, right?
Posted by Erik Small at 07:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 13, 2007
Faster is better!
Houses with a high-speed broadband connection will exceed 50% this year. Over 60 million households in the US alone will have a high-speed Internet connection.
I believe that high-speed adoption is being driven by a combinatin of increased broadband availability and decreasing cost. Of course, being able to surf the Internet and check email without having to worry about a slow Internet connection is nice, but it's all the new applications that get me excited. Downloading music, photos and watching online videos have become much more mainstream, and newer consumer products like Slingbox and TiVoToGo are real exciting. So, what about you? What high-speed applications do you fancy?
Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 12, 2007
Podsnack!
Here's a real nice audio podcast by Hill Associates on the File Transfer Protocol. If you want to learn the details about how the FTP protocol enables file transfers between clients and servers, it's a great six-minute overview and certainly worth the time.
Posted by Hugh Garber at 06:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 09, 2007
Bad Idea of the Week: Stealing GPS devices
A fellow FTPplanet member emailed me this article about brainless criminals who stole some GPS devices. I agree, totally boneheaded (and a little bit funny). It's great they were caught because they where thieves, but you gotta wonder what they were thinking....
Got any interesting stories to share? Email me at hgarber@ftpplanet.com and if they are real juicy I'll share them on the blog.
Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 07, 2007
WS_FTP Pro for Vista
Here's more good news from Ipswitch about Vista compatibility for the WS_FTP Professional secure file transfer client.
"A Microsoft Vista compatible version of WS_FTP Professional 2007 is now available! Ipswitch worked with the Microsoft Vista compatibility team to insure the highest level of compatibility.
Currently Using WS_FTP Professional 2007: If you own a license of WS_FTP Professional 2007 or have an active Service Agreement, you can download the Vista compatible version.
Looking to Evaluate or Purchase WS_FTP Professional 2007 for Vista: The Vista compatible version of WS_FTP Pro 2007 is now available for evaluation and purchase."
Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 06, 2007
Be Spam Smart
SPAM, Spam and spam. We all get too much spam. But, the good news is that there are basic precautions we can take to help minimize the amount of those obnoxious, unsolicited spam email messages that get delivered into our email inboxes.
Here's some very good "Do It Yourself" tips to help fight off spam. A few of my favorite tips from the DIY Tips for a Spam-Free Inbox article are:
* Never respond to spam
* Do not post your email address on websites
* Never click on links in spam messages
* Do not "unsubscribe" if it's spam
Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:15 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 05, 2007
FTP is faster than HTTP for transferring files
Here's some good information comparing FTP to HTTP for transferring files. While HTTP (ie: using a browser) is fantastic for many things, it's not a great tool for transferring large files or large quantities of files. FTP is mucho faster!
"FTP is faster than HTTP because of how it communicates. FTP uses two ports to talk (ports 20 and 21) whereas HTTP uses only one (port 80. FTP uses one port to copy the file and the other port to send “control” data between your PC and the server you’re downloading the file from. Do you see how this can be much faster than HTTP, which does all of this over one port? Make sure you download WS_FTP and check it out."
Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
March 01, 2007
Building a Web Site
Here's a nice article that provides a basic overview for creating your own web site.
Here's what you'll need to get started
* Internet Service Provider
* Server Space
* Domain Name
* HTML
* Software
The article also talks about some additional requirements you'll have if you want to sell things from your web site.
"File transfer protocol (FTP) is the most common method of transferring Web pages to the server where they'll reside... The most widely used are WS_FTP and CuteFTP for PC and Fetch for Mac."
Posted by Hugh Garber at 07:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack digg this add to del.icio.us add to My Web Furl this page
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