The KUPER Report

Review: Plantronics Stereo Bluetooth Headsets

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:27:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://thekuperreport.com/

I evaluated two Bluetooth headsets from Plantronics: The Plantronics Voyager 855 Stereo Bluetooth Headset, and the Plantronics Pulsar 590A with Universal Bluetooth Adapter. Both have pros and cons, depending on your personal preferences and needs.

Neither the Voyager 855 nor the Pulsar 590A listed my current cell phone, a Samsung Juke (SCH-u470) that doubles as an mp3 player, as a compatible bluetooth phone. Samsung did not list either of these headsets as compatible. Despite those omissions by both companies, both headsets easily connected (the term used for connecting bluetooth devices is "paired") with my phone, and neither needed the indicated code to pair up.

For stereo listening, bluetooth devices must support the Bluetooth Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP). Devices that do not support the A2DP profile must use the Plantronics universal adapter to work wirelessly with these headsets. The adapter only comes with the Pulsar 590A. Also, bluetooth mobile phones with built-in MP3 must support the Bluetooth Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) for stereo listening.

Used as a cell phone headset

Voyager 855

The Voyager 855 works either as a standard mono bluetooth headset, or as a stereo bluetooth headset.

This is an in-ear headset. To use it as a standard mono headset, you can either insert the primary unit in your ear or, if you need an over-the-ear hook to hold it in place, attach the provided hook. To use it as a stereo headset, the in-ear add-on is attached to a thin cord connected to it's own over-the-ear hook. There are also three different sized earbud adapters. I've tried all three sizes and haven't quite found the right size for one of my ears that I personally find comfortable. And if I fully set the earbud in my ear to "seal out the noise", I find that I hear myself echoing in my ear when I talk, as when one simply holds their hand flat over their ear and talks. But that's just me. You may not have this experience.

To answer an incoming call, you either extend the sliding boom on the primary unit so that the mic is closer to your mouth, or tap a button. Since my phone is also an mp3 player, I was happy to find that when I answered a call it paused the music, and resumed it when the call ended. The
sound was clear on phone calls using the unit as a mono headset, and was even more so when using the unit in stereo mode (probably because I was now listening in both ears). One issue that folks at the other end of the calls mentioned was when I was outdoors in breezy or windy weather they had trouble hearing me, so I found myself cupping my hand over the mic to block the wind, which helped. I've had this issue with wired headsets in the past.

Plantronics claims up to 7 hours talk time, 6 hours stereo listening time, 160 hours standby time from a single charge. I don't make/receive a lot of calls and have mostly used the Voyager 855 to listen to music. In that mode, I estimate that the claim of 6 hours of listening time before needing
to recharge is reasonably accurate. Unfortunately, the only way to determine the battery status is either to somehow notice a blinking red (hard to do when the unit is on your ear), or else you suddenly hear a series of beeps when the battery is really low. At that point, the battery dies soon afterwards and needs to be recharged.

In addition to the items mentioned above, the Voyager 855 comes with an AC charger and a pouch to hold the headset. The Voyager 855 does not come with a USB cable to charge the unit via your pc. Such a cable is available, however, for an extra charge. In my opinion, this cable should be included with the headset.

I will address music listening, and what happens if I get a call while listening to music after a basic review of the Pulsar 590A.

Pulsar 590A

The Pulsar 590A is more than an over-the-head stereo bluetooth headset. It can also be used as a wired headset or wired headphones.

With the provided universal bluetooth adapter, it can also be used to listen wirelessly to iPods and virtually any device with a headset/headphone out jack. And if that's not enough versatility, it also comes with an in-flight cable so you can listen to the music or movie on a plane. It also comes with a desktop charging stand, an AC charger, a travel case, and a USB charging cable.

The mic on this unit is a small tube that looks like a small fuse. It seems to be a glass tube, so some care is needed. I found it a little difficult to extend it initially, but it loosened up a bit over time. Other than that, the test results were comparable to the 800, including when I answered a call it paused the music, and resumed it when the call ended. In the case of this headset, however, you need to press a button to answer a call.

Extending the tube does not engage the phone-answer action.

For the Pulsar 590A, Plantronics claims up to 12 hours talk time, 10 hours stereo listening time, 130 hours standby time from a single charge.

Listening to music

The main reason I was interested in stereo bluetooth headsets was to listen to music on the mp3 player part of my cell phone. Headsets are not stereo systems, and mp3 files are not the same as full-fledged audio recordings intended for play on a real stereo system, and so such comparisons would be unfair. Comparisons to a high-quality headphone connected by wire to such a stereo system would also be an unfair comparison to wireless listening. So the only reasonable comparison for most listeners would be to compare the sound to an iPod and it's provided earphones. Both the Voyager 855 and the Pulsar 590A provided comparable sound quality to iPod earphones, and also to the wired headset that came with the cell phone. The Voyager 855 sounds best when inserted in the ear in a manner that blocks out outside sound.

As mentioned earlier, though, the Pulsar 590A comes with some extra tricks. One is the ability to use it as a standard wired headphone. The provided cable comes with a 3.5mm plug - the size used on iPods and personal computers and such. With a separately purchased stereo phono-plug adapter from such stores as Radio Shack or amazon, it can also be used as a wired headphone on a real stereo system. I did connect it this way, and although it did not measure up to my high-end headphones, it provided very nice sound. I then tried out the Universal Bluetooth Adapter, attached to my stereo system. It was quite a treat to be able to walk around without wires and listen to my stereo, and the sound was very nice. I was able to set up my stereo to play both through the systems speakers and through the headphone jack that the adapter was connected to (via my 3.5mm to phono plug adapter) and discovered that there is a delay in getting the signal to the headset. It was like being in a stadium where the announcers voice echoes. I also connected the Universal Bluetooth Adapter to an iPod and enjoyed wireless listening that way too. I was also able to pair the Voyager 855 headset to the Universal Bluetooth Adapter.

Other features

With both headsets you can raise and lower volume. I was able to skip forward and back on the tracks on my mp3 phone and mute and pause with both headsets. I have not been on a plane in while, so I was unable to test the in-flight option with the Pulsar 590A.

In conclusion

All in all, I was impressed with both headsets. They both met my needs for stereo listening and making/receiving phone calls on my cell phone/mp3 player. The Pulsar 590A had many more options.

The Plantronics Voyager 855 Stereo Bluetooth Headset is an in-ear headset, and can be used either as a mono headset or a stereo headset.

The Pulsar 590A with Universal Bluetooth Adapter, is a stereo over-the-head headset.

The Voyager 855 lists for $149.95, while the Pulsar 590A lists for $249.95. Each can be found for about half those amounts at places like amazon.

More information about these and other Plantronics headsets can be found at the Plantronics website, http://plantronics.com.

Review: NXPowerLite Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:51:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://thekuperreport.com/

Back in July 2006 I reviewed a product called NXPowerLite, the file compression software developed by British company Neuxpower Solutions Ltd., that did some serious shrinking of powerpoint files. The product has expanded its capabilities since then and can now compress Word and Excel files as well.

Back in 2006 I reported that NXPowerLite was able to shrink some of my PowerPoint files by up to 77%. I went back and used a more recent version of NXPowerLite and got similar results to those reported in my previous review. Now that the product also shrinks Word and Excel files, I went in search of some large files. I don't use Excel much these days, and so I didn't have any files that needed shrinking. I did, however, have a few Word files I could try, and I did. In some cases I got minimal shrinkage, but with one very large file (16.3MB) containing lots of text and embedded graphics and documents, NXPowerLite reduced it to 5.1MB, or to less than 1/3 of its original size using "normal" compression, and it shrank it down to 4.5MB with "extra compression." Amazing.

Even more amazing, the price is still only $45 for a single copy, and less if you get multiple copies. It is also available in a server edition.

NXPowerLite even received NATO accreditation after being successfully deployed by Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) for a demanding military campaign in Afghanistan.

Are you looking for a product that will enable you to carry around many more of your files on your usb drive? Perhaps you need to shrink that file so you can send it in an email? Maybe you need more space on your hard drive and wish you could just shrink some of your larger PowerPoint, Word, or Excel files. If you need to shrink your files for any reason at all,
NXPowerLite is the product for you.

Safe Computing Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:11:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

********************************************************
NOTE:
This article was originally posted August 8, 2007 but is still relevant,
and so we are reposting it now.
********************************************************

If someone is truly determined to hack into your computer or your emails and they have the tools and knowhow, then they will probably succeed. But you can make it harder for them to do so. Unless it is the government. On Monday, President George W. Bush signed into law an expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), giving government expanded rights to intercept phone calls and e-mails without warrants.

You can protect your computer by installing a suite of protection products. One such product, Grisoft's AVG Internet Security Suite has previously been reviewed. (See the original review here and the follow-up here.)

Such suites provide protection from spyware and viruses and a variety of other malware. That would be an excellent first step. And of course be sure to keep it up to date and proactive.

Be very careful what emails you choose to open, and set your email to hide graphics by default. If you are confident that a particular email is from a trusted source, you can always activate the graphics for that individual email as you are viewing it. Turning off graphics in email is a simple way to prevent a lot of the newer means of introducing malware to your computer that just might start capturing everything you do, including all your passwords.

Be very careful about clicking on links, especially in emails that look like they came from your financial institution. The safest way to deal with your financial institution online is to not click on links in emails, but instead go to their website by entering their web address directly into your browser. Otherwise you may end up at a very good copy that looks like your financial institution's website but is instead a rogue site that will collect all the information you type and then will use it to potentially steal your identity, or at least order lots of stuff in your name billed to you but shipped somewhere else.

When connecting to the internet, never do so from a computer id that has administrative rights except when absolutely necessary (e.g., to download and install new software that you purchase online from a reputable source). Being connected to the internet with administrative rights is akin to leaving your front door open while you are not at home and expecting no one will walk in andpotentially walk out with many of your valuables.

When creating passwords, try to use a combination of letters and numbers, and the longer the password the better. Of course, don't write it down and leave it by the computer or where someone could find it.

And if you really want secure communication in email, you need to be sending encrypted email. That's not as easy as all of the other suggestions above. It requires a means for encrypting by the sender and decrypting by the receiver, and the encryption/decryption codes can only be known by just those parties for it to truly be of value.

Does your cell phone have internet access? Then it can be hacked just as easily as your desktop or notebook computer.

One more thing. It does not matter what brand computer or cell phone you have. All are vulnerable.

Fraud Alert: Woman Gets Two Years for Aiding Nigerian Internet Check Scam

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:02:00 +0000

As hopefully all readers of this newsletter know, emails asking for help to cash checks are scams. Sadly, there are still a lot of folks out there who fall for these things every day. According to this article, at least one person in the United States was assisting in the Nigerian scam, and has been tried and convicted.

Please don't be taken in by such scams, and please pass this note along to all your friends, relatives, and business associates to remind them not to fall for them either.

Richard L. Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Privacy & Security Watch: Diebold Summer Sale Offers Used Voting Machines

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:02:00 +0000

This also gets categorized under: "Who wants to steal the election?"

According to this article, Premier Election Solutions, formerly known as Diebold, makers of those easily hackable electronic voting machines, (just do an internet search on "hackable Diebold" if you doubt that statement), is "selling off everything from used touch-screen voting machines ($600/each) to ballot boxes ($1,000/each), voter and poll supervisor smart cards that are used to initiate voting on machines on election day ($2.00/each), and tamper-evident security seals ($0.15/each) that are supposed to protect machines from intruders."

Richard L. Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Privacy & Security Watch: TJX Fires Employee for Disclosing Security Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:40:00 +0000

As readers of this newletter know, TJX, the parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods stores, had a serious security breach over a long period of time. (See http://www.TheKuperReport.com/2007/03/stolen-data-from-tjx-tj-maxx-marshalls.html
and subsequent articles on this subject). Well, it seems they still haven't learned from their mistakes. According to this article, a young employee in a Lawrence, KS T.J. Maxx store tried, but failed to convince management that running their server in administrator mode and giving everyone id's with blank passwords was a very bad and insecure thing to do. So he anonymously posted about this lack of security to an online forum. TJX found out it was him and they fired him. No word on whether they address this serious security breach.

Richard L. Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Are you watching Digital TV but listening in monophonic?

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:27:00 +0000

The government has decided that your analog TV won't work after February 17, 2009:

"At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting."

That leaves you with the following choices:

-Get a Digital TV Converter Box (least expensive option) so you can continue using your existing TV

-Get connected to your local Cable service provider or Satellite TV provider.

-Buy a new digital TV (a whole other set of choices).

If you only care about "regular" TV and not about any of the many other stations on Cable or Satellite, or if your finances are such that such extravagances are not an option, then your only choice is to get a Digital TV Converter Box.

To help, the government is providing you the opportunity to get a $40 credit toward the purchase of a Digital TV Converter Box. This may explain why these boxes, in this author's opinion, cost more than they should. Be aware that the credit is only good on a select number of such boxes, and there are differences between the boxes. To learn more about the rebate and the boxes they can be used with, go to the official government website: https://www.dtv2009.gov/ . For information about how consumers feel about some of the available boxes and to find out which ones might be available at your local electronics store (you can only use the coupon in a physical store, not online), you can use some of the search tools available at http://thisismystore.com/.

Here's what you need to know once you've gotten the box:

If your TV does not have any option except to connect the cable wire where an antenna would otherwise be connected, you are out of luck. No stereo for you. Just connect the antenna to the box, and an RF cable (sometimes included) from the converter box to where your antenna was connected. Then tune to channel 3 or 4 and use the remote that came with your converter box to change the channels.

If you have a stereo TV, your TV needs to have stereo RCA jacks for stereo sound to be fed to it. So to get stereo sound from your box, you need to connect the line-out jacks marked L and R (usually color coded red and white) to the line-in jacks marked L and R on your TV. But wait -- that only gets you sound. If you want a picture, you need to connect the yellow video-out to the matching yellow video-in on your TV.

Now when you turn on your TV, don't panic when there is either static or no picture or sound. That's because your input source is now Line 1 or Video 1 or some such similar choice. You are not using the TV tuner, so you are not watching through channel 3 or 4 (depending on where you live). And, you will probably notice (if you previously were connected as described for mono TVs above), that you have an even better looking picture, and now have stereo sound. Also make sure that your converter box is set for stereo (some have that as a menu choice).

What if you want to include your VCR/DVR or other video-recording device in the loop? You would follow similar instructions for setting everything up for stereo, except that you would, in essence, be doing the same thing twice. First replace the term TV with VCR/DVR in the instructions above for connecting up the cables from the converter box. Then, pretend the VCR/DVR is the converter box and follow the instructions again. And as in the direct from converter box to TV above, you will need to remember that you are now watching through Line 1 or Video 1 or whatever it is called on your TV. Note that if you connect a VCR/DVR or other recording device in the loop, you may need to first on that recording device.

Also, you probably need to turn up the volume on your TV and on the converter box, and adjust both until you find a combination that sounds right. If your TV volume is too low, you may find that sound is not great. This is probably not the fault of the box, so adjust the TV volume accordingly.

And finally, you will now also need to remember to turn on the converter box and then turn on the TV in order to watch TV. Get in the habit, because after February 17, 2009, your analog TV alone will no longer be receiving any signals from the TV stations.

[You may want to share this article with your friends and family, who may not know that they are probably watching TV and recording programs in glorious monophonic if they didn't set things up properly or are watching through channel 3 or 4.]

Richard L. Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Updated: Privacy & Security Watch: Beware of fake emails appearing to be from the IRS

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

(Originally posted April 23, 2008)

I received the following email today. Beware! It is a fake!

===

From: "Internal Revenue Service"
(the associated email address was: easytref [at] tax.ref.co.us)

Subject: Tax return (Message ID IRS-9438-2825)

A Secure Way to Receive Your Tax Return

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have
determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $620.50.
Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-9 days in order
to process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons.

For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click here

Note: For security reasons, we will record your ip-address, the date
and time. Deliberate wrong inputs are criminally pursued and indicated.

Regards,

Internal Revenue Service

Copyright 2008, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved.

===

Also note that the link (not included here) seems to point to a website for a boy scout troop in Virginia!

UPDATE:
Due to the hacking of that boy scout website, the ISP shut the site down.
Also, there are other scam emails out there regarding the Stimulus Rebate checks being sent out, also appearing to be from the IRS.

If you get any such scam emails, the best way to help the IRS track down the perpetrators is to first, if your email program has the option, choose "show all headers" or something similar. Then forward the email to the following address (and substitute the "[at]" with "@"):
phishing[at]irs.gov

Review: D-Link Powerline HD Network Starter Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:46:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

As you might have surmised by the name of this product, it uses your electric power line. This kit comes with two DHP-300 Ethernet Adapter devices, two ethernet cables, a quick install guide, and, of course, a CD. Additional DHP-300 Ethernet Adapters can be purchased separately.

Setup is very simple. Follow the provided instructions (not my summary here) for the correct order of steps and specifics.

My goal was to be able to connect a notebook PC to the internet at the same speed as the desktop pc in a different room. I plugged one of the units into an outlet and connected it via a provided ethernet cable to my router. I plugged the other one into the outlet in the room near where I wanted to connect the notebook PC. I followed the onscreen instructions in the order instructed, including encryption information. Once I was done, I connected the other provided ethernet cable to the unit in the other room and connected it to the notebook pc. Within moments I was online and surfing away at the same speed as on the desktop pc via my cable modem.

You can also use the kit to set up a small network, or buy extra adapters to connect additional devices. According to the box, you can use the Powerline HD to "stream HD video and enjoy intense online gaming". And according to the website, "D-Link’s Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter is ideal for connecting an Ethernet-enabled digital media device such as a Tivo® or Slingbox™ to your network and the Internet."

Some things to note:

First, the ethernet adapters get very, very hot and stay that way, so be careful.

Second, for this to work, all the electric outlets in question need to be on the same self-contained grid. For most, this will not be an issue. However, if, for example, your had your home or office wired in such a way that the computer and such are on their own grid so that they are not affected by power issues in the rest of the office or home, then this won't work unless you run an extension cord or otherwise provide connection to that other grid so that the units are on the same grid.

If the caveats above are not an issue for you, and you want faster speed than wireless and a quick and easy way to set up a network or expand the number of pc's that can connect to the internet, then look into the D-Link Powerline Network Starter Kit.

Privacy & Security Watch: Beware of fake emails appearing to be from a financial institution

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:20:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Your money and your identity are precious to you. You money and identity are also of great value to thieves. It is important to be extra vigilant, especially in emails and on the Internet, to protect both.

At the link below, you will find an example of one such real-looking communication, but it could just as easily have been set up to look like it was from whatever bank or financial institution you do business with.

Please note that in order ensure you that you are actually going to the real HSBC website indicated below (they provided this to warn their customers about this particular scam), I have not encoded the link. Please copy it and open a *new* web browser (or new tab), and paste it into your web address bar, and press ENTER. (If you do it on the same page that you are viewing this newsletter on you will need to hit the BACK button on your browser to get back here to read the rest of this article.)

Copy and paste this link to a new web page or new tab:
https://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/inside/securitysite/alerts/alert-1

As you saw if you followed the above instructions, someone was very creative and sophisticated. It looks real.

Remember that just because the text looks legitimate, if it is a live link that you can just click on, you need to verify that where the link is going is where the link claims to be going. I'll provide an example:

Click on the below link (which looks just like the link above):
https://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/inside/securitysite/alerts/alert-1

Other than the fact that the above is a link you can click on (try it - it will open in a new window), you cannot tell by looking at it that it will actually go somewhere else. And if I had created a fake HSBC-looking web page and pointed the link there, you might not have noticed at all because the resulting page would have looked just like an HSBC page (instead of taking you to ThisIsMyStore.com).

Now, move your mouse over the above link and right-click. You will get a list of options, one of which is "properties". Now click on "properties" and you will see that the link will actually take you to http://ThisIsMyStore.com and not to the secure HSBC page. This is an easy way to check where a link may actually be taking you. But note that the link displayed might still look kind-of legitimate, so it is always safest to go directly to your financial institution's website by entering the proper web address yourself.

Privacy and Security Watch: Backup Tape Missing With Personal information On About 650,000 Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:17:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

According to this article, "Personal information on about 650,000 customers of J.C. Penney and up to 100 other retailers could be compromised after a computer tape went missing." About 150,000 of those missing records contained social security numbers. GE Money, part of General Electric Capital Corp., is the credit card operations for Penney's and the other retailers. They apparently discovered the tape was missing last October. There is no explanation in the article why this is first coming to light now. The tape was being stored at a warehouse run by Iron Mountain Inc.

Review: magicJack

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:51:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Are you looking for a way to reduce your phone bill to practically zero? Do you have a windows pc, running Windows XP or Vista (Mac version promised soon). Then you may wish to check out magicJack.

How it works
Basically, you need to have your pc on and you need to be logged in. Then you take magicJack, which looks like an oversized thumb drive with an exposed circuit board, and plug it into an available USB port. If you wish or need to, it comes with a USB extension cord if it's too crowded to plug the device in without it. But do be sure to plug it directly to a USB port and not to a USB extension port.

Then just wait for a minute or two, and answer any prompts you may get along the way, such as what area code you want and where you live (for 911). Then you are pretty much ready to start making calls for free to anywhere in the US and Canada. You can either plug a regular land-line phone into the magicJack, or else use a computer-connected headset. You will need to go into the menu and change the default to use the headset. Then you are ready to make calls. I was even able to use it to send a fax from a standard fax machine plugged into magicJack, but that option is not officially supported.

Want to call folks outside the US and Canada. Just have them get a magicJack and they will get a US-based phone number and then you can call each other for free.

It even works on PCs with USB 1.1 (it's just slower to set up and start up).

And you can take it with you and plug it into any pc and you will have the same phone number wherever you are. And your email will get notified that you have voice messages, and you can even listen to them online.

Some caveats
The instructions say not to have a cd or dvd playing when you plug in/set up magicJack. I also discovered that my backup program needed to be disabled during magicJack startup.

It works best if you are physically connected to the internet, by cable modem, or DSL, or T1 or such. I encountered some drops when I tried using it on a notebook connected wirelessly to the internet. Your experience may be better.

The product is still listed as being in beta.

And, of course, you need your pc to be on in order to use it.

Is it really free?
Well, almost. It costs around $40 to get one. That gets you one full year of use. After that, its about $20 a year. Yes, those are yearly figures, not monthly.

One last caveat
For security and backup, one should also maintain a real land-line phone number and standard phone that does not require electricity to operate. When there is a power outage, the computer won't work, and so neither would any internet phone from your cable company or magicJack.

Recommended
You can't beat the price, the sound quality is terrific, and it is really simple to use.

For more information and to order, go to http://magicJack.com

eBook Review: "How To Keep Your Boss From Sinking Your Project"

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:17:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Don't let the title of this eBook by Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene scare you off if you think you have a great boss. Perhaps a more accurate title for this would have been the title of the first chapter: "Why Do Projects Fail?" The authors succintly get to the heart of the matter about why projects fail and what you can do to help reduce the chances of project failure and to help prevent your boss from being part of the problem. The chapter titles tell you what you will learn:

* Why do Project Fail?
* Set Expectations Early and Keep Them Up to Date
* Make an Informed Selection of a Software Process
* Keep Your Manager Involved with the Project
* Make Intelligent Course Corrections
* Alter Your Tactics, but Stay True to Your Strategy

The authors seem to target programmers as the intended audience, but in this writer's opinion this is a handy guide for all members of a project team.

I had the honor of meeting the authors recently when they presented essentially this material at a meeting of the New York City Software Process Improvement Network. They gave an interesting and lively presentation and there was some good back and forth discussion about process and project management. If you missed that event, or even if you attended it, this eBook makes a nice supplement. I recommend it for anyone involved in a project.

You can purchase it directly from the publisher's (O'Reilly) website for only $7.99.

Privacy and Security Watch: Are you giving away your personal or corporate data to thieves?

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:46:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

I came across a couple of articles that continue to bring home the fact that many companies and individuals still do not have a handle on ensuring the privacy and security of data:

What's on your hard drive?

When businesses or individuals discard old computers, apparently many are not ensuring that personal or business data has been securely removed first. According to this article, from a sample of 350 hard drives acquired in online auctions, details about salary, company financial data, medical data, credit card numbers, visa applications, details of online purchases, and even online pornography were found.

There are many tools available today for corporate and individual use that can shred the data on your hard drives and other storage devices. They are not very expensive, especially for individual use. Simply reformatting the hard drive, for example, will not wipe the data from it.

Do you or your employees connect to a file-sharing network?

If you connect your computer to a file-sharing network, such as BearShare or LimeWire or the like, you are opening up your computer to anyone who cares to search it and copy stuff from it. According to this article, "Three spreadsheets containing more than 5,000 Social Security numbers and other personal details about customers of ABN Amro Mortgage Group were inadvertently leaked over an online file-sharing network by a former employee." In this case, the computer had the BearShare software installed.

A common search, by those seeking something other than a song, is to search on terms like "password" to find data on connected computers that will net usable information for identity theft and other crimes. In addition, it would seem that most users of file-sharing networks do not take the appropriate steps to limit what can be searched on their computer. Any time you allow your computer to be accessed by others whom you do not know and therefore have no known level of trust, you are looking for trouble.

Regarding the leaked spreadsheet with over 5,000 Social Security numbers and other personal customer details, according to a spokesperson for ABN parent company Citigroup Inc.: "Citi's information-security standards require that confidential information be stored on Citi-managed devices." In the case of the spreadsheet, it would seem the employee had it on his home pc.

SpeechTEK 2007: August 21-23 in NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:12:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Most major companies, and many small to mid-sized companies are using speech technology in many different ways. Are you using speech technology in your business? Should you be? And if you are, are you using it properly and effectively? Find out by attending SpeechTEK 2007 August 21-23 in NYC. Registration is also available the evening of August 20.

Who should attend?
* C-Level Executives
* Enterprise IT Decision Makers
* Telecom IT Decision Makers
* Customer Service Managers
* Call Center Professionals
* Speech Programmers/Developers
* Marketing Executives
* Voice User interface Designers
* Consumer Electronics Designers
* Internet Services Strategists
* Anyone Wishing to Learn More About Speech Technologies

More information can be found at http://SpeechTEK.com

Is the iPhone hype leaving out some important details?

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:30:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

I've been randomly monitoring several different groups, some containing absolute early adopters, others containing a wider cross-section of business-minded folks. The early adopters love it, but still have some gripes, similar to those expressed by the major technology columnists in the print media. Others already have some issues. I am on a different cell network and am also no longer an early hardware adopter, having spent big bucks for things that either were replaced within a short period of time or disappeared entirely from the marketplace.

In any event, the most interesting detail I've learned so far is that, like the iPod, the battery in the iPhone is not consumer replaceable. You cannot get a spare battery or change it yourself. If the battery needs replacing, you need to send the iPhone to Apple for a replacement, leaving you without a phone/pda for an unknown period of time, unless you opt to rent one in the meantime or, perhaps in time, pay extra for some kind of coverage that will provide a loaner phone in the interim.

As far as I know, with iPods, you don't get back the same one you sent in, you get a refurbished replacement. I wonder if that will be the same model for the iPhone. I suspect that will cause some issues for folks who will first need to remember to back up everything on their iPhone before the battery dies, such as phone numbers and music and any customized preferences and whatever else they've chosen to store on it, and then when the replacement arrives reverse the process before being able to use the iPhone in the manner to which they have become accustomed.

It also seems that, except for the cool looking interface, most of the touted features are already available on other similar devices, and the software choices for other pda-type devices are extensive, while there are few or none for the iPhone.

I think I'll wait and see what the competition comes up with. And, hopefully, they won't follow the Apple model and make phones with non-replaceable batteries and then charge a small fortune for the phone and the battery replacement and leave you without a phone in the meantime.

Addendum:
The other unknown at the moment, if indeed you would get back a different iPhone than the one you sent in for a battery replacement, is what happens to the iPhone you send in for replacement and all of your data that is on it?

Update: AVG Internet Security Suite

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:43:00 +0000

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

In case you missed the earlier review of Grisoft's AVG Internet Security Suite, you can read it here.

Nowadays, many product vendors give you only one choice in purchasing their product: download it from their website. Well, that creates several issues. First, you must dedicate time and space for downloading the files that will then be used to actually install the product. If you want the install files to also be available on CD, in case your hard drive dies or the computer one day decides not to work anymore, then you need to create this CD yourself. This can be very time consuming and inconvenient, and for the less sophisticated user, something they just cannot do or are afraid to do. So when a company also is willing to continue to make their products available on CD for purchase, I applaud them and encourage them to continue to provide the choice.

Grisoft has released a retail version of the AVG Internet Security Suite on CD. Note, however, that the CD is the only item in the box. The only printed instructions (which are pasted onto the CD sleeve), are to insert the disk into the computer, and what to do if the disk does not automatically start. There is no printed user manual or quick reference guide. My recommendation to all vendors is to at least include a printed quick reference guide of the most common tasks one might perform using their product.

So if you want to get this recommended product that will help keep your computer protected from the various forms of malware out there (spam, viruses, spyware, etc.), you can purchase it either on a CD or you can download it directly. Just click on any of the Grisoft links in this article for the downloadable version or an occasional special deal that will include a CD. Otherwise, you can find the CD version at many retailers, such as some of the stores found at ThisIsMyStore.com.

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:58:00 +0000

Seminar: There Is More To Search Than Google!

Find What You Are Looking for

Presented by: Richard L. Kuper

Overview:

* If you think you are finding everything there is to find using only one search tool, guess again.

* There are many different ways to search for things online, be it for research, for business, for personal needs, or whatever.

* Whether you are a novice internet user or a more experienced internet user, you will likely learn something that you did not know before.

Testimonials:

* "Presentation was lively and informative. Terrific for the novice and experienced as well."

* "I learned about many different ways to search and the strengths and limitations of Google and other search tools."

* "The best part for me was learning about more appropriate starting points for searches on specialized subjects."

Privacy and Security Watch: IBM loses tapes with personal information on current and former employees

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Wed, 16 May 2007 04:45:00 +0000

It seems even the great IBM can be affected by such problems as losing tapes containing social security numbers and other personal information on employees and retirees, along with records of customer transactions.

According to this article, "An outside vendor was transporting the tapes from one IBM facility to another on Feb. 23 when the tapes fell out of a contractor's vehicle in Westchester County, N.Y., not far from IBM headquarters in Armonk. IBM representatives went to the scene and couldn't find the tapes."

For some reason, only some of the missing tapes were encrypted.

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Home Entertainment Show May 11-13, 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 12 May 2007 00:15:00 +0000

The 2007 Home Entertainment Show is currently (through May 13) at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in NYC. Although it is called the "Home Entertainment" show, it would be more accurate to call it the "High End Audio Show With A Few Video Choices." The majority of products being demonstrated are not targeted to today's average consumer, whose modern-day audio/video system is comprised of compressed audio and video files,watched and listened to on a computer with computer speakers and maybe a sub-woofer.

Although some of the audio demonstrations were pleasing to the ear and in some cases more than pleasing, I had to quickly walk out of many of the rooms I walked into because the sound was so offensive. Many of the manufacturers and demonstrators apparently feel that they must play whatever they are demonstrating very loudly, and by doing so often present distorted sound that hurts the ears.

My recommendation to the manufacturers and demonstrators is to turn down the volume a bit, and try not to choose music choices that do a poor job of showing off your systems.

My recommendation to the show organizers is to rename the show to more accurately represent what is being presented. The products were, primarily, high end audio, not what most average consumers would consider purchasing when creating a home entertainment system. I would guess that the average consumer, when upgrading to a high definition TV for example, would either listen through the speakers provided with the TV, or, perhaps, simply buy whatever the store salesperson convinced them to buy to create surround sound. And for most, that would be just fine, because they either really can't hear the difference, or don't really care. That is not the audience this show is targeted to. There were, however, a few systems that were tied in with Windows Vista, for those who truly want to marry technology with high-end sound and video. And there was a product that you could connect to the internet that could broadcast internet radio to your stereo system - but the price tag was several times the cost of an average personal computer.

So if you are into high-end audio, or want to see what high-end is all about, then check out the show. More information can be found here.

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Privacy and Security Watch: University of Missouri Hacked For Second Time This Year

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Thu, 10 May 2007 22:50:00 +0000

According to this article, The University of Missouri has been hacked for the second time this year. The hacker gained access to the social security numbers of over 22,000 students and alumni through a Web page that was used "to make queries about the status of trouble reports to the university's computer help desk."

Back in January, there was a similar breach. In that case, "a hacker obtained the Social Security numbers of 1,220 university researchers, as well as personal passwords of as many as 2,500 people who used an online grant application system."

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Court Permits Search of Personal Computer in Workplace

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Wed, 09 May 2007 18:30:00 +0000

According to this article at findlaw.com, "a federal court has just held that an employee did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the personal computer he brought to work." It seems that because this employee and a co-worker otherwise had to share a common personal computer, this employee decided to bring in his own computer and connect it to his employer's system. The employer, in this case, was a city government. The employee made no effort to protect any information on his personal computer and left it on and in a public space -- even when he was not at his desk. This failure to password or otherwise protect and guard the personal information on his personal computer eventually led to the discovery of child pornography on his personal computer. That eventually led to the appellate court case that resulted in this decision.

As the article concludes, "if you want to maintain your privacy rights under the Constitution, you yourself must keep your private matters private."

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Transportation Security Administration, a division of Homeland Security, loses hard drive with personal data on 100,000

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Sat, 05 May 2007 04:50:00 +0000

According to an Associated Press report, "the Transportation Security Administration has lost a computer hard drive containing Social Security numbers, bank data and payroll information for about 100,000 employees."

The privacy and security of personal information is clearly not being addressed by government agencies, as previously reported in The Kuper Report and in various news reports over the years. This breach by a division of the Homeland Security Department is just the latest reported problem. As the Congress perhaps begins to address this problem in the private sector, it needs to also address this problem in the public sector. However, unless there are severe consequences for breaching the privacy, this problem will not end.

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

There's More To Search Than Google!

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Tue, 01 May 2007 18:33:00 +0000

* Do you only use one search tool (e.g., Google) when searching the web?

* Do you have difficulty finding what you are looking for whenever you do a search on the internet?

Then you'll want to attend this presentation for ideas and tips on how to find what you are looking for.

* Limited Seating *

** Door Prize **

More information and registration:

http://FindItSeminar.com

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com

Review: MSGTAG Status - Version 2

noreply@blogger.com (Editor) — Tue, 01 May 2007 18:10:00 +0000

When you send a letter via regular mail, you never really know if the recipient has received it. If you want to know, you add a return receipt, and the post office notifies you that the letter has been delivered. It's a pretty dependable system, with only an occasional glitch, but it requires the recipient to acknowledge receipt.

Most email products (except for most online email services) provide a return receipt request feature. Unlike postal mail return receipts, email return receipts can be ignored.

MSGTAG (http://msgtag.com) has created a service that it claims will notify the sender of the following:

* The message that has been received;
* The time that it was received;
* The time it was sent;
* The time elapsed between sending and receiving.

The recipient has no action to take, and won't even know that you are tracking that they have received it.

The website says the product will work with almost any email program, including Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Pegasus, Netscape Mail and Incredimail. I do not use any of those. I use Mozilla Thunderbird for outgoing email. It took a little doing and guesswork, but I was able to get it to work.

You cannot use this product to track emails sent from any online email product, such as yahoo mail or hotmail or gmail. As stated on the MSGTAG website: "You need to be using an SMTP mail server, which almost every home computer uses." Also, MSGTAG will not work with an MS Exchange mail server.

Here, basically, are my findings:

MSGTAG will only report that an email has been received if the recipient is using an email client set to receive HTML mail. If the recipient has their email set to only accept text emails (the more secure option), or if they use text-only email clients, including some PDAs and mobile phones, then you will not receive any notice that the email has been received. It seems, however, that a significant number of computer users use HTML-rendering email clients and MSGTAG works for these recipients. The important note here, though, is that you cannot make the assumption that if you do not get a receipt, the email was not received.

There are three flavors of MSGTAG. The version tested is the full-featured version for $59.99, which includes:
* A handy dashboard for tracking receipts
* The ability to customize how the product tracks email receipts
* The ability to flag specific emails or domains to ignore if you send group mail and don't need all those receipts
* The ability to customize email footers
* An option to have recipients who are set up to receive text messages to have to acknowledge receipt - like the existing option in most emails.

There is a less featured version for $19.99 and there is also a free version that will send you an email every time a tagged message has been opened (subject to the limitations I described above).

Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com