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SyncToy 2.0 is a free software download from Microsoft.  It is a Backup Tool and very very simple to use.  Click to Download SyncToy 2.0.  The download itself is fairly small so doesn’t take long to download on the typical Internet connection.  The installation process is again straightforward and isn’t very time consuming.  The software is extremely user friendly and couldn’t be any simpler to use.  In fact, it’s so simple my Nan who learnt to change a battery 4 years ago would be able to use it!

The key element to the software is pairing folders, e.g., folder A and folder B.  With the folder pairings you can choose one of three processes:

• Sync – Where any changes made in folder A are copied to folder B.  And any changes made in folder B are copied to folder A.
• Echo – Where changes made in folder A are copied in folder B, but any changes made in folder B won’t be copied to folder A.
• Contribute – Very similar to Echo.  Where changes made in folder A are copied in folder B, but any changes made in folder B won’t be copied to folder A.  However, you cannot delete in either folder.

SyncToy is a great little application which I am very impressed with.  Have you used it before?  What do you think of it?  Any questions?

See Also:
SyncBackSE
Backup Tools – Two Worth Looking At
Cobain Backup 9

Everyone goes on how you can do pretty much anything with a computer now days….but is that true?  Things to do is a small site from Google which aims to help you to do something new and different with your searches in Google.  For example, fancy a good read but can’t get to a book shop or library?  You can now browse through books on the Internet and read reviews etc.  You can also check the weather, learn a new skill, find cinema times, learn a new language and much more!

Google’s Things to do has some great ideas for you use up any free time you may have and make your life that little bit easier.  Have a look if you have some time to spare!

We like to be on the ‘cutting edge’ when it comes to Microsoft Software..so I think we must have been one of the first to download the Windows 7 Beta when it was made available last week!

So far we haven’t done much with it other than

• Install it on a Dell Optiplex 360 with no problems, it was very quick to install and installed all the drivers automatically so that was a nice surprise!
• Downloaded and installed AVG Trial which again works so it is good to know there will be Anti-Virus protection out there as soon as Windows 7 is released!
• Connected the machine to a Windows Home Server…again a breeze!

So there have been no problems as yet. As it is a beta I do expect them but let’s see what happens.

First Impressions are that Windows 7 is very quick. It is obviously a build on Vista but there are some nice touches that make working on a computer faster and easier   We’ll keep you posted but if you have had the chance to play with it share you findings

Cheers. Graham.

SyncBackSE is a backup tool from a company called 2BrightSparks.  The program has free for a 30 day trial and then costs £21.68 if you decide you like it and want to buy.  The download for the 30 day free trial is well worthwhile in my opinion because you get a real feel of what the product is like and a better idea of whether you think its worth purchasing the product or not.

The program is easy and quick to install, however it does become a little confusing when it comes to initially configuring profiles and getting to grips with the tools.  The tutorials, on the product website, are for version 4, which isn’t really much help if you’re using version 5 which is the latest edition.  Despite the tutorials being for version 4, they do give you a rough idea of how to perform basic tasks using the program.

The program allows you to backup, synchronize, mirror and group.  Backup means to copy your files to another area (e.g. an external hard drive, FTP server).  Synchronizing allows you to keep files in one folder the same as the files in another specified folder.  Synchronizing is ideal for transferring files from one machine to another or between a computer and a server.  Mirroring means that files from one area are copied directly to specified another area.  Finally, grouping means that you can perform various backup, synchronizing and mirroring tasks at one time.

Once you’ve got used to it, SyncBackSE is a very good program and well worth considering if you’re looking for a backup tool.  For more information visit their website.

Live Mesh is a new application from the ‘Windows Live‘ range.  Mesh enables you to connect to your devices, desktops etc from anywhere in the world.  This really is a breakthrough in technology in a market which is becoming more and more internet based.  There is just one thing which you must do to be able to use the software which is to have a free Windows Live ID.

You can synchronize information/documents you need between devices which eliminates any reliance on emails.  To do this you’d just simply have to install the Live Mesh software onto each device and then upload the information through the filling system on the application.  This therefore allows you to be able to access all the documents you add to Mesh from anywhere, assuming you have an internet connection.

You are also able to share with family, friends and colleagues by inviting them to use/view a folder in your Mesh.  In the shred folder you are able to update documents, post comments and use instant messaging between folder between members.

There is also a news feature which keeps you up to date on any changes which have been made to any of the folders which you are a member of.  This also shows you if other folder members are online or not.

There of course is a limited amount of space you can use which is just over 5GB.  5GB is plenty for a majority of users, but a few may find it too little.

What do you think of Mesh?

I have found a few clients recently having a problem with AVG updating and it says “Invalid Update Control CTF file.”

This should be fixed with the latest version of AVG reinstalled over the top, but if you don’t want to do that we stumbled across a little tool that does the job nicely, AVGMechanic and can be downloaded from StrategyOnline.

We can’t support the use of this tool, so if you are concerned about using it please contact your local IT support but we have found it works nicely. All it does is removes the AVG CTF files that are causing the problems and then you will be able to update.

PollDaddy is a free poll and survey application which can be added to websites, blogs, social networks etc.  The application seems to be flexible and easy to create polls/surveys to your specification.  You can select pre-designed skins or use your own CSS.  There are various styles of questions you can ask, varying from multiple choice to long answer questions.  PollDaddy also analyses all the information from the polls and surveys for you.

We think that this would be ideal for a small business or charity to get a quick opinion of their site connections/site visitors etc.  However, there are larger packages (which you have to pay for) which would be ideal for a larger company.  The tool has been used by a variety of well known companies, for example, FOX and PC World.

It’s worth a look!

Memeo Share is a new Video and Photo Sharing Tool from Memeo themselves.  It enables you to upload the videos and photos for free to share with friends and family all over the world.  They don’t even need to have a Memeo Account to view them!  It’s simple to use and a good way to share your experiences.  All you need to do it download the program, create a Memeo Account and then you’re ready to start sharing.

It is designed so that people, once signed up, will be able to share and download all your photos.  So if you have close family and friends abroad it is an easy way to share them so they can download them as well!  Saves emailing them all!

When we gave Memeo a try we noticed a few problematic areas.  For example, the general photo/video organisation isn’t that great on some screens, so you have to scroll each time to view the whole image.

We would personally prefer to use Google Picasa because of this but it is still a good tool and worth a look if you’re just interested in sharing!

Acrobat.com is a brand spanking new site with some breakthrough and exciting features!  Acrobat.com is from Adobe and it provides a variety of online services such as; Word Processing, PDF Converting, File Sharing, Instant Messaging, Online Conferencing, File Managing and much more!  The five main features that Acrobat.com provides are:

• Buzzword
• Share
• ConnectNow
• Create PDF
• My Files

To use the website’s services you need to Create an Acrobat Account which is completely free!  To do this just go to the Acrobat Website then select the services you would like to use then click ‘Begin’ and then select ‘Sign Up’.

Read the rest of this entry »

So we have had Firefox 3, Google Chrome and on the horizon is Internet Explorer 8! At the moment there is a beta version out which we have been playing with. We would like to remind users that beta versions are really only for designers and developers or those more competent computer users. This is because it is not a final version and there is a possibility of some stability issues!

If you think you are one of those users then take a look at the IE8 Beta download, otherwise it is best to wait for it to be properly released, but if you want to read about what is different then take a look at the office IE8 site.

We have been playing with the beta and like it very much, which means a lot considering we are BIG Firefox fans! Some pages which don’t work too well in IE7 now work properly in IE8 which is brilliant! In our eyes they have fixed the CSS layout issues, we also think it is quicker than IE7 which can’t be bad, there are a number of nice new features which we could talk about but read properly about them all here, a couple that stand out to us are the InPrivate browsing and also the SmartScreen Filter.

This is just a short post highlighting this new release of Internet Explorer so we won’t be reviewing it properly until it has been released, but well worth keeping an eye on we think!