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The SchorrTech Blog -- thoughts and ideas on Science and Technology from technologist Ben M. Schorr of Roland Schorr & Tower.

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March 2004 - Posts

Only as Strong as the Weakest Link
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 11:33 PM

The Register Reports...Eight-four per cent of organisations quizzed in a survey out today blamed human error "either wholly or in part" for their last major security breach. Last year, human error was cited as the cause of 63 per cent of security breaches.

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

The Power of Tablet PCs in Education
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 8:04 PM

I'm really impressed by this story about a college in MA that is using Tablet PCs in the classroom to replace the old chalkboard role. Especially impressive is the example of the professor who is lecturing on the European Union and uses the Tablet

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

A Clever New Virus Threat
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 7:52 PM

eWeek is reporting that the virus writers are getting even more creative. Now, instead of sending the infections in as attachments to e-mail, they're sending in a blank e-mail that contains HTML object tags. When the message is opened

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

The Challenges of Knowledge Sharing
Tuesday, March 30, 2004 11:43 PM

InfoWorld Reports:Building group memory and team awareness has always been the goal of KM (knowledge management), of course. “But most people,” Nuzum says, “have never had the benefit of mechanized institutional memory.” One reason for this limitation

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Blocking Files at the Gateway
Tuesday, March 30, 2004 8:54 PM

Looking for a list of dangerous file extensions that you should have blocked at your mail gateway? See Martin Blackstone's List of Danger.I firmly believe that if every e-mail administrator blocked all of the extensions on this list that the virus/worm

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Finally, a spammer gets what he deserves...
Tuesday, March 30, 2004 5:35 PM

CBS News Reports(AP) Finally, some payback for all that spam: It's a 2002 Porsche Boxster S that will be the grand prize in an America Online sweepstakes launching Tuesday. AOL obtained the car in settling a lawsuit against "a guy who by our estimates

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Change the Default SaveTo location for Outlook and Office applications
Tuesday, March 30, 2004 4:21 PM

One of the frequently asked questions is "how can I change which directory appears by default when I do a Save As?"The best answer is to use TweakUI which is available for Download from Microsoft. Be sure to get the version appropriate for your

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Meet the New Worm, Same as the Old Worm...
Tuesday, March 30, 2004 1:33 AM

InfoWorld Reports:A new version of the Netsky e-mail worm is programmed to launch a distributed denial of service attack on peer-to-peer (P-to-P) networks, contains a message blaming users for spreading viruses and says that Netsky's authors want to stop

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Get More Power Out of Outlook Reminders
Sunday, March 28, 2004 6:16 AM

Cool Tool DepartmentIf you're an Outlook user you may have discovered that natively reminders only work out of the primary folders - not from subfolders. Now there is a way to extend your reminder capability to any subfolder (or public folder!)

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

MSN Blogbot
Saturday, March 27, 2004 12:18 AM

From InfoWorld.ComMicrosoft is claiming a first with MSN Blogbot, a service that will let users search Web logs, or "blogs," personal-journal type Web pages that have become increasingly popular. Many consumers even use blogs as a news source, according

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Law & Order: Honolulu
Friday, March 26, 2004 11:57 PM

Oliver Rist has a sad tale of getting his notebook computer ripped off here in Honolulu. So a relatively clean T40p notebook was sitting on the desk waiting for shipment back to Big Blue Land the following morning. The new, fully loaded T41 went with

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

More SOA information
Friday, March 26, 2004 11:28 PM

The Boot Sector blog had a post about SOA today, so I thought I'd bring this post over from my old blog; in case there is an audience here looking for more SOA information.SOA - ComputerworldInteresting primer on Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) from

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Tiny Drones - A Different Kind of Technology
Friday, March 26, 2004 8:25 PM

I mostly focus on office technology here but here's a story I found very interesting and thought I'd share. The Israelis, long pioneers in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have developed a small reconnaissance drone that weighs just

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Memo to Steve Ballmer
Friday, March 26, 2004 5:57 PM

Steve Gillmor suggests that Microsoft take RSS more seriously. His suggestion that OneNote be extended to produce RSS content sounds like an excellent one to me. You never know when blog is going to happen and being able to create a blog entry

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Another Day, Another Worm
Friday, March 26, 2004 4:32 PM

Where's the cream cheese? Infoworld is reporting that Bagle.U is on the loose today. Same story: e-mails with an infected attachment. As usual don't open attachments you weren't expecting and keep your anti-virus signatures up to date.-B

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Voice Recognition for Pocket PCs.
Friday, March 26, 2004 9:31 AM

The Life of One blog has an interesting post on voice recognition for Pocket PCs.That's a very interesting way to interact with your PDA, especially for people who never got completely comfortable with the stylus or who have to use their Pocket PC in

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Securing the mobile enterprise
Friday, March 26, 2004 9:24 AM

According to IT-Director.com:A recent survey by security vendor PointSec of business users of mobile devices indicated that most users store their PIN numbers and passwords directly on the device, and most also use them to connect to the corporate network.This

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

USF's FlashMob Supercomputer
Friday, March 26, 2004 2:47 AM

Good day for eWeek. Now they're running this story about USF's FlashMob Supercomputer project. It's a neat idea and perhaps the logical next step is to take the client that runs off that CD, make a Windows service out of it and let companies

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Through the Looking Glass
Friday, March 26, 2004 12:27 AM

Who says Sun isn't doing some cool things? Their 3D Looking Glass interface which is Java-based and apparently in development looks very neat. Follow the link above for online demo of what Looking Glass looks like.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Meet the New Worm, Same as the Old Worm
Thursday, March 25, 2004 11:50 PM

eWeek is running a story about two new worms rolling across the Internet. Same stuff, e-mail messages with infected attachments. I don't know why idiots insist upon opening these attachments. Maybe we need some really destructive worm

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Wireless Firewall for Home?
Thursday, March 25, 2004 10:17 PM

If you're running DSL or Cable Modem at home and don't have any kind of firewall solution then you really need to get one.Amazon.com has this D-Link Router with 802.11b wireless for less than $18! (after Rebate)Turn off the wireless if you're not going

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Wanna Work for Microsoft?
Thursday, March 25, 2004 9:50 PM

KC Lemson's blog points out that the MS Jobs Blog indicates openings at Microsoft for the Exchange development team.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Outlook Spam Filter Update
Thursday, March 25, 2004 9:15 PM

I was planning to post on this today or tomorrow anyhow, but I might as well do it now. Microsoft has released an update to the spam filter in Outlook 2003. If you're an Exchange user running Outlook 2003 in cached mode you can use the integrated

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Using the Tablet PC in the Classroom
Thursday, March 25, 2004 8:53 PM

Scoble's blog today points out an interesting article at TabletPCQuestions.com that Layne Heiny wrote on using a TabletPC in the classroom (PDF). Note: you'll have to register (free) with TabletPCQuestions.com to view the file.Some interesting ideas

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

ISA Server 2000 Application Layer Filtering Kit
Thursday, March 25, 2004 8:39 PM

Tom Shinder, ISA guru extraordinaire, has published this article on securing your ISA 2000 server and network against attack. Anybody running ISA 2000 should read this.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Tip: Moving mailboxes
Thursday, March 25, 2004 8:35 PM

If you're going to move mailboxes from one Exchange server to another, for example during an upgrade or migration...do yourself a favor and make sure the users aren't logged into those mailboxes at the time.No, I'm not the one who did it.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Cellphone Jammer
Thursday, March 25, 2004 8:13 PM

Engadget is pointing to an item which is a personal cellphone jammer. While this superficially seems like a good idea, the reality of it is that the range of this thing is purported to be 30 meters. That's nearly 90 feet. Now if you

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

MSDN has an RSS Feed
Thursday, March 25, 2004 7:32 PM

Not sure how many of you knew this, but MSDN does have an RSS feed that can notify you of newly published articles and tools. Great for keeping on top of what's coming out of Microsoft for developers.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Book: Hackers by Steven Levy
Thursday, March 25, 2004 7:32 PM

Interested in a fascinating read about the early days of the computer business on both the east and west coasts and some of the young geniuses who got us where we are today? Try Hackers by Steven LevyI really enjoyed this book.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Hotbot Offers Search Toolbar
Thursday, March 25, 2004 7:14 PM

Hotbot has jumped into the crowded fray of search toolbars with their offering. Most of the features they offer have become fairly standard: Pop-up blocker, search window for web and site searches, highlight search terms within a page, etc.

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Quicker Access to Important Folders
Thursday, March 25, 2004 4:53 PM

Do you have a folder that you access a lot and wish you could get faster access to it? Add it to your Task Bar.Right-click any empty area on the Task Bar, select Toolbars | New Toolbar then navigate to the folder you want in the dialog box that

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Help Defeat Identity Theft
Thursday, March 25, 2004 10:16 AM

Here's an item from my Random Musings blog that I think is important enough to cross-post.Tuesday night I attended a neighborhood watch meeting where an HPD Detective who specializes in white collar crime talked to us about Internet crime and identity

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Is Hacking Ethical?
Thursday, March 25, 2004 10:15 AM

Marcia Wilson has an interesting column in ComputerWorld exploring this very question.I tend to think that hacking is ethical within certain narrow bounds. I don't believe it's right to break into the systems of others for personal gain any

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Need to Manage Other PC's on Your Network?
Thursday, March 25, 2004 2:47 AM

On Windows XP the Computer Management applet is deceptively useful. It includes tools for managing storage devices and even seeing, stopping and restarting services that are running. But did you know that it's not limited to the local machine?Go

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Notetaking software comparison
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 11:59 PM

There is a very interesting discussion of notetaking software - initiated by a rather lengthy review of different products - going on over at TabletPCBuzz.com.As expected one of the big complaints about OneNote is the interaction of containers and digital

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

InfoWorld: Yahoo patches e-mail hole
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 11:19 PM

Follow up to my earlier item, InfoWorld is reporting that Yahoo! got that security hole fixed. I guess that just leaves Hotmail?-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Inspector: DHS lacks info sharing standard
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 11:11 PM

Inspector: DHS lacks info sharing standardHomeland Security would seem like a pretty important area for us to have our game together when it comes to information sharing and knowledge management. It distresses me a little to hear that while progress

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Develop a Tablet PC App and you could win $100K
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 11:03 PM

Real money for real Tablet PC apps. How intertwined is the Blogosphere? I had to see the reference to this contest for Tablet PC Developers in Scoble's blog first, even though I already subscribe to Loren's blog.Maybe now somebody will come

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Cool Toy: Notebook car charger
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 9:54 PM

If you travel about with your notebook a lot you might want one of these: Notebook Car Charger. $25 and you can run and/or charge your notebook right off the cigarette lighter in your car.Wish I had one when I was consulting in Los Angeles.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

A New Linux vs. Windows TCO Study
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 8:00 PM

Yankee Independently Pits Windows TCO vs. Linux TCO - Mary Jo Foley writes today about a study conducted by Yankee and Sunbelt that attempts to evaluate the total cost of ownership figures for Windows vs. Linux.The results are not surprising to me --

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Using OneNote with OnFolio
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 6:53 PM

Marc Orchant has a nice article on his blog today about using OneNote and Onfolio together. I'm giving serious consideration to trying Onfolio out, it's web research capture and organization capabilities are intriquing.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Taking Quick Notes with OneNote
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 5:47 PM

If you have OneNote installed and want to take a quick note you could click the OneNote icon on the system tray. Or you can just press Windows Key + N. That pops up a SideNote so you can jot something down or drag & drop some interesting

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

A Month With OneNote - Review
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 6:32 AM

TechWorthy does a pretty good review of OneNote 2003. The criticism about the lack of Office integration is right-on and something that the OneNote team is working on addressing in future versions.I don't necessarily agree with the search concerns,

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Honolulu Computer Security Group Meeting on Thursday
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 1:20 AM

The Honolulu Computer Security Group will be meeting on Thursday at 5PM at the offices of Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert. For more info: leave a comment below or e-mail me.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Comparing Text Files
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 11:17 PM

Another clever tip offered by the Microsoft Exchange team in their "You Had Me At Ehlo" blog shows a fast and easy way to compare two text files (like lengthy logs?) to use Microsoft Word to see what the differences between them are.Might also be helpful

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Kings of Chaos - Age 3 in beta
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 11:12 PM

I don't do a lot of games posts because, well I don't play that many games. Kings of Chaos, however, I've found to be somewhat addictive. It's a simple little text game, you build your army, buy swords and shields, that sort of thing.

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Naming the colored flags in Outlook 2003
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 11:08 PM

KC Lemson has a good tip on how to change the names on the colored flags in Outlook 2003. I've actually done it that way myself for quite some time. Wish I'd thought to blog it first. -B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

InfoWorld: Opera gives voice to Web browser
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 10:40 PM

InfoWorld is reporting that Opera is going to add the capability to control your browser via voice commands.Voice capabilities could well become the preferred way of interacting with a computer, according to von Tetzchner. While it is obviously useful

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Group Offers to Block Cable TV Channels
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 10:32 PM

Group Offers to Block Cable TV Channels WASHINGTON (AP) - The cable television industry said Tuesday it will provide free equipment to allow subscribers to block unwanted channels, a reaction to efforts on Capitol Hill to curb indecent programming.

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Engadget: Interesting new wearable displays
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 10:28 PM

I love the idea of Wearable Displays but after several false starts they still don't seem quite ready for prime time.Of course, I may not love them so much when people figure out that they can e-mail me at ANY time.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Two Quick Windows Tips
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 10:18 PM

Here are a couple of tips I use all the time that you may find helpful (note these work in WinXP Pro, no guarantees for earlier versions):1. To access the Task Manager you could press CTRL+ALT+DEL, then select Task Manager from the Windows Security

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Cheap Dell PDAs!
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 9:51 PM

My wife and I use our Dell Axims ceaselessly for everything from calendaring to To-Do lists; even reading RSS feeds on the go. While many of those capabilities are starting to make their way into SmartPhones they aren't quite all the way there yet.TechBargains.com

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

InfoWorld: Hotmail, Yahoo vulnerable to security flaw
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 9:44 PM

Even if we don't use web-based e-mail how many of us have users, friends or family members who do, either at the office or at home?The story is at: http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/03/23/HNhotmailyahoo_1.html-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

A Few Thoughts on Wireless Networking for Home
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 8:00 PM

I just installed a LinkSys 802.11G Wireless Router for one of our directors who just got a cable modem. What a great device, it's super easy to install, features 4 10/100 wired ports for that desktop PC that is sitting right next to it and has

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

A few thoughts on CAN-SPAM
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:49 PM

Keeping Up With CAN-SPAM Act: "According to CAN-SPAM legislation, e-mail must meet five basic requirements to avoid being labeled 'unsolicited commercial' e-mail: The e-mail message must have correct header information. The message must have an accurate

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Use OneNote to maintain your "Know Book"
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:48 PM

Here's another use for OneNote: "Know book's." The Think2x blog (http://think2x.blogspot.com) describes an idea for a sort of personal growth journal. The idea is that there are things we come across in our daily lives that we would like to know more

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Shameless Commerce - The SchorrTech Store is open.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:47 PM

The SchorrTech Store is now open! More items will be added in the coming days; but check it out I think you'll find some fun gift ideas there.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Microsoft Office Ads Leave Something to be Desired
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:45 PM

Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger: "It's interesting. My coworkers and I talk about our advertising a lot. I haven't found ANYONE who likes the latest Office ads. Admittedly my sample size is small, but let's show off our software! Search folders in

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Feedster lets you create custom RSS feeds
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:44 PM

There are a lot of valuable feeds out there and one great way to find them is to use Feedster. At Feedster you can do text searches for key words and find all of the indexed RSS feeds that contain those words. Even better...you can subscribe to that search

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OneNote PM Chris Pratley is Blogging
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:41 PM

As a OneNote MVP I'm very pleased to see that OneNote team member " target=_blank>Chris Pratley is now publishing a blog. Those of you interested in OneNote will probably find his writings interesting. http://weblogs.asp.net/chris_pratley/-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Two Tools to Help You Gain Information
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:24 PM

If you're in the information business (or you just do a lot of searches) and you can only have two tools...these are they. Copernic: Software to search, find, and manage information Google Toolbar Google Toolbar is a powerful tool that puts itself