The Bat continues to fly high

I've been using an e-mail program called The Bat since 2002, if not before. In 2003, I wrote "I'm a fan of The Bat and ... Version 2 has been in development for at least 2 years." Now RIT Labs (Moldova) is heading for version 4, having just released version 3.99. In 2003, I said "[v]ersion 2.0 looks and feels a lot like the version 1.6 . I can see some new features and some improvements, but overall the program hasn't been upgraded beyond all recognition. This is good." More than a dozen releases of version 3 have continued along improvement path, slow and steady. I suspect and hope that version 4, whenever it's released will be evolutionary instead of revolutionary.

The screen graphic shows the changes made between version 3.98.4 and 3.99.3. As you can see, it's a long list and these are just the changes between two minor step releases separated by about 45 days. One thing that has always impressed me about the way RIT Labs works is that they're not afraid to call a bug a bug: "The option in the account properties to use non-encoded 8-bit characters in the message header now works properly." The release notes included with each new version always differentiate clearly between major improvements, added features, improved/changed features, and bug fixes. If you want to see the list, it's here.

The image at the left (sorry, but you can't click this one to see a larger version; it's a security issue) shows all of my e-mail accounts, sub-accounts, and folders. The sections I've highlighted in yellow show my primary (actual) accounts. Those lines shown with a green overlay are special addresses that are forwarded to the main account and then sorted separately on arrived. The lines that have no special coloring are folders within the accounts.

I go through the e-mail accounts and pitch old messages from time to time, but I keep a lot of reference materials in the program because The Bat has a superb search feature (far better than the one in Outlook, which I use at the office.) There's a certain amount of trust involved in storing 16,000 messages that go back 5 years and The Bat has earned that trust over the years.

My favorite features

In no particular order, here are features that I find particularly useful:

The ability to examine any part of an inbound message and, with a remarkable set of of logical comparisons, decide whether to put the message in a special folder, highlight it, delete it immediately, reply to it with a special message, play a sound, print the message, forward the message to someone else, or do some combination of those acts (and more). And when it comes to identifying messages, here's an example of a relatively simple rule (in plain English): If the subject line contains either "[This]" or "[That]" and the "from" part of the header is "Joe" or "Jean" or "Bob", then delete the message from the server and delete it from the program." It's easy to build stacks of comparisons bad on "and", "or", "and not", and "or not". This feature alone saves several minutes per day. These filters can be applied to inbound messages, outbound messages, messages once they've been read, and to replies.

If the existing headers are insufficient for sorting, you can add your own. In most cases, my outbound messages go to a folder called "to be deleted". That's because most of my messages aren't particularly important. After a week or two, they can safely be deleted. But messages to clients, family members, and the like should be saved. I created a special header called "X-Save" and if I'm sending a message I want to save, I write the name of a folder in the field and when The Bat sends the message, it puts my copy in the folder I specified. If the field is empty, the message goes to the "to be deleted" box. Easy.

When I write a message as the technology tsar, I'd like my signature to reflect that; when I write a personal message from my personal account, the signature should reflect that; and when I send a message to a discussion list, I'd like a completely different signature. The Bat accommodates this with ease because signatures (and other account information) may be specified either by account or by folder within an account.

The Bat has quick templates. These make it possible for me to send short or long (sometimes very long) messages to people with just a few keystrokes. A few years ago, my gall bladder and I had a little run in and I spent a few days in the hospital. When I got back, I found a lot of messages asking what happened, so I created a quick template that I called "sick". To reply to an inquiry, all I had to do what hit Ctrl-R to reply to the message, type "sick", and press Ctrl-spacebar. The result: If you've noticed an excess of nothing from me for a few weeks, that's because I've been sick. Gallstones feel rather like what I would imagine it feels like to be shot in the stomach at close range, but I'm hoping not to make that actual comparison. Surgery is in my future, but all is well now following a night in one of the local hospital's emergency room and 3 more days in a room where people kept waking me up to stick needles in. I used the experience to write a short report about how much medical technology has changed. If you're interested, it's here: http://www.techbyter.com/2004/20040404.shtml and if you're not interested, it's still there.

Easy to learn? Not exactly

In 2003, I complained that "documentation is still a sore spot. The Bat is astonishingly powerful and almost infinitely customizable. The problem is that the documentation doesn't reveal the application's strengths and Microsoft has slammed Outlook Express onto every Windows computer, so that's what a lot of people use even though the Toronto Star once referred to the application as LookOut."

Documentation is better than it was (no manual, of course; it's all on-line) but it still covers only a tiny fraction of what the program is capable of doing. Generally, if you can think of something you'd like an e-mail program to do, The Bat probably does it. The challenge is finding out how to make it work.

Overall: The Bat is the most powerful e-mail application you'll find on this planet, but you'll have to deal with minimal documentation.

I'd really like to give The Bat a 5-cat rating, but the lack of good documentation limits the rating to "just" 4 cats.

For more information, visit the RIT Labs.

Networking problems

Late last week, I sat in the Jet Blue terminal at JFK airport in New York City. When I tried to connect to the free WiFi hotspot that Jet Blue provides, the result was a connection but no ability to reach any e-mail or website services. A quick analysis of the situation revealed that the problem was not with my Apple Powerbook. All around me, I saw people with Mac and Windows machines trying to connect and failing; some of them were more persistent than I was, but nobody was successful. In another part of the terminal, the WiFi system was operating properly. It would have been helpful if JetBlue personnel had let people know about the problem. The most frustrated users seemed to be those with Windows machines, but it wasn't a Windows problem. Networking can be frustrating.

As I watched the scene play out at JFK, I thought about a problem I was trying to help a client with several weeks ago. He was having trouble getting two machines on his local network to see each other. Here are some of the suggestions that we sorted through:

Try creating a new user make him a member of administrators local group (for testing) on both machines. Use the exact same name on both machine and the exact same password. I think you're using the machines without user IDs and logins and this may create problems with networking, which is assumed to want security.

Also, I would enable netbios over TCP/IP. Local area connection properties--TCP/IP properties--Advanced then under WINS tab.

Try to map a network drive to other computer's share go to command prompt type NET USE x: \\computer2\share1
x = any unused drive letter
computer2 = computer name for the machine you want to access.
If you get an error, try ip address instead of name
share1 = share name (share name is not the directory name; it's the name you assigned to the share.)

After mapping, try to explore. If you can access the files, then the problem was with name resolution and you should edit your HOSTS file.

	Here is the list of attached devices as shown by the Netgear router. Note that the notebook computer appears to have 2 addresses. In fact, it does have two addresses: Wired and wireless are both operating. In addition to the IP address, I get the device name, the IP address, and the MAC address. Note, too, that Kaydee's Mac is at 102, which the other devices are single-digit numbers. If the printer was on, it would appear at 125. That's because I keep static devices above 100. • CLICK THE IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW.
	How can I tell which connection is which on the notebook? Easy. By using ipconfig /all on the notebook.
	Initially I had suggested that you set the IP address on each machine to be static, and I'll show you how to do that, but I found an option in the router that may be even better. That's why I wanted to check the address on the notebook. Here you can see that the IP address of the router is 192.168.1.1, which is where I would expect the router to be and the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. The router is set to act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, but I wanted to limit the range of dynamic IP addresses to the range starting with 2 (cannot include 1 because it's the router) and ending at 51. I can't imagine having more than 49 devices that need a static IP address on my home network.
	Here's what I found on the Netgear router that looks intriguing: The ability to reserve an address. Because the router already detected the notebook, I was able to select the appropriate radio button and have the router fill in the corresponding information. If the device hadn't been detected, I could have used the information I obtained from the ipconfig command to obtain the IP address and the MAC address. If this functionality isn't available in your router, you'll need to set a static IP address in the TCP/IP settings (later).
	Now I've added the device.
	Currently, if I browse the network from the desktop, I can't see the notebook even though it's sitting right beside the desktop.
	I edited the hosts file in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc with UltraEdit, adding a single line with the notebook computer's IP address and its name.
	Now when I return to the Windows Explorer and type \\toshibanotebook (note the leading dual backslashes) in the address line, I see the computer and can browse for files
	If you must create a static IP address, here's how. Start with Network Connections from the Control Panel. Select the appropriate LAN connection and click Properties.
	On the General tab, select TCP/IP and click Properties.
	De-select "obtain an IP address automatically" and select "use the following IP address". Fill in a static address (one that's outside the range of the addresses you specified in the router as being available for DHCP). In the example below, I have filled in 192.168.1.5, but this wouldn't work reliably because that address is in the range covered by DHCP. In some cases, nothing else would get this address, but there's no guarantee. Some other device added to the network might show up on 5 and when two devices are on the same IP address, neither works. In practice, I should have consulted my list of static IP addresses. I would have found that I could use 192.168.1.105. The subnet mask should be as shown and the default gateway is your router's IP address. I didn't bother fixing it because I wasn't planning to save the configuration. You'll click OK here and you should then restart the computer. You may wonder why, unlike most home LANs, which are on 192.168.0.x, mine is on 192.168.1.x. The reason for this difference is the presence of a printer that cannot be set to 192.168.0.x on my LAN.

The solution? Easy. He hired a network security consultant to visit the site and sort things out. When you're approximately 1947 miles from the client, it's hard to do the kind of job that should be done on-site.

Nerdly News

Apple's anti-theft patent approved

Apple filed a patent application in 2004 for an anti-theft system that the company says will protect mobile devices. Laptop computers, Ipods, mobile phones, and other small but valuable devices are common targets of theft. Apple's idea is for the mobile device to track its own motions and to watch for unusual motions.

Apple says that when a mobile device is being stolen, unusual movements occur--bumping and shaking for example. A device that detects these unusual motions could lock itself or sound an alarm. Having just returned from a week in New York City where approximately 30% of all subway riders seem to be sporting Ipods, I have to wonder how the devices will tell the difference between theft-related bumping and shaking and the bumping and shaking that occur on a subway, in a bus or car, or on a bike.

Individuals have generally detectable typing patterns and it's possible for a security system to observe typing patterns and to shut down the system if the usual user isn't typing. That technology isn't included in Apple's US patent, but it's an example of technology that works properly but can fail in a widespread implementation. In a corporate environment where individual users have assigned computers, such a system can detect unauthorized use. But the system can cause problems when a user forgets the detection system is active, allows someone else to use the computer, and then has to figure out how to unlock the system.

Apple would address the mass transit issue by providing software to adjust the sensitivity of the anti-theft software. Users could also turn it off. And after approximately one false alarm, that's probably what some users will do.

Spam increases, but we're dealing with it

A comprehensive survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project says we're getting more spam than ever, but we're less concerned about it because we're getting smarter about controlling the spew. The survey reports that 71% of e-mail users use filters offered by their e-mail provider or employer to block spam. Several years ago, I said that unchecked spam could effectively kill the Internet. The useless CAN-SPAM act has had little effect, but users themselves have adapted. Even so, 55% of e-mail users say they have lost trust in e-mail because of spam. That's sad because spam is so easily recognized that it need not be a source of confusion or lost trust.

Pew conducted the phone survey between February 15 and March 7, 2007, among a nationally representative sample of 2,200 American adults. In the sample 1,405 of the respondents were e-mail users and the margin of error on this group is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

More than one third (37%) of e-mail users said spam had increased in their personal e-mail accounts and 29% said they had seen an increase in work accounts. Both of those figures increased from what users reported 3 years ago in a similar study.

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project February-March 2007 Survey (N=2,200). Margin of error for the entire sample is +/- 2%; for Internet users it is +/- 3%. Margins of error for comparison of subgroups are higher.

What has changed?

Attitudes. Three years ago, 25% of users said spam was a big problem for them. Now only 18% of users feel that way and 28% (up from 16%) say spam is not a problem for them. That parallels my experience. Three years ago, I considered spam to be a big problem. Today, because of some sophisticated filtering, it is no longer a problem. In the middle, about half of all e-mail users consider spam an annoyance, but not a big problem.

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project. Notice the consistency of responses in the big problem category and the lack of consistency in the other 2 categories.

According to the Pew researchers, "There appear to be several reasons fewer people say that spam is a big problem for them. First, the volume of most offensive kind of spam has decreased. And second, people are becoming more knowledgeable about spam, and they know better how to handle it."

More than two thirds of users (68%) say they almost never unintentionally open an e-mail message without realizing it is spam and 27% say they do that occasionally. Only 5% say they often open a spam message without realizing what it is.

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