Dr. Dobb's Journal, January 2006
We ran into the technology while trying to serialize some paper documents—about which I won't say too much, except that we might want to know who leaks a copy, should it get out. Yes, we put in a plain-text serial number (a two-digit code in the lower right corner), but that's easily covered up. A 6-inch square watermark, though, is hard to cover up, short of retyping the entire 180-page document.
DataGlyphs (http://www.parc.com/ research/projects/dataglyphs/) provide a way of embedding data into pictures and logos. In a DataGlyph, your data are expressed as tiny diagonal lines ("/" and "\"), essentially invisible except under great magnification. The image is assembled from the front- and backslashes (which act, unsurprisingly, as 0s and 1s). The glyphs survive through most manipulations (changes of brightness, copying or faxing pages, and so on), which interests Xerox's big-name partners who use the technology for serializing paper documents such as insurance forms. Because we only needed two digits of data (the serial number), we opted for about 93-percent error-correction redundancy—more on that in a moment.
PARC provides an online demo (http://www.parc.com/research/projects/dataglyphs/demo.html), which has an advanced DataGlyph interface that lets you upload your own graphic, choose the percentage of error correction versus data carried, choose resolution from 200-1200 DPI, plus other complex knobs and switches. Once you've created your glyph, you should upload it to the "Decode" engine to make sure it actually decodes.
That quality-control step is necessary, lest you create write-only glyphs. We couldn't make glyphs decode if they had less than 5 percent minimum black in their dynamic range. Even large white areas will have a little gray. The glyph capacity spreadsheet (http://www.parc.com/research/projects/dataglyphs/support/capacity.xls) helped us plan some of this, but it won't warn you about every bonehead setting you might try. Take notes, and vary from success rather than failure, if you're serious about trying the technology.
In its current form, the Glyph-server is, as advertised, an experimental interface. It was fine for what we were doing, but it took a day to produce 12 glyphs and create PDF print master documents. For our needs, targeted to printing on a Xerox Phaser 7700 laser printer, the best settings seem to be 600 DPI, 20-pixel glyphs, 64-byte word size, and 58 bytes of ECC.
As with many Xerox technologies, DataGlyphs haven't enjoyed the sort of success they probably deserve, and Xerox has made it pretty difficult to license a one-off copy of the software—they're concentrating on big corporate buyers. Still, we'd probably pay money for a DataGlyph Office plug-in.
Glyphs also gave us a reason to try out Word 2003's watermarks, which have changed from previous versions. Now located in the Format|Background|Printed Watermark dialog box, watermarks can be text (diagonal or horizontal) or pictures. A light touch is best for watermarks, lest your text becomes illegible and your readers bring pitchforks and torches to your next meeting. There's a "Washout" feature, but for more accurate control, use PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro and embed the final result at 100-percent size, with the brightness you like, rather than relying on Word's less precise controls.
Speaking of precision, Word 2003 only supports watermarks throughout the entire document, or not at all. Previous versions of Word support watermarks through the header/footer controls, through which you can delete the watermark in particular document sections. There should be a way to change or turn watermarks off by section in Word 2003, but neither Google nor I can find one.
We actually used Word 2000 to turn the watermark on and off as needed; alternatively, we were going to create an Adobe Acrobat PDF of the serialized pages, then replace the unserialized pages in a master Acrobat document. Creating an Acrobat file with an embedded 6-inch square 600 DPI watermark takes about 15 seconds per page on a 2-GHz AMD system.
I am pleased to report that I have tamed Outlook, and the Mirra Personal Server (http://www.mirra.com/) works like a charm to back up Outlook 2003, including the .pst files. I have never had a backup system that was easier to set up and less intrusive in use.
The Mirra system consists of a small Linux box that connects to your local Microsoft network. You can put it anywhere. At Chaos Manor, the Mirra box sits in the cable room next to the big D-Link Gigabit Switch that holds my network together. It has been in there for months now, and has never needed attention. Mirra is the bee's knees for small-network backups; it's not powerful enough for medium or larger networks (but then, it's not designed for them, either).
Once the Mirra box is running properly, you install some client software on each machine you want to have backed up. When that's running, you tell Mirra what files, or more likely folders, you want it to back up. Then you forget it's there until you need to recover the files. That's it.
Well, very nearly it, anyway. I still have one current complaint, and one former complaint. The current one is minor. The former one was major, but I've resolved it.
The minor complaint is that Mirra's software keeps thinking my Chaosmanor folder, which holds the master copies of my web site for use by FrontPage, has system files in it. We are not sure why it thinks that. Mirra is aware of the problem and is working on it. Meanwhile, I've found a kludge so the problem isn't serious.
The major complaint was far more serious. Mirra doesn't do backups at a set time. It does them right now when you make changes to files it has been told to watch. It's making a backup of this column as I write it, but it does it so unobtrusively that I don't notice it.
It does the same thing with the outlook.pst file. The problem here is that when that .pst file approaches 2 GB, the local machine software component of Mirra has to strain valiantly to back up changes as fast as they happen. That uses system resources. Outlook already uses far too many system resources when it's downloading mail. The result can be a disaster. I could be typing along, and suddenly no words appear on the screen. Seconds go by before what I've written appears. Or I could be mousing around in Word or Outlook, and the cursor freezes. Moving the mouse does nothing for several seconds. The system eventually recovers, but it's very disconcerting.
It was sufficiently annoying that I decided I had to do something about it. My first thought was to ask if the Mirra software could be scheduled—tell it to back up certain folders, including the folder holding the outlook.pst files, only between 4:00 and 5:00 am. That turned out to be impossible in the current version, although I gather Mirra is thinking about including that feature.
My second thought was to tell it to stop backing up the outlook folder. That, too, turned out to be impossible. I could tell it to stop backing up the folder, but doing that would cause Mirra to erase all backup files in that folder. When it forgets a task, it really forgets it. I thought about doing that, but so much of my life resides on Outlook that I hesitated.
My final solution came in two pieces. First, Service Pack 2 for Office 2003 has cut back on the resources hogged by Outlook when it is downloading mail. Second, I decided to allow Outlook to archive everything more than a month old, including my enormous sent mail file. Doing that cut the outlook.pst file down to well below a gigabyte; and that, combined with the new efficiencies in Service Pack 2, has utterly eliminated the problem. Mirra continuously backs up Outlook, and I don't notice any ill effects while it is doing so.
I can now say the Mirra Personal Server is the best personal and small business backup system I have ever used. Seagate must have been impressed, too, since it is buying Mirra. Highly recommended.
It's Plextor. It Just Works. It connects by either Firewire or USB 2.0. It burns 8.5 GB on a disk using 8X DVD+R Double Layer or 4X DVD-R Dual Layer. It comes with DVD burning software that's good enough, although we generally prefer Nero Burning Rom. It does 8X DVD-RW and 16X DVD-ROM. It slices. It dices. But wait, there's more...
The PX-74OUF comes with a coupon for 20 percent off on the Plextor ConvertX we've previously raved about. Get the PX-74OUF and the Plextor ConvertX PX-TV402U (http://www.plextor.com/english/ products/product_dvc.html) and burn your own movies from television. It all Just Works.
Plextor is one of the few companies whose products I am willing to take with me on the road, unopened in the shrink pack, with full confidence that when I do need to use it, it will Just Work as advertised. You can get DVD burners cheaper, but this one will last a long time—we still use an elderly Plextor CD-ROM burner after a decade. Highly recommended.
We just got a preview copy of ZyXEL's X-550 and M-102, and they look good enough (http://us.zyxel.com/products/model.php?indexcate=1125686118&indexcate1 =1121212137&indexFlagvalue=1021876859). The X-550 router and M-102 CardBus card support Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO). The X-550 is the first device we've seen that supports MIMO, WPA2, and Stream Engine technology. WPA2, Wireless Protected Access Version 2, is the Wi-Fi Alliance's name for 802.11i, a (more secure?) version of the older WPA Security Standard. Stream Engine technology Just Works. Associate Editor Dan Spisak tested the D-Link DGL-4300 Gaming Router (http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=370), which supports WPA2 and Stream Engine technology. He was able to download BitTorrent files, play World of Warcraft, chat on Trillian, and download e-mail—all without tears. We're optimistic about our full torture test for the X-550 next month.
ZyXEL also claims the X-550 is the first device to support "Windows Connect Now" (WCN), an easier-to-use technology for discovering devices over the air and then add access to them over the network. We seem to have missed the WCN kickoff in the torrent of announcements at this year's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), but a quick look at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/netattach/WCN.mspx says companies from Buffalo Technology through Winbond have licensed it. Microsoft still hasn't released client-side software (promised for Windows XPSP2 and Vista, though the page still says "Longhorn").
Our reaction to the X-550 is favorable. It has a physical on/off switch for the Wi-Fi radios, four Ethernet LAN ports, and decent design. It also has the translucent-white look of an Apple product.
There are a lot of small, portable routers out there. D-Link makes a good one. So does APC. Meanwhile, I hear more and more stories of files and computer systems compromised simply by connecting to and using the high-speed Internet connection in major hotels. Putting a simple router, such as the APC Wireless Mobile Router (http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=WMR1000G&isoCountryCode=us) or D-Link DWL-G&30AP (http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=346), between you and the hotel connection ensures against such things. Both these wireless routers support WPA security as well as 128-bit WEP. WEP isn't really very secure, although it does take a determined effort to defeat it. Better to set up your system with WPA at home, be sure it works, and use it on the road.
Both these routers can be used as Access Points, AP Routers, and Ethernet clients. Both work as advertised, both are easy to set up, and both use 802.11g wireless. The D-Link, like all D-Link products, is supported by 24/7 toll-free world-wide technical support, and I just tested that by calling on Sunday night to ask if the pocket router supports WPA. The technician had to look it up, but that took about 20 seconds. The APC Router fits in the APC TravelPower case I've written about, and can be powered by either the power supply it came with, or the invaluable APC TravelPower Adapter.
Whether you carry a router or not, be sure to disable file sharing by wireless on your portable, except when you actually want to share files. I have more than once been able to log on to a colleague's computer in the press room. At the North American Science Fiction Convention, I was routinely able to leap into unsecured wireless networks. It would have been easy enough to use them to send and receive mail. Of course, I never took advantage of them, and in fact, paid my daily hotel high-speed fees.
The book of the month is The E-Bomb by Doug Beason. I know Doug better as Colonel Doug Beason, U.S. Air Force (retired). He is also a former professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy where he used The Strategy of Technology (Possony and Pournelle) as a textbook. More to the point, he is also the former commander of the USAF labs at Kirtland, where he had such programs as the airborne laser. This book tells you about directed energy weapons, which are the most important weapons developments since the atomic bomb. The "death ray" and "disintegrator" of the old science fiction movies were fiction; modern directed energy weapons are fact, and this book tells you more about them than any other source I know.
The first computer book of the month is Jack Herrington's Podcasting Hacks (O'Reilly & Associates, 2005), which is well organized and complete. While Michael Georhegan and Dan Klass's Podcast Solutions (Apress, 2005) is a better introduction to the subject of podcasting, if you're serious about getting into the game, you will want both books.
John Locke's Open Source Solutions For Small Business Problems (Charles River Media, 2004) is a bit odd in that it starts at a pretty elementary level, but contains advice useful to those actually trying to work on problems at a professional level. There is no chance you won't learn something important from reading this book.
DDJ