Elwyn Jenkins: Key Tools of Technacy

Handy Backup 3.9 - great tool that saved my Brain!

Tue, 14 Jan 2003 20:44:00 GMT

I have been using Handy Backup 3.9 now for about ten days. This is the most efficient backup system I have used. I wanted to backup each of my PersonalBrain 3.0 Brains. So I selected in Handy Backup c:/mybrains/ and identified that I wanted to backup three times a week to a destination on the Internet.

I have been working on my machine all week and I have not noticed in the background anything going on. But each time I look Handy Backup's log, it registers that it has completed the backup for today.

It was put to the test today. I did something stupid with my Google Brain that I am developing as part of a Verity project, and I needed to go back to what I had yesterday. Handy Backup had made a complete Backup of the Google Knowledge Brain at 5:25am this morning. It was simple to restore from the menu on Handy Backup and bingo within minutes, my files were all as they were when I had finished working yesterday.

Handby Backup's blurb:

Handy Backup 3.9 is an easy-to-use program designed for an automatic backup of your critical data virtually to any type of storage media including CD-RW devices and remote FTP servers. You can use Handy Backup to make a reserve copy of any valuable data on your system. Special addons are provided to facilitate the backup of MS Outlook, system registry and ICQ files. Restoring is as easy as clicking a button, but you can also use a number of advanced options. The program can be also used to synchronize files between two computers on a network.

Handy Backup is designed for MS Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP. Strong file encryption and multi-choice zip compression on the fly, as well as many other useful features, will protect your valuable data. All backup activities are recorded in a log file. Detailed online help is available.

If you are looking for a simple yet powerful backup solution for your business or for your personal needs in a networking environment or on a single machine, you have just found it. Download the 30-day trial version and see for yourself. You may purchase Handy Backup from our e-commerce provider RegSoft.

-- from Handy Backup

Other references:

Handy Backup Mini Review
PC World Handy Backup Review and list of other Backup Utilities
User Opinions at Softpile
Novell cool solutions

Updates on Key Tools . . .

Thu, 09 Jan 2003 23:46:12 GMT

PersonalBrain 3.0 (Beta)
I have been using this for some weeks now. There are a great number of new features that make Brain Building a real dlight. However, there are some enhancements that could make life just a little easier -- for example some more automated ways of categorizing thoughts. You can download a copy and test for 30 days from The Brain Corporation site. [If you wish to see a model of a Brain you can download one from Text Chunk Library.]

However, here are a list of Features of PersonalBrain 3.0:

Feature List

System Improvements

Support for over 1 million thoughts per Brain - 32 times previous versions.
Support for Windows XP.

Thought and Link Types

Thought types let you create categories of information, such as people, projects, or places. Typed thoughts are color coded and separately searchable.
Link types let you label the connections between thoughts to give them meaning. For example, you could create a link type called "friend" and use it to show which of the people in your Brain are friends.
The use of Thought and link types allows you to create a much more sophisticated Brain.
Thought and link types allow an extra layer of semantic meaning to placed on information in your Brain.
Types can be setup via the Options menu or the "Edit types..." button on the properties pane.

Link Types

Right-click on a link to set its type.
Typed links are color coded and named - the name shows on mouseover.

Thought Types

Thought types can be created with name, description, and color.
Types can be set via right click menu or via the Type dropdown in the properties pane.
Thought types are displayed on mouseover.
Search tab contains new indexes for lists of each thought type.
Find dialog can filter thoughts based on thought type.

Fast Brain Access

Get instant access to your Brain with the Brain Hot Key - hold down the Windows key and type the letter B [Windows+B] to show your Brain.
To jump quickly to any thought, just type the first few letters.
The Brain Hot Key can be turned on and off in the Preferences menu.

Faster Access & Search

The Find Thoughts feature, which lets you perform advanced searches, is now available via F9 or through the Options menu.
Find dialog box is easier to use and allows searching by thought type.
Focus (keyboard input) returns to instant search window immediately after any dialog box closes.
Instant search analyzes more history to determine best match.

General User Interface Improvements

Thoughts in lists (Search, History, Instant Search, & Create Dialog) are drawn using thought type colors.
Notes now contains a "Paste as Text" function in the edit menu or via [Ctrl+Shift+V].
Auto hide feature is animated, so that the window slides on and off screen.
Built-in list of search engines now contains: AlltheWeb.com, AltaVista, Google, Lycos, Yahoo and a customizable setting.
The progress window is smaller.
Menu items have better keyboard compatibility.
The PersonalBrain program directory now contains default folders for color settings and wallpapers.

Plex User Interface Improvements

Thoughts in the plex are ordered by thought type first, then by name.
Right-click menu allows unlinking of the selected thought from the active thought.
The plex resizing circle is enabled with maximum and minimum sizes preventing unwieldy fonts sizes.
The search box is smaller to show more thoughts in the Past Thought List.
F2 renames the highlighted thought, not the active thought.
F4 now uses the highlighted thought for Web searches.
Improved Properties layout.
Thought text color is more consistent - highlight and central text colors removed.
Hints do not appear unless the mouse is held still for 1 second.

Bug Fixes

The Web search dialog does not accidentally pop-up when closing other Windows.
Filenames in PersonalBrain no longer get a "2" appended to them unless there is a name conflict.
Dialogs are never hidden by the main window when in always on top mode.
Removed listing of *.brs files from open dialog (these files are not supported).
Wallpaper does not change when loading colors.
Distant thoughts always draw in their correct color.
Instant Brains are no longer included.
Display of Brains with many links from a single thought is more stable.

Watch the Verity Intellectual Properties site for more information on publishing Brains. There is a lot of movement there. In the next few weeks expect some Beta Products there, including Professional Brains.

Ace Utilities v1.65

Fri, 20 Dec 2002 08:23:11 GMT

Until arriving by accident on this great little software gem, I had no idea that my computer was so slow because of unwanted links, cookies, files left over from programs long gone and the like. Since cleaning my computer up with Ace Utilities v1.65, I have not enjoyed so much pristine life out of my computer since buying it new.

Over a period of about an hour or so, I found 2,651 unwanted files, 4,537 shortcut links that no longer work, fifteen programs that annoy me greatly every time I start my computer up, and I found 357 files taking up nearly 1 gig that were totally duplicated files. Ace also has this great uninstaller that works much better than the Windows uninstaller. Here I reclaimed another half gig.

Particularly if you are a Personal Brain 2.1 user, such as I am, you will need to use something like Ace Utilities to get rid of the unwanted shortcut links. When you build Brains and do not move files into your Brain, I often move a file and do not realize that there is a link in one or more of my Brains that point to this file. This is where Ace is great -- it will repair those links making your Brain even more useful for another day.

Let me give you a summary of all the things Ace Utilities v1.65 does for you:

REMOVE UNNEEDED FILES
Over the period of eight months I have had this particular computer, I have installed and tested maybe some 250 or so programs. Over that period of time, each of these have been uninstalled. So uninstallers are more efficient than others, and so there is always a residue of some programs each time you uninstall. Additionally, there are those data-type files that are created as working notepads for some software, those need to be erased as well. Every computer system has some unneeded files and could do with a clean-up here.

CLEAN SYSTEM REGISTRY
This is perhaps the most serious one. Through Ace Utilities, there were 2,920 unwanted registry entries that Ace deleted without a single problem caused afterwards. This alone has given my computer a new lease of life. Any computer that has been operated for more than a few months should be cleaned using Ace. It adds to the speed of operation.

AUTO START PROGRAMS
This is one of the cool utilities. I know you can edited these using Windows. However, this utility located two programs of the same name that always drives me crazy with two of the same programmes starting each time I boot my computer. Windows never ever showed me I actually had two shortcuts that would start two instances of the same program. Ace showed me and presto, this double start has ceased.

FIX INVALID SHORTCUTS
Now this was a surprise to me. I did not believe I had so many of these invalid shortcuts. Still, I can see how they have been generated -- using PersonalBrain is one of the main reasons for these invalid shortcuts. The only problem here in working with Ace Utilities is that this process is very time consuming. The program asks for each shortcut whether I wish to delete it or if it can be fixed asks if I wish to fox it. I looked all over the program to see if I could set a global setting that it should fix those that it can and delete those it cannot fix. This is perhaps the biggest drawback to Ace. Be ready for a time consuming job of answering 4,500 times to the same questions -- two answers per shortcut usually.

ERASE YOUR HISTORY
Now this I did not do, as I rely on m history so much for everything I do. However, I can see that many people could very well do this and make so much room on the hard disc.

FIND DUPLICATE FILES
What a good utility. I have seen this utility elsewhere, but this one works so well. It even distinguishes a file that is 1% similar and tells you so. This created lots of space for me.

UNINSTALLER PLUS
This is great. Ace actually found things for me to install that Windows did not show me. However, what Ace is not big on is explanation of how to use these tools. I learnt the hard way that I needed to run uninstaller first and then go back and do the rest. More unwanted files can be found after uninstalls, and more shortcuts can be found as well. So the trick is to get in there and uninstall anything you need to unintall and then go and do the other things.

You can download Ace Utilities v1.65 from Download.com. However, download takes you to Simtel. Ace Utilities v1.65 costs $29 to register. It is well worth the money as it is simple to operate and is efficient to use.

Wed, 04 Dec 2002 14:57:51 GMT

PersonalBrain 2.1

The tool that will change the way you thnk about information and your computer for the next ten years. An absolutely phenomenal tool for which I am finding many, many uses. You can download your personal copy of PersonalBrain at TheBrain Site.

I have also expanded my process of Book Writing from this initial introduction written below to an eBook of over 45 pages which you can download free, "Build eTexts Faster and Better using Rapid Text Construction Techniques".

Writing a Book
While this is now my fifth month of retirement (I retired at age 49), I have taken to writing books. I am now onto writing my third book in six months. Success in doing this is due entirely to PersonalBrain. I could not have done this without this great tool. Here is how you write a book with PersonalBrain.

Idea Collection
First up is the idea collection stage. Using the graph-interface that shows connections between ideas, I simply start amassing in any order the ideas for the book. PersonalBrain uses the metaphor of 'thoughts' -- you simply create a whole lot of thoughts, connected in any manner, to anything at first. As long as you capture the ideas that you discover through research or think about the topic as you go. It is amazing how after awhile connections are being made by PersonalBrain and instructing you which thoughts are not becoming main thoughts and which ones are now becoming subordinate thoughts.
Chapter Organization
My next step is then to organize all those thoughts into chapters. My chapters now look something like the following picture with a thought for each chapter; and if a chapter was selected it would open out to ideas as sub thoughts for each chapter:
Explaining the thoughts
For each thought in a chapter, I then use the function "Select Content" which provides me with a list of templates and connections to programmes installed on my machine. I select a MS WordPad program that has a predesigned template of heading style and body style. And simply I write three to ten paragraphs to explain that particular thought.
Logic analysis
I then step through each of the chapters from the beginning thought to the last thought and consider the logic of what I have just written. Some reorganization is done to introduce some ideas before others, and so on.
Building the book
Now, I look at that thought count and copy one "include" statement in a MS Word document for each thought. A macro in MS Word then copies the name of each file into each "include" statement. Now I press F9 and presto my book text appears. I then select all headings and assign a style to each. Then, add a Table of Contents, and an Index and a book is built. THEN, I publish it by converting the text into Adobe Acrobat format, or convert it into html for use on a website, or convert it into some other format for publishing in a variety of contexts.
Updating the text
Any changes to the document, re-organization, added information is done in PersonalBrain. Then simply pull up the document in MS Word, press F9 to update all fields and the book is updated.
Using the BookBrain
Now this is the exciting part. All the thoughts associated with content are searchable, re-usable, and can form parts of other texts I build. I merge the BookBrain with my main Brain "Knowledge" and then form links between my other knowledge and this new BookBrain. It is amazing to see the links and learn new information by linking currently known or forgotten information. This started me on an equiry that then enabled me to build another book on several occasions. What is more, as a part of the Book when I publish it, I can provide links to websites and other linked iinformation that all is composed in the Brain.

THIS would have to be one of the key tools of technacy into the future. A great way to work from brainstorming and knowledge generation to formatting and publishing.

More information about PersonalBrain:

ThoughtsOnThinking (Harlan Hugh Co-Founder of TheBrain weblog page)
Conceptual Model of PersonalBrain (Brief Discussion)
Download from ZDNet a copy of PersonalBrain
WebBrain Paper from another viewpoint
Very Cursory look at PersonalBrain but gives a few other links to thinking type software
Review of the Concept of Mapping Ideas -- the problem with this review is that the writer has a limited understanding of the possibilities of PersonalBrain
Personal KM Tools - an interesting list that includes PersonalBrain
Evolution of TheBrain - a great roundup of where the Company is today. Note that even though there is much ado about servicing the Business Community with this product, Hugh Harlan identified in ThoughtsOn Thinking that the PersonalBrain will continue to be supported.

Thu, 15 Aug 2002 20:37:48 GMT

Fast Cleaner 4.0

Fast Cleaner is a fast, powerful, skinnable, and easy-to-use utility to free up valuable disk space by cleaning up those unwanted and error-making garbage files. It automatically searches the hard disks or any target you specify and identifies garbage files. The engine that identifies the junk files is updated on a frequent basis and can be downloaded separately. You can clean the found files by deleting them or moving them to the Recycle Bin or a backup directory. Review. Download.

Thu, 15 Aug 2002 20:17:54 GMT

ChoiceMail

In essence, ChoiceMail's software turns your e-mail box into the equivalent of your front door. If strangers want to enter, they have to knock and identify themselves first. Anyone who won't do that is automatically turned away without you being bothered. The company calls this approach "permission based" e-mail management. Review. Download.