Keegan Headlines

Microsoft® Exchange to Google Apps

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:45:00 -0700

I’ve done Exchange migrations to Google Apps before. This will make things much easier!

Now it’s easy to switch to Google Apps from Microsoft® Exchange

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 9:00 AM

Today we’re making it a lot easier for customers of Microsoft Exchange to go Google with Apps. Google Apps Migration for Microsoft® Exchange is a new server-side tool that migrates your company’s email, calendar and contact data from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps. With the tool, migrations are:

• Easy: set it up in just 4 steps

• Efficient: select the combination of mail, calendar and contact data that you want to move, with the option of doing so in phases

• Fast: migrate hundreds of users at the same time

• Painless: employees can continue to use Microsoft Exchange during the migration without interruption or any involvement on their part

As Paul Lovett, Project Manager for the Google Apps project at New Zealand Post, described, “We are a very calendar-bound organization, so Google Apps Migration for Microsoft® Exchange was the missing link in our migration strategy, allowing us to perform a server-side migration of our calendar and contact data from Microsoft Exchange 2003. We moved our corporate executive team first which required spot-on accuracy and a quality product, and Google Apps Migration for Microsoft® Exchange met that high bar.”

The tool has been a boon to our Google Apps partners as well. Mayooran Rajan, CTO of Revevol Consulting, noted, “We work with companies with 100 to 20,000 employees. This tool will help us move our clients to Google Apps faster and more efficiently, helping us save them time and money.”

Google Apps Migration for Microsoft® Exchange works with Microsoft Exchange 2003 and 2007, and both on-premise and hosted Exchange. It’s available free to Google Apps Premier and Education Edition customers here. If you’re considering the switch from Microsoft Exchange, you can find resources to help make your decision here.

Also, for those who have already gone Google by making the switch to Google Apps, you can share your experiences and spread the word at www.google.com/apps/spreadtheword.

Live webinars: Learn about Google Apps Migration for Microsoft® Exchange best practices and customer experiences

Register here for the Asia session.

Register here for the Americas, Europe session.

Posted by Abhishek Bapna, Product Manager

via googleenterprise.blogspot.com

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Keegoid's Computer Benchmarks

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:23:00 -0800

Building the fastest possible computer on a budget is always a fun challenge (for me). I have to weigh performance vs. cost for each and every component. One benefit, it allows me to spread out the purchase over many weeks compared to buying a complete system in the store. I usually bundle all the components with shipping costs into one checkout to save on shipping, and then I can buy everything else with free shipping as funds become available. I recommend starting with the case, this way you can add components into it as they arrive and check that they fit. Much easier to send something back sooner than later, especially for components that have limited return periods. You may also run into a problem you didn’t anticipate that forces you to go a different direction. It’s best to discover that before ordering everything.

One of the factors that contributes greatly toward my purchase decision is the overclockability of a particular system. After doing a lot of reading, I learned that Intel’s Core i5-750 (LGA 1156) on many P55 motherboards has a sturdy overclocking range that can yield a good deal more performance at a lower price than Core i7 processors on Intel’s X58 platform. Tri-channel DDR3 memory needed on the X58 platform is also an expensive endeavor which swayed me further toward P55.

Sometimes you have to spend money to save money. I not only chose a case that is renowned for it’s ability to move a large volume of air quickly and quietly, I went all out on air cooling! I decided to go air over water for the CPU since the incremental benefit of the water cooling wasn’t high enough in my opinion to out way the cost of not having any cooling for surrounding motherboard components. Especially considering that the water cooling system is more expensive.

Having a system that can consistently provide more cooling capacity to keep the CPU temp down under full load, and also the surrounding motherboard components is a must if you want a stable overclocked system.

After some careful tuning of voltages and frequencies and lengthy torture testing that took many days, I was able to achieve a 50% overclock with an acceptable level of risk to the components. The torture tests simply tax the system to it’s fullest for many hours to determine if the overclocked components will produce any errors. If not, the system is deemed to be stable (enough).

Now that the system is stable, I can run benchmarks to measure what kind of performance has been achieved. This is the really fun part. If you’ve done a good job on the system build and overclocking, you get to see what it can do and compare it with other systems that likely cost much more!

If you know of any good free benchmarking tools and places to post scores, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Quantum physicist Vlatko Vedral explains the universe

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:01:54 -0800

Professor Vedral reveals the best explanation of the universe that I’ve ever seen! I’ve been thinking along these lines for some time now, but wasn’t able to put it into such easy to comprehend terms.

I think understanding what information is, what the universe is, points toward an answer to the question: “Why are we here?”. And at the heart of everything is probability. That is the concept of information.

Since the beginning, the universe has been moving in one direction, towards ever increasing complexity. It’s about energy density per unit time (energy per gram per second). Up until the first transistorized computer was demonstrated at the University of Manchester in 1953, we were the most energy dense per second thing the universe had created (assuming no aliens or alien tech). Per second, we’re even more energy dense than a star! Now computers are by far more energy dense per second than us.

What is the end product the universe is trying (probabilistically) to produce? Will technology continue to aid us on this journey as it does now or will it eventually replace us? I don’t know. In other words, is technology, or something greater than technology, the end goal or are we? One thing is for sure, we created technology. The universe could not create it without first creating us.

I like to think of it like an assembly line for a car. The production process has already started, but the assembly line itself has yet to be completed! It starts out with the basic parts and pieces (energy, matter, laws of physics) needed for assembly, and as the car progresses down the line it gets more and more complex. I think we are either a robot working to produce the car on that assembly line, or we are the car. Either way, I don’t think we’ll have to wait long to find out.

Infinitec's Infinite USB Memory (IUM) streams to almost any device with a USB port

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:35:00 -0800

This device makes connection possible between devices that previously couldn’t talk to each! Anyone who’s been looking into how to get their computer to display on their big TV knows it ain’t easy or inexpensive. Hopefully, this device will change all that.

Click the via link at the bottom to go to Engadget’s post with the official press release and descriptions of some interesting use scenarios.

via engadget.com

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Search with gestures on Android

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:46:36 -0800

Okay, this has to be one of the coolest, most useful apps Google has made for Android phones! It’s very intuitive. After only a minute I was gesturing away and finding stuff on my phone. I think I’m going to be using this a lot.

via googlemobile.blogspot.com

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Cloud-like storage via Pogoplug

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:00:27 -0800

Wow, I can’t wait to get one of these and turn my external hard drive into a cloud storage system. It’s cloud-like storage without the cloud storage costs and uploading of files hassle.

I love that the people you choose to share files with can access it like a local drive on their computer! Even computer geeks like easy.

I see this being very useful for graphic designers, photographers, or anyone that deals with sending large files to clients that are too large for email. Good riddance to mailing DVDs. :)

This is the old version 1 Pogoplug, so make sure to buy the new version 2 device since it’s much improved and comes with four USB ports:

http://www.geekbrief.tv/gbtv-590-pogoplug

http://pogoplug.com

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Swype

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:52:00 -0800

via swypeinc.com

I installed Swype on my Droid and it is truly a game changing, jaw dropping experience!

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Why Google Voice?

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:22:53 -0800

If you haven’t yet caught the Google Voice craze, these short videos will blow your mind! youtube.com/user/GoogleVoice

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Verizon 3G + Skype

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:55:00 -0800

I’m not sure how I’m going to use this yet; hopefully it will work with Google Voice!

Verizon Wireless USED to be one of the most closed, protective carriers on the planet, suffocating features so their users would have to pay extra for them. With the introduction of the Motorola Droid, that paradigm seemed to shift in a HUGE way. People were fearful they would limit Android %u2013 but they didn%u2019t. Now, instead of simply allowing/inviting something that%u2019s open, Verizon Wireless is going on the offensive like never before.

Starting next month, Verizon Smartphone users with data plans will enjoy free and unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls to anyone on the planet. And you%u2019ll enjoy amazingly cheap Skype International calls as well. All this from Verizon Wireless%u2019 3G network.

Holy smokes %u2013 THIS is a huge move. It will be interesting to see how the company deals with potential %u201Ccaps%u201D on what they call %u201Cunlimited data%u201D plans. I really have no idea where this will take us%u2026 but I bet you it will take other carriers like AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile into a decision making room where they decide they have to do the same. But will their networks buckle under the data pressure?

Skype Mobile will be offered on all 3 Verizon Android Phones %u2013 the Motorola Droid, Motorola Devour and HTC Droid Eris %u2013 as well as several other smartphones. At least for starters.

Here is the full press release:

BARCELONA, SPAIN; BASKING RIDGE, NJ, UNITED STATES; AND LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG %u2014 At the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Verizon Wireless and Skype today announced a strategic relationship that will bring Skype to Verizon Wireless smartphones in March. The new Skype mobile%u2122 product enhances Verizon Wireless%u2019 smartphones for users who have data plans by offering a new way to call around the globe, while also giving hundreds of millions of Skype users around the world the opportunity to communicate with friends, family and business colleagues in the United States using Verizon Wireless.

The two companies have created an exclusive, easy-to-use Skype mobile offering for 3G smartphones. Verizon Wireless 3G smartphone users with data plans can use Skype mobile to:

* make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype user around the globe on America%u2019s most reliable wireless network;
* call international phone numbers at competitive Skype Out calling rates;
* send and receive instant messages to other Skype users; and
* remain always connected with the ability to see friends%u2019 online presence.

Initially, Skype mobile will be available on millions of best-selling Verizon Wireless 3G smartphones with data plans, including the BlackBerry� Storm%u2122 9530, Storm2%u2122 9550, Curve%u2122 8330, Curve%u2122 8530, 8830 World Edition and Tour%u2122 9630 smartphones, as well as DROID by Motorola, DROID ERIS%u2122 by HTC and Motorola DEVOUR%u2122.

John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, said, %u201CSkype mobile on Verizon Wireless changes the game. For Verizon Wireless%u2019 more than 90 million customers, Skype mobile adds great value because we%u2019re effectively giving customers with smartphones and data plans the option to extend their unlimited calling community to hundreds of millions of Skype users around the globe. And you%u2019re not limited to using a single type of phone; we%u2019ll have nine smartphones ready right at launch in March.%u201D

Josh Silverman, chief executive officer of Skype, noted, %u201CPeople want to take their Skype conversations with them wherever they go, whether it%u2019s on a PC, TV or increasingly mobile phones. Verizon Wireless will give U.S. consumers the best Skype experience on mobile phones and will truly change the way people call their friends and family internationally.%u201D

Customers interested in learning more about Skype mobile for Verizon Wireless smartphones can visit www.verizonwireless.com/skypemobile. Additional information about the service will be available next month.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com for more information about Verizon Wireless or follow the company at http://twitter.com/verizonwireless. Learn more and download Skype at www.skype.com or follow the company at http://twitter.com/skypemobile.
>

[Verizon Wireless via Engadget via AndroidForums, Thanks CRPercodani]

via phandroid.com

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Google Buzz for mobile

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:47:32 -0800

via googlemobile.blogspot.com

Google is getting better with social networking and real-time search. I think this will be very useful since many people already use Google Maps. I like the idea that I can find out what others are “buzzing” about near me. I’m sure I’ll be able to find out all kinds of interesting stuff. It’s just another easy way of finding out what others know. A system for mass knowledge sharing…and I love sharing my massive knowledge! :)

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Fish oil may help prevent schizophrenia

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:46:03 -0800

Associated Press

Fish oil pills may be able to spare some young people with signs of mental illness from a progression into fully developed schizophrenia, according to a preliminary study of 81 patients in Austria.

The study adds to evidence suggesting that severe mental illness may be prevented with intervention. The researchers are starting a larger study in eight cities, hoping to replicate the findings, which appear in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, released Monday.

A severe mental illness, schizophrenia affects adolescents and young adults. Some 2.4 million Americans have the disorder, which is treated with antipsychotic medication.

“Schizophrenia is among the most mysterious and costliest diseases in terms of human suffering, so anything that gives some hope to avoid this is great,” said lead author Dr. G. Paul Amminger, formerly in Vienna and now at the Orygen Youth Health Research Center at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

Researchers have wondered if the disease could be stopped before it overpowers a person’s grip on reality. Studies have tried antipsychotics in select young people, but side effects pose ethical questions, and results have been mixed.

Researchers in the new study identified 81 people, ages 13 to 25, with warning signs of psychosis, including sleeping much more or less than usual, growing suspicious of others, believing someone is putting thoughts in their head or believing they have magical powers. Forty-one were randomly assigned to take four fish oil pills a day for three months. The other patients took dummy pills.

After a year of monitoring, 2 of the 41 patients in the fish oil group, or about 5%, had become psychotic, or completely out of touch with reality. In the placebo group, 11 of 40 became psychotic, about 28%.

No one knows what causes schizophrenia but one hypothesis is that people with the disease don’t process fatty acids correctly, leading to damaged brain cells. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil could help brain cells repair and stabilize, the researchers speculate.

Dr. Janet Wozniak of Harvard Medical School said the findings might reasonably cause psychiatrists to recommend fish oil to some patients because there are known benefits and little risk.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press

via online.wsj.com

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Food, Inc.

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:34:22 -0800

via takepart.com/foodinc

If you haven’t seen this movie, go see it. Then decide, for the health of the planet and ourselves, to make a change. Remember, we vote with each beep at the checkout scanner…

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About Google Voice

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:04:53 -0800

These two videos do a great job of explaining your options with Google Voice depending on if you use it with your existing number, or use it with a Google number.

Use Google Voice with your existing number:

Use it with a Google number:

via google.com/googlevoice/about

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Google Voice on mobile HTML5 browsers!

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:54:03 -0800

via googlemobile.blogspot.com

Finally! Now iPhone users can have access to Google Voice. About time! Welcome to the party people!

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DisplayPort 1.2 enables higher resolutions and cable consolidation

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:08:50 -0800

via geek.com

By the end of 2010, we should start seeing computers and monitors with the new DisplayPort v1.2 interconnect. Anything that allows me to have a better image and clean up the mess of cables coming out of my computer is a-okay in my book!

At the rate that demand for bandwidth is increasing, I think I’ll put in PVC tubing in my walls so I can easily pull through new cables as technology continues to improve. Then I can get that 4K projector I’ve always wanted! Yeah right, keep dreaming Keegan.

Here’s a good post on this topic at geek.com.

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Healing foods reference database

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:28:54 -0800

Mike Adams has done it again! His new site is a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their health through better nutrition. It helps to remove the fog of war when battling any of the common health conditions listed on the site.

Trying to determine what to eat to best promote healing has been a big source of confusion for me. Not that I’ve been sick, but I like to be prepared. Now I know a great resource to turn to should I need it, and I will be using it to help prevent disease as well: healingfoodreference.com

I also follow the happenings at Mike Adam’s other great sites:

I don’t mind that some of his posts are a bit paranoid and obsessing, because buried in the paranoia I come away with some really great knowledge. Just remember, reality is typically a shade of gray.

Nature’s foods contain powerful medicine in the form of phytonutrients, and knowing how to use those natural medicines empowers people with the information they need to be healthier, happier and free from the ravages of chronic disease.

via healingfoodreference.com

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Gmail Labs I use and love

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:00:00 -0800

If I didn’t use many of these Labs, I might be inclined to think Gmail wasn’t very functional (read: Gmail sucks). Thanks to the work of many enthusiastic people however, Gmail Labs do a great job of improving the usability of Gmail to the point where I was able to replace my desktop client completely. Goodbye crashing, freezing, slow Outlook!

You can find the Labs in Settings —> Labs.

I’ll try to keep this list updated as I make changes to my preferred Labs and as Google updates them. Really the Labs are beta features for people to test and work out bugs before Google decides if they are worthy to become a permanent part of the base Gmail app.

This list includes all the labs I use:

Updated: 1/12/2010

YouTube previews in mail
by Stanley C and Braden K

Shows a video preview whenever you receive a YouTube link in an email. You can watch the video right inline!

Picasa previews in mail
by Dan, Stanley, Mark & Umesh

Shows photos previews whenever you receive a Picasa link in an email.

Flickr previews in mail
by Dan P

Shows photos previews whenever you receive a Flickr link in an email.

Yelp previews in mail
by Dong C, Braden K, and Raylene Y

Shows previews of Yelp listings (rating, location, phone number, etc.) whenever you receive a Yelp link in an email.

Google Voice player in mail
by Robert D

Lets you play voicemails left on your Google Voice account right from the email notification.

Google Docs previews in mail
by Steven S, Jim M, Bob B, and Ted C

Shows previews of documents, spreadsheets and presentations directly in the email when you receive any link to a Google Doc. Also gives an option to open directly in Google Docs.

Message translation
by Darren

Uses Google Translate to translate messages you receive in other languages.

Signature tweaks
by Keith C and Dave C

Places your signature before the quoted text in a reply, and removes the “—” line that appears before signatures.

Right-side chat
by Emily C

Move the chat box to the right side of the inbox.

Canned Responses
by Chad P

Email for the truly lazy. Save and then send your common messages using a button next to the compose form. Also automatically send emails using filters.

Forgotten Attachment Detector
by Jonathan K

Prevents you from accidentally sending messages without the relevant attachments. Prompts you if you mention attaching a file, but forgot to do so.

Vacation Time!
by Darick

Lets you specify starting and ending dates for the vacation autoresponder.

Mark as Read Button
by Mark K

Tired of spending all that effort to click on the more actions menu every time you want to mark messages as read without reading them? Now just enable this lab and that is just a button click away!

Filter import/export
by Luke B, Slava C, and the Data Liberation team

Export your mail filters as a file: back them up, share them, or save them before deleting so you can restore them later. Import one of these files to quickly add or restore filters. These options become available under Settings/Filters when you enable this Lab.

Text Messaging (SMS) in Chat
by The SMS Team

Allows you to send and receive text messages (SMS) in Chat. US phones only for now.

SMS in Chat gadget
by The SMS Team

Adds a gadget that makes it easier to send SMS messages. Please note that for this lab to work, the “Text messaging (SMS) in Chat” lab needs to be enabled as well.

Authentication icon for verified senders
by E R

Displays a key icon next to authenticated messages from certain senders that spammers attempt to fake. Currently works for mail from PayPal and eBay only.

Send & Archive
by Pal T

Adds a button to the compose form that lets you send a reply message and archive the email conversation in a single action.

Undo Send
by Yuzo F

Oops, hit “Send” too soon? Stop messages from being sent for a few seconds after hitting the send button.

Title Tweaks
by Fedor K

Changes order of elements in the browser title bar from “KM Authorized Mail - Inbox (20) - keegan@kmauthorized.com” to “Inbox (20) - keegan@kmauthorized.com - KM Authorized Mail”. This way you are able (most of the time) to see if a new mail has arrived even if KM Authorized Mail window is minimized.

Don’t forget Bob
by Ari L, Naty L & Ron M

Once you pick some email recipients, KM Authorized Mail suggests more people you might want to include based on the groups of people you email most often.

Got the wrong Bob?
By Assaf B.D. & Naty L

Doh, have you ever addressed an email too quickly, and included Bob (your boss) instead of Bob (your friend) by accident? If you’re emailing more than two people at once, KM Authorized Mail will check if you meant to include Bob Smith rather than Bob Jones based on the groups of people you email most often.

Green Robot!
by Chad Y

Chat buddies show up as robot icons if they are currently using Android. Helpful to determine if you are chatting with someone on a computer or someone on an Android device.

Search Autocomplete
by Ibrahim B, Chris P, and Andrew C

Provides search suggestions for contacts and operators as you type in the search box.

Hide read labels.
by Damian G & David de K

The visible labels in the navigation bar will be hidden under the ‘more’ menu when they don’t contain any unread conversations.

Inserting images
by Kent T

Allows you to insert images into a message body. You can upload and insert image files in your computer, or insert images by URLs. This lab will not work if you have offline enabled.

Mark Unread From Here
by Jenny R

Sets the message and all following as unread, so when you come back to the conversation later you can pick up where you left off.

Google Calendar gadget
by Ben K and Garry B

Adds a box in the left column which shows your Google Calendar. See upcoming events, locations, and details.

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Dakar Rally 2010

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:44:00 -0800

Now this is racing! 9,000 Km through South America with every obstacle nature can throw at them. Imagine driving off a cliff like these guys in their BMW rally car! Wow, that’ll get your stomach!

BMW’s driver France’s Stephane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret cross a valley during the seventh stage of the Argentina-Chile Dakar Rally 2010 between Iquique and Antofagasta, Chile, Friday, Jan. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

via boston.com/bigpicture

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Google's Nexus One

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:15:00 -0800

via youtube.com/googlenexusone

This is the next iteration of Android from Google and manufacturer HTC! Mobile devices are getting to be very useful and fun indeed.

It’s available from google.com/phone on T-mobile now. In the Spring it will be on Verizon too! I can’t wait!

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The Known Universe by AMNH

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:23:47 -0800

via The American Museum of Natural History on youtube.com

Whenever I get stressed out, it helps to think of the cosmic perspective. This video does a good job of visualizing it.

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