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What was once old is new again

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Back when I first started writing my blog over 11 years ago I did so using my scott.ac domain.  I was pleased with myself to have gotten a domain with just my first name.  Over the years I got too many questions about the .ac so i moved my online presence to other domains with the more traditional .com, .net, & .org.  Oh how I thought powerz.org was a cool sounding domain name back in 2000.

With my recent changes I decided to make with regards to my web & email hosting I took the time to change the domain I use once again.  This time back to scott.ac.  Now a days there are literally going to be thousands of new domain names out there.  I have bought a few myself.  I realized then that with so many new TLD’s I still have one of the easiest domains I will ever get.  So after that realization I went back to the domain name I have had the longest (since 1999, man I feel old).

My Feedburner feed will redirect to the new URL.  I will once again (i have done this a few times in the past) take the hit and lose my google rankings while the site gets reindexed.  I don’t really care about that.  I am still surprised I get traffic on this site.  I still enjoy writing even though i only just started writing again in recent weeks.

Of course I am a realist and I give myself 2 years before I decide to change things again.

Securing my email a bit

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Today I completed my copying of my email off my Google App’s account.  That means all my data is safely on other systems besides Google Apps.  I finished re-pointing most of my domains to my new web host.  Next up is completing migrating my parents to the new system.  I cannot yet delete my Google Apps for Work account but i am one step closer.

My Sudden Allergic Reaction to All Things Google

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I have recently had a technical dilemma.  I have been a user of many Google services over the years.  I have several Google Apps for Work domains.  I post private videos of my family on Youtube.  I have loved Google Voice long before Google owned it.  For most of the time I have used their services I have know there have been some questions about what they do with all the data collected.  From day one of Gmail you knew they were looking at your mail to give you ad’s.  At the time I brushed it off, especially since i didn’t really start using gmail for a few years after it came out.  After I did the lingering security questions were still there but because they provide services that really work well I didn’t question anything nor did I really care.  The cool aid was great.

The problem I am facing recently is I have read more specifically about what data Google collects and how long they store it.  Or rather how they don’t really say how long they store it.  There are many discussions on the topic, here, here, here, and many other places.  After reading a lot on the topic and talking with a few people I work with more knowledgeable on the subject than I am I decided the great user experience wan’t worth all I was giving them.

If was to move providers I needed first an email provider.  2nd I needed to stop using Google Voice.

Until very recently that was no small feat.  I didn’t want to rely on my mobile alone.  That is why I ported my mobile number to Google Voice in the first place.  Thankfully as good timing would have it the new IOS software offers wifi calling and handoff to computers for calls.  This is not nearly a replacement for google voice for me, but it made it easy to move back to one mobile for everything since as long as I had WIFI I know my number would work.  With my new iPhone 6 I would be able to solve my Google Voice dependency.  Next up of course is the bigger issue, my email hosting.  If just picking anyone I would have gone with Office 365 or some other cloud offering.  The problem was as I kept talking to people and reading more I have to say I wasn’t too happy with the US governments tactic’s on getting access to people’s accounts.  After that statement I know people are going to say if you don’t have anything to hide, why would you worry.  Well I don’t have anything to hide, but that’s not the point.  I would rather not know my government could relatively easily get access to my stuff with a court order that apparently happens more often than you would like.  I don’t think I am being paranoid guy about this.  To me it feels more like ignorance is bliss.  Since I do know how creepy stuff is apparently now a days I don’t just want to leave Google mail I want to ensure my data is safe where ever i put it.

I thought about my own server.  I just don’t want to deal with it.  The super secure Swiss email hosting provider was too expensive.  I opted for a well known general web hosting provider in Switzerland were data privacy laws are much more strict than in the US.

Next up for me is to goto the T-Moble store and port my number.  After that it is lots of mail copying to my new provider.

Google Apps Premium

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On several occasions I have blogged about Zimbra. In June I decided to switch back to Google apps. For about a month or so I had been playing with both Zimbra and Google apps. What’s funny is I was relatively happy with Zimbra, but when I was playing with android phones I started looking again at Google apps. It seems like nowadays Google apps is universally accessible on multiple operating systems and phone platforms. Zimbra does use Microsoft’s exchange sync but do not as universally compatible as Google apps. The biggest drawback was the limitations on android phones. Even though I ended up not keeping an android phone I actually like the flexibility that Google apps gave me. When I first started using Zimbra I actually A copy of mail both on my Gmail and on my Zimbra account. Recently I have been less concerned about downtime with anyone provider, so that redundancy seemed like overkill.

What I ended up doing was I stopped using Zimbra and started using the free Google apps. Once I got the IOS 4.0 upgrade for my iPhone however I was compelled to purchase the paid version. There was a quirk with each change sync settings and IOS 4.0 that was fixed with the premium version. I tried the 15 day free account and liked it. I ended up canceling my Zimbra account and and now I am only using Google apps. Feature wise I can’t complain about Zimbra. Overall the two products were similar. I do however like the UI of Google apps. Recent integration of Google voice to my Google apps for domains also affirms my choice was the right one for me at the time. The

So far I’ve been happy with my choice for the past few months. I know every year or two I reassess the situation. I did that about two years ago when I switched from Google Apps to Zimbra, any year or so before that when I moved on to Google apps from another mail provider. Let’s hope I am satisfied with what I have now for a few years. Of course if Google doesn’t continue to innovate I’m open to other options.

Google Apps vs Zimbra

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Way back in October of 2008 I started using Zimbra (Hosted by 01.com) instead of Google Apps.  At the time the reasons were based mainly about security and the lack of good syncing from Google Apps to my iPhone.  I also recall the less than stellar Contact management on Google Apps.

Whats different?  We first the Contact management on Google Apps/Gmail is much improved.  I think it is pretty close to being on par with Zimbra, or enough to be really usable.  Secondly they offer Exchange like sync to any devices such as my iPhone.  With those two problems solved plus the fact that Google Apps always was a better email system I was very tempted to switch.

Another driving factor for me was I wanted to try the Nexus One (see previous posts) and having a Google Apps or Gmail account would make Android work so much better.  That was probably the tipping point for the switch even though I wasn’t sure if I would continue with Android.  Google Apps since it now uses Exchange sync works with many devices including both Android and iPhone.

Is there still a security issue with Google Apps, perceived or otherwise?  The short answer is maybe.  I think they will be good enough if I pay for the Premium account.

For years I have paid for mail forwarding services from Dyndns.org.  I love it, but it is not cheap.  It costs almost as much as a full year for 1 mailbox on Google Apps Premium.  What I would do is route mail to my Zimbra account and to my free Gmail account so I had my mail basically in two places in case I lost any one provider.  It was a bit over kill I know, but I got burned before with a regular email provider.  So on top of my mail routing service I also was/am paying for Zimbra.  2gig’s of storage and iphone syncing is about $65.  If I just bite the bullet and go with one host only (google apps) I can save almost $100 if I go for the free services.  If I want to pay for better SLA and more space, etc I am saving 50% or $50.

Any cloud service has some security risks.  I may be a bit paranoid about the whole google has my stuff issues I have so I started using Google Apps again.  I first tried using it with my old Scott.ac domain and used Dyndns to route my main domain to it.  I found that I really don’t think I want to continue to using the mail routing service after it expires so I setup another Google Apps account for my main domain.

I spent the past half a week uploading all my mail archives to the new account.  The vast majority of my stuff is up there now and labeled and is all perfect.

It is now the first time in years that I have turned off the mail forwarding and have all my mail going to only one place.  I did that as a test to see if I will be happy with this setup once the mail routing service expires.  So far, so good.  Knock on wood.  If I am happy in 3 months than I am now I may actually buy the Premium service.

My Parents Are Becoming So Tech Savy It Scares Me Sometimes

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We live in a very technical world now a days so I don’t know why it surprises me that my parents are slowly embracing modern tools. I am less surprised by my dad than my mom but it sometimes still takes getting used to.

My dad at least has a long history of having useful gadgets. He was the first person I remember to have a PDA. It was an old Sharp Wizard that I eventually inherited. I get my love of gadgets from him, but I think I take it to a whole new level. Of course there is alot cooler stuff out now.

My mom on the other hand is not tech savvy at all. I still get calls from my mom for help doing basic stuff on my dad’s GPS. Of course my sister who once programed for a living also calls me just as frequently about similar issues so I shouldn’t judge.

What is funny recently is that my dad had been dead against a smart phone for ages. At one point I got him a Treo 300 that he used for a year or so, but didn’t like the small keyboard. He ended up going back to a regular phone and an old style Palm handheld. He has had a palm handheld (minus the time with the Treo when it was Handspring) since they first came out in 1996. Recently, well actually over the past few years he has been asking about an all in one phone/PDA. The problem is he doesn’t like the little keyboards. Because of that he hasn’t switched his setup, but has really wanted to ditch his phone, PDA, and pager (yeah he still has one) for one device. His work was going to give him a Blackberry a while ago but he turned it down because again he didn’t want a keyboard. I showed him the iphone when I got it and we decided it wasn’t for him since he would have a problem with the lack of feedback on the virtual keyboard. Recently he has been wanting a new phone again, so he went to the Verizon Store (his carrier). I was surpassed when he came back and said he wanted a Blackberry Storm. He liked the feedback of the virtual keyboard, and the phone did everything else he needed. He even wanted to get the data plan to get work email. He spent about an hour with sales guy and ended up buying one. I now need to go over and migrate his palm data to the Blackberry. In some ways I am not surprised he got that phone and in others I am a bit surprised he has a phone as advanced (arguably) as the one I have!

My mom also surprised me with technology when she started asking me about the Amazon Kindle. Apparently Operah had a special about it and she was interested. My sisters mother in law gave my sister a Kindle and my sister lent it to my mom for a cruise she went on a few months ago. She really liked it since she didn’t have to pack a bunch of books. She took a while to get over some issues with it but apparently got the hang of it. For a while I was pondering upgrading to the Kindle 2 and she asked if she could have my old one if I did. At first I wasn’t going to upgrade. For me the price of the Kindle 2 was too much to be worth the upgrade from the first version. My mom’s birthday is coming up and I couldn’t figure out what to get her (and I still owe her a mothers day gift) so I asked if she wanted my Kindle for her birthday gift? She said yes, so I ordered a Kindle 2 for myself. The new one would be a waste for her, so I don’t feel so bad giving her the generation 1 version. I am excited for the new Kindle and hopeful my mom doesn’t run into any problems using the Kindle the next time she uses it.

In a later post I might write about part two of this post, about my progress at weaning both my mom and dad off AOL. They still use it for email. I setup a mail domain on Google Apps and created accounts for both of them. I just need to show them how to use the Gmail web interface and get them to tell people the new addresses.

A New Blackberry Curve

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When I got home from the taping of the Daily Show last night I returned to a box containing my new Blackberry Curve 8310. Since I started my new job in September I have been lazy in researching how to order one. Over the holidays I finally broke down and realized I needed one to stay up to date with the contestant barrage of mail I get. So now I once again have to carry two phones, since I won’t give up my personal number. It has been almost 8 months since I had a Blackberry I used every day. I almost didn’t miss it.

I have a slightly newer model Curve from what I used at Redcats. The only major difference I see is that this new one has GPS built in, and is a titanium color. I am still trying to figure out what applications I want for it.

Google To Zimbra Update

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So far I am liking Zimbra, but I do have a few features that I miss from Google Apps. I miss the ability to search and apply tags to everything that is already in my account. Zimbra cannot do that, but version 6 should be able to fix that. I miss the linking of messages to one thread in Google, but on the other hand I don't miss it sometimes. That was a controversial function for me.

I miss the extra drive space. My current Zimbra account only gives me 2 gigs. When I am done uploading all my mail I will need closer to 4gig, and Google apps gave me around 7. I knew this going into the Zimbra, but more space would be nice!

I am liking the syncing to my iPhone. The only quirk is that the photo caller id pictures I have on my Mac address book won't sync with the iPhone anymore but they will sync with the Zimbra server. Weird. I am also having issues with getting the calendar on my mac to sync with Zimbra. I was able to do a one way import to the server but getting it back down to my iCal has been a problem. It hasn't bothered me yet since I don't really use iCal as much as I used to now that my work world lives in Exchange.

I have had a few other odd issues with mail not replicating to Outlook using the Zimbra plug in, but I haven't gone crazy over it yet. Overall Google Apps was a good solid web app, so change is difficult. That being said I am happier that I have a bit more control over my most sensitive data. Sorry Google, I love you in many ways but I am still a bit skeptical about your privacy and data retention policies. And in a nutshell that is the final reason I moved to Zimbra. I still use my Gmail account as a backup, but I haven't logged into my Google Apps account all week.

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Free Google Apps, to Paid Zimbra!

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My brother in law reminded me that he lost everything in his Gmail inbox a few months ago. He can’t recall how that happened, and there is no way to get the data back. Knowing him, I don’t think he did something to delete it. This story on top of several people I have spoken to about percieved issues with Googles privacy policy has got me wondering if I should be relying on Google Apps for my mail. To be truthful I was originally a skeptic of Gmail but I have been using Google Apps for about a year with no major issues. That being said hearing horror stories about lack of support or loss of mail (or loss of access to mail), hijacking of accounts, etc got me thinking. I am willing to pay for rock solid service from a mail provider, but even paying for Google Apps doesn’t (in my eyes) solve the security and privacy issues with Googles terms of service.

All these concerns got to seriously look at using Zimbra again. Earlier this year I had tried out 01.com‘s personal Zimbra hosting but ended up sticking to Google Apps. What has changed? The iPhone for one. The need in my opinion to have my contacts synced with my mail system. The fact that I have an iPhone so I switched to Remember The Milk for task management. One major reason I didn’t keep using Zimbra was it didn’t sync tasks to the Mac and at the time that was a requirement. With me using RTM that isn’t an issue anymore. I could have used my existing hosting provider and used simple IMAP mail like I did for years, but I grew attached to a nice web UI. The ability to have the same mail experience on any computer became very compelling, so going back to simple IMAP mail wasn’t going to cut it.

Last week I signed up for a business account with 01.com (biz account offers me more features over the personal one I previously tried). I have already moved the majority of my mail from Google Apps over to Zimbra. The moving of mail was slow since I was just coping messages between the two services using IMAP. Getting my contacts and calendar into Zimbra was easy with the import functionality as well as the iSync connector. I am having issues sync’ing my calendar back with my Mac, but everything syncs up perfectly with my iPhone. If I realized Zimbra would work so well syncing with the iPhone I would never have renewed .mac (mobileme). I would have been better served just using sugarsync and Zimbra, but I didn’t know about sugarsync in July. I know for next year not to renew mobileme!

Now all I need to do is sort out a few minor glitches with my Zimbra experience and I will be happy to stop using Google Apps.

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I Cannot Stand The Blackberry Pearl

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I cannot stand the Blackberry Pearl! I know it is a really small phone, and it is a Blackberry but it drives me crazy. The only reason to have a Blackberry is to use it for email. I think all other functions of it are sub-par as smart phones go, so to have an email device without a full keyboard is driving me up the wall. My office gave me a brand new Verizon Wireless Pearl when I started and I tolerated the horrible keyboard since it was the nicest phone they had. The last straw was about two weeks ago when I was writing my boss and the dam predictive text or whatever you call it could not type out LAN, nor could I cancel out of the options it was giving me.

Early last week I had our telecom person switch me to an Blackberry 8800 that my predecessor had. That phone is huge, and kind of sucks but it has a full keyboard. I will use it until we can figure out why we cannot get the iPhone or any other Wireless Active Sync device to connect to our Exchange 2003 server.

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