The Week of Follow-Ups, Short Stories, and Asides

To say that this week's program contains nothing new would be partly right but also mostly wrong. Many of this week's topics have come up before, but in passing or accompanied by my promise to provide more information when I had it. So this is the week that some of those rhetorical chickens come home to roost.

This Fuse Burns Fast

Documenting applications on IOS or Android devices has always been a bit of a chore. After grabbing a screen shot, you have to find a way to move the image to a desktop system. In my case, the easiest method involved using FTP to transfer the image to a hidden directory on TechByter server and then using FTP to move the image from the server to my PC. There should be an easier way and now there is.

In the review of SnagIt 12 on June 15th, I mentioned Fuse in passing. Fuse is a free app from TechSmith for Android and IOS devices. It's not a screen capture utility; your device has built-in functions for that. What it does is automate the process of moving an image from the portable device to the desktop. As automation goes, it doesn't get much easier than this.

Fuse does more than just transfer images and videos. When you start the application, you'll be offered options to view the image library, to record a video, or to take a picture with the built-in camera.

The Library function is what you'll use to send an image to SnagIt on a computer and the Library has 3 rooms: Fuse Library (images and videos created by Fuse), Gallery (all images in the phone or tablet's default image directory), and Screenshots (the default location that the device uses for screen images.)

I selected Screenshots to view the captured images that were available.

When you select an image, it will open a larger thumbnail image with icons at the bottom of the screen. The icons illustrate the 3 options you have for transferring the image: To Camtasia, to SnagIt, or to TechSmith Relay.

Relay is a video sharing service that's intended primarily for instructional use, both in schools and businesses. It includes functions that allow users to create quizzes and analyze results.

Tap the SnagIt icon and, if you're on the same Wi-Fi network as a computer that you've already paired with the tablet or phone, the image will be transferred immediately.

If you're not on a network with a paired computer or if you haven't yet paired SnagIt on any computer with Fuse, you'll have an option to add a new device. When you add a device, you'll be instructed to have the desktop version of SnagIt display a QR code. Pointing the tablet's or phone's camera at the QR code on the computer's screen pairs the two devices.

All images that are sent to SnagIt by Fuse are shown as originating in Fuse. Because the original images were not created by SnagIt, they arrive in PNG format instead of SnagIt's proprietary SNAG format. If you need to use SnagIt's mark-up capabilities, you can save the image in SNAG format.

There is a problem with Fuse, though: It down-samples images. In just a moment, I'll tell you about an update to the Maxthon browser for Android devices. The original version is still available, but a new HD version is outstanding on high-definition devices. So the problem with down-sampling those images is that they become fuzzy.

Even at low resolution, you can see the problem, but be sure to click the image to see the full size version and see the full scope of the problem.

I have no idea why TechSmith decided to implement Fuse this way, but it's disappointing. I thought that it made Fuse a non-starter for now. I let TechSmith's media relations team know about my concerns on Wednesday and reached out to the support team on Thursday.

On Friday, Nate at TechSmith support told me that there is a setting in SnagIt 12 that forces images to be maintained at their normal resolution. I have tested that setting and can confirm that the images arrive as they should.

And I have recommended to TechSmith that this setting should be enabled by default.

Avast's Android Backup Application Is Only Half Vast (Be Careful How You Say That!)

I have a paid version of Avast's protective applications on the desktop system and the company offers a free Android backup system that I've been using for a while. Writing a backup application is one of the easier jobs: Identify files that have changed since the previous backup and back them up. Apparently Avast assigned this task to someone who wasn't up to the challenge.

At least once a day, the backup fails. Sometimes I receive a message from Avast that says The maximum storage size of your Google Drive account has been reached. Google Drive, however, reports that I am using 2.2GB of 36GB (6% of the space available). I'm fairly certain that the Android device is not attempting to back up nearly 34GB of data.

Other errors I've seen tell me that the program can't find the directory (but it's there) or that the credentials failed (but they work when I run the program manually) or that Google Drive hasn't been set up (but when I click the link to set up Google Drive, the program tells me that Google Drive is already set up.)

I apologize for the quality of these images. They were transferred by Fuse before I heard from TechSmith about how to fix the problem (previous story).

When I open the Avast backup app, there's an entry in the error log. In this case: The Google Drive target folder was not found.

If I navigate to Google Drive, I find (not exactly to my great surprise) that the directory exists:
avast! Files (Nexus 7, PffYPV4pEP3laish)

But Avast can't find the directory it created ...

... unless I run the backup manually.

In that case, it finds that

• The account's credentials work as expected.
• The amount of space available is sufficient for the backup.
• The directory where the backup files are stored is available.
  

And the backup runs to completion.

If you've installed Avast's Android Backup system ($15 per year), you may have encountered this problem. According to Daniel Kořínek at Avast, "Sadly, it appears that you have encountered the latest bug in the Avast Mobile Backup app. We are currently gathering data for our developers so they can track down the cause and fix it. The most recent news from our developers is that the probable cause has been found and the fix is now in testing stage."

So hang in there.

Plentiful Malware Spams

Occasionally I turn off my spam elimination applications to see what's out there. When I did that this week, I found an astonishing increase in spams that directed me to websites that would attempt to plant malware on the computer, given half a chance. I didn't give them half a chance, and neither should you.

There's no shortage of routine crap such as this message. It didn't trigger any malware alerts, but it's obviously a fraud.

What I found in abundance, though were messages that looked a lot like run-of-the mill spam such as those for a "100-year-old Amish wood-cleaning formula" ...

... what you should do when you have a gun pointed at your head (I saw a lot of these) ...

... a restaurant coupon finder (or one for cat food, dog food, or just about any other staple that people might be looking for) ...

... including groceries.

What each of these message had in common was a warning from my protective software about a site that would attempt to plant malware on the computer.

NetGear Routers Handle Network Attached Storage, But Only for Small Drives

Network attached storage (NAS) is handy if you have more than one computer in your home or office, and router manufacturers have been adding USB connectors to some of their routers so that users can plug in a USB drive and use it as a NAS drive. I had been using an old USB drive with my NetGear router, but the drive died and the "fun" began when I attached a larger drive.

Perhaps my definition of "fun" differs from yours. When I replaced the drive that had failed, I had 2 options: A 1TB drive for $71 or a 2TB drive for $80. Easy decision. I bought the $80 drive.

When I plugged it in, though, the router didn't see it.

The drive is formatted and recognized by any PC I connect it to.

I have tried connecting it to the USB 2.0 port on the back as well as to the USB 3.0 port on the front of the router. The drive is a USB 3.0 device. It's a Seagate 2TB drive (STB2000100). I confirmed that the external power supply was connected. The power light is on. NetGear warns about trying to use drives that require drivers. This is a standard Seagate USB drive and no drivers are required.

Pressing Refresh does nothing. Pressing Edit or Create Network folder returns "No Disk". I rebooted the router. I rebooted the computer

So I Worked with NetGear Support

After more than 2 weeks, and several missed calls at times promised by NetGear, I'm no closer to solving the problem than I was. NetGear sent a replacement router, but it exhibits exactly the same behavior. Now I have 2 routers that cannot detect any drive larger than 1TB.

Additional calls are scheduled. I'll let you know when (if) this is ever resolved.

Maxthon Releases an HD Browser for Portable Devices

On the May 18 program, I described a browser from China, Maxthon, but didn't say much about it. This week, I'm still not going to say much about it, but I will share a couple of reasons that you might want to consider it for desktop systems and particularly for Android or IOS tablets and Windows Phones.

Maxthon has several advantages, one of which is speed. The browser renders pages quickly. This is a somewhat subjective consideration and it's affected by network speed and a variety of other factors, but pages seem to render with just a bit more "snap" in Maxthon. A feature added this week will be of interest to those who don't like commercials that appear prior to videos on some websites. To obtain this feature, you have to download and install a plug-in.

Maxthon says that the new Ad-Skipper feature eliminates "forced-view" advertising by allowing users to fast-forward thorough it. The technology uses a combination of pre-fetching and a new approach to managing the browser runtime environment to accomplish the task.

But Maxthon's expansion strategy is focused less on the desktop and more on mobile devices.

And that's what got my attention this week. A new HD version of the browser for portable devices. The display on my Nexus 7 Android tablet is little short of amazing.

Desktop users may find useful features in Maxthon. Users of portable devices most certainly will.

The Supreme Court Kills Aereo

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court has found in favor of TV networks in the case against Aereo, the company that captured over-the-air TV broadcasts for users and made video streams available on portable devices via the Internet.

TV stations, used to receiving big payments from cable companies for "retransmitting" local broadcast signals, cried foul. I still don't understand why cable companies should have to pay TV stations for retransmitting their signals. Given that TV stations sell advertisements based on the number of viewers the station has, it seems to me that the cable companies are being forced to pay TV stations for actions that actually benefit the TV stations.

Aereo made it possible for people to watch TV programs on their own schedule, not unlike using a Tivo device at home. That usage is legal, but the Supreme Court says that the Aereo model is not, even though Aereo tried to create a system that's legal.

This reminds me of the early days of MP3 file sharing. Many of the start-ups that specialized in file sharing attempted to find ways to work with record companies, but the companies refused.

The broadcasters argued that that Aereo and other services that use the same model would cheat them out of the billions of dollars (yes, billions) that they receive each year from cable and satellite companies. The Supreme Court bought that argument.