Welcome

Ho! Ho! Ho! Welcome to the latest news from 2BrightSparks. In this issue, you will find news of an update for SyncBackSE, the second of the two part series for Writers in our Specialist Groups section, and a sneak peak into the latest product that will be launched in the first quarter of 2008. Finally meet our Senior Business Analyst, Jane Liu and find out what she does at 2BrightSparks.

If you have any suggestions on what you might like to see in future issues of this newsletter, drop us a line with your suggestions.

In this issue...

• SyncBackSE V4.3.1.5 Update

• Specialist Groups - Writers

• Introducing InfoHesive

• Pricing Survey

• Staff Sparks

• Tip of the Month by Richard Gascoigne

• Articles at 2BrightSparks

• Holiday Season Special Draw


SyncBackSE V4.3.1.5 Update

The latest release of SyncBackSE V4.3.1.5 is now available as a free upgrade for all those who have paid for a SyncBackSE license. The upgrade includes a number of fixes and a new option to send NOOP command sent to an FTP server every 30 seconds which aims to avoid time-outs during long transfers.

To upgrade from earlier versions of SyncBackSE simply download and install over your old version. Note that this is not an upgrade to SyncBack freeware.

Review the complete list of updates, additions and fixes in this new version.

SyncBackSE and SyncBack Freeware

There are two versions of our SyncBack software: SyncBackSE, which is our award-winning US$30.00 software, and SyncBack freeware, which is free. The latest version of SyncBack freeware is V3.2.14.

Download SyncBack Freeware

For other language versions scroll down International Downloads.

If you are a user of the freeware, be aware that SyncBackSE includes a number of significant features that may be of value to you.

Compare SyncBack Freeware and SyncBackSE

SyncBack freeware can still be run on Windows 98 or newer


Specialist Groups - Writers

The era where writers typed their book chapters or articles on a typewriter has long been a thing of the past. Computers have made the lives of writers convenient in allowing them to more efficiently author work with the help of automatic spelling check and a range of other useful aids. Working electronically enables the writer to very quickly send copies of their work to publishers via e-mail. In addition, if you have the right backup plan in place, storing and archiving work is also very safe and space efficient. However, with efficiency and convenience come some potential downsides. Let's look at some of them.

Picture this. You are writing the final chapter of your book and decide to take a break to clear up some unnecessary files. By mistake you delete the file containing the final chapter - before your scheduled backup has had a chance to save a copy. Worse yet, you had set the "Do not move files to the Recycle Bin - Remove files immediately when deleted" option on your Recycle Bin properties window. You dread having to recreate all that work. Fear not, help is just round the corner with UndeleteOnClick.

UndeleteOnClick is a great tool that lets you recover a deleted file easily. All you have to do is to tell UndeleteOnClick which drive to search. In a matter of seconds you will see a list of deleted files together with their recovery condition which gives you an indication of whether they are retrievable. That's all you have to do. Review the UndeleteOnClick ‘Help’ to discover the program's many options.

Let's move our attention from undeleting a file, to deleting a file securely so that no one will be able to recover it. This is a situation that is all too familiar with people, including writers, who wish to protect their data files from people who might copy their work. DeleteOnClick is a tool that deletes any type of file permanently. Simply right click on the file you want to securely delete, select "Securely Delete" and DeleteOnClick will delete it forever, so that no program can reverse the process. The file name is also destroyed, because often a file name gives away what the file contents had been. With these two levels of security, you can rest assured your files will never fall into the wrong hands.

How can you protect files that you do NOT want to delete? That is easy, too. Just right-click the file name, and select EncryptOnClick. Provide an encryption key (password), and the file will be scrambled so that only someone with the key can unlock it. It is fast, easy, and secure. This utility is essential for sending files by email. First, encrypt the file, then attach it to the email. Of course you will have to give the recipient the key (but not in the same email).

The next tool that may prove useful to you is PatchOnClick. Emailing very large files is tedious and time consuming. The first thing that comes to mind in this situation is to Zip (compress) the file. Sure, that works, but there is something more efficient and which minimizes the file size. PatchOnClick allows you to create patches of a file and send those off to your publisher rather than the whole work each time. A patch is a file that contains all the differences between the original file and the modified file. So, with PatchOnClick, you will never have to send repetitive information to your publishers, just the modified section of the file. The recipient then just applies the patch to his current copy, and it is brought up-to-date. Forget Zipping the file, just patch it!

Where can you find these marvelous tools? All the above mentioned programs are part of the OnClick Utilities suite. Get your copy today!


Introducing InfoHesive

Ever wish you had a program that could help you organize information relating to a particular subject and easily retrieve and share that information? If your answer is “yes”, you are in luck! Let us introduce you to InfoHesive – coming soon to a Web Store near you.

InfoHesive allows you to store, or to store references to, information that you may need to use time and again. If you create contracts, you will use the same clauses in many of them. Sales proposals typically have large sections of reused “boilerplate” text. Replying to customers’ emails often involve answering the same question over and over – to cite just a few examples.

InfoHesive will allow you to store related information in a structured fashion, retrieve it with a few simple keystrokes, *and* insert it into whatever document you are creating. If your customer asked Question A and Question B, then you might just need to type QA$ and QB$ to have the standard answers pasted into your reply email.

When you consider the Mail Merge and the Macro capabilities of InfoHesive, the possibilities become endless.

InfoHesive will allow you to create links to any type of data file or web page so that you need not search for that particular file or page again. All the information you need, be it a Word Processor document, PDF Document, Spreadsheet, Web Page, Image, or Notes will be easily and quickly retrievable from one central location.

The information may even reside on a shareable company server, so that all authorized employees can access information that conforms to corporate standards. If the company’s price list changes, the new one will automatically be used by everyone.

InfoHesive features an easy to use editor, allowing you to not only make notes associated with each resource, but powerful enough to build self-contained publishable e-books, guides, and support documentation. You will also be able to automate tasks with mouse clicks or user defined key strokes. For example, you may like to open a browser window and log-in to a web page to check the latest currency exchange rate - it will all be possible with InfoHesive.

We will be releasing a beta version of InfoHesive in the very near future and need your help to ensure the program is as user friendly and reliable as possible. If you would like to be a beta tester, Please Sign Up Here.

Watch this space to find out more about InfoHesive which is to be launched early 2008.


Pricing Survey

As you may already know, we at 2BrightSparks love to hear from our users and potential users about any form of feedback regarding our products, services, web page etc. It is therefore in our interest to find out what you think about our pricing policy.

You have the power to influence our pricing policy today, so please take a few minutes to Complete the Latest Pricing Survey.


Staff Sparks

Hi, my name is Jane Liu. I'll keep this short and sweet, much like myself:

I'm the Business Analyst at 2BrightSparks and, as such, am responsible for all things data, such as tracking web stats, web rankings, sales and anything else thrown my way. I try to present the vast volume of information that flows daily in a form that is more easily digestible - that is a never ending challenge. I also compile the survey responses which help us learn about why you purchased our software. Your additional comments inspire and reinforce our desire to deliver world class solutions, so thank you for taking the time to complete the surveys and for supporting our products.

My role in the company is part-time, which is perfect as the rest of my time is spent looking after my 3 year-old, which is not as easy as it sounds! When she is good, she's very, very good but when she is bad, she's...

And on that note, I would like to wish you Happy Holidays and a very merry New Year!


Tip of the Month by Richard Gascoigne

Saving Different Versions of Files

I back up to an external drive every two hours because I have many files changing constantly - when using SyncBackSE's FastBackup it only takes seconds each time, and it never slows me down.

I worry less about losing files because of possible hard disk failure than because I, myself, have deleted or over-written something by mistake - the 2BrightSparks utility, UndeleteOnClick, can recover deleted files if I act quickly enough, but that’s not always the case.

To protect myself, my backup process involves saving new/changed files to a different folder each day. That way, if I want to go back to Tuesday’s version, I can just look in the folder named “TUE”.

The method to do this involves using the variable:

%DAYOFWEEKNAME%

The profile’s destination looks like:

D:\%DAYOFWEEKNAME%\MyDocs…

Each day SyncBackSE creates a folder on D: named “MON”, “TUE”, etc. So simple!


Articles at 2BrightSparks

We have a collection of articles that we hope will be of use to you.

If you would like to see articles of a particular topic, please do let us know.

Otherwise, check back in the near future to check out new articles.


Holiday Season Special Draw

Every month, ten lucky winners who complete the SyncBackSE survey form receive a free license for OnClick Utilities. The link to the survey is contained in the order confirmation email for SyncBackSE. We will even allow you to transfer your license to friends or family if you've already got a license. However, seeing as it is the season of giving, we have decided to randomly select 20 lucky winners for the month of December. Good luck!

To date, 270 lucky people have already received free software from us just by simply completing the survey, so what are you waiting for?


Until Next Time

Thanks for reading and we look forward to getting in touch again in the new year. From all of us at 2BrightSparks, we would like to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Happy Holidays!

The 2BrightSparks Team.
2BrightSparks Pte Ltd.
www.2brightsparks.com

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