Moth Software Blog

Filemaker 12 concentrates on mobile

Trixi — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:35:32 +0000

Filemaker, Inc. has released Filemaker 12, a new version for their popular database.

The desktop version hasn't gotten much attention. "Eye-catching layout themes" and "Re-designed Starter Solutions" aren't very exiting. "Execute SQL calculation function" is much more interesting because it was previously only possible in plugins.

More attention has been given to Filemaker Go, the mobile version of Filemaker. The Go version of Filemaker is now free. According to Tidbits:

In line with one of Steve McCabe’s criticisms, FileMaker Go 11 users, especially on the smaller iPhone screen, often found themselves pinching and swiping quite a bit to zoom and pan around layouts designed for use on a laptop or larger desktop screen. For version 12, FileMaker has done that extra work for us; the provided themes, which can be applied even to existing databases with a couple of clicks, not only turn jumbled rows of fields into tidy layouts for the bigger screens, they also seamlessly deliver handheld-sized and tablet-optimized screens — complete with the bigger spaces and controls that come in handy when you’re interacting with a form using your finger, and not a mouse or trackpad.

This seems like a very sensible addition. I can understand the concentration on mobile, but without a good scripting language and better layout options any work with Filemaker still consists mostly of workarounds and cursing.

As usual Moth Software will test, if the new version of Filemaker is compatible with Mail Archiver X. But I don't expect any surprises here. And it looks like Filemaker Go should be rather easy to support now.

Gmail explains why a mail is spam

Trixi — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:11:55 +0000

From the beginning Gmail has had a very good spam filter. Now Google added a nice new feature explaining why a mail lands in the Spam filter.

So starting today, we’ll be showing a brief explanation at the top of each of your spam messages. Simply look at any message in your spam folder and now you can find out why it was put there and learn about any potentially harmful content within the message.

But does anyone except me still look into the Spam filter to check the messages that the mail client thinks are spam but aren't?

Mac Appstorms poll on the favorits email app

Trixi — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:10:03 +0000

Mac Appstorm has had a poll about their reader's favorite email app.

AppleMail is the clear winner with 46%. Next are suprisingly Sparrow with 32% and Postbox with 6%. Webclients are used by 10%. The rest has 2% or less (Thunderbird, Outlook etc.). The total number of votes is over 3000.

Mail Archiver X 2.7.4 is available

Trixi — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 15:27:08 +0000

2.7.4 fixes a small number of bugs. Except for the crash bug with Outlook the bugs were non-serious ones.

Filemaker shows no longer a temp mailbox name.
The Header field is now exported to Filemaker.
Archiving from Exchange no longer crashes when the account name has // in it's name.
Fixed a problem when archiving from Entourage.
Fixed a problem with corrupt attachments.

As usual you can download the new version from the Download page of Moth Software.

New testimonial

Trixi — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:50:16 +0000

It always nice to get testimonials. Here is a new one from Prof. Dr. Götz Strömsdörfer:

Mail Archiver works well and fast. Support requests were answered quickly by the developer of the application. I'm very happy with the application. Many thanks!

Risks of using the Cloud in Germany

Trixi — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:35:58 +0000

Germany has a strong law about data security. This makes using the cloud problematic. An article in german computer magazine c't describes why this is the case.

The data security law

The data security law (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz) prescribes that extra care should be used when handling personal data. Examples of these are names, addresses, email addresses.

"Cloud services" that store data in foreign countries make the data security situation more complicated. For countries without acceptable level of data security this is not allowed according to German law.

Because of the cyber security act of 2009 the safe harbor agreement can be circumvented for the USA. That means that except for european countries only the safe-harbor-countries Switzerland, Canada , Argentina, Guernsey and the Isle of Man can be used for cloud services in Germany. Because Google and Apple don't have their servers in these countries they can't be used.

Who trusts whom with what?

The trust question is the next problem. Who guarantees how that the data stays the same and that it stays private? According to c't this needs to be governed by individual agreements. Which Apple and Google don't do.

By the law

Cloud storage is relatively new but the law moves slowly. So it's not surprising that there is not much jurisdiction on this topic. It's not in Google's or Apple's interest to clarify the data security for their users. This means that the users have the full risk when using their services.

Whoever wants to manage their data security - at least in Germany - better uses a European Cloud provider. This is the conclusion by c't.

Conclusion

The cloud is so convenient even if it doesn't replace a backup.

The cloud providers like Apple and Google as usual take the easy way out. "Use my services and cope with the consequences." could be their motto. For big companies negotiating deals with cloud providers shouldn't be a problem. But how many smallish companies have the expertise to do this? Do we need more regulations in this area?

In the past the big companies like Apple, Google or Facebook have shown that privacy issues aren't really their concern. This needs to change.

Direct marketing and the Mac App Store

Trixi — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:42:56 +0000

Direct or permission marketing - as Seth Godin calls it - is the marketing of the future. The company doing business knows the customer it sells to. But how does Apple handle this new approach with MAS?

What is permission marketing?

According to Seth Godin permission is the asset of the future .
For generations, businesses had no idea who their end users were. No
ability to reach through the record store and figure out who was buying
that Rolling Stones album, no way to know who bought this book or that
vase. Today, of course, permission is an asset to be earned. The ability (not
the right, but the privilege) of delivering anticipated, personal and
relevant messages to people who want to get them.…
Many authors (I'm on that list) have managed to build an entire career
around this idea. So have management consultants and yes, insurance
salespeople. Not by viewing the spread of digital artifacts as an
inconvenient tactic, but as the core of their new businesses.

Apple's Mac App Store

With the iOS store Apple started to "sell" software. Later came a similar store for OS X. Developers get 70% and Apple 30%. Developers get the dubious honor to have their software tested for functionality. The rules are fluid and seem to be changed weekly. Each app gets rejected at least once.

But the most important part is the following: Apple knows who buys the software and not you. So where does this leave you with your permission marketing: exactly nowhere. The question is why does Apple do this? Because Apple does permission marketing, too. But your customers are mainly theirs. Apple keeps the power and not we as software vendors.

Why do developers embrace the MAS?

Because it makes them more money? Because it's easier for them?

Some time ago I often had a look at other software. For the interface, for testing, for improving productivity. Since the MAS this has changed, because more and more developers are selling software only on MAS. Sometimes I wrote the software companies to ask where their trial versions where. The latest answer - at least I got one - was:

I understand not everyone likes the MAS (heck, I'm not that fond of it), but it does simplify things a lot for us (no database, serial numbers, license requests, lost serial number emails, etc) so it was definitely the way to go to get out more quickly.

This was from a software company I have used software over 10 years. Isn't this sad? Because it's more work - really??? - they only use MAS.

Power to Apple

What happens if I rely for selling Apple and they decide that they don't like the color of my buttons anymore? Nothing good.

Macworld on Mail in Mountain Lion

Trixi — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 08:41:40 +0000

Macworld has an overview over the new features of Mail in Mountain Lion.

An additional inline search like Safari. All search results are highlighted at the same time while the rest of the text is dimmed.
You can configure notifications with the new Notifications Center.
When you designate a person as VIP then mails from this person are "starred". VIP'd persons get an entry in the sidebar.

Nice additions, nothing really earth shattering. I still would like to see better and faster searching in Mail.

What are the remaining 3 threats to email security?

Trixi — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:27:54 +0000

According to the Email Admin the amount of spam sent is getting less. Personally, I haven't noticed this, but I only get a few each day. However, there are some threats to email security remaining.

1. Malware being spread via email

Malware hasn't been a problem on Mac ever except for some tries like Mac Defender. Security experts have been warning for a few years now that this is expected to change. So far this hasn't happened.

2. Information leaks

Most likely, you will find that information is leaked by accident. An employee includes something in an email message that is considered sensitive. That email, once it leaves the protection of your company, can now be forwarded on or even intercepted in transit. The contents can then be easily exposed revealing trade secrets, private information or even embarrassing content.

Leaks will remain a problem forever because it's in human nature to be hasty. Don't you love the checks "Do you really want to send a mail to the evil outside address xxx?" that makes sending mails such a pleasure in corporate environments. Do these checks really work?

3. Go phish

Phishing is a threat that has been on the radar of most IT administrators for some time. And with recent data breaches ... millions of corporate email addresses have been compromised and are ready to be used in phishing attacks.

Once upon a time phishing mails were easily recognized by their awful english. But it seems that most spammers had their english improved or the writing of these mails was outsourced to english native speakers. Even I had to check for some mails the header information to see if a mail was spam or not.

And of course, it may be very possible that the recent trend of less spam gets reversed soon.

Mail Archiver 2.7.2 doesn't recognize Licenses

Trixi — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:10:15 +0000

A bug in the license validation code results in Mail Archiver 2.7.2 not recognizing valid licenses. This has been fixed for the next release 2.7.3, which you can download in the Download section of the Moth Software website.