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April 15, 2004
Migo review
So I got a Migo yesterday. Talked to the company that wrote the software that runs on it. I am intrigued by the idea that I could take my desktop with me on a USB keychain dongle. So I just plugged it in.
First problem: The dongle has a hump in it. I am using a Toshiba Protege in a docking station. The docking station has two USB ports in the back (the ones on the laptop are covered by the docking station) that are very close together, infact on top of each other. I have a USB cable in one. When I plugged in the dongle, the bump on it rubbed against the adjacent cable and made it hard to plug it into the slot. Not a good experience. While the bump may add tactile feel when carrying it around or holding it, it impeeds easy use in a crowded set of slots, bad design.
So Windows XP faithfully recognized the Migo and opens a Explorer window with a shortcut to PocketLogin. Now I have to be smart enough to click on that to run the application. I understand they are working on getting it to auto execute, but there are security concerns with auto-running .exe files in plug and play. When I click, the first thing the application asks me is "do you want to password protect your Migo files". Now that may be a logical question to ask a geek like me, but I don't know if that is a good first question for the mass market. You see I just got this dongle in the mail. No manual. No explaination of what it is. The average user maybe would like to take a tour of features or demo before they just launch into configuring the application.
But being a geek, I soldier on. Of course I want to password protect my files. "PocketLogin SecureData is now enabled", how conforting. That pop-up goes away and a Migo configuration window comes up. At the same time, my ZoneAlarm firewall burps and asks me if I want PocketLogin.exe to access the internet. Now I am bit of two minds when I get these. Why does it want to access the internet? What is it going to do? I haven't even given it any information yet? Will it go out and share my info with the world? ZoneAlarm doesn't give me any details. Migo doesn't even notify me what it is doing. I know from experience, if you say no, the install program usually crashes. So I say yes to the firewall with a little trepidation.
Meanwhile back on the Migo configuration screen, it is happilly flashing me some screens extolling the wonders of the Migo and how to use it. Would have been nice to get that before I was asked any hard questions. The only option is continue. This is like the "hints at startup" feature of many products. I usually turn it off after a couple of times. After Continue, I get the EULA license agreement. I read it of course (don't you?) The agreement is from Forward Solutions, the software company. They actually got quite a bit of branding in the deal. This is great for them, but a little confusing as a user. Am I installing a Migo or something from Forward Solutions? Pretty standard stuff. Interesting that Support Services provision is provided by FWD solutions not Migo. So I don't call Migo for support? That is setting up a customer satisfaction issue. I hate when they play hot potatoe with me. Under Software Transfer, they allow me to sell the device and software once. Gee thanks. But nice to see that they specifically address it. Many don't. Can't export the software supposedly because they use such strong encryption. Too bad for their market size. No gotchas on data sharing or privacy. Happy now so I accept.
PocketLogin then grabs my computer name and asks if that is what I want to have as my computer nickname. Why do they bother? Would I want a different one? Too much information, just assign it and let me change it to a friendlier name later if I really care. Suddenly my ZoneAlarm Pro burps again. "Do you want to allow PocketLogin by FWD Solutions Inc. to act as a server?" This one totally scares me! They nicely remind me that this program has previously asked for (and I have graciously granted) internet access. But what does this server thing do? I know from talking to the software guys and being a geek myself, that they use this server thing as a way to do sync. But to an end user it is a scary thing. So as a server, can anyone access my data? What will the server be sharing. I believe many end users would bail out at this point because they have simply not been given enough information on what the hell the application is doing to their computer. But being a geek, I think I understand this stuff and want to try the software, so I tell ZoneAlarm to let the server run.
Back in teh PocketLogin Syncronize window, the Migo Meter is being quickly chewed up (disk space on the Migo) as files whiz by in the box below. These files are obviously the ones that Migo has chosen to copy over from my desktop to the Migo. I am offered a couple of options. Desktop files changed in last XXX days. (or none at all) Set to 30 default. Looks fine. Outlook Inbox items from last XXX days (or none at all) also set to 30. Internet Explorer Favorites or none at all. And a "More Options" button. Being curious I click it... Here is where it gets interesting. Under the Outlook tab you can select any folder to be synced. I try my contacts. One click and the program starts copying and dutifully telling me how much of the Migo I have taken up. It seems slow, but then again I have over 7,000 contacts. While it is working I can click around other tabs (good). On the File tab, you can add any folder on your harddrive to the sync thing. VERY good. I decide not to since I will probably be full. There are lots of ways to parse the files by folder, file type, days old, subfolders, etc. Very helpful one-click boxes to grab whole groups. Contacts sync done, took up 42MB, inbox took 2MB, desktop 132K, other stuff about 15MB. They are using MSMAPI to get to the files which is good. You can ask to sync one file individually and it just brings up the windows file selection box. But it goes to the 1033 directory in the MSMAPI directory, way down in the guts of Windows. Not good. Should default to MyDocuments or something. I put a couple MP3 files on just for kicks. Done screwing around selecting what to sync. I "Apply" changes. The applicaiton is working on something. Moving the Migo status bar eating up memory. Don't know if it is only now copying the files and prior screens were just discovering and sizing them. In any case, the delay is a pain. I don't get any message about what it is doing. If it is writing the files, just tell me that. After I "Apply" I still have to hit "ok". But nothing tells me that. Fix your UI guys.
Out of the More Options tab and back in the PocketLogin Syncronize screen, the Migo Meter is once again growing as files fly by on the screen. It seems now is the time of actual copy. Or sync. I wonder what happens when I close the application. It stops syncing. I wonder why it can't sync in the background. I have to open the app to finish syncing. Not a real big pain because of course I can still go use any other windows app. Like this blog poster.
I just noticed that PocketLogin put a little icon on my desktop. When you mouse over it, a menu drops down telling you how to sync then remove your Migo to go to another computer. Well I guess it is time to do that. They don't tell me to use Windows remove device to keep windows stable, but being experineced I do that anyway.
Well my office manager is too smart to let me use her computer and so is everyone else in the office, so I will have to wait till I get home to be my own trial. More coming...
See also, Migo Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Posted by Martin at April 15, 2004 11:26 AM
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