Wealth Management Technology Musings

Convert Outlook PST files to Mac OS X Email Clients

I have been searching for a reliable PST conversion tool for some time. Apparently until last week I was looking in the wrong places! Emailchemy certainly has resolved that issue. This handy application can handle a vast number of mailbox formats across Macs, Windows and Linux/Unix. It can write to 7 formats that support dozens of email clients across the aforementioned platforms.

In my case I took a 450 MB Outlook archive PST file spanning 24 months and used Emailchemy to import the messages and mailbox hierarchy into Mail.app on a Mac running Snow Leopard. Processed 3500 messages in less than 30 seconds. There are a number of options including handling attachments.

For $30 - this was not a difficult decision considering I now have this critical history of email integrated into Mail.app and my backup workflow. There are options for household and business use  - though the Emailchemy site does not provide pricing for email migrations. Contact the provider for more information and pricing for your needs.

An interesting option for those looking to simply preserve messaging but not integrate into an email client - there is a conversion to CSV file option.

Posted via email from Blane's posterous

Mac and Windows Syncing Saga Continued

One of the more challenging issues with all of our emerging technology is staying in sync. If you are walking around with a Blackberry or iPhone, have a laptop for travel and perhaps a desktop PC in your home office - how do you keep them all up to date?

There are numerous ways to tackle this, and unfortunately, no single definitive answer. However, there is hope as we will review a couple of approaches with the technology tools often discussed on this site (and include Mac users as well!).

Windows Utilities I Can't Live Without

I am a cross-platform creature, thus I have both Mac and Windows machines (in addition to running Windows virtually on the Mac). Hands down Windows 7 is number one on that list as it is a redemption for Vista and a nice upgrade and motivation to leave XP behind.

I think the improved driver handling, system tray and other tweaks help it run more efficiently in addition to the "under the hood" work that was done on the system.

These tools are some simple and free or very low cost solutions that round out somewhat standard apps I have installed (Microsoft Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat Pro, etc.).

• GoodSync - syncs any directory or mapped drive to another local or remote location.
  
• Google Chrome - excellent and lightweight browser for pure "power" web browsing
  
• Notepad ++ - best text editor yet that I have used (and free!)
• Picasa - excellent free media manager that almost feels like iPhoto for me as a Mac user
• RoboForm - phenomenal password manager - the swiss army knife of securely managing credentials
• Snag-It - by Tech Smith and one of my favorites. Screen shots with lots of editing and preparation features and integrations to everything from Microsoft Office to blogs.
• StuffIt Deluxe - Beats WinZip in my view as in addition to its robust archive management tools - it enables me to create and distribute Mac friendly archives (dmg's and the like)
• UltraMon - multiple monitor management with great control features including customized task bars.

Improved Security in Windows 7

As I have noted here previously - I have been exploring Windows 7 now for several months. In past versions of Windows - I have not found a compelling reason to go with the Ultimate or most premium edition. However - in the now available Windows 7 - Bitlocker and Bitlocker to Go (the latter a new feature in 7) turned me into a convert.

Buying a Mac? A Setup for Wealth Management

With the slow maturing of web-based tools for wealth management (a small sampling of them linked here on this blog that I use), using a Mac continues to become ubiquitous with using a Windows-based PC. There remain exceptions (and probably will for some time) for those apps that have invested in Internet Explorer specific functionality (Active X) – however – that is no longer the rule. I have covered examples of the cross-browser capabilities of many financial tools here before.

A common question I get is “tell me what I need to buy **with** my new Mac to hit the ground running and make the switch”. It is not a long list – and when paired with some of Apple’s native tools and some free and/or open source add-ins – can make the shift from a PC less challenging.

Data Mills Edge Safe - Email Backup that Understands Microsoft Outlook

Data Mills EdgeSafe looks like an interesting plug-in to any small business backup strategy. If you use Outlook as an email client in your practice - this product provides more granular control over the PST file - which contains everything Outlook hosts on your desktop.

PCMag.com published a good overview of the feature set and is at minimum worth a trial run.  I discussed my backup scheme at a high level before - which consists of Macs and PCs (including Outlook) - and I am going to run it through the paces to see if it passes muster and possibly a tool I recommend to clients.

Sync Adventures - A Companion Presentation

A compact presentation that can be shared, as a companion to the Sync Adventures post.

Windows 7 and Financial Advisors

Davis Janowski has a good piece in Investment News on the forthcoming new operating system (OS) from Microsoft. I have been using Windows 7 for about 30 days now and have been pleasantly surprised (my primary machines are Macs).

I have always maintained a Windows-based PC as a secondary machine and actually am fond of both platforms. I just want my machines to work efficiently, reliably and securely. I converted a Dell Pentium 4 3.0 GHz computer from Windows XP Pro to Windows 7.

I have 3 GB RAM in it and a 512 MB discrete graphics card, an 80GB hard drive and use a 20” LCD monitor. I also run a Lightscribe enabled DVD-RW which works fine under Windows 7. The performance has been totally acceptable to me. One caveat for those of you with similar machines to mine – I added the separate graphics card specifically to increase performance. If you have integrated graphics on a Pentium 4 – I would recommend the upgrade ($59 for me) before running Windows 7 (this helps with the Aero graphics interface).