...Right-click... Save-As... Enjoy...

So. Here I am. I just finished my sushi (6 pieces of tuna nigiri) as part of what has become a pre-test ritual. I'm sitting in the cafe at Whole Foods staring out the windows into the cold rain. I'll get to walk in the cold rain... the test site is in a building just across the street. I'll walk from here rather than parking at the actual building. That, too, has become part of the ritual and I don't want to deviate from the plan.

Wish me luck. I guess I'm ready.

~keith

CRIMSON-WEAVE CARPET

Crimson-weave carpet,

silk reeled off select cocoons and boiled in clear water,
sun-bleached and steeped in dyes of crimdigo flower,

dyes turning thread crimson, indigo depths of crimson,
then woven to grace the Hall of Widespread Fragrance.

The Hall of Widespread Fragrance is a hundred feet long,
and the carpet's crimson weave will stretch end to end,

its iridescence soft and deep, its fragrance everywhere,
plush weave and mirage blossoms beyond all compare,

awaiting beautiful women who come to sing and dance,
gauze stockings and embroidered slippers sinking deep.

Even those carpets from T'ai-yuan seem stiff and rough,
and Ch'eng-tu rugs thin, their embroidered flowers cold:

they'll never compare to these, so warm and sumptuous
and sent each year from Hsuan-chou in the tenth month.

Hsuan-chou's grand Prefect orders a new pattern woven,
saying they'll spare no effort on the emperor's behalf,

and then a hundred reverent men haul it into place,
the weave so thick and silk so lavish it can't be rolled up.

Can you fathom what it means, O prefect of Hsuan-chou:
for ten feet of carpet
a thousand taels of silk?

Floors don't feel the cold- people do.  People need warmth.
No more floors dressed in clothes stolen from the people.

--Po Chu-I (772-846AD)

Would You Have Spotted the Fraud?

One of the first password managers I used was Keepass.  It's open-source and multi-platform; two of my favorite things.  It had a lot of cool features such as organizing logins in a hierarchical tree and choosing your own encryption algorithm.  I still use it, but mostly as a back up.  At the time I made a switch it was lacking browser integration and auto-fill, so logging into a website meant launching Keepass, logging in, finding the login information and then copying and pasting it to the web form.  I understand that newer versions have improved and I probably should go back and give it another look.  The version I still use is a PortableApps version that installs on a USB key; handy for taking your passwords on the go.

The aforementioned "switch" from Keepass was to RoboForm.  I LOVE RoboForm.  It's by far the best Windows password manager I've used.  That's also one if it's only drawbacks... it's Windows only.  However, besides passwords it allows you to store complete online identity information as well as credit card data.  Everything is securely encrypted and unlocked using a master password.  Another nifty feature is the built-in password generator.  Whenever you create a new account on a website and it asks for a password, you can simply generate a new, highly-secure, and unique password that will be automatically remembered.  Browser integration is tight with the ability to Autofill a form or to "Autofill & Submit" to save one more step.

RoboForm also has a portable version.  RoboForm2Go installs on a USB key and can auto-launch.  I use it daily at work.  One of the only knocks on RoboForm I can think of is that the export functionality is lacking.  HTML export is pretty much the way you have to go to get to our next app.

Upon switching to a Mac, I immediately missed the lack of an OS X version of RoboForm.  Fortunately, it didn't take long to find 1Password.  1Password is now my "default" password management tool.  Like RoboForm it also provides for storing online identities and credit-card/purchasing information.  However, it's designed for OS X.  The browser integration is seamless.  I don't even think about it being there... it's just how I use the Internet.  When a site needs my password, I click the "1P" button next to the URL and it automatically logs me in (after initially providing the master password, of course).

A "Strong Password Generator" is also included with 1Password for ensuring that you can create unique passwords for all your online activities.  But, perhaps my favorite feature is the addition of the mobile version of 1Password.  I use it on the iPhone, there's a Palm version, too.  The mobile app gives you access to all your passwords while you're on the go.  Obviously, this approach lacks browser integration, but it means that no matter where I am or which computer I may use I always have my passwords with me.  Just remember to sync the mobile version with your Mac periodically to keep it up to date.

I can definitely recommend all three of the applications mentioned.  I think it really depends on your operating platform and your intended use.  I continue to use RoboForm because of it's seamless browser-integration, ease-of-use, and portability on the Windows side.  However, 1Password is definitely my preferred password manager.  If my life was all-Mac, it would probably be the only password manager I used.  And lastly, I keep a copy of Keepass Portable around as a "just in case" backup and if I happen to be surfing on my Ubuntu server and need a password.

A syncing solution (even third-party) between 1Password and RoboForm would make my life simpler as the last time I tried it was kind of a pain... eport HTML from RoboForm and then import that into 1Password and tweak everything to make sure the import is OK.  Ideally, a portable, multi-platform version of 1Password would be outstanding.

Recap/Links:

Keepass |  http://keepass.info (FREE)
RoboForm/RoboForm2Go |  http://www.roboform.com (Free to Try, $29.95 - $39.95)
1Password | http://www.1password.com (Free to Try, $39.95)

Disclosure: I have an affiliate agreement with 1Password whereby I receive a commission for any sales generated through my affiliate link.