The UsefulTechnology Blog: Blog

Get minimised

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:47:23 GMT

Got Windows Live Messenger? Want a new display picture? Try this, it’s free: www.minimise-me.com.

New downloads for Outlook

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:28:51 GMT

Hot off the press this month, two new must have add-ons for Outlook:

Microsoft Office Outlook Connector 12.1 Beta (with added ooomph!)
With Microsoft Office Outlook Connector, you can use Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to access and manage your Microsoft Windows Live Hotmail or Microsoft Office Live Mail accounts, including e-mail messages, contacts and calendars for free! [GET IT HERE]

Outlook 2007/2003/2002 Add-in: Personal Folders Backup (updated version)
The Personal Folders Backup download creates backup copies of your .PST files at regular intervals, in Outlook 2002 and later versions, making it easy to keep all of your Outlook folders safely backed up. [GET IT HERE]
For instructions on how to use the .PST backup tool see this page

Customise your Microsoft Word Status bar

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:23:48 GMT

Microsoft Word 2007 can report a wealth of information in the status bar that adorns the bottom of the screen. To change what you have on display simply right click on the status bar and you’ll see this:

Just switch settings on and off until your status bar reports only the information you care about.

Rumours of my demise are greatly exaggerated

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:07:18 GMT

Sorry for the woeful lack of posts recently. Life has been busy on all fronts. However I was reminded this evening of the importance of maintaining one’s blog by an old friend in France who called me wondering what had become of me. So, for all my fans around the world, yes both of you, I am happy to confirm that all is well at Useful Technology Towers. More updates to follow when I figure out why Windows Live Writer has stopped working on my laptop.

And now, that same entry in French, thanks to www.worldlingo.com, the free* translation service included in the 2007 Microsoft Office system:

Désolé pour le manque affligeant de poteaux récemment. La vie a été occupée sur tous les avants. Cependant j'ai été rappelé ce soir d'importance de maintenir le blog à un par un vieil ami en France qui m'a appelé se demandant ce qui était advenu de moi. Ainsi, pour tous mes ventilateurs autour du monde, oui tous les deux toi, je suis heureux de confirmer que tout va bien aux tours utiles de technologie. Plus de mises à jour à suivre quand je figure dehors pourquoi l'auteur de phase de Windows a arrêté travailler à mon ordinateur portable.

* You know, I could have paid $92 to have that paragraph professionally translated but it’s much more entertaining in franglais.

Is RSS making Outlook run slow?

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:47:42 GMT

Following on from yesterday's post about shutting down (or rather not shutting down) Outlook, I'm reminded of these performance enhancing tips. If, when you look at the outlook.exe process in Task Manager (SHIFT+CTRL+Escape, then Processes tab), you see that the memory in use is very high (say, greater than 100,000KB) there may be things you can do to speed up Outlook:

If you have chosen to synchronise RSS feeds between Internet Explorer and Outlook, turn this off:
- In Outlook, choose Options from the Tools menu
- Click on the Others tab, then Advanced Options
- Clear the tick against 'Sync RSS Feeds to the Common Feed List' then click OK twice
You may have a massive Personal Storage File (.pst) so consider creating a new one to reduce the amount of data held in memory when using Outlook:
- Find out if your .pst is big by right-clicking on your .pst root folder (the topmost folder(s) in your Outlook folder list) then choose Properties, then click the Folder Size button.
- If your folder is bigger than, say, 500,000KB, consider starting a new one or splitting its contents over two or more .pst files.
- To create a new .pst file in Outlook, click File > New > Outlook Date File.
- Once created, simply drag 'n' drop items from one .pst folder to another.
- And, always remember to backup your .pst files to an external storage location like an external hard drive or USB memory stick!

It's a good idea to get into the habit of creating a new .pst every once in a while. How frequently depends on how much email you send and receive. I typically start a new .pst file annually, but may move to a six monthly regime to help keep my .pst file sizes down. I also delete all rules and recreate my folder structure from scratch each year as this encourages me to spring clean and unsubscribe from distribution lists that no longer interest me. Maybe a bit of spring cleaning is exactly what your Outlook world needs?!

Shutting down Outlook properly

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:30:25 GMT

Ever seen one of these messages?

If your computer reports that a data file did not close properly the last time you used Outlook the chances are you may have interrupted the normal shut down routine of your outlook.exe process. This could have happened for a multitude of reasons: maybe your laptop battery ran flat, or you had to force your PC to shut down in a hurry. But most likely, you simply closed Outlook then shut down your PC normally without giving Outlook enough time to finish its business.

It takes several seconds for the outlook.exe process to finish when you exit from Outlook. If you quickly also tell your PC to shut down, the outlook.exe process may be only partially closed when your PC switches off. The result: that nagging warning the next time you start Outlook.

Here's how to avoid this problem: Never close Outlook. Just leave it running. And when you next shutdown your computer Windows will carefully close down Outlook properly in the background before shutting itself down. If you must shut down Outlook, be sure to check that the outlook.exe process is no longer running in the Task Manager (SHIFT+CTRL+Escape, then Processes tab) before shutting down your PC.

So, for a pain free Outlook life, just ignore everything you ever learned about shutting down applications before shutting down your PC. Leave Outlook running, and leave the operating system to do the work for you. And, I promise, you'll never see that nagging message again.

BigPockets Bag O' Crap Winner Announced

Tue, 20 May 2008 15:59:15 GMT

You're not going to believe this. After mentioning BigPockets.co.uk's clever 'Bag O' Crap' promotion several times on - this - blog, I decided to enter my own video. And it only went and won the top prize of £200! Fancy that!

My son, the real star of the video and undoubtedly the only reason my video scooped the prize, has decided to invest his share of the winnings in Premium Bonds in the distant hope that he might win some more money! He has much to learn about smart investment strategies... I've decided to invest my share in a new barbecue so I can spend the summer months mastering the fine art of turning good food black.

As the old slogan says 'You've got to be in it to win it," so next time you see an interesting competition have a go. Who knows, you might even win.

Indiana Whips Up A Searching Frenzy

Tue, 20 May 2008 15:37:46 GMT

There's no such thing as a free lunch. But there is such a thing as a free search and an Indiana Jones whip thrown in for good measure!

If you take Windows Live Search for a 'spin', you could win one of over 1,000 prizes including a private screening of the movie for you and 50 friends, and a VIP holiday in New Mexico to visit the film location. Not bad for just trying a different search engine for a change!

Play here: http://try.indysearch.co.uk/

Videos: Windows Live Search

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:57:25 GMT

Just released: 7 funny little viral videos for Windows Live Search. If you've not yet tried Live Search, take it for a spin and decide for yourself if it's better than your current search engine.

If you're still not sure, why not put a metasearch engine to the test to instantly compare the results of different search engines? www.dogpile.co.uk does a nice job of comparing the top results from up to 6 different search engines to help you decide which is best.

Live Search is growing on me; over the last year it has definitely improved, and seems to give the most relevant results much of the time. The best feature, by far, is the Image Search with its infinite scroll (just keep scrolling down, none of that silly clicking through to the next page) and spookily accurate refinement options (narrow your search down to just show faces, certain colours, or sizes). The scratchpad, once mastered, is mega-useful too.

Mini-tip: One thing I tend to change on my search engine options is to increase the number of results that are returned per page. This saves having to keep refreshing to a new page so often. By default most search engines return 10 results. To increase it (to 50 in my case) click the Options link on the search home page and remember to save your preferences.

Tales from Windows Vista reinstallations

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:32:28 GMT

I've reinstalled Windows Vista on my main home computer this week. Things had become decidedly sluggish, due in no small part to the massive amount of junk software I've tested over the last year. Having upgraded the PC from Windows XP over a year ago, I was dreading having to find suitable drivers to get everything working again. But, do you know what, it was a breeze. Yes, really. The difference between installing Windows Vista at the start of 2007 and now, midway through 2008, is extraordinary. Gone are those frustrating hours trawling through hardware manufacturers' web site; now Windows Update has everything my computer needed. Sure, I needed a lot of updates - about 57 I think - but these all installed in one go and only one reboot was needed. And I have, as you'd probably guess, a lot of gadgets attached to my PC!

To test this wasn't a one-off I wiped and reinstalled Windows Vista on one of my laptops too. Same story: the installation was fast and Windows Update took care of the rest.

As long as you make sure you back up all your important files, and approach the installation in a methodical and measured way, installing Windows Vista from scratch really isn't difficult any more.

Of course, some tips are definitely worth knowing:

Downloading software is fastest when Internet traffic is low. So save yourself time by running your downloads late at night, or early in the morning.
If you're offered a choice of mirror sites, select one where local time (at the mirror site) will mean that Internet traffic is low. Don't pick the mirror site nearest to you if your local Internet traffic is likely to be high as the server may be busy and your files will take longer to download.
Check your Device Manager for any unrecognised devices. If you're unsure what anything is, reboot your computer without any peripherals attached then plug in each one in turn and monitor the changes in Device Manager.
If you're still having trouble finding a driver for a mysterious device, try an online scanning service like http://driveragent (thanks Rusty!). This will help you identify any missing drivers and point you to a solution. Take out a paid subscription if you like, or use the information provided to find the drivers elsewhere online if you have time.

Xobni now free to download

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:12:08 GMT

This just in from Xobni HQ:

Dear Xobni Beta User,
Today is an exciting day for Xobni. After seven months of invite-only beta, we're proud to announce that Xobni is now publicly available for anyone to download. Your feedback has been essential in helping us improve the performance and features of Xobni during this period.
If you are currently running Xobni, it will automatically update to the latest version. If you need to re-download Xobni, download it instantly here:
http://www.xobni.com/download
You can read more about Xobni's launch in today's New York Times by going here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05xobni.html
Of course we will continue to work hard to improve the Xobni experience. And we hope that you will continue to provide valuable feedback.
Please let your friends and colleagues know that a better Outlook email experience awaits them at http://www.xobni.com.
Thanks!
Matt Brezina
Cofounder

So, for all of you who were not lucky enough to secure a Beta trial, now's your chance!

See things differently in Windows Vista

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:24:09 GMT

The Organize drop down box in Windows Explorer (accessed via the Windows Key + E shortcut) hides a little known feature of Windows Vista. Under the Layout option you'll find the ability to switch on the Menu Bar from Windows XP plus two handy new panes: the Search Pane and the Preview Pane.

Here's what they each do:

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar is simply the conventional drop down menu choices we had in Windows XP. I suggest you leave this switched off. If you ever need to revert to the old menus you can make them reappear at any time simply by pressing the ALT key.

The Search Pane

The Search Pane allows you to quickly narrow a search using filter buttons like E-Mail and Music or input more precise filtering details like tags and file size.

The Preview Pane

The Preview Pane shows a thumbnail preview of your selected file which can be very handy when hunting through photos and documents. If the file is multimedia you'll see a mini Windows Media Player appear allowing you to preview music and videos right there in Windows Explorer.

Note that the selections you make in the Layout option only apply to your current location. When you move to a new folder the default view will reappear. However, once you make a change in a folder, that change is persistent. So, for example, if you'd like the Preview Pane to appear when viewing your music folder, make this change once and it will reappear every time you visit that folder.

Have a fun weekend!

It's time to vote

Thu, 01 May 2008 19:12:22 GMT

With the local elections upon us today here in the UK, here's a timely reminder of the nifty voting feature in Microsoft Outlook. Whenever you wish to poll your email recipients on their preferences, you can save them and yourself time by using voting buttons as follows:

Create your email in Microsoft Outlook
Tick the icon labelled Use Voting Buttons in the Options tab and choose Custom from the drop down list
Type in the available voting choices in the Use voting buttons box, placing a semi colon (;) between each entry. For example, voting options to match today's London Mayoral election might read Ken;Boris;Brian;Sian;Gerard;etc
Click Close then send your email as normal

Some important considerations: your voting email recipients must be inside an Exchange Server organisation for this to work reliably. They must also be using Outlook as their email client. If outside of an Exchange organisation, voting may still work as long as Outlook is used and your email is sent in Rich Text format only. HTML and Plain Text emails with voting choices simply will not work outside of an Exchange Server environment. You can switch your email to Rich Text mode before sending by highlighting the relevant option under the Options tab.

After sending your email inviting people to vote, you can get a quick count of their voting choices, by re-opening the original email from within the Sent Items folder. There you'll see an infobar summarising the total number of votes cast, how each recipient voted, and how many votes each choice received.

If only choosing which local councillor should receive your vote was as easy!

How to Print by Dragging

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:29:08 GMT

Did you know that you can print documents simply by dragging their file onto a printer icon? This is a great shortcut if you don't want to have to open a document before printing. Of course, to make this really convenient you need a way to quickly access your printers folder. You could maybe add a shortcut to your printer to the desktop, or pin it to the Start menu. Here's how to do these in Windows Vista:

To create a desktop shortcut in Windows Vista:

Click on the Start button and type Printers in the search box then press Enter
Click and drag your preferred printer from the Printers window onto your desktop (or just right click and choose Create Shortcut; your shortcut will automatically be created on the desktop)
Right-click on the new desktop icon to rename if desired

To pin this shortcut to the Start menu in Windows Vista:

Drag the newly created desktop icon (from step 3 above) over the Start button, wait a second for the menu to open then drag upwards to drop your shortcut at the top of the list, normally just above the Internet Explorer link

To print your documents:

Locate your document file in Windows Explorer and drag the icon onto your Printer shortcut icon. Windows will automatically open the file, invoke the print command, then close the file down once again.

Bonus tip: Windows Vista users who regularly print files in this way may also like to try out the Drag&Drop and Print Sidebar gadget that does exactly what its name suggests

Transferring your Outlook settings to Windows Vista

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:29:07 GMT

I received a handy reminder yesterday from Diane Poremsky's excellent Outlook Tips web site that it's best not to rely on the Windows Easy Transfer (WET) tool when moving your Outlook settings to a new Windows Vista computer. In fact, using WET can sometimes cause problems including a corrupt profile.

It's far safer, and quicker in my opinion, to take a backup of your important Outlook files and manually copy them over to the new computer. Diane has provided the locations of the major Outlook files that you should copy across on this page. By working this way you'll not only be in complete control of your Outlook files, you'll also benefit from taking a backup and learning about the different support files that make Outlook work just the way you like it.

Save ink, money and the planet

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:02:47 GMT

I've noticed more and more email signatures carrying a 'Think before you print' reminder. And that's a good thing, because the less we print, the less damage we do to our fragile planet. Or course, if you do want to add a reminder to people to discourage them from printing your email, I suggest you keep the type size and colours to a minimum otherwise your words could actually prove detrimental to the environment when printed! To learn more about email signature editing in Outlook, see some of my most popular previous tips here, here, and here.

And there's another simple step that many of us can take to reduce our printers' ink consumption: tell your printer to print everything in draft mode, black and white, thrifty mode or whatever your printer manufacturer calls their economy printing mode.

To do this open the Printers folder (in Windows Vista simply type 'printers' in the Start Search bar, in Windows XP locate the printer settings in Control Panel), right-click on your default printer, click Properties, then Printing Preferences. Now set your printer to run in economy/draft/thrifty mode and press OK. Next time you print, the default settings will be saving you ink and money, and shaving a few micrograms off your carbon footprint.

And on the rare occasion that you need to print something higher resolution simply change the printing preferences in the Print dialog box just before you print. As a general rule this should be the exception rather than the norm. From what I can see, the low quality setting on most modern printers is plenty good enough for general use.

Gadget Population Explosion

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:47:53 GMT

One of the things I like about gadgets for Windows Vista is that you're not limited to a single instance of each gadget. So, for instance, if you'd like to see the time in more than one time zone, simply add another instance of the clock gadget and give each clock a name like this:

Or, if you like to keep track of the weather in different locations, but use a weather gadget that only allows one location, just add the gadget another time:

Plus, of course, you can move gadgets around anywhere on your Sidebar or Desktop so you can customise your world to your heart's content.

Can't find a gadget you like? Try again, there are now gazillions at the Windows Live Gallery.

Now, go forth and multiply your gadgets!

Disastrous logo for Office of Government Commerce

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:16:11 GMT

Design news: I saw this on the BBC's Have I Got New For You TV programme on Friday. But it's so hilarious, I thought I'd share it here. The new logo unveiled by the Office of Government Commerce last week has turned out to be a real cock-up. It's remarkable that for £14,000 (around US$30,000) the designer didn't even have the foresight to consider the many different ways their design might be viewed.

What the designer saw:

What everyone else saw:

Discover more disastrous logos here.

Adapt your keyboard to suit your needs

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:00:22 GMT

My recent tip showing how to add an audible alert every time you press the Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock keys has proved quite popular. But if you're still hitting those keys by mistake, or simply want to change the layout of your keyboard for the sheer pleasure of doing so, SharpKeys is a neat little tool you might like.

SharpKeys works by allowing you to remap certain buttons on your keyboard to a different key. So, for example, if you've got a new laptop and would like to swap the Delete Key with the right side Ctrl key to stop you deleting things by mistake, you can do this with ease. Just be sure to remember the changes you've made and add something to your keyboard (a sticker or a little Tipp-Ex®!) to remind you.

This also works as a great trick* to play on co-workers. Remapping a few keys can wreak havoc on an inexperienced computer user and will stump even the most experienced helpdesk operator!

SharpKeys works in Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT and Windows Server 2003. Download it from here.

* The UsefulTechnology blog does not condone acts of cruelty against novice computer users, although it has been known to laugh quite vigorously when witnessing similar tricks played on unwitting colleagues in the past.

Bypass the Windows Vista log on screen

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:58:20 GMT

Here's a question I'm asked extremely often: "I'm the only user of my PC. How can I avoid having to type a password every time Windows Vista starts up?"

The answer is simplicity itself. Click the Start button and in the search box type control userpasswords2, then press Enter. Enter your credentials if the User Account Control dialog appears then remove the tick against 'Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer' and click OK. Enter your password two last times, then press OK. The changes will take effect the next time you start up Windows Vista.

Be warned though: if your computer is in a public place or could be accessed by someone without your knowledge you should think carefully before removing this log on password requirement. Without a password, your computer is open to being used by anyone who can turn it on and your Internet connection and private information could be compromised.

No more broken shortcuts, ever

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:58:25 GMT

Maybe I missed this enhancement when it first appeared, but I just discovered that Windows Vista has a neat little feature that 'automagically' heals broken shortcuts. So, if you create a shortcut to a file or program in Windows Vista, then subsequently move that file or program link, the shortcut will be automatically updated to the new location. And your shortcuts should always work! Ingenious!

BTW, you can also remove those ugly arrows from shortcuts in lots of different ways. The Shortcut Overlay Remover from the FrameworkX community, also known as FxVisor, can do this for you without your having to dive deep into the registry. To install, head to www.frameworkx.com, click on Downloads, then look for Vista Shortcut Manager in the Windows Toolbox. If you're running a 32-bit version of Windows Vista (and most people are) you need the x86 download. If you're on 64-bit version you need the x64 version.

McDonalds flips out in style in the UK

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:41:28 GMT

Marketing news: UK Designer Bruce Oldfield has stepped in to add a little respectability to the uniforms worn by McDonalds staff in the UK. Gone are the garish red smocks, presumably tinted to match the acne on the faces of McDonalds' young workers. In come subtle shades of beige and brown, and even pencil skirts and scarves for female managers. I think it looks quite smart, but it would take more than a sharp suit to make me eat one of those burgers.

The revamp of all 67,000 UK staff is reported to be costing a whopping £2million. Small change to a chain like McDonalds as they continue their restaurant restyle programme. I wonder if those little star badges that give an indication of how long a member of staff has held a McJob will also get the chop? I really hope so...

More here

Share your favourite RSS feeds in Outlook

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:34:40 GMT

If you read your RSS feeds in Outlook 2007 and, let's face it, why wouldn't you, you may be pleased to learn how easy it is to share a feed with a friend.

Simply right-click on any feed entry and choose Share this Feed:

Outlook will instantly create a new email for you complete with an embedded link to the RSS feed. Simply send to your intended recipient(s) and they'll see a little link like this in the email:

Now sit back smugly as they wonder how you learned such a clever trick.

Stop hitting 'Reply to All'

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:20:32 GMT

Are you a victim of an inadvertent 'Reply to All' gaffe? Don't worry, you're not alone. Every day, thousands of people unwittingly share their most intimate thoughts with complete strangers. And it's all thanks to that pesky 'Reply to All' button in Microsoft Outlook.

Thankfully, there is a cure. The NEW "UsefulTechnology Gaffe Destroyer™ (Patent-Pending)" solution works by reducing the temptation* to hit the 'Reply to All' button. Here's how it works:

Right-click on the Reply to All button in Microsoft Outlook and choose Customize
On the Commands tab, click Rearrange Commands
Select the Toolbar button and make sure Standard is selected in the drop down box
Highlight the Reply to All control and either:
1. For basic protection: click Modify Selection, change the name to 'Reply to Everyone' and change the button image to something less appealing like . Now click Close and your standard toolbar should look a bit like this . There, that's better already.
2. or for total protection: click Delete, then click Close.
Now learn the keyboard shortcuts for Reply and Reply to All:
- Reply to mail message: CTRL + R
- Reply to all to mail message: SHIFT + CTRL + R

Trust me, that extra little requirement to press the SHIFT key to invoke the 'Reply to All' command will completely eliminate future mistakes. By having to make a conscious decision to 'Reply to All' rather than simply clicking a button, you will regain control over your communications and permanently banish embarrassing declarations of love to your work colleagues. Give it a try. It really works!

* Willpower required. Always read the label.

See into the future with UK traffic forecasts

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:59:53 GMT

Online road traffic reports are not new. Some of the sites I used include TrafficMap, AA Roadwatch, and the very beautiful KeepMoving. And for the railways the new National Rail gadget for Windows Vista is hard to beat.

But the best road traffic site for my money is http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffic. Here you can see live reports from the screens along UK motorways, check out planned roadworks, and even get a traffic forecast for a date in the future.

It's as close as you'll get to a crystal ball. Of course, the traffic on many British roads is notoriously unpredictable. Best add a couple of hour to your journey time anyway, just in case...

Jump to your Inbox in Outlook

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:41:23 GMT

Here's a super time saver for Outlook. Whenever you need to go to your inbox (if you're like me that happens about 3,000 times a day) just hit:

SHIFT + CTRL + I

That's it! It works from any view in Outlook.

My Bag o' Crap Moment

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:44:55 GMT

I wrote recently and more recently about the clever promotion that BigPockets.co.uk was running to help clear out the slow moving stock from its warehouses. When the chance came up for me to order my own Bag o' Crap (or Bag o' Crap 2 to be precise) I didn't hesitate. The mystery package arrived yesterday. Here's the moment my son and I discovered what was inside.

Video link: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iSW-WLeiNKQ

Keyboard shortcuts for perfect copy

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:18:05 GMT

Fussy copywriters like me can be sent into a rage by the smallest grammatical slip-ups. Years ago, in a previous job, my team referred to me as 'Mr Em Dash' in recognition of my obsession with transforming the many inappropriate hyphens that blighted our copy into more attractive em dashes.

To punctuate copy correctly you first need to go beyond the visible limitations of your keyboard. Here's a quick list of some useful keyboard shortcuts I regularly use. Learn these and you'll soon be transforming your words into a work of art.

... (ellipsis): Alt GR + full stop

— (em dash): Ctrl + Alt + minus symbol (on number keypad), or Alt + 0151 (on number keypad)

– (en dash): Alt + 0150

áéíóú (acute accents): AltGr + vowel

® (registered trademark symbol): Alt + 0174 (on number keypad)

™ (trademark symbol): Alt + 0153 (on number keypad)

† (dagger): Alt + 0134 (on number keypad)

Remember, not all keyboard shortcuts work in all applications. All the above should work in Microsoft Word and Outlook, although they don't all work in Windows Live Writer. If ever you get stuck, open Character Map in Windows and look for the Alt+Number keystroke in the bottom right corner.

The importance of patching

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:28:37 GMT

You don't need me to remind you, dear reader, of the importance of keeping your computer up to date. Regular patching and anti-virus/anti-spyware updates have never been more important. But even this cannot protect you 100% from the most determined hacker. As The Register reports, in the three day Pwn2Own contest in Vancouver, a two man team of white hats eventually managed to uncover a vulnerability in Adobe Flash that allowed them to compromise a MacBook Pro computer, then a Windows Vista computer. The team ran out of time to run the hack on a Linux machine but said afterwards that their exploit would also work on OS X and Linux boxes.

The moral of the story is, as always, hidden at the end of The Register's article: "exploits like this are a fact of life for everyone no matter what kind of machine they chose."

So, for the best chance of staying safe, check your computer is up to date now!

Share your calendar in Outlook, Windows Live, Office Online, and everywhere else

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:47:04 GMT

Back in the day, my family's lives rotated around a month-to-view calendar that my mum pinned to the kitchen wall. These days, the kitchen calendar may still be there but things are a bit more complicated with our 21st century lives being busier than ever and electronic diaries stretching our pockets to the limit.

I've been playing with TimeBridge recently (thanks Matthew!) and jolly impressive it is too. If you've ever struggled to find a convenient date to meet up with someone, give TimeBridge a try. The Outlook add-in functions well, and the web interface of joyfully simple.

Users of Microsoft Outlook and Windows Live can also reduce calendar chaos in lots of ways. With Outlook 2007 it's really easy to share a snapshot of your calendar in an email. You can also share calendars in the Windows Live Calendar beta. Here's how to import your Outlook calendar into Windows Live.

Watch this video from the Windows Vista blog to see how Windows Live Calendar and Windows Calendar in Windows Vista work seamlessly together:

Video: Demo: Windows Live Calendar (BETA) #1

In fact, as long as you can save your calendar as a .ics (iCalendar) format, you can pretty much do whatever you like with it. Of course, the trouble with an iCalendar file is that it's static so any changes to your calendar won't be dynamically updated. To get round this you can publish your calendar on Office Online so that other people can see as little or as much information as you'd like to share. Other Internet calendar services include www.calendardata.com, Google Calendar and www.icalshare.com.

And if that wasn't enough hyperlinking for one day, to learn more about the two key ways you can share your calendar, read this page from Microsoft Office Online.

Unforgettable Label

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:46:01 GMT

We've all done it. Devoured a delicious bottle of wine, staggered home to bed, then completely forgotten the name of the nectareous liquid that addled our brains.

Well, forget no more. This lovely design work by Oxford Landing, purveyors of fine wines from Australia, brings to an end those days of wine memory failure. Just don't forget to peel the label.

It's true. The simplest design ideas really are the best!

Source: www.thedieline.com/blog/2008/03/innovation-in-w.html

UK Banks Leap Into The 20th [sic] Century

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:34:43 GMT

Exactly two months from now, on the 27th May 2008, the UK Banking Industry will finally introduce a new system that will reduce the time taken for standing orders and payments made online or by telephone banking to reach the payee's bank account. Today, it typically takes 3 working days for payments to reach the payee - a lead time established decades ago, well before the advent of computers and the Internet. It's quite absurd that banks still insist on3 working days to move funds and the abandonment of this age old lead time, which has been called for by the government, is long overdue. The new scheme should have gone live in November 2007 but was delayed due to technical problems. Let's hope the the revised launch date of Faster Payments is met.

Of course, here in our 21st century world, it no longer takes 3 working days for money to move from one bank to another. It takes just seconds, as evidenced by traders on global markets who buy and sell millions of shares and commodities at the click of a mouse. Thank goodness the UK Banking Industry has finally conceded that they can do the same with our money, and put in place the technology needed to make it work.

There are currently 13 UK banks and building societies committed to the programme, accounting for 97% of current payment traffic. These are:

Abbey
Alliance & Leicester
Barclays
Citibank
Co-operative Bank
HBOS
HSBC
Lloyds TSB
National Australia Group (Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank)
Nationwide Building Society, Northern Bank (Danske Bank)
Royal Bank of Scotland Group
and the impoverished Northern Rock

If your bank is not in the list give them a call to find out why. And if they're not planning to take part any time soon you might want to find yourself another bank.

Yet another Clipboard enhancer

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:51:28 GMT

If you find that the ClipboardManager gadget for Windows Vista just doesn't have the 'ooomph' that you need, try Yankee Clipper 3. YC3 is a handy little freeware application that keeps a record of everything (and I mean everything) that you place in your clipboard (by copying or cutting). It resides in your toolbar and works in all applications. It will sort your clipboard entries by type (text, pictures, rich text, URLs etc) and even allows you to create "boilerplate" clippings that you regularly use. So, for example, if you're forever typing your home address or pasting your company logo into documents you could save time by turning these into boilerplate clippings so they're never more than a mouse click away. It can even strip out messy quote characters like "<" from your clippings. Try the free version (1.06MB download) from here. You'll like it.

And, if you fancy an even more powerful clipboard tool that can recover deleted clippings, has support for up to 5 collections, and can even let you associate clippings with hot keys, take a look at Yankee Clipper X (YCX). There's a free 90 day trial, after which it costs just $14.95 to keep forever. I think regular clipboard users will quickly appreciate the great value this represents.

Doggy Doo-Doos by RSS feed

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:54:07 GMT

Red Alert!

I love the web when it turns out brilliantly relevant information like this! Curtain twitchers across the UK should immediately log on www.fixmystreet.com to find out what's going on around their neighbourhood. Put in your postcode and be amazed at the goings on all around you.

Dog mess, abandoned fridges, and potholes seem to be at the top of the "Bad Stuff Blighting My Neighbourhood" league. But, best of all, you can even subscribe to get updates by RSS so you need never be out of the loop again! Gossiping over the garden fence will never be the same again.

Bravo to The Ministry of Justice for helping get this beta site off the ground.

Right, I'm off to photograph some dog's mess.

Windows Vista: The Missing Manual

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:37:29 GMT

Hot off the press (or whatever the digital equivalent of a printing press is), you can now download the freshly updated Windows Product Guide, complete with details of the improvements made in Service Pack 1. The guide is worth downloading, if only for the comprehensive feature comparison charts that help explain the differences between the many different flavours of Windows Vista available to buy.

And, if you already own a printed copy of the original Windows Vista Product Guide you can now download a concise (63 pages!) Revision Document to bring your Product guide up to date with SP1 enhancements.

Show formulae (or should that be 'show formulas'?) in Excel

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:40:39 GMT

I first learned this tip about a decade ago and had long forgotten it until reminded today.

When working in Microsoft Office Excel (any version), you can instantly change the view so that formulae appear in each cell instead of the results they generate. To do this hit CTRL+` (that's the accent key, normally the upper-leftmost key on your keyboard). Hey presto, your formulae are served! To revert to the normal view again, just press CTRL+` once more.

The Formula Auditing toolbar that appears is another handy side effect to this keyboard shortcut. Have a play to discover how easy it is to trace any errors in your formulae.

Bag o' Crap returns 23.59 04/04/2008

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:27:10 GMT

BigPockets.co.uk is causing a stir amongst its customer base with the continuing saga of its Bag o' Crap. As their latest newsletter explains:

"Where do I start? How about the Bag Of crap (BOC) for £2.99? Well, you broke our servers, insulted our staff and attacked one another on chat rooms and forums. Some of you showed some absolutely ridiculous political views and made some very bad videos… here we go, your last chance to buy a bag of crap. We have nearly run out can you believe it you have cleared out our warehouse of crap!! - Well done."

Their tongue-in-cheek and candid attitude is remarkably refreshing in today's hard sell world. And it seems to be working, with all stock selling out in record time. Give it a try in your next marketing campaign!

The next batch of Bag o' Crap stock will be ready to go on sale at 23:59 on 4th April. Mark the date in your diary if you're mad enough to want to take part.

As for the videos that customers sent in, they were almost as bad as the contents of the bags they bought. Here's my pick of a bad bunch. Surely you can do better than this?!:

Adding jump links to your e-mails

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:06:51 GMT

If you write a long e-mail, sometimes it's a nice idea to add jump links to help people navigate to the content that's most relevant to them. Say, for example, you write an e-mail about the three things you did on holiday, you could add a jump link to take your reader straight to each of the three sections (eating, sleeping, and queuing at the airport). Think of it as an interactive list of contents, something that helps people find the bits they're most interested in.

Jump links look really impressive, but adding them is a piece of cake in Outlook. Keep in mind that this only works when you compose your e-mail in HTML or Rich Text; hyperlinks are not supported in plain text. Here's how:

First, compose your email (in HTML or Rich Text mode)
Now highlight the first point in your e-mail body copy where you would like to add a jump link (the place your reader will jump to)
Now select Insert > Bookmark, type a memorable name for your bookmark (no spaces!), then click Add
Repeat step 3 for each of the jump link destinations in your e-mail
Now, go to the top of your e-mail body and type your list of jump links
Highlight each jump link in turn and select Insert > Hyperlink, then click Place in this Document, then select the relevant Bookmark link and press OK. Repeat this step for each jump link.
Now test your hyperlinks by CTRL+Clicking on each in turn to see where the cursor jumps to. If all is well, send your e-mail and wait for the recipients to reply asking how you learned to do such clever links!

For more on adding hyperlinks to Outlook e-mails, click here.

Managing your Clipboard from the Sidebar (and Office)

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:37:38 GMT

The clipboard is a wonderful thing. Every time you copy (CTRL+C) or cut (CTRL+X) any information on your monitor, it is temporarily stored in the clipboard ready to be pasted back when needed. And while working in Microsoft Office applications you can even display the Clipboard at the side of the screen by clicking the tiny button shown below:

Once you've done this it's a good idea to access the Options at the bottom of the Clipboard viewer and select the Show Office Clipboard When Ctrl+C Pressed Twice option. If find a double click on Ctrl+C much easier to remember than that tiny little button on the top ribbon. And while you're at it you may as well select the other two options too to ensure that the Clipboard will retain a history of the items you copy/cut even without the clipboard being visible:

Now that you've done that you can see your clipboard's contents and paste any of the last 24 items you copied/cut whenever you like.

Gone are your days of rigidly sequential copy'n'pasting!

But what to do if you need to copy'n'paste non-sequentially outside of Microsoft Office applications? I recently discovered a handy Windows Vista Sidebar gadget that displays the last 7 items you placed into the clipboard. Clicking each item on the list simply returns them to the top of the clipboard, effectively making them the last thing you placed in the clipboard. Now you can paste (CTRL+V) that item as needed.

So, if you need support for non-sequential clipboard use outside of Microsoft Office applications, take ClipboardManager gadget for a spin from here.

Lush desktop enhancements for Windows Vista

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:05:26 GMT

With thanks to Windows Vista magazine, check out some of the cool tools to enhance your desktop at http://mpj.tomaatnet.nl/vista/.

I particularly like the 3D User Picture, Glass Toasts, and Thumbnail Sizer. Nice enhancements, but only if you've got a sufficiently powerful graphics card.

Folder Backgrounds are also pretty quirky, but I've yet to see the end-user value here!