Latest Blog Posts & News
 Posted
Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 12:50 am
For many years, Microsoft Outlook has been the one of the most used email applications. It is great for storing, sorting and sending emails with one, or multiple, email accounts. Quite often though, there are so many different features available that they get buried and many users may not be aware of all the powerful tools at their fingertips. One of these great features is adding a signature to each email you send out. This may be as simple as a line of text or two, or can include images, your electronic business card, or even a handwritten signature. Below are links provided by Microsoft that explain this process in more detail. Just click on the appropriate version and follow the step-by-step instructions.
Outlook 2010
Outlook 2007
Outlook 2003
Posted
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Back in 2008, Google first released its very own web browser, Chrome. Since then, it has become the second most popular browser in use worldwide, overtaking Firefox but still trailing Internet Explorer. Chrome is sleek, slim and slightly faster than the other two popular browsers. Google has also made it very easy to import and export bookmarks into and out of Chrome. This is a great function if you like to use multiple browsers, or if you just get fed up with the one you mainly use. Below is a link to an article, provided by Google, which explicates these processes in detail.
support.google.com/chrome
Posted
Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 11:30 pm
One might first think the Windows 7 calculator looks a lot like previous incarnations of the classic Windows calculator. However, in Windows 7, Microsoft added a myriad of new calculating features. You can switch to Scientific mode, Programmer mode or Statistics mode. You can also perform conversions and calculate time between dates. In addition to that, you can calculate fuel economy, vehicle lease payments and even your mortgage! The new Windows 7 calculator also includes a Calculation History area, so you can review your past calculations. Below is a link from Microsoft that explores all of the seemingly hidden options and explains their operation.
windows.microsoft.com
Posted
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 6:40 pm
Have you ever lost your iPhone? Had it stolen? Or, gasp, dropped it in the drink? Well, fortunately, Apple makes it easy to back up your data, beforehand, in preparation for such a calamity. This enables you to restore your lost data, once you have a replacement device in hand, of course. You just have to remember to perform your backup before an unforeseen mishap. So, do it soon, if you’ve not already. This can be achieved with either local storage on your computer, through iTunes, or on the web with iCloud. Below, is a link to an article provided by Apple Support that describes both of these processes in step-by-step detail.
support.apple.com
Posted
Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 9:57 pm
With their last few releases of Firefox, Mozilla has tweaked the way Firefox’s toolbars are displayed by default. They did this to streamline the look of the application, but some folks still like to have their typical toolbars of past displayed. Luckily, Firefox allows you to show, hide, and customize your toolbars and the way in which they are viewed. Below is a link to an article from Mozilla that explains this process in detail.
support.mozilla.org
Posted
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 7:49 pm
Far too often these days, new computers don’t always come with Windows recovery discs. Some companies do still include them, but a lot require you to create your own. Or perhaps, you lost yours, or just want a backup copy, and would like to make another. Sometimes, if your computer’s operating system is already severely damaged, and you haven’t yet created a recovery disc, you might have to order a replacement disc directly from the manufacturer. All of these processes vary, depending on the manufacturer, so we’ve provided a link below to an article that describes how and what to do if you find yourself in this situation.
zdnet.com/blog
Posted
Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
With the release of Mac OS X Lion, Apple expanded on its Multi-Touch gestures feature. Gestures allow you to operate your machine’s functions with ease, just by touching the trackpad in certain different ways. Or, if you don’t have a built-in trackpad, you can also use Multi-Touch gestures with a Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse. While gestures appeared in previous versions of OS X, Lion now offers brand new gestures and improved, more realistic, gesture responses. Details on these new features and their use are highlighted in the article we’ve linked to below.
support.apple.com
Posted
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Excel is a fantastic spreadsheet application brought to us by Microsoft as a part of their Office Suite. It is simple and easy to use, but also allows you to create some quite complex formulas for manipulating the data in your spreadsheet. That way, if you have a spreadsheet that needs to perform a lot of calculations, you can have the spreadsheet do all the hard work for you, instead of manually performing every single calculation yourself. These formulas can range from the simple to the not so simple. Below is a link to an article, provided by Microsoft, that explains this process in more detail.
office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/overview-of-formulas
Posted
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
WPS, or Wi-Fi Protected Setup, was introduced in 2007 and was originally designed to help users unfamiliar with wireless security more easily secure their wireless network’s router and access points. However, it was recently discovered in December 2011 that it is actually quite easy to break through this type of security configuration with what is known as a Brute Force Technique. In this technique, a computer program submits a series of randomly generated numbers until it finds a matching PIN code for the WPS. From there, a hacker could then obtain the password to your network, change its configuration, and even prevent you from accessing your own network. This technique is used in a variety of hacking attempts, but there are usually protocols in place to lock down access after so many failed attempts. Unfortunately, the designers of WPS failed to build in this protection, and hackers can try as many possible PINs as they want. Below is a link to an article that describes this discovery in more detail and offers advice on what do to better protect your network.
zdnet.com/blog/networking/wi-fi-protected-setup-is-busted
Posted
Thursday, December 29th, 2011 at 12:36 am
If you have an iPhone 4S, you’re most likely aware of your new personal assistant, Siri. Still though, a lot of folks are a little fuzzy on what it is and what it can do. This great feature utilizes fantastic voice recognition software that can perform a multitude of tasks, even when requesting them in a variety of ways. You can set an alarm by saying a specific time or even just by saying,”Please set an alarm for 19 minutes from now”. You can also set reminders, check the weather, find out when Paul Newman’s birthday is, find nearby gas stations, restaurants and more. You can even begin calls to specific contacts, or dictate and send them text messages. Also, if you add yourself as a contact, Siri will even call you by name. There are even hidden “Easter egg” functions still being discovered by users. For example, Siri will tell you jokes…even if at first it insists it doesn’t know any…
In light of there being far too much to cover here regarding Siri, we’ve included a couple links from Apple that further explain these features, and there’s also a Frequently Asked Questions page. Even if you think you’ll never actually use Siri, after playing around with it and seeing what it can do, you might just change your mind. If you don’t have an iPhone 4S, there are rumors that Apple plans to bring Siri to some of its other devices soon.
apple.com/iphone/features/siri
apple.com/iphone/features/siri-faq
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