All computer users would like to become as productive as possible in their use of technology. This series of articles covers new features of modern platforms and describes how you can become more efficient in using it. The first article in the series is about Windows 7 and how you can become more effective managing your files.

There is an extremely helpful feature that was introduced in Windows 7 by Microsoft:  the Preview Pane helps you quickly preview different type of documents in Windows Explorer. It will help to save you time when browsing and previewing files of the various types. To initiate this feature open up Windows Explorer and navigate to any folder of your choice, where different documents are located. Once inside the folder the preview can be initiated by the simple keyboard shortcut ALT+P. Preview supports a large number of file extensions for preview – a much bigger list than previous versions of Windows.

Another way to get to the preview mode is to use the menu in Windows Explorer and enable it via Organize->Layout->Preview pane. But for faster access, just hit ALT+P on the keyboard to show or hide the pane.

The big advantage of the Preview Pane compared to the traditional windows mechanisms for Preview is its ability to preview multiple file types located in the same folder.

You can preview email messages, images, documents, pdf files, rich text format files, xml files and even video files without opening them in the program. The preview pane can be resized for a more detailed view as shown in the image below. This is very handy for images and videos, since the previews are much larger than the thumbnail views. You can zoom in the pictures and play the videos as part of your preview process. You can also play audio files from within the preview pane. If the document contains multiple pages you can use the scroll bar on the right to preview the documents by scrolling.

You can click on the document specific menu in the upper left corner of the screen to select the additional actions you can do with the file. For example, for images you can open them with MSPaint, Picture Viewer Photo Editor and Adobe Photoshop (see menu choices below).

To enable preview for some file types you have to have the program installed (e.g., Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel or Acrobat Reader), and some files also just don’t preview even if it is installed (e.g., Microsoft Office OneNote)
Once enabled, Preview Pane stays open and you can browse multiple different files in your folder. To disable the Preview pane you can use the menu in Windows explorer or click ALT+P again.

Windows 7 Productivity: How to Quickly Preview Your Files and Documents is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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I just got an email from eBay that Star Wars is being released on Blu-Ray next week. I was certainly excited. I’ve seen it in HD on TV and it looked pretty cool. It’s actually sort of funny watching it in HD because you can tell how fake everything is.

Anyway, eBay has the Complete Collection for $89.99. I went to Amazon and found it for $79.99. That’s a good price for 6 blu-ray discs.

Then I came across all the negative reviews for the collection. 2 out of 5 stars. Wow. I usually don’t touch something that low on Amazon. I was surprised.

I like Star Wars. They’re great movies. But I’m not an extreme fanatic so I wasn’t up to snuff on some of the changes Lucas Film has made to these movies. Some of these changes were on the DVDs they released in 2004 so you can see how behind I am… but maybe you are to.

Apparently the studio has added some new special effects and even some extra scenes. This has made certain Star War aficionados very, very angry to say the least. Here a couple quotes from 1 star reviews I read:

“Seriously a sad day for Star Wars fans the world over!!! I always believed in the phrase, ‘don’t fix what ain’t broken’”

“this release not only fails utterly to preserve a major artifact of our cinematic heritage, it goes further in that its producer has made it clear that he will never allow that seminal work to be accurately preserved”

Me personally, not a big deal. I think I’d still pick up the full set. I wouldn’t remember enough to tell if a new scene was added… I don’t think… I don’t know… well, I guess I’d have to watch it to be sure.

What do you think? How do you feel about this? Did you blow a gasket when you learned what crazy George Lucas did to this classic series? Or will you pick up the blu-ray set anyway?

Tell us below…

Star Wars on Blu-Ray! is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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So yesterday Steve Jobs stepped down from his position of CEO of Apple.

According to a press release published on the Apple website, his letter to the board of directors and the Apple community was short and sweet.

Essentially he said that if there were ever a day he didn’t think he could fulfill his duties as CEO, he would let them know. And he did.

Jobs will serve as chairman of the board at Apple, and although he won’t be CEO, you can bet he’ll still have his hand in product strategy and design.

Tim Cook, former COO of Apple, is now the new CEO.

What do you think? Does this change anything for Apple?

Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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We had a visitor to our youtube channel send us a message that they installed a hard drive alongside the drive that is already in the machine and now it will not boot up.  Instead it gives the error “BOOTMGR missing”.

This is a pretty common error and is relatively simple to fix but it can be pretty confusing the first time you see it.  In your computer’s bios it keeps a boot device order.  Most of you will know the boot order from needing to set it to boot from cd to use your diagnostic cd or load a new Operating System.  However some computers also keep another order that is called “hard drive boot priority” and it decides which storage device boots first when you are booting from a hard drive.

If you hooked up a hard drive to “device 2″ on your motherboard when you first installed it and come along and plug in a drive to a higher port (0 or 1) the bios with automatically default to booting from the newly installed drive.  Since this drive is meant for data storage and has no OS on it you get a BOOTMGR or boot manager missing error.  Going into the bios and setting your hard drive priority to the correct drive should correct this issue.  If you have multiple drives that are the same model (they will show up as the same thing) then just try them in a few different configurations until you find one that works.

Computer won’t boot after installing a new hard drive is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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Unless you’ve been in a cave recently, you’ve probably heard of Apple’s recent problems with malware…

That’s right, the company that always touted that they were untouchable when it came to malware. Most people agreed that since they has a small market share compared to Microsoft, who would bother with virus attacks on them? Well, someone finally did.

Of course Mac’s have been subject to malware for some time, but most anti-virus software did a decent job. The current attack is called Mac Defender (or MacProtector, MacSecurity), although it has since changed its name and the way it infects the user’s computer.

It’s been out for almost a month now. The first variation, Mac Defender, prompted the user for an administrator password. Once that was provided, the virus installed itself and then deleted the executable program.

Within hours of Apple announcing to users a fix on their support site, a new variation of the virus was launched that did not require the administrator password. As long as the administrator was logged in, the fake anti-virus program would “detect” malicious software and open the installer automatically. The user would just have to click ‘continue’ to start the installation. Windows users are probably used to the rogue anti-virus or fake anti-virus malware that have plagued Windows machines and grown in popularity the last few years. That’s essentially what this is. It’s now known as MacGuard.

Apparently, Mac users are getting the virus when going to a website that ranks very well in search engines, and unbeknown to them, it’s being installed. I searched Apple’s support site for “MacGuard” but didn’t find anything. They still have the support for MacDefender, which as I described above, is mostly irrelevant now. They uninstall process might be the same, but the virus will install itself without a password, making it trickier for users to detect that it’s malware.

Intego, developers of security software for Mac, presume MacGuard’s overall purpose is to obtain credit card numbers or setting a foundation for future attacks. If you watch videos on Mac Guard, you will see the option to pay for the fake software. Whether it charges the card or just steals the number, I’m not sure.

Experts believe Apple is behind the curve, they haven’t had to battle with hackers and malware developers as much. Windows is seasoned. We all hated the UAC warnings that would pop up in Windows Vista asking our permission for everything. This was fixed in Windows 7. There’s little interruption. The fact is, there’s always a balance between security and usability. In Vista we saw too much security, for good reason I’m sure, but user experience suffered. Apple for the most part denied the fact their machines could get infected, and praised it’s usability. It looks like they’re going to have to go through the same painful lessons Microsoft has.

It seems many Mac users don’t seem as secure and “in the clear” as they used to. I’ve even read reports of the Genius Bar turning people away that have MacDefender. This definitely isn’t the last we’ve seen of this.

Apple Malware Update is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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If you haven’t heard yet, Google is coming out with their own form of netbooks in June, called Chromebooks…

Based of their minimalistic web browser, Chrome, it will strictly be a web netbook.

No need for a BIOS, Hardware detection, Login, Splash screens, Anti-virus, anything that slows boot up and load times.

They say the Chromebooks boot up in 8 seconds and resume instantly.

They will start off with 2 Chromebooks: An Acer model and Samsung model. Both available in 3G (first 100MB free courtesy of Verizon) or Wi-Fi.

Compared today’s netbooks, the computing power is less, but that’s expected. The solid state hard drive is 16GB. No, that’s not a lot, but remember, you’re not saving documents to the hard drive. You don’t have a Microsoft Office Suite. You would be using Google Docs and perhaps their Music Beta.

If you’re not already using Google Docs instead of MS Excel and Word, then it might be an extreme adjustment for you.

However, many companies have completely dropped Microsoft for Google’s Office Suite and Email since it is free.

Anyway, I am interested to see how well people adopt this different kind of netbook.

The iPad took off like crazy, despite the fact that it can’t save documents or even play Flash. Of course Apple has always done a good job of depriving users of certain features, yet still having raving fans that upgrade to new models at a 60-70% rate.

Will Google be so lucky?

Check the Chromebooks out here:
http://www.google.com/chromebook/

They’ll be available on June 15 at Amazon and Best Buy.

Google Chromebooks… Will They Be a Hit? is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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Whoa! Interesting piece of news. Microsoft just announced that 1 in 14 program downloads are eventually confirmed as malware.

I knew the prevalence of malware was high, but man that’s big. 7% of what internet users download is some form of malware…

No wonder every time I look around another person I know is getting attacked by a new fake antivirus, getting hit by a display ad driveby, getting their Facebook account hacked…

There’s never a better time than today to make sure that you’re computer is protected. Make sure you have a working anti-virus program. Many anti-virus programs have subscriptions, and users often let them expire. I’ve been guilty of this myself. If you have an anti-virus, but it’s expired, make sure to update your subscription or purchase another program. Of course, there are free options as well.

An anti-virus which scans from viruses won’t protect you from everything, but it’s a good start. Be careful and leery of the sites you are going to. Most malware infections don’t come through email attachments anymore… no, people often get hit through game, software, and video downloads. So, make sure you trust the website your are downloading something from.

Microsoft is attempting to lower the amount of malware downloads in Internet Explorer 9. The ‘1 in 14′ statistic comes from their very own research. You can read more about how the Application Reputation feature in IE9 is supposed to warn IE9 users of malicious programs.

If you need help getting rid of a nasty virus on your computer, jump over to our forums to get assistance.

Microsoft Says 1 out of 14 Internet Downloads are Malware is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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So, I wanted to write today about something I recently did, and for me was kind of cool and exciting.

I have tons of email addresses.  I have my work email, 3 personal emails, and a bunch of personal business email addresses.  I get flooded with messages every day to say the least.

I noticed the other day that I get a daily email that is very time sensitive, and if I can read the email right away when it is sent to me, I can capitalize on some opportunities.  The email usually comes into my Inbox around the same time each day, but I’m a busy guy, I forget what time it is, I don’t always go in and check for it right away.  And my schedule doesn’t permit me to sit in Gmail and keep hitting refresh.

You might have a similar situation.  No matter what the reason, if you have an email that comes from a certain person or business, or has a certain subject line, you can forward those emails to your cell phone as text or MMS messages, so you’ll be instantly notified once the email comes in.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1

You probably have an email address with your cell phone carrier and you might not even know it.  It’s usually your 10-digit number @ the service providers email domain.  Here are some examples for major carriers:

[Insert XXXXXXXXXX with your 10-digit cell phone number]

AT&T:

• XXXXXXXXXX@mms.att.net (I prefer mms because the text message sender will be the email address that is forwarding the message)
• XXXXXXXXXX@txt.att.net (The text message sender will be a random phone number)

Verizon:

• XXXXXXXXXX@vzwpix.com (mms)
• XXXXXXXXXX@vtext.com (text)

Sprint:

• XXXXXXXXXX@pm.sprint.com (mms)
• XXXXXXXXXX@messaging.sprintpcs.com (text)

T-Mobile:

• XXXXXXXXXX@tmomail.net (text)

US Cellular:

• XXXXXXXXXX@email.uscc.net (mms)
• XXXXXXXXXX@mms.uscc.net (text)

So try it out first.  Open up your email, and send a test message to your email to SMS gateway as described above.  If you get the text message on your phone, you’re good, move on to Step 2.  If it didn’t work, call you carrier and make sure they have your phone number email address setup.  If your carrier isn’t in the list of providers above, here are some more for your reference.

Step 2

Go to your email client.  I’m using Gmail for demonstration purposes.

1. Once you’re logged into your Gmail account, click on “Settings”
2. Go to the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab
3. Add a forwarding address.  Use your email to SMS gateway, 1234567890@mms.att.net, for example
4. Gmail will send you a text with an confirmation code.  Enter that code into the confirmation box in Gmail and click verify.
5. Go the “Filters” tab and either edit a current filter or click “Create a new filter” to set a new one
6. Edit the filter criteria.   Make sure to be a specific as possible so you only get forwarded the emails you want.
7. Click on the “Test Search” button to ensure your filters are bringing up the emails you desire to have forwarded.  Then click “Next Step”
8. Check the “Forward it to” box and choose your email to SMS address in the drop down.  Click on “Update Filter”
9. You’re done.  Now the next time one of those emails hit your Inbox, you should get a text or mms notification on your cell phone within seconds.

Enjoy.  Let us know if you have questions or any ideas to make this better.

Thanks!

Forward Urgent Emails to Your Cell Phone as Text Messages is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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MakeUseOf.com is a website/blog where you can read about cool websites, computer tricks and downloads that make your life easier and more productive. MakeUseOf’s mission is to guide you through the web and tell you about hot websites that you have never heard of, best software programs, and all kinds of “how to” tips for Windows, Mac and Linux computer users. Launched in 2006, MakeUseOf has over 450,000 subscribers and was founded by Aibek Esengulov and Kaly Mochoev.  By subscribing to the site, you get daily e-mails about the newsletter so you are always in touch with the website. Along with the newsletter, MakeUseOf has tons of give-aways. Recently I won the WinX Cell Phone Video Converter and received a personal e-mail from Jackson Chung, Associate Editor of MakeUseof.com telling me that I won and thanked me for subscribing. When you get a chance, check out these people and subscribe to the newsletter, you will not regret it.

Something to Make Use Of is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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A lot of people these days have multiple emails. You have your personal email address, maybe even two or three. And you might also have your work email.

It’s nice to be able to divide up the emails so they go into separate folders. For instance, if you are setting up your Outlook email at work, you may not want your personal emails to mix in with the work because you don’t want to be distracted. But it would be nice if your personal mail went into a different folder and you could check it later.

This is actually pretty easy to do. If you already have multiple email accounts setup in Outlook, just follow these steps to automatically send messages intended for different email accounts to different folders:

1. Once you have your email accounts setup, go to Tools > Rules and Alerts
2. New Rule
3. (Start from a black rule) Check messages when they arrive
4. Check the box next to “with specific words in the recipient’s address”
5. In the window below, click on the “specific words” link and enter one of the email accounts. Then click Add. Click OK
6. Click Next
7. Check the “move it to the specified folder” box.
8. In the window below, click on the “specified” link and highlight the folder you want that email account’s messages to go into. Click OK.
9. Click Next.
10. Click Next.
11. Check “Run this rule now on messages already in Inbox”
12. Click Finish

It’s as simple as that.  Let us know if you have questions…

Send Email Account Messages to Separate Folders in Micrsoft Outlook is a post from: Be Your Own IT Blog

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