While you can do this on any machine, due to the obvious security implications here, I would only suggest you do this on desktop machines where you trust everyone who has access to the machine. Yes, physical hardware access does trump any software security you have any place, but still you should be careful with using this.

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Configuring Windows 7 For Automatic Login

VhdResize will resize Microsoft’s VHD files and will also convert between Fixed and Dynamic file types. This is a sector by sector copy operation from one size/type to the other and the source file remains unaltered.

Simple and easy. All you do is just select the VHD file to resize and then specify a new size and file name and off it goes. The result is a new VHD file which has grown by the amount you specified. The next time you boot the VM, it will have the additional space available in Disk Management for you to assign as needed.

This is definitely a must for heavy users of Microsoft Virtual PC.

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Resizing A Virtual PC Hard Drive

For example, you can create a new entry called “Life Insurance Policy” and use the notes field to store your policy information. Additionally, you can use the built in expiration date reminder to notify you when your policy is about to expire.

Of course you can use this to store your bank/investing account numbers which you would probably have in the same entry as your respective login. However in the above example, you may not have a login so you would just need to store the notes.

Basically, anytime you need to store secure text, take a look at using your password manager program as it is designed to keep the data secure. While KeePass is the tool I prefer, I am sure other password manager programs can accomplish this as well.

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Using KeePass To Store Secure Text

The linked article is a great idea. I have modified the text I search for to fit what I would consider keywords. Using this filter cuts the messages I scan down to a couple of dozen which is much more manageable.

While this certainly isn’t perfect, it is a great way for Gmail users to catch most any false positive dropped into the spam folder.

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Filter To Quickly Scan Your Gmail Spam Folder

Suppose you want to drag some files to an Outlook message you have open to add them as attachments.

1. Select the files in Windows Explorer.
2. Click and drag the files over the message in the task bar.
3. Pause for a second and the message will be restored or brought to the front.
4. Drop your files onto it.

This works with just about anything, so it is not limited to dragging files to Outlook. I often have tons open at once (my task bar is set to hold 3 layers of entries), so this trick definitely saves me time.

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Drag And Drop To Hidden Or Minimized Applications

I highly encourage taking a few minutes to read this as the article brings up several good points. The statement which really sums it up is:

When we, as a customer, immediately boil a transaction down to the minimal dollar, we usually lose in the long run.

Simply put, when you go to “bargain” retailers don’t expect good service or product knowledge. You are most likely there to begin with because you want to pay least amount possible and these types of retailers accomplish this by not investing in their employees (i.e. little, if any, product training or continuing education). Of course, there are exceptions to rule, but generally this holds true.

Remember, customer service is driven by consumer demand. If you have a poor service experience and continue to spend money on the product or with the company, don’t expect anything to change. You always get what you pay for.

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A Good Take On Customer Service

I ran into this the other day when I want to rename of the folders I have set up. I figured it was a simple enough process, just go to the ‘Tag Settings’ folder and rename it but this is not a something you can do. Instead you have to go through this process to easily rename a folder.

Basically, it involves creating a new folder, moving the items and then deleting the old folder. To me, it shouldn’t be this difficult but I don’t rename folders often enough to where this bothers me. Regardless, I now have an easy way to ‘mass move’ my subscriptions thanks to the instructions above.

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Renaming Folders In Google Reader

The linked article gives a very thorough overview of how styles work in Word 2007 and compares them to the old archaic method explained above, ‘direct formatting’. If you have not taken advantage of them already, styles are essentially a very easy way to apply a clean, consistent and polished look to your document.

Out of the box, Word 2007 ships with several impressive styles which can give your document a professional look in an instant. I use them all the time and hardly ever apply direct formatting anymore.

If you use Word, this is a feature you definitely need to know about.

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Take Advantage Of Microsoft Word Styles

Plug it into a wall socket and bam—a fully-functional Linux server that can store digital media accessible remotely via the internet or function as a remote print or web server. Plus, it supports “multiple standard Linux 2.6 kernel distributions” and it operates on only 5-watts of power.

To me, this device is flat out awesome. Just plug in an external hard drive and you have an ultra lean, power efficient server. Compared to having to maintain a full system just to provide these simple services, the SheevaPlug is an ideal alternative for less than $100. The Wikipedia page offers numerous links to help you get started with whatever you want to do with it.

A significant factor which should not be overlooked is the power usage – or lack thereof. Considering a typical computer will easily pull 30-75 watts depending on the load (and that is being conservative), the SheevaPlug will actually pay for itself in power savings.

This is definitely on my wish list.

Does anyone already have a SheevaPlug (or another plug computer) they are using? If so, please share your experience in the comments.

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The Smallest Home Server Device Ever

So to help you get acclimated with these tools, here are a couple of resources:

• Guide to using Windows XP backup (note, this site is for a 3rd party product, but they give a really good guide for the XP tool)
• Windows Vista / 7 backup overview

Again, these tools are nothing fancy, but they are effective for getting the job done. It only takes a few minutes to set up an automatic backup plan, so if you don’t have one already, get to it.

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Using The Windows Backup Utilities