Kent Ahrens

Set Google Apps Gmail as your default email client in Firefox 3

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:49:49 Z

1) Go to Google Apps Gmail and sign in.

2) While in Google Apps Gmail, copy and paste the following into your browser's address bar and hit enter.

javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","https://
mail.google.com/a/yourdomain.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s","yourdomainGmail")

In Firefox, goto ... Tools / Options... / Applications Tab - and change 'Content Type: mailto' to dropdown 'Action: yourdomainGmail'

Source and Read More: Gmail Blog

POP Access settings for Hotmail and Windows Live Mail

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:20:39 Z

For Hotmail Plus users

Our POP service requires that you use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) with the POP and SMTP connection and use SMTP authentication. This is to ensure that your email address and password are not subject to tampering. The settings are the following:

POP: pop3.live.com (port 995)

SMTP: smtp.live.com (port 25)

Note: make sure you check the box that indicates that your outgoing server requires authentication (in most mail clients this is not checked by default).

Username: your full email address

Password: your Windows Live ID password

Set up a custom URL for your Windows Live Space

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:29:34 Z

It's possible to setup a custom URL for use with your Windows Live Space. It can be accomplished with a Custom Domain. The process seems to be in somewhat of a flux, but current information is available at the Windows Custom Domains blog. The old custom domain service was accessible at domains.live.com though it is expected to eventually be redirected to admincenter.live.com.

How to use dates and times in Excel

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:49:06 Z

This step-by-step article describes how to use the built-in date and time functions in Microsoft Excel to perform complex date and time calculations.

Yellow Nutsedge - that pervasive light green wide leafed weed in lawn

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:06:42 Z

Cyperus esculentus (Chufa Sedge, Yellow Nutsedge, Tigernut Sedge, Earthalmond) is a species of sedge native to warm temperate to subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is an annual or perennial plant, growing to 90 cm tall, with solitary stems growing from a tuber. The stems are triangular in section, and bear slender leaves 3-10 mm wide. The flowers of the plant are distinctive, with a cluster of flat oval seeds surrounded by four hanging leaf-like bracts positioned 90 degrees from each other. The plant foliage is very tough and fibrous, and is often mistaken for a grass.

Nutsedge Control

From Landscape-America,

Control is difficult and should be started as soon as plants are discovered. One-shot weed control will not work, and multiple applications will be necessary. Traditional annual grass weed or broadleaf weed control products will not control yellow nutsedge. Specific herbicides are required for control. Herbicides are most effective on young, actively growing plants.
Nutsedge is difficult to control culturally because it produces numerous tubers that give rise to new plants. Pulling nutsedge often increases the number of plants because dormant tubers are activated. However, small stands of nutsedge can be controlled by persistent pulling. Pulling will eventually weaken the plants and cause them to die out.
Herbicides may be required when large patches of nutsedge are present in the turf area. For homeowners, a herbicide containing methanearsonate (this material may slightly discolor Kentucky bluegrass, but no serious injury should result if used at the rate and under the conditions described on the label). This is often sold under trades names like “Crabgrass Killer.” Consider the following steps in order to be successful in reducing the nutsedge contamination.

Read more

How much energy does Vista save in 'sleep' mode?

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:27:35 Z

According to James Senior, Vista's power consumption isn't much different between "sleep" and "shut down" mode. In response to the question, "Should I turn my computer off overnight to save energy?", Senior writes:

If you are using the sleep feature, you do not need to turn off the PC each night. The majority of computers will use less than four watts of energy in overnight sleep mode and a little less than 2 watts if it is shutdown all the way. However, if you are taking an extended vacation, you may want to turn your computer off and also unplug the AC power adaptor. Even in off mode, most power adaptors will continue to draw around a half a watt of power.

Windows Vista Performance and Tuning Guide

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:34:34 Z

This Vista Performance and Tuning guide focuses on performance improvements on a single computer, but also takes a look at some of the tools used in enterprise environments to help make performance tuning manageable on a much larger scale. (via Digital Inspiration)

Shortened URLs

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:04:54 Z

Because space is limited on apps such as twitter, it appears that many users shorten URLs when linking. Here’s a nice overview of different services.

Share Zune Pass with family member

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:56:32 Z

Jefteck writes,

Currently with a single Zune pass for $15 a month, you can connect 3 computers, and 3 Zune devices, with unlimited downloads of musicIt allows you to have separate music libraries on multiple profiles on a single PC, or multiple PCs.

Read More - "Share your Zune Pass, not your Social"

Google Site Map Generator

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:47:37 Z

SiteMapDoc will generate a Google site map for you site.

Adding 'Search' to Your Windows Live Spaces Blog

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:20:32 Z

Although, it doesn't seem that I can add a search box directly to my "live spaces" blog (the HTML module filters some of the html), I created a FreeFind search using my Spaces 'blog' URL (http://space314.spaces.live.com/blog/). You can find the Search This Blog feature here. The fact that Microsoft doesn't have a "Search My Spaces" feature is somewhat puzzling given the amount of time and effort that they're using to expand their search presence.

Windows Vista Compatibility

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:59:56 Z

Wondering if your favorite software works with Windows Vista? Microsoft has a site where you can find out if it already does or if you just need a new driver.

Make Y!Mail your default client in Firefox 3.0

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:52:44 Z

From the Yahoo! Mail Blog, "Firefox 3 & Y!Mail make changing your default client easy!"

One of the big additions to FF3 is the Applications section of the Options/Preferences menu. There you can designate how just about any type of link will behave when you click on it. Just look for "mailto" under Content Type and select "Use Yahoo! Mail".

Testing new web writer

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 17:31:09 Z

This was posted using the Microsoft Weblog writer.

Talking about Would the United States be better off with only one time zone? - By Tim Harford - Slate Magazine

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 06:09:48 Z

Quote

Would the United States be better off with only one time zone? - By Tim Harford - Slate Magazine

Metacognition

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 00:18:49 Z

"Metacognition" is one of the latest buzz words in educational psychology, but what exactly is metacognition? The length and abstract nature of the word makes it sound intimidating, yet its not as daunting a concept as it might seem. We engage in metacognitive activities everyday. Metacognition enables us to be successful learners, and has been associated with intelligence (e.g., Borkowski, Carr, & Pressley, 1987; Sternberg, 1984, 1986a, 1986b). Metacognition refers to higher order thinking which involves active control over the cognitive processes engaged in learning. Activities such as planning how to approach a given learning task, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating progress toward the completion of a task are metacognitive in nature. Because metacognition plays a critical role in successful learning, it is important to study metacognitive activity and development to determine how students can be taught to better apply their cognitive resources through metacognitive control.

Metacognition via Power Learning: Can You Beef Up Your Brain

Bookmark "New Message" in Hotmail

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 16:23:18 Z

Create a new bookmark or favorite in your browser to the following address: http://hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose.

Source: About's Hotmail Tips

Five open questions about prediction markets

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 16:30:35 Z

"Here is the new version of the paper, for $5. Here are older versions of the paper. Here is a summary of the five questions. Of these five, I worry most about getting uninformed traders to participate in a game with zero-sum (at best, assuming no trading costs) pecuniary returns. I doubt if idea futures will be the sexiest form of gambling for most people. Insofar as traders look for fun, only the celebrity-obsessed and current events-obsessed will find idea futures more attractive than Las Vegas or Baden-Baden. (That is why contracts on politicians and Michael Jackson have been so popular.) If you are simply looking to earn money for the longer run, Wall Street, with its positive expected rates of return, offers better odds. That being said, as the fixed costs of market creation fall, a relatively small number of traders may suffice to keep most of the important idea futures going." ~ Source: Marginal Revolution

live mail as part of "office live"

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 16:33:41 Z

LifeSide writes,

Serving as one component of Microsoft Office Live, Office Live Mail provides users with the ability to read and recieve emails from any internet-connected computer in the world. Ideal for those on the move, Office Live Mail can be accessed from either a web browser or Outlook 2000/2003. Here are some things to expect upon the release of the beta:

live mail beta

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 01:33:17 Z

Checking out the new mail.live beta. It seems interesting.

It looks nice.
Spell check is very nice
Loads (initially) very, very slowly - this ruins experience.
Improved contacts section.
Mail never arrives or is very late. Email sent to Yahoo and Gmail get there much faster.

Gmail --

Groups conversations better.
Loads faster.
The ads suck. (Gmail should offer premium version like MSN and Yahoo)

Yahoo

Fastest.

Fri, 30 Dec 2005 18:15:00 Z

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:52:36 Z