The UsefulTechnology Blog

The End: this blog leaps over to Windows Live Spaces

2006-11-16T11:00:00Z

I've decided to move my blog to a new home on Windows Live Spaces. I hope you'll move with me.

My new blog URL is http://usefultechnologyblog.spaces.live.com/.

To subscribe to the new RSS feed, simply click this link: http://usefultechnologyblog.spaces.live.com/feed.rss.

Thanks for being with me on TechNet. See you on the other side.

UsefulGuides: Finding that well-loved feature in Microsoft Office 2007

2006-11-10T16:01:00Z

There's no question about it, there's a bit of a learning curve before you get familiar with the new ribbon menu layout in the 2007 Microsoft Office system. And the learning curve will be steeper the more familiar you are with previous versions. If you count yourself as an advanced user, expect to find yourself gazing haphazardly around the screen from time to time trying to find that well-loved command that you used to be able to locate with nothing more than half a dozen mouse-clicks and three keystrokes. Chances are the feature you're looking for will be staring you in the face. So, for those times when you can't see the wood for the trees, there are some excellent online 'Command Reference Guides' that show you exactly where to locate your old friends. Keep these following links handy - you may well need them.

Online Command Reference Guides

UsefulOffer: IntelliGolf Eagle now free with HP iPAQ 6915

2006-11-09T18:58:00Z

HP did a good job of hiding this offer on their website ;-) Head over to www.hp.com/uk/intelligolf and you may just spot that you can claim a free copy of IntelliGolf Eagle edition (the tippety-topmost-bestest version) if you own a UK-bought HP iPAQ 6915.

The iPAQ 6915 is one of the sleekest work/play devices I've seen. It has everything you could want in a Pocket PC including a decent size touch screen, usable keyboard, camera, music player, wi-fi, and built-in GPS. By adding clever software like IntelliGolf, it transforms itself into a brilliant golf caddy, helping you keep track of scores, wagers, your historical performance, even telling you precisely how far you are from the hole. Then, by checking against its record of how far you normally hit the ball, it can recommend the best club for your next shot. Sadly, despite recent technological advances, it won't carry your clubs, but then you won't have to buy it a drink at the 19th hole either!

Windows Vista RTMs!

2006-11-08T21:58:00Z

Jim Allchin has just announced to the world's press that Windows Vista is now complete and has been released to manufacturing. Let the fun begin! More details here.

3D Mapping in Windows Live Local

2006-11-07T11:42:00Z

Head over to http://local.live.com/ to check out the new 3D capability of this mapping service. Very nice! After you've installed the 3D application (a one-off download) try some of these keyboard shortcuts:

Double-click a point on the map to move to that location.
Press CTRL and drag the map left or right (or press either the left or right arrow keys) to PIVOT. Pivot rotates your view horizontally around a fixed point. When you pivot, you keep the same altitude and angle of view.
Press CTRL and drag the map up or down (or press either the up or down arrow keys) to TILT. When you tilt, you change your altitude and angle of view. The angle of tilt is 90 degrees, 45 degrees, or 25 degrees when you select a view angle from the navigation control.
Press SHIFT and drag the map left or right (or press either the left or right arrow keys) to TURN. When you turn the map view, it appears as if you're moving your head side to side.
Press SHIFT and drag the map forward or backward (or press either the up or down arrow keys) to PITCH. When you change your pitch, it appears as if you're moving your head up and down. Changing the pitch doesn't change your altitude.
You can reset the map view by pressing the HOME key, or the A key if you are using a game controller.

The Official Windows Vista Preview Magazine

2006-11-06T13:43:00Z

Phew! I'm delighted to report that the Windows Vista Preview magazine (an official joint venture between Microsoft and Future Publishing) is now on sale in the UK in all good* newsagents. Get your copy now for the paltry sum of £4.99. The Preview Magazine is a one-off special edition that shows off many of the new features of Windows Vista. There's also an DVD with demo screens of Windows Vista. You can find out more at the editorial team's blog at http://blog.windowsvistamagazine.co.uk/. When Windows Vista launches in a few weeks, Future will also launch their magazine proper.

We've been working closely with Future Publishing to bring this new magazine to market. I hope you like it. It's designed to appeal to people of all technical abilities, but especially those who are starting out or just want to get more out of their PC. Let me know what you think!

* If your newsagent is not "good" then tell them how important it is for your future happiness that they stock the magazine when it goes on sale when Windows Vista is launched ;-) In the meantime try a larger newsagent like WHSmith or the magazine racks in your local supermarket.

Windows Media Player 11 - final release at last

2006-11-01T10:09:00Z

Way back in May we released the Beta of Windows Media Player 11. Finally, after exhaustive testing and refinement, we released the final build earlier this week. You can download it now, for free, from here. If you're running Windows XP and have ears, this is a must-have application.

That Windows Vista Packaging

2006-10-31T10:12:00Z

Here's the clever bit about the new packaging. It opens like this:

Very neat!

Windows Vista and 2007 Office system packaging unveiled

2006-10-31T04:44:00Z

Oooh, it's shiny and new. Announcing the new packaging for Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system. I quite like it. Do you?

My Blogcasts on Soapbox

2006-10-27T14:36:00Z

I've been playing with the new Soapbox on MSN Video service. It's pretty cool. I never really got into YouTube but I can see how useful it will be to be able to restrict access to my videos on Soapbox based on my existing Windows Live Messenger contact lists. I've uploaded 5 of my Outlook 2003 blogcasts as a test. You can find them by searching on Soapbox for "UsefulTechnology". Or by clicking any of the links that follow:

I've also embedded a player for the first blogcast below to make life easy. Let me know what you think.

Video: Outlook 2003 General Tips

Bring YourSELF to Work

2006-10-24T15:47:00Z

Yes, it's true: tomorrow is Bring YourSELF to Work Day 2006. In case you're feeling confused because you bring yourself to work most days anyway, take note of that clever capitalisation of the letters S, E, L and F. As the campaign leader says:

Nothing should be simpler than being yourself at work and yet for many of our colleagues this represents a major challenge. Some would find it altogether too confronting; worried about their personal demons, what others might think, that they may be judged, etc. It's true that people can be judgemental, but none of us should allow ourselves to be held back by that.

You owe it to yourself and those you care about to become more fully self expressed in all the areas of your life; and your example can encourage them to be the same.

Perhaps they should call the campaign "Be Yourself At Work" to save on all those expensive capital letters.

Nonetheless, their campaign cause is very worthwhile. Nothing destroys creativity and the feeling of self-worth more than not being true to your real personality. So remember tomorrow: have a go at chilling at work, show your true colours and be a bit human for once. You might find people like the real you more than the guy who normally turns up for work.

Check out their website at http://www.bringyourselftowork.com/, especially the Ideas Page if you need some inspiration. Not sure about number 16...

Brainfart with Vista

2006-10-24T09:37:00Z

By our standards it's quite subtle, but there's no doubting that Windows Vista is behind this new site at http://www.clearification.com/. If you don't know Demitri Martin (i.e. you are one of the 95% of human beings living outside of the USA) you may not recognise the voice. But you may still enjoy the humor (i.e. humour).

Securing that wireless network

2006-10-23T13:30:00Z

I stumbled across this helpful article from Connected Home that explains how to secure a wireless network: http://www.connectedhomemag.com/HomeControls/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=49176. The most important thing here is to enable WPA (or WPA2 if you have new hardware). Without this sort of encryption your network will remain as wide open as a crocodile at the dentist.

The Joy of Finding Big Things (in Outlook 2007)

2006-10-22T22:42:00Z

My former boss, Bruce Lynn, asked me this weekend how he could locate all the large (>200kb) entries in his Outlook calendar so he could delete them to free up some space in his mailstore. He couldn't figure out how to do this but knew it must be easy. If you find your mailstore is running short on space it's well worth doing this every once in a while, even if just to delete any large attachments that are no longer needed inside historical calendar appointments.

To do this in Outlook 2003 you need to customise your calendar view as follows:

In your calendar, VIEW > CURRENT VIEW > ALL APPOINTMENTS
Right click on the column header row (where you see Subject, Location etc...) and choose Customize current view
Now add a filter where size is greater than 200 (under the more choices tab)
Optional: Add another filter if you want to see only appointments in the past (Advanced tab > End / on or before / today)
Click OK
Now delete what you don’t want
To return to your normal view choose VIEW > CURRENT VIEW > DAY/WEEK/MONTH

It's wonderfully simple in Outlook 2007 though:

In your calendar, type size:>200000 in the quick search box
Delete what you don’t want

Just one example of the power of the new search capabilities in the 2007 Office system. And, of course, this works in all views (mail, tasks, calendar etc) and is a beautifully simple way to cleanse your mailbox of unwanted big stuff.

Voluminous Venti

2006-10-22T16:37:00Z

Sunday, sitting in Starbucks.

Note to self: a venti-sized mug of coffee is too large to drink comfortably without a catheter.