Google Voice Quick Reference Guide | Cool Geex

Looking for a Google Voice Quick Reference Guide jump to this site for printable cheatsheet…

Google Voice Quick Reference Guide | Cool Geex

Microsoft Silverlight to be used on NBC’s Winter Olympics

You will be experiencing Microsoft’s Silverlight to access the 2010 Winter Olympics. Posted on Channel 9 by Larry Larsen yesterday, NBC and Microsoft are getting back together for the 2010 Winter Olympics to give you full “DVR control of video, including rewind, sharing and saving clips.” To see more click through to Channel 9.

TechNet Springboard: Windows 7 - Service Pack - Client TechCenter

Microsoft TechNet is a great resource for you to be able to quickly get up to speed on different Microsoft Operating Environments. Microsoft TechNet features articles and videos on Windows Client features and how to best take advantage of those features.  Currently highlighted are videos on Windows 7 Walkthroughs and Windows 7 Application Compatibility Roundtable Part 2: Virtualization. Watch "Part 1" for even more tips.

If you want a free 90 day trial of WIndows 7 Enterprise jump to the Springboard Series Windows 7 Trial Page.

TechNet Springboard: Windows 7 - Service Pack - Client TechCenter

The Complete Guide to Google Wave: How to Use Google Wave

I am jealously awaiting my invitation to Google Wave, but the reality of it all is that I will probably wait until I have the time to fully focus on it more than I could possibly do now. Gina Trapani with Adam Pash are collaborating on an online guide to Google Wave. It will be interesting to see as time goes by whether they will begin to use Google Wave to communicate together as it becomes more stable. Because Google Wave is evolving every day, the book will be a work in progress that will be continually updated as these changes settle in. They have a series of planned PDF publishing dates over the next year.

Take a quick look to see what Google Wave is about or if you are currently working with this product and want to contribute to the creation of this work, take a look. So pick up on their invitation “to help revise and expand this guide as Wave evolves.”

The Complete Guide to Google Wave: How to Use Google Wave

Syncing Contacts from Outlook to Gmail

Question for ya. I’d like to import all of my outlook contacts to my Gmail but I can’t seem to find the CSV or vCard files on my C drive. Any hints on where to look???

Answer: The process is pretty simple if you have ever played with the import/export feature of Outlook. Google requires a CSV or vCard file to upload a contact or contact list into Gmail from your Outlook database. Here’s a quick overview of the process. You are limited to one contact at a time.

Creating a CSV file of your contacts will cause you to create a file of all the contacts that in the folder that you are exporting. If you want to limit the contacts that you are planning to import into Gmail then you will want to place a copy of the contacts you want to export into a temporary contact folder before running the export function. Then you will need to import that CSV file back into Gmail. Here is another quick video showing this process.

How to use Windows 7 Upgrade Packages

There have been a lot of questions about whether you need to purchase a full install package or an upgrade package when upgrading your machine to Windows 7. You will be able to perform a full install if you go through the custom settings so don’t hesitate buying the Upgrade Package and save the money if you already have a previous Vista or WinXP package on your machine. For more detail on procedures and lots of answers to nagging questions take a look at the following two blog posts:

Finally, some answers to Windows 7 upgrade questions

by Ed Bott TechRepublic

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

by Paul Thurrott SuperSite for Windows

TechRepublic Windows 7 Installation Flowchart

For all you techies out there that want a little helping hand to make sure your are covering all of your bases for your Windows 7 upgrade/installation, take a look at this article/flowchart by Rick Vanover that will guide you through each decisional step. Included in the zip file is both a .vsd (Visio) and .pdf documents showing the same information. Choose the one that will work best for you. The .vsd will allow you to make your own changes to the information that you need for more detail in the process that you determine works best for you.

Technology Benefits to be gained from the Government Stimulus Package

Most of the benefits that you will see from the Government’s Economic Stimulus Package will come in the form of tax cuts. The government view is to have you spend money to improve your company infrastructure and hopefully your bottom line. That way they can get more taxes from you with your new and improved performance. Here are some of the benefits you can gain this year by spending some money on your company for those improvements that you have been holding back on.

Equipment Expensing and Valuing. Purchasing computers, machinery, and off the shelf software may result in substantial write-offs.

A provision buried within the Obama administration’s nearly $800 billion stimulus package will
extend a piece of the earlier Bush administration plan designed to aid small businesses that
purchase new equipment.

Section 1201 of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allows additional
first-year depreciation of 50% of the purchase cost of new equipment by extending for one year
Section 179 of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Act.
Last year, finance experts applauded the provision, saying Section 179 had led to increased
sales among equipment manufacturers as customers reaped the benefits of the new tax
deduction.

Like the original provision, businesses can write off twice as much equipment acquisition costs as
an expense rather than depreciating the purchase over several years, with qualification extending
to almost all tangible personal property. If the company exceeds the $250,000 cap, the law
features a provisional depreciation bonus that lets it write off up to half of the purchase in the first
year, on top of the regular depreciation allowance.

A laundry list of state-sponsored opportunities, many boosted by the ARRA, can be found  at www.business.gov. Included on the site is state or industry specific information pertaining to the R&D, training and implementation incentives outline in the ARRA.

The thing to remember is that the government is providing the incentive to purchase the products that will enhance your company’s ability to support your clients better. Make the changes you have been hesitating on and advantage of these extra tax benefits while doing so. As always, talk to you tax advisor to make sure you qualify and determine the best way you can take advantage of these tax savings.

Visioneer Announces Windows® 7 Logo Certification for its Document Scanner Line

Visioneer Announces Windows® 7 Logo Certification for its Document Scanner Line Scanner drivers passed Microsoft standards of compatibility, reliability and performance Pleasanton, CALIFORNIA – October 21, 2009 – Visioneer®, Inc., a leader in intelligent imaging solutions and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, announced today that through its development relationship with Microsoft Corp., Visioneer scanners have earned logo certification for the new Windows 7 operating system and are available for immediate download.  Visioneer has updated the drivers for their most popular professional and consumer scanners to take advantage of the enhanced productivity of Windows 7.   - - - Full release can be found here - - -

The 10 most useful Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com

I’m sure we are going to see a lot of these “10 of”  articles coming out. Here a couple of keyboard shortcuts that can help you speed through screens and programs in Windows 7.

The 10 most useful Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com

Microsoft Tag Beta

Microsoft is working on a new barcode implementation that is designed to be used with your cell phone’s camera. Called Microsoft Tag it is pegged as a system designed for the way you live your life, this new system puts a new twist on the way you view barcode designs.

To the right you see a square that if you take a picture of this will send you to my blog site.

What do you need to get started? First you need a phone that has a camera and that the software has been written for. If available download it to your phone. I have an iPhone and to acquire the free program and install it all I did was  go to the page that allows you to send a text message to your phone, type in the phone number for your phone, and press the send button. It will analyze what phone you have and if there is an app available for it take you to the appropriate link to download and install. You can also go to http://gettag.mobi to see a list of phones that are supported and download the software from that site.

The next thing that you will want to do is make a tag.  Press the Make a Tag button and you will go to your personalized tag management screen. Make a tag and save it to multiple image formats. Now place it in a document, on your website or anywhere that you want someone to be able to click a picture and access the information that you programmed into your tag.

The possibilities are limitless. Using this process you can make it easy for people reading your advertising, billboards, product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising or video images to launch into more detail on their phones. Link to videos, websites, promotional information that will give users more in depth information or practical information. Your imagination is the limit.

Will your programs be compatible with Windows 7

If you have been reading any of my earlier articles on upgrading to Windows 7, I had created a checklist to follow before starting the upgrade process. Microsoft will launching a new site that will be listing those applications and hardware products that are compatible with Windows 7.

You will want to bookmark this site if you are planning on moving to Windows 7. It will come live on October 22nd which coincides with the official launch date of the Windows 7 product.

You will be able to enter your own feedback on your experiences with Windows 7 and its compatibility issues or non-issues…

There is a little something for everyone on this site. There are sections for Application Developers, Hardware Developers, “IT PROS” and for Consumers. Pick you category and go for it. If you want to see if your hardware can handle Windows 7 download and run the  Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to see if your system is compatible.

How to sign documents with the Tablet PC

Electronic Signatures With the Tablet PC

The vocabulary of digital signatures is a bit confusing.  The term "digital signature" refers to a certificate administered by a trusted third party, certificate authority, similar technology. The term "e-signature" refers to a digitized signature created with a stylus and digital ink.

Digital signatures are not supported by TheraWriter.PT, however using a Tablet PC or a graphic file of a signature, e-signatures can be hand written onto the document.  The below example shows how to sign a document using the Tablet PC.  To use the electronic ink, Microsoft Word 2003 or above is required.  Also, TheraWriter.PT's editor must be setup to use the external editor.  To change from the internal to external editor, please refer to the following article. 

1. Start by generating a report from TheraWriter.PT Documentation.
2. Microsoft Word 2003 will launch.
3. Locate the ink toolbar.  The ink toolbar will look similar to the following:
   
4. Select a pen from the toolbar. 
   
5. Finally scroll to the signature line at the bottom of the report.  Sign the report using normal hand writing on the line itself.  (Don't use the Tablet PC writing pad)
   
6. Save and lock the report as normal.

Laptops with Spill-Proof Keyboards

HP is finally joining the ranks of manufacturer’s that will be providing a laptop with a keyboard drain. This is something that other manufacturers, notably Lenovo, have been building into their notebooks for years. How simple is is to provide drain holes designed to allow the flow of liquid back out of you keyboard if you accidentally spill liquid into it.

One thing that has been mentioned on the Lenovo design is to not tilt the laptop until it has completed the draining process. If you tilt the notebook, you will run the chance of shorting out the machine. Just turn it off and wait. You will want to put some absorbing material underneath especially if you are resting on service that could be damaged by liquid, or you could just move it to the sink!

While this design is great, the long term result of the spill can still be stickiness and reduced function because of that. At least you haven’t burned out the system…

The new HP unit’s launch will be coinciding with the release of Windows 7, so expect to see them become available after October 22nd. Prices will start around $799. The models to look for are the 5445b and 6545b.

Gartner: Windows 7 is 'all but inevitable'

ZDNET is a great source of information and Mary-Jo Foley comes up with some great news and insights. In this article she discusses Gartner’s opinion and the support of that opinion that we need to begin working towards the “inevitable” new desktop operating system, Windows 7.

Gartner: Windows 7 is 'all but inevitable'

Gartner Group analysts are telling business users that they should look at Windows 7 as an "all but inevitable" Windows release. Here's what else Gartner is advising corporate users, regarding when, how and if to move to Microsoft's latest Windows release. Read more

HP Rebate available

This offer may not be combined with any discount offers or special pricing such as government/education pricing, big deal pricing or volume discounts. Offer not valid with other HP offers unless otherwise specified by those offers. Resellers cannot claim this rebate on behalf of customers. Please include rebate offer code: OB10 in all correspondence.

Click Here to download Rebate Form

Claim document must be postmarked within 30 days of the invoice date. Purchase limit of 5 rebates per end user individual or company, business address, location and/or household:

HP Office 2007 $70 Mail-in Rebate

Offer valid on purchases made between

July 20, 2009 – October 31, 2009

Purchase:

1. Any HP Commercial Office Ready desktop, notebook or workstation
2. Also purchase Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business Edition OR Office 2007 Professional
3. And order the Windows 7 upgrade coupon found at www.hp.com/go/windows7upgrade

Windows 7 Upgrade Options from HP

HP has a site to guide you through the eligibility and upgrade process for you to upgrade your HP computer that you purchased (June 26,2009 – Jan 31, 2009). Check your model eligibility, and if you qualify you can order the Win7 Upgrade Kit. If you don’t meet HP’s eligibility requirements, you may be able to upgrade to Windows 7 upon public availability. Click on the more info link to see what will be involved.

Read Before you Order

HP has contracted with a third party company to fulfill the Windows® 7 Upgrade Option Program from HP. Orders will be accepted June 26, 2009 until February 15, 2010. Proof of purchase must be submitted and postmarked no later than March 1, 2010. You will receive your Windows ® 7 Upgrade Kit after Windows ® 7 becomes publicly available October 22, 2009. For additional information, please read Know Before You Upgrade

If eligibility requirements are not met, you may be able to upgrade to Windows ® 7 upon public availability.

Windows 7 Search Features

When asked for some compelling reasons for moving to Window 7 one of the newer features that has vastly expanded in Windows 7 over Vista is the search capabilities. In Vista I loved how the search indexed all your documents, files and Outlook items to make it easy to search for information on your system. I am a hoarder when it comes to programs and data so it is important for me to be able to easily find and access data everyday. I use a lot of these features constantly and once you watch the video below you will see why you want to spend a little extra time updating the metadata on your pictures, videos and music files as well.

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/ch9/4/0/3/5/3/4/Windows7FindSearchOrganize_ch9.mp4

A new feature in WIndows 7 called Federated Search gives you the ability to search external sources as well. This can be within your organization with data found on different servers or different SharePoint searches. But there are scripts that you can install for accessing much more. These are put together using search connectors that you can download.

There are already few search connectors available for download:

• Neowin Connector (Created by -Hiroshi-, more information)
• Flickr Search Connector
• YouTube Search Connector
• Google News Search Connector
• Google Blogs Search Connector
• Twitter Search Connector
• MSN Search
• Deviant Art Search

In Part 2 of Search and Find this video shows and talks about how this works.

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/ch9/1/8/4/5/3/4/FindOrganizePart2_ch9.mp4

Expanding your horizons on using you USB flash drive

If you have multiple computers that you need to share data between quickly and easily then I am sure you have probably already used a flash drive for this purpose. While I lean more towards on cloud storage to move data between machines especially in different locations, I still find this one use of a flash drive to be extremely valuable. Bill Detwiler, Head Technology Editor at Tech Republic, has put together a little video that talks about some other uses for a USB flash drive that you may not have thought about.

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Revisiting EverNote

One of the things that I think about most every day is how I can make the information that need at hand really available when and where I need it. How I can make those things that I need to share, shareable, and what is the best medium for me to create the content I am working on so that it can be shared and distributed when and how I want it to be.

There are a lot of nice features in EverNote that make me consider it as a product of choice over some of the other applications that I work with. The first is that is in the cloud. Some of the biggest worries about sticking information into the cloud include:

1. Is the company strong enough to be around for awhile? You don’t want to place you information somewhere that might not be around tomorrow.
2. How secure is the site? If you are placing info that is personal or company sensitive you don’t want to risk that it might be seen or used by unauthorized users.
3. How much is it going to cost? If you need to pay more than what the product is worth to you personally or for your company than it isn’t cost effective to use it.
4. How easy is it to use? If it is cumbersome to use then you probably won’t. Don’t waste time or money on something that is not worth the effort for you.
5. How available is the information? If you can only access your application from one machine or device then it has real limited function for you.

Evernote provides encryption on the fly. You can pick what pieces of data that you want to hide away and encrypt. Not only do you have you initial login and password protection to the site, but you can encrypt sensitive information within it as well.

You can choose between a Standard or Premium Subscription to their service. If security is your big concern you will want to upgrade to the Premium version to operate within an SSL connection. You will also lose the advertising on the pages and you will get a much larger Monthly upload allowance. If you are posting a lot of PDF’s to your site you will be able to do full text search with the Premium version as well. The Premium Subscription is only $45/year. You will also have better synchronization capabilities between you and your associates if you all move to the Premium Subscription.

What I like best is how easy it is to use the program. You can easily capture information while browsing on the internet, or copy files into the program. It is then available on your computer desktop, web access site or on your smart phone.  Information is at your fingertips when you need, where you need it. This program definitely gets my thumbs up. If you need you data at your fingertips no matter where you are, this will help you get there.