IT Sales: Sell What You Know!

When you are engaging in IT sales and especially when you are selling to strangers, you can’t lead with products! Your point with IT sales is to sell you as a solution – “You, Inc.” – and sell your expertise.

How Can You Add Value to Solutions?

You can’t just sell ordinary products and rely on them to sell others on the true value of your company. And similarly, don’t sell only to customers that want to buy products and nothing else. When you don’t bundle in solutions and value-added services with product sales, you end up competing only on price. If you want to grow your company and be in it for the long haul, you need to figure out where, when and how to add value.

How can you change your whole attitude with IT sales so you are not reaching “customers,” rather potentially very long-term, high-paying clients that will need you for an extended period of time as an outsourced IT department? The solution is not in rock-bottom prices … it’s about being a specialist and not selling yourself as a commodity.

Your Expertise Differentiates You from the Pack in IT Sales

There are a lot of generalists in your area, but not a lot of specialists. You need to be a specialist and one of the few in your area (if not the only one!) that does exactly what you do. When you can do this, you put yourself in high demand and attract those that will want to pay top dollar for very specialized solutions.

Your Experience and Niche Determine High Rates

When you no longer have to deal with price-sensitive buyers, you can add to your margins, because your clients will expect to pay more for the value of your expertise.

Stop relying on products to drive IT sales … and start selling what you know!

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

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Posted in: IT sales

Keyboard shortcut of the week: The Case of MS Word

When using a word processor it is quite common to forget that that the CapsLock key has been left on, or you might decide that a piece of text looks better in capital letters (also known as upper case: small letters are known as lower case).

Thankfully MS Word has a keyboard shortcut that lets you cycle between different cases and formats. All you need to do is highlight a piece of text, hold down the Shift key and press F3.

Each time you press F3 the case of the letters will change (don't release the Shift key!). So, 'testing' will be replaced with 'Testing' on the first press, and 'TESTING' if you press it a second time. Press F3 again and the text will return to 'testing'.

If you type 'tESTING' by mistake, you can change it to 'testing', then 'Testing', and 'TESTING'; however, it will not return to 'tESTING', probably because it is highly unlikely you'd ever want text to be in that format.

[Addendum]

As one commentator has pointed out, a particular word does not need to be highlighted to have its case changed by this method, all you need to do is have the cursor somewhere within the word. If you wish to change the case of several words then you have to highlight them all. Thanks to A. for this clarification.

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Posted in: Keyboard shortcut,Word Processing

[TIPS] How does your state compare with mine in use of technology?

http://www.edweek.org/apps/tc2008/state_compare.html

This page allows you to check the states that you wish to compare. Click submit and you'll see a nice grid showing ratings in areas like Access to Technology (in the schools), Use of Technology, and Capacity to Use Technology, and more. In each category the states receive a grade. Very interesting stats.

Good news for PA. We're ahead of the game compared to the others I checked.

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TPAssist 2007 Updated

I just received an email from Brad Allan of TPAssist 2007 to let me know that TPAssist 2007 has been updated and is available for download. Please take a look at this significant upgrade to a wonderful MindManager 7 Add-in.


TPAssist 2007 version .1 3 is now available for download. This is possibly the most significant update since TPAssist 2007 was launched in September last year.

This update draws on knowledge gained from case studies and feedback from our growing communicate of subscribers.

The update includes a number of new features as well as improvement in some key areas. The improvements include additional control over automated tree roll-up as well as rationalisation of the interface, including updates to the Journal Tab, Topic Tab and Document Tab. The new features include greater control over combining research alongside task topics, richer Task Summary outputs, as well as categories and time support in the integration with Microsoft Outlook making TPAssist a great companion for tools like GDT Outlook Add-in.

New Features:

1. TPAssist 2007 Outlook Integration now has support for existing Outlook Item categories (making TPAssist 2007 an excellent companion for Outlook methods and tools that make use of item Categories, like the GTD Outlook Add-In). Outlook Categories integration is now configurable via the Advanced Options of the TPAssist "Properties" (Documents Tab) menu selection. Not only can you specify integration with existing categories, you can also use the "macro" to define the creation of customised categories by TPAssist.
2. Outlook Integration now has support for mapping Topic Duration to Outlook Task "Total Work" / "Actual Work". Configured on a map-by-map basis, via the Document Tab, you can define the behaviour or mapping of Topic Duration to either Outlook Task "Total Work" or "Actual Work".
3. The topic title used to build the Task Summary tree can now be customised. When running the Task Summary across multiple sub maps, you can now draw out additional context information and have it included in the topic title. The topic title contents is defined in the Tree Update tab and by default includes the "topic Reference" as well as the source topic title.
4. Topics can be configured to be ignored by the Publishing capability (i.e. you can choose to have specific topic trees ignore when publishing to Excel)
5. Topics can be configured as a "Research / Notes Topic" whereby TPAssist will ignore all sub-topics. This makes it much easier to combine research and task topic tree in the same branches. (Note: This capability replaces to previously support notion of the NOTES main sub topic. All previously used maps will be automatically converted the first time TPAssist 2007 1.3 is used on each map).

Improvements to existing Features:

1. The Journal Tab of TPAssist Console re-organised such that it is more intuitive and that the most used features are more accessible. The popup window has been re-designed to provide maximum accessibility to the capabilities that are used most often. You can obtain the lesser used capabilities by clicking the ">>>" button. Likewise, hiding the advanced options is achieved by clicking the "<<" button.
2. The Topic Tab of TPAssist Console has been re-organised such that it is more intuitive and that the most used features are more accessible. As per above, the most frequently used options are shown, with all options been displayed using the ">>>" button.
3. The Document Tab of TPAssist Console has been re-organised such that it is more intuitive and that the most used features are more accessible. As per above, the most frequently used options are shown, with all options been displayed using the ">>>" button.
4. Automatic Tree Update, executed after task details are changed with the Journal Tab, can now be configured as "Adaptive (Fast)" (default) or "Comprehensive (Slow)". With previous releases the mode of operation was "Adaptive (Fast)". This Tree Update option defines the behaviour of Tree Update after making task detail changes using the Journal Tab. When task details are changed, you will likely wish for the task details to be rolled- up to the central topic. The choices as part of this setting define the degree to which the map is updated each time you press OK in the Journal Tab after changing task details. If "None (Disabled)" is selected, automatic update is turn- off. Roll-up information will be populated only by doing a manual Tree Update from the central topic. If "Comprehensive (Slow)" is selected, the entire map is automatically updated every-time the Journal Tab is used to change task details. This option may be slow when making changes in large maps. If "Adaptive Simple (Fast) "is selected, only the parent topics of the focus topic will be updated when task detail changes are made to the Journal Tab. Whilst much faster than "Comprehensive", this form of automation will fail to update dates of related topics (as possible when Levelling is enabled).

Fixes:

• Levelling implementation of "references" now correctly supports Start-Start (SS) configuration.
• Levelling "continue date" now correctly resets at sub topic levels.
• MM7 Add-in no-longer creates duplicate (redundant) Publish and Topic Update buttons in the Ribbon if MM restarted.
• TPAssist Console "tab" buttons are no longer disabled when tab has focus.
• Journal Tab now correctly handles a "blank" duration.
• Journal note created when Auto 100% used incorrectly used "Dimmed Callout" instead of "Dimmed Topic".
• Journal Tab - Outlook Integration "private" button wasn't changing Outlook item.

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Posted in: mind mapping,MindManager,TPAssist2007,visual mapping

How to Initiate a Chat Session from Within Groove by Using Office Communicator

Initiate a Chat Session from Within Groove by Using Office Communicator
When you are running Microsoft Office Groove 2007 and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 or 2005, you can view the awareness states (such as online, busy, or away) of your Communicator contacts directly from the Groove Launchbar or a Groove workspace. When a contact is available, you can right-click to initiate a Communicator real-time chat or phone call with that contact directly from the Groove interface.

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Posted in: Office Communicator

How to Set the Print Area in Microsoft Office Excel

Setting the Print Area in Microsoft Office Excel
Have you ever wanted to print only certain rows or columns from a spreadsheet? Here’s how:
1. With a spreadsheet open, select all the rows or columns that you want to print.
2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup section, click Print Area, and then click Set Print Area.
3. Click the Print icon on the toolbar, or click the Office button, point to Print, and click Print. Only the required content gets printed.

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Posted in: MS Excel

[TIPS] THIS is what I'm talkin' about!

http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=432

 

Once again, Brian Crosby's class shows what can be done when you've got a teacher (two, in this case) who can take a regular lesson and transform it into one that also gives the kids some real skills that they can use as lifelong learners. Read the post. Here's a clip:

"The students are collaboratively writing stories in groups of 3 or 4 using Google Docs. Today they logged into their shared Google Docs so they could write and discuss the stories they have been brainstorming at the same time. What made this truly transformative was we also set-up computers in our rooms with web cams and had the students working on the same stories discussing characters and setting and plot and everything else involved in their stories over video-Skype, while at the same time editing together via Google Docs. So they were discussing and watching each other edit and add content while seeing and talking to each other at the same time."

Remember, these are elementary school kids! Imagine the pressure that the middle school and high school teachers must feel when they know that their students are coming to them with THIS kind of experience already. How can you possibly believe that they will be willing to sit and take notes in isolation in a high school class when they've already been collaboarting with kids from another state - while in 4th grade!!

 

Brian's blog is called, "Learning is Messy." I think, at least in HIS class, it should be called, "Learning is FUN!"

 

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Livescribe Pulse Smartpen Update

A number of my readers have sent me comments about the Livesribe Pulse Smartpen, and I wanted to share this update from Jim Marggraff, CEO who posted this message on the Livescribe Blog today.

3/28 Update from CEO Jim Marggraff

March 28th, 2008

Greetings,

I would like to thank the thousands of readers, writers, bloggers, callers, developers, scribers and buyers for your support and interest in our Pulse smartpen and platform.

We have been overwhelmed with requests for information and preorders for Pulse that have far exceeded our early projections.

As this demand has accelerated in the past month, we have continued working towards our first shipment date of March 31st, and have struggled to determine how to address preorders that far exceed our early production ramp. We noted Amazon’s approach to handling shipment for their high-demand Kindle e-book, and ongoing Wii shortages, and have compared this to our own challenge, as a new company, to address our backlog.

In retrospect, our hiatus in our communication is long overdue. I apologize for this. As I considered posting a blog entry numerous times, new concerns regarding growing demand arose, as well as meeting our growing backlog. Perhaps we were overly cautious in not wanting to send an ambiguous message.

The time for ambiguity is past.

I am delighted to announce that we will begin shipping in limited volume on March 31st, as targeted.

To address our backlog, we will open the Livescribe Store only to our preorder list of customers, enabling you to immediately place a credit card order on Monday. At that time, we will provide you with an estimated shipment date based upon when you first preordered your smartpen. If you are already on our preorder list, look for an email on Monday, March 31st with instructions on how to complete your order.

Thanks again for you patience! We look forward to welcoming you to the Livescribe community.

Best regards,

Jim

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Posted in: Anoto,livescribe,pulse digital pen,smartpen

Announcement: The Third Carnival of Computer Help and Advice

I am pleased to announce that the Third Carnival of Computer Help and Advice has been published at http://prash-babu.blogspot.com/2008/03/third-carnival-of-computer-help-and.html.

Many thanks to this months host Prashanth and all our contributors and readers.

p.s. If you would like to submit an article for the next carnival or host a future carnival on your blog use the contact forms over at the Carnival of Computer Help and Advice page.

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Posted in: Blog Carnival

[TIPS] FlashEarth reminder

This is just a reminder about a site that I mentioned back in 2006. FlashEarth (http://tipline.blogspot.com/2006/11/tips-flash-earth-satellite-and-aerial.html)

http://www.flashearth.com/

Want to see a Satellite view of someplace but you don't want to wait for Google Earth to load? Or maybe Google Earth isn't installed on your computer. (<sigh>) Never fear, FlashEarth is here!

In the bottom right corner you'll type the location of the spot you wish to see, and Presto! You can even then choose to see how that site looks with the Microsoft images, or the Yahoo images. Choose the corresponding radio button on the left side.

Very handy site - and fast, too.

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[TIPS] movino - Mac users broadcast from your phone to your webpage?

Many thanks to Cheryl Capozzoli for sharing this one with me via email.

http://www.movino.org/

Get this...
" Broadcast LIVE video from your mobile phone
over 3G or WiFi onto your website.

Or use your phone as a bluetooth webcam in Mac OS X.

Free and Open Source. "

Take a moment to let that one sink in. Holy cow... It's tools like this and CoverItLive that are changing journalism as we know it. Amazing!!

Check it out!!!

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[TIPS] xtimeline

Thanks to Laurie Vitale for sharing this one with me via email.

http://www.xtimeline.com/

This is another very slick timeline application that also lets you embed the project onto your web page. Easy to use. Nice finished project.

Also, don't forget about timeline.to (will plot an rss feed onto a timeline) and circavie.com. Now you've got some nice choices when making your timelines.

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[TIPS] SlideRocket SOARS!

Once again I refer to a post by Alec Couros on his blog (http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/826)

http://www.sliderocket.com/productTour.html

This VERY COOL web application is in limited beta right now, but when it's released you're going to WANT to use it. It's a presentation maker that is built to make both Powerpoint and Keynote green with envy. Check out that tour link.

From their FAQ page: "SlideRocket integrates flexible authoring, intelligent asset management, secure delivery and analytics tools in a single on demand application. SlideRocket allows you to quickly create stunning presentations, store, organize, tag and search your assets, collaborate with your colleagues, securely share your slides in person or remotely and measure the results, all in one integrated environment."

AND... they will have an offline app that will allow you to play your presentations without an internet connection!

Watch this one. It will be offered in various price levels, including a free version, but I've got a feeling that if they make the price reasonable that they'll have a TON of people signing up for the full features. This is a very cool web app!

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Adobe Photoshop Express Lands!

Adobe has announced the release of Adobe Photoshop Express which allows you to edit your digital photos right within the browser. I have had a chance to try it out and it is a slick Flash based application that is delivered through the browser. Adobe gives you 2 Gigs of space to store your photos and a slew of editing tools. This is a great tool for hobbyists who only occasionally edit their digital photographs. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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Posted in: Adobe,digital photography,photoshop express

How to Use the Bcc Field in Outlook 2007

How to Use the Bcc Field in Outlook 2007
In Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, click New to open a new e-mail message, and then click Show Bcc on the Options tab

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Posted in: MS Outlook 2007

How to Apply Consistent Colors and Effects in MS Office Visio

Apply Consistent Colors and Effects Automatically Throughout Your Diagram in MS Office Visio

Use the new themes features in Microsoft Office Visio 2007 to quickly apply a consistent set of colors or effects throughout your diagram. Themes in Visio 2007 are separate from the document themes you may know from 2007 Microsoft Office system programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

To use themes in Visio 2007, on the Format menu, click Themes. In the Theme-Colors task pane, click to apply a set of existing theme colors to your diagram, or click New Theme Colors (at the bottom of the task pane) to customize your own color set. Note that clicking the arrow that appears when you point to a color set shows you additional options.

To apply additional formatting, click Theme Effects to switch to the Theme-Effects task pane. You can then click to apply an existing set of effects (including text, line, fill, shadow, and connector formatting). You can also click New Theme Effects at the bottom of the task pane to create your own effects. Also, clicking the arrow that appears when you point to an existing theme effects set shows you additional options, including the option to duplicate a built-in set of theme effects so that you can customize it.

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Posted in: MS Office Visio 2007

[TIPS] When I Grow Up - It's Baaaaccckkk on TeacherTube

You may recall the story of the viral video entitled, "When I Grow UP." It's been on teachertube for a while and then it disappeared due, I THOUGHT, to a copyright issue. I was SORTA right - his copyright lease on that music ran out. In any case, Matthew Johnson just emailed me to let me know that it's back up on teachertube. In fact, he has reposted both the original and the revised versions.

The original version is here: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=0653698d917512eb4114 (with new sound track)
The revised version is here: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7cba88c97f114350cb2e

Check them out.

An interesting sidebar:
At the year's PETE&C conference held in Hershey, PA, Kathleen Brautigam (Then Director for Educational Technology with the Dept of education for Pennsylvania) showed this video to the audience of over 2000 teachers and administrators and tech directors. She did NOT know, however, that Matthew Johnson was sitting in that audience. :-) He was introduced to everyone the next day, however, when we discovered that he was "in the house."

Way to go, Matthew. You've created a hit!

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[TIPS] Photoshop Express now online

Thanks again to Alma Row for sharing this one with me via email.

Remember this post from a year ago? http://tipline.blogspot.com/2007/03/tips-photoshop-online.html In it I pointed to a techcrunch article that said that Adobe was going to put Photoshop online and offer it for free. "No way!", we shouted. Well, "WAY!"

https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html

Not only can you upload and play with your photographs using many of the photoshop tools, but they also give you 2 gigs of storage in which to store them. And, you can share your images. Very nice!

I've not yet uploaded and toyed with a picture yet, but I can report one oddity. The site doesn't want to load in Firefox on my Mac. It will open Ok with Safari, however. If anyone else experiences this, please leave a comment to tell me.

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Google Docs adds New Feature

I read on the Google Doc's blog that many users were not happy with tabbed arrangement of toolbars and so with the latest version of Google Doc's you will find the traditional drop down menu structure. The dropdown menus (see screenshot) are strikingly similar to how one would interact with a desktop word processing application such as Word 2003. You will find the new version of Google Docs easier to use and the dropdown menus are very responsive to mouse clicks.

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Posted in: dropdown menu,Google,Google Docs

3rd Carnival of Computer Help and Advice

The 3rd Carnival of Computer Help and Advice will probably be a couple of days late this month (it is due to be published on the 27th March). This is due to me having been ill for the last few days, and so I haven't had chance to pass the Carnival on to this month's host Prashanth.

Apologies for the delay.
K

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Posted in: Blog Carnival

[TIPS] Creative Commons on Limewire?

I learned something today. A team of students had created an excellent project for the high school computer fair. THe only thing that threatened to DQ them was the music they used. In their credits of this digital movie, they listed the music as having come from the Creative Commons area of Limewire. Now, my judges are sophisticated enough to know what limewire is and why people use it, and none of them had heard of this creative commons section of limewire. They called me into the discussion and I suggested we call the boys back to hear what they had to say about it. I'm glad we did.

Sure enough, Limewire now recognizes files that are licensed under the CreativeCommons license! They had a printout of the page hidden in their backpack just in case we didn't believe them. (Lesson learned - don't hide the documentation!)

Check it out here: http://www.limewire.com/features/

Verrrrry interesting.

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Professional Development for the 21st Century

Just yesterday I connected with my friend and colleague Karen Janowski, an Assistive Technology Consultant in the Boston Area over Skype and we spent the next hour or so catching up and sharing ideas and showing each other new applications. Using Skype we were able to speak with one another and then we connected using Yuuguu a screen sharing application that allowed us to see each others computer screen. Yuuguu was just updated so that the individual on the other end can now access your screen via the internet. Yuuguu is great for ad hoc meetings when you want to share an application with another individual or for that matter a group. You simply give the participants a URL and a PIN number and within seconds they can see your computer screen (do remember to do some tiding up:-) ). Participants can also request control of the presenters screen as well which is fantastic for training purposes.

More importantly as I was reflecting on our interchange it occurred to me that more educators need to seek out these rich Web 2.0 tools so that they can dialog and direct their own professional development. I know for myself, that having access to professionals like Karen that I can connect with on a regular basis really improves and hones my skills and the exchange of ideas is amazing. So when you are considering your own professional development see how you can craft it using the tools I mentioned, Skype & Yuuguu. Educators and other professionals need to look for new models of professional development for the 21st Century and the web is the way to go. Let me know how you are using Web 2.0 tools to expand your professional development.

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Posted in: karen janowski,professional development,Skype,Yuuguu

[TIPS] moving columns in google spreadsheets

A commenter on the blog asked how to move columns in a Google spreadsheet. I hadn't tried that before so I went to a spreadsheet to check.

On my Mac, using Firefox, I simply clicked the column header to select the entire column. When I traced my mouse over the edge of the column I noticed that a border would flash around it and my cursor changed to the pointer hand. I then just clicked and dragged the column to the new location. The trick is in where you try to grab. You can't try to grab the middle of the column. Grab it by the edges.

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Connecting with other MindManager Users

The internet has created some really great tools to collaborate and bring us all closer together. As I was speaking with Steve Rothwell about MindManager 7 today over Skype in his office in England, I was reflecting on just how great it is to be able to reach out to the greater MindManager Community. While I was familiar with Steve's blog and his posts it was wonderful getting to speak with Steve firsthand and find out how he is using MindManager in the consulting work that he doing. And just this past weekend, I also had a chance to chat with Andrew Wilcox over Skype as part of a MindManager User Group which worked out really well. This week I was able to connect with Wallace Tait from VisualMapper.com to find out what he has in store for his web site. If you didn't see the free offer then go to Wallace's website and download his free mind mapping eBook. Just yesterday, I had a chance to catch up with Kyle McFarlin, the Visual Strategist and find out what he is up to. The web is certainly the tool to help you reach out and connect with others. I for one am fortunate to have this rich community of MindManager Users that I can reach out to. If you are interested in keeping connected with other MindManager Users feel free to join the LinkedIn User Group or the Ning Mindmanager User Group.

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Posted in: Andrew Wilcox,Kyle McFarlin,mind mapping,MindManager,Steve Rothwell,wallace tait

How to use 2003 to 2007 Custom Slide Show

2003 to 2007 Custom Slide Show
Does showing the same Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 presentation to different audiences require you to manually hide and unhide irrelevant or confidential slides? With custom slide shows in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, you can create and save multiple shows from the same presentation.
1. Click the Slide Show tab, and then click Custom Slide Show in the Start Slide Show section.
2. Click Custom Shows, and then click New.
3. Name the slide show, and then add the slides you want from the left box to the right box.
4. Reorder the slides if necessary, and then click OK.
5. You can start the slide show by clicking Show in the Custom Shows dialog box or by selecting it from the Custom Slide Show list on the Ribbon.

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Posted in: MS PowerPoint

How to Create a Linear Series of Values in Excel

Create a Linear Series of Values in Excel
Here’s how to use Auto Fill to create a series of values:
1. Create the initial series. In a Microsoft Office Excel workbook, type 1 in the A1 cell and 2 in the A2 cell.
2. Select cells A1 and A2.
3. Click the Auto Fill handle (the little black box in the lower-right corner of the selection) and drag to A15 to fill the cells with the numbers 1 through 15. You can create different series of numbers, odd and even numbers, or even dates.

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Posted in: MS Excel

How to Insert Rows or Columns in Excel

How to Insert Rows or Columns in Excel
With a Microsoft Office Excel document open, you can insert extra rows and columns by holding down the SHIFT key while you grab a cell by its handle and drag it. Excel will insert as many cells as needed.

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Posted in: MS Excel

How to Split the Screen in MS Word

How to Split the Screen in MS Word
In Microsoft Office Word, on the View tab, in the Window section, click Split. This splits the screen and displays a dividing line in the current window. To switch between the screens, use the F6 key.

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Posted in: MS Word

Simplify Sending an E-Mail Message as an Attachment in MS outlook

Simplify Sending an E-Mail Message as an Attachment in MS outlook
Here is a simple way to avoid having to save an incoming e-mail message in My Documents and then retrieve it when you want to include it as an attachment in a new e-mail message:
In the Actions section, click Other Actions, and then click Forward as Attachment.

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Posted in: MS Outlook 2007

How to insert Predefined Table in Excel, word and powerpoint

Inserting a Predefined Table
To insert a predefined table:
1. On the Ribbon, on the Create tab, click Table Templates.
2. Click a table template (Assets, Contacts, Issues, Tasks, or Events).

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Posted in: MS Excel,MS PowerPoint,MS Word

Computer Repair Business: Your Technical Staff Can Protect Your Business

When you are building your computer repair business, you have to be very careful about hiring your technical staff. Otherwise, you might end up training and supporting someone that will be your future competition!

A Computer Repair Business Example

As an example, let’s say that your computer repair business hires a technical employee and pays for advanced training: Microsoft; Cisco; Citrix. This employee might gain incredibly sharp skills and get great experience in the field.

But what if the staff member of your computer repair business wakes up one day and decides he/she doesn’t want to work for your company anymore? The person decides to start a home-based computer consulting company and take clients along for the ride!

Your Computer Repair Business and Forecasting Disasters

You can’t put all your eggs in one basket and rely on just one technical staff member to carry your entire company. You have to make sure you are really entrenched in the sales process and in the services delivered. You may not be the person doing all the work, and you may not have the strongest technical skills … but if you make sure to always stay involved and let everyone know you’re the boss, you can keep your clients loyal and long-term relationships strong.

Contracts are Important with Your Computer Repair Business

You need to be sure to cover yourself when it comes to you technical staff. Have staff members sign contracts – non-compete clauses, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), etc. – when you hire them (NOTE: Talk to your attorney!). Make sure you have a strong plan for your computer repair business so you can deal with legal issues and employee issues before they happen.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

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Posted in: computer repair business

Reuse Slides from a Slide Library in MS Powerpoint

Reuse Slides from a Slide Library in MS Powerpoint
When you create a presentation, you may want to reuse slides already created and published by someone else in your organization. Microsoft Office PowerPoint can optionally notify you when the original slide is updated by its creator and synchronize the updated slide.
1. On the Home tab, click the New Slide icon. (Note: You must click the lower half of the icon to choose the types of slide that you want to insert.)
2. Click Reuse Slides at the bottom of the New Slide gallery.
3. In the text box below Insert slide from, type the Web address of the Microsoft SharePoint slide library that contains the slides that you want to reuse. PowerPoint retrieves a list of slides available from this location. Notice that as you pause on each of the slides, you can get a more detailed look at its contents.
4. Click a slide that you want to add to your presentation. If you want to be notified if this slide changes, select the Tell me when this slide changes text box.

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Posted in: MS PowerPoint

Navigation with the Address Bar in Vista Explorer

Navigation with the Address Bar in Vista Explorer
After you open a folder in Windows Vista, you will see the address bar at the top of the Explorer. Each folder is part of the hierarchical structure of your system. The top level is your computer, desktop, and so on. Under the top level is the user level, and user folders are under that level. The address bar shows this structure from left to right; with each level, you can use a flyout arrow to display and browse to the folder available on that level.

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Posted in: Vista Explorer

[TIPS] Change-Congress graph

http://change-congress.org/

On this page is a map of the United States with sections shown in different colors, ranging from clear to a muddy grey color. Each section represents a Congressional district. The colors show the extent to which that representative takes money from PACs (Political Action Committees). An interesting graphic for the social studies teachers, yes?

Then take a look at this slideshow: http://lessig.org/blog/2008/03/change_congress_launched.html

No more comment. I just think it's an interesting topic.

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How to Set Up Meetings in Outlook 2007

Setting Up Meetings in Outlook 2007
If you're tired of making phone calls to set up meetings, you can use Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to schedule a meeting.
1. On your calendar's sidebar, click Send a Calendar Request via E-mail.
2. Select the date. Your meeting request will then be sent directly to the recipient.

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Posted in: MS Outlook 2007

How to Insert Chart Insert Chart 2003 to 2007

How to Insert Chart Insert Chart 2003 to 2007 
Microsoft Office PowerPoint is a presentation program, not a data analysis tool. Why then does inserting a chart in a Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 presentation open a separate datasheet object for customizing chart data? Instead, you can work with chart data in a program that was designed to handle it—Microsoft Office Excel 2007.
1. In Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, click the Insert tab, and then click Chart in the Illustrations group.
2. Select the chart type you want, and then click OK. Notice the split-screen PowerPoint 2007/Excel 2007 view, in which you can edit your chart data in a familiar Excel environment.
3. To resize the chart data range, drag the lower-right corner of the range in Excel 2007 and watch the chart dynamically adjust on your PowerPoint 2007 slide.

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Posted in: MS PowerPoint

[TIPS] aspergers video

This was one of the videos nominated for the 2007 YouTube Awards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbgUjmeC-4o

In this video a 16 yr old boy talks about what it's like to live with this condition. If you work with children with this condition, you owe it to yourself AND to that child to watch this video.

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Biggerplate- Free MindManager Map Repository

Biggerplate is a free website that lets you share and download your MindManager maps. Bigger was developed by MindManager enthusiasts who are interested in spreading the word about the value of using mind maps and MindManager. I found the service very easy to use. If you are looking to find new ways to use MindManager then peruse the Biggerplate website and download some of the maps to see how others are using MindManager in the work that they do. If you have developed some interesting MindManager maps you may want to upload them so that others can benefit from them. Enjoy!

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Posted in: biggerplate,mind mapping,MindManager

How to use Print Information into Office OneNote 2007

Print Information into Office OneNote 2007
Use the Microsoft Office OneNote 2007 print driver to print any document as an image into your notebook. You can annotate printed documents in your notebook, similar to printing a document and taking notes on the paper printout. You can quickly find text within these documents printed to OneNote by performing a simple keyword search.

To print a document to OneNote:
1. Open the document, such as a Microsoft Office Word document or a Web page, that you want to print.
2. Click the Office button, point to Print, and click Print.
3. Select Send to Microsoft OneNote in the list of available printers.
4. Click Print.
5. Drag the resulting OneNote page to the relevant section of your notebook.

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Posted in: MS OneNote 2007

how to Preview Charts in Grayscale in MS excel

Previewing Charts in Grayscale in MS excel
You can preview your charts in Microsoft Office Excel before you print.
1. Open the file that you want to print, click the Office button, point to Print, and then click Print Preview.
2. On the Print Preview ribbon, click Page Setup, click Sheet, and then click Black and white. The preview will be in grayscale so that you can evaluate whether the contrast is good enough to distinguish the lines, bars, and columns.

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Posted in: MS Excel

How to File Multiple E-Mail Attachments Quickly in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

File Multiple E-Mail Attachments Quickly in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
Here’s a quick way to save multiple files attached to an e-mail message.
1. Open the message, and then click Other Actions on the Ribbon.
2. Click Save Attachments. Hold down the SHIFT key while using the arrow keys to select the attachments that you want to save. Alternately, hold down the CTRL key and use your mouse to select the attachments that you want to save. Click OK.
3. Browse to a folder on your hard disk drive or to a document library on a Microsoft SharePoint site, and then click OK. The attachments will be saved to the new location.

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Posted in: MS Outlook 2007

How to Add and Deleting Tools in MS Workspace

Adding and Deleting Tools in MS Workspace
Most workspaces begin as a Standard Workspace, which includes a Files tool and a Discussion tool. You and your team members can add more tools at any time to meet your needs.

To add a tool to your workspace, click the plus sign (+) next to the tool tabs at the bottom of your workspace, and then select the tool that you want from the pop-up list. The tool appears quickly for every member who is online and for others when they come online.
To delete a tool, right-click its tool tab, and then click Delete. This will delete the tool and its data from all members’ copies of the workspace.
To rename a tool, right-click its tool tab, and then click Rename.
To reorder a tool within the workspace, drag its tool tab to the location where you want it.

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Posted in: Workspace

Adobe Share beta

I recently did a presentation at the NJECC Conference on trends in the field of assistive technology and decided to model for my audience the shift to Web 2.0. For my presentation I decided to use Google Present, which worked out wonderfully. As I begin to migrate my presentations and documents to the web, I am always looking for a way to store my files on line. This afternoon I came across Adobe Share which is in beta right now, but it does provide a nice way to store and share your files when connected to the web. It was very easy to set up and use and allows you to invite others to share your documents, if you decide to. Adobe Share works right within the browser and like all Adobe Web 2.0 applications it looks to be done in Flash. If you get the chance sign up for the Adobe Share beta and start sharing!

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Posted in: Adobe,Adobe Share,file storage

How to install new fonts

There are many web sites from which you can download extra fonts for free, such as 1001 Free Fonts, Urban Fonts and many more. The downloaded fonts will be in a zip file, so the first step is to unzip them to your 'Desktop' by simply dragging the font file there. There is no need to copy the text documents that are in the zip file to the 'Desktop'.

Once you have copied all the new fonts you wish to install onto your 'Desktop' you can install them. To do this open up the 'Control Panel'. Your control panel will either be set to the new 'Category views' on XP or Vista or the old 'Classic view'. I will deal with each method of opening the font installation program separately. Vista users can simply right-click on each font file and click on 'Install'; users of other versions of Windows have a few more hoops to jump through.

XP Category View
Click on 'Appearance and Themes' to open that category.
Click on 'Fonts' in the 'See also..' list on the left of the window. This will open the 'Fonts' folder.


Classic View
In the 'Classic View' double click on the 'Fonts' icon to open the 'Fonts' folder.

In spite of the varied ways of opening it, the font installation program has remained unchanged for ages and is the same in all current version of Windows.


To open the font installer pull down the 'File' menu and select 'Install New Font...' to open the 'Add Fonts' tool.


To browse to your 'Desktop' double click on 'c:\', then double-click on 'Documents and Settings', then double click on your user-name (if you don't know it, try all of them), and finally double-click on 'Desktop'. This should then add all the fonts you unzipped to the list.


Click on the 'Select All' button and then click on the 'OK' button to install the fonts. They should now be available in all your applications.

It is worth keeping copies of the font files you saved on your desktop somewhere, so that you can reinstall them if you ever have to reinstall Windows on your PC. If you are not concerned about this you can delete the font files from your 'Desktop'.

Addendum
Thanks to vaibhav for pointing out that you can copy the fonts straight to the 'Fonts' folder.

So, the quickest and easiest way to install a new font is to open the 'Fonts' folder as described above, and then drag the font file from the zip file and drop it in the 'Fonts' folder.

Alternatively, unzip a selection of font files to the 'Desktop', then select and copy (Ctrl + C) them all. Open the 'Fonts' folder and pull down the 'Edit' menu and select 'Paste', or right-click the background of the 'Fonts' folder and select 'Paste' from the drop-down menu, or just hold down Ctrl and press V (if there is one way of doing something in Windows then there are probably half a dozen ways of doing it).

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Posted in: Fonts,Windows GUI

Get a Free MindMapping eBook

If you are looking for a wonderful mind mapping resource then you will want to take a look at the Visual Mapping e-book which was written by Wallace Tait and Arjen ter Hoeve. The ebook is filled with great ideas and ways to use visual mapping for business, personal and professional applications. Both Wallace and Arjen are in the process of redesigning their web site Visualmapper.org and are requesting that you give them some feedback. Seems like a great deal to me!

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Posted in: arjen ter hoeve,mind mapping,wallace tait

[TIPS] This month's Bits"n"Bytes

http://www.caiu.org/43833812384423/lib/43833812384423/_files/March_2008.pdf

Here's this quarter's Bits 'n' Bytes newsletter for the CAIU. If you're interested.

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Mindjet March User Newsletter is Out

Just wanted to let you know that the Mindjet March User Newsletter is out and available. You will find some great articles and gain insight as to how get the most out of MindManager 7. Find out from the leaders in the mind mapping field how to best implement and use MindManager 7. Read Jamie Nast's column on how one of her client's combined MindManager with Edward de Bono’s strategic brainstorming framework, Six Thinking Hats, for this creative meeting solution map. Find out how Stephanie Diamond, Online Marketing Expert deals with how to find the right customer for your product. CJ Cornell, Consumer media/tech executive and MindManager Users Forum moderator shares specific creativity methods that can be used with MindManager 7. You will also find my quick video tip on how to use attachments and links with MindManager 7.

Read more »

Posted in: brian friedlander,Mindjet,MindManager

How to use Resource managers and project managers

How to use Resource managers and project managers
Resource managers and project managers can make resource assignments to projects that have not yet been fully developed, reducing the availability of the resource for project work. You can assign resources to projects by using the following steps:
1. In Microsoft Office Project Web Access, under the Projects section of the left Action pane, click Proposals and Activity Plans.
2. On the New menu, click Activity Plan.
3. Complete your new activity plan, and then click Save (or Publish).
4. After saving, click Resource Plan on the Activity Plan page.
5. Click Build Team, click Add, and then click Save to select resources for the project.
6. On the Resource Plan page, click View Options to define the date range, resource units, and utilization settings for the resource plan, and then click Apply.
7. Define the hours for each resource in the resource plan, and then click Save (or Publish).

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Posted in: Project Managers

How to Change Gridline Colors in Ms Excel

Changing Gridline Colors in Ms Excel
You can change the look of your worksheet.
1. With a Microsoft Office Excel worksheet open, click the Office button, click Excel Options, and then click Advanced.
2. Under Display options for this worksheet, select the gridline color of your choice.
3. Click OK

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Posted in: MS Excel

[TIPS] google docs tip - Save and Close

I MISS the Save and Close button in the newly revised version of Google Docs. It "felt right" to do that. It felt SAFE to do that. Now, according to the google docs blog, you're supposed to click the Docs Home link in the top right and THAT will perform the Save and Close function.

Maybe. But it just doesn't FEEL right. Or is it just me?

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[TIPS] bitstrips

Looking for a quick and easy way to make a short cartoon strip? Try: http://www.bitstrips.com/

It looks like it's very easy to do, and I didnt run into anything that was inappropriate.

Got kids who want to do political cartoons this election year? Want to make a quick Action Hero out of the Periodic Table of Elements (a.L.A. - http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/)? How about a quick cartoon representing a historical character? Not for a final project, certainly, but possibly for a fun quick assignment.

There are plenty of these kinds of sites so if you don't like that one, you can choose one of the others. Remember toondoo?

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[TIPS] Whose cell phone is that?

Background: The school where I work has a NO CELL PHONE policy. Cell phones will be confiscated.

The incident: I was at my cabin over the weekend and I had to turn my phone onto Ring mode from Vibrate mode and I forgot to set it back to vibrate. So, when I was sitting in a class yesterday and my cell phone rang I panicked and quickly reached for it to stop it. (VERY embarrassing!)

But, the funny part is that almost EVERY student in the room ALSO panicked and reached for their pocket or purse. ROFL!!! I HAD to laugh out loud at it. The collective look of relief on their faces was also priceless.

There's a moral to this story somewhere.

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Keyboard shortcut of the week: email name look-up

When using MS Outlook, Outlook Express and Outlook Web Access on Internet Explorer you can quickly look up names in your contacts and address books with a keyboard shortcut.

Let us assume you are looking for a 'Thomas Jones', you can type 'tho jo' in the 'To..' field of a new email and hold down the Alt key and press K. Your email program will then either put the right address into the 'To..' field or it will present you with a list of matches, for example, there may be a 'Thomas Johnson' in your address book too, in which case both will be listed. Highlight the one you want in the list and click 'OK'.

As I mentioned, this shortcut works on Outlook Web Access if you access it using Internet Explorer. In order to see the list of matching names you may have to disable pop-ups for that site. To do so click on the yellow bar at the top of the new email page if it appears and set IE to always allow pop-ups from that page.

If you open Outlook Web Access using Firefox or another web browser you can use the same feature by clicking on the 'Check Names' button (pictured). This will then add the text you typed to the list in red, click on this to see the list of matches. Again, pop-up blocking may have to be disabled for that page.

This technique also works with the other address fields: 'CC' and 'BCC'.

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Posted in: Email,Keyboard shortcut

How to Customize the Quick Access Toolbar

Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar
In Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Word, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint, the title bar contains a set of icons known as the Quick Access Toolbar. If unchanged, it will have four default icons: Save, Undo, Repeat, and Quick Print. All of these will be displayed, as long as they are active.

To customize the Quick Access Toolbar:
1. Click the small arrow to the right of the toolbar, and then click More Commands to view a configuration form.
2. Click the action icon that you want to see on the toolbar, click Add, and then click OK. Notice that the icon is now part of the Quick Access Toolbar.

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Posted in: MS Excel,MS PowerPoint,MS Word

How to Count Words in MS Word

Counting Words in MS Word
You can find the number of words in your Microsoft Office Word document by selecting only the text that you want to count. Look at the status bar displayed on the bottom of the screen. It shows you the number of words in the selected text first, and then the count for the entire document.

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Posted in: MS Word

How to Customize the Quick Access Toolbar in MS Excel

Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar in MS Excel
In Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Word, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint, the title bar contains a set of icons known as the Quick Access Toolbar. If unchanged, it will have four default icons: Save, Undo, Repeat, and Quick Print. All of these will be displayed, as long as they are active.

To customize the Quick Access Toolbar:
1. Click the small arrow to the right of the toolbar, and then click More Commands to view a configuration form.
2. Click the action icon that you want to see on the toolbar, click Add, and then click OK. Notice that the icon is now part of the Quick Access Toolbar.

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Posted in: MS Excel

How to use Explorer Quick Search

Explorer Quick Search 
A Folders and most interaction points with Windows Vista are consistent. These windows or Explorers all have similar traits, including a Quick Search box in the upper-right corner. To find a file in this folder:
1. Type the criteria in the Quick Search box.
2. Click the spyglass to search.

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Posted in: Internet Explorer

How to Recall Messages in Ms Out Look

Recalling Messages in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
If you want to recall an e-mail message after clicking the Send button:
1. In the Sent Items folder, open the message.
2. On the Ribbon, in the Actions section, click Other Actions, and then click Recall This Message.

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Posted in: MS Outlook 2007

How to Publish Slides in MS Share Point

Publish Your Slides to a Slide Library
Microsoft SharePoint slide libraries help you to easily share, repurpose, and reuse Microsoft Office PowerPoint slides, reducing the number of times you need to re-create slides. This feature requires the use of a Windows SharePoint Services team workspace.

After saving your presentation, you can publish your slides to a slide library by using the following steps:
1. Click the Office button. On the Publish menu, click Publish Slides.
2. Select the check box next to each slide that you want to publish to your slide library.
3. Type the Web address of your team site in the Publish To text box.
4. Click Publish.

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Posted in: MS Share Point

How to Wrap Text in Excel 2007

Wrap Text in Excel 2007
In Microsoft Office Excel 2007, if the text you type is too long to be displayed fully in a cell, you can easily set the text to wrap. This setting enables the cell (and the rest of the row) to expand automatically so that the content of the cell is always visible.
1. Click in the cell that you want to wrap.
2. On the Home tab, in the Alignment section, click Wrap Text.

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Posted in: MS Excel

How Do You Overcome Computer Repair Business Sales Objections

If you are running a computer repair business, chances are you face challenges when it comes to overcoming client sales objections.

There are some common sales objections you might hear when you are selling networks to small business prospects, customers and clients and dealing with the ins and outs of a computer repair business.

Where Does the Problem Begin?

Typically, you start to run into objections when you talk about network upgrades and sophisticated technology services. At this point, small business prospects for your computer repair business will start to really focus on how much it’s going to cost them.

But do they understand the soft costs of not investing early in a real, advanced network? There are dangerous consequences such as lost employee productivity that results from cutting corners, downtime and service costs from computer consultants when dead-end solutions are chosen just because they don’t cost a lot of money.

Even if you do a thorough job with your initial consultation, IT audit, site survey and reports, you are going to have to face some client objections before making that final leap into a long-term client relationship.

Why Does Your Computer Repair Business Have to Overcome Objections?

One minor concern can ruin a whole sale, so you have to have great business development skills to help you overcome any objections. When you have the right strategies, you will be less apt to get emotional, defensive or annoyed. You will be more focused and able to figure out how to best solve complicated prospect problems and close your sale so you can get paying clients.

Sales Objection 1: Apathy

If small business owners are apathetic about networks, you might face weeks, months or years before they feel urgent enough about their computer repair business needs to hire you. But, when you know the roots, you will be able to push the process along. (For examples, visit the link to the corresponding article at the end of this blog entry!)

Network Reliability Can Overcome Sales Objections in the Computer Repair Business

PC/LAN network reliability might be questioned when a P2P server randomly shuts down and restarts because a specific software setup program decided to reboot.

P2P networks do not protect data. If it isn’t protected with fault tolerant hard drives, a tape backup drive, a server-class UPS and regularly updated virus-protection software, a P2P network can be a real disaster. Sometimes this can work to your advantage when you are facing apathy by when some divine intervention happens and a lightning storm, blackout or other disaster happens to show prospects just how unreliable their current setups are.

Catastrophic Data Loss Can Be Your Best Friend

Catastrophic data loss is a horrible situation for prospects and clients, but can really motivate them to overcome their apathy and hire your computer repair business to help them with sophisticated server solutions. All of a sudden, the people that were wavering about accepting your help and solutions will be really interested in your suggestions about networking which features centralized security and data protection (the very thing that could’ve prevented their catastrophe).

Discontinued Technical Support and Your Potential Computer Repair Business Clients

You can also overcome apathy-related sales objections by talking about discontinued technical support, particularly when it comes to vertical, industry-specific software: niche applications designed for accountants; software for attorneys, physicians, realtors, auto body shops, restaurants, etc.

Eventually, an ISV selling this software will stop offering tech support, updates and patches, and then what? You can be the person that solves these problems for them by being the person that will take over that sort of maintenance and support.

The Main Idea about Overcoming Sales Objections and Your Computer Repair Business

If you are working with computers and small businesses, you need to have great sales skills to overcome sales objections.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

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Posted in: computer repair business

How to Remove Unwanted Toolbar Items from Internet Explorer

Removing Unwanted Toolbar Items in Internet Explorer
If you have items in your Internet Explorer toolbar you would like to remove:
Run Regedit
Delete keys in these possible locations are:
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt

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Posted in: Internet Explorer

How to Re-Set Internet Explorer to Save rather than Open Files Downloaded

Re-Setting Internet Explorer to Save rather than Open Files Downloaded
You might also try opening up the Windows Explorer
1. Go to Tools / Folder Options / File Types
2. Scroll down to the file Extension want to change
3. Click on the Advanced button
4. Check Confirm after download
When you try and download a .EXE file with Internet Explorer, you are prompted to "Always ask before opening this type of file".
If you uncheck this box, the next time a EXE file is about to be downloaded, you will not be prompted and the file will automatically be opened.
You also do not see the "Always ask..." box again so you can uncheck it.
To reset Internet Explorer back again:
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to Hkey_Classes_Root \ exefile
3. Change the EditFlags value from d8 07 01 00 to d8 07 00 00

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Posted in: Internet Explorer

How to Organize the Link tool Bar With Folders in Internet Explorer

Organizing the Link tool Bar With Folders in Internet Explorer
Normally, the only items that can be displayed in the Links toolbar are links to web sites.
For me, I have so many it stretches across the entire screen and adding more doesn't work too well.
But there is a way you can create folders for different categories of sites on the toolbar.
Then you can put many pages into each one.
Also, pages with long names don't take up all that extra room.
1. With Internet Explorer running press Ctrl-B
2. Scroll down to the Links folder
3. Click the Create Folder button
4. Give it whatever name you want for a particular category
5. You can drag any current pages into the appropriate directories at this time as well

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Posted in: Internet Explorer

How to Save JPG picture file in Internet Explorer

Saving JPG picture file in Internet Explorer
If your Internet Explorer no longer allows you to save graphics as JPGs
1. Go to Tools / Options
2. Click on the Advanced tab
3. In the Security section at the bottom, uncheck Do not save encrypted pages to disk

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Posted in: Internet Explorer

[TIPS] Watch this - telling the story of your own stroke

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/229

What if you could experience a stroke and remember it. Would it be painful or pleasureable? Would it be Hell or Nivana?

This is just what happened to Dr Jill Bolte Taylor, renowned Neuroanatomist, and in this Ted video she retells the story. And what an amazing story it is. Listen the whole thing. You will NOT be disappointed.

 

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How to Auto Logon to Windows XP

Auto Logon to Windows XP
Published: March 18, 2002
You can configure Windows XP to automate the logon process if your computer is not part of a domain.
1. Click Start, click Run, and type control userpasswords2.
2. Clear the Users must enter a username and password to use this computer check box.
3. Click Apply.
4. Enter the user name and password you wish to automatically log on with, and then click OK.
5. Click OK again and you're all done.
This feature allows other users to start your computer and use the account that you establish to automatically log on. Enabling auto logon makes your computer more convenient to use, but can pose a security risk

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Posted in: Log On Tips

What is Registry (Registry Explanation)

Question:-How I can know more about Registry?
Answer:-About Registry

Hives
The Registry is split into a number of logical sections, or "hives".[3] Hives are generally named by their Windows API definitions, which all begin "HKEY". They are abbreviated to a three- or four-letter short name starting with "HK" (e.g. HKCU and HKLM).

The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_CURRENT_USER nodes have a similar structure to each other; applications typically look up their settings by first checking for them in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Vendor's name\Application's name\Version\Setting name", and if the setting is not found looking instead in the same location under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key. When writing settings back, the reverse approach is used — HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE is written first, but if that cannot be written to (which is usually the case if the logged-in user is not an administrator), the setting is stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Abbreviated HKCR, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT stores information about registered applications, such as Associations from File Extensions and OLE Object Class IDs tying them to the applications used to handle these items. On Windows 2000 and above, HKCR is a compilation of HKCU\Software\Classes and HKLM\Software\Classes. If a given value exists in both of the subkeys above, the one in HKCU\Software\Classes is used.[4]

HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Abbreviated HKCU, HKEY_CURRENT_USER stores settings that are specific to the currently logged-in user. The HKCU key is a link to the subkey of HKEY_USERS that corresponds to the user; the same information is reflected in both locations. On Windows-NT based systems, each user's settings are stored in their own files called NTUSER.DAT and USRCLASS.DAT inside their own documents and settings subfolder.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Abbreviated HKLM, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE stores settings that are general to all users on the computer. On NT-based versions of Windows, HKLM contains four subkeys, SAM, SECURITY, SOFTWARE and SYSTEM, that are found within their respective files located in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config folder. A fifth subkey, HARDWARE, is volatile and is created dynamically, and as such is not stored in a file. Information about system hardware drivers and services are located under the SYSTEM subkey, whilst the SOFTWARE subkey contains software and windows settings.

HKEY_USERS
Abbreviated HKU, HKEY_USERS contains subkeys corresponding to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER keys for each user registered on the machine.
[edit] HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
Abbreviated HKCC, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG contains information gathered at runtime; information stored in this key is not permanently stored on disk, but rather regenerated at boot time.

HKEY_PERFORMANCE_DATA
This key provides runtime information into performance data provided by either the NT kernel itself or other programs that provide performance data. This key is not displayed in the Registry Editor, but it is visible through the registry functions in the Windows API.

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Posted in: Registry

What is Registry- Introduction

Question:-What is Windows Registry?
Answer:-Windows Registry
The Windows registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions, 64-bit versions and Windows Mobile. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, users, preferences of the PC, etc. Whenever a user makes changes to Control Panel settings, file associations, system policies, or most installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the registry. The registry also provides a window into the operation of the kernel, exposing runtime information such as performance counters and currently active hardware. This use of registry mechanism is conceptually similar to the way that Sysfs and procfs expose runtime information through the file system (traditionally viewed as a place for permanent storage), though the information made available by each of them differs tremendously.

The Windows registry was introduced to tidy up the profusion of per-program INI files that had previously been used to store configuration settings for Windows programs.[1] These files tended to be scattered all over the system, which made them difficult to track.


Structure
Keys and Values
The registry contains two basic kinds of elements: keys and values.
Registry Keys are similar to folders - in addition to values, each key can contain subkeys, which may contain further subkeys, and so on. Keys are referenced with a syntax similar to Windows' path names, using backslashes to indicate levels of hierarchy. E.g. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows refers to the subkey "Windows" of the subkey "Microsoft" of the subkey "Software" of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key.

Registry Values are name/data pairs stored within keys. Values are referenced separately from keys. Value names can contain backslashes which would lead to ambiguities were they referred to like paths. The Windows API functions that query and manipulate registry values take value names separately from the key path and/or handle that identifies the parent key.

The terminology is somewhat misleading, as the values are similar to an associative array, where standard terminology would refer to the name part of the value as a "key". The terms are a holdout from the 16-bit registry in Windows 3, in which keys could not contain arbitrary name/data pairs, but rather contained only one unnamed value (which had to be a string). In this sense, the entire registry was like an associative array where the keys (in both the registry sense and dictionary sense) formed a hierarchy, and the values were all strings. When the 32-bit registry was created, so was the additional capability of creating multiple named values per key, and the meanings of the names were somewhat distorted[2].

There are a number of different types of values:

List of Registry Value Types

0 REG_NONE No type
1 REG_SZ A constant string value
2 REG_EXPAND_SZ An "expandable" string value that can contain environment variables
3 REG_BINARY Binary data (any arbitrary data)
4 REG_DWORD/REG_DWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN A DWORD value, a 32-bit unsigned integer (numbers between 0 and 4,294,967,295 [232 – 1]) (little-endian)

5 REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN A DWORD value, a 32-bit unsigned integer (numbers between 0 and 4,294,967,295 [232 – 1]) (big-endian)

6 REG_LINK symbolic link (UNICODE)
7 REG_MULTI_SZ A multi-string value, which is an array of strings
8 REG_RESOURCE_LIST Resource list
9 REG_FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTOR Resource descriptor
10 REG_RESOURCE_REQUIREMENTS_LIST Resource Requirements List
11 REG_QWORD/REG_QWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN A QWORD value, a 64-bit integer (either big- or little-endian, or unspecified)

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Posted in: Registry

[TIPS] How dangerous is the internet

Thanks to Couros blog (http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/805) for pointing me to this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/technology/personaltech/28pogue-email.html?ex=1361941200&en=e089a57123756a3e&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Oh my.. let's try a little shorter url, shall we?  http://snipurl.com/21syz  [www_nytimes_com]  There. Much better.

Many of you in PA saw David Pogue speak at PETE&C and you might have subsequently begun to read his blog or his posts in the New York Times. That link points to an article of his in the Times that you may want to read. You may have to register (free) to read it, but I do encourage you to do so. The gist - "“Sure, there are dangers. But they’re hugely overhyped by the media."

Give it a read. Oh, and you'll remember that I point to Alex's blog often, too, so subscribe to that one, too.

 

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[TIPS] A Globally connected teacher - read this

You KNOW you've 'made it' in the blogging biz when you can take a little vacation from blogging and have someone the likes of Julie Lindsay (http://123elearning.blogspot.com/) fill in for you. Such is the case with one of my favorite blogs called, "Dangerously Irrelevant" by Dr Scott McLeod. He's taking a little hiatus and he's got Julie pinch hitting for him. Julie's blog is also one of my favorites, so when she began to fill in for Scott I was excited to read what she had to say there.

This post, http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2008/03/my-2020-vision.html which she also posted on her own blog (

http://123elearning.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-2020-vision-for-global-collaboration.html) is one I think you should read. As you do, keep these thoughts in mind. "Did her students receive something truly special in their education as a result of their participation in those projects?" And, "If I KNOW about such projects, and refuse to investigate to learn how MY students can enjoy that same experience, am I guilty of... SOMETHING?"

The article begins with a discussion of some of the projects that she and her students have been involved in, and ends with some great suggestions. PLEASE read this. There is SO VERY MUCH at stake.

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The Mind Mapping Manifesto eBook is Out!

Chuck Frey's new e-book, The Mind Mapping Manifesto, is now available! It aims to help business people to understand what a powerful business tool mind mapping software is, and how it can help them. Here is a brief summary of the valuable insights and advice it contains:

• The true cost of information overload and multi-tasking (it will open your eyes to a looming crisis)
• What research proves about the benefits of mind mapping software in business (the productivity impact is substantial!)
• Perspectives from 10 mind mappers on the impact this type of software has made on the way they think, plan and work.
• A list of over 20 business applications where mind mapping software can be used to increase your efficiency
• Ten tips on how to select the right mind mapping program for your needs
• A checklist to help you identify your needs
• Reviews of 5 top mind mapping programs that I personally recommend
• My “best of” list of the programs that offer the greatest performance in 8 key areas.
• A collection of over 50 resources where you can discover the best tools, resources and advice about mind mapping software

Invest in your future by ordering The Mind Mapping Manifesto today!

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Posted in: Chuck Frey,eBooks,mind mapping

[TIPS] New features in CoverItLive

WOW! How VERY cool this is for live blogging. CoverItLive just announced their newest features, and as you'll see below, these will make live blogging easier and better. Can't wait to give this a try.

 

As I said before, this one application moves us LIGHT YEARS ahead in terms of instant publishing. I'd LOVE to see someone do a study on the variuos ways this is being used. But, while I'm waiting, for those of you who don't know this application, let me give the short version of what it is.

 

This site allows you to place a LIVE CHAT session right on your blog page. So, rather than your blog post being just YOUR thoughts, it's a record of a conversation, monitored by you. While the conversation is going on you can add a quick poll, a video, an image, or even an audio file. And, you can prep your playing field with audio clips  and images, etc that will be right there handy for you. So, imagine you're going to watch an event that your friends cannot attend. You set up this live blog application in your blog and, at the appointed hour, it goes live, allowing you to fill your real-time readers in on what is going on at the event. If the speaker says something funny you can play your audio clip (for your readers) of a crowd laughing. If the speaker asks a rhetorical question, you can quickly add a poll to find out how your readers feel about. You can upload an image of the speaker (with permission, of course), and.. SO much more.

 

SO many ways to use this with your students. I DO hope that you'll investigate this one.

 

Here's what the CoverItLive 'press release' had to say about their new features:

 New Features:

Quick Launch:  If you are covering breaking news or just need to start live blogging ASAP, Quick Launch (in the My Account section) lets you launch a live blog immediately.  Just paste the Viewer Window on your blog and start.

Panelist/Producer (multi-authored live blogging):  A much requested feature, "Can I have more than one author on my live blog?".  Now, it's as simple as sending an email to your Panelists (people who will ONLY write commentary) or Producers (people who can do everything you can do including approve reader comments and launch multimedia).  Very useful for live blogs with big readership or for running a Q&A session.

'Always Allow' Reader Comments:  Another popular request was to allow some reader comments to automatically publish without moderation.  Great for trusted readers or new readers who have great insights to share with everyone else.  This takes some of the burden off the writer of the live blog.  A maximum of 10 readers can be classified as 'Always Allow' per live blog (because more than that, and the live blog will become unwatchable for all of the disjointed commentary).

Standby Mode:  Instead of launching several different live blogs to cover multi-day or long events, users can now put their live blog into Standby Mode.  This lets them take long breaks and disconnect, then come back any time within 48 hours to continue.  While in Standby, their readers can catch up on what has happened so far.  A great feature for conference attendees or 'all day sports' live blogs.  When you combine this feature with the new Panelist feature, round the clock coverage becomes simple.  Standby Mode will also automatically activate if a user has been disconnected for 30 consecutive minutes.

Edit Completed Live Blogs:  Great for fixing typos or deleting unwanted entries.  Go to My Account/Completed Live Blogs and clean up your completed live blog.  All changes are immediately published in your Instant Replay.

Download Completed Live Blogs:  For those who would rather store their live blogs locally, go to My Account/Completed Live Blogs and download your live blog for posting on your site.

Syndication:  Although CoveritLive live blogs could always be syndicated to other sites and blogs, we have never really talked about this feature.  If you have other sites willing to 'carry' your live blog, simply give them the embed code (the code you paste on your site) to paste on theirs.  This lets them keep their readers on their own site while opening up your live blog to a wider audience.  Imagine sharing live blogs across a blog network or across multiple newspaper sites.

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[TIPS] gmail update

Several people emailed me after they found THIS: http://www.garchiver.com/what-happened.htm, an article which explains further how that bit of code happened. And another wrote in with this:

"Thought you might like to know I was able to verify the information in Jeff Atwood's blog. G-archiver put out a statement on their website today and asking all of their customers and people who tested or purchased the software to please change their Gmail account information ASAP. the link is here: http://www.garchiver.com/what-happened.htm

 

It may be possible that this was accidental but ask yourself these questions and let me know what you think.

 

1. With what seems like a great archiving product for Gmail, why were there only approximately 1700 emails in the account?

2. Do you think its possible that only 1700 people who have Gmail accounts downloaded and at least tried the shareware in the last year, or was someone taking the information and sending it somewhere else?

 

All this and Google just purchased Doubleclick.....Things that make you go, ........Hmmmmm! Thanks for the heads up Jim!

 

Remember, knowledge is power!"

 

So, thought you might like to know. Just a lkittle discussion here.

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Webinar: Using PersonalBrain for Your Classroom, Studies and Beyond

Come join me for a free webinar on Thursday, April 17 11:00 am Pacific Time / 2:00 pm Eastern Time hosted by TheBrain as I discuss innovative ways to use the PersonalBrain in the classroom. During the webinar I will be focus on the following topics:

• An introduction to visual learning and PersonalBrain for education
• Visually mapping and organizing ideas for enhanced understanding
• Classroom brainstorming techniques and creating interactive Brains
• Example Brains on lesson plans, research and course material from both student and teacher perspective

If you have never used the PersonalBrain then come learn how this powerful organizational tool can be incorporated into the classroom. All attendees who participate in the seminar will receive a free electronic issue of Inclusion Times, which is an educational technology newsletter published by yours truly.

If you have the chance please download a free copy of the PersonalBrain before the webinar so that you have a frame of reference for the program. Here is a link to TheBrain March 2008 Newsletter which is chock full of great information. Click on this link to Register for the Free Webinar.

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Posted in: brian friedlander,mind mapping,PersonalBrain,webinar