Interesting Insight into your Win7 System – GodMode Folders

Just finished an interesting article in TechRepublic by Mark Kaelin that discusses a hidden feature in Windows 7 that provides some extra control over your Windows 7 Operating System. The first one that I looked at is called the Monster Control Panel that provides access to 278 items that you can tweak on your system. Microsoft creates these undocumented shortcuts to make it easy for them to test systems.

File Folder Format

To create one of these GodMode files manually, create a New Folder in Windows Explorer, and when it asks for a folder name, type in a name followed by a period and then one of the codes. The resulting file folder will take on the characteristics associated with the code. For example: Monster Control Panel.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

 

Here are 17 other folders that you can create as well.

Monster Control Panel	{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Enter a default location	{00C6D95F-329C-409a-81D7-C46C66EA7F33}
Use biometric devices with Windows	{0142e4d0-fb7a-11dc-ba4a-000ffe7ab428}
Select a power plan	{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}
Select which icons and notifications appear on taskbar	{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}
Store credentials for automatic logon	{1206F5F1-0569-412C-8FEC-3204630DFB70}
Install a program from the network	{15eae92e-f17a-4431-9f28-805e482dafd4}
Choose the programs that Windows uses by default	{17cd9488-1228-4b2f-88ce-4298e93e0966}
Assembly Cache Viewer	{1D2680C9-0E2A-469d-B787-065558BC7D43}
Manage wireless networks	{1FA9085F-25A2-489B-85D4-86326EEDCD87}
Network	{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Computer	{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Devices and Printers	{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
RemoteApp and Desktop Connections	{241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B}
Windows Firewall	{4026492F-2F69-46B8-B9BF-5654FC07E423}
Windows Explorer	{62D8ED13-C9D0-4CE8-A914-47DD628FB1B0}
System	{78F3955E-3B90-4184-BD14-5397C15F1EFC}

Hope you find this as interesting as I did.

Microsoft Big Easy Offer 4.0

In this economy it is important to take advantage of all of the offers that are available to you. Here is one more that you can take advantage of to help with any current installations you are planning this Quarter.

The Microsoft Big Easy Offer 4.0 runs from Jan 3, 2010 thru Mar 31,2010 and provides partner subsidy funds that can be used with us to help with the implementation of your Microsoft solution including software, hardware and services.

A subsidy is a check made payable to the Microsoft partner of your choice, us I hope. This subsidy can be used to enrich and implement your Microsoft solution. The subsidy allows you to purchase additional products or services from the us thus lowering your Total Cost of Ownership.

You can build up your subsidy by choosing:

• Products from more than one product group.
• Licenses with Software Assurance.
• Advanced or Enterprise Editions.

Talk to us and we can help you decide what you want to implement now to help you afford the best solutions for you.

Here’s the big question: How do you take advantage the Big Easy offer?

• Make a qualifying purchase between January 3, 2010 and March 31, 2010.
• Redeem your purchase within 30 days of purchase date at http://www.microsoftincentives.com/BigEasy4/redeem.aspx.
• Receive your partner subsidy check from Microsoft.
• Spend your subsidy funds with your Microsoft partner upon receipt. Please note that subsidy funds expire after 90 days of the check issue date.

There is a Big Easy Calculator that is available that will allow you to work on the best scenario for your situation.

How to use the calculator:

1. Select the license type for each product version. If you don’t know which license type to select, contact your partner for more information.
2. Select the product group from the second list.
3. Select the product from the third dropdown list.
4. Enter the number of licenses for each product in the worksheet below.

Increase your subsidy amount by adding more product groups and number of licenses, choosing advanced or Enterprise versions, and choosing licenses with Software Assurance (L&SA)!

The bottom line is that if you are considering upgrading, then here is something else that you can take advantage of to help offset the cost of implementing your installation. Be sure to contact us to help you make the best decision for you!

A quick look at MS Office 2010 beta system requirements

I loaded up the Office 2010 beta the other day and I am finally getting some time to play with it this weekend. So far I like it but several of my Outlook synchronizations broke (not unexpected) and I decided to take a look at what the system requirements are. The first thing that jumps out at me is the Operating System requirements. You will need at  least, Windows XP with Service Pack 3 installed. I suspect that this will be one of the reasons that we some push to new equipment. The Memory requirements (256 MB) is still low but like 2007, I wouldn’t run it with less than 2GB, which I suggest for any system right now as the bare minimum. Always remember that minimum requirements are not optimum requirements. You never really run a program at its minimum specs.

The display minimums was the other specification that jumped out at me. I am already sensitive to the screen limitations on my NetBook so I really look at these closely. Most of your 10.1 inch NetBooks have a 1024x600 screen and most of the first units, that were 8.9 inch were the same resolution. Any way, the recommended resolution is 1024 x 768 which is no problem for desktop and notebooks. Five programs will fall within the screen resolution guidelines which include Excel, Outlook, OneNote, PowerPoint and Word. That leaves Access, Publisher, InfoPath and Visio that will not work on your NetBook. Since you have probably read before that I don’t believe a NetBook is a true production machine but more of a research, communication and light writing device then maybe this isn’t a great problem. My next step is to try loading it onto my NetBook and seeing just what the limitations are.

Below are links to the Beta Versions of Office, Visio and Office Web Apps. If you click on the Office 2010 Beta image above you will be taken to the the Office 2010 support page.

Downloads Download Office Professional Plus 2010 Beta Download Visio Premium 2010 Beta Download Microsoft Office Web Apps Beta

Here is a neat Utility to turn off you touchpad while typing

TouchFreeze is a great utility for a Windows based machine that will automatically turn off your touchpad while you are typing on you notebook/netbook. If you are like me, a person with gorilla hands, you probably inadvertently   brush up against your touchpad while typing. All of sudden your cursor is in a different location on your screen and you have just added a great thought to your document but it is in the wrong place! Now you have to fix this and in doing so you now have lost your train of thought.

TouchFreeze when activated, will sit in your system tray and simply turn off the touchpad when you start typing. It’s simple, free and is an open-source program that works with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7.

Voice to Text has finally arrived on the iPhone

If you've been following me at all lately. You will notice that I am constantly looking for an application that will give me good dictation capability with voice to text recognition on my iPhone.

On the PC, I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking and these same people have developed their own iPhone application to dictate on your iPhone-and it works very, very well. In fact, I am using this program to write this article that you are reading right now! It recognizes all your commands for punctuation, so don't forget to put that in.

The interface makes it very easy to make changes during and after dictation segments. Just tap on any word on the screen that it has converted from voice to text and you will be given options to delete or replace the word with other words that might be similar to what you said.

One of the tricks is to keep your sentences short because it will only have a certain amount of memory to use for the conversion. At the end of your dictation you have the ability to send your text to the clipboard for use in another application. There are also two buttons available that will send you directly to the mail application or text messaging application.

The most useful part of this application is that it allows me to store this text in the clipboard so that I can share my dictated notes with whatever application that I want to insert in to.

The best part of this application for all of us, is that it's free. This App gets my big thumbs-up to add to your library of applications on your iPhone.

A Must Have New Jing Release

You have heard me talk about Jing in the past and now there's one more reason for downloading it.  Jing is a free software package that lets you capture and add visuals to everyday online conversations.  The new release has added the ability your screen captures to Twitter.

Use Jing to:

• Capture a picture of her computer screen
• Recorded video of your onscreen activities
• Then share via Twitter, email or instant messaging

It is available for either Windows or Mac OS X

And the best part is, It's free!  So if Twitter is one of your main stays, there is a no other way to take your Twitter stand out from your peers.

Is Dim Dim ready for Prime Time?

We are always looking for great alternatives to software applications that either cost us less or provide more function and I had hoped that Dim Dim had gotten much faster but, it still appears not to have responsiveness of some of the other virtual meeting software that is on the market today.  When I loaded all the PowerPoint presentation it had to convert the format of the file before it was usable, which is not a problem, but the 10 second or more waiting time between slide changes was a bit more than tolerable. Voice connection between systems had a slight delay that was well within acceptable limits and has good quality and clarity.  No fault found there.  But screen changes were entirely too long.

For small individual groups I still think Citrix's GoToMeeting package is the product that we all compare function to.  I will keep working and searching and we will see what comes up and maybe someday we will have a good alternative that is more reasonably priced then GoToMeeting. Though, if you really use the package it is not that unreasonably priced.

Voice to Text Recognition on an iPhone

I have been searching for an application that will allow me to use my iPhone as a dictation device and will automatically convert my voice recordings to usable text. While reQall doesn't quite fill all my needs, I am finding that it is still a pretty interesting utility that can add a lot of extra support to a hectic lifestyle.

reQall allows you to set up categories and set times for your tasks. You can have folders for categories like Shopping, To-do and Notes. It has both a Web and Phone interface so you can make changes and update your lists to help make them work even better for you. But what I like the most is the ability to add your notes, dictation style, on the fly using your iPhone and the reQall application.

There is a free version that gives you a taste of what the program can do. And then…. the Pro version adds quite a few subtle capabilities that will make this program almost indispensible to you if you are one of those people that is continuously on the go. We need all the tools to make ourselves more efficient and to operate at our peak efficiencies. You might find this is just the program to give you that extra edge. These days, it is only small things that differentiate ourselves from our competition. Here is one way to give you the ability to shine in your customer’s eyes.

The Standard Version is free but for $2.99/month, $24.99/year you may want to consider the Pro version. Here is a brief list of features found in the Pro Version:

• Add items to Google Calendar and Outlook by voice.
• See what you need to remember right here and now via the Memory Jogger.
• Group items by creating Places that have an associated geo-location (with a GPS-enabled device. If you have the new iPhone 3GS this will do that for you).
• Group items by Place even without a GPS device. For example, "Errands" or "Online Tasks" can be Places.
• Create To-Dos, Notes and Shopping List items via email.
• Have your items for Work and Home organized automatically.
• Receive reminders via text message.

I have only been using this application for a short time but already I know that when the initial trial is up I am going to spring for the Pro Version.

Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster - DVD - Lifehacker

We get a lot of questions about how to backup your DVD collection to your workstation and make them available for playback. Here is an article from Lifehacker  writer  Adam Pash describing several different software packages to put into your software arsenal to do these functions. A package that I use currently that rips a DVD and converts it automatically on the fly to a .avi file. I then pointed all of media center libraries to this directory and they are now all available to play from my Xbox and Linksys MCE units. Another trick is to add package art to the icon by dropping a .jpg image into the directory with the movie file. Be sure to change the name if the image file to folder.jpg.   Since you can’t have the same file name located in the same directory, I place each movie file in its own folder to contain the files associated with the movie.The program I am using is called Intertech DVD Converter Pro and is not free but isn’t outlandishly priced either.

I also use a program from AudialsOne4 that allows me to capture any screen video to disk and save it in any video format that I choose. This allows me to capture content from video seminars that I need to go back to in the future or that I am not able to watch at the time of the broadcast because of some other commitment. It’s a great little program that also does video conversion from one format to another or almost any kind of digital from one format to another. I use this for a lot of different types of captures and conversions all the time. So hopefully all of these different choices will help you fill out your media library and give your DVD’s a longer safer life. Happy computing!

Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster - DVD - Lifehacker

Hands-On Look at What's New in Office 2010 - Office 2010 - Lifehacker

One of my favorite sites these days for learning about new things both techy and nontechy alike is Lifehacker. Though there is a genuine bent towards the tech side of things there is a great amount of information being blogged by numerous writers about all sorts of things. However, this posting is a little on the tech side. If you are curious about some of the new features in Office 2010 that is coming out soon, here is a quick overview of the Beta that has been reviewed by Kevin Purdy. There are some interesting new features, and for those of you that have fallen in love with Windows 7, you will see better integration with the task bar and other features that I can’t live without now. Enjoy!

Hands-On Look at What's New in Office 2010 - Office 2010 - Lifehacker

Physical Memory Limits in desktop operating system

I know this is old news but I just wanted to make this easily accessible for us to use as needed.

How do you map a network subdirectory as a mapped drive in Windows 7?

Here is a simple video showing you how to map a network drive in Windows 7

Close All Windows

When I get the call in the evening telling me that it is time to come home, I want to drop what I am doing, close down my machine and get moving. So… a little help to find all the open programs and get them closed down more efficiently is a great boon to my life. If you are running Windows 7 you  have probably fallen in love with the Taskbar once you have gotten used to it but when you are closing down it is a little hard to see what all you still have open. In comes Close All Windows [NTWind Software via Addictive Tips]. Download this application and then Pin it to your Taskbar. Now one click and all your applications will close. If you have unsaved documents you will still be prompted to save so don’t worry about losing work. It doesn’t use any system resources, great!, all it does is send a close signal to all of your open windows.

You can use this with earlier versions of Windows if you add this program to your Quick Launch Bar. Works great.

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

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

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

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.

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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