How-to Guides

If you've ever encountered a download that is formatted as a UIF file there are two things you need to be aware of;

1. Ensure you trust the source of this file. At times people maliciously insert viruses and other files that may damage and compromise your PC's security.

2. In order for you to use these files you have to go through several steps before you can even view the contents.

The how-to below will list step-by-step what it is that you need to do in order to use these files. If you know of any other way or any other programs that may simplify the process, please let it be known. If you have questions or comments feel free to let me know.

I've been using Vista for some time now and through time I've found that several annoyances can easily be fixed by several short tutorials found on the internet. I have a compiled a list of these tips that have certainly improved my Vista experience, hope it does the same for you. If you have any comments/questions please let me know.

[Tip #1] Disable Unnecessary Startup Programs - Freeing up some valuable resources to improve your computers performance.

A. Go to Start > Control Panel

B. Select System & Maintenance from the Control Panel Window

C. Click on Performance Information & Tools

When using Excel and working with two data sets that differ greatly in range it can be difficult to chart those values due to the larger range of one of your data sets. A classic example of this would be your monthly data and your YTD values for each month. When you put these together in a chart the monthly data is diminished by the much larger YTD values. In order to overcome this you can assign each data set an axis. The default for all your data sets is Primary axis, you have the option of assigning your second data set to the secondary axis which makes your chart readable. Below you will find the instructions on how to do this, I used Excel 2003 for this demonstration, but it should hold true for 97-2007. If you have any questions or comments feel free to ask.

***PLEASE NOTE THIS FEATURE IS ONLY AVAILABLE WITH WINDOWS VISTA HOME PREMIUM AND WINDOWS VISTA ULTIMATE***

Vista may have many issues, but we cannot take away the fact that this operating system is bundled with a lot of useful software. Among the number of programs available is Windows DVD Maker, which does exactly what the name implies, it makes DVD's. The neat thing about this program is the ability to creates slideshows of your favorite photos to play on most DVD players in your home. So imagine, you just came back from a vacation and took hundreds of pictures, now you just pop them into Windows DVD Maker, add a title, pick a menu design, burn, and view them on your TV to share with friends and family.

Ever wanted to transfer music from your friends iPod to your computer? Have you ever lost all of the music on your computer and left with an iPod whose music you can't copy? If your answer is 'Yes' to any of these questions then you need to follow the steps detailed in this article. I found a nifty little program by the name of Music Rescue (it used to go by PodUtil) which allows you to connect to your iPod and retrieve all of your music and copy it to your computer. Description from site follows.

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If you're like me, you want to have a positive impact on the people that surround you and the world you live in. Miscrosoft through its Live Messenger service allows each and everyone of us to do just that. Microsoft has commited to share a portion of the ad revenues generated via Windows Live Messenger, so every time you start a conversation and ads are displayed, when any money is generated from those ads, a portion of that money will go to an organization of your choice. At the moment Live Messenger only supports the following organizations;

Tamir Khason recently released a neat little application when enabled manages when the Aero effects and the sidebar are activated on your Vista machine. Nick White from Microsoft has admitted to the fact that "...in our testing we've seen that turning on Aero consumes only about 1-4% more of battery life."

The program is designed to disable the Aero interface and sidebar from Vista whenever your laptop is running on battery. The programmer was kind enough to allow the user complete and total control as to when that occurs, the user has options to disable Aero and the sidebar only when the battery reaches a certain threshhold or simply when switched to battery power. The program is very straightforward and easy to use.

Microsoft just released a nifty add-on/program for us Outlook 2007 users. The new Calendar Printing Assistant for Outlook 2007 add-on allows Outlook users to print different styles of calendars previously unavailable in default Outlook installations.

The program expands on Outlooks current styles offered by allowing the user to design the calendar, add pictures, and expand on the options available to display your calendar information. For those of you who use the Franklin Covey Planning system there are several templates which resemble the look and feel of the Franklin Covey planner, so I strongly urge you to look over these templates if you're willing to switch.