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RSS FeedSeptember 20th, 2010
Avast TLS warning
Immediately after adding a new secure POP email account, my friendly Avast gives this unfriendly warning. Phew. Just read about it here and there, and it seems that the problem is all too common, and the solution really is to leave the email client use unencrypted connection. It is not really a security threat as Avast provides security itself.
Avast’s message is kind of perfect in this case – no complaints about that though.
August 16th, 2010
Two Windows 7 Tips and Tricks
Have been using Windows 7 for about a year now, and following two features I find very handy:
- Win-P: This handy short cut opens the display menu – you can choose whether to display on computer only, on projector only, both etc.
Win-M and Show Desktop mouse click area: To the right of the notifications area (to the right of the clock), there is a empty rectangular area. If you click on this area, it minimizes all the windows, and essentially works the same as Win-M. This used to be the “Show Desktop” icon usually found in the Quick Launch area of the Windows XP.
And of course, Win-L is the lock. You can customize the power settings so that closing the lid of the laptop doesn’t do anything, and clicking on the power button hibernates. Comes in handy when moving between offices and meetings, as I do quite a bit.
March 10th, 2010
Outline numbering in Word 2007
You are writing a professional grade long document consisting of many sections, subsections and whatnot. You would like the sections, subsections and subsubsections to be automatically numbered, you know, like 1, 2, 2.1, 2.2, 3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3. You don’t want to have to put the numbers yourself, which will be ugly and hard to maintain as the document takes shape over next few hours. Rather, the software should handle this for you. So, how do you manage? The solution is the “outline numbering” feature in Word.
Some of my coworkers continue to struggle with this feature and curse Word (which is a bit justified since the software should be easy to use), but I have not yet seen them do one web search on this phrase: Outline numbering in Word 2007. I think it results in more than 2007 hits. 
. Here is my quick version anyway.
- Place the cursor on any heading 1.
- Make sure you are on the “Home” tab of the Ribbon, and find the “Multilevel List” in the “Paragraph” button group – typically, this is the third button in the group.
- Select the multilevel list that shows grayed out “Heading 1″, “Heading 2″, etc. after the numbers (see the image).
Enjoy.
January 24th, 2010
Tips on dealing with jet lag
I finally got around to posting those tips, but since they don’t belong just to software, I posted them to my “life blog“.
December 30th, 2009
Yay, power line networking!!
People, I know this technology has been around for 20 years, but I finally bought into it, and just got the Netgear XEB1004
The idea is of course very simple, power line networking is a mechanism to connect computers (or other communicating devices) in your home by using the electrical power network in the home. I have a cable modem and an attached router in the basement. So, rather than bringing a wire to the main floor, I simply plug in the cable into one unit of the Netgear XEB1004, and plug in that unit into the power network. It superimposes the communication signal on top of the power 110V signal. Then wherever I need the signal (say on the main floor or on the top floor), I connect the other unit of the Netgear XEB1004, and that that gives me a copy of the signal back, which I can connect back into the other communication device (say the Roku or the p
rinter). Here is a small schematic of what I did. As you can probably imagine, it is so much better than running wires through the house, or said differently, we already have the power cables running through the house, so if it is possible, why not use it!
This may very well be the best thing that has happened to my home since WiFi or sliced bread!
Don’t let me stop you from reading more about power line networking on Wikipedia.