Tag: advice

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A last migration to Vista, starting with Windows Easy Transfer

What a week. There are so many things going on at the office right now, with a number of meetings and reviews, and we’re just about to kick off a set of meetings to discuss (the continuing efforts of) how we can improve upon satisfying our customers and partners. (hello to all who are making the trip… dress for cool but sunny spring weather.) More on that next week.


Tonight after spending a rousing evening with 22 eight and nine year olds at my son’s ninth birthday party (at a local “Inflatable Party Zone“) and finally getting our boys to wind down, I began the migration of one of my last Windows XP machines at home to Windows Vista. As I ran Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor previously, I downlaoded and installed Windows Easy Transfer for Windows XP, a utility that helps move the files and settings on your current Windows XP (or even for PCs running Windows 2000 or Vista) to your new Windows Vista PC.



“Download Windows Easy Transfer for your Windows XP-based PC so you can automatically copy your files, photos, music, e-mail, settings, and more to your new Windows Vista based PC. This software enables you to transfer data with Easy Transfer Cables or across a network, external drive, or CD/DVD.” 


My plan is to use Windows Easy Transfer to copy the data to an external drive and then move it to my new computer.


Interestingly enough, after downloading the app, I noticed the following…



What Others Are Downloading


Others who downloaded Windows Easy Transfer for Windows XP also downloaded:

  1. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0
  2. Windows Vista Hardware Assessment
  3. Virtual PC 2007
  4. Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0
  5. Microsoft Network Monitor 3

What I found interesting was that the Windows Easy Transfer Companion (Beta) wasn’t listed as a recommended programme on the Windows Easy Transfer download page. When you download this beta app, you’re pointed to “Windows Easy Transfer for Windows XP” as something that others downloaded. Windows Easy Transfer Companion helps transfer programs from a Windows XP PC to a new PC running Windows Vista. Programs can be transferred with an Easy Transfer Cable or over a network connection (I’ll use the latter, as I have a cross-over Ethernet cable handy).


Now it’s off to run the apps on this machine.

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Link: stop spam from foreign countries in Outlook (Lifehacker.com)

This from Lifehacker.com on stopping spam from foreign countries using Outlook…



Stop spam from foreign countries


outlook%20blocking.png 


Reader John discovered a way to virtually eliminate spam from his Outlook inbox: top-level domain blocking.


It’s known that most spam (particularly malware such as keyloggers) originates overseas (Estonia, Moldavia, China, Poland, etc.) By blocking email from most of the undeveloped world, I’ve successfully reduced spam by 95 percent in the past year. In Outlook, click Actions > Junk E-Mail > Junk E-Mail Options. Click the International tab, then the Blocked Top-Level Domain List button. Now select the countries you wish to block.

Killer solution! Before I hooked up with SpamArrest, the foreign e-mails used to drive me nuts. This filtering takes about 30 seconds to complete and should keep a ton of unwanted gunk out of your inbox. Care to share your favorite anti-spam solution? You know where: the comments!

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Your questions: What’s the best way to shutdown a Zune and maintain battery life?

This in the mailbag over the weekend… a question that I didn’t know the answer, and one that benefits my soon-to-be nine-year-old son….



“I have a Zune and when I turn it off by using the play/pause button down, the battery life seems to die after a couple of days. What’s the best way to shutdown a Zune and maintain battery life?”


Here is Josh Goldman’s entry on “Zune’s Secret Shutdown Extends Battery Life” from the crunchgear blog…



“Instead of holding the pause/play button down till the screen goes dim, try holding down the down button on the directional pad along with the Back button at the same time.

“This sends the Zune into a deeper state of offness. It takes just a few more seconds to get up and running again (and I mean only a few) and it’s a fresh restart, so it opens up to the home screen, not what was playing before you shut it off. But hey, seems like a small price for some extra Zune-time.”


Also see a simple trick for extending Zune battery life (from zunerama)



And of course, the Zune is now available in Pink…


 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

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Your questions: how do I edit video on my computer?

This in today’s mail…



“How do I edit video on my computer?“


First, a suggestion… want to know how something works? A good first stop I use at home is howstuffworks.com – it’s full of useful information on may different topics.


Now, for home video editing, click here for how computers work (many subsections), with this entry focused on computer-based video editing…



How Video Editing Works, by
Marshall Brain and Roxanne Reid 

 

Inside This Article



See also my posts on…



…and other useful posts on the web…



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Laptop caution: coffee isn’t the only thing that may burn your lap

This from Harry McCracken on MSN Tech and Gadgets on the disclaimer that graces the bottom of the latest Apple laptops… “Be careful where you put your notebook–it could become too hot to handle.“



“Do not leave the bottom of the computer in contact with your lap or any surface of your body for extended periods. Prolonged contact with your body could cause discomfort and potentially a burn.” That’s Apple’s cautionary advice about allowing its notebooks to touch your person, but the problem isn’t just a Mac thing. With all the powerful technologies packed inside today’s notebooks, the bottoms of many portables get hot, hot, hot. Long-term, using a laptop on your lap could be hazardous to your health–or at least your comfort.”


Perhaps we’ll see “caution” signs and more disclaimers on the bottoms of laptops such as not to follow the route of the hapless consumer that spills a cup of hot coffee. Or just giant laptop-sized cardboard wrappers similar to the cup insulators I find at my local Tully’s Coffee.


When my son found that his computer was warm to the touch on his lap, he used my old lap desk, as recommended in the MSN article. It maintains an air space and enough room between the bottom of the PC and the surface it sits upon: and in the case of a lap, it most likely prevents blocking of much-needed ventilation ports and fan exhausts.