Pure Salon & Spa Koramangla, Bangalore

Pure Salon & Spa Koramangla, Bangalore Led by veteran hair stylist Pure Salon & Spa offers various services from the simple hair cut and styling for women, men, kids, and brides, to vibrant hair colours, conditioning treatments, and Brazilian blowouts. Located at the heart of Koramangla, Bangalore, the salon has been around since 2015, providing professional hair treatments in a relaxed ambience. This is definitely one of our favourite hair salons in Bangalore.

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How to see who views your Facebook profile

By now, you've most likely seen the many apps and Web services claiming to let you see who's viewing your Facebook profile. Is your college ex checking up on you? Is someone from work scrolling through pictures of your beach vacation? Are your parents secretly peeking in on your private life? These apps promise the answers. Unfortunately, they don't deliver.
You can be 100 percent certain that each and every app that says "See who views your profile!" or "stalker tracker" or anything else like that is virus-laden junk. That said, there are a couple ways to get clues and insights into who's been floating around your profile. While you won't end up with the definitive list you're likely looking for, keep reading for tips and tricks that toe -- but don't cross! -- that fine line between natural curiosity and a massive breach of privacy.
Full article at HowStuffWorks.com.

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Use Resource Monitor to monitor storage performance

By Scott Lowe

When Microsoft added the comprehensive Resource Monitor tool to Windows, it added an outstanding at-a-glance tool that allows administrators to glean deep intelligence regarding the operating condition of mission critical Windows servers.
In my four-part series about the Resource Monitor, I will focus on each resource monitoring aspect of the tool: CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network. In this installment, I discuss the various disk-related metrics that you can view with Resource Monitor, explain the graphs you see, and provide some context around each metric.
For the purposes of this article, we'll use the screenshot in Figure A. This figure shows a Resource Monitor view from a production server running Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010 with all Exchange roles installed; as such, this server has significant need for storage resources that operate within acceptable boundaries. (Note: Like all of our other servers, this server is running as a virtual machine under VMware vSphere 4.1.)
Figure A

One look at Resource Monitor in Windows Server 2008 R2 (Click the image to enlarge.)
Let's start with an overall look at the console. Occupying most of the window is the statistics area, which I'll be explaining in depth. On the right side of the window are a number of graphs, each depicting a key storage-based performance metric.

In the sections below, I will provide details for each metric. I won't repeat metrics; if one type of metric appears in multiple areas, I only list it once.
Processes With Disk Activity
This section of the Resource Monitor window shows you a list of all of the running processes that are using disk resources. You are shown the name of the executable and a number of performance statistics.

• Image. Process executable file name. This is the name of the process that is actively using the disk.
• PID. The ID number associated with the process. This is useful if you want to use other utilities to manage processes, or if you want to easily match up processes with Task Manager.
• Read (B/sec). The average number of bytes read per second by the process in the past minute.
• Write (B/sec). The average number of bytes written per second by the process in the past minute.
• Total (B/sec). The average number of bytes accessed per second in the past minute.

The information you're provided in this section isn't particularly useful when troubleshooting except to show you which processes are consuming the most disk performance resources. In Figure A, you can see that the process named DPMRA.exe is doing a ton of reads from the disk.
Disk activity
This section of the Resource Monitor window provides you with more useful troubleshooting information. In particular, the response time metric is probably the most useful metric of the bunch, as it's directly observable without having to really understand the underlying storage configuration.
To the right side of this section label, you'll see two quick-glance information boxes. The green box shows you the current disk I/O (i.e., the amount of data that is being transferred right now), and the blue box lists the highest amount of active time for the disks in the system.

• File. The name of the file that is being used by the active process. You'll notice that you're pointed to the full path so it's easy to find the file.
• I/O Priority. The priority of I/O transfers.
• Response Time (ms). Disk response time in milliseconds. For this metric, a lower number is definitely better; in general, anything less than 10 ms is considered good performance. If you occasionally go beyond 10 ms, you should be okay, but if the system is consistently waiting more than 20 ms for response from the storage, then you may have a problem that needs attention, and it's likely that users will notice performance degradation. At 50 ms and greater, the problem is serious. Figure A shows that my Exchange server is seeing 5 and 6 ms response times, so the storage is doing fine as per this metric.

Storage

• Logical Disk. The drive letter associated with a disk.
• Physical disk. Which physical disk is being monitored on this line?
• Active Time (%). This shows the percentage of time that the disk is not idle and is actively serving requests. If a disk is constantly running at very, very high levels (say, more than 80%), it may point to a storage-related bottleneck. If your users are seeing performance issues, and you're seeing 100% active times, you might need faster or more disks.
• Available Space (MB). How much disk space is available on the volume?
• Total Space (MB). What is the total size of the volume?
• Disk Queue Length. Average disk queue length. The queue length metric displays the number of outstanding requests (read and write) at any given time. A high number can indicate that there are not enough disk spindles to service the needs of the application or that the existing storage is too slow to keep up with requests. However, how you define a "high number" in this context requires that you have a deep understanding for how the underlying volume is created on the SAN. Each disk that makes up the underlying volume provides additional resources that go into disk queue length (simplistically, the more disks, the higher the disk queue length can be).
  For additional complicating factors, the RAID level and stripe size you choose can affect this value as well. If you're running on a single disk system and your queue length remains consistently greater than 2, you should add more resources. If it goes beyond 5, you have serious problems that need to be addressed. If you know how many disks make up your underlying volume, multiply the number of disks by 2 to get a very rough, ballpark queue depth maximum value. So, if you're running on a 10 disk system and the queue depth is 18, you should be fine.

The graphs
The graphs are very useful tools. The top graph shows you the transfer rates between the storage and the system for the past minute. The green portion is the current overall I/O, while the blue line displays the disk active time for that period. The remaining graphs show you the queue length for each disk in your system.
I have four disks (SAN volumes) in this Exchange server. Because of the way that the underlying SAN volumes are created in my array, I have no queue length-based performance issues at all.
Scott Lowe has spent 15 years in the IT world and is currently the VP and CIO of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.

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15 Keyboard Shortcuts To Enhance Your PC Productivity

If you fancy yourself a PC power user, you know how valuable it is to keep your hands on the keyboard. Constantly switching between typing and mousing can really slow you down when you're powering through that TPS report.
Lucky for you, the wizards at Microsoft have built some time-saving (if little-known) keyboard shortcuts into their operating systems over the years, with some really handy ones gracing Windows 7 and most modern Web browsers.
If you're aiming to speed up your workflow and impress your colleagues at the same time, check out these little gems.
1. Move the cursor one word at a time
Cut through large swaths of text with this handy trick.

2. Select one word at a time
Similarly, you can highlight entire words in your text without pecking at those arrow keys.

3. Delete entire words
Bulldoze those terrible sentences more efficiently with this shortcut.

4. Select all text on the current line, relative to the cursor
Don't reach for that mouse. Instead of click-dragging the cursor, snap right or left with this fancy method.

5. Minimize all windows
Keep this macro in mind if you tend to browse Facebook at the office.

6. Cycle between windows
If you really want to show off the glitz of Windows 7, give this combo a try.

7. Lock the computer
Stepping away from the screen for a light lunch? Lock that puppy down with one swift stroke, especially if it's April Fool's Day.

8. Launch the Task Manager
Applications acting up on you? Need to check your system's resources? Skip the clicking and get into the Task Manager with this shortcut.

9. Take a screenshot of the active window only
Trimming down screengrabs can be a pain, especially if you have a lot of desktop real estate. This shortcut lets you capture only the window you're working in.

10. Rename a file
Forgo that right-clicking nonsense and give this file renaming trick a shot. It also works great if you've selected multiple files or folders.

11. Zoom in and out
This one works in a variety of applications, including browsers, word processors, and Photoshop, among others.

12. Return to default zoom
When you're ready to return to the normal view, strike this keyboard combo.

13. In browser: open a new tab
This one may be common, but it's worth mentioning if it will save users the effort of clicking up there in a mess of browser tabs.

14. In browser: reopen closed tab
This one can be a life-saver, especially if you've accidentally closed a webpage you've been searching diligently for.

15. In browser: focus cursor on URL/search field
If you need to navigate the Web quickly, this combo will get you moving in two keystrokes.

Which time-saving macros do you use at your desk? Share them with the class in the comments below.
Image credit: chromatix d-sign.

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A beginner's guide to telecom jargon

Verizon Wireless executives are just a few of the telecom insiders who love their jargon.
(Credit: Verizon Wireless)
The mobile world moves at a breakneck pace, and it's difficult to keep up--even without the technical jargon most industry insiders throw around. And they do love to toss those terms about.
Whether it's the difference between CDMA and GSM, the importance of backhaul to the speed of your connection, or what metering means, it's easy to have information blow over your head when reading about this field.
So for some light Saturday reading, we thought it would be nice to explain what exactly telecom experts are talking about when they use these terms they assume everyone understands.
4G:Blame the incessant commercials touting "blazing fast 4G service," as well as the liberal use of the term 4G--everyone thinks they've got a next-generation wireless device. According to consumer retail site Retrevo, more than a third of iPhone owners mistakenly believe they have 4G service.
There are three flavors of 4G: LTE, WiMax, and HSPA+. LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, is the Los Angeles Lakers of the 4G world, acknowledged as the fastest existing standard. It may be faster, but be wary of the lightning bolt commercials; it's not that fast. LTE is also the standard that's attracting most wireless providers, including Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and eventually Sprint Nextel--so the term isn't going away. I was the first to report that Verizon Wireless would cover 100 markets with LTE by next week.
Sprint is using an older version of 4G called WiMax. For years, WiMax was the only game in town, allowing Sprint to boast about its speed advantage. That edge has all but disappeared with the rise of LTE. WiMax is like the Philadelphia 76ers: a team with a strong history but that's faded into an also-ran.
That leaves HSPA+, which is what AT&T and T-Mobile use, as the Los Angeles Clippers of the wireless world; yeah, it's technically a 4G technology, but only begrudgingly so. Last year, T-Mobile kicked things off by renaming its HSPA+ network a 4G one, prompting AT&T to do the same. AT&T is ready to move on though; it plans to launch 4G LTE in five cities this summer.
The International Telecommunications Union, a standards body affiliated with the U.N., initially ruled that none of these technologies met its criteria for 4G. But the ITU has since backtracked and has opened up the definition to include all three. Even for the experts, it's confusing.
Churn: The word refers to the rate at which customers are running for the hills and away from a subscription service. It's also one of the critical financial metrics investors use to grade a company's performance.
Churn was a popular term to throw around this week when Netflix decided to hike up the price of its DVD plans, causing an avalanche of criticism and threats of cancellation. CNET found that 41 percent of Netflix customers polled wanted to cancel. Which is fitting, since churn is defined as "agitating with violent motion."
Cramming: It's the practice of adding third-party charges onto a phone bill. Consumers hate it because they're getting charged for services they never signed up for, and in many cases don't even know about. Regulators and carriers hate it because they have to deal with customer complaints. Earlier this week I reported that the FCC voted to crack down on the practice. Yet it continues to exist. Go figure.
NFC: Another in a long line of technology acronyms, this one stands for near-field communications. The technology allows for a quick burst of data sent from one NFC chip to another, and is the key to mobile transactions in the field. This week, PayPal showed off an NFC test at the MobileBeat conference that allowed one Nexus S smartphone to transfer funds to another by way of a simple tapping together of the devices.
Credit card companies, retailers, and technology companies like NFC because they see simplifying the payment process as another way to get money out of our wallets faster.
Throttling: No, throttling doesn't consist of physically choking users, though I imagine some carriers have at least considered this in regard to some of their more taxing customers. Throttling occurs when a customer consumes some maximum amount of data. Once that limit is reached, the carrier will slow down the customer's connection speed, dropping it to a snail's pace. This phrase popped up again when Virgin Mobile said on Wednesday that it planned to start throttling users of excessive bandwidth.
More importantly, throttling allows carriers to keep boasting that they offer "unlimited data" plans. While technically accurate, customers who face 2G speeds toward the end of the month would probably disagree.

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A common sense guide to copyright for bloggers

Copyright laws as it pertains to online content is a hot topic. Jason Keath, Founder of Social Fresh put together a common sense guide to copyright.
First, determine if the work you're copying meets these fair use rules:

• Purpose and character of the use.
• Nature of the copyrighted work.
• Amount of work used.
• Effect on the potential market.

In addition to these four determiners, Keath provides eight common sense approaches to copyright:

• Always link.
• Ask first.
• Use Creative Commons.

Read the complete common sense guide on Social Fresh.

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Know if your Gmail is being snooped

You can check if there is any unknown IP and even set Gmail to alert you if there is an unusual activity

NEW DELHI: Gmail is one of the most widely used email services and therefore is one of the leading target for hackers. However, you can easily find out if your Gmail account is being accessed without your knowledge -- from within the Gmail window itself.

Go to inbox and scroll to the bottom of the page. Look for the line that says "Last Account Activity" and click on details.

A new window will open with IP addresses used to access your account in the past 12 hours. You can check if there is any unknown IP and even set Gmail to alert you if there is an unusual activity.

From here, you can also sign-out all other open sessions of your account in any other computer/device.

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Fine-tuning Windows 7 for speed

AP Windows 7 comes loaded with a bunch of features you probably never use; so turn off the ones you don’t need.
Windows 7 is at least as speedy as Windows Vista. But that’s not exactly anything to boast about. You can throw the fastest hardware at Microsoft’s latest operating system, and it will be speedy enough. But there’s always room for improvement. The good news: with a few tweaks and some know-how, you can wring the most performance out of Windows 7, regardless of the computer you’re running it on. Here’s how.
Disable visual effects
Windows 7’s interface is laden with little visual effects and animations that, while impressive when you first see them, do little more than slow down the rate at which you can get things done.
Luckily, you can turn off most or all of the visual effects while retaining the snazzy look of Windows 7. In fact, you can turn off just the visual effects you want to and leave the rest.
To do so, open the Start menu, and type “adjust.” One of the entries that results is “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.” Click that, and Windows 7 opens the Performance Options dialog box. Make sure the Visual Effects tab is selected, and remove the check mark next to the options that say “animate,” “fade,” or “slide.” Click OK. Now windows, dialog boxes, and menus will snap into view immediately rather than gradually.
Kill UAC
User Account Control (UAC) is the feature that almost single-handedly made Windows Vista the most reviled Windows release in recent memory. UAC was originally designed as a security feature.
It keeps an eye out for potentially harmful changes to your system and prompts you to confirm something that might be a threat.
Unfortunately, under the rubric of “potential threat” fall such harmless activities as installation a new application or downloading a file from the internet that you know is safe. Microsoft wisely made UAC a bit less obtrusive in Windows 7. But best of all, it makes UAC easy to disable.
That’s why one of the first things that savvy Windows users do with Windows 7 is visit the UAC slider dialog box. Do it by opening the Start menu, typing UAC, and selecting “Change User Account Control settings.” In the resulting User Account Control Settings dialog box, move the “notify” slider all the way to the bottom, for “Never notify.” And that will be the end of the annoying UAC slowdowns.
Speed up your keyboard
Part of what can make Windows 7 — or any previous version of Windows — seem slow is the rate at which the cursor moves when you hold down a key. That’s why one of the first things you should do after a new installation of Windows 7 is to adjust the keyboard speed. Do that by opening the Start menu and typing “keyboard.” Click the Keyboard entry under the Control Panel section, and Windows 7 open the Keyboard Properties dialog box. From there, make sure the Speed tab is selected, and move the Repeat Delay slider to “Short.” Click OK, and from that point forward, Windows will react much faster when you hold down a letter within any text application.
Remove unused features
Windows 7 comes loaded with a bunch of features you probably never use. Whether you use them or not, however, they’ll slow your system down. So turn off the ones you don’t need.
Open the Start menu, and type Windows Features. Then click the “Turn Windows features on or off” entry that appears. The Windows Features dialog box opens, and from there, you can de-select any feature that you never use. Prime candidates are the “Windows Gadget Platform,” “Games,” and “Indexing Service.”
Set your PC for maximum performance
Windows 7 actually throttles down performance of certain components at certain times in order to save energy. Those components include the hard drive and processor (CPU). So if you’re more concerned with ensuring that your PC always operates at its fastest while you’re using it, you can turn off power saving features. Just open the Start menu, and type “power options.” Click the Power Options entry that appears. In the resulting dialog box, select the “Change advanced power settings” link, and use the control in the dialog box that follows to adjust your PC for maximum performance at all times.

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Firefox 5: 8 things to know

Sticking to its promise of a quick-release cycle, Mozilla has released Firefox 5, just three months after Firefox 4 made its debut in March.
Firefox 5 is now available for desktop devices running Windows, Mac, Linux, as well as for Android handsets. Firefox 4 made its debut on March 22, about a year after the release of Firefox 3.5.
Here are eight things to know about the all-new Firefox 5.

Includes 1,000 performance enhancements

According to Mozilla foundation, the Firefox 5 includes more than 1,000 improvements and performance enhancements that make it easier to discover and use all of the innovative features in Firefox.
The release adds support for several modern Web technologies that make it easier for developers to build Firefox add-ons, Web applications and websites.

Is faster

The new Firefox beta is slightly faster than previous releases, accordi

New privacy settings

Firefox 5 allows mobile users to tweak their privacy settings directly from their mobile devices. The settings page is laid out in a way that a user can exactly see which options are on and which are off.

'Do not track' goes multi-platform

Firefox for Android includes the 'Do not track' privacy feature in this release, making Firefox the first browser to support 'Do not track' on multiple platforms. The feature gives users more control over the way their browsing behaviour is tracked and used on the Web.

HTML 5 support enhanced

Most enhancements and improvements claimed by Mozilla seem to be minor bug fixes according to reviewers. Some significant changes include enhanced support for HTML5 and new support for CSS (cascading style sheet) animations.

Interface identical

Firefox 5's user interface is quite similar to Firefox 4. Mozilla is also said to have dropped a feature that it touted during the testing phase, which allowed users to change development channels from, say, the final to either Beta or Aurora, rougher builds that precede the stable editions.

Networking performance

Some other changes in Firefox 5 are said to include better spell checking in some languages; improved JavaScript, memory and networking performance. Firefox 5 also offers better Linux desktop integration and improved background tab performance.

Upgrade

All users running Firefox 4 will be offered the upgrade to Firefox 5 through the browser's update mechanism. The new release can also be downloaded manually from Mozilla's site.
The next version of Firefox is said to be on schedule for an early August release.

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Install the Hyper-V Manager feature in Windows Server 2008 R2

By Rick Vanover
Summary
Hyper-V as a standalone install doesn't provide much of an interface to manage virtual machines. Rick Vanover shows how to remotely manage a Hyper-V server.
The Hyper-V Manager feature can be installed on any Windows Server 2008 system. If the Hyper-V Server is Hyper-V 2008 R2, I recommend only attempting to manage that class of hypervisor on Windows Server 2008 R2 systems.
When it comes to deploying Hyper-V servers, there are two main options: install the standalone Hyper-V hypervisor or add the Hyper-V feature to a supported Windows Server 2008 R2 server. I'm going to take the separation approach as I venture into Hyper-V and use the standalone Hyper-V hypervisor instead of the full installation of Windows Server 2008 R2 and adding the Hyper-V role.
The Hyper-V standalone install is a single-purpose, standalone distribution. It loosely resembles Windows Server Core, and can be plugged into all of the management frameworks, including Group Policy, PowerShell, Hyper-V Manager, System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM), and Remote Management.
The Hyper-V Manager tool is the simplest way to manage a Hyper-V host, and it can be added to any server system. To add Hyper-V Manager, open Server Manager and navigate to the Features section (Figure A).
Figure A

Click the image to enlarge.
Once the feature is installed, Hyper-V Manager will be available in the Administrative Tools area of the Start Menu. From there, the first step is to connect to a remote server. Figure B shows Hyper-V Manager connected to two Hyper-V servers.
Figure B

Before you can create virtual machines on the Hyper-V hosts enumerated in Hyper-V Manager, the host networking will need to be configured. Hyper-V supports three types of networks: External, Internal and Private. These networks loosely equate to bridged, NAT, and host-only network modes from other hypervisors, respectively.
The network for the host is created as shown in Figure C. This environment does not have a VLAN tag in use, but the Configuration tab is available.
Figure C

Be sure to use a dedicated network interface for the Hyper-V networking configuration. You will find that the connection of the Hyper-V Server is removed in favor of this configuration entered for the guest virtual machine networks. Because of this the Allow Management Operating System To Share This Adapter should be unchecked. Now Hyper-V Manager is ready to deploy virtual machines.
Rick Vanover is an IT infrastructure manager for a financial services organization in Columbus, Ohio. He has years of IT experience and focuses on virtualization, Windows-based server administration and system hardware.

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What are the best social media monitoring tools?

Created by KissMetrics in partnership with oneforty.

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5 tips for backing up your data to the cloud

By Brien Posey

Summary

Cloud backups may seem like an ideal offsite storage solution. But as Brien Posey discovered, you need to do your homework before selecting a cloud backup service.

In many ways, the cloud has solved the problem of storing data backups offsite. In spite of all the marketing hype the cloud has been receiving lately, though, it is not necessarily the ideal solution when it comes to backing up your network.

Here are a few factors you may want to consider before you adopt a cloud backup solution.

1: Determine how fast your Internet connection really is
In this day and age of high-speed Internet connections, it's tempting to sign up for a cloud backup service without giving much thought to the speed of your organization's connectivity. However, it's a good idea to check with your ISP to find out how fast your connection really is.

I say this because it's common practice for ISPs to provide much higher speed for downloads than for uploads. With my own service, for example, I receive 7Mbps downloads, but I can upload data at only a maximum of 512Kbps.

Even if your Internet connectivity speed is adequate, it's a good idea to perform some speed checks to find out how well the connection is really performing. Remember that the speed quoted by your ISP is the maximum throughput you can achieve under ideal circumstances. The actual speed of your connection may vary considerably, especially if the connection is shared with others in the area.

2: Find out whether the provider throttles uploads
Before you commit to a cloud data backup solution, find out whether the cloud service provider throttles your uploads. Back around Thanksgiving, I signed up for a cloud data backup plan. I knew it was going to take forever to upload my data, given the speed of my Internet connection, but I was willing to take a chance in the interest of having a copy of my data stored offsite.

When my uploads ended up being a lot slower than I expected them to be, I read the fine print. Apparently, this particular cloud service provider allows you to upload the first 20 GB unthrottled but severely limits your upload speed after that.

3: Make sure the provider doesn't block the types of files you need to back up
Another thing I ran into with that particular cloud service provider was that even though it claims to allow you to back up an unlimited amount of data, it prevents you from uploading certain types of files. Among these file types are system files, ZIP files and video files. This proved to be a real problem for me because I create Web content for a living, and much of that content is video.

After digging through the provider's help files, I discovered that you can configure the service to back up video files. But you have to manually specify which video files need to be backed up, one folder at a time. Although I tried to do this, it ended up being so tedious that I switched service providers. My advice is to find out whether the provider you are considering restricts backing up certain types of files before you sign up for the service.

4: Take advantage of free trials
Take advantage of the free trials offered by the various backup service providers. Almost all cloud-based backup service providers will allow you to try out their service free for a couple of weeks. I highly recommend taking advantage of this offer before you pay for the service.

Using the free trial can help you find out whether the service provider throttles your connection, restricts the types of files you can back up, or does other things that may prevent you from backing up your data. For example, many cloud-based backup service providers won't allow you to back up network drives.

5: Don't use a cloud backup provider as a replacement for traditional backups
Finally, one of the best bits of advice I can give you is that you should not expect to replace your existing backup infrastructure with a cloud-based backup solution.

Right now, most of the cloud backup providers simply can't provide anything other than file-level backups. Therefore, using such a service to create a system image for bare metal restoration is out of the question. Likewise, most cloud backup providers don't support application backups for things such as Exchange Server or SQL Server.

Even if a file-level backup is all you need, a cloud-based backup still might not be a sufficient replacement for the backups you're creating right now. After all, if you ever have to perform a mass restoration, all the data will have to be downloaded from the Internet. Depending upon how much data you have and how fast your Internet connection is, such a restoration could take days or even weeks to complete.

My advice is to treat cloud-based backups as supplementary backups that are stored offsite, but continue to depend on your existing backup infrastructure as your primary means of backing up your data.

Brien Posey is a seven-time Microsoft MVP. He has written thousands of articles and written or contributed to dozens of books on a variety of IT subjects.

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Moving from Office 2003 to 2007/2010

To remain current with the world’s most widely used office suite you'll have to make the switch from MS Office 2003 to 2010
Still putting off making the switch from Office 2003 to 2007 or 2010? If so, you’re not alone. Many offices around the world, facing additional training costs, have simply stayed put with Office 2003. And many veteran 2003 users, not liking the new ribbon bar in 2007 and 2010, have said no as well.
But sooner or later, if you want to remain current with the world’s most widely used office suite, you’ll have to make the switch. When you do, you’ll face struggles with the new interface and the new file formats. Here’s how to handle both with a minimum of hassle.
Q: I have tried to get used to the ribbon bar in Word 2007, but I still get lost. Is there some kind of reference that maps Word 2003 features to Word 2007?
A: Microsoft has no doubt heard plenty of complaints like yours, especially since the company provided no way for users to return to the menu interface even of Office 2003 if they want to. So the company spent some time putting together a handy “interactive guide” (http://bit.ly/96mjd3) to Word 2007 (and 2010) commands.
The guide is actually an virtual representation of the familiar Word 2003 interface, running inside of your browser. Just use the fake interface to select a command from the menus, and the guide will show you exactly how to find the same command in Word 2007 — and, for the most part, Word 2010.
Another way you can pull up a quick reference to 2003 commands is by opening the Help menu (F1) in an Office 2007/2010 application and typing “2003 commands” in the search box.
Q: The new docx format is driving us crazy. It’s not that we can’t save documents in the new format, but sometimes we accidentally save older doc files as docx, and then the original creator of the doc files cannot read our updates. Is there a way just to revert to doc?
A: You can tell Office 2007 and 2010 to save files in the old 2003 formats by default. To do so, open an Office application like Word, and click the Office/File button in the top left-hand corner. From the resulting menu, click the Word Options button.
In the Options panel, click Save in the left-hand pane, and then from the list of options in the right—hand pane, find the drop-down list box labelled “Save files in this format.” From the options available, choose “Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc), and then click OK.
From that point on, your office application (in this case, Word) will save files in the older format.
Instead of doing this, however, it may be wiser for you to direct those still using the older doc format to download and install the Office Compatibility Pack (http://bit.ly/9W6DDb) for Office 2003.
With that installed, the older applications will not balk at the newer formats.
Q: We have a lot of files in Office 2003 formats and want to convert them all to the newer format at one time. Is there some kind of bulk conversion utility available?
A: Yes. Microsoft created a migration kit that includes a utility that will convert many older Office 2003 documents at once. The tool was created for technology administrators, but anyone can download and use it.
To get started, download and install the Office compatibility pack (http://bit.ly/9hsyAQ) from Microsoft. Once that is installed, download and install Microsoft’s Migration Planning Manager (http://bit.ly/hQPnfo). You will need to create a folder for the installation of the latter program.
Once the Migration Planning Manager has been installed, go to the Tools subfolder under the folder in which you installed Migration Planning Manager. Locate the “ofc.ini” file, and open it with a text editor such as Notepad. Once the file is up on your screen, locate the [FoldersToConvert] section, and remove the semicolon before the line that reads “fldr=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents.” Removing the semicolon makes that line active. Before you save the file, however, delete everything after “fldr=” and insert the drive and folder where you keep the documents you want to convert. For example, if you copy the documents you wish to convert to c:\convert, then you should type c:\convert after the “fldr=” prefix. The entire line should look like this: fldr=c:\convert.
Once you’ve done that, save the file. Then, from the same folder in which ofc.ini is stored, double—click the file ofc.exe. If you completed the ofc.ini file correctly, you should see “converted” status messages from the ofc.exe program as it converts your files.
Once the conversion is finished, you will find your converted files in a “Converted” subfolder under the folder in which the original (Office 2003) files were stored.

READ MORE - Moving from Office 2003 to 2007/2010

5 tips for learning how to use Server Core

By Brien Posey


As organizations work to increase the density of the virtual servers running on their host servers, many are turning to Server Core deployments.

Server Core lacks a lot of the GUI features found in more traditional Windows Server deployments. It's a lightweight server operating system, which makes it ideal for use in virtual data centers. Even so, there's no denying that Server Core can be a bit intimidating and that a learning curve is associated with managing Server Core operating systems.

In this article, I will provide five tips for learning how to use Server Core.

1: Set up a lab machine
Without a doubt, the best advice I can give you is to set up a few lab machines and install Server Core. That way, you can experiment with configuring and managing the operating system without having to worry about harming your production systems.

As you do, don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. The deeper you dig into Server Core on your lab machines, the better equipped you will be to manage Server Core deployments in the real world.

2: Understand the difference between the command line and PowerShell
I have read several blog posts that have incorrectly reported that administrators must use PowerShell cmdlets to manage Server Core operating systems. Although Server Core is managed from the command line, there is a difference between the command line and PowerShell.

The command line traces its roots back to DOS and has existed in one form or another in every version of Windows ever released for the X86 / X64 platform. Although some command -ine commands will work in PowerShell, PowerShell commands will not work in a command-line environment.

The command line is the primary interface for managing Server Core. In fact, PowerShell isn't even natively supported on Windows Server 2008 Server Core servers (although there is an unofficial workaround that can be used to add PowerShell support). PowerShell is natively available on Server Core servers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2, but it's not installed by default. Microsoft Support provides instructions for enabling PowerShell.

3: Check out the available graphical utilities
Even though the whole point of Server Core is that it's supposed to be a lightweight server OS without a GUI, it actually does have a GUI. Several graphical utilities can help you with the initial server configuration process.

The best of these utilities (in my opinion) is Core Configurator 2.0, an open source utility that's available as a free download. It's designed to help you to do things such as naming your server, configuring its network settings, and licensing the server.

In addition, Microsoft includes a configuration utility called Sconfig with Windows Server 2008 R2. Simply enter SCONFIG.CMD at the command prompt, and Windows will launch the Server Configuration utility. This utility is similar to the Core Configurator, but its options aren't quite as extensive. The Server Configuration utility will help you to do things like joining a domain or installing updates.

4: Don't forget about graphical management tools
When you manage a normal Windows 2008 server, you use built-in management utilities, such as the Active Directory Users And Computers Console and the Service Control Manager. Although such utilities connect to the local server by default, they're designed to let you manage other servers on your network, including servers that are running Server Core.

Even though Server Core operating systems don't come with a comprehensive suite of management utilities, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from connecting to a core server from another server's management consoles and managing that core server in exactly the same way that you would if it were running a graphical Windows Server operating system.

5: Learn Server Core's limitations
Because Server Core is a lightweight server operating system, it's not suitable for all purposes. Plenty of third-party applications simply will not run on a Server Core deployment.

In addition, many of the roles and role services that are often run on traditional Windows Server 2008 R2 servers are not supported on Server Core deployments. The actual roles that are supported by Server Core vary depending on the edition of Windows you are installing.

For instance, Windows Server 2008 R2 Web Edition supports only three roles, while the Datacenter and Enterprise Editions support 11 roles:

• Active Directory Certificate Services
• Active Directory Domain Services
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Service
• BranchCache Hosted Cache
• DHCP Server
• DNS Server
• File Services
• Hyper-V
• Media Services (this role must be downloaded separately)
• Print Services
• Web Services (IIS)

Microsoft provides a full list of the roles that are supported by the various editions of Windows Server 2008 R2.

Brien Posey is a seven-time Microsoft MVP. He has written thousands of articles and written or contributed to dozens of books on a variety of IT subjects.

READ MORE - 5 tips for learning how to use Server Core

10 tricks for Microsoft Word

Sure, you’ve been using Word for forever, and sometimes it’s tough for an old – well, “mature” - dog to learn new tricks, but here are few tricks from the guys over at Maximum PC that will wow the groupies gathered around your cubicle.

Be selective with how you select
You already know that double-clicking selects a single word, and you probably figured out that triple-clicking selects an entire paragraph. But if you just want to select a single sentence, hold down Ctrl and click on any word. To select an entire table, hold down Alt and double-click.
Add a comment
When a friend or family member sends you a document to proofread, don't waste your time writing a lengthy email detailing all the horrendous mistakes you found; mark up their Word file instead. Highlight a portion of text, click the Review tab in the Ribbon bar, and select New Comment.
Use the built-in thesaurus
You don't need to hop online to use a thesaurus, the folks in Redmond had the good sense to bundle one in Word. To use it, highlight an entry and press Shift+F7. Pretty simple, right? Or maybe we should say it's trouble-free, straightforward, effortless, uncomplicated, or painless.

More tips at Maximum PC via Gizmodo.

READ MORE - 10 tricks for Microsoft Word

5 things you should know about IPv6

Many web surfers don't know it, but the introduction of new internet address standards might change the way they get online.

Since the supply of usable addresses governed by the IPv4 standard (internet protocol, version 4) has been exhausted, IPv6 has now been introduced. This will allow a previously impossible variety of addresses, says Christoph Meinel, a professor at Germany's Hasso Plattner Institute.

But what does this change mean for everyday surfers? Here's an overview.

Why are IP addresses necessary?

In order for internet-capable devices to share information, they need a unique machine-readable address. These addresses are assigned based on a standard of internet protocols.
But, since humans have a hard time remembering these strings of numbers, websites are also labelled with domain names, like www.google.com. When these addresses are typed into browsers, special servers translate them into IP addresses for the benefit of the computers.

What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?

Until now, IP addresses have been assigned in blocks of four numbers with up to three numerals each: 217.79.215.248, for example. The new IPv6 standard won't convert the numbers into the decimal system, rather a hexadecimal system, recognized by its combination of numbers and letters. The new standard can be recognized by its eight blocks, separated by colons -- 2001:db8:0:0:0:0:1428:57ab, for example.

Will my PC be able to process new standard?

In most cases, yes. But an IPv6-capable operating system is a prerequisite. Those can be found in any Windows system post Vista. There are ways to install

Will my DSL access support the new standard?

In most cases, no. Contemporary routers, like the ones provided by telecommunications companies when DSL packages are ordered, are still set for the old IPv4 standard. In some cases, IPv6 can be added with a firmware update. When purchasing a new router, make sure it supports IPv6.

Will there be problems during transition?

Generally, no. Internet use shouldn't be affected after the switch -- at least that's what providers are promising. Those providers have modified their network so that data packets reach all users whether they are using IPv4 or IPv6 standards, a method called dual-stack application. Alternatively, software solutions, like those based on tunnel technology, can be used.

READ MORE - 5 things you should know about IPv6

How to Wipe Yourself Off the Grid

By: Eric Griffith

Here are some tips on how to make the life changes necessary to completely unplug from the grid and disappear from the digital world.

There are lots of reasons to unplug from the grid. And I'm not talking about the electrical grid. I mean the "grid" as in the whole digital world. Maybe you've had it up to here (picture my hand at my forehead) with all the digital flotsam that inundates you every day from work e-mail to social network nattering. Perhaps you need to go on the lam (and we're not going to judge your reasons why). Maybe you really need to get away from someone who makes you crazy or, quite seriously, from someone else's abuse.

The reasons are yours. However, we're here to tell you, it isn't going to be easy. Just by virtue of reading this story on PCMag.com, we can guess you're probably at a computer that has an IP address that can be tracked. And that's where the problems begin. Cell phones, credit card purchases, travel check-ins, and even just a drive through a toll booth are all ways that you can be traced. And it's not just by Big Brother, but individuals as well. Skiptracers and private eyes don't need much more than what they can access online to get to you if you continue to live digitally even after you left your old life behind.

So what do you do to truly disappear? I warn you in advance, it's not pretty. Picture every movie or TV show you've seen about witness protection programs and add-in the extra dash of paranoia that comes from not having U.S. marshalls on your side. Then get ready to live like you've never lived before. Whether you need to go on the run or you just want to settle down into a less digital life, here's how to get lost.

Digital Dos and Don'ts

Can you really get off the grid and still live digitally? Probably not. If you retain your digital life, you're going to leave breadcrumbs. The only way to stay completely anonymous is to turn it ALL off. That means no cell phones, no credit cards, no Web surfing. You can't even turn on a computer.

However, if you can't handle that, here are some options that can keep you online and, perhaps, off the radar.

1. Lose the Cell Phone
It might be your digital lifeline, but when you're trying to hide, your cell phone is a digital bull's eye. Those with the access can easily triangulate your position based on your cell signal. You don't even need to make a call, as phones are always talking to towers to get the best signal available. A built-in GPS only makes it easier.

If you can take out the battery, that'll be all she wrote. And you can always pop it back in for a true emergency. You can also leave the phone somewhere to misdirect tracers. The latter is best if you've got a phone with a battery you can't access (iPhones are not for fugitives).

You don't have to go without phone access completely. Buy some pre-paid phones on the cheap at a department store or gas station. Give one to your most trusted friend or loved one and keep the other. That way, only the two of you can talk or text. This could get more difficult, as Congress proposed a bill last year to ban selling anonymous pre-paid phones to fight terrorism. Right now, though, you can still get one without showing ID in most states.

In addition, get some portable, solar powered chargers for your gadgets, so you don't have to rely on the outlets. Powermonkey eXplorer has plugs for just about every kind of phone and they don't need much light to charge a device.

2. Make Purchases Using Gift Cards
It's a little cruel to include links in this article to products you can only buy online; but it's not impossible to make Web purchases while off the grid. Use your cash to purchase credit card gift cards, such as Visa or American Express. They're available just about anywhere. You can use them for purchases online and off and then chuck them after they're used up. (Try to rotate where you get deliveries.)

3. Forget Being Social
It's time to give up on Facebook and Twitter. Seriously. Just walk away. If you can't go cold turkey, create anonymous accounts from remote locations. Friend a few bots to keep your number of friends/followers high for your psychological fitness, since you, by definition, don't have any friends at this point. And for the love of all that's holy, don't friend or follow people you actually know.

via http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376023,00.asp

READ MORE - How to Wipe Yourself Off the Grid

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