February 4, 2009

E-mail Done Your Way

Do you use Yahoo!, Hotmail or AOL as your main e-mail program? If so, let me ask you this: have you ever switched over from Outlook Express to one of those because you thought it would be a better e-mail experience? If you answered yes, do you miss Outlook Express and all it had to offer? Okay, enough questions. If you said yes again, keep reading, because this is the tip for you!

If you would like to continue using your Yahoo!, Hotmail or AOL account, but prefer to use it with Outlook Express, there's good news, because you can do that! You can use both of the e-mail programs you're familiar with together to create your own e-mail heaven. Here's how:

Yahoo!

The first thing you have to do is get your Web based Yahoo! account into a POP account so that Outlook Express can understand it. The best program for that is probably YPOPS. It's easy to use and you will be able to access all of your e-mail safely with it. You can download YPOPS here. Once you have it downloaded, get it up and running and then open Outlook Express. Go to Tools, Accounts, Add, Mail.

Now, type in the name you want to use and click Next. On the next screen, you'll want to enter your Yahoo! e-mail address and click Next again. Ensure that POP3 is selected under the section that says "My incoming server is a (blank) server" and enter in "localhost" under the part that says "Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP or HTTP) server." Type in the same thing ("localhost") where it says "Outgoing mail (SMTP) server" and then click Next.

On the following screen, type in your Yahoo! mail username under the "Account name" section. If you're not sure what your username is, it's just the beginning part of your e-mail address. Next, type in your Yahoo! mail password (whatever it may be). Click Next and then click Finish. Now, for the next part, highlight "localhost" in the Internet Accounts window and choose Properties. Then type "Yahoo! Mail" under Mail Account. That's it! Click OK and then click Close.

Your Yahoo! e-mail will then be brought in through Outlook Express and you can enjoy all the features. You can also go back to your YPOPS account and change some settings within that, such as your bulk mail folder, sent messages, deleted messages, etc. Just double click on the YPOPS icon and change whatever you want.

Hotmail

For your Hotmail account, you'll still need a POP program that OE can understand. For that, FreePOPs is recommended and you can download it here. 10mg cialis Once that's done, go to the Start menu, All Programs and choose FreePOPs so that it will be open and ready. Next, open Outlook Express and go to Tools, Accounts, Add, Mail.

Next, type in the name you want to use and click Next. On the next screen, you'll want to enter your Hotmail e-mail address and click Next again. Ensure that POP3 is selected under the section that says "My incoming server is a (blank) server" and enter in "localhost" under the part that says "Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP or HTTP) server." For the "Outgoing mail (SMTP) server" section, type in your ISP's mail server. (That's usually the same server you have used before with any non-Hotmail account). Click Next when you're done.

Now, enter in your complete Hotmail e-mail address under the "Account name" area and type in your Hotmail password. Click Next and then click Finish. Now, go back and highlight the new Hotmail account you created under the Internet Accounts list and choose Properties. Go to the Advanced tab and enter "2000" into the "Server Port Numbers/Incoming mail (POP3)" section. Click OK and Close. You can now start receiving your Hotmail e-mail in Outlook Express and you can also go back to FreePOPs and change your settings to fit your preferences.

AOL

We have done a tip on using AOL in Outlook Express before and you can read the complete version here. But the basics are that AOL allows any e-mail client that has IMAP support to send and receive e-mail. Well, it just so happens that Outlook Express is one of those programs.

So, open Outlook Express and go to Tools, Accounts, Add, Mail. Type in your name and click Next. Now, enter in your AOL e-mail address and click Next again. For the "My incoming mail server is" section, choose IMAP and under the "Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP) server" area, type "imap.aol.com" (without the quotes). Now, in the "Outgoing mail (SMTP) server" box, type "smtp.aol.com."

Next, under the "Account name" area, enter in your AOL screenname, which will be the beginning part of your e-mail address. Then type in your AOL password and click Next and then Finish. Under the Internet Accounts window, highlight "imap.aol.com" and choose Properties. Go to the Advanced tab and enter "587" under "Server Port Numbers for Outgoing Mail (SMTP)."

Now, go on over to the IMAP tab and make sure the line that says "Store special folders on IMAP server" is unchecked. Click OK when you're done. Close that window out and choose Yes for the next option. That will then start the download of the AOL folders list into Outlook Express. Click OK when that's done and you're all set!

Keep in mind that your AOL e-mail will stay on the server, so you should go in and visit your regular AOL account every once in awhile, just to keep it cleared out. Other than that, you can go and enjoy your AOL e-mail while using Outlook Express.

There you have it. All the benefits of your favorite e-mail programs rolled into one!

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MS Word – What Line Was That?

Ever try to communicate with someone about an MS Word document and wish you had line numbers to refer back to?

What a great thought! Line numbers. Now, if you could only get Word to automatically number the document lines for you.

Well, I have good news! Numbering lines is exactly what we're going to get Word to do for us today!

For who makes cialis older versions of Word, line numbers are part of the Page Setup settings (File menu, Page Setup choice).

You're then looking for the Layout tab.

In the bottom section, tell Word where to apply the line numbers (whole document, this point forward or if you selected some text before you began, selected section) and click on the Line Numbers button.

Side Note: If you start with selected text and choose to number just that portion, Word will automatically put a page break both before and after the selected text. If you choose to number the lines from this point forward, Word will then insert a page break before the numbers begin.

Now, back to business! When the Line Numbers window opens, you need to check the "Add line numbering" option.

That choice will activate the rest of the window. Here you can make decisions regarding how to number (every line, every two lines, every five lines, etc.), what number to start with and how far to place the numbers from the text. Don't forget to make a choice at the bottom regarding continuous numbering throughout the document or restarting (at a page or section break).

When you've made all your choices, click OK.

Click OK again to exit the Page Setup window.

Now, for those of you using Word 2007, things aren't quite as hard to find.

You simply need the Page Layout tab on the ribbon, Page Numbers button.

When you click on that button, you'll find a list of choices that are pretty self-explanatory. If you want to get to the choices shown above for other versions of Word, choose "Line Numbering Options." That will take you to the trusty Page Setup dialogue window and things will work the same as they do in other versions of Word.

Word 2007 users also need the same side note as everyone else: If you start with selected text and choose to number just that portion, Word will automatically put a page break both before and after the selected text. If you choose to number the lines from this point forward, Word will then insert a page break before the numbers begin.

Whichever version you're using and whatever route you take to get there, once your choices are made and you've returned to the document, you'll find that the lines are neatly numbered and easy to reference!

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System Tray

As you may recall, we have mentioned the term "system tray" in several of our tips, but we've never really explained exactly what it is. I guess I assumed most computer users know what where to buy cialis online it is, but I must be wrong, because several of you have e-mailed me about it within the last few weeks. So, I want to take this time to apologize for never writing a tip on it before. It should have been covered way back in the very beginning. But hopefully I'll make up for lost time today. Let's check it out!

Okay, so what is the system tray? Basically, the system tray is located at the very bottom of your desktop in the taskbar (the long bar that runs all the way across your desktop). If you look along the taskbar, you'll see some icons in the Quick Launch area, then you have some open space for any applications you have open and then on the very far right, you'll see where the system tray sits.

The system tray contains the clock icon, the volume icon and various other icons, depending on what all you have installed on your computer. Usually, your antivirus program icon will be there, it's where your printer icon shows up, your modem icon is there, the safely remove hardware icon sits there and so on. If you need to use any of the items in your system tray, all you have to do is double click on the icons and the programs will open. So, as you can see, the system tray is home to a lot of important applications on your PC. And now you know all about it. Yes!

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UnChrome

That's right, I said UnChrome! I don’t know about you, but I don't use Google Chrome very much anymore, because I’m a bit concerned that Google is collecting my information and storing it. Don't get me wrong, Chrome is a great Web browser, but I just don’t feel the safest using it. Luckily, the other day, I stumbled across a great piece of software called UnChrome. Apparently, Google Chrome identifies where can i get cialis its users by their IDs and then UnChrome comes along and removes them. Here’s how it all works!

1.) First, click here to download UnChrome (make sure Google Chrome is closed first).

2.) Next, click Run (Internet Explorer) or click Save File and run the application by double clicking on it (Firefox).

3.) This screen will then pop up:

4.) Click Remove Unique ID Now and then click OK to confirm you’ve already closed out the Chrome browser.

5.) Success! The screen will then change to look like this:

You can now browse with Chrome without being identified by Google. Oh yeah!

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Flash Drive defrag?

Q:
I have accumulated several flash drives over the years and I was just wondering if I should ever defragment them. I know we have to do it for our hard drives, but are flash drives the same? Please explain!

A:
Wow, what an excellent question! I know several of you use flash drives, so this is one that's going to help a lot of you out. I'm going to start today by saying you're absolutely right when you said we all what is cialis need to defrag our hard drives on a regular basis. That's a given. But when you think about doing the same for flash drives, it turns into a completely different situation. So, come along with me as we delve into the world of flash drives and defrags!

The simple answer to today's question is: you should never defrag a flash drive. Does that surprise some of you? Well, let me explain! Let's first talk a little about hard drives. The files you have stored on your hard drive are usually saved in several little pieces, often in groups of 512 bytes. Now, those chunks of data are usually never placed next to each other or even remotely close to each other. Therefore, your files are generally spread out all over your hard drive, which is why defragging is so important.

The whole defrag process is done through a read/write head that rearranges your files and places them back together for you. That way, when you need to access a certain file, everything is put back together and your computer doesn't have to work as hard to find what you're looking for. Defragging simply helps speed up your system when you need to open a certain file. Yep, that's why it's so vital that you defrag on a regular basis (at least once a month or so).

On the other hand, flash drives do not have a read/write head, so if you were to defrag one, you wouldn't get any extra performance benefits from it whatsoever. Basically, without a read/write head, flash drives don't have to work any harder to find your files. Your files can be laid out in any order and your flash drive will still be just as fast when finding them for you. Still not convinced? Then keep reading!

Another reason why you should never defrag a flash drive is because flash memory wears out over time. Basically, the more you write (saving files, etc.) to your flash drive, the shorter its lifespan will be. And since defragging is a huge write process, every time you do it, you're adding thousands of extra writes to your device that just aren't necessary. So, if you've been continuously defragging your flash drives, you should stop. If you want your flash drive to last you a long while, simply stop the defrags. You won't get any benefit from it and you'll just end up with a broken down flash drive for no reason at all. Go and defrag your hard drive instead!

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