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Productivity

What does it mean to use technology productively? Which apps and gadgets make your work easier? How to personalize the computers and other gadgets you’re using?

review Book Review - Microsoft Office Professional 2013 Step By Step

Book Review - Microsoft Office Professional 2013 Step By Step

Years ago, when I bought Microsoft Word for DOS 5.0, it came with three manuals in the box: One to explain the program, one to walk the user through creating printer drivers, and one for the built-in programming language. And some people think that those old DOS programs weren't sophisticated. :) Now, of course, there is the Microsoft Office suite of programs, all of
article What's New in Windows 8.1 Public Preview (codename

What's New in Windows 8.1 Public Preview (codename "Blue")?

Windows 8.1 Public Preview is now available for download and it brings many changes to Windows 8. There's lots of new stuff coming in this update and all of it is good. While many of you would think that Windows 8.1 is mostly about touch and tablets, you would be very wrong to think so. Windows 8.1 packs lots of upgrades for traditional PC
tutorial Introducing Windows 8: Customize the Look of the Start & Lock Screens

Introducing Windows 8: Customize the Look of the Start & Lock Screens

Changing your Desktop wallpaper in Windows 8 is exactly the same procedure you've seen in Windows 7. While the choice to customize your Desktop is a given, Windows 8 goes farther than previous versions of Windows by giving you two more things to customize: the Lock Screen and Start screen. These settings aren't accessible by right-clicking the Desktop, which is what most new users
tutorial The Windows Experience Index - How to Use it & Interpret the Results

The Windows Experience Index - How to Use it & Interpret the Results

Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft includes the Windows Experience Index in its Windows operating systems. According to Microsoft, "the Windows Experience Index measures the capability of your computer's hardware and software configuration and expresses this measurement as a number called a base score". Wonder what that really means? This article will explain how Windows calculates the Windows Experience Index score and its correlation to
review Reviewing the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000

Reviewing the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000

As I've mentioned before (bet I've put you to sleep with it, too) :) I love Microsoft Natural ergonomic keyboards. As someone who types both fast and frequently, having an ergonomic keyboard has made a major difference for me over the years. They do take some getting used to, and after you get used to it, typing on a straight keyboard can feel somewhat
tutorial 4+ Free Tools for Making Remote Connections from Macs to Windows PCs

4+ Free Tools for Making Remote Connections from Macs to Windows PCs

When I was asked to update our 2010 article about connecting remotely to a PC from a Mac, I thought it would be a fairly simple task. However, since that article was written, Microsoft has dropped support for their Remote Desktop Connection software for Macs. While there are anecdotal reports of it working on OS X Lion, it definitely will not work on OS
tutorial How to Use Special Characters in Windows with Character Map

How to Use Special Characters in Windows with Character Map

What do you do when you have to insert special characters that can't be found on your keyboard? You use the Character Map tool found both in Windows 7 and Windows 8. It allows you to insert scientific notations, mathematical operators, currency symbols and characters from languages like Japanese Hiragana , Katakana, Korean Hanji and others. In this tutorial, I will show how to
tutorial How to Restore Windows 8 to Its Initial Clean State Using Reset

How to Restore Windows 8 to Its Initial Clean State Using Reset

In previous versions of Windows, the only tools available for restoring Windows to a previous state were System Restore and Windows Backup. Even though they are useful tools, you cannot use them to restore Windows to its initial, clean state. You have to perform a manual reinstallation of the operating system. And that is a bit of a pain. Windows 8 introduces a great
tutorial What is the Public Folder & How to Use it?

What is the Public Folder & How to Use it?

The Public folder was first introduced in Windows Vista and it has appeared in every version of Windows since. It is not much of a feature - just a folder with a slightly special setup that can be useful in certain scenarios. To help you understand what the Public folder is, how to use it, and when it is useful to use it, we
review The Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse Review - Is it Worth Buying?

The Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse Review - Is it Worth Buying?

I've never been a fan of trackpads. I wanted to find a good mouse to attach to my netbook so I could turn off the trackpad and type in peace. I've been experimenting with Microsoft mice (is the plural of a computer mouse "mice" or "mouses" or what?) and this is the first of a series of articles about the quest for the perfect