Dress Up Your Yahoo Inbox

One of the features of Yahoo! Mail’s Inbox re-design makes it a little easier to add themes. People who complain about the plainness of Outlook.com, should really enjoy having a dressed-up inbox with just a couple of clicks. Here’s how it works:

Open your Yahoo! inbox and look down in the right lower corner.

At the very bottom, you’ll see this very small little symbol that looks a bit like a mountain with the moon over it if you look very closely. It is TINY.

When you roll your cursor over it, you’ll see options like these for choosing inbox themes.

You can select from a range of simple color combos or photographs by using the arrow to scroll through. You have a choice of everything from a puppy to patterns to landscape shots.

You simply click on the theme and click back to the inbox and it’s set. Here’s an example of a solid color.

Here’s a puppy. Awwwww….

This is a super-simple way to change up your inbox.

~ Rohith

Lately when I print a article or recipe from a web site it prints so small that I have to use a magnifier to read how to I get normal every day print?

When you print a web a webpage, your browser shrinks the content to fit the width of a standard 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper. With screen content getting wider, that can make the font really, really small.

One tip is to always make sure you choose the printer-friendly version of the article or recipe if one is available. When you’re ready to print, make sure you choose Print Preview to get an idea of what your document is going to look like.

Then you’ll be able to see what portion of the webpage will appear on the printed page and get an idea of what it’s going to look like.

If you’ve selected Shrink to fit page, it’s possible that your type size could be reduced significantly to fit on the printed page.

This recipe looks pretty small when Shrink to fit is selected.

You can select the drop-down menu and choose to have the web page print at a larger size.

At 100% the type is much bigger.

However, the page could be cut off when it prints. I copy a lot of recipes from online and I prefer just to copy the text and past it in a document. I highlight the text and right click to select copy.

Then I create a document in a program like Word Pad or Word and paste the text.

Then you can adjust the text size accordingly. It also gives you a file on your computer with that recipe in case you lose the printed copy or forget where you saw it online.

Hope one of these options makes your recipe collecting easier.

How do I manage add-ons if the menu item is dimmed in Internet Explorer 9.

Click the little gear symbol to the far right of your browser windows and choose Internet Options from the drop-down menu.

This window will open.

Select the Advanced tab to the far right of the window.

Now scroll down to the Browsing section. It’s a long list, so look carefully.

Make sure that Enable third-party browser extensions is checked.

Hit OK to save the change and restart your computer for it to take effect.

Now if this keeps happening and you haven’t made any changes to your Internet Options, there might be an issue with your profile and you may need to create a new one.

Windows 8 Passes Vista, XP Still Strong

Windows 8 has finally passed the equally unpopular Windows Vista in the number of users according to the Net Applications’ NetMarketshare Tracker.

Windows 8 has been adopted by 5.10 percent of desktop systems tracked in the month of June with Vista dropping to 4.62 % of users.

Windows XP and Windows 7 both held pretty steady. Windows 7 is used by 44.37 of tracked users and Windows XP is still hanging in with 37% of tracked users.

This points to slow but steady growth for Windows 8, but at this rate, it won’t hit XP’s level of popularity until 2016. Many users complained about the touch-friendly Windows 8 interface, finding it confusing and lacking some of the features of earlier Windows Operating systems. Windows 8 relies heavily on apps and was geared toward touch-screen devices and tablets. Windows tablet sales have been slow to take off. However, recently announced changes coming to Windows 8 in Windows 8.1, could help.

Those changes include the return of something close to a Start Button, more control over the look of the Start Screen and better access to the SkyDrive.

Windows XP still has a loyal following despite the fact that Microsoft will be ending XP support in April 2014. That means no new security updates, bug fixes or support for the operating system.

XP will still function on computers, though. So it’s likely many loyal users will refuse to give up the stable, secure platform despite potential security risks.

Typing Tricks

Delete an entire word Instead of deleting a single letter, pressing CTRL + BKSP will delete the entire word behind the cursor. This makes deleting text quicker if you screw up a whole word. 

Move Cursor to beginning of the next or previous word Moving the cursor around manually while typing is a great way to make your work take longer than it needs to. To speed of the process, move the cursor around with keyboard shortcuts. To move it to the beginning of the previous word, use CTRL + Left Arrow. To move it to the beginning of the next word, use CTRL + Right Arrow. In OS X you can accomplish the same using the Option key.

Making sub and superscript text If you need to make sub or superscript text (think exponents for superscript), press CTRL + = for subscript and CTRL + SHIFT + = for superscript.
Paste plain text of what was copied When you copy text from any source, programs will usually copy any formatting that comes with it. To paste this as plain text, press CTRL + Shift + V instead of the standard CTRL + V, and the system will paste unformatted text.
Note that many programs follow this parameter (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) but not all, particularly Microsoft programs like Word or Outlook. For those there's a few alternatives that go beyond copying and pasting in Notepad: 1) CTRL + ALT + V will show a 'paste special' dialog box. 2) CTRL + Spacebar will remove formatting in already pasted text. 3) Download Puretext and choose a hotkey to always paste plain text with it.

How To Speed Up Windows: Part 3

In part two of How To Speed Up Windows, we checked your services to make sure you weren’t wasting precious resources. In part three, we’ll look at additional steps to get your system to top speed.

STEP #1 – Clear the startup folder(s).

When you start Windows and log in there are many processes that are supposed to start automatically.

Some people want additional programs to start when they log in so they put shortcuts and programs in their start up folder.

If you didn’t know any shortcut or executable program that exists in this folder will start when you log on.

This can be a neat customization but sometimes there are programs in this folder that you don’t need.

Hackers like to put little programs and scripts in this folder because they know it will run with YOUR user credentials when you log on.

My advise, clear it and keep it cleared.

OPEN YOUR STARTUP FOLDER:
Click START > ALL PROGRAMS > STARTUP

Make sure there are no shortcuts or programs inside this folder.

There could be an desktop.ini file in the folder and you can leave it if you want or delete it if you’re mean or thorough it won’t impact your system negatively.

The full path to the starup folder is:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Make sure you also check this folder for any other user accounts that exist on your system.

STEP #2 – Check out the Registry.

I know some people are scared of looking into the registry.

It’s understandable being that this is probably the easiest way to screw up your system if you don’t know what your doing.

My view is life’s too short for fear.

Here’s what you need to do to make sure your registry is clear:

CLICK START > RUN > REGEDIT

Once the Registry editor opens click F3 to search the registry and enter the text “RunOnce”:

This is just a shortcut to find the keys that you need to check. You could also just browse to them:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
When you select each key above you will see the programs that are being run whenever you start your system.

These programs are started by the registry in STEALTH so they run no matter who is logged on, that’s why it’s so important to check out what’s listed here.
Now search Google for the name of the executable that’s being run to determine if it is required or not.
If you find a suspicious or unneeded file DELETE THE KEY.

Just right click it and select DELETE:

Also check the following USER registry keys for executable programs
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-19\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-19\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

These are USER registry entries so they would be different for each user account on your system.

That’s it.

With these additional advanced tips you should have a strong sense of what’s going on inside your PC and the ability to return your Windows performance back to “how it was when it was new” whenever you want.

How To Speed Up Windows Part 2

In order to speed up your Windows installation you must first understand what is happening to your computer from a high level.

Look at your computer like a house.

If you were trying to figure out why your light bill was sky-high what would you do?

Wouldn’t you first look at all the possible USERS of electricity in your house?

You would investigate:

• Lighting. Inside and outside your home.
• Major Appliances. Refrigerator, water heater, stove, and air conditioner.
• Televisions and electronics. Computers, monitors, video games, etc.

The idea would be to find out where you can cut back on usage and conserve energy, right?
That’s why mom used to always say, “Cut off the lights, unless you’re going to pay the fregg’n light bill!”
Your computer is in the same situation.

The lights or resources that you want to use are not responding because they are already in use.

When you click a program and it delays and drags, it’s like cutting on a light switch to a light fixture that’s already ON.

Your computer seems like it’s ignoring your commands but it’s not it’s just busy, it’ll be with you in a minute or two or three, arrrrggggg!

Here are are some additional advanced steps that you can take to identify what is making your computer slow and how to stop it:

Check your Services.

In part one of this guide I focused on the PROCESSES but there is a difference between processes and services.

In short all services eventually create some process on your computer this is why they need to be investigated when slow performance is the symptom.

READ: Processes and Services by David.

These “service processes” use precious system resources and if they are not needed they must be disabled.

The problem with service processes is they are started by a service installed on your system so even though you stop the processes manually with TASK MANAGER they just keep coming back like a bad rash.

Here’s how to stop them for good:

OPEN COMPUTER MANAGEMENT

START > RUN > type “compmgmt.msc” and click ok

You can also right click on “computer” and select Manage.

Now click on “Services and Applications” and select “Services”

Now click the “Standard” tab at the bottom of the services window.

This is the list of all the services that are running on your system.

There’s a bunch of them aren’t there?

The fact is you don’t NEED all of these services but ALL of these services have access to use the finite resources on your computer.
Sort the list by name and check every single process one by one.
If you cannot find a legitimate reason for the process to exist disable it.
Open the service properties by double clicking on the name:

Search Google for the name of the service and find out more information, is it required or not that is the question.
Once you are confident that the service is not required disable it by changing the Startup type to ‘Disabled’:

Click OK and repeat this process for every service on your system.

Once you are complete REBOOT.

We aren’t finished yet. Tomorrow in part 3, I’ll show you even more ways to speed up your system.

How to import e-mail messages from Yahoo into Hotmail.

Outlook.com (All Hotmail accounts have been switched to Outlook.com) makes it simple. They have a free tool called Trueswitch. Here’s how it works.

You click https://secure5trueswitch.com/hotmail/ to fill out the form. The link still has Hotmail in the title even though all Hotmail accounts have been switched over to Outlook.com.

You would fill out the address and password of your Yahoo! Mail account and the address and password for the account you wish to copy the messages to.

This will not delete your emails and contacts from your Yahoo! Mail account. You also select what you wish to copy. You can take your messages, address book or calendar.

You can choose to send a message to your contacts informing them about the change in your e-mail address.

You can choose to personalize the message and also select which contacts you wish to send the information to. If you choose personalize, a window will open to let you compose your own message.

There’s also the option to have your Yahoo! messages forwarded to your Outlook.com account for 90 days.

When you have everything set up the way you like, hit the copy to Outlook.com button.

This could take awhile to finish. You should receive e-mail messages updating you on the progress of the import and an message to let you now when the process is complete. Once you’re sure that your Yahoo! e-mails have successfully copied to Outlook.com, you can shut down your Yahoo! Mail account.

I-google discontinued . we can get that same features by another similar one its Netvibes

  NetVibes – this free dashboard (there is a premium version as well, but a free version is available to home users) offers many of the features you are looking for. Start by going to netvibes.com. You’ll be asked if you are a business or and individual – select I’m Just Me.

You can sign in with Facebook

Or choose to fill out some basic information.

You’ll need to reply to an e-mail confirming your new account and then you’ll be taken to the NetVibes dashboard.

You’ll be happy to see the Google search box front and center and the weather.

You can customize the location.

There’s also an e-mail wizard to help set up access to your e-mail accounts.

It’s easy to add access to various social media accounts and to eBay.

There are a wide range of financial and news widgets and apps available to add, there’s one for Wikipedia as well.

There’s a wide variety of themes available. You can customize your theme or choose themes created by other users.

I was able to set up a customized weather app, e-mail, a Google finance news feed and a Wikipedia app in about five minutes, plus change themes.

One nice feature is the ability to create tabs for different topics or apps. For example you could choose to create a Finance tab to follow multiple financial news sources.

Or create a tab to follow news feeds about a particular topic you want to track

Other options you could consider are a My Yahoo! home page and igHome.

How to save only images from powerpoint presentation

When you receive a PowerPoint presentation and only need to save a single image, rather than the full presentation itself, there’s actually a pretty simple solution available, even if you can’t right-click the image at first. Embedded images don’t always survive the transition as separate files when being emailed around in a PowerPoint document, which can be fixed by forcing PowerPoint to save the image as a GIF or JPEG.

To start the process, click the image in question so it’s highlighted on the PowerPoint slide. With the image highlighted, navigate to the “Home” tab at the top of the presentation and click the “Copy” button, which is located in the “Clipboard” section of the ribbon.

Now that you’ve got the picture copied to the clipboard, you can save it as a proper image file by clicking the “Paste” button in the “Home” tab and then selecting the “Paste Special” option.

In the new window that pops up on the screen, click the “Paste” radio button and then select the type of image file you’d like to use in the list of options, such as “GIF,” “JPEG,” “Bitmap,” etc. Click the “OK” button to paste another copy of the image onto the slide.

At this point you should be able to right-click the picture, since it has been saved as a specific image type usable by PowerPoint. Right-click the pasted image and select the “Save As Picture” option from the pop-up menu.

Type whatever name you want to use for the picture in the text box and then select the type of image file you’d like to save the picture as from the drop-down menu. Click “Save” to save the image to your computer’s hard drive.

But what if you still can’t right-click the picture for some reason? In this instance, there’s still a way to save the image, although it requires a little more effort. Remember how you previously copied the image to the clipboard? Since it’s still saved there, open up any image editing program that lets you paste images. Even something as simple as Microsoft Paint will work.

Create a new file in the image editing program and then click the “Paste” option at the top of the screen, or press “Ctrl” and “V” to manually paste the image. Now you can save the image as whatever file type you’d like in Paint (or whichever image editing tool you are using).

In the event that all these attempts fail, there remains one final option using a keyboard shortcut. Navigate to the slide containing the picture, and take a screenshot by tapping the “FN” and “Prtsc” keys on your keyboard. This shortcut saves an exact copy of everything currently on your screen into the clipboard.

Return to your image editing program and click “Paste” to bring up the screenshot. You can then use the program’s “crop” feature to simply cut out everything on the screen besides the image you need.