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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?

How to Boot to the Desktop in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
Microsoft did not provide any support for setting Windows 8 to boot straight to the Desktop and skip the new Start screen. There was no registry setting available, no group policy and most of the hacks that worked with the test versions of Windows 8 do not work in the final version. Since many people want this feature in Windows 8, Microsoft gave in and, in Windows 8.1 is can

How to Install Windows 8.1 RTM On Your Computer

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
If you have gotten your hands on Windows 8.1, the final version (build 9600) or on any of the leaked builds, you can install it using this step by step guide. We will cover each step of the process and share useful information regarding more special installation scenarios. [DC-SUMMARY-BREAK] What to Expect from Windows 8.1 There are many new things in Windows 8.1. Some were presented in this article based

How to Configure the Windows 8 Apps Inside Which You Perform Searches

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
Performing searches in Windows 8 is fast and easy. One important difference versus Windows 7 is that you can perform searches inside Windows 8 apps, directly from the Start screen. You type a search term, select the app where you want to perform the search and the results are displayed inside that app. Pretty cool, isn't it? Also, you can configure the list of apps inside which you perform searches.

How to Add or Remove Buttons on the Windows Explorer Toolbar

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
If you are using Windows 7, you have a small selection of buttons available on the Windows Explorer toolbar and this may not help you be very productive. You may want more buttons on it. Luckily, the team from WinAero have created a free tool that you can use to enhance the toolbar and add new buttons to it. With it, you can transform the boring toolbar into a mini-ribbon.

How to Add or Remove the Take Ownership Entry in the Right Click Menu

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
Do you need an easy way to add the Take Ownership entry to the right-click menu in Windows 7 or Windows 8? If you do, we have two options for you, both of them quick and reliable. They work with both Windows Explorer and File Explorer. [DC-SUMMARY-BREAK] NOTE: If you access this option from the contextual menu, the owner of the selected file or folder will automatically change to your

Introducing Windows 8.1: Transform the Start Screen into a Start Menu

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
One of the changes made by Microsoft in Windows 8.1 is that, due to user feedback, anyone can change the Start screen with a Start Menu. It's not the old Start Menu from Windows 7, but it sure is close enough. But how do you enable it? Here's how: [DC-SUMMARY-BREAK] The Start Screen vs. The Start Menu in Windows 8.1 In Windows 8.1, just like in Windows 8, the Start

Book Review - Microsoft Office Professional 2013 Step By Step

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 which have a long list of

Dream It, Do It, Live It - Ciprian's First Personal Development Book

  • news
  • Radu Tyrsina
Not many people know that, besides technology, there are quite a few other subjects I write about. As a result, today I am happy to announce my first book that's not about technology. It is named Dream It, Do It, Live It and it is a very fun and practical personal development book. If you would like to learn more about it, please read this article. [DC-SUMMARY-BREAK] Dream It, Do

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

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 users. I tested the latest version

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

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 will try first. Rather, you'll have

Microsoft Office Professional 2013 Step by Step - The third book from our team

  • news
  • Radu Tyrsina
Did you know that I was also involved in the writing of a Microsoft Office 2013 book? Yes, we did not write any tutorials about the new Microsoft Office suite but it doesn't mean we don't like it and we can't write books about it. This time, I was one of the 7 co-authors (Yes, that many!) of a book that has more than 1200 pages. It is bigger and

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

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 your computing experience. [DC-SUMMARY-BREAK] What is

Reviewing the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 strange, but I've long been convinced

Set Windows to Play Alarm Sounds When Reaching Low or Critical Battery

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
Some of our readers have asked how they can set Windows 7 or Windows 8 so that it plays an alarm sound when the battery or their laptop or tablet reaches a low or critically low level. Such alarms can be played automatically with the use of sound schemes. In this tutorial you will learn how this works. [DC-SUMMARY-BREAK] Step 1. Find the Active Sound Scheme First, you need to
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

How to Make Windows 8 Temporarily Reveal the Password You Just Typed

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
When using Windows 8, you encounter all kinds of scenarios in which you are asked to enter one password or another. And, as all operating systems do, Windows 8 masks the passwords you enter with bullets, so that they cannot be read by someone standing nearby. A useful security precaution. But, what if you want to double check what you just typed, to make sure it is correct. How do

The Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Keyboard Review - Is it a Good Keyboard?

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
I have been a major fan of Microsoft's ergonomic keyboards ever since I saw the first generation Natural Keyboard in 1994. Since I type a lot, and usually at about 110 words a minute, having the ergonomic shape made a lot of difference for me. But I know that the full ergonomic shape is not for everyone, and there is a definite learning curve when you first try one out.

How to Use Special Characters in Windows with Character Map

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 find the Character Map, share a

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

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 new feature named Restore. With the
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