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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?

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

The Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse Review - A Great Scrolling Experience

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
Reading about the Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse and its specifications made me really curious. At least in theory, it seemed to offer everything I wanted from a good mouse. The Sculpt Touch Mouse has a smooth metallic strip in its center and that strip can be used for up and down and side to side scrolling, plus it comes configured as not one but three useful buttons—page up, page down,

What is the Public Folder & How to Use it?

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 created this guide which explains the

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

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
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 mouse. First, I decided to try

What to do When Windows 8 Says Your Genuine Product Key is Not Valid?

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
If you installed Windows 8 on a computer and you then changed its hardware configuration (e.g. upgraded the processor, memory or other important components), it can happen that Windows 8 no longer accepts the product key bundled with your original installation disc. This happens also when you buy a new computer and you install the Windows 8 edition you purchased and stop using the old computer. What can you do

How to Add a Clock Showing the Time on the Windows 8 Start Screen

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
One of the things I do not like about the Start screen in Windows 8 is the fact that it doesn't show the time and date, as the taskbar does on the Desktop. I wish Microsoft had provided an easy way to add a clock in a live tile. Luckily there are quite a few apps available to fill this gap. The better ones cost money but there are also

How to Schedule a Virus Scan with Windows 8's Built-In Antivirus

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
If you've spent any time looking at Windows 8's Defender interface, you've likely noticed that it doesn't include any options for scheduling a scan. While Windows Defender provides most of it's protection in real-time, if you're like us, you'll want a back-up scan occurring regularly. Though the user interface does in fact omit a simple way to schedule a scan, this option exists within the Windows 8 Task Scheduler. Read

Introducing Windows 8: The Complete Guide to the Messaging App

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
Chatting has become a very large part daily computer usage for many people. Whether messaging on Facebook or with a chat client, you've likely spent a significant amount of time messaging with friends back and forth. Using separate clients to chat with contacts can get annoying, so Windows 8 has taken a step to try and make it easier. The Messaging app allows you to aggregate your contacts from both

Introducing Windows 8: How to Manage Your Mail App's Inbox & Messages

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
While we've already covered the basics of configuring and using the Windows 8 Mail app in quite a few guides, there's more to it. Once you've got your accounts set up and you're receiving emails you may want to dig into the intricacies of this useful app. At first glance you may think there isn't much more to the Mail app than folders and inboxes. This is a simple mistake
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