Tech

indulgences into my geek side

  • Changing the Xbox Keyboard Layout [Video]

    Changing the Xbox Keyboard Layout [Video]

    Did you know the Xbox on-screen keyboard can be placed in different orders to suit your preference?  If you’re a touch typist that already knows the positions of keys as they exist on a standard keyboard, you might be slowed down when typing on the default Xbox keyboard that places keys in alphabetical order.  Or […]

    Read more →

  • Instantly Search Inside More File Types [Video]

    Instantly Search Inside More File Types [Video]

    Need to find some code, script, or other text in non-standard files? Let Windows Search index and provide instant results for CSS, JavaScript or other file types by setting up content indexing for more file types in Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8.

    Read more →

  • Automatically Login to Windows [Video]

    Automatically Login to Windows [Video]

    Have you ever wanted to bypass the Windows login screen?  Believe it or not, auto-login has been available in Windows for decades, but the options to enable this feature are hidden with good reason: carelessly enabling automatic login can be risky

    Read more →

  • Bring Gmail-style workflow to Outlook

    Bring Gmail-style workflow to Outlook

    Among the top features called out by any gmail fan is the archive button, which acts as a simple dismissal of a message.  Archiving removes an entire email conversation thread from your inbox, while keeping it accessible under all mail, or any number of labels.  It’s an extremely efficient hybrid method between piling and filing, because it […]

    Read more →

  • Ask a Geek:  Bloated Computers

    Ask a Geek: Bloated Computers

    If you’re looking for a new PC, you can ask any geek and they’ll tell you to build clean.  Their reason is simple: the manufacturer’s cripple their own products before they ever send it to you. Even if you buy direct, original equipment manufacturers make money by pre-installing trials, games, bundles, even spyware on to […]

    Read more →

  • Boost Windows Search in Two Steps

    Boost Windows Search in Two Steps

    Many of even the most infrequent of Internet users has experienced instant searches by now, where search suggestions (or even full results) appear live while you type, before you even press Enter.  It seems like magic, searching the entire world as fast as you can type.  But did you know your Windows PC has the same […]

    Read more →

  • Microsoft MVP Award 2012

    Microsoft MVP Award 2012

    I’m thrilled and honored to have been re-awarded as a Microsoft MVP for 2012.  My award date is April 1, so you’ll understand the delay my boasting — would you have believed me last week? The award box arrived yesterday evening, where I promptly ripped the box apart like a kid on Christmas morning.  Here’s […]

    Read more →

  • Set Microsoft Office Name for Friendlier File in Use Messages

    Set Microsoft Office Name for Friendlier File in Use Messages

    Has this ever happened to you? At best an annoyance, this can be a real productivity killer as you hunt around to find the user that has the file locked. You could save a copy of the file and try to clean up or reconcile later, and while collaboration solutions like SharePoint limit these cases, […]

    Read more →

  • Reminder to update drivers in Windows 8

    Reminder to update drivers in Windows 8

    I just finished installing Windows 8 natively using a VHD, as discussed in my previous post, and while exploring I noticed some fonts were not quite as crisp as I would like. Others may not notice this subtle nuance, but it is likely that in aggregate you’ll be affected by stretched images, poor font and color quality, and even […]

    Read more →

  • Dual boot Windows 8 without partitioning

    Dual boot Windows 8 without partitioning

    In this post, I’ll discuss why you should avoid using virtual machines for evaluating the new Windows 8 Consumer Preview, and how you can test drive this new OS the way it (and you) deserve, by fully booting into it.

    Read more →