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Can’t read forwarded message attachments in Outlook

One of our callers today, Jeff, couldn't get forwarded emails to open if they were attachments. We believe this method may work to rectify the situation:

Use the following steps to use the Clear Cache button in Outlook:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Other tab.
2. Click Advanced Options.
3. In the Advanced Options box, click Custom Forms.
4. In the Custom Forms box, click Manage Forms.
5. In the Forms Manager box, click Clear Cache. 

Sorting the Mail – Video Tip

Sort MailWouldn't it be nice if you could sort your email by the date it was received or by the name of the sender?

If you use Microsoft Outlook Express (or Outlook), Mozilla Thurnderbird, or most other email systems), you can quickly sort all of your mail. AOL finally added this feature for its members just last year. As an added bonus, this tip will work with any computer or operating system.

 

To sort the mail:

  1. Click ONE time on the desired heading of your email list. For example, to sort your messages chronologically, click once on the date heading to sort from oldest to newest.
  2. Click again to sort from newest to oldest.
  3. To sort your mail by the sender, simply click on the "From" heading at the top of the email list.
  4. To sort by the subject of the email, click one time on the "Subject" heading at the top of the email list.
  5. As in Step 1, if you click a second time on a column heading, the sort direction will reverse.
  6. You can even click on the "paper clip " at the top of the email list to quickly find messages that have attachments.

That's it! Simple, clean and useful…give it a try!! Watch the video below to see this tip in action.

Dial-up users: Are you tired of waiting for email with large attachments?

I have been utilizing this tip much more lately as dial-up users get pummeled with email containing pictures that haven't been resized and an endless parade of forward spam with large attachments from friends and family with high speed connections. For every one megabyte of space an attachment contains, it takes 5-8 minutes for a dial-up user to download it. Many joke emails, slide shows or movies being passed around today can be 5mb or larger…tying up the dial-up users phone line for an hour or more!  If you don't want to tell the offending parties to take you off their list, you can do one or both of the following procedures to gain some control over you email again.

Even eBay isn’t get rich quick business

This week there is an eBay seminar going on in our city. The sponsoring company is flooding TV, radio and newspaper with ads for the events.

It seems that such seminars come around several times each year. Each time the company presenting the seminar uses specially chosen wording to make people think that eBay has something to do with the event.

In reality, eBay only sponsors one series of seminars called eBay University. If the seminar or lecture series doesn't say eBay university than it is not sponsored by eBay.

Rick and I have done classes on eBay that truly are about how to get involved with eBay, but our lectures don't promise that you can make money easily from home. We also don't give out getting started packets or trial products.

Getting the Mail Button back in IE7 – Revised VIDEO TIP

When you upgrade to IE7 you will notice a total change in the interface. One of the big changes is a lack of menu bar and many of the old buttons.

If you are in the habit of clicking on the little envelope in Internet Explorer to get into your email, you will quickly see that the little envelope is gone.

Here's how to get it back:

1. Right-click on the bar where the buttons should be

2. Choose Customize Command Bar

3. Click Add or Remove Commands

4. In the window that comes up, choose Mail on the left side and click the Add button

5. You will see the Mail button move to the right side. Click on it and click the Move Up botton to place it at the top of the list.

Web Appliances revisited

I wrote a number of months ago about the need for a new web appliance. A web appliance is a device that only accesses the Internet. Web TV (now MSN TV) is the only device that sort of falls in this category. What I envision (and wish I had the knowledge to build) is a flat screen monitor with built-in speakers and a cordless bluetooth connection to talk to a mouse, keyboard, and a printer. It would also have a card reader to interact with a digital camera and a wireless and/or Ethernet port for high speed Internet access.

It would not have a hard drive or anyway to load applications. All programs and document storage would be online ala Google Docs and Gmail. The vast majority of clients I work with do only three or four things: Internet, email, games, and maybe some word processing and/or digital photography. All of this (and more) can be currently accomplished online thus circumventing the need for anything but an Internet connection. Also, this type of user would benefit greatly by not needing to worry about backup and where their documents are when they need them. It would take away the need for the user to learn and understand file management (which is sorely missing for most computer users).

Email Preview Button in Outlook Express – Video Tip

This tip evaded me for many years, but now you can benefit from its use. The tip works in any versions of Windows including Windows Vista's Windows Mail.

When asked how to delete a message without opening it in Microsoft Outlook Express, I traditionally answered by directing the computer user to the View menu (See Tip #156). This works, but if you want to turn the Preview back on you have to go through the same number of steps.

Why would you want to delete emails without opening them? A couple of reasons include not wanting to open an email that advertises how to enlarge certain private parts or see an ad of Jolene's sorority web site and you may not want to open a potentially dangerous email that might have a virus.

Daylight Savings Time

Last week, a caller or emailer asked about our computers and the upcoming change in our Daylight Savings Time procedure. Traditionally, we North Americans set our clocks ahead one hour on the first Sunday of April and then set them back an hour on the last Sunday of October. Computers automatically made these changes while we slept through it or first thing the next morning when we turned on our computer.

Starting this year, that will change in the United States and Canada. We will now "Spring Up" on the second Sunday in March and "Fall Back" on the first Sunday of November. Computer updates are being rolled out as we speak to take care of this for us. You can read more about the roll out on Microsoft's site by clicking here.

Is the iPhone another Newton?

iphoneFor those of you who don't remember the Newton, it was Apple's first and last foray into the handheld computing market back in 1993. Although it was ground breaking and unique, it was a little ahead of its time and definitely too expensive. The Newton was a little too big to be called a true handheld computer and only worked with a heavy, built-in rechargeable battery. Just three short years later, a small company just down the street from Apple called Palm, introduced the Palm Pilot. It was less than one-half the size of a Newton, ran on a single AAA battery, had an ingeniously accurate handwriting recognition system, AND could synchronize data easily with a PC or Macintosh computer.

Fast forward to this week. Steve Jobs gave his usually raucous key note address at the annual Apple convention known as Macworld Expo. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a device slightly smaller than the Newton, but bigger than a Palm Pilot, and he pronounced it as the iPhone (already in legal trouble with Cisco who claims they own the rights to the name). Apple has been on a tear for about six years now the introduction of the iMac all-in-one computers, the iPod, and iTunes. Trying to capitalize on their recent successes, they decided to enter the "smart phone" market.

A smart phone is defined as a cellular phone that can also be used to synchronize contact, calendar, to do lists, and documents with a computer. They also have a full QWERTY keyboard built into them. These types of phones are extremely popular amongst the geek sector and the 'wanna be' geek sector. Blackberry handheld email devices made email mobile, then Palm introduced the revolutionary Treo smart phone and remains the top vote getter in this market. One problem plagues the smart phone market; there aren't that many geeks. Despite seeing how incredibly useful and versatile a Treo phone can be, most people scoff at it's size and say, "It's too big! I could never carry that thing." Treo's tip the scales at just over 5 ounces and measures: 4.44" H x 2.3" W x 0.8" D. One other factor hinders large scale smart phone sales; many computer users barely understand their computers let alone try and use a smart phone.

Back to the iPhone. Let's start with its dimensions. It weighs about