Connecting A to B: a decision tree approach

By Sean McGrath, ITworld

One of the most common problems tackled by IT teams is integration. In its most basic form the question is "How to connect A to B?" (for arbitrary systems A and B). In my travels, I've observed a tendency to jump straight to technology to answer this sort of question. But it may be more useful to first follow a decision tree process to zoom in on the most suitable approach. ...continue reading 'Connecting A to B: a decision tree approach'

Windows Tip: Outlook 2007 formatting tips

By Mitch Tulloch, MVP

Recently, I pointed out how to retrieve misplaced email in Outlook 2007. I said that if you wanted to issue a query against all your mail items and not just the currently selected folder, you had to click the fiddly little dropdown arrow to the right of the Instant Search box and select Search All Mail Items. Two readers pointed out to me that there's an easier way. ...continue reading 'Windows Tip: Outlook 2007 formatting tips'

Unix Tip: More on filenames

Sandra Henry-Stocker, ITworld.com

Two weeks ago, we looked at some tricks for displaying file names that include unprintable characters. Another -- and simpler -- way to do this is to use the -b option available with the ls command on some versions of Unix (e.g., Solaris), which forces a display of non-printable characters. ...continue reading 'Unix Tip: More on filenames'

Lack of a document-retention policy can spell trouble

Joel Shore, ITworld.com

Most techies hate the process of writing policies. Can't say I blame them. But you really do need a document retention policy because when the courts come looking for information, you need to be able to say 'the files in question no longer exist and we can prove that for a fact.' ...continue reading 'Lack of a document-retention policy can spell trouble'

How to retrieve misplaced email in Outlook 2007

By Mitch Tulloch, MVP

I dragged an important folder into the RSS Feeds folder, one of the default folders in Outlook 2007. No problem, I'll just drag the message from there into the folder it was intended for, right? Not so simple - when you select the RSS Feeds folder in the Folder List pane, Outlook displays a page showing various RSS feeds you can subscribe to and not the messages in the folder. Yikes, how do I retrieve my misplaced message? ...continue reading 'How to retrieve misplaced email in Outlook 2007'

Learn to shut up. 6 ways to speak more concisely

Mike Staver, The Staver Group

Shutting up is a valuable skill to learn in business, in personal relationships -- really, in all areas of life. Shutting up makes you appear more confident and intelligent, and you may actually learn something. ...continue reading 'Learn to shut up. 6 ways to speak more concisely'

Unix Tip: Stripping file extensions with the basename command

I recently discovered a new trick for using basename to extract filenames from a full pathnames. This can be useful if you want to extract some portion of a file's name and then reuse it. For example, if you want to find the differences between a number of files with .old extensions and the original files. ...continue reading 'Stripping file extensions with the basename command'

5 ways to flirt online

Dan Tynan, PC World

Finding a mate online doesn't have to entail filling out endless forms, dropping hefty fees at matchmaking services, or navigating the seven circles of social networking hell. It starts with flirting, which you can do cheaply, easily, and at a distance. Better yet: All the rejection happens offline, so you'll never have to suffer the embarrassment of seeing your best lines fall flat or learning that you have spinach stuck in your teeth. Here are five of the right places to look for love--or something approximating it. ...continue reading '5 ways to flirt online'

The best Internet Explorer add-ins

Preston Gralla, Computerworld

To get the most out of the Web, you need add-ins that give your browser plenty of extra features. Firefox is well known for its plug-ins, but there aren't as many available for Internet Explorer. Still, IE users needn't feel left out in the cold. In fact, there are plenty of add-ins for IE as well. Here are some favorites. ...continue reading 'The best Internet Explorer add-ins'

Unix tip: How-to rename an oddball file

By Sandra Henry-Stocker

Every now and then I come across a file that just doesn't display properly in a file listing. In fact, it can be a little tricky to determine the name of a file that contains odd characters. You might think a file's name is "myfile.txt" only to find out that it's really "myfile.txt " (note the extra blanks). Here's a way to rename it. ...continue reading 'How-to rename an oddball file'

Simple productivity tips for PC users

Sean McGrath, ITworld

Six tips that might surprise you -- pencil and paper? a plain text contacts list? -- but that could also make you more productive. ...continue reading 'Simple productivity tips for PC users'

When the economy gets tough, do you get going?

Joel Shore, ITworld

When there no money to spend, there is always money to be saved. Consider IBM's actions after the oil embargoes of the mid 1970s: When the outlook for sales were growing dim, the company put more shoe leather on the street, revving up the sales machine, knocking on doors, calling on dormant accounts, finding ways to help customer boost productivity in the MIS departments (long before anyone called it IT). ...continue reading 'When the economy gets tough, do you get going?'

8 signs it's time to look for a new job

By Tom Hoffman, Computerworld

A variety of career experts, headhunters, recruiters, CIOs and IT staffers share their takes on when it's time to move on from your job and when to stay put. ...continue reading '8 signs it's time to look for a new job'

Windows Tip: Keep Outlook 2007 messages in outbox before sending

By Mitch Tulloch, Microsoft MVP

Here's a nifty way of keeping sent messages in your outbox for a few minutes before they are sent - It's a good way to cover yourself in the unfortunate event that you forgot to attach a file, or catch a typo. ...continue reading 'Windows Tip: Keep Outlook 2007 messages in outbox before sending'