Tiplet expert tips & tech support

June 26, 2009

When Outlook Rules Don’t Work Automatically

Filed under: e-mail — Tags: , , , — admin @ 3:00 pm

by David Hakala

On the Tools menu of Outlook you will find “Rules and Alerts.” This option lets you create mail-handling rules that Outlook follows when it sends and receives email. For example, it can move or copy any message from your boss’ email address into a “High Priority” subfolder (rule) and/or notify you that such a message has arrived (alert). You can create rules that forward copies of messages to one or more destinations. Generally, rules are set to run automatically every time new messages come in, sorting and moving your mail around without your effort to run rules one at a time.
(more…)

June 12, 2009

How Can I make Animated GIF Image Files?

Filed under: e-mail,Internet — Tags: , , — admin @ 3:31 pm

by David Hakala

You may have seen images that move on Web sites or in emails.

They’re called “animated GIF” images. You can make them too with a bit of work. Actually, there are a few tools that eliminate much of the work.

An animated GIF image actually consists of several images contained in a single file. Each image depicts is subject in different position. The images are displayed in sequence automatically, creating the illusion of motion. You probably did something similar as a child, drawing pictures of a running figure on successive pages of a notepad and then riffling through the pages rapidly with your thumb. Animated GIF images are the same thing done digitally.
(more…)

May 26, 2009

Do I Need to Encrypt Data And What Is The Best Encryption Software?

Filed under: e-mail,Internet,privacy & security — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 1:10 pm

by David Hakala

Encryption is the scrambling of digital data in such a way that it can be read only by its creator and intended recipients. It may be advisable to encrypt the data on your hard drives; your email during transmission; the information you send or receive via a Web browser; or any other digital information that you don’t want just anyone to read.
(more…)

April 24, 2009

What Should I Look For In a Sound Card?

Filed under: computer hardware,digital media,e-mail,privacy & security,Windows — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 5:00 pm

by David Hakala

While every computer comes with sound capabilities built into its motherboard, they’re usually of mediocre quality. Discriminating users want more so they buy add-on sound cards. The features you need in a sound card depend on the type of listening that you do most.
(more…)

April 21, 2009

Spam Blocker

Filed under: e-mail,privacy & security — Tags: , , — admin @ 6:00 pm

by David Hakala

Spam – unsolicited commercial email – accounts for more than half of all email traffic. In any given month, it is not uncommon to receive several hundred offers to buy things you don’t want. This is true even if you are careful to avoid leaving your email address where it will attract spammers. Every email account should be protected against spam. You need a spam blocker.
(more…)

March 31, 2009

How to Disable Outlook 2007 Synchronizing Folders

Filed under: computer performance,e-mail,Vista — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

by David Hakala

Q: I use Windows Outlook 2007 on my Vista Ultimate machine. Can you tell me how to turn off the “synchronizing folders” option in Outlook 2007? Whenever this runs, it really hogs the resources, and I don’t know that this needs to be done as frequently as it is being done. Thanks! – Bill

“Synchronizing folders” simply means that Outlook 2007 is sending and receiving email and RSS messages, updating Internet-based calendars, and other tasks that require communication with other computers on the Internet. Many users complain that Outlook 2007 takes far too long and uses far too many resources for this task. But synchronization is not an “option,” it’s an essential feature. You can’t turn it off permanently or you won’t have any email, RSS feeds, etc. You might as well uninstall Outlook, a solution quite a few people choose in favor of Mozilla Thunderbird or another email client, including an earlier version of Outlook.
(more…)

March 30, 2009

Change Your Default Mail Client in OS X

Filed under: e-mail,Macintosh — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 8:00 am

by Dee-Ann LeBlanc

There’s nothing wrong with using the default email program in OS X: Apple Mail. However, sometimes you want to use something different, like Thunderbird or Entourage.
(more…)

March 28, 2009

How to Minimize Spam and Avoid Falling Victim to It

Filed under: e-mail,privacy & security — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

by David Hakala

Spam is “unsolicited commercial email” by most people’s definitions. There is debate over whether non-commercial unsolicited mail should be called spam, but it’s of concern mainly to the nonprofits and political organizations who don’t want to be tarred with the “spam” brush. Unrequested mail from anyone who wants your money or time is spam.

Spam is a huge problem on the Internet. Long ago, spam email passed the 50 percent mark as the largest category of traffic on email servers. Spam imposes heavy costs on ISPs as well as end users. How can you protect yourself from spam and avoid contributing to its traffic congestion?
(more…)

March 26, 2009

How Can I Access My Email While Traveling?

Filed under: e-mail,mobile computing,online computing,Windows — Tags: , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:00 am

by Gabe Goldberg

Anyone who uses email regularly, whether for business or personal communication, gets serious jitters when cut off from it. Fortunately, there are many ways to stay in touch away from home; the biggest problem can be explaining to people you’re visiting or traveling with why you want to.

One reason to stay caught up is that some ISPs impose limits on the amount of email they’ll store for you; if you exceed your quota, subsequent email will be rejected and bounced back to senders. That’s especially bad when it happens to mailing list traffic, since you may be unsubscribed. So, while it’s tedious, it’s sometimes worthwhile to suspend list mailings while you’ll be away.
(more…)

March 23, 2009

How Can I Avoid Losing Real Email in My Spam Folder?

Filed under: e-mail,Internet — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 8:00 am

by Gabe Goldberg

Spam — junk email offering scams, lost-relative fortunes, exotic romance, drug deals, etc. — is a nasty curse on the current Internet. Technologies are being explored to curb or cure it, and law enforcement has occasional successes shutting down king spammers, but in the meantime, we deal with it.

Most ISPs (Internet service providers) and most email software offers options for handling spam, selecting methods of detecting it and customizing what’s done with it. And add-on software products promise wonderfully precise protection. While these choices can help, they all unfortunately have disadvantages.
(more…)

March 8, 2009

What to Do When You Cannot Connect to Your Email Server

Filed under: computer performance,e-mail,Internet,online computing,Windows — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by David Hakala

Email is as vital as a tongue to some people. They can’t imagine getting through a day without communicating via email. For others, checking email is just an occasional thing. But in either case, when people click that “send/receive” button they expect something to happen. When, instead, you get an error message that says in part, “cannot connect to server,” here are some potential solutions to try.
(more…)

Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress