Curious, I quickly opened it to find that it’s a basic application that allows you to scribble notes or even record audio notes. I’m not very impressed with the appearance, because it looks like something that should be on XP. The minimize, maximize and close buttons do not match Vista at all.

There is also no choice of colors for the writing or the note itself. It’s just black on gradient yellow.

Since I had found this hidden application, I thought I would search for tablet to see if there were anything else.

Searching for tablet revealed Windows Journal. It has a piece of paper look to it. You can add images or a text box if you want to type out some text instead of just writing. Also highlight over text, images or writing. You can even change the look of the background and writing. Add multiple pages and save the journal.

And, of course, there is the Snipping Tool that allows you to take screenshots of either the whole screen or just parts of the screen, for example, just one window on the screen. Optionally, you can just press Alt + Print Screen on the keyboard and do the same thing for the active window. But Snipping Tool lets you save as an image without having to open up an image editor like Paint or Photoshop.

Snipping Tool gives you four options that can be selected under New in the menu: Free-form Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip, and Full-screen Snip. See examples below of all three, except for the very obvious Full-screen Snip.

All of these can be found in Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories and Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > Tablet PC. This applies to Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

Do you know of any other hidden, but useful applications in Vista? Let me know in the comments!

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A little something about me you probably don’t know. When I use a browser, I use it just for viewing websites, what it was intended for. I am not a fan of plugins and themes. A browser should be as light as possible. It makes viewing websites a lot more enjoyable. Google has created a browser that I have always wanted.

Here comes Chrome at a perfect time when we’re angry for Microsoft causing web developers nothing but problems with Internet Explorer; Mozilla pushing Firefox 3 out with its annoying bugs; and Apple with their font smoothing in Safari, which doesn’t even look good in Windows with any of the font smoothing options; and Opera, I don’t know what to say except that the last time I used it, a lot of sites didn’t work right.

So, what’s so special about Chrome? It should be very obvious when you look at it, ignoring the blue appearance of course. In Vista (with Aero enabled), it isn’t blue. In Vista, the titlebar and the tab bar both have transparency. My favorite part is that there is no menu, search or address bar taking up space above the tabs. Chrome still has an address bar, which allows you to search from it as well. And, the menu is found by clicking a couple buttons. I love having the ability to move tabs into its own window or move from one window to another one. No need for me to go into detail about every feature, you can find that on the Chrome Features page.

What makes Chrome better than others browsers (except for Lynx)? Its speed. Chrome loads very quickly. Websites appear right away. Everything is about speed today.

For those of you paranoid people (who probably have something to hide), a German security company created Iron. Quoted from the Incomplete News Project:

The “Iron” browser is based on the “Google Chromium” source code, but “Iron” does not send any user specific data to Google anymore and it does not contain a unique user ID.

And, if you’re worried about Chrome’s automatic updates, get a firewall and block it. Also, If you’re worried about Google collecting data, maybe you should be worried about your ISP, too?

Everything Chrome

• Use Google Chrome Backup to create, backup, restore and manage multiple profiles. It also supports Google Chromium.
• Install Greasemonkey so you can use some useful scripts. There are two ways to do this. Learn how at Make Use Of.
• Increase the number of URL suggestions in the Omnibox. Learn how at Make Use Of.
• Change Chrome’s appearance with a new theme. Download all in one pack or download individual themes. Also find more themes at Free Chrome Themes.
• Install and manage Chrome themes with XChrome.
• Create your own Chrome theme with Chromium Theme Creator.
• Worried about privacy? Make Use Of has a few tips to regain your privacy in Chrome: changing default search engine, disabling the suggestion service, and removing the unique browser ID by using Chrome Privacy Guard or UnChrome.
• Use TabsLock to launch a new Chrome tab or even Chrome itself if it’s not already running by just using the Caps Lock key on your keyboard.
• Force Chrome to use less memory by telling it to use a single process rather than one process per tab. Doing this will cause the whole browser to crash if one tab crashes.
• Block advertisements in Chrome by using Privoxy.
• Run Chrome on a thumb drive with Portable Chrome.
• Download a more up-to-date and open source version of Chrome, called Chromium.
• See all of Chrome’s features in video format.
• Read the Power User’s Guide to Google Chrome from Lifehacker for some great tips.
• Add a Print button to the bookmarks bar.
• Make the bookmarks display as icons only on the bookmarks bar. (I love this because I have so many that I would like to appear without having to go to Other Bookmarks.)
• Use the Chromium Nightly Updater to check for the latest nightly build.
• Check out Chrome’s full list of special about: pages.
• Add features from Chrome in Firefox.
• Check out the Google Chrome Wiki for some tips and tools that I may not have mentioned above.

Everything Else Chrome

• For those of you who switched back to Firefox but love the look of Chrome, just download Chromifox or Chrome Package. They will make Firefox look almost like Chrome.
• Want a Google Chrome icon for a dock? Download at Deviantart.
• Use CrossOver Chromium to run Chrome on a Mac or Linux. CrossOver Chromium is a Mac and Linux port of the Chromium web browser.
• Check out the Google Chrome Comic Book.
• Open websites in Chrome from Firefox with a Firefox extension.
• Detect Chrome using a little bit of Javascript.
• Chrome themes for WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger.

I think too many people expected more from Chrome. They should realize Chrome is beta and is very new. Does beta even mean anything anymore except to say that it’s new? Every browser started off with very little features. Do you really want a browser that will just slow down as you demand more and more from it? I really hope if/when Google adds a lot of features such as themes, that they provide a light version of the browser (what it is today) and a full version, or at least an install that lets you select what you want installed.

Have you installed Chrome? Did you like it? Will you use it when there are more features? If you didn’t like it, what did you not like about it? Saying you need your Firefox extensions isn’t a good answer. That’s not a good reason for not liking Chrome, it’s just you missing your Firefox extensions.

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I didn’t get around to cleaning up my profile and just today thought I would look at my Inbox properties. In the General Information tab, there is a button that says Rebuild Index. I’ve never known what this button does, but thought I would just click on it and see what happens.

Do you know what happened? All of my e-mails in my inbox were downloaded from Gmail!

So, if you ever have problems with your inbox (or other folders), try rebuilding the index to repair whatever is broken.

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There are other reasons for converting documents into other file formats. For example, when exchanging documents, sometimes you may run into people unable to open a file because they don’t have the right software. Solution? Convert to a PDF. Most usually already have Adobe Reader on their computers and if not, it can be downloaded for free.

Another example could be if you wanted to share documents, but don’t want someone to easily copy/paste the text somewhere else.

I tried out Universal Document Converter and it worked very well. It’s very easy to use. It’s not like using new software and then having to learn how to use it. If you know how to print, you already know how to use Universal Document Converter. Read the steps below and/or watch the video tutorial.

Just five easy steps:

1. Open a document.
2. Select File > Print. (depending on the application being used)
3. Select Universal Document Converter in the printer drop-down list.
4. Select Properties to select what file format you want to convert to. Then press OK.
5. Press Print.

This will allow you to save to the file format you had selected in the Properties. It will not print to a printer. It works just like the Microsoft XPS Document Writer does, just saves to a file. (Please note, the Microsoft XPS Document Writer is not a converter!)

After it is done converting, just open up the folder on your desktop labeled UDC Output Files to view your file(s). I was a little worried at first, but it lets you change the default output folder to another location if you choose. There is a readme file in that folder that explains more.

Universal Document Converter can export to eight file formats: TIFF, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, DCX, PCX and PDF. It also exports in high resolution.

Universal Document Converter is one of those must-have tools!

After not hearing from anyone on Twitter about creating a wish list on iTunes, I ended up doing some research and found the solution on the Apple website. It doesn’t make sense that they wouldn’t create a built-in wish list though, but this workaround is better than nothing!

First, create a new Playlist in the sidebar of iTunes. If you don’t know how to do this, follow these steps:

1. File > New Playlist (or CTRL + N)
2. Enter in a name for your wish list (example: Wish List)

Now you have a Wish List using the Playlist feature which allows you to play previews of songs or movies from the iTunes Store.

Go into the iTunes Store and search for that awesome movie or song in the iTunes Store that you want to purchase at a later date. As far as I know, the only way this works is if you have a list appear below the Store. If you find a movie or song you like, just enter it in the search box and a list will appear with all the results. Find the one you are looking for.

After you’ve selected the one you want, just drag it over to your Wish List Playlist in the sidebar and then let go. Then if you click on your Wish List Playlist, you should see what you’ve added to it.

This is not the best solution and I think Apple should add a Wish List feature. But until that day comes, this works.

If you have a better way for adding movies or songs to a Wish List for iTunes, please leave a comment!

UPDATE: I forgot to add one other step. When you’re ready to purchase a song or movie in your Wish List, drag it from your Wish List to your Shopping Cart and it will be ready for you to purchase.

In the video, she says you can press CTRL + F (or CMD + F on a Mac) whether you’re using Firefox, Safari, Opera or Internet Explorer and a search bar or window will appear and then you can enter in what you’re looking for and the word will be highlighted in the browser. Then, press the previous or next buttons to find more instances of that word. I find that to be a little slow and prefer another way (at least when using Firefox).

In Firefox, make sure Search for text when I start typing is enabled. To enable this feature:

1. Go to Tools > Options in the menu.
2. Then select Advanced.
3. In the General tab, select the checkbox next to Search for text when I start typing.
4. Click OK.

Now when you start typing a word, each part of it will automatically be selected on the webpage where ever the first instance appears. There is no need to press CTRL + F (or CMD + F on a Mac) to start searching.

If you want to find another instance of the word or phrase you’re searching for on the webpage, just press F3. F3 will go through every instance on the webpage as many times that you press it. Want to go back to a previous word or phrase? Press Shift + F3.

I was recently notified about FruitfulTime TaskManager at a perfect time and decided to give it a try because of how many tasks I needed to get done (on time). I figured this would be a great way to share my experience and opinions of this software with all of you and get a new post out at the same time!

FruitfulTime TaskManager actually looks better than a lot of other task management applications and allows you to easily see what your progress is for any tasks. It’s also small in size and performs very quickly. Another feature that has been tempting me to buy a new thumb drive is that it is portable as well. This means it can be installed on a thumb drive so you can take it wherever!

Being that I work on projects that also involve other people, it’s helpful to see who is assigned to what, so if you have a task that is dependent on another task which is assigned to someone else, you’ll know by viewing who it is assigned to and be able to contact that person regarding the status because of the Contact Manager built-in.

I do have a few annoyances/suggestions that I want to point out, that I hope could be considered in a future version:

1. Subtasks not grouped with tasks. Instead of separating the subtasks below the task listing, I would rather see a tree listing with the subtasks below each task, so I don’t have to click on a task just to see the subtask. This would save me time.
2. Deleting subtasks. Several times I have made the mistake of clicking on a subtask to delete, only to end up clicking on ‘Delete Task’, which shouldn’t appear when a subtask is selected. If the parent task was selected, then ‘Delete Task’ should appear. I just become confused when I’m so busy and not paying attention.
3. Setting task options, like Priority, Status, Progress, etc. When changing them, I have to triple-click! I wish I only had to single-click like I do for editing the name of the task, but would even settle for double-click. But triple-clicking is going a little too far and wastes time.
4. Setting the progress of a subtask does not automatically update its task. For example, if I set a subtask to 50% (say there is only one subtask), shouldn’t the task’s progress become 50%? I don’t really want to manually set it to 50%, because again, it takes time.

Features I really like:

• Adding notes to tasks.
• Adding references to any relevant websites or files. Very useful option for me especially since the company I work for has MANY websites that I need to be able to login for QA. A lot of the time, I also need to be able to review a document, so this can save me time from having to go back through lots of files to find the document I need.
• Adding reminders. Reminders can be set to go off before the Start Date or the Due Date. For me, setting reminders before a Start Date is helpful, because sometimes I like to start projects early, rather than waiting until I actually need to start it.

Overall, I do like FruitfulTime TaskManager and will probably continue using it since I’m tired of Outlook 2007 running so slow on Vista because I have a lot of e-mails and tasks to add. I like how Outlook manages tasks, but when I have to wait forever for Outlook to load, it’s not worth my time.

If you would like to see a demo of FruitfulTime TaskManager in action, there is video on the website. Interested in trying out this wonderful (very affordable) application? Go download it!

I would really like to hear if anyone else has given FruitfulTime TaskManager a try, and what you think of it. Please leave a comment below.

One way to keep up with feeds is by using your mobile phone. You can access Google Reader on your phone by going to www.google.com/reader/m. If you have an iPhone, then you would go to www.google.com/reader/i.

If you use Firefox frequently, you can also set the sidebar to load Google Reader for the iPhone or the plain mobile one. It’s your choice.

Another way that might be my favorite, although needs issues worked out, is a desktop client called ReadAir, which connects to your Google Reader account. It’s not perfect, though. But, I’m sure eventually it could get pretty close. One of the issues only displays 20 items. Even refreshing does not remove the items you’ve marked as read.

Besides a few issues, ReadAir looks really nice and works very well. It’s not slow unlike viewing feeds in Outlook is. Using ReadAir makes me feel like I’m still using Google Reader, even though it’s on the desktop.

Remote access is needed sometimes. This becomes easier when you don’t have to download any software and can do it directly from the browser.

RemotePC makes it easy to setup the host computer and the local computer. There are two separate Remote Access Host installs, one for Vista and one for other versions. I used the one for Vista. On the local computer, installing the Remote Access Viewer is also easy.

With RemotePC, you can invite a guest to access your host computer by sending an e-mail via RemotePC, which will send the guest a license to connect. This license will expire depending on what you choose. The license can be set to never expire as well. I like that, because if I knew I was going to be away from my computer for a long while, this would be a great way to give myself access without worrying that it would expire after a few hours.

On the local computer, you can access the host computer through Remote Access or a web browser. To do this, all you have to do is login to your RemotePC account on the website and it will list the available hosts for you to access. Before connecting, you need to know the host key that you initially created when setting up the host.

After the guest has disconnected, you can delete the license and invite another guest if you choose. If the license is going to expire, you can just let it expire or manually delete it by right clicking on the RemotePC icon in the system tray.

When you aren’t using RemotePC, disable it by right clicking on the icon in the system tray and a little x will appear over the icon. Nice way of knowing when RemotePC is enabled or disabled.

The RemotePC Viewer was a little slow on my laptop. I had to manually disable Aero, because RemotePC did not do this for me, it only disabled the wallpaper. Even after disabling Aero though, it was still a little slow with refreshing.

If you have files that you need to transfer between the host and local computers, RemotePC allows you to do this. This was very easy to do once I realized that Vista prevents me from saving in certain locations, so I just saved to an external hard drive. The file transfer didn’t popup any warning about the file not being transferred, because it had said it completed, even though it hadn’t.

Another product, Remote Meeting, looks like something the company I work for should have. It would be great for meetings with the employees who can’t make it into the office because they are sick or working from home. It includes some really nice features, such as showing/hiding the screen to/from select people. It also allows up to 10 people to share one desktop.

For me, if RemotePC was somewhat faster, it would be a favorite of mine. I’m always looking for ways to access my computer away from home.

Has anyone else used RemotePC and noticed it being slow? I’m curious if something I was running caused this slowness.

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Over a couple weekends ago I decided to switch back to Outlook because I missed the features like the calendar and tasks. I know, I can have all that with other programs, but why? I like having just one program open that does almost everything!

Another reason I switched is because I hate Thunderbird. Even though it’s the only e-mail client that works perfectly with Gmail IMAP when I have other e-mails forwarded to my Gmail account, I just don’t like Thunderbird. Never have. This could be because I have used Outlook for years. Using Thunderbird felt like I was downgrading.

Outlook isn’t too bad with Gmail IMAP, except that I have to manually select which e-mail address I want to use to send for my other e-mail accounts that are forwarded to my Gmail account. Outlook doesn’t automatically detect this like Thunderbird did when using identities.

I still use Outlook as I used Thunderbird with Gmail IMAP. I just wish I could use the delete button to delete e-mails, instead of always having to drag e-mails into the Gmail Trash folder. Oh well, eventually it will become habit or Microsoft will wake up and let me customize where I want my deleted e-mails to go!

NewsGator

When I had first started using Google Reader, I fell in love with it! I just liked how it worked. But, I just keep forgetting to check my feeds! It would be nice if there was some e-mail notification telling me when I have new feeds every so often. I know I get new feeds daily, but I just need some kind of reminder and notification telling me there is something new to read.

Before Google Reader, I had used NewsGator. During that time the NewsGator plugin wasn’t free to use. But now it is. I thought I would try it again. Because Google Reader doesn’t allow synchronizing, NewsGator sounds even better.

There are new features with the NewsGator plugin for Outlook, such as marking so many feeds as read depending on the age of new posts. This is something that Google Reader is missing and is needed when staring at 1000 new posts that I haven’t checked since a couple weeks ago!

The best part of the NewsGator plugin is that it is used inside of Outlook. This makes life much easier because I only need Outlook open, which I would have open 24/7 anyway, because I always check my e-mail and when I’m working, I use both the calendar and tasks for recording hours.

The only disadvantage when using an offline RSS reader is that it downloads to your hard drive and doesn’t go away unless you delete!

Anyone else prefer Outlook over Thunderbird and/or NewsGator over Google Reader?