In previous versions of MS Office, it was possible to modify your “save attachment as” dialog box with folders that you prefer, but in Office 2007, that option appeared to be gone thanks to this blog post I now know how to do it in the current version of Office.

All you have to do is browse to the folder you wish to add, then right-click in the blank area below your icons on the left, when “Add [Folder Name] will appear, and you can choose that option instantly adding it to your dialog box.

Since formatting my computer and reinstalling Office 2007, I’ve not been able to figure out this option, and been frustrated. I probably should have added it to my article, “things to hate about office 2007“.

By also right clicking and choosing “small icons” I can now more easily access my desired places to save things… Nice!

I just got done smacking myself in the head lamenting all the time I’ve wasted since this thing came out in September 2006.

How often do you have to open multiple browser windows? Do you go through the process of opening “site a”, “page b”, “site c”, “page d” etc. very often? Well I do.

Perhaps it’s for monthly online financial obligations, or your company payroll, or even checking several entertainment venues for events. For me, it’s a near daily occurrence for domain research, and at the end of the month, it happens non stop for days.

When we do end of month reporting for a client, we always open all of of the following windows, as well as several others…

• Client’s self hosted web stats
• Google Analytics
• Google Webmaster tools
• Google ad words
• Yahoo sponsored search
• Client domain main website
• Any client proprietary backend they may have
• Yahoo site explorer

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea, right? It takes a while to get them all open,especially if you don’t focus on the task at hand. It’s a tedious process of opening window after window, and “preparing” for data gathering.I admit to having a high distraction factor, and sometimes the process of getting all dozen or more windows open can take me all morning before I buckle down and do the report.

I was lamenting about this to a good friend, who asked me – “Why don’t you just use the fire fox Session Manager?”

Now admittedly, I feel like a dummy for not knowing it existed, but my loss is your gain.

If you have to open multiple browser windows on a regular basis for any reason, this is absolutely amazing. I now have created almost 30 separate sessions that I will never have to wade through again. – Check it out

Yippee! Thanks Brad!

Yesterday I was at a meeting using my laptop on a very slow internet connection. During a break, I checked my e-mail, and someone had sent me some giant pictures as file attachments, which paralyzed my computer.

The message was so large that it wouldn’t complete, and therefore I couldn’t get any of my other mail that was behind it, either, which was frustrating.

Normally when I travel and use my laptop I change my email settings to prevent this, but in this case, I hadn’t done so, and was forced to reboot.

To save your sanity, and prevent your computer from automatically downloading large file attachments when you may not want them:

In Outlook Express:

Create a “rule” by Selecting Tools > Message Rules > Mail.

Scroll through the top box “conditions” and choose “Where the message size is more than Size”.

In the second box, “Select actions”, scroll and select “Do not download it from the server”.

In the bottom area, called the “Rule description” box, click on the “size” link, setting the maximum allowed message size and click ok twice. I usually set mine at 500KB as my limit, which is a half a meg.

Unfortunately, with this method in Outlook Express, you’ll never know that the person sent you an email until you get back home and change the settings again, but at least you can keep working.

In Outlook 2003:

Choose Tools – Options and select the Mail Setup tab

click the Send/Receive rectangular button – select the group on the left, then select the Edit button.

By default, “Download complete item including attachments” is selected, but you can change the settings to “Download only headers for items larger than X“

Pick the size you’re willing to tolerate for X, and save.

Unlike Outlook Express this allows you to be notified of the message, without actually downloading the file attachment. After seeing the initial message in your inbox, you can right-click and choose to download the attachment on your next mail check.

These directions should be easy to follow, but in case you’re technically challenged, I’ve made a short video.

Someone just sent me an email about a search engine article I wrote in 1998. It was a short article where I tried to explain what a search engine was, and how to use one. Funny enough, their question was similar to the one that sparked the original article.

Like most of my articles back then, it started as an email response to a customer question. This one happened to be from someone trying to find something using a search engine, and todays question was about being FOUND, on the engines. Still, the answers were remarkably similar.

In the article, I say this -

In May of 1994, my wife and I decided to buy a house. Being semi-savvy on the computer, I thought I would try to search the Web for listings. I went to my preferred search engine site, and typed in “houses sale Portland Oregon.” I got back only three matches. Today, that same query, on that same search engine, gets exactly 60,681 matches.

Today, that same search phrase brings up 1,290,00 results. Uh-oh… looks like growth is slowing way down! In my first 4 years online, there was a growth factor of over 20,000 times. In the subsequent 4 years, going from 60,000 to 1.2 million, it only grew only 20 times.

In the article, I explained that to find what you wanted as a customer, you just had to tell the search engines exactly what you want. Today, I tell people that to be found by your customers, you just have to give them exactly what they’re looking for.

What will i do for a living once everyone finally figures it out?

The original article is still here, if you want a taste of search nostalgia…

I rarely reboot my PC and leave it run 24/7. It seems like whenever I can tell need a reboot, I’m too busy to take the time.

I have 4 gigs of ram on a dual core Intel CPU, but I have literally dozens of tasks or windows open at any given time.

This morning,  my pc was running very slowly, (just killing me), and I needed a reboot. Remembering my own advice from this summer, I rebooted Windows without rebooting and so I’m writing this instead with all my free time.

Here are the steps to instantly speed up your PC, when explorer.exe is using too much of your memory, and you think you need a reboot.

1. Press Ctrl-Alt-Del keys simultaneously once to bring up Windows Task Manager
2. Select the Processes tab
3. Press MEM Usage (which sorts your programs by their resource consumption)
4. Scroll to the bottom (the biggest memory hogs), and find explorer.exe. (You can also sort my Image name, and find it alphabetically)
5. Highlight explorer.exe. gape in amazement at the amount of memory it’s using, and  and press the End Process button.
6. In the Task Manager Window (which is still there) go to File – New Task
7. Type explorer.exe  and hit OK
8. Get back to work!

As a computer consultant, my clients often used to ask me what hardware to buy. Since I was in the PC business until 2003, I’ve always had good technical knowledge about what to buy. Now that I focus on search, i’m not as up to date on the latest hardware.
Today I got an email asking for my recommendations, and since I had just went through the “PC re-education process” buying my own PC, I decided to make my reply available here…

Hello Scott,

I am in the marketing department at my company and another co-worker and I are responsible for creating customer menus.  We use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop CS2 currently, but I am about to purchase a new VISTA installed computer.  Before I do, do you have any recommendations on what type of requirements I’ll need?  On my current system, my memory is low and I want a computer that can handle multi-tasking and store lots of graphic files.  Any suggestions?

Hi XXXX, and thanks for the inquiry,

For Adobe and graphics work, it’s all about memory (ram) for multi-tasking. I’d look for a dual core 64 bit processor and 1 gigabyte (absolute minimum) of RAM.  Dual core CPU chips handle newer applications and multi tasking much faster.

I use the Intel Core2 Duo on my desktop, and the AMD 64 x2 for my laptop. Dual core is definitely worth the few extra dollars in performance.

As far as Ram goes, I actually have 4 gigs on my main pc, and 1.5 in my laptop. STILL, I could use more. With so many programs running in the background for us all, AND the Windows OS, you just can’t have too much ram.  Ram makes it “quicker and “snappier”  while the CPU actually gives it the horsepower for complicated rendering, like audio and video files.

Ram is cheap, so for the people desiring the most productivity, I’d recommend pumping it up as high as budgets allow, especially with Microsoft Vista as the operating system!

Storing lots of files is determined by the size of your hard drive, and they’ve all gotten enormous now. 200 gigs, 300 gigs, and even larger have become the norm. Anything stored on your old PC will likely use up less than 1/3 of the space on your new PC no matter what you buy.

Look for “speed of access” to the hard drive too, as a primary factor in your performance. That means the hard drives that are “SATA2″ are going to be faster than “SATA” hard drives, and IDE is archaic technology that should be avoided at all costs in 2007. So, look for SATA 2 drives at any affordable size offered.

As far as brands of PC go, they’re really all about the same quality, in my opinion, with lots of common component manufacturers shared throughout the industry, like Western Digital, Intel, AMD etc.

Similar parts used in all the major brands, like HP, Dell etc.  The difference really lies in the supprt you get, for which I do like Dell, but like anywhere, service is going to be hit and miss. Perhaps buying it at a local shop that offers support is your best option, assuming the added cost isn’t too much.

Upgrading WordPress is an important part of your security, yet many people put it off because it can be intimidating, even though they have step by step WordPress upgrade instructions.
Well I’m here to tell you that it’s not that hard, and to prove it, I’ve made a short video tutorial available here – How to Upgrade Your WordPress

Don’t make the mistake of skipping a WordPress update. If you do it every time a new version is available, you can actually save yourself a lot of time and frustration…

I watch and listen to more than my share of online tutorials, both in audio and video format. I listen on my pc, and I take some for later on an Ipod, and there’s nothing I hate more than being unproductive.

Most of what I choose to view (or hear) is necessary for my work, but I really don’t have any time to spare. Sometimes, the speaker or presenter talks very slowly, or goes on and on, when all I want are the facts. Just give me what I need to know, and give it to me right now.
Recently, I received (again, from Jerry West) a link to a 48 minute video analysis of the Q4 2006 search engine algorithm changes. C’mon, Jerry, are you kidding me?! 48 minutes?

I immediately started searching for a way to speed up the playback time, and it didn’t take me too long to find this great post.

They covered several of my options, and in the comments, there were other suggestions too that could help with nearly any type of media file I needed to play faster.

So, if you are looking for a way to easily speed up the time it takes to playback audio and video files, look no further than here. I saved so much time watching my 48 minute video, that I had some left over to write this…

There is an entire industry that does nothing except buy and resell expired domain names, and most of their inventory comes from grabbing the expired domain names of businesses just like yours.

Knowing these ten items below could save you hours of time & aggravation, and save your businesses hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

These are, in my opinion, the ten things you absolutely must know about your company domain name…

Domain registrar company name – This is the company that your domain was purchased from. The registrars website is the only place you can update or renew any domain information – look this up at http://www.betterwhois.com and type in your domain name, then a confirmation code you’ll be provided. Instantly, you’ll be given the name of your registrar.

Domain registrar username and password – Wherever your domain was registered, there is a user name and password required make any changes. This username and password is crucial for you to know.

After determining the registrar, visit their website and attempt to log in. If you don’t know the login and account name, you’re going to have to contact them, either by phone or by email.

Domain registrant – Normally, the business owner is the registrant. But, whoever possesses the registrar username and password is effectively in control of the domain.

The registrant is the legal owner, but many companies find out too late that they’re not the registrants of their own domain names! Often, it is an ex-employee, or the web hosting or design company they hired to create the website.

This leaves the site owner out in the cold if they ever want to make hosting or design changes. Your initial search at http://www.betterwhois.com will also show this information below the name of the registrAR.

Domain registrant contact information – The contact information of the registrant MUST be kept current at the website of the registrar. If you register a domain name and then change your email address or ISP, you will never be notified that your domain name is expiring, and you will lose your domain name.

Verify the registrant contact information at the registrar website. This is how most domain names are lost. When the expiration date comes up, the registrar attempts to notify the registrant. If there’s no response, then you lose it.

Domain Expiration Date – For obvious reasons, you should be well aware of when your domain name is set to expire. There are vultures perched on every tree branch waiting to pounce on your expired domain name, then try to sell it back to the rightful owner at 20, 50, or even 100 or 1000 times the actual cost.

Domain Locked Status – New domain name registrations are locked by default at the registrar. This means no changes can take place without an email notification getting sent to the registrar. If you’ve had your domain for a couple of years, your registrar may not have your domain name locked. Check this at your registrant website.

Your Web host – It’s hard to believe, but many businesses faced with the loss of a key employee don’t even know who is hosting their website. To determine your webhost, do the following”

1. Use http://www.betterwhois.com to determine your “Name Server” settings
2. Visit DNS Stuff and use the search box under “DNS Lookup”, (selecting “NS” from the dropdown box) to search for one of your Name Server settings. Just type in the domain name, without the first prefix, which is usually NS.
3. This should give you the name of the domain that owns your name servers. In many cases it will match, but in some cases, it will be another domain name.
4. After you have the Name Server owners domain name, just visit that site to get their contact information.

FTP Username and password of your domain – Not only is it important to know the company that’s hosting your domain, but you should also know their phone number, email, and their website. However, to make any changes to your website, you need to know your FTP address, your FTP user name, and your FTP password.

This information is to be guarded closely, and should always be changed after any key employee or subcontractor leaves your employment.

Domain control panel access – This is provided by your web host for convenience, and it’s where you would add or remove any email addresses, mailing lists, FTP users, or subdomains to your current domain.

Complete control of everything in your website starts here, and the username and password for the control panel should also be held close, and distributed only on a “need to know” basis.

Website Visitor Statistics – Only the most antiquated web hosts don’t offer free comprehensive reporting on your site visitors. Amazingly, many business owners aren’t even aware that they exist, or have no idea of the wealth of knowledge that they hold. Contact your webhost, and find out where and how you access your site statistics and give them a look.

Some Definitions:

Domain name – This is your url or your “address” on the web. www.domainname.com

Registrant – This is the legal owner of any domain name. Contrary to popular belief, this can is not always the business owner or company that is using the domain name

Registrar – This is an online service for registering domain names. There are dozens, perhaps even hundreds of registrars to choose from, and prices range from $7 to $30 per year, per domain name.

How devastated would you be if you lost your domain name and all of your company email addresses? Not a month goes by that I don’t encounter yet another business that got caught with their pants down… Don’t you be next!

Find out the answers to these ten items, fill them out on a worksheet, and keep it safe for future reference. You never know when you’ll need it.

I found a code online that lets me add this feature to my Comcast remote.

What I liked most about my Dish DVR was the ability to press a button and skip forward 30 seconds in a recorded program. This feature allowed me to skip commercials, which was the main benefit to recording TV programs in the first place.

That’s why I was so surprised last week when we switched to Comcast that the feature was missing. Oh sure, I could speed up the commercials by 4x or so, then have to reverse again when I passed the return of the show, but there was no measured way to skip commercials.

Very disappointed, I casually mentioned it to Comcast on the phone during a call about another issue. After confirming with him that there was no “pre-programmed” feature on the remote to do that, I told him that I really hated it, and was considering switching back.

That’s when he told me that some industrious people had posted a hack for the remote online, and with “a little effort” if I “knew how to use a search engine well” I could possibly find it out.

Well, it actually took me nearly 15 minutes, but I found it, and here it is, for your TV commercial skipping pleasure (with a silver remote and a Motorola DCT3412 box)…

1. Choose an unused or unneeded button on the “silver” remote to be the 30-second skip command. I used my “A-lock” button, and in retrospect (with two kids) that’s probably not the best choice, but I wanted it near the other DVR controls. Other choices are the PIP buttons at the bottom, (maybe there’s a hack for those too?) or the “help” button (there’s no help either).
2. Press the “Cable” button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
3. Press and hold the “Setup” button until the “Cable” button blinks twice.
4. Type in the code 994. The “Cable” button will blink twice.
5. Press (do not hold) the “Setup” button.
6. Type in the code 00173.
7. Press whatever button you want to map the 30-second skip command to.

That’s it…you’re done!

*** Update 2010 ****  (from comments below re: the new Platinum Remotes)

Ha! Take that, you…you… well, whoever you are that kept us from this feature in the first place…and thank you, to the AVS forum.

The Comcast guy on the phone claimed that they were “pressured” by Motorola to leave that off, but i have a hard time understanding why. It’s obvious why the networks and TV stations don’t like this feature, but why Motorola? Are they owned by (or own) a major media company?

Anyway, I’m happy again, and can now watch 2 hours of TV in an hour and 40 minutes, leaving me extra time to search the web for stuff I think I need…

Even though I’m online 12+ hours a day, what I DON’T know about the Myspace community is enough to fill hundreds of pages.

Internet Consultant Mark Harris has written a book called My Space 4 Parents. In his downloadable Ebook, he includes six videos too, to help you understand all that he’s talking about.

If you have kids that are able to use a computer, it won’t be long before they’re diving into the MySpace pool (if they haven’t already) and as a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure they don’t drown, or even worse, pull someone else down with them.

Do yourself and your kids a favor, and pick up this book right now. The price is certainly right, and I’ve seen no more comprehensive coverage of the subject by any author.

Someone sent me this illustrated RAID example that I just had to share…

The RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) defintions below are from WikiPedia, and they’re pretty good…

There are number of different RAID levels:

Level 0 — Striped Disk Array without Fault Tolerance: Provides data striping (spreading out blocks of each file across multiple disk drives) but no redundancy. This improves performance but does not deliver fault tolerance. If one drive fails then all data in the array is lost.

Level 1 — Mirroring and Duplexing: Provides disk mirroring. Level 1 provides twice the read transaction rate of single disks and the same write transaction rate as single disks.

Level 2 — Error-Correcting Coding: Not a typical implementation and rarely used, Level 2 stripes data at the bit level rather than the block level.

Level 3 — Bit-Interleaved Parity: Provides byte-level striping with a dedicated parity disk. Level 3, which cannot service simultaneous multiple requests, also is rarely used.

Level 4 — Dedicated Parity Drive: A commonly used implementation of RAID, Level 4 provides block-level striping (like Level 0) with a parity disk. If a data disk fails, the parity data is used to create a replacement disk. A disadvantage to Level 4 is that the parity disk can create write bottlenecks.

Level 5 — Block Interleaved Distributed Parity: Provides data striping at the byte level and also stripe error correction information. This results in excellent performance and good fault tolerance. Level 5 is one of the most popular implementations of RAID.

Level 6 — Independent Data Disks with Double Parity: Provides block-level striping with parity data distributed across all disks.

Level 0+1 – A Mirror of Stripes: Not one of the original RAID levels, two RAID 0 stripes are created, and a RAID 1 mirror is created over them. Used for both replicating and sharing data among disks.

Level 10 – A Stripe of Mirrors: Not one of the original RAID levels, multiple RAID 1 mirrors are created, and a RAID 0 stripe is created over these.

Level 7: A trademark of Storage Computer Corporation that adds caching to Levels 3 or 4.

RAID S: EMC Corporation’s proprietary striped parity RAID system used in its Symmetrix storage systems.