September 2007 newsletter

Find files fast with desktop search

desktop search can save you time. Instead of hunting through numerous folders or waiting on the slow search engine built into Windows XP to find your file, desktop search can help you find it almost instantly.
Windows Desktop Search is a free add-on developed by Microsoft that adds desktop search to Windows XP. Windows Vista comes with Instant Search, a desktop search feature. Both allow you to search the full text of documents almost instantly, and you can also tag songs, pictures, and other non-text files to help you quickly find them.

Use custom toolbars to quickly find files

Another way you can quickly find the files you use often is to add a custom toolbar to your taskbar that points to the folder. Instead of having to openWindows Explorer to find the file, the toolbar provides a direct link to the files from your taskbar regardless of what programs you have open, making it a snap to find and open the file.
Learn how to add custom toolbars to your taskbar

Open the right file the first time
Whether you're hunting for the memo you were working on for your boss or the family photo you want to print, it can be difficult to spot the right file in the Open dialog boxes of many programs. Fortunately, the Open dialog boxes are often Windows Explorer windows, so they have similar tools that can make it easier to open the right file the first time.
Learn how to use the options in the Windows Vista Open dialog boxes to change file views, sort and group files, and preview the file, all of which will make it easier to find the right file the first time.

Windows Vista or Windows XP?
Although Windows Vista was released back in January 2007, Windows XP is still the preferred OS for personal computing. As of June 2007,Windows XP is used by 81 percent of all computer users, compared with 5 percent for Vista and 6 percent for Mac OS and MacIntel combined.Three popular freeware applications that can extend the power and lifespan of your Windows XP system are CCleaner, RAMBooster, and Auslogics Disk Defrag have all become essential XP tools for those of us on the CNET Download.com team. CCleaner and Auslogics are included in our PC Checkup service. Our recommendation is to stay with XP for the time being as we have experienced many hiccups with new computers using Windows Vista. If you want to know more, please contact us.

While this story has nothing to do with computers, we really liked it and hope you do too.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water, at the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."
The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
SO... remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!