Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Paint.NET

Cougar Gold



Washington State University was thought of as a primarily agricultural institution in the past. Now they have burst into today's IT scene with an improvement on an old product.

"Paint.NET originated as a Computer Science senior design project during the Spring 2004 semester at Washington State University.

Paint.NET v4+ is image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows. Paint.NET is jointly developed at Washington State University with additional help from Microsoft, and is meant to be a free replacement for the MS Paint software that comes with all Windows operating systems. The programming language used to create Paint.NET is C#, with GDI+ extensions.

It has been compared to other digital photo editing software packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Microsoft Photo Editor, and The GIMP."

Paint.NET free download





To order Cougar Gold Cheddar Cheese see:
The Creamery



See all Topics

Monday, June 29, 2015

Legal Users Guide

Object with style


"At first glance, you might think that not much has changed in the latest version of Microsoft Word; however, when you take a closer you look and discover the added collaboration functionality, research capabilities such as Encarta, translation and more, increased security, and new XML-enabled opportunities, you will quickly realize that Word 2003 offers even more benefits for the legal user."

Word 2003 Legal User's Guide

Charles Kenyon has put together the Intermediate User's Guide.
This Intermediate Users' Guide is based closely on the Legal Users' Guide and supplements it. It contains all the text from the original Legal Users' Guide together with additional guides and links to other resources.



See all Topics

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Calculate Age

A few solutions



Here are some methods that have been posted to the newsgroups:

Assuming that the birth date field is called [BDate] and is of type date, you can use the following calculation:

Age:DateDiff("yyyy", [Bdate], Now())+ _
Int( Format(now(), "mmdd")

Alternately you can use this function to calculate age:

Function Age(Bdate, DateToday) As Integer
' Returns the Age in years between 2 dates
' Doesn't handle negative date ranges i.e. Bdate > DateToday

If Month(DateToday) < age =" Year(DateToday)" age =" Year(DateToday)">



From:
The Access Web (MVPs.org)

Also see:

Support.Microsoft.com:
Two Functions to Calculate Age in Months and Years

Office Tips:
Martin Green
Working out Someone's Age



See all Topics

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Stop Auto Fill In

Do your own


Here's how to stop Outlook from automatically filling in the e-mail address when typing the name of a contact in the To: field.

Outlook's Suggest Names feature helps speed up routine e-mail activities. However you may want to get rid of it when, for instance, you have two or more e-mail addresses that are similar and Outlook keeps choosing the wrong one.

To turn this feature off:
  1. Select Options from Outlook's Tools menu
  2. Click on the Preferences tab
  3. Clickthe E-mail Options button
  4. Click the Advanced E-mail Options button
  5. Uncheck the box, near the bottom of the dialog, labeled:
    "Suggest names while completing To, Cc, and Bcc fields"




See all Topics

Friday, June 26, 2015

Jargon Translation

Tech Stuff for the Web


"There are many Web technologies, from simple to complex, and explaining each in detail is beyond the scope of this article. However, to help you get started with developing your own Web sites, beyond simple WYSIWYG designing of Web pages in FrontPage, this article provides brief definitions of the major Web technologies along with links to sites where you can find more information, tutorials, and reference documentation."


Introduction to Web Technologies

If you have seen or heard these terms, and want a definition with links to more background material, this maybe the place to start.

  • Access
  • ActiveX Controls
  • Apache
  • ASP
  • ASP.NET
  • C#
  • CGI
  • CSS
  • Databases
  • Ecma International
  • FrontPage Server Extensions
  • HTML
  • IETF
  • Internet Information Services
  • Java
  • JavaScript (JScript/ECMAScript)
  • MySQL
  • Oracle Database
  • Perl
  • PHP
  • SharePoint Team Services
  • SQL Server
  • VBScript
  • Visual Basic .NET
  • Windows SharePoint Services
  • World Wide Web Consortium
  • XML
  • XSLT




See all Topics

Thursday, June 25, 2015

MS Groups

Web based Newsreader


We can't forget that, even with blogs and google, there are still news groups out there helping to solve common problems.

Microsoft has a site that organizes a number of groups and makes access easy on the web.
"The Web-based Newsreader allows you to participate in discussion groups directly in your Web browser; you don't need to install or configure anything. You can use the Web-based Newsreader to read, post, search for, and reply to messages in discussion groups from the part of Usenet that concerns Microsoft products and technologies."


Microsoft Discussion Groups

Help for the Web-based Newsreader



See all Topics

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Presentation Blog

Eavesdrop on the pros


I like to read what the professionals are doing in any field.

Here's a blog I stumbled across that is:
"A group weblog dedicated to sharing resources that can help anyone involved in any aspect of the presentation process achieve better results."

VisualBeing.com

One of the recent topics explores the possibility of converting a PowerPoint show in a form that can then be used in a podcast:

Podcasting PowerPoint

I believe that the Lee Potts, is also the force behind:

The Eyes Have It

"A weblog devoted (mainly) to visual communications in the pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare sectors."




See all Topics

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Unicode

Index resource

"Have you ever tried to include a passage in a different alphabet in one of your documents, for example a quotation in Russian in an English document, only to find that you have no Cyrillic characters available? Or sent a Spanish document in electronic form to someone in Greece, only to be told that the accented Latin characters have been replaced by Greek characters? Or produced a Web page that includes technical symbols and found that it works with Windows but not with Mac OS or Unix?"
Alan Wood's Unicode Resources

Unicode fonts for Windows computers

From the Word Help file:

If you know the Unicode (hexadecimal) value of a character, you can use the ALT+X keyboard shortcut to enter the character directly in your document.

Type the Unicode (hexadecimal) value of the character. Press ALT+X.
Note: The value string can also begin with U+.

Microsoft Word replaces the string to the left of the insertion point with the character you specified.

You can also use ALT+X to display the Unicode character code for a particular character. Place the insertion point to the right of the character, and then press ALT+X. The character is replaced by its character code. Press ALT+X again to switch back to the character.

  • Љ — Hex=0409
  • א — Hex=05D0
  • ئ — Hex=0626

Editorium.com:
How to use Unicode characters in Microsoft Word

Also see:
Unicode Fonts and Keyboard

Unicode Macros



See all Topics

Monday, June 22, 2015

Choose List Criteria

Set values


  1. Somewhere in the workbook, create three named ranges:
    1. Type (elements of this named range should be Sedans, SUVs)
    2. Sedans (elements of this named range should be Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Mazda 6)
    3. SUVs (elements of this named range should be Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty)

  2. Select A1:A10, go to Data>Validation select List. Under source, type:
    =Type

  3. Select B1:B10, go to Data>Validation select List. Under source, type:
    =INDIRECT(A1)
Choose a vehicle type from the selection that appears in the A column, and the choices in B will be limited to the entries in the appropriate list.


To create a named range, select the list: Hit Ctrl+F3. Enter the name and hit OK (or Enter), or Type the name in the Name Box on the left side of the Formula bar and hit the Enter key, or Go to Insert>Name. If the list selected includes a label/title, choose Create, otherwise choose Define, type the name and hit Enter).
Also Contextures.com:
Data Validation -Create Dependent Lists



See all Topics

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Notepad

Really basic


There are hundreds of freeware substitutes for Windows Notepad, but you can still do some interesting things with the standard version included with Windows.

To create a file that time-dates entries, on the first line of a Notepad document, type the following extension at the left margin, making sure you use all uppercase letters and include the period:

.LOG

After making an entry, save Notepad. When you next open the file, the previous date and time will be displayed.

You can, also insert the date and time by clicking Edit and select Time/Date, or just press F5. The current date and time will automatically be inserted into your file.

You can also change the Font on the Format menu and change the page layout on File>Page Setup.

To work with Headers and Footers,
On the File menu, click Page Setup.
In the Header or Footer box, type the letter and character combination from the following list:
Insert the open file's name or (untitled) if the file has no name.
&f
Insert the date.
&d
Insert the time specified by your computer's clock.
&t
Insert page numbers.
&p
Insert an ampersand (&).
&&
Align the header or footer to the left, center, or right.
&l, &c, or &r


Note
  • You can use more than one combination in the Header or Footer box. Leaving a space or two between each combination will make the header or footer easier to read.
  • To align text to the left, center, or right, you must first enter &l, &c, or &r in the Header or Footer box, followed by any other combinations you want to use.
  • You can also incorporate text with the combinations. For example, Page &p will print out as Page 1, Page 2, and so on.
Product description 
Replacing notepad in Windows



See all Topics

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Ungroup and Animate

Tweak charts


This tutorial combines the ability to break graphics into pieces and PowerPoint's animation tools.

It's from Glen Millar's PPTWorkbench:
Complex Animations

Also see:

Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101:
Advanced PowerPoint: Animate Data

EllenFinkelstein.com:
Animate Tables

Andrew May:
Animating Shapes in PowerPoint

and:
Animation Schemes

Ungroup Charts in PowerPoint 2007 +

Group or ungroup shapes, pictures, or other objects in PowerPoint 2007 +



See all Topics

Friday, June 19, 2015

Taxes, Audits, and Rock and Roll

Government You Can Dance To


"Louisville, Ky. recently launched a tax amnesty program, much like those elsewhere. Under the program, if your business pays its overdue taxes by May 31, the city will waive penalties and interest. If you don't, it promises to come after you using some new computer systems that, the government says, will finger the tax-dodgers.

But Louisville has added a couple of twists to its initiative: It has billboards around town warning people to pay up, a digital countdown clock that tells them the days and hours left until amnesty expires - and, of course, it has its own rock song. Huh? That's right. Louisville's amnesty program comes with its own rock anthem by a local group called, appropriately enough, the Accountants. Their song, is a hard-driving number that warns people owing occupational license fees and business profit taxes,

"You laid low and you've not paid,
But don't be afraid,
Your only chance to improve your finance,
If you come clean you'll save some green."



Also see:
The Accountants (www.CPArock.com)

Email Junkie
"When I get up at six I gotta get my fix
start the day with a couple of clicks
Forget the shower, forget the shave
forget the news in the USA Today
When I hear the hard drive hummin'
I know the buzz is comin'
I get a rush when I see
twenty one messages waiting for me"


Middle Man
"I used to be one of the front line guys
Till the bosses upstairs seduced me with lies
They said 'we'll promote you, and you’ll call the shots'
But I didn't know it was such a tight spot

In charge of these people who once were my friends
Now I'm their boss and that’s where it ends
Its not worth the small change that I make
Taking this job was my biggest mistake

Caught in the middle, want to quit every day
But I’ve got a family and mortgage to pay"


Suggested by:

Gwen Kopetzky
City of Tacoma
Assistant to the City Manager




See all Topics

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Pictures in Forms

It can still be done


Photo Editor was an Office component prior to Office 2003.
In Access/Office 2003/2007 MS Photo Editor was replaced, and Office no longer includes an OLE server for images.

To work around this issue, reinstall Photo Editor.
To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Insert the Microsoft Office XP CD-ROM into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
  2. If the Office XP Setup program does not start automatically, follow these steps:

    1. Click Start, and then click Run.
    2. In the Open box, type drive:\Setup.exe, where drive is the letter of your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
  3. Start to step through the Setup process, and then select Customize for the type of Setup to perform.
  4. When you reach the Selecting Features step, set each node of the Setup tree to Not Available.
  5. Under Features to install, expand Office Tools.
  6. Click Microsoft Photo Editor, and then click Run from My Computer.
  7. Click Install Now.
  8. Click OK when Office XP Setup has completed successfully.
Microsoft Support Article: 817095


Also:
Ammara.com:
Pictures in Access Forms & Reports
OLE Object Photo & Image Problems & Solutions





Access MVPS.org: Handle/Display images in forms/database
"While it's possible to actually store the images within the database itself as OLE objects, normally it's not the preferred way. When you embed an OLE object in a table, you're storing a lot of overhead as well. This overhead is the information about the object (such as its parent application) that Access needs to store in order to render the object properly."
Displaying photos in a form



See all Topics

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Copy Writing for the Web

Writing resources


..."the personal website of Matt Pfeffer. It is an experiment more than anything. An attempt to learn a thing or two, get some exercise, maybe have a laugh now and then.
Everything here is either trivial, or wrong."

ProvenanceUnknown.com


Principles of copywriting for the web

"The guidelines this document describes will tell you how to improve the user experience on your site. They apply to web copy generally - both marketing copy and navigational (or instructional or "guide") copy - and their value is indirect but significant: Observing them will improve your site's ability to do its job well. "

Web copy style

"This style guide seeks to serve as a resource for anyone writing or editing web copy, and to document some of the conventions that distinguish good writing, as published on the web, from writing published in other media."

Got Editing?
"I am glad to provide free editing help to nonprofit organizations and independent web publishers. The offer is generally for one-time edits of a web site, or of any reasonable amount of web content."




See all Topics

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Sequentially Number Documents

Budget0056.doc


Here's an example of how to use an external text file to record incremental numbering.
"Sometimes, when working on a project, you may want to save your documents in sequential order (for example, "0001", "0002", "0003", and so on).
If you wanted to do this manually, you would need to sort through your working directory for the latest file number before you could assign the next number to a new file.
Using this fairly straightforward Word macro, you can make creating sequenced files as easy as pressing a button."

LogicalExpressions.com:

Using Sequential Document Serial Numbers
(Allen Wyatt)

Also see:

Autonumber Invoices



See all Topics

Monday, June 15, 2015

Value of Cell in Header

or Footer



The header and footer cannot contain a link to a cell. You can create and run a macro that will put the value of a cell into a footer or header. You could run this macro each time the contents of the specified cell changes.

Sub AssignCenterHeaderToValueInA1OnActiveSheet()
ActiveSheet.PageSetup.CenterHeader = Range("A1").Value
End Sub

Or use it as an Event code:

Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
ActiveSheet.PageSetup.CenterHeader = Range("A1").Value
End Sub

OzGrid.com:
Information from a cell in a worksheet

Erlandsen Data Consulting:
Insert headers and footers

Chip Pearson:
Headers and Footers

Jan's Computer literacy 101:
Excel Basics: Setup Header/Footer



See all Topics

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Dynamic Formatting of Forms

GetFocus, Resize, Color Data


Here is a description about how to perform three different actions on forms to respond to data entries or changes in events.

MSDN.Microsoft.com:
Eventful Formatting for Access Forms
By Rick Dobson - SmartAccess magazine

Formatting with GotFocus and LostFocus events
One of the most visually dramatic changes that you can make to a form involves changing the image that tiles across the background of a form.
Formatting with the Resize event
Since the inception of Access, form designers have been plagued by the ability of users to change the size and shape of a form. This is because controls on a form maintain their size and anchor their position to the form's top and left borders even while a form changes its size, shape, or both. Whenever a user changes the size or shape of a form, the form's Resize event fires.
Formatting Data
"It's typical for designers to need to dynamically alter formatting to reflect the value in a textbox or other controls. Here's an example of why it's important to understand how the Access events work. With the Current event:
  • You can change the formatting whenever the user moves to a new record in the record source for a form.
  • You can change formatting when a form initially loads data for display.
  • However, the Current event doesn't fire when a user changes a value on the current row, so you can't use this event to respond to user input.
To respond to user-entered data, you can use the AfterUpdate event for a control to change the formatting for the value in a control after updating. While the Current event applies to a form overall, you can create an AfterUpdate event procedure for a whole form or a specific control on a form."
Look for a demo file called "502DOBSON.ZIP" (The image file in the code resides in the articles folder of the c:\ path. You'll probably need to update the path for the image files on your computer.)

Also see: Access MVPS.org:  
Colors and Continuous forms  
Changing the Background Color of the Current Record




See all Topics

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Holidays

Invent your own



Microsoft Outlook has a built-in feature to add holidays from different countries and religions to your default Calendar folder. You can add holidays to your Calendar folder by following these steps:
  1. Choose Tools>Options, then click Calendar Options

  2. On the Calendar Options dialog box, click Add Holidays

  3. In the Add Holidays to Calendar dialog box, check the countries or religions whose holidays you want to add, then click OK
For Outlook 2000 and earlier versions, the list of holidays is stored in a text file named Outlook.txt, found in the language specific subfolders of the Office folder. Starting with Outlook 2002, the file is named Outlook.hol. If you are setting up a company-wide deployment of Outlook, you may want to edit this file in Notepad to add your own holidays, remove lists that you don't want users to import, or correct dates that Microsoft got wrong.

For more information about Outlook holidays and an updated file for holidays through 2007, see: Slipstick.com:
Microsoft Outlook Holiday Issues 
Calendar Tools for Outlook



See all Topics

Friday, June 12, 2015

Special Characters

The other letters


  • Ctrl+'
    Adds an acute accent to the character typed next

    Á


  • Ctrl+'
    When followed by d or D, creates the old English character "eth"

    Ð


  • Ctrl+`
    Adds a grave accent to the character typed next

    À


  • Ctrl+^
    Adds a circumflex to the character typed next

    Â


  • Ctrl+~
    Adds a tilde to the character typed next

    Ã


  • Ctrl+:
    Adds a dieresis or umlaut to the character typed next

    Ä


  • Ctrl+@
    Adds a degree symbol above the letters a and A; used primarily in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish

    Å


  • Ctrl+&
    Creates combination or Germanic characters based on the character typed next

    Æ

    or

    ß


  • Ctrl+,
    Adds a cedilla to the character typed next

    Ç


  • Ctrl+/
    Adds a slash through the letters o and O; used primarily in Danish and Norwegian

    Ø


  • Alt+Ctrl+?
    Creates an inverted question mark

    ¿


  • Alt+Ctrl+!
    Creates an inverted exclamation mark

    ¡


Also see: Word MVPS.org:
How can I insert special characters, such as dingbats and accented letters, in my document? Article contributed by Suzanne S. Barnhill



See all Topics

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Favicons

Art in 16x16 pixels


When you link to certain sites, you might notice that a graphic is sometimes displayed instead of the IE logo. There are numerous sites that help to create and place these logos.

To add a Favicon, upload the file, favicon.ico to the root web directory of your hosted website Make sure the file is named "favicon.ico." When someone bookmarks your site with a browser that supports favicons, your mini-pic will appear.
You could also link it using this code:

<link href="favicon.ico" rel="SHORTCUT ICON">

MSDN.Microsoft.com:
How to Add a Shortcut Icon to a Web Page

Clickfire.com:
Place a Favicon on your Website

Michael P. Pierce:
MpP Favicon Gallery

Chami.com:
FavIcon from Pics

"FavIcon from Pics is an online tool that can generate a favicon from a picture, logo or other graphic of any size/resolution. It was also the first online tool that simplified the creation of favicons using a regular image without requiring manual edits."
Makiko Itoh:
Favicon

" Here's a roundup of some of the favicons that caught my eye. Please click through to the sites themselves, to see how the favicon works (or not) with the site. Maybe it will get you thinking about your own site's favicon."

Daniel Burka:
Favourite Favicons



See all Topics

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Typography for the rest of us

Real world fonts


Choosing a type face can be fun, but also overwhelming.

You want to convey the message without obscuring the thoughts in an avalanche of weird shapes.

Cameron Moll has a web site/Blog called Authentic Boredom; his "platitudinous web home."

Recently he explored:

The non-typographer's guide to practical typeface selection
"I honestly believe typeface selection is one of the most transparent ways of detecting good - and bad - design. You can tell plenty about a designer merely by the typefaces he/she chooses. So you'd be wise to start with trusted faces, and you'd be even wiser to know something about the history of each typeface."


Also see:
Who was that font I saw you with last night?



See all Topics

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Rank Formatting

Highlight the best



Use Conditional formatting to highlight the rank of items in a list.
Select the range. Go to Format>Conditional Formatting....

Change the first box to "Formula Is".

Enter the following formulas. (Click Add to set the 2nd and 3rd Condition.)

=RANK($A2,$A$2:$A$13)=3
=RANK($A2,$A$2:$A$13)=2
=RANK($A2,$A$2:$A$13)=1


Rank Conditional Formatting

(Notice the three way tie for third.)

Does a tie for first or third make sense?

If you want a unique rank, try a formula like:

=RANK(A2,$A$2:$A$13)+COUNTIF($A$2:A2,A2)-1

This will rank the numbers in the order they appear in the list.

For a detailed discussion of ranking see:

Chip Pearson:
Ranking Data In Lists
(There is a workbook you can download)



See all Topics

Monday, June 08, 2015

Countdown to Appointment

Seven days till vacation


You could use brute force to enter data in an Outlook calendar that would count down to an event. Creating separate entries rapidly becomes tedious.

Outlook MVP Diane Poremsky demonstrates a way to quickly combine a list in Excel (or other CSV type formats) with calendar entries in Outlook.

It boils down to creating a list and importing into an Outlook calendar.

Here are the instructions including screenshots:
Create Countdown Calendar Items
From Outlook-tips.net



See all Topics

Sunday, June 07, 2015

AutoRecover

Recover zapped files


You can use the AutoRecover feature in Word to recover a Word document if your computer loses power or if an application error occurs while you are working in a document.

To set the AutoRecover feature in Word:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Choose the Save tab and select the "Save AutoRecover info every" check box.
Set the minutes box to the desired time interval between AutoRecover saves.



The AutoRecover feature does not replace the saving of a document. There is no feature in Word to automatically save your document files. You must periodically save your documents.

What Is the AutoRecover Feature in Word?

How Word creates and recovers the AutoRecover files

"When you perform a full save of your file, there is no way to go back to your original version. If the document was saved automatically, in many instances data would be lost because a full save is irreversible.

In contrast, AutoRecover does not overwrite your original file; this allows you to back out of most errors just by not saving changes when you close the file.

An AutoRecover file is created or updated each time there are changes that have not been saved at the end of the preset time period. You should perform a full save specifically based on progress you've made in your document rather than arbitrarily at regular time intervals.

NOTE: Another way to protect your work and maintain all of your changes is to use the Versions command on the File menu."

Also:

Word.MVPS.org:
How can I make Word save or back up my document automatically?


In Word 2007+ it's under "Office button">Word options> Save.

By design, Microsoft Word does not create an AutoRecover file when you are working in a master document, because the AutoRecover file format is not compatible with the master document file format.

When you use Word as your e-mail editor, Word does not create an AutoRecover (AutoSave) file of your e-mail message.



See all Topics

Saturday, June 06, 2015

Formatting Code for Headers and Footers

Roll your own


From Microsoft support:

The following list contains the format codes that you can use in headers and footers.

Codes to format text ("&" is an ampersand - Shift+7)

&L



Left-aligns the characters that follow.



&C



Centers the characters that follow.



&R



Right-aligns the characters that follow.



&E



Turns double-underline printing on or off.



&X



Turns superscript printing on or off.



&Y



Turns subscript printing on or off.



&B



Turns bold printing on or off.



&I



Turns italic printing on or off.



&U



Turns underline printing on or off.



&S



Turns strikethrough printing on or off.



&"fontname"



Prints the characters that follow in the specified
(font. Be sure to include the quotation marks around the font name.)



&nn



Prints the characters that follow in the specified
(font size. Use a two-digit number to specify a size in points.)

Codes to insert specific data

&D
Prints the current date
&T
Prints the current time
&F
Prints the name of the document
&A
Prints the name of the workbook tab (the "sheet name")
&[File]
Also prints file name
&[Path]
Prints path
&[Picture]
Opens dialog box to select graphic (2003)
&P
Prints the page number
&P+number
Prints the page number plus number
&P-number
Prints the page number minus number
&&
Prints a single ampersand
&N
Prints the total number of pages in the document


In a macro, to use multiple lines in a header, use either of the following methods:
  • Use CHR(10) to insert a linefeed character.
  • Use CHR(13) to insert a carriage return character.
The article also includes the VBA to create a macro that will insert header/footer information:
Microsoft KB213618

Also: Daily Dose of Excel: Formatting Footers in VBA



See all Topics

Friday, June 05, 2015

The Well

A salute to our predecessors


Remember the acronym BBS? Remember the Whole Earth movement?

Before "Chat rooms" and IM, for 20 years there has been an online community of readers and contributors.

While it started in the Bay area, it is international in scope.

On the net since April 1, 1985, happy birthday to the Well.

From Well.com:
"There is nothing quite like The WELL, and the secret has a lot to do with its evolution. Stewart Brand and Larry Brilliant founded the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link in 1985, starting with a dialog between the fiercely independent writers and readers of the Whole Earth Review.

This set the tone for the open but remarkably literate and uninhibited intellectual gathering that continues today. Over the years, WELL members have made fast friends, created enduring traditions, gathered casually face-to-face in cities 'round the world, and provided support to strangers.

They have founded organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Craig's List, and documented what was emerging in books like Howard Rheingold's The Virtual Community, John Seabrook's Deeper, and Katie Hafner's The WELL. They have gone into business together, fallen in and out of love, cultivated feuds, taken kickass vacations together and enriched lives.

Salon.com bought The WELL in 1999, and upgraded its servers to greet the century. These days WELL members enjoy access to Salon's remarkable independent journalist and the benefits of Salon Premium."


About the Well



See all Topics

Thursday, June 04, 2015

Animation Schemes

Tutorial about Cool PowerPoint Animations

"This tutorial is more of a demonstration of what cool custom animation effects can be achieved just by using the standard PowerPoint wipes."
  • Exhibition stand graphics to attract visitors
  • Conference openers (especially good with music)
  • Conference breakout screens
  • Divider or section headers in presentations
  • General presentation ideas
And many more. PowerPoint Animation A to Z

This is a new version. If you tried the earlier one you owe it to yourself to look at the new one.
(One hint, open the PPS file in PowerPoint. When you see an interesting trick, hit the Esc button. View the Custom animation pane to see how it was done.)
From AwesomeBackgrounds.com



See all Topics

Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Odd Links Site

The Internet is part smart, part just weird


Here is a site that collects interesting locations:
LinkyDinky.com

"Linky considers himself something of an intellectual, and tends to choose culturally enriching, "brainier" sites to share with us. Dinky, on the other hand, cannot seem to keep a serious thought in his head, and quite often veers off into the bizarre, grotesque and far-fetched. Sometimes they bicker, but as long as you get a cool link or two out of the deal, who cares?"

Here are some of the recent finds:

Mind reading card trick

MyCatHatesYou.com

Coin manipulation



See all Topics

Tuesday, June 02, 2015

HTML/CSS Resource

"The Ultimate"


You may be put off by the home page for this site, but drill deeper.
Blooberry.com
Brian Wilson

The Author has compiled a very well arranged collection of references.

You might want to go directly to:

Index D O T HTML
T h e A d v a n c e d H T M L R e f e r e n c e

Or

Index D O T CSS
T h e A d v a n c e d C S S R e f e r e n c e

Brian is looking for volunteers to expand the authoring base for this site. If you would like to participate, here is a link to his email address:
Blooberry Email



See all Topics

Monday, June 01, 2015

Registry Backup

Safe or sorry, your choice


How many times have you seen these words?
"This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs."


The Registry contains information that Windows continually references during operation, such as profiles for each user, the applications installed on the computer and the types of documents that each can create, property sheet settings for folders and application icons, what hardware exists on the system, and the ports that are being used


Here's the Microsoft support article to guide you through the process:
How to back up, edit, and restore the registry
in Windows.

Also:
How to backup the Windows Registry

WindowsNetworking.com



See all Topics