Have you been using Office 2007, or the new Office 2010 Beta (which you can download and use for free until late this year)? Perhaps you’ve
found the ribbon interface to be confusing and have been frustrated (as I’ve been), trying to figure out formerly simple formatting commands. Microsoft provides tips and training for getting up to speed with the ribbon, but Microsoft Labs has recently come out with something new – Ribbon Hero.
Ribbon Hero works with Excel, PowerPoint and Word 2007 and 2010 only. During the install process, you may be prompted to download and install Microsoft VSTO, so for most of us, there will be two downloads. After the install, pull up one of the office programs and you’ll notice a ribbon hero button over to the right on your ribbon. Simply click to open and get started. After you’ve achieved some points, you’ll be asked if you want to connect with Facebook in a friendly competition with other RH users. There’s also a Facebook fan page if you’d like to join. It was nice to see that Ribbon Hero scores will be shared with your friends only if they are Ribbon Hero players as well.
Ribbon Hero is an interactive game where points can be achieved by simply doing your usual work, or you can ‘take the challenge’ and choose from a wide variety of tasks to perform. Below you’ll see the interface for working in Excel. There are three ‘Challenge’ categories and then specific challenges/tasks to accomplish within these categories. Simply click on one of the challenge tasks, complete it and you’ll hear a congratulatory tone, a couple balloons will rise and you’ll be awarded points.
If you choose a task that you’re not familiar with, there are hints and articles right there to refer to. I did the conditional formatting challenge – something I’d never heard of – and learned something new.
Most people will learn faster and retain longer using this hand-on, practical interface. The examples are down-to-earth and the student can easily apply these examples to real-world work and accomplish tasks faster.
I’m using RH on two computers – one with the beta Office 2010 and one with Office 2007. I wondered if the software would be smart enough to know I was using it on two computers and combine my score. When I did the Facebook connect, I was pleasantly surprised that it did recognize that and it asked if it would be OK to combine the two scores – very nice.
I know Ribbon Hero’s only been out a couple of weeks at this writing, (2-5-10), but here are a couple questions:
1. I’m wondering if they will develop the game for other Office apps.
2. Will the ‘challenge tasks’, be changed and refreshed? Right now, I’m seeing about 8 or so tasks to complete under each category. Realistically, that won’t take too long for someone to complete and then what? I’ll ask these questions on the Facebook page and see what I get.
Interactive training with immediate feedback and having the social aspects (with Facebook), is very progressive for Microsoft. I haven’t seen anything as innovative as this with Google, Open Office or Zimbra. If you or your company is thinking about upgrading to Office 2007, take advantage of this free and innovative training.
64-Bit Browser Comparisons
By · CommentsI recently purchased a Lenovo IdeaPad complete with Windows 7 and a 64-bit processor. It’s been a great laptop, full-size keyboard and some cool features from Lenovo that I’d never used.
A month or so has gone by and I really hadn’t thought about the differences between the 32 and 64-bit software. Then I was reading an article about Firefox and Chrome browsers made for 64-bit machines and I realized I just had to try them out.
When I went to Mozilla.com, I typed in 64-bit firefox in the search box, but came up with zilch. Luckily, I had the link to Firefox 64-bit in my Windows Secrets newsletter. When I went to install the program, I was a bit concerned to see it was called ‘Minefield’, but went ahead and found that it’s a new 
(beta) version of Firefox. I was wondering how my add-ins would fare with a double switch to a 64-bit and a beta of a browser. My tree-style tabs still worked (my most important add-in). Unfortunately, Foxmarks (this add-on syncs my browser bookmarks across computers), will not work with this, but I can live with that for now. So far, I haven’t gotten any messages about other add-ins.
While in Minefield, I tried playing an embedded video and got a message that I needed a plug-in, an Adobe Flash plug-in. So I downloaded what they suggested, but got a message that ‘it might not have installed correctly’. Evidently, I must need a different version of flash. I’ll keep looking, but if anyone can provide a link-that would be excellent!
Then I went to find the Chrome 64-bit installation. That one was actually a lot quicker to download and install. So far, I’ve no problems at all playing the videos that Firefox would not play for me. 
Internet Explorer comes in a disappointing third place in my un-scientific browser comparison. In fact, I couldn’t even find an install for IE 8 for Windows 7 64-bit. How
amazingly short-sighted is that! I did find this link for IE 8 for Vista, but it won’t work with Windows 7. So I’ll have to stick with the same, slow IE 8 that 32-bit machines use.
My Findings
Fastest – Chrome runs faster on my Lenovo than the other two browsers
Compatibility – Chrome seems to keep everything working the same as before while I had problems both with Firefox add-ins and it won’t play Flash videos.
Security – I don’t find just a whole lot about how they rank with security—with Chrome, there’s the privacy issue that they say we really don’t need to worry about. Firefox has been highly praised by IT people I respect, so I will give that one to Firefox. IE has had multiple browser security problems and is a bit slow to release fixes for them.
Conclusions
When I’m using my Lenovo, I’ll probably use a combination of both browsers, but probably Firefox as my primary. It’ll be nice to have Chrome as a back-up browser for playing Flash videos. I only use IE when I’m editing websites in Office Live.
Even though 64-bit has been out since around 2003, the software to utilize it is still not there. I found a site called 64x Software that might be helpful, but I’d sure like to get some links from some of you who are more experienced with 64-bit software.
Wordpress and Blogger Comparison
By · CommentsIt seems the two major players in the blogging space are WordPress.com (not .org), which is owned by Automattic; and Blogger (owned by Google). Today, we’ll talk about the two platforms, contrast some of their features and conclude with some observations of which is best.
For the similarities:
- Both are hosted, which means you don’t have to find and purchase hosting from a third-party and learn how to install software. Your posts are automatically backed up for you
- Both are free
- Both give the author the ability to upload photos and videos
- Both allow submission of posts via email and mobile phone. I see there’s a WordPress iPhone app, didn’t find one for Blogger
- Both feature helpful videos, although WordPress has recently come out with WordPress.tv, which seems a cut above what Blogger has
Blogger Features:
- Use your Google account credentials to sign up for Blogger – one less account login to keep track of
- Choose a name (URL) for your blog and have the ability to easily change it later, or use your own domain name
- Add a gadget to your blog that connects your blog to your Picasa account to show off your photos (limited to Picasa photos (owned by Google)
- We mentioned the ability to embed videos in your blog – you can link to Google Video or YouTube
- Ability to make your blog private, i.e. by invitation only. Great feature for families with kids to keep photos and family information for friends and family only
- Ability to add others as authors or administrators. An Administrator can do everything you can do (may not want this), Authors only have the ability to write, post and edit their own writings
- Ability to embed audio (podcasts) into your blog. Also provided are instructions to get your podcast into iTunes
- Wide choice of themes and Blogger makes it easy to revise your theme to customize to your needs
- If you have a blog on another platform, you won’t be able to import it into Blogger, so if your blog is somewhere else right now, you might not want to switch
- Limited to 1GB of on-line storage, (less than WordPress), but if you have your pictures linked to Picasa, that doesn’t count against your limit
5 Tools For Everyday Use
By · CommentsIn thinking about this week’s topic, I decided to highlight the tools I use nearly every day to get my work done or to make getting my work done more fun. In no particular order, here they are:
Tree Style Tabs
This is a browser add-on – for Mozilla Firefox users only. You can click the link to read about all the features of this great add-on. I got it because it neatly puts all my browser tabs on the left side of my screen (you can put it right or on top too, your choice). The names of my windows/tabs are all right there and they are easier to see and locate than when I had the ‘old-fashioned’ tabs at the top of my screen before this add-on. When I didn’t have it, then my tabs would become too scrunched up and messy-looking at the top of my screen. It seemed difficult to locate what I was looking for. Now, they flow down the left side of my screen and sub-tabs will automatically open under a main tab, i.e. if I have Facebook open and click on something, the tab will indent and keep it all very orderly. I just love it and wish all browsers had this feature.
Evernote – Remember Everything 
Evernote is a great web-based tool that does so many things and stores them for you. I use the free version, but if you’re a power user, there’s a paid version for you. I’ve used it for storing software keys, receipts, research, pictures, even some blog posts with great information in them. Of course, there’s a portable version for your Blackberry, iPhone, Android and other phones. There’s great help videos and Evernote suggests many uses for its product.
The best thing about it (besides being free), is that Evernote organizes all the notes you throw up there and makes them searchable. For example, I grabbed some information I wanted on flights and using my evernote icon in my system tray, quickly saved it to my space. Then later, all I had to do was to go back and type in a couple words in the search box and it found it right away – no tedious searching through pages of information. If you’re the ultra-organized type, you can type in your own tags and make notebooks from within Evernote. Great software.
Snipping Tool 
This is for Vista & Windows 7 users only. Perhaps Apple has a version of it, I just don’t know. If you have the aforementioned OS, you’ll want to pin this one to your start menu. I find myself using it nearly every day. There are so many times I need a screenshot, a logo, or there’s something I need to show someone. It just takes a moment to start the tool and capture the image or text I need. You can snip anything from a small section to the entire page. Then you can annotate it before cutting and pasting into your email, or whatever. Read about it.
Pandora
Pandora is your internet music source – at least it is for me. I found it a few years ago and find myself pulling it up nearly every day to use. You do have to set up an account and then you’ll get 40 free hours of music a month. Once I went over my limit and for .99, I could listen for the rest of the month – paid via PayPal. You can pay $36 for unlimited and ad and commercial free listening per year. There are portable versions for different phones and there’s information on the site about different appliances that will stream Pandora (Roku, Sonos, etc.). I used to see them advertise a free standing radio-type device that worked with broadband or wi-fi, but I don’t see it advertised on their website.
Goog-411
Never pay for phone information again! I’ve got 1-800-GOOG-411 programmed into my cell phone and use it as my 411 source now. J
ust dial the number and it’ll ask you city and state and then it’ll ask for a business name or category, (pizza, movie theatre, etc.). It may return more than one result, just listen carefully and press the number of the one you want and it will connect you for free. I think it will also send you a text of the number in case you want to store it in your phone for future use. Right now, it only has business listings – no personal/residential listings. Put it in your phone, or read more about it.
Have Secure Wi-Fi Everywhere With Comodo TrustConnect
By · CommentsWe’ve all heard the warnings about how insecure public hotspots are. We’ve been cautioned to not even enter in our email passwords as a bad guy could be in range and be using software to capture passwords or any other data being typed in by unsuspecting patrons. Forget about checking your bank balance, paying bills or doing any on-line shopping. 
Comodo is a name synonymous with internet security. They’ve been around a long time and I’ve just recently rediscovered them and have been impressed with their offerings – many free and some are for-pay. TrustConnect is their secure Wi-Fi service. With TrustConnect, you can safely log into all of your accounts, pay bills, shop, check email—anything you would do from your home.
Here are the features from their website:
TrustConnect Wi-Fi Security Features:
- Securely encrypts all data transmitted over both wired and wireless Internet connections
- Creates a Virtual Private Network to hide all personal web-surfing information
- Utilizes industry-standard 128-bit encryption
- Lightweight—protects without interfering with normal computer operation
It’s compatible for all you iPhone and iTouch users. The software is compatible with Linux and Mac Operating Systems as well.
How Does It Work?
There is software to download and install. It puts an icon in your system tray. When you’re ready to use it, click on the icon to launch, enter in your username and password and you’ll be able to be online as if you’re invisible. Your IP is not revealed and your connection is secure using 128-bit encryption.
Pricing
There is a free 7-day trial period, but a credit card is required to get the free trial. Pricing seems very reasonable…
- $3.99 for a 24-hour period
- $6.99 for a month
- $49.99 for the whole year
- Corporate pricing available as well
I think the next time I go out of town or am on vacation, I’m going to definitely use this service. For frequent business travelers or serious vacationers, it seems like the solution for being able to be on-line and productive while away from home.
The Best Of 2009
By · CommentsThanks to all for your readership and comments over the last year. I enjoy keeping my eyes and ears open for new technologies and writing about it in a way to be easily understood and easy to integrate into your digital life to make you more efficient. Best wishes to
all for a techie new year!
As the year winds down, I was taking a look at my blog post stats and thought it might be helpful to do a ‘best of’ post of my top 10 posts for the year. Below is the list and number of views.
Windows Calendar Sync with Google Calendar/Windows Live Calendar with Outlook
5,780 views
Windows Live Photo Gallery vs. Picasa – 1,305 views
Picasa 3 Movie Maker Review – 694 views
Windows 7 Review – 690 views
Do A Clean Install With Windows 7 Student Version – 406 views
Google Voice-Keep Your Original Number – 401 views
How To Add A Facebook Fanbox or Badge To Your Website - 336 views
Back-up Your Facebook Contacts – 314 views
Windows Live Mail-POP Account Enabled – 244 views
Microsoft SkyDrive & Photo Storage Upgrades – 231 views
Fax Services On-line
By · CommentsPerhaps fax machines and sending and receiving faxes are fading fast, but many of us still deal with companies by fax. Most corporations still use and even require certain documents via fax. Some folks don’t feel comfortable with email and some don’t know how to attach documents in an email!
We ditched our landline earlier this year and now use T-Mobile’s @home service. We still have our old land-line phone number, but we can’t use it to fax, bummer. That’s when I became interested in what was out there for faxing from my computer.
First, I have to say if you have documents generated on your computer, internet faxing is a quick, inexpensive and convenient way to send your information directly to a fax machine where it prints out just like you fed it through a machine on your end.
Here’s a place to look at several fax reviews. These all come with a monthly fee, but it’s much less per month than paying for your phone line and the ink your fax machine guzzles each month. Have you priced your local print shop, Staples or Office Depot for their fax fees? Our local Staples quoted me about $1/page and the guy told me the prices were pretty much the same around town.I think he was embarrassed to tell me the price, but I’m glad he warned me before I had to shell out $12 for my fax. What a racket!
If you’re looking for free faxing, efax allows free incoming faxes. It’s hard to find this feature on their site anymore, but you can use the link. You’ll be assigned a number, but don’t expect to get one in your area code. If you sign up for the pay accounts, then that is available. I believe you have to receive a fax at least once a month to keep your number.
I recently found FaxZero and really like it, with a couple of reservations. I like it because you can send two free faxes a day with a limit of 3 pages each. The three pages can be text you type or documents. There are two shortcomings: they accept only .doc, .docx, or .pdf and only one document per fax. So an excel or picture file can’t be sent with FaxZero. The other is that only one document can be attached per fax. Even with their premium service, only one document can be attached. Their premium service is $1.99 per fax with a limit of 15 pages/1 document per fax. It’s great if you can get everything into one document. But this is too limiting for me.
The fax service I found that allows multiple documents to be attached and supports up to 178 file formats is myfax. Their lowest plan is $10/month, which seems to be a great deal if you fax more than 10 pages a month.
I’ve used both efax and FaxZero and they’ve both worked just fine. For my needs, I still need a stand alone fax machine from time to time to send documents not on my computer. Luckily, I have a friend at a near by office who allows me the use their machine for free.
TripIt – A Traveler’s Solution
By · Comments
As a traveler and travel arranger of hundreds of trips, I wish TripIt would have been around when huge chunks of my time went to making and communicating travel plans.
TripIt came about in 2006 from frustrated, but technically savvy travelers in Silicon Valley. They wanted the ability to have all their travel plans condensed in one place using software that builds and revises an on-line, shareable and printable itinerary.
TripIt does all this and more. Set up your free account at TripIt and jump right in setting up your profile and adjusting your settings for sharing and privacy.
TripIt seems really big on the ability to proclaim your travel plans to the world. Choose from LinkedIn, Windows Live, RSS feeds, Plaxo and a Twitter-like app as well. When you initially set up your account, TripIt will encourage you to let the software scour your contacts for any other TripIt users. If it can’t find any, they will ask your permission to send everyone in your address book an invite to join. So be careful where you click. Some travelers, especially groups, could find this feature helpful.
What It Does and How To Get It Done
It’s not complicated – simply forward your travel confirmations to plans@tripit.com. That’s pretty much it. The illustration below is a current listing of the many travel companies from which TripIt can process travel confirms. From there, TripIt will organize by date your air, hotel and car reservations. If you’ve made dinner reservations, it will add that too. In addition to this, it automatically adds in weather, maps and directions.
Say you have an upcoming trip and you’ve done some on-line research and wish it could be incorporated into your itinerary, just use TripClipper to send your ‘clips’ directly to your account. No more writing notes on scraps of paper that get lost.
Keep your travel plans in sync by following instructions to add and automatically have your travel plans updated in Outlook 2007, Google Calendar, Lotus Notes, iPhone and iCal. Check the link for detailed instructions for each supported calendar type.
Mobile App
When we’re traveling we need instant access to our itineraries. TripIt has a mobile app and has developed apps specifically for the Android, iPhone and is nearly finished with the Blackberry app.Go to m.tripit.com on your mobile phone to get set up. With these apps, you’ll be able to call your hotel or airline with a simple click.
Misplaced your itinerary? No problem. Just send an email to plans@tripit.com and your itinerary will be emailed to you.
For Travel Arrangers, Virtual Assistants, Admins
If you are a travel arranger for several people, simply set up an arranger account and have the ability to set up individual travel plans for all your travelers and keep them informed as to any changes.
With Tripit Pro you also get ($69/year):
- point tracking – keeps track of all your frequent flyer programs
- alternate flights – get options for alternate flights if your scheduled flight has problems
- itinerary monitoring – you’ll receive text messages about flight delays or gate changes
- ability to automatically share every trip with key people
Whether a corporate, small business or individual traveler, why not sign up for TripIt and try it out. It looks like a great timesaver and resource.
B.C. Clark Jingle—so Oklahoma
By · CommentsIf you’re from Oklahoma or live in Oklahoma, then you know “The Jingle”. It was written back in 1956 and was made for B.C. Clark Jewelers, an Oklahoma City jeweler since 1892. The catchy tune kicks off each year at Thanksgiving and plays both on the radio and TV. It’s easy to remember and sing along with.
It’s one of those songs that emotes goodwill—if you hear it while in a store or in an elevator, you get a shot of instant goodwill towards all mankind. If you’ve moved away from Oklahoma, it’s something you miss every year. Of course, you can catch it on YouTube, or put it on your player, but the spontaneity of haring it on TV or the radio is gone.
Here it is, for your enjoyment.
