Monday, October 29, 2012

Oh, Precious Time



" Isn't there a faster, easier way to do this?"

How many times have you asked yourself this question? I know I've asked it hundreds of times. Over the years, I have discovered many handy shortcuts in life.Things like finding a faster way to and from work, mapping out my grocery shopping, or putting frozen chicken in a bowl of water so it thaws faster.

Today, I'll share with you some handy keyboard and a couple of mouse shortcuts you can use every day to make life a little easier:
(Keep in mind, these shortcuts are for Windows users)

Ctrl + A - select all (everything in a document)
Ctrl + X - cut
Ctrl + C - copy
Ctrl + V - paste
Ctrl + Z - undo
Ctrl + Y - redo

Ctrl+B - bold
Ctrl+I - italics
Ctrl+U - underline

Ctrl + S - save (I use this one almost instinctively!)
Ctrl + F - find a word/phrase anywhere
Ctrl + D - Font styling (in Word)

Ctrl + F4 - close current window
Ctrl + Tab - Move between tabs in a browser or document
Ctrl + Backspace - delete entire previous word
Ctrl + Delete - delete entire following word
Ctrl + Shift + arrow keys - moves Lt & Rt whole words and moves Up & Down by paragraphs

Use the Alt key to see Alt + [shortcut key]'s in Word, Excel, Power Point or any other MS Office program.

Use the Backspace key to go back a page in your web browser.
Use the Space key to scroll down pages in a browser.

Use the Windows icon + tab to browse through all of your open windows.
Use the Windows icon + arrow keys to place your current window where you like it
Use the Windows icon + L to quickly lock your computer
Use the Windows icon alone to open the start menu

Mouse Shortcuts
Double-click to highlight a whole word
Triple-click to highlight a paragraph
Use the middle wheel to scroll
click the middle wheel to drag around the page
Some mouses (mice?) have more buttons that have shortcuts built-in

Have you ever wanted to select a certain area to copy as a picture, but PrntScrn is a little too much work?
Use the snipping tool to select that area and make it your own.

Finally, if there are other shortcuts you are wondering about, visit
 http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/keyboard.aspx

This is the Windows website that lists several more shortcuts that I don't use as often; but you might!

I hope you learned a little more about how move about your computer a little more efficiently and effectively today!

Have a lovely day!
Fly on the Firewall

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Why can't we all get along, Apple (iOS6) and Microsoft calendars?

Update: Today, 11/1/2012, Apple announced an iOS 6.01 update that has resolved some of the Exchange meeting issues, I would encourage you to update your Apple iOS devices. (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1606)

Big day of announcements for Apple, the new iPad mini, more iMacs (desktops) and a new MacBook Pro (laptop). We will see some important announcements from Microsoft this week as well. We enjoy the productivity available from having these portable devices sync with our LETU data. We use Microsoft Exchange for our email and calendaring system. We have come to rely on this calendar to be completely accurate and sync with all of our devices.

The Exchange team released an update today (10/23/2012) that problems between iOS6 and Exchange calendars have continued to surface. 

We will continue to use these devices and wait on their programming teams to fix these inconsistencies. As fixes become available, we will apply them and notify you of updates. 

So how do we cope? Your LETU Exchange calendar should be the one you can trust. You can access this calendar through Outlook or webmail (mail.letu.edu). More information available on our FAQ here.

One practice, although frustrating, is, when you are using an Apple mobile device (iPad, iPod or iPhone), do not accept meeting requests on that device. These meetings will still show up on your calendar as tentative. We can also work with you on other settings like automatically accepting meetings. When you accept them using Outlook or webmail, they will sync correctly with your Apple device.



There is a "quick" trick for an Apple device that seems to lose calendar items. Go into your Settings, find Mail, Contacts, Calendars, find your Exchange email and turn off calendars. I'd recommend restarting your device. After you've restarted, go back to the same area and turn calendars for Exchange back on. Resyncing the calendar will clear any data corruption that shows up on your mobile device. As this corruption seems to happen over time, you may need to do this several times a year.

We are always very glad to help as we live in these exciting times of devices, companies and software learning to work well together.

Monday, October 15, 2012

WHAT, I spent that much last month on my cell phone!

(Update, 10/16/2012, added another example of this type of spam email pretending to be from Microsoft)

Maybe we should have a contest to see who can send in an email that is so good, it not only looks real, it traps you with giving your password or credit card info?

Wait, that won't work, that's what's already going on. And you should see this one (below). I'm sure we'll hear a term for this soon, but I call it System 1 spam. 

With all the amazing professors of psychology on our campus, I shouldn't even try this, but I will. You've all heard of the Selective Attention Test, right? Check it out:


How'd you do? You're mind's attention can be completely drawn away from what's going on right in front of you.

A recent book I've been reading, Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman is a laymen's look at the dual process theory. This theory postulates that when it comes to reason, you have two "Systems", a System 1 and a System 2. Your System 1 is the automatic and unconscious reaction you have to things. System 2 is the rational or analytic part. As I'm learning, your System 1 kicks in automatically when you first encounter something. System 1 then reacts to the situation based out of habit or fear. System 2 is slower and kicks in only after your System 1 has been triggered. 

It appears our spammers around the world understand this dual process theory and are using it against us. I can only imagine if I had seen this in my Inbox, I would have panicked, there's no way I spent that much on my cell phone last week. 

The person who sent me this was easily able to combat her System 1, she doesn't use AT&T so she knew it was fake right away. However, as these spammers get better and better, please, please be careful. You don't know what's next, showing up in your Inbox.

By the way, as I'm also learning, your System 1 can be trained. What should be your first reaction to an email like this? (hint, see previous blog)

Thanks to Brenda Weatherall for catching this!



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