Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Although Internet TV is available in Windows XP Media Center and Vista Media Center, it’s never been well supported and, in Vista Media Center, Internet TV will frequently disappear from the menu (usually when I wanted to watch it.) Thus, this guide focuses on enabling Internet TV through Windows 7 Media Center.

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Everyone who knows me, knows I’m a bit more than normally interested in Computers. So of course whom do they contact when they have problems with theirs ? Lucky guess. But figuring the problem over the phone isn’t always as easy, and some of my friends being “Twelve O’Clock Flashers” – explaining them what to do isn’t all that easy either.

The best way, sometimes, is using Remote Desktop. But this usually involves getting the already troubled users to download and install a small client of some sort and guide them through that.  And, well… Let’s just say I sometimes hate being the one they call. However…

I’ve come a cross a great tool for the job, which allows me to help without all that hassle – and best of all – it’s free !!

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If this is the first time you are using Windows 7 Media Center, you should take time to go through the setup process and configure it for optimal use. Often it is tempting to skip detailed setup in favor of using the program as quickly as possible. By setting up Windows 7 Media Center properly the first time, you ensure the best experience while using the program. In this guide, I’ll walk through the setup process and explain what each step does and how to configure it to your needs.

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If you would like to give Windows Media Center a makeover and make it more functional for your needs, this series is for you. This week I’ll cover various customization and enhancement topics for Windows Media Center. See a run down of the guides below.

Note: these guides are written for Windows Vista Media Center and Windows 7 Media Center unless otherwise noted. If you find any incompatibilities, please let me know.

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Have you used Aero Snap yet ? I know I haven’t – not much anyway. I like the idea of it, but haven’t really got around to find any good use for it, as of yet. But This tip might help out. Aero Snap is a great tool to utilize if you want to place several documents side by side (almost like the Arrange Windows, Tiles Function in some applications).

In all the reviews I’ve read Aero Snap is portrayed as a “using the mouse” feature, even thou you may also use the keyboard. Suddenly, Aero Snap became much more interesting. I have a dual monitor system, and one thing I had trouble doing on my system was getting the windows to snap in the middle of the two monitors – using the arrow-keys it suddenly was possible.

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One of our readers, Dean Anthony, read my article on Outlook Backup. Dean tipped us about an add-in for Outlook which does the job for you. This Add-in copies your .PST files at regular intervals, in Outlook 2002, 2003 and 2007 versions, making it easy to keep all of your Outlook folders safely backed up. You can download the add-in free of charge from the Microsoft Office Website. Read the rest of this entry »