Strawberry Quik

Strawberry Quick Methamphetamine

While not particularly tech related I feel that this is an issue that should be addressed. Recent rumors of a drug called Strawberry Quik have been spreading on Facebook. Like many other rumors the tales of a pink strawberry drug that looks like candy are inacurate and highly exaggerated.

Outline
Messages warn that a form of strawberry colored and scented methamphetamine dubbed “Strawberry Quick” is being distributed to school children.

Brief Analysis
The message contains elements of truth. However, the warnings are highly exaggerated and inaccurate. The claims in these misleading messages should not be taken seriously.

Examples (Submitted, Facebook, February 2012)

I have been alerted to be on the lookout for a new form of Crystalized Meth that is targeted at children and to be aware of this new form if called to an emergency involving a child that may have symptoms of drug induction or overdose.They are calling this new form of meth “Strawberry Quick” and it looks like the “Pop Rocks” candy that sizzle in your mouth. In it’s current form, it is dark pink in color and has a strawberry scent to it.Please advise your children and their friends and other students not to accept candy from strangers as this is obviously an attempt to seduce children into drug use. They also need to be cautious in accepting candy from even friends that may have received it from someone else, thinking it is just candy.I don’t want this to scare anyone, but as a parent and friend, I thought it would be best to share this with you, so you can once again talk to your children about the effects of drugs and how easy it could be to take drugs without knowing it, until it is too late. I worry, just as each of you do about kids and drugs and all the problems our kids today are faced with. So please talk with your children about this newest threat to get children addicted to drugs!

Take care, God Bless and I’ve said a prayer that none of our kids will ever be faced with taking or being addicted to drugs! I thought it may be a good idea so that those with children can remind them not to take unpackaged candy from anyone in school and of course, those they don’t know. Apparently, this meth is sweet and candy like, similar to pop rock crystals. this is hapening everywere be cautious.

(Submitted, email, October 2007)

IF YOU HAVE A CHILD THEN READ THIS!PLEASE PASS THIS TO ANYONE THAT HAS SMALL CHILDREN!!Parents BewareHalloween Warning for ParentsThere is a type of crystal meth going around that looks like strawberry pop rocks. It smells like strawberry also and it is being handed out to kids in school yards in AR. I’m sure it will make its way around the country. Kids are ingesting this thinking it is candy and being rushed off to the ER in dire condition.

It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape and orange. It looks just like pop rocks.

Please instruct children to not accept candy that looks like this even from a friend and to take any that they may have to a teacher, principal, etc.

Pass this around it could save some family a lot of heartache! They call it strawberry meth or strawberry quick.

Special Agent Todd V. Coleman
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
[Contact details removed]

Submitted, email, May 2007)

Subject: new form of crystalized methamphetamine

I have been alerted by one of our EMT’s for our volunteer fire department that they have received emails from emergency responder organizations to be on the lookout for a new form of crystalized methamphetamine that is targeted at children and to be aware of this new form if called to an emergency involving a child that may have symptoms of drug induction or overdose.

They are calling this new form of meth “Strawberry Quick” and it looks like the “Pop Rocks” candy that sizzle in your mouth. In its current form, it is dark pink in color and has a strawberry scent to it.

Please advise your children and their friends and other students not to accept candy from strangers as this is obviously an attempt to seduce children into drug use. They also need to be cautious in accepting candy from even friends that may have received it from someone else, thinking it is just candy.

Detailed Analysis
Emails advising recipients about “Strawberry Quick”, a form of pink, strawberry scented methamphetamine began hitting inboxes in April 2007. New versions of the message that claimed strawberry meth was being actively handed out in schoolyards began circulating several months later. A new Facebook driven variant of the warning emerged in early 2012. The messages warn that unsuspecting children may be more willing to try the drug or take a dose by accident because it looks and smells like candy.

This new form of methamphetamine is apparently real, although it appears that its distribution may actually be extremely uncommon. According to a May 2007 Associated Press article, “Strawberry Quick” came to the attention of drug enforcement agents after the Nevada Department of Public Safety released a bulletin about the substance in January 2007.

However, some months after these initial reports it appears that authorities have found very little evidence to suggest that flavored meth is a widespread problem. An article on the Join Together website notes:

However, both the DEA and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy told Join Together that they have not been able to identify a single confirmed seizure of flavored meth.

“There are a lot of people in prevention and law enforcement talking about it, but in terms of actual seizures we haven’t seen much,” said Tom Riley, a spokesperson for ONDCP. Rojean White, a spokesperson for the DEA, told Join Together that while local DEA agents have heard stories about flavored meth from local law-enforcement colleagues, they “haven’t had any” seizures themselves.

Thus, the large amount of media attention given to reports of flavored meth, along with emailed “warnings”, have probably made the threat seem a lot more significant than it really is. The Join Together article suggests that some law enforcement agencies may be confusing flavored meth with meth that is simply colored. Some types of meth are pink in color because of dye used in the pills it is manufactured from. Although this pink meth may seemingly confirm reports of strawberry quick, it is not flavored and not specifically aimed at children.

Moreover, claims in some versions of the warning email that strawberry meth is being handed out in schoolyards are unfounded. There are no credible reports to back up these claims in any way. If children were “being rushed off to the ER in dire condition” after ingesting flavored meth in the school yard, there would certainly be media and police reports detailing such incidents.

One version may seem more legitimate because it is seemingly endorsed by Special Agent Todd Coleman. However, Agent Colemen told About Urban Legends that he did not issue the warning. Agent Coleman’s apparent endorsement became part of the forward because his email signature was added to a copy of the message that he sent to a colleague for verification.

It is true that children are likely to be more susceptible to a comparatively attractive, flavored form of the drug. That said, even if there are dealers actively distributing “Strawberry Quick”, they are probably not specifically targeting children. Meth has a harsh, chemical taste so making the drug more palatable by adding flavoring may help dealers market it. In reality, it is more likely that “enhanced” forms of the drug would be targeted at teenagers and young adults rather than children.

Although the threat of flavored meth may not be as significant as authorities first believed, US Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley took it seriously enough tointroduce legislation that will “increase the federal criminal penalties for drug dealers who entice children with candy-flavored methamphetamine and other flavored drugs”.

Parents and guardians should certainly talk to their children about this issue. However, current versions of the email warning about flavored meth are highly exaggerated and inaccurate. The claims in these messages should not be taken seriously.

Post by: Ikaika Honda

Best Extensions for Google Chrome

Google Chrome is one of the best Internet browsers available. There are also hundreds of extensions available to add to your web browsing experience. Here are some of the best extensions for Chrome.

Evernote Web

Just like the popular app, Evernote Web allows you to organize and save all your ideas and inspiration as you surf the Internet. For any project, you can save all your notes, research, and relevant webpage clippings in one easy-to-access “notebook.” You can also clip and save photos, audio, PDF, and all file types. Add tags to your notebook entries, and quickly search through your notes. You can also create lists for anything you need to remember. This is a great tool for everyone.

Google Dictionary

After you download this, you can easily find definitions to any word you’re interested in as you browse the web. Just select any word in any webpage, click the dictionary button, and a small bubble will appear above it with its definition. There will also be a toolbar version of the dictionary so you can view the complete, detailed definition if you prefer. This is a very useful reference extension to have on hand.

AdBlock

This extension will make viewing your favorite webpages even more pleasurable. If the ads on the sides of pages like Facebook and YouTube annoy you, AdBlock will remove them. Now you can view just content, no ads, on every website you visit.

Turn Off the Lights

If you watch a lot of videos online, this extension will make viewing them even more visually appealing. With one click, your computer screen will go dark everywhere except the playing video. You can even change settings so that your screen will go dark as soon as you hit the “play” button on any video. You can also customize colors and adjust the dimness level.

Add to Amazon Wish List

Have you ever come across something while searching the web and think, “I’ve got to have it?” This extension will make it easier for you to remember all the things you see that you want. Just click on the Add to Amazon Wish List button when viewing an item, and a popup will allow to you instantly add it to your Amazon Wish List. You can edit details before adding the item, too.

Angry Birds

The most popular app for your smartphone is also available for your web browser. With this extension, you can enjoy the addicting thrill of Angry Birds anytime. There are even web-exclusive levels.

Google Mail Checker

This very simple extension will make it easy for you to know as soon as you have a new email in your Gmail account. While you’re browsing the web, a tiny red Gmail icon will be at the top of your browser. A number will display how many unread messages you have in your account. When you want to access it, just click the icon to open your mailbox at anytime.

Google Books

This extension will allow you to read almost any book you want at anytime. There are more than three million free books available, and thousands more books available for purchase in the Google eBookstore. You can store unlimited books.

5 Apps for the Business Professional

When you’re a business owner, CEO, Head of Department or just a hard-working employee, it’s important to have everything you need to do your job and do it well available to you 24/7. Thank goodness for the creation of smart phones and tablets – now it’s easier than ever to get work done on the go, and with these 7 great apps, you’ll be able to stay organized, stay productive and stay on top of your game no matter the place or time.

Scanner Pro by Readdle

Have you ever had a hard copy of a document that you wished you could email immediately to an intended recipient? Now you can! The Scanner Pro app takes quick pictures of multi-page documents and automatically converts them into industry standard PDF files that can then be stored or emailed.

Scanner Pro takes ridiculously high quality scans, and even removes shadows from the phone or tablet itself after the scan. Now you can quickly and easily scan every hard copy document you have and either store it electronically or email it without an actual scanner.

This app will cost you $6.99, but it’s been the #1 business app in the U.S., France, Italy, UK, Australia and 20 other countries for the past 2 years. It even syncs with other organization and business apps, like Evernote or mail, or you can sync to the cloud and store documents on other devices instantly. It’s really a must-have for any business professional who handles any kind of documents on the go.

Square by Square, Inc.

With this totally free app, you can accept credit card payments anytime, anywhere. Square makes it easy to swipe a credit card with their free card reader that plugs right into the headphone jack on your iPhone. The app itself is free, as well, and to receive the reader itself, all you do is enter your shipping address and the developers of the app ship it to you for free.

Every transaction carries at 2.75% transaction fee, but it’s a great option for small business owners who don’t yet have the ability to accept credit cards. The app makes it easy to track sales, calculate and add tip to cards automatically and get electronic receipts to the customer via text message or email. You can itemize everything you sell and keep track of pricing for each item so you don’t have to enter the price each time someone makes a purchase.

Square even accepts signatures by having customers sign directly on the mobile device. It’s as safe and secure as any other method of accepting credit cards, so customers can be assured that their credit card information isn’t going anywhere except to the transaction. Again, this app is a great option for small businesses or anyone who needs to consistently accept credit card payments.

Print ‘n’ Share by EuroSmartz, Ltd

Now with a simple touch of a button on your phone, you can send electronic documents to a printer to print a hard copy. The opposite of the Scanner Pro app, Print ‘n’ Share was created to allow users to print from anywhere to any printer that is WiFi or 3G enabled, or any wireless printer.

You can send documents, emails and even photos to a printer without any additional software needed with the Print ‘n’ Share app. It’s a bit pricey at $9.99, but totally worth it for any working professional on the go.

Flight Track Pro by Ken Kazez

Are you a business professional constantly on the go? Do you struggle with keeping track of flight information, delays, cancellations and even gate numbers while you travel? You won’t anymore with Flight Track Pro. This app automatically syncs your itineraries and gives real-time updates on flight statuses, making travel as easy as can be.

It will even keep track of gate numbers and seat numbers to help you stay even more organized during your business travels. Never again will you miss a flight because you’re running around from gate to gate searching for which one is yours! It even offers weather forecasts so you can plan your travel accordingly.

For the $9.99 that it costs to download this app, you get the ultimate travel organization and instant updates on your flights even when the app is close. To say that this app is worth the money would be a definite understatement if you’re a frequent flyer.

Mighty Meeting by MightyMeeting Inc.

Presentations, videos and any other meeting presentation documents can now be stored in the cloud and accessed anytime, anywhere with Mighty Meeting. This free app also lets you host online meets and share your presentations privately over a 3G or WiFi network.

There is no limit to the number of people you can invite to an online meeting that you create and present with Mighty Meeting, and each participant is also able to provide their thoughts and share their own presentations, as well. If you tend to be stuck in meetings at the most inconvenient times, this might be the app for you. It makes meetings possible anywhere you are.

OmniFocus by The Omni Group

If you’re the type to juggle tasks and forget things because there’s just so much on your plate, then this app is perfect for you! Slightly on the more expensive side at $19.99, OmniFocus is an app that not only organizes your tasks, but also helps you monitor tasks by person, project, date or place.

It’s the most organized app on the market, and many people swear by it and say they use it every single day and need it just to get through the day. It has sync capabilities so your task information can be shared from your iPhone app to your iPad to your Mac orMacBook.

If you have errands to run throughout the day, the app has a map that can help you visualize the distances between errands and how much time each one should take you. It also “forecasts” by looking at large tasks that are coming up in the near future and breaking them down into smaller, daily manageable tasks that can be done right now.

The perfect app for the unorganized, OmniFocus is helpful to anyone looking to keep track of how they spend their time on a daily basis and make sure the work that needs to get done in a day actually gets done.

E-Cigs are Safer… Or are they?

By Trevor Mogg
Provided by

Honestly, you try to do the right thing and it all blows up in your face. A Florida man who finally came around to the idea of giving up smoking decided to use an electronic cigarette to help him try to kick the habit.

So far so good, you might think. The problem for 57-year-old Tom Holloway, however, was that while it was in his mouth the thing exploded.

The explosion was so severe that it destroyed some of his front teeth, as well as part of his tongue, and left his face severely burned. On top of that, carpet, cushions and pictures in his home were set on fire.

Holloway, from Niceville, Florida, is reported to be recovering in an Alabama hospital. It’s believed a faulty battery caused the incident. The specific brand of electronic cigarette and battery hasn’t yet been identified although it’s thought that the battery was a rechargeable lithium type.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Joseph Parker, division chief for the North Bay Fire Department, said, “The best analogy is like it was trying to hold a bottle rocket in your mouth when it went off. The battery flew out of the tube and set the closet on fire.”

But before all those people reading this with a gradually-drooping electronic cigarette in their mouth consign it to the garbage can, the co-founder of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, Thomas Kiklas, told the AP that last year around 2.5 million Americans used electronic cigarettes and to his knowledge this is the first report of one exploding.

“There have been billions and billions of puffs on the cigarettes and we have not heard of this happening before,” he said

According to Kiklas, the battery works to generate an electric charge when the user inhales, which sets off a nicotine-filled mist that is supposed to give the taste and experience of smoking without all of the carcinogens that go with the real thing.

He added that the industry has never claimed that electronic cigarettes help people quit smoking, while the Food and Drug Administration said on its website last year that such electronic cigarettes could themselves be addictive and might even contain harmful chemicals.

As for Tom Holloway, one has to wonder if all the stress of the last couple of days has put the poor guy back on the real thing.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

Chief mobile officer: A job title now timely?

Computerworld - The idea of a company having a chief mobility officer (CMO) isn’t a new one. But as enterprises scramble these days to establish mobile strategies, having a CMO could be a key to success, according to a new Forrester Research report.

Smartphones and tablets are “the manifestation of a much broader shift to new systems of engagement… [with] customers, partners and employees,” Forrester said in the 30-page report. “To remain vital in this business technology reformation, CIOs must step up and work with other executives to establish an office of the chief mobility officer to implement an enterprisewide mobile strategy.”

One of the report’s authors, Forrester analyst Ted Schadler, said in an interview that one of purposes of the report is to get CIOs and CEOs moving faster to provide mobile services and apps.

“We’re trying to create awareness with CEOs and CIOs, even though a lot is already happening at the level of practitioners with partner tablet apps and more,” Schadler said. “Mobile is one of those things that bites you from behind if you aren’t paying attention.”

Forrester studied 61 companies and found a range of approaches to expanding mobile services. Some companies are eyeing mobile self-service apps for use by customers; others envision an IT group that’s focused on how people engage with smartphones and tablets.

In its findings, Forrester said business spending on mobile projects is expected to grow by 100% by 2015, and spending on mobile apps is predicted to hit $55 billion in 2016.

The explosive value of creating mobile apps for customers was obvious in several interviews Forrester conducted. At USAA, for instance, executives expected to get 22 million mobile connections for an app that can “deposit” a check when a customer takes a picture of it and sends it in. In fact, the San Antonio-based financial services company got more than five times the expected response.

At Walgreens, Forrester reported, an estimated 25% of all Web-based transactions involving prescription refills, searches for store locations and general shopping came from a one-year-old mobile app.

One of the reasons why a corporation would want to create an office of the chief mobility officer is to improve coordination of mobile initiatives, Forrester said. “Without [such an office], firms will waste too much time and money as marketing goes after a mobile loyalty app, sales builds tablet apps, the CFO implements mobile expense approvals, the CTO does his app in support of the new smart product line, and the head of Asia resellers builds a mobile dealer app,” Forrester said.

Forrester suggested that companies set up 10-to-30-person task forces that would sit between business groups and IT to coordinate and incubate mobile ideas.

Part of such a team’s role would be to identify mobile projects that are already in place and then find out how those initiatives are funded and whom they serve. Without naming names, Forrester said one of the companies it interviewed had 100 mobile projects under way; another learned it was supporting 114 different versions of the BlackBerry operating system.

Part of the subsequent role of the task force would be to blend social, mobile and business analytics technologies to better connect workers, customers and partners. In one example, Forrester found that such a mobile architecture team at an unnamed airline refined a mobile seat selector app and saw volume explode from 50,000 to 5 million seat selections a month in the first three months.

Forrester also recommended that estimates for the costs of mobile projects be set higher. The average amount spent on a typical customer mobile app — $50,000 to $150,000 — turns out to be just 35% of the true two-year cost, Forrester said.

As a way of measuring the success of mobile task forces and chief mobility officers, Forrester said businesses need to measure more than just return on investment. Factors that will matter in the mobile age are how mobile services and apps are adopted, the volume of activity associated with them, the percentage of completion of mobile projects, ratings from users and the social viral influence of the project.

“If an app is highly used and rated, then it’s valuable,” Forrester said. “If it’s unused and dissed, then it’s not.”

The idea of adding a CMO to the corporate org chart has been around for years. Nearly two years ago, some critics of the idea said the recession wouldprevent organizations from adding someone with that title.

Maybe times have now changed.

Schadler admitted that having all this corporate mobile coordination done by a single chief mobility officer “is perhaps still a little far-fetched.” But there has been progress toward the mobile task force idea within business IT groups.

“This is the second inning, maybe, in the mobile baseball game,” he said. “Business understands it, but doesn’t yet know what to do about it.”

Geek love: Dating apps that choose social over science

By Molly McHugh
Provided by

A recent study claims that algorithm-based dating sites aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be, and with Valentine’s Day just around the corner this could put the more Web-savvy among us on edge. There’s plenty to be skeptical about when it comes to online dating, and now you’ve been given even more ammunition.

If you’re weary of the same setup or need something outside the box to break up your Internet-inspired social life, there are options. A handful of Web applications are trying to put a new, less formulaic spin on the system.

Nerve Dating

The pitch: Stripping out the science in favor of casual conversation.

“The thing that baffles me is how the online-dating industry has become dominated by gimmicks, pseudoscience, robot matchmakers, and the deployment of virtual fruits,” CEO Sean Mills said at launch. “So even if you’re convinced it’s great to date online, these sties don’t make it feel so great. They look like places to book a flight, and they make you feel like you’re auctioning yourself off on eBay.”

Doing the exact opposite of its traditional competitors is the theme behind Nerve Dating. It claims it connects people based on the things that are truly unique to them by having users share opinions on food, bars, events, music, and everything and anything else. And instead of forcing members onto one another, you do more of the work yourself by “overhearing” what like-minded individuals are talking about.

Nerve Dating looks and feels more like a social networking community rather than most Web setup sites. It’s a more natural and conversational way to approach what’s inevitably going to be sort of awkward.

DuoDater

The pitch: First dates (online-inspired, no less) are bad enough. Rope in friends to make it less painful.

A few things about finding love online are bad. One is that personalities don’t always translate accurately, and algorithms aren’t faultless. Another, much more serious one, is that the Internet is an inherently unsafe place. A first date is always uncomfortable, but you should be even more on your guard if it’s with someone you’ve met online.

DuoDater is a like a security blanket to ease awkward lulls in the conversation and act as a safety net. You and a friend come as a package deal, and from there you set up dates with eStrangers and hope to find a love connection. It’s a less isolating way to approach e-dating, and easily a safer one.

TheIcebreak

The pitch: Inject romance into your relationship – regardless of what stage it’s at.

TheIcebreak isn’t your traditional online dating site. But the e-romance world has been inarguably tailored to the plight of singles and their quest to meet new people. What about those already entrenched in relationships – isn’t there something the Web can do for them?

Turns out there is. TheIcebreak creates an ongoing dialogue for couples with prompts that get them talking or reminiscing, a Pinterest-like wishlist feature which can serve well for gift-hinting, and a photo-sharing tool for collecting visual moments. There’s a public community aspect as well, but you’re more than welcome to use TheIcebreak for you and your significant other alone. You’ll be able to give your relationship the infographic spin as well so you can visualize how it’s all going. It’s like a private Facebook with analytics built-in.

The site is also rewards-based, and your participation will earn you Date Night Coins that you can apply to your nights out. After earning enough coins, you basically just prove you spent money on a date and TheIcebreak will send you up to $20 (20-percent off your receipt from said date). For social media junkies in love, that can translate into more than a few cheap dinners.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

3 Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas You Can Do From Your Computer

Even if you’ve waited until the 11th hour to do your shopping (or the holiday almost slipped your mind altogether) you don’t have to look like a stupid cupid this Valentine’s Day. Just check out the following three thoughtful gift ideas that are easy and fast to pull off.

1. Print Artful, Anything-but-Average Greetings

Got a color printer? If so, you can have beautiful frame-worthy greetings from independent artists at your fingertips—no standing in line at crowded stores for a generic greeting. All it takes is browsing Etsy.com’s wide selection of printable greetings, from a variety of artists. After you purchase the print using Paypal, the seller will email you a PDF or a link to download and print your work of art. Personalize it by writing sweet nothings to your loved one on it. Your Valentine will be so touched that he or she will never suspect it’s hot off the presses!

Amazon e-gift card

2. Send a Personalized E-Gift Card

Many stores, such as Amazon, allow you to send your recipient a gift card via e-mail or Facebook. There couldn’t possibly be anything easier or more instantaneous, and who doesn’t love the opportunity to get what they really
want?! Amazon even has Valentine’s Day-themed designs and messaging. Alternatively, you can purchase the gift card online and print out the coupon to present to your loved one slipped into a card with a sweet message penned by you!

3. Take Advantage of In-Store Pickup and Overnight Shipping

Shopping online makes it easy pull off last-minute shopping! If the guy in your life is a gadgetguru, order the latest e-reader, iPhone accessory, or video game from Best Buy and select in-store pickup to breeze through checkout. Since Best Buy isn’t your typical go-to store for Valentine’s Day gifts, you won’t have a problem with items being out of stock or stores being overrun with shoppers. Most guys would prefer a useful gadget than something heart-shaped anyway. Alternatively, clothes also make great gifts for the loved one you know really well. Order from a trusted online retailer like Zappos, which offers free overnight shipping!

Send and Receive Options in Outlook 2003 and Outook 2007

Changing the send and receive options in Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 are very similar. The send and receive options will let you manage how your email program sends and receives your email. This is the question I received through email: “I have Outlook 2003 and I receive e-mails okay but I have to actually click the send/receive button before I know I have them. I have been all over trying to find it. Can you help me?” To change all of the send and receive settings to your preferred options you will need to access the Outlook options. This is easy and is the same for both Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007. Simply press on the Tools menu at the top of the Outlook email program. Then choose Options from the menu. See the screenshot below. When the options open you will find many choices in front of you. You must be careful what you change in here as it can sometimes stop the program from sending and receiving emails all together. There fore to be safe I only like to change one setting at a time, test how the program works, then feel safe enough to change other settings. This way I can always remember what setting needs to be changed back if there is a problem. Below are some common send and receive options that you might want to change. Configure Outlook to Send Immediately Most computer users want to send their email imediately when they press the send button. To do this in Outlook you simply: Access Outlook options as shown above. Click on the Mail Setup tab. Under the Send/Receive sub heading make the box is ticked next to ” Send immediately when connected“. See the screenshot below. This will make sure your email is sent as soon as you push the send button. If you do not have this checked your emial will be sent to the outbox to wait for the next send/recieve time that is scedualed. Get Outlook to Send and Receive More Often It is all up to you when Outlook send and receives email. If you are not happy with your current options you can simply change them to suit your needs. I personally like to set my send and receive options to automatically do its job every 30 minutes or sometimes less. How to Change the Send/Receive Options 1. Access Outlook options as shown above. 2. Go to the Mail Setup tab. 3. Press on the Send/Receive button as shown in the screenshot below. 4. Now you will see the options for groups. All of your email accounts are placed in the All accounts group by default. 5. Under the sub heading of Sending for group “All Accounts” tick the box next to “schedule an automatic Send/Receive every“ 6. Now choose a preferred number of minutes. I have 30 minutes for my options. See the screenshot below. 7. That’s it! Now my email will be checked every 30 minutes, however I can make this less if I like but I found it became annoying. Set Send and Receive Options for Groups If you have only one account, the default All Accounts group is all you need. but if you want to get into more details you can create a customized group and set different options for that. For example if you only want to check a certain email account every 5 minutes and other account s every 30 minutes then you could do this be creating a new group and separating the accounts. Either way, it is very easy to change the send and receive options in Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007.

Google Analytics Tutorial – Add a New Website to your Account

Google Analytics is a number one tool for all webmasters. Therefore if you have a website you must get Google Analytics. It is free to use for anyone with a website.

In this video tutorial you will see how to add a website into your Google analytics account.

This video presumes that you have a google Account. If you do not have one simply go to http://www.google.com/analytics/ and signup for a new account.

I use Google Analytics to:

Find the highest paying Adsense keywords
Find out what keywords people use to get to my website
Find out what is popular content

Google Analytics is an amazing free tool from Google.

Don’t Tell Your Boss About These Computer Tips

I once read a study that said typical office workers only work 1.5 hours a day—if that applies to you, you might find the following computer tips useful to keep the boss from finding out what you do the other 6.5 hours a day. I take no responsibilty for
how you use these computer tips and you didn’t see them here.

The Super Alt-Tab Computer Tips

Your boss probably already knows that alt-tab lets you quickly switch from your Web browser (displaying Digg.com) to a more productive-looking application, so your boss may make a habit of glancing at your Windows taskbar whenever he’s standing behind your computer to see what you’re really up to.

But you can one-up your boss by installing a special application that completely hides certain windows when you press a particular key combination. No matter how hard your boss looks, he won’t find these hidden windows (unless he knows your secret key combination).

Warning: if you install an application like Hide Window Plus, you may get in more trouble than you would for just surfing the Internet. If you can see your boss coming, you may have more luck by pressing Alt-Home in your Web browser to view your boring default home page before pressing Alt-Tab to switch to an even more boring application.

Computer Tips To Get Around Blocked Sites

Tech savvy bosses and larger organizations will often block the major time-wasting Web sites. When you try to visit Reddit or Digg or Slashdot, the blocking software displays a “get back to work screen” or—worse—a message saying that your visit has been logged with your boss.

But most of these blocking tools use what computer security professionals call a blacklist—they only list the sites you can’t visit. You can still visit any site not on that list.

Free Proxy Computer Tips

Getting around a blacklist on the modern Internet is easy. Just search for “free proxy.” These sites will download a copy of the Digg homepage and show it to you on their domain name—which probably isn’t blocked.

Be careful—if you login to a site through a free proxy, you share your login details with them. Never use them to login to your main email account or any financial account. This is just a precaution you need to take to protect your on line accounts.

Also be careful of crafty bosses or overstaffed IT departments. If they see you frequently visiting FreeProxy.example.com, they might get suspicious and see what you’re really doing. Again, the punishment for trying to cover up your actions might be worse than the punishment for those actions themselves.

Computer Tips To Avoid Leaving A Trail

Website blocking software can track your Web browser at the server level, so there’s little you can do to hide your actions. But if your boss or IT department haven’t bought a blocking system, they may be checking on you using the old fashioned way—looking at your Web browser history.

For years now, every major browser has included a way for you to wipe your browsing history. The problem with this method was that it wiped everything—so it was obvious you were trying to hide something.

But a new feature in Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome lets you hide just a specific session. Open your Web browser in privacy mode (see the File menu) and your browser won’t save anything you do on your disk drive (except files you download.)

See the screenshot below. In Google chrome simply click on the spanner, then New incognito window, and your set to browse in private.

There will be no trace on your computer of the sites you visited—but the rest of the legitimate Web browsing that you did will still be there so your boss doesn’t suspect anything.

How To Access Hidden Applications

At a company my friend used to work for, the IT department deleted the Games directory from the Windows Start menu so we no longer had access to Solitaire, Hearts, and Minesweeper.

This was no big deal until one day my friend casually asked me how to get Solitaire back. I was puzzled as to why she needed to do this. The reason was simple. She was the boss and her employees were still using the games that she had the IT department remove. That’s when I showed her one of the simplest computer tips:

Windows stores most of its default computer programs in the same directory. Any program stored in that directory can be started by typing a single word—the program name—into the Windows Run… dialog.

So open the Start menu, open the Run… dialog, and type solfor Solitaire. Almost immediately Solitaire will start running, even if it doesn’t appear in the start menu.

You can also hide applications from your boss this way, although (again) be careful of the consequences of getting caught. Just install the app like normal, find the application name and start it from the Run… dialog, and then delete its icons or folder from the Start menu.

Computer Tips To Really Hide Applications

Of course a savvy boss or diligent IT department will simply block you from installing new applications on your computer, so it doesn’t matter how well you hide them—or does it?

If you really need to hide an application and you have a computer at home, you may be able to install it on a USB device. Lots of applications today have what they call “portable” editions that install entirely to USB keychains and keep all of their data there.

If you use, for example, a portable game, you’ll be able to play it at work but never leave any trace on your work computer. There will be no program file, no data files, no Start Menu entry. Plus—even better—you’ll be able to play the same game at home too, picking up from where you left off.

I suggest you start with a portable Web browser and see how it works at work. You can always claim that you like the interface of the portable browser better than the browser at work if you get caught.

Computer Tips To Prevent Your Boss From Spying On You

Several offices have security cameras for security—and for monitoring employee productivity. But these days there’s a new less obvious way to spy on employees.

You’ve probably see screencasts here on Tips4PC, but the same software that lets us record videos of our desktops also lets bosses secretly record videos of your desktop.

Most of this software doesn’t save these videos. It just lets your boss tune in and spy on you whenever he wants. That could suck if you want to just relax on the Internet for a bit.

Luckily, you can easily defeat this software—you simply need to kill it. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and switch to the processes tab. One of these processes is the spy software—it’s usually called something like Remote Viewer. Highlight the software and press End Process.

The next time your boss tries to spy on your desktop, he’ll get a “cannot connect” error. If you kill this software everyday and he gets suspicious, just tell him that you thought it might have been a virus, and since terminating it didn’t harm your computer you thought it was ok.

If you do it right, this is the least likely of the computer tips to get you in trouble. (And just remember you didn’t find out any of this from me)

Originally posted by Mitz on tips4pc.com

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