Thursday, July 31, 2014
Amazon's offering 30 free Android apps to help make you a better person
from Engadget RSS Feed http://ift.tt/1psTNJh
via IFTTT
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
12+ Tips and Tricks to Work Faster in Microsoft Outlook
Lifehacker 12+ Tips and Tricks to Work Faster in Microsoft Outlook
Love it or hate it, Microsoft Outlook is still the de facto email client at many offices. It's been a while since we took a look at good old Outlook, so here are some of our favorite tricks well worth revisiting to increase your productivity in this all-in-one email, calendar, tasks, and notes program.
The instructions and details in this post are based on Outlook 2010, but they should work with both earlier and later versions of Outlook, except where otherwise noted.
General Shortcuts
The shortcuts below work across the whole program, so you can get more done whether you're reading emails or adding meeting events to your calendar.
1. Learn Outlook's keyboard shortcuts. Like Microsoft Word , Excel , and other Office apps, Outlook has unique keyboard shortcuts so you don't have to waste time moving your mouse around or drilling down through menus. Learn the ones you use most and you'll speed through your Outlook tasks. MakeUseOf has a handy Outlook keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet you can download or print out. Among the most useful:
- Ctrl+R: reply to email
- Alt+R: reply to all in email or switch to the work week calendar view
- Alt+W: forward email or switch to the weekly calendar view
- Ctrl+M: F9 to Send/Receive all
- Alt+S: Send email
- Ctrl+G: open the "Go to date" dialog to jump to any date in the calendar
You can also switch between mail, calendar, contacts, and other items in the navigation pane by hitting Ctrl + [the place number of the item], e.g.:
2. Take advantage of Outlook's Quick Steps. For those unfamiliar, Quick Steps is the killer feature Microsoft introduced with Outlook 2010. They're shortcuts to any multi-step action you can think of, such as moving emails to a specific folder and marking them as read or forwarding an email to your team and flagging it at the same time. It makes short work of repetitive tasks, and you can create your own Quick Step actions.
3. Create a new item from your clipboard. Hat tip to fellow Lifehacker Walter Glenn for this tip (and others in this piece):
Copy any text to your clipboard, then in Outlook press Ctrl-V. Outlook creates a new message (or note or whatever item, depending on the folder you're viewing) with the text already pasted.
So instead of creating a new item in Outlook, and then copying and pasting text in, you do both in one step.
Email Shortcuts
Even though Gmail and other webmail services are quite capable, Outlook is no slouch when it comes to sorting, filtering, categorizing, and otherwise wrangling your inbox to your needs.
4. Limit desktop notifications to only the most important emails. It's terribly distracting to constantly be told "you've got mail!" but you still want to get notified for the most important alerts . In Outlook, set desktop notifications only for those VIP messages. Canadian legal magazine Slaw offers a detailed tutorial for how to do this, but, essentially, first you'll turn off all desktop alerts under the Mail Options, then create an Outlook rule to display alerts for messages from specific people sent only to you. For example:
5. Flag messages—fast. With a message or two selected, jut hit the insert key to toggle the flag on or mark it done.
6. Get emails that aren't sent directly to you out of your inbox. In an old post (still worth looking at if you're using Outlook), Scott Hanselman details his GTD organization method for Outlook. One of the best tips is to use a special "Inbox – CC" folder to gather all the emails that aren't sent directly to you; that way, the inbox is focused on only the most important emails. To set this up, go to Rules > New Rules…. Then click the "Advanced Options" button. In the Rules Wizard, select "where my name is not in the To box" and then in the next screen, "move it to the specified folder." (Alternatively, set up a VIP email folder and move "emails sent only to me" into that special folder.)
7. Use email templates to never write the same email twice. Tired of sounding like a broken record? For those emails you send often, such as requests for information or reminders of due invoices, save the email as a template via File > Save As… > Outlook template. Then, to use the template, go to New Items > Choose Form… and look in your "User Templates in File System" to browse for the template you saved. Or, even quicker, double-click the OFT file from Windows Explorer to create a new message from that template. You can also use text expansion to accomplish this across any program on your computer.
8. Create search folders for your most important emails. What are your most frequently accessed emails? Maybe they're emails from your boss or certain subjects (now where's that TPS report?). For any search you perform often, just save the search for quick access. Click on Search Folders in the left navigation menu, select "New Search Folder," and then either use the wizards or manually customize the search to your specifications.
9. Quickly save emails as files. If you want to save certain emails for posterity, you have a few methods at your disposal. While you can individually save any email through the File > Save As... menu (options: text, HTML, Outlook Message format or .msg, HTML, .mht), it's far faster to save emails by dragging them to the desktop or Windows Explorer. This will save them in Outlook's proprietary .msg format, with the subject as the file name.
You could also use VBA scripts like this and these to automatically (or semi-automatically) save emails to your local hard drive as individual messages, freeing them from the .PST or .OST file Outlook keeps them in.
Tasks, Calendar, Notes, and Journal
Outlook isn't just an email client. It's a full-fledged Personal Information Manager. Having everything in one place has its advantages, but there are still ways to use all these features more effectively.
10. Group tasks by custom priority. If you want to use Outlook as your to-do manager too, MSDN's JD Meier suggests this organizational structure: In addition to adding a start date to each of your tasks, add a custom priority field (such as P0, P1, and P2). Then you can group your tasks by that custom field so you can see at a glance which ones to work on at the right time. For example:
This method might also work well with productivity techniques like working on tasks in batches—such as the Workstation Popcorn way of working productively from home—or if you want to organize your tasks by the amount of time they take.
11. Use natural language to create a calendar event. Don't waste time scrolling through the monthly date picker to find the exact date for an appointment or meeting. In the date field, type naturally "Independence Day," "three days from tomorrow," and so on.
12. Save Outlook notes, events, and any other item to the desktop for quick access. It's not just emails you can save to your computer outside of Outlook: calendar events, notes, contacts, and everything else can be dragged to the desktop or a Windows folder as individual items for quick access later. Double-click the item—even if Outlook isn't open—and it'll open right away in Outlook.
Bonus (for Outlook 2010 and earlier): Use Outlook as an automatic time tracking tool. This one's been deprecated in Office 2013, but if you have an earlier version of Outlook, you can use the Journal to automatically log your tasks, time, Office documents usage, and so on. You have to click on the left navigation pane's "More" button to find the Journal icon and then enable the Journal to track messages from specific contacts, meeting requests, and time spend in other office programs.
You'll then see a timeline and detailed log of all these events, which is great for those of us who have to keep timesheets, invoice clients, or just want to jog their memories about where the time really went.
These are all just scratching the surface of Outlook's capabilities. Loaded with options and features, as well as VBA scripts you can install or write yourself, Outlook is a powerful tool for organizing your daily life. For more tips and tricks, see our previous collection of Outlook tips or share your favorites here.
http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/vip/~3/jkrxVt_WryY/12-tips-and-tricks-to-work-faster-in-microsoft-outlook-1540483009
Sent with Reeder
Sent from my iPad
Opt Out of Amazon Prime’s Free Two-Day Shipping, Earn $1 Video Credit
Lifehacker Opt Out of Amazon Prime's Free Two-Day Shipping, Earn $1 Video Credit
If you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can choose a no-rush shipping option during checkout and earn $1 of Amazon Instant Video credit for every order.
Once you've filled up your cart, head to checkout and you'll see a new shipping option called "FREE NO-Rush Shipping." Pick this option and your item(s) will take around a week to get to you, but you'll earn an Amazon buck to spend on movie and TV purchases in the Amazon store. The option is now available to all Prime subscribers, so if you don't need your order in a hurry, you can earn some free movies and TV shows for your viewing pleasure.
You Can Now Opt for Slower Amazon Delivery in Exchange For Free Instant Video Credits | BetaBeat
http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/vip/~3/Oxb_E2di7Q4/opt-out-of-amazon-prime-s-free-two-day-shipping-earn-1613594987
Sent with Reeder
Sent from my iPad
76ers Ask NBA To Delay Anti-Tanking Measures Until They're Done Tanking
Deadspin 76ers Ask NBA To Delay Anti-Tanking Measures Until They're Done Tanking
A couple weeks back, it was reported that the NBA was attempting to push through changes to its draft lottery system: a re-weighting of the odds that would discourage tanking. The Philadelphia 76ers would reportedly like the NBA to hold on a sec, because they're not finished being terrible.
http://deadspin.com/76ers-ask-nba-to-delay-anti-tanking-measures-until-they-1613426518
Sent with Reeder
Sent from my iPad
The Best Items to Get from Amazon Subscribe and Save
Services like Amazon's Subscribe and Save or Target Subscriptions are great for busy people who'd prefer grocery items automatically appear at their door to having to go shopping for them. But exactly what's worth ordering from these services isn't always transparent. Let's make a list of the best stuff to get.
Subscription services for household items are great on the surface, but it's often a little difficult to plan out how you'll use them. Even with cooking staples like olive oil or rice, it's tough to really plan well enough to get what you need, when you need it. That said, it's doable, and with plenty of other types of items available, a subscription service can save you time and the headache of remembering stuff, even if they don't necessarily save you money.
We have a few ideas of our own and we'll toss them into the discussion first, but we want your input too. Here's how to format your suggestions:
- Include an image of the item
- One item per comment, please! Let's keep it easy to read. If you have multiple items, add them as separate comments.
- Try not to repeat ideas: If someone else has already suggested something, star their comment and reply with your own ideas.
- Tell us how often you get it and why: The biggest trouble with subscription services is figuring out how often to get items, so tell us a little about your usage and how often you get it.
Photo by we.photography.
from Lifehacker http://ift.tt/1oKeXDE
via IFTTT
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
PennDOT driver license center has moved deeper into South Philly
from Passyunk Post http://ift.tt/1rXAxW9
via IFTTT
Monday, July 28, 2014
Why golfers buy hole-in-one insurance
The chance of getting a hole-in-one is roughly 1 in 12,500 for an amateur golfer. In many countries, anyone making a hole in one is bound by tradition to buy drinks for everyone in the clubhouse.
Read the rest
from Boing Boing http://ift.tt/1qb0bnj
via IFTTT
Sunday, July 27, 2014
The Battered Bastards of Baseball Is the Best Netflix Original Yet
Gizmodo The Battered Bastards of Baseball Is the Best Netflix Original Yet
You're well within your rights to obsess over House of Cards, or Orange Is the New Black, or maybe even Lilyhammer if it's been a particularly rough month. But the best Netflix original isn't a TV series. It's a documentary. Specifically, it's The Battered Bastards of Baseball.
http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/vip/~3/oUtSd5c2ZeU/the-battered-bastards-of-baseball-is-the-best-netflix-o-1611789423
Sent with Reeder
Sent from my iPad
There's A Tiny Grammatical Error On Greg Maddux's HOF Plaque
Cool grammar error on Maddux's plaque, @BaseballHall! It's fewer, not less. (right? I mean I thin I'm right). http://ift.tt/1rrs2Rd
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) July 27, 2014
from Deadspin http://ift.tt/1psLdY7
via IFTTT
Saturday, July 26, 2014
‘Battered Bastards’ will remind you why you love baseball
Minor League Ball 'Battered Bastards' will remind you why you love baseball
The story of the independent Class-A Portland Mavericks is chronicled in the new Netflix original documentary, and it's a must watch for minor league fans.
Bing Russell might have been a blogger or podcaster in 1973, if such mediums existed back then, because he simply loved the game of baseball and he had to find a way to express himself. He started the independent Class-A Portland Mavericks of the Northwest League instead.
The Mavericks' story is chronicled in the new Netflix original documentary, "The Battered Bastards of Baseball." And it's a must watch for minor league fans.
Russell, the actor who portrayed the sheriff on Bonanza, who also played a little ball in his day, saw the void left after the Pacific Coast Leauge's Portland Beavers left town, so he stepped in with a team of his own and they captured the attention of the city for the five years they existed (from 1973-77).
In the film, Russell described his motivation for starting the Mavericks this way: "I love the game dearly and wanted it to go back to the straw hat and beer days when 250 towns had minor league teams and most of them were not supported by a major league franchise."
Early in the documentary, Bing's son, Kurt Russell (the actor), talks about promoting the team as it was getting started by picking up the Portland phonebook and calling residents. "Hi, my name's Kurt Russell and I'm with the Portland Mavericks," he would say. "We're the new baseball team here in town. Have you heard about us?"
They hadn't.
The Mavericks took out ads in the newspaper announcing player tryouts, expecting 40 or 50 to show up. Three hundred showed up instead. Some hitchhiked. Some sold everything just to get there.
One player described the opportunity to play for the Mavericks as the American Dream.
Another player said it was a better alternative to painting houses.
"I don't care about the money, I just want to play ball," said another.
Vagabonds. Ragamuffins. Misfits. Rejects. Cast-offs. Jokes. Has-beens. Never-will-be's.
Mavericks.
Bing is described in the film as a med chemist, and in many ways that appears to be true. But mad isn't always bad. He simply thought outside the baseball establishment box and it worked. He hired a 24-year-old female general manager. He carried a 30-man roster, without any funding. His team did victory laps. The team had a ball-dog that sometimes interrupted games.
And fans ate it all up, becoming known as "Maverick-manics." They came out in droves, setting Class-A attendance records.
I won't spoil the ending for you. Just go watch it.
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2014/7/26/5938035/battered-bastards-will-remind-you-why-you-love-baseball
Sent with Reeder
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, July 25, 2014
Fruit Cocktail: Tree Grows 40 Different Kinds Of Fruit
At first, Van Aken combines a few types onto the root structure of a single tree, allowing his "working tree" to mature to at least two years old. Then he proceeds to add more varieties to the limbs in a sequence called "chip grafting." Van Aken inserts a budding branch into an incision in the working tree -- with a piece of tape, no less -- and allows the limb to function as a normal appendage of the plant. The process takes about 5 years per tree, and has yielded 16 "Trees of 40 Fruit" thus far.
Oh man, could you imagine if George Washington had chopped one of these down instead of a cherry tree? I doubt his dad would have let him live long enough to ever become president. And then who would have been our first president? "John Adams?" Oh God, don't even joke about it. Thanks to Jennifer, who agrees a tree that could grow mushroom and black olive pizza would be even more amazing.
from Geekologie - Gadgets, Gizmos, and Awesome http://ift.tt/1xcaOsJ
via IFTTT
Aaron Gordon Crosses A Little Girl To The Ground, Flees The Scene
If there's one thing we love, it's people running away from awesome things that happen on a basketball court. If there's another thing we love, it's small children getting their shit wrecked by a sweet crossover . So this Vine, featuring Magic rookie Aaron Gordon, is essentially the perfect Vine.
from Deadspin http://ift.tt/1ontsx5
via IFTTT
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Crispy Pickled Shiitake From 'Pitt Cue Co.: The Cookbook'
Serious Eats: A Food Blog and Community Crispy Pickled Shiitake From 'Pitt Cue Co.: The Cookbook'
The Pitt Cue Co. chefs were wowed by the pickled mushrooms they tried at Momofuku in NYC. So wowed that the only way to take them up a notch was to deep-fry those suckers. They share the recipe for their uber-umami Crispy Pickled Shiitake in Pitt Cue Co.: The Cookbook, and it is totally worth the effort. Read More http://feeds.seriouseats.com/~r/seriouseatsfeaturesvideos/~3/HmsqIWgT8Dk/crispy-pickled-shiitake-from-pitt-cue-co-the.html
Sent with Reeder
Sent from my iPhone
Nerds On Teen Jeopardy Save Sports Category For Last
Deadspin Nerds On Teen Jeopardy Save Sports Category For Last
"Pro Sports Teams" was a category on Teen Jeopardy this evening and none of the contestants wanted anything to do with it. The rest of the board slowly vanishes while the Sports column remains menacingly unselected.
http://deadspin.com/nerds-on-teen-jeopardy-save-sports-category-for-last-1610595028
Sent with Reeder
Sent from my iPhone