Category: Internet & Technology

Outlook 2013: Changing Search Default From Current Mailbox to Current Folder

One of the most powerful functions in Outlook is search, and in Outlook 2013 Microsoft made a change for the worse. From my perspective, if I’m searching for an email in my inbox, or my sent items folder, I want to see results only from that folder. Showing me results from across my entire inbox makes for a muddled mess, and having to change the drop-down from “Entire Mailbox” to “Current folder” every single time was a pain. I’ve been running Outlook 2013 since it first came out on my personal email, but not until this month was I offered Outlook 2013 for work. At work, Outlook is the other half of my brain, so searching through emails quickly and easily is critical.

Thankfully, there’s an an easy fix:

Select File > Options > Search > Include results only from Current Folder, then click OK.

outlook-2013-default-search-current-folder-not-current-mailbox

Chromecast Randomly Rebooting? Check Your USB Power Source

chromecast

 

When Google’s Chromecast first came out, like many a geek, I ordered one right away because it was ridiculously cheap, and seemed like the long overdue bridge we were waiting for to connect our Android phones and tablets to our TVs. With all due respect to HTC, the MediaLink HD just wasn’t a solid product and never got the development work and improvements it needed.

Continue reading Chromecast Randomly Rebooting? Check Your USB Power Source

Asus UX305 Noisy Clicking Trackpad Problem

One of the issues I noted in my first day with the Asus UX305 was the weird trackpad that had a clunk/click sound when tapped on. I couldn’t understand if it was normal or not; I assumed it was just a poor design decision on Asus’ part. When I posted my first impression review on the Amazon product page, one of the commenters shared that he too had the clicking trackpad issue. When he contacted Asus tech support they told him it wasn’t normal and that he should return the product.

Curious about this, and having the personality type that doesn’t keep a product if I think it’s defective and would need to be returned anyway, I ordered a Microsoft Signature Edition (the UX305FA-USM1). I’d gotten into a somewhat heated discussion over in the Amazon product review comments with someone who insisted that the Signature Edition was a superior product due to the software build Microsoft put on it (bloatware-free). Oh, also some guy who was mocking me for not lying and using the student discount like he did.

Figuring I now had the opportunity to see for myself, I ordered the Microsoft Store version. And, somewhat to my surprise, there was a big difference in the trackpad. Watch the video to see why.

Shortly after doing this video, I returned the Amazon version.

Mylio: A Cool, But Costly, Photo Organizing Solution

Mylio-photo-solution

I stumbled across a cool photo organizing/sharing solution called Mylio today. I wanted to check it out because it’s quite clear Google has abandoned Picasa (it’s been at version 3.x for years now) and I’ve been hunting for a more modern solution for photo syncing and sharing. Here’s the rundown of Mylio.

Continue reading Mylio: A Cool, But Costly, Photo Organizing Solution

Facebook: Finally Doing Privacy Right

Facebook is often slammed for their poor handling of privacy, and most of the time they deserve it. They’ve historically played fast and loose with the privacy of user’s data, not unlike most other young silicon valley start-ups. It’s not surprising when you think about it – if you grew up in a computing era where both privacy and intellectual property are largely irrelevant (sometimes called “The Napster Generation”), when those same people form companies they’ll take those assumptions with them into defining how their products work.

Continue reading Facebook: Finally Doing Privacy Right

The Best Value in Ultrabooks Ever: The Asus UX305F

asus-UX305F

After I returned the Dell XPS 13, I expected to wait until the Windows 10 time frame to try and find another product. I’m also keeping my eye on what Apple does with the MacBook Air, just in case I feel desperate enough to make THAT giant leap (can you tell I’m reluctant?). I’m hideously uncomfortable and slow using OS X because I’ve never done more than dabble on my Mac Mini – the OS makes little sense to me, I know virtually no shortcuts, and I find it utterly non-intuitive. But enough about that, back to the world of Windows laptops…

I was reading a very detailed review of the Dell XPS 13 – I’m always curious to read what reviewers say about hardware that I own(ed) – and I saw a review of the Asus UX305F. I frankly hadn’t paid much attention to Asus laptops since I bought their first Zenbook back in 2011 and the key travel was so short it missed 50% of what I typed. And their model naming scheme is so confusing (UX301LA, T1000TA, etc.) it’s hard to know what’s what. Seeing the specs on the UX305F, and the price, my jaw dropped.

Continue reading The Best Value in Ultrabooks Ever: The Asus UX305F

Sorry Dell, I Sent The XPS 13 Back To You

Dell-XPS-13-Welcome-Mail

This was not an easy decision, but I sent the XPS 13 back to Dell for a refund. I won’t be repetitive – all my reasons are in this previous blog post. The bottom line was that I felt it had too many compromises for a product cost over $1900. When I splash out that much money, I want to feel like my purchase is an improvement in all the important ways. That reasoning is why I bought, then returned both a Nikon D7100 and a Nikon D600. Both cameras had a lot going for them, but ultimately were not a full upgrade from my well-use D300. I had to wait for the D750 before the true successor was found.

The point being that when I’m upgrading a cornerstone of my technological world, I have high standards and will wait for the right product. The XPS 13 was so close in most ways; I may revisit a Core i5/256 GB PCIe SSD version late in the year after Windows 10 launches. Maybe Windows 10 will bring with it some battery life gains, and Dell will have a few months to mature their drivers. Back to my HP Envy Spectre 14 for now, though that may be short-lived as I have my eye on something else…something quite different from the XPS 13, but something that may tick the most important boxes (but not all of them).

Side note: the photo above is of a really cool owner’s welcome booklet that Dell sends you after you buy the XPS 13. It was customized with the model of my laptop, and even the service tag and specs of the product. It welcomed me to the Dell family, and was a nice touch. It felt personal and welcoming. Nice job whomever at Dell is responsible for it!

CCleaner Enhancer: Storage Reclamation on Steroids

Any self-respecting geek knows all about CCleaner, a handy (and free!) tool for reclaiming gigabytes of hard drive storage space. I use it all the time, and it’s great. What I didn’t know about until recently though was an add-on called CCEnhancer. Created by a third party, this tool expands the list of apps that can be purged by CCleaner. I wasn’t sure what it would find, as I don’t install many apps on my systems, but I was surprised to see it find an additional 1.2 GB or so of  files – I hardly use Quicktime, who knew it was chewing up 400 MB of storage? And Windows was keeping 811 MB of memory dumps – what on earth for?

CCleaner-Enhanced

The Pros and Cons List for the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook 2015

Dell XPS 13 (2015 Edition)

Sometimes the best way to make a rational decision is to weigh the pros and cons. I typically trust my gut and make fairly quick, but reasonably informed, decisions. Every so often I feel torn and need to take a step back to think about the best option. I’m also not above admitting I made an error in judgement. So here’s how I’m looking at the Dell XPS 13. I hope this list helps your purchasing decision on the XPS 13! Continue reading The Pros and Cons List for the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook 2015

Dell XPS 13 SD Card Slot Sticks Out

How much does an SD card stick out of the SD card slot on the 2015 Dell XPS 13? This much:

Dell-XPS13-SD-card-slot-smaller

I’d have liked to have seen the card be completely flush – with my HP Envy Spectre 14 I leave a 128 GB SD card in the slot for extra storage – but given the small size of the XPS 13, I’m not very surprised by this. It’s similar to what Apple did with the Macbook Air. I wonder if one of these would fit in the Dell XPS 13? I’m just glad Dell put an SD card slot in there, unlike the other OEMs who think a microSD card slot is somehow good enough. It’s not, at least for us photographers…