How to get Office 2003 Menu on Office 2007

I must admit, although Microsoft Office 2007 is more pleasing to look at than Microsoft Office 2003, I really hate that it doesn't have the old Menu bars. The first time that I used Microsoft Office 2007, I literally took 30 minutes to finish a task that would have been finished in 15 minutes time on the old MS Office 2003. The reason? Because Microsoft decided that instead of making their menu bars visually appealing to complement office 2007, they decided to replace it with the Ribbon.

Anyways, it's because of this that companies that uses Microsoft Office 2007 have to train their employees because there's a very steep learning curve in using MS Office 2007. Of course, shortcut users won't have any problems since shortcuts on Office 2003 and 2007 are basically the same, it's the menu users who will have a problem.

Anyways, if you want to bring the menu bar of the Office 2003 to the Office 2007, you can use Classic Menu for Office 2007 from addintools.com. Now you don't need training and tutorials for Microsoft Office 2007 any more since Classic Menu will bring back the Menu toolbar that everyone who first used MS Office has been used to.

Classic Menu can be used for Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, and PowerPoint 2007 and it still retains all the new features of MS Office 2007 and features easy switching between the Ribbon and the classic menu bar. Nice. Think of all the money your company can save to avoid training on MS Office 2007.

Samsung S8300: Nice screen, poor audio?

I've been eyeing the Samsung S8300 as my phone of choice as it has an 8 megapixel camera and a gorgeous AMOLED screen. From the Samsung Tocco Ultra Touch Reviews on the net, all are unanimous in saying that it has indeed a gorgeous screen and perfect for watching HD videos. The problem is the audio quality.

There are those who say that the speakers are not so loud and a bit tinny while others say it's okay. I'd really love to get one of these though I don't know which carrier will get the Samsung S8300 in the states. I don't want to have to import one just for the video quality and even though it's 3G/HSDPA capable, the European versions won't be compatible here in the states and since it doesn't have a WiFi, spending $500 for a phone that doesn't have fast internet connection is a waste. I might just as well wait for the Sony Ericsson W995 which will hit US shores in July.

FruitfulTime Task Software

I'm a very busy person I run a lot of errands as well as have some write-ups that I need to submit so it's hard to keep track of all of my tasks for the day and juggle which errand/task to do first. Outlook's built-in task/to-do list is not really that effective especially since its functions are limited.

Thankfully, there's a lot of task software available on the Internet. The first one I tried is the first software that offers full trial version: FruitfulTime. The first thing I liked about Fruitful Time is that it has reminders especially when you have a deadline. You can minimise the software on your desktop so that it wouldn't clutter your windows toolbar. You can also clone similar tasks with just one click and if you don't want anyone viewing your tasks, you can easily password protect it.

FruitfultTime offers much more functionality than Outlook's regular TO-Do list. I just hope that the developers would create a Pocket PC version so I can transfer my tasks on my PDA and still be reminded of deadlines even when I'm away from my Desktop PC.

Advantages and disadvantages of a Dedicated Server

Most cheap webhosting are hosted on a shared webhosting service. While shared webhosting service are often times reliable and is an excellent choice if you're just running a small business website or a personal blog but problems will arise once you find your website becoming popular and there is a jump in website traffic. Common indicators that your website needs to have a dedicated server is if it takes a Looonng time to load. Of course, this may be attributed to your shared hosting service in which case, try contacting your webhost provider and see if there's any problem. If it persists, it may be time to migrate to a dedicated server hosting.

Another advantage of a dedicated server hosting is that you will have more control over your server operation. You can upload yoru own programs or add extra features, something which can't be done on shared hosting services.

As for the disadvantages, one of the main disadvantages is the cost. The cheapest dedicated server hosting today is around $199. Another disadvantage or it may be an advantage is that you need to have your own technical team to manage your dedicated server. While some hosts provide technical support, they can only provide basic support and it's a good idea that you should have your own IT team to manage your servers.

If costs and manpower is not an issue, then buying a dedicated server is definitely a right choice for companies who are serious about their online presence.

Toshiba's New Automotive System

I've never pegged Toshiba to be in the automotive business, I've always equated their name with laptops or notebooks but it seems that Toshiba is making an intelligent automotive system that detects inattentive drivers.

With so many in-car gadgets today, most drivers don't always keep their eyes on the road. Toshiba's automotive system can detect the driver's face and eye movements using camera images. The system recognizes 8 areas which the drivers commonly look at like the side mirrors, left, right and center windshield, the dashboard, etc so that if a driver's face or eyes deflect from these 8 areas, the aumotive system will give out a warning. In the future, Toshiba hopes that it would also detect drowsy drivers.

Via: NMCNNIC

Battery Brain: How brainy is it?

I was tasked to do a promo post for this innovative gadget for your car: the Battery Brain. So what is the battery brain? Battery brain is a little electronic device which you place between your battery and battery cable. Basically, as what it says on their website, Battery brain monitors your battery power and when it detects that the power needed to start your car is falling below the required level, Battery Brain will isolate the battery from your electrical system so you can be assured that you will always have enough power to start your engine.

I did a bit of research and visited the different car forums that I’m frequenting. It seems that Battery Brain has been popular with car enthusiasts although reviews about it are mixed. While it does what it says it does which monitors your car power and disconnects it from the electrical system, it may have some glitches with some cars that run too hot or those with problems with their car electrical system in the first place.

Some swear that the device works and they’ve been using it for years which I actually believe considering that one of those who had a problem with Battery brain says that he still uses the device since it actually saves the battery power but he just turns it off when his car is running so as not to create glitches with his car electrical system which he has yet to have fixed.

As for an anti-theft system, the Battery Brain with remote can actually be a good idea. You just press the remote so that Battery Brain can disconnect your battery from the electrical system and your car can’t be started or hot-wired.

If you want to try out Battery Brain, try going to their .net website instead of the .com to get 25% discount on their products.

Opening PPS and DAT files without purchasing any applications

Files with the file extension PPS is associated with Microsoft's powerpoint application. If you purchased your laptop or desktop PC without any Microsoft Office Application bundled, chances, are, you can't open PPS files. However, before you head on over to Microsoft's website and waste a LOT of money buying their office application, there's a software which can open PPS files for free and it's all thanks to the OpenSource Project.

OpenOffice.org is an open source software that allows you to open any type of Microsoft Office applications. The best part is that you can download this software for free. Yes, FREE. How can they do that? Beats me but if you search Google for the Open Source project you can probably get the answer.

On the other hand, files with file extension DAT is a bit complicated. DAT Files can be associated with a variety of different programs but you can easily open DAT files using Notepad, an application that comes bundled with Microsoft OS. Once you've opened the file in Notepad, you can check the program associated with that file. Chances are, you probably don't need to open DAT files since these usually are metadata files.