bruceb news

Previously: HP OfficeJet 8600 Plus

Here’s a reminder to always do a custom install with any program, and watch carefully for unwanted software that may be installed alongside the program you want.

HP has a long history of slow installation routines that sneak unwanted advertising and programs onto your computer. The installation program for the HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 Plus is slightly better than the OfficeJet 8500, but there are still too many chances to wind up assaulted with ads and unwanted bloat.

The opening setup screen presents five pieces of “recommended software.” Only if you read the first sentence carefully does it become clear that none of them are required to use the printer. […] continued

A few weeks ago Microsoft released a OneNote app optimized for iPads.

Long-time readers know about my fondness for OneNote, the program you’ve never heard of that’s included with every copy of Microsoft Office 2010, right alongside Word and Excel and Powerpoint. Here’s more information to get you oriented. To repeat: “The concept is simple: OneNote collects information on the fly from any source you can imagine, and helps you find it again later when you need it. That’s any information. OneNote can hold your grocery list as easily as your research or trial preparation.”

OneNote is designed for its notebooks to be stored online in Microsoft’s Skydrive service. […] continued

The ribbons in Office 2007 and 2010 normally look like the picture above, with a row of icons and buttons under the headings across the top (Home / Favorites / Insert / Page Layout, etc.).

It’s disconcerting when the icons and buttons disappear. They reappear when you click one of the headings, then slide out of view again.

The answer is over at Small City Law Firm Tech, which should be on the reading list of anyone who uses Microsoft Office. Here’s Vivian’s description of what happens when the ribbon disappears after a particularly heavy bout of Random Clicking™:

The Office Ribbon hidden looks like this, all shrunken and icon-less:

And if you wonder how yours got to looking that way, you likely did one of two things:

• You either inadvertently clicked the Minimize Ribbon button (or pressed Ctrl F1)

Or

• You double-clicked on the active Ribbon Tab (headings), which has the same effect.

[…] continued

A few days before Christmas, Microsoft delivered the “Office 365 Integration Module for Small Business Server 2011 Essentials,” a long awaited add-in that integrates Microsoft’s new server software for very small offices with its hosted Office 365 service.

In some respects this is what SBS 2011 Essentials should have included all along, and the combination is a compelling choice for many very small offices considering their first onsite server or a replacement for an aging Small Business Server 2003 tower. You’ll find a full description of Small Business Server 2011 Essentials here:

• Overview
• Remote Access
• Backups

Separately, the two products are already compelling choices for small businesses. […] continued

Previously:
Speech Recognition And Dragon NaturallySpeaking

For two weeks I’ve been writing e-mails and articles by speaking out loud into a microphone, using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5. Its accuracy has been uncanny. It is so significantly improved from anything I’ve ever tried before that it feels as if some large technological leap has been made.

if you’ve ever used a voice recognition program, almost everything about the current version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking will be familiar. It’s second nature for me to sit with a microphone and speak out loud:

“This sentence is about cap windows and cap office on thursday period.”

The result is:

This sentence is about Windows and Office on Thursday.

[…] continued

I’m about two weeks into one of the more amazing experiences I’ve ever had with a computer. I don’t say that lightly; over the years I’ve had a lot of amazing experiences with computers and this really stands out.

On the other hand, there are a thousand reasons why you might not have the same experience. Before we’re done I’ll hedge this story with cautions and qualifications and defensive Ifs and Buts.

The story is this:

• About two weeks ago I installed Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Home Edition on my office computer.
• I speak into a microphone. The computer writes down what I say.

[…] continued

Rocket Matter is one of the most likable online services for small law offices. It handles case management, timekeeping, and billing in clean, well-designed screens presented in a web browser, with all data stored online. Take a few minutes and sign up for a demo! It’s an easy, pleasant way to get an idea of how an online program can take over functions that have traditionally been done by programs installed on your local computer. I watched a demo last week and came away with warm fuzzy feelings – nice people offering a nice product.

I’m not going to describe all the features – the Rocket Matter web site does that better than I can. […] continued

Small law offices have had few appealing options for case management and billing in the last few years. The only choices have been old warhorses that are showing their age badly, with interfaces that were obviously designed decades ago, and in some cases running on databases that are long obsolete. Amicus, Time Matters, Abacus, Timeslips, and the rest – quirky, tired, buggy (despite their decades of development), and increasingly unable to cope with new operating systems and new versions of other office software.

The landscape is finally changing. I’m going to call attention to several new programs and services for law firms and small businesses that look just grand. […] continued

The Favorites Bar in Internet Explorer deserves some attention. It’s a simple concept that might turn out to be a good friend.

The Favorites Bar extends across the top of the browser window. It is intended to hold links to 6-8 websites that you visit most frequently.

Many of you have the Favorites Bar turned off. If you’re not going to use it, leave it turned off.

You can turn it on by right-clicking on an empty area at the top of Internet Explorer and clicking to put a checkmark in front of “Favorites bar.”

The important thing is to remember the difference between “Favorites” and the “Favorites Bar.”

• Your “Favorites” are under the star in the upper right corner of Internet Explorer 9.

[…] continued

Office 2007 introduced ribbons to replace menus in Word, Excel, and most of the other programs, much to the consternation of old-timers. Since then, Microsoft has adopted ribbons for almost all of its software; the sweeping redesign of the Office programs was completed when Outlook got its ribbon in 2010.

The ribbons in each of the Office 2010 programs are customizable. You can add buttons for all the commands that you reach for all the time – the ones you assume everyone else also uses constantly. (They don’t. You’d be amazed.)

Before you go too far, take a look at some free customized ribbons from Microsoft. […] continued