Rackspace Exchange users: a note

If you are one of our increasing number of happy and productive users of Rackspace’s hosted Microsoft Exchange service and you receive this popup when using Outlook (email address redacted for privacy – this is just an example):

Check the “Don’t ask” checkbox at the bottom, and click Allow.

As always, if you have questions, give us a call!

Address changes for older network printers

If the network address of certain older network printers changes, either because of a reconfiguration of the overall network or due to the printer receiving a new address after a power failure or other similar event, the printer's address must be updated on each computer which prints to that printer. Many/most newer printers use the printer's name, rather than its address, and so avoid this issue.

Here's how to do it:

(This example uses Windows 7, but the process is similar on Windows Vista or XP)

Click on Start, then Devices and Printers:

This will open the Devices and Printers window.

Right click on the network printer to be updated, and select Printer Properties (not just Properties at the bottom)

You will open the Properties window for this printer:

Click on the Ports tab at the top:

Click on the description for the port whose checkbox is checked, then click the Configure Port button, and change the number in the box next to Printer Name or IP Address to the new address of the printer:

Once this change is made, click OK, then Close, and then close the Devices and Printers window. Your computer will now have the correct address of the network printer.

Outlook Connector update

If you are using Windows Live Mail, Hotmail or MSN mail for your email (really, these are all the same thing), and using the very functional (and free) Outlook Connector to sync email, contacts and calendar with Outlook on your PC – good for you! This relatively little-known combination can deliver, for free, almost the same experience with webmail, Outlook and mobile devices that the non-free Microsoft Exchange delivers (and did I mention it’s free?). The overall experience is superior in many ways to the more trendy Gmail.

This add-on, the Outlook Connector, will from time to time demand to be updated. I use the word “demand” advisedly. Unlike most maintenance, the Outlook Connector will stop functioning if not updated.

The message: do the update when asked!

LogMeIn user creation process

Interconnected Technologies provides many of its clients remote access to their computers using the same secure service we use to provide remote support: LogMeIn.

Giving a client user access to his or her computer involves the creation and acceptance of an invitation. The invitation is sent to the user’s email address, which serves as that user’s LogMeIn userid:

Clicking on link under “To accept the invitation . . .” will take the new user to this screen, on which the user enters his/her name and chooses a password which only he or she will know:

Choosing a password that the system rates as “Strong” is essential, since this is, after all, providing access to one or more computers from “outside”. Strong passwords are those that are at least 6 characters long and contain upper and lower case letters, numbers and at least one special character, such as a hyphen or comma.

Once the user fills in the required information and presses the Create Account button, he/she will see the screen displaying the computer(s) to which the user account has been given access.

Subsequent access can be accomplished by visiting http://www.logmein.com, entering the email address and password. The same screen mentioned above will be displayed, allowing the user to access the computers to which the logged-iin account has access.

For more information on the next steps in this process, see:

http://www.interconnected.com/interconnectnow/2012/3/30/logmein-security.html.

And, as always, call us if you need additional assistance!

Just glad this document isn’t important, or time sensitive, or anything

Yes, it’s anecdotal, but this sort of thing happens all the time in Google’s “products” (remember my good friend’s admonition: “If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product”):

Yes, Microsoft Word can crash too, and isn’t perfect. It’s not a matter of perfect; it’s a matter of good enough vs. not good enough. Google Docs is not good enough, yet. I believe it will continue to evolve and improve, and may one day be good enough. But not as a replacement for the way we do documents today. Not yet.