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The SchorrTech Blog -- thoughts and ideas on Science and Technology from technologist Ben M. Schorr of Roland Schorr & Tower.

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April 2004 - Posts

This is your Brain on the Box!
Friday, April 30, 2004 12:45 AM

Anybody see the Batman movie with Jim Carrey as "The Riddler?" I'm feeling a bit like that right now.I'm using IntraVnews and Newslook in conjunction with Outlook 2003 and the amount of RSS and newsgroup data flowing into my system right now is

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Problem with Microsoft Security Update
Thursday, April 29, 2004 9:18 PM

FYI - Microsoft has announced some issues with the MS04-11 security update patch. More details can be found here but I think perhaps the most interesting one is the issue that can cause Win2K boxes to take the CPU to 100% and effectively freeze.

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

New Outlook and BCM Blog
Thursday, April 29, 2004 8:47 PM

Author and Outlook MVP Patricia Cardoza has just started an Outlook and BCM blog at Office Zealot. It's still pretty new but knowing Patricia it will be worth subscribing to.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OnFolio Review
Wednesday, April 28, 2004 8:15 PM

Not to be unfair let me point out this review of OnFolio - a product that sort of competes in the same space with OneNote. I haven't tried OnFolio myself, but my impression of it is that it's geared more heavily towards collecting web research -- as opposed

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Chris Pratley: Follow-up on Word discussion
Wednesday, April 28, 2004 7:02 PM

Wow, I wanna be like Chris. Today he has a long and interesting follow-up to yesterday's "History of Word" blog post. Excellent reading for anybody interested in office application and development.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Office Entertainment
Wednesday, April 28, 2004 3:29 AM

I just got a new PC at the office but for the time being I still have my old one sitting off to the side. It suddenly occurred to me that I have a perfect little entertainment center! I usually use my MP3 player, have it play a jazz album

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Finally Moving Towards Paperless?
Wednesday, April 28, 2004 12:09 AM

Or at least less paper. I read a report today that said that the number of printers shipped last year actually fell by about 2 percent. That could mean that today's printers are more reliable and people are satisified and not upgrading as

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

My Second KB Article: ISA Server this time
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 11:14 PM

Well, I've authored my second Microsoft KB article - this time it's about VPN clients trying to authenticate through ISA Server. It's KB#555100.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Great Deal on LCD Flat-Panels
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 10:26 PM

NewEgg is selling these 19" Sceptre LCDs with built-in speakers AND USB Hub for about $485. Wish I had $485.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Take Your Bookmark to the Next Level
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 7:46 PM

Franklin takes the bookmark to a whole new level with this gadget. It's an electronic bookmark (the old-fashioned kind; you know that you put in an actual paper book!) which has a dictionary built-in! It's got 80,000 words in it so you can

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Chris Pratley Talks About Microsoft Word
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 7:03 PM

Chris Pratley, well-known around here as OneNote PM, leads something of a triple-life. He also manages the PM teams for Word and Publisher. In a long and interesting blog post today he discusses the history of Microsoft Word and how missteps

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Student Jobs
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 5:40 PM

The U.S. Federal Government is looking for a few good students. Check out Studentjobs.gov to see what they're hiring.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Use That Digital Camera
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 4:41 PM

Back when I was consulting we used to use a regular 35mm camera fairly often to document setups and...to give directions. We frequently had clients that were either new clients or that we didn't have to visit very often. Some of them were

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Know Your Time Zones
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 2:18 AM

Here's a suggestion for telemarketers who make long-distance calls. Try to know what time it is in the zone you're calling. Not just because you don't want to wake people up or call at dinnertime. But also because it doesn't impress

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Still Running Exchange 5.5?
Monday, April 26, 2004 8:44 AM

If you're still running Exchange 5.5 you've probably considered upgrading. Here are some good materials to help you with that decision.Let me be clear that in some cases Exchange 5.5 is running fine and you don't need to upgrade. In other

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

CAN-Spam: A law or an attitude?
Monday, April 26, 2004 8:35 AM

Tom Spring at PC World has an interesting article about his experiences trying to opt-out of spam. No great surprise to me. I have very little confidence in legislation to stop spam - the Internet is International; United States law is not

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Saw a New Firewall...
Sunday, April 25, 2004 7:56 AM

Saw a presentation on Friday from Secure Computing. Their Sidewinder G2 looks like a pretty nifty product - application layer firewall. When was the last time you thought about your security?-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OneNote SP1 and the System Tray
Saturday, April 24, 2004 5:49 PM

If you've installed OneNote SP1 then you may have discovered that you can't get OneNote to stay on the system tray. You can turn it back on...but getting it to stay is a different matter.I have the instructions on how to fix that (along with a downloadable

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

The Power Platform
Saturday, April 24, 2004 5:42 PM

I've been thinking a bit about my ideal work platform and here's what I've come up with so far: Tablet PC - 1.5Ghz or better, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive, at least a 12.1" screen. I think I'd like a convertible (with attached keyboard) but I would

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Congratulations to Chris & Mrs. Pratley
Saturday, April 24, 2004 1:08 AM

As an aside - Congrats to OneNote PM Chris Pratley and his wife on the birth of their son this week. Mom and son are doing fine, I'm told.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

More on OneNote SP1
Thursday, April 22, 2004 1:00 AM

A colleague chided me for not mentioning a feature that has been a VERY popular feature request: The ability to date/time stamp things in OneNote.ALT+SHIFT+F will do it from a keyboard shortcut.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Chris Pratley Weighs in on SP1
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 9:25 PM

Chris Pratley has posted an excellent blog entry going into detail on SP1, what features are included (including a few I forgot to mention) and some of the rationale behind what they included. Worth a read.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OneNote SP1 Preview is now Available!
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 7:45 PM

Microsoft's OneNote SP1 Preview is now available for download.There are several new features in this Service Pack, including: You can now rename subpages. There is a screen-area grabber feature that lets you quickly get a screen shot of an area of

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Free Book Chapter on VB.NET
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 7:41 PM

Fawcette Technical Publications is offering a free chapter on inheritance for VB.NET.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Articles about OneNote SP1 Preview
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 7:39 PM

TabletPCTalk.com is running a couple of interesting articles about the OneNote SP1 Preview.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

The Power of Instant Collaboration in Development
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 9:26 AM

I just had an amazing technology experience. I'm beta testing an application for a developer who lives in London - I'm in Hawaii. First thing in the morning for him, late at night for me. I had e-mailed him a screen shot of an error

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Don't Make Assumptions About Bandwidth
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 3:37 AM

It always makes me uncomfortable when I see companies talking about delivering everything via the Internet. Application Service Providers trying to tell me to replace all of my PCs with thin-clients and then "subscribe" to my applications through

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OneNote and Blogging - an Observation
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 3:14 AM

I have a Feedster search for OneNote which I subscribe to in IntraVnews. This updates me a couple of times a day on any new RSS feeds which have mentioned OneNote so that I can see what folks are saying. In the past day or so, however, I've

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OneNote and Blogging
Monday, April 19, 2004 9:53 AM

Last week Chris Pratley asked for feedback on how OneNote might, hypothetically, support blogging and he got a lot of comments.One interesting comment is what Larry O'Brien wrote on his blog.I guess I'm not convinced that OneNote needs to directly support

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

SharePoint iFilter for OneNote
Monday, April 19, 2004 1:23 AM

Just in case you were wondering, yes OneNote works with SharePoint. Here's a KB article to help you get it set up: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=832289-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Update: The Exchange vulnerability post
Saturday, April 17, 2004 6:48 AM

A note about my earlier post regarding the exploit that SecurityFocus.com pointed out. It's been suggested by a source I trust that this exploit (and solution) are actually not new.Good to know - I still encourage you to make sure your servers are

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Security Update for Exchange Server
Saturday, April 17, 2004 2:32 AM

SecurityFocus is reporting a buffer overflow exploit for Exchange Server 5.5 & 2000. The update from Microsoft is here.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Windows Server System Magazine
Saturday, April 17, 2004 1:36 AM

I suppose I should mention that I write a monthly column, along with my co-author Jim McBee, for Windows Server System Magazine. The column is called "Ask the Exchange Pros" and I've been doing it for several years.Not always easy to come

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Tablet PC Bumper Sticker
Friday, April 16, 2004 11:22 PM

Monica wanted a Tablet PC bumper sticker......so I made her one. It's at the SchorrTech Store. Amazing what you can do with technology these days, even in just moments.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Great Deal on Dell Workstations
Friday, April 16, 2004 8:36 PM

Dell is running a "Buy 3 Get One Free" deal on their Optiplex workstations. Basically means 25% off if you buy 4. We were only going to order 3, but now...hey, might as well.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

The Sphere - 3D Desktop Environment
Friday, April 16, 2004 4:27 AM

You may remember not long ago I blogged about a cool new interface from Sun called LookingGlass. Well, here's a product called Sphere 3D that you can actually download and try today.I decided to give it a spin, if you'll pardon the pun, and

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Open Source Vulnerability Database is now open
Friday, April 16, 2004 4:03 AM

The Open Source Vulnerability Database is now open for visitors. It's designed to be a vendor and platform agnostic database of vulnerabilities. I haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time there yet, but it looks like a great tool for

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Customize your Office/Outlook 2003 Menus
Friday, April 16, 2004 3:49 AM

KC Lemson has an excellent tip in her blog today on how to customize toolbars and menus in Outlook and Office 2003. I have my menus pretty heavily customized - for example I've added "Add Sender to Blocked Sender List" to my menu bar so I'm one

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OneNote for Attorneys WebCast
Friday, April 16, 2004 3:19 AM

Microsoft has posted the on-demand version of their OneNote Webcast for Lawyers.I'm watching it now - and may even gather the attorneys in our firm into a conference room and replay it for them in the coming days.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

The Most Valuable Skill a User Can Have?
Friday, April 16, 2004 1:02 AM

How about the ability to properly ask a question? As somebody who is frequently tasked to provide support to users it's frustrating to have a user call up and say "My computer isn't working."Me: "O.K. Can you be a little more specific?

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Name That Tune
Thursday, April 15, 2004 6:02 PM

AT&T Wireless offers song identification by cellphone. (Engadget)This is a cool idea. Hear a song you don't know? Dial #43, hold your phone to the speaker and 15 seconds later it'll tell you what the name of the song and the artist is.

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OneNote SP1 hints...
Thursday, April 15, 2004 5:58 PM

I can't tell you what's included in the impending OneNote 2003 SP1, but Microsoft's Chris Pratley can...and he's dropping hints in the microsoft.public.onenote newsgroup.Add msnews.microsoft.com to your newsreader (Outlook Express?) or go to the web interface.

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Creative Deployment of Wireless Networks
Thursday, April 15, 2004 3:28 AM

The NY Times has an interesting story on antenna selection issues with wireless LANs. All of us who have set up wireless LANs have probably encountered some dead spots in the coverage and given some consideration about what to do about them.

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

USB Drive Backups
Thursday, April 15, 2004 1:47 AM

We've decided to give a try to switching from a tape-based backup to external, USB connected, hard drives. They should be faster and more scalable than tape, and since they're USB connected they're just as "hot-swappable" as tapes.Our BackupExec

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Introduction to OneNote 2003 and Toshiba Tablet PCs Webcast
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 10:11 PM

Microsoft has an on-demand webcast that introduces OneNote 2003 and the Toshiba Tablet PC line. It's here and it's free.Worth a look if you're not sure what OneNote is or how it might benefit you.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Time to Update Your Security Patches
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 4:10 AM

Microsoft Corp. warned yesterday that it had identified a host of new security flaws in its software, some of which would allow hackers to remotely commandeer vulnerable computers, and it urged users to install a series of fixes to address the problem.-Yahoo!News-Go

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Newsgroups in Outlook? Believe it!
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 3:45 AM

Every now and then I run across a technology that I just HAVE to tell my friends about. 802.11g, nanotechnology, hybrid-electric automobiles, Velcro...it's always something. Today it's a tool currently being beta tested called "Newslook."Newslook

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Using the USB Flash Drive with OneNote
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 12:16 AM

I recently got a new 64MB USB Flash Drive (Thanks Christine!) and wasted no time putting it to use in my daily life. I have a couple of folders in OneNote that I want to have both at home and at the office (and anywhere else I have OneNote

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Do You Want Fries With That? McDonald's Rolls out McWiFi.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 12:05 AM

InfoWorld is reporting that McDonald's is going to roll out WiFi services to thousands of restaurants across their chain. For $2.95 you'll be able to sit with your Quarter Pounder and spend 2 hours checking your e-mail. The question I have

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

How Low Can Wireless Gear Go?
Tuesday, April 13, 2004 5:08 PM

Amazon.com is selling Netgear 802.11b Wireless routers for about $23 after rebates!That's amazing - there is no excuse for every broadband user to not have a firewall/NAT device on there system at these prices. Even if you turn the wireless off

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

All-in-one PCs
Tuesday, April 13, 2004 5:00 PM

Engadget scores again with another interesting post:FiringSquad actually has a review of the Tek Panel 300, that all-in-one PC with the 30-inch LCD screen we mentioned yesterday that’s featured on The Apprentice. My biggest concern with these kinds of

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Google's GMail Under Attack
Tuesday, April 13, 2004 4:36 PM

From CNNA California state senator on Monday said she was drafting legislation to block Google Inc.'s free e-mail service "Gmail" because it would place advertising in personal messages after searching them for key words.Here's a suggestion: If you don't

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Another Article on Microsoft OneNote
Tuesday, April 13, 2004 8:50 AM

IT-Director.com has a nice introduction to what OneNote is and some of its basic functionality.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

KB Article is available again
Tuesday, April 13, 2004 2:53 AM

O.K., my OneNote KB article is available again, this time under the KB#555089. It still has to do with inserting file links into OneNote, but this time I remembered to put in the URLs for the places you can get helpful utilities.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

How to Get the OneNote SP1 Beta
Monday, April 12, 2004 7:47 PM

It's not ready yet, but when the OneNote SP1 beta goes live, (before the end of the month) you'll be able to download it from Microsoft. It's going to be a public beta.I'll post the link to it as soon as it's available.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

South Korean firm files anti-trust suit against Microsoft
Monday, April 12, 2004 8:56 AM

Hot on the heals of the big payday for the EU, expect more companies and countries to line up at the Microsoft trough, hoping to get some easy cash.Yahoo! has the story here.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Whatever Happened to Satellite Broadband?
Monday, April 12, 2004 8:52 AM

I just picked up a January 2002 copy of Network Magazine and it's got an article about how Satellite Broadband is an emerging technology.Here we are in April 2004 and I don't personally know anybody who uses it. Cable modems and DSL have risen from

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Tablet PC Developer? You could win $100,000.
Sunday, April 11, 2004 11:29 AM

I can't recall if I blogged this before or not but if you have a Tablet PC app that you've developed you could win $100,000. Click here for contest details.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Note to Self...
Sunday, April 11, 2004 11:20 AM

In the future....proofread the KB articles before you click "Publish." I had to retract the article I wrote because I had inadvertently forgotten to replace a couple of variables in the text with actual URLs as I had intended. By Monday I'll

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

My First KB Article
Friday, April 09, 2004 1:46 AM

Minor point of trivia, my first Microsoft Knowledge Base article has gone live. It's KB555085 about inserting file links into OneNote.I'll probably author more as the situation warrants, but it was neat to get that first one up there.-B-

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

Wrapping up the 2004 Global MVP Summit
Thursday, April 08, 2004 5:39 AM

Well, the 2004 Global MVP Summit concluded today. I'll try to blog a few more interesting points in the next day or so, but right now it's late and I have a 3AM wake-up call waiting for me.One thing I must be sure to do before I go to bed is to

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posted by bschorr (Comments Off)

OneNote SP1