January 2008
In this issue...

 ►Treatment for Email Overload
 ►Making Telecommuting Work
 ►Finding Information on the
     Internet
 ►Outlook Anywhere
 ►Online Predators

While most of us can receive and send email from any computer that has an Internet connection via Outlook Web Access (OWA) or through a mobile device (Windows Mobile, Palm, or Blackberry), what I miss is the full functionality and speed of Outlook.

With Exchange 2007 and Outlook, you can now have that functionality wherever you have an Internet connection. Outlook Anywhere and Exchange 2007 provide your network administrator easier configuration of the ability to use Outlook anywhere. Yes, if your system has Outlook, and it is configured to run RPC over http (use of your local Outlook to securely connect to MS Exchange), then you are connected to you email system and have full Outlook functionality whenever you have an Internet connection.

I leave Outlook running on my notebook and when I leave the office, the notebook goes into “sleep” mode. When I “wake” it up when I am on my home wireless network or at any remote site via my cellular card, it connects to the Internet and the Outlook installed on my notebook is automatically and securely connected to our Exchange server just as if I were sitting at my desk in the office. I have access to my group calendars, group contacts and address books, and all other functionality of Outlook.

In using Outlook Anywhere the technology is delivered to you as if you were in the office. Since this mailbox is sending/receiving with the Exchange server it will also ensure that any changes made in Outlook also happen in your Exchange server.

SL Powers is very excited about the functionality that Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2007 have delivered in keeping us connected to our clients and the SL Powers Team. With the advancements in mobile technology, the Internet being available almost anywhere, and backoffice software, the ability to be productive from outside of the office has never been easier.

Corporate workers are now spending as much as 40% of their time dealing with email. I personally have come to expect between 100 and 150 emails every business day. From the important, such as a new customer requesting information to the mundane, such as an endless chain of email discussions between colleagues. It’s come to the point where the issue can no longer be ignored. I’ve assembled a list of tips that you can use to help keep the problem at bay, at least until software catches up and solves the issue for us.

1. Get a search tool on your PC or notebook, RIGHT NOW.  The three leaders are Google Desktop Search , Windows Desktop Search, or my personal favorite, X1 by Yahoo. These tools index all of the emails, files, pictures, documents, etc. on your hard drive in advance. When you search for them, the files that match whatever you search for get called up instantly and update as fast as you can type or delete another letter.

2. Eliminate SPAM from making it to your inbox.  As obvious as it sounds, for many people SPAM was once a small problem and because it has very gradually gotten worse, they’ve done nothing about it. There are many solutions out there, and though we at SLPowers recommend our managed SPAM solution (called SPAZ), even Outlook, especially since Outlook 7 was released, can do the job. Simply setting Outlook to its most aggressive setting gets most of the work done for you. Remember that it is always be wise to periodically scan your SPAM and junk folders for false positives.

3. Create rules in outlook to direct all “automated” emails to their own folder. For example if you subscribe to routine news lists, you can direct them to a new folder called “News Lists.” Many users also create rules that direct any emails that do not contain their email address in the “TO:” line out of their inbox and into a lower priority folder which can be reviewed on weekly basis or even less.

4. Keep your inbox clean. I use my inbox, literally as my workflow inbox. If I need to work on something, it stays there. Otherwise it gets saved in another folder or deleted. This simple tip saves me from having to go through many emails to find something as recent as this morning.

5. Rename your email subjects so that you can recall emails later much more quickly. For example if I’m about to send a reply with the subject “RE: Info we spoke about” I’ll change it to “RE: Sanchez Account – Spam proposal” instead. This has saved countless hours searching for things later. In fact, sometimes if no reply is called for, I’ll forward the email to myself with a more relevant subject and then I’ll drag that email to a folder that gets saved.

Whether you are considering implementing a corporate SPAM solution, or you would like more information, please see our website at www.SLPowers.com  or email us at info@slpowers.com.
 

Sometimes looking for quick information on the Web can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. With so many billions of Web pages in cyberspace, finding specific information can be a daunting task. "Often when I use search engines I get so many irrelevant results that I just give up," admits a frustrated Lorraine Adams, mother of two and a disability consultant.

Perhaps Adams isn't aware that there are ways to get more out of your favorite search engine, whether that's Live Search, Google, or Yahoo!. A few searching tips, tricks, tweaks, and techniques can help you find what you are looking for in cyberspace quickly and easily . Follow these 10 suggestions with your favorite search engine.

As an adolescent in the early 80s, my father was a sales representative for a company called Control Data Corporation (a company that provided educational-based computers that ran on a mainframe out of Minnesota). I remember using his demo computer in the basement. It was a state-of-the-art computer with a touch-tone screen. Because he was a sales rep, my dad had access to an 800 number (located in Minneapolis) so we could log on for free. Otherwise, the rate was a mere $5 an hour (a good deal considering that the rate had been lowered from $50 per hour earlier that year). I’d often get a busy signal, but when I did get through a whole new world opened up to me.

I used to spend hours and hours in this virtual world, mostly communicating in real-time with other users while playing multiplayer games. I “met” a whole array of people including educators, programmers, and kids my age. Unfortunately, even back then, there were also creeps online. I recall one man who befriended me, and after months of various discussions, he confided in me that he was friends with the editor of a popular teen magazine. After sending me numerous letters and gifts, he tried to convince me to send him pictures of me in a bikini, telling me that there was a chance I could get published. At the time the idea sounded pretty cool to this 12-year-old, but I never did (thanks to the good advice of my big brother), and cut ties with him immediately.

A few months later, my family was contacted by the FBI, who had been tracking this guy’s every move online for some time. They were aware of the past discussions this man had with kids like me (yes, Big Brother existed even then,) and asked me to submit an affidavit of our discussions so that they can help convict this guy of what we know today as an online child predator.

As we all know, today’s virtual world is much more complex, and much more dangerous. So when I stumbled across this article below, it hit home with me. I hope that the insight provides value to you and your family, because you never know when the good advice may come into play.  

Read the article