The phone just got official, so stay with us for more details on this upcoming RIM device. The Torch is the first handset to run the just-announced BlackBerry 6 OS, which is among other things is RIM’s answer to the Android explosion. It packs a new media sync along with revamped social media apps and over all look. Longtime BlackBerry users will probably appreciate the WebKit browser the most though. Hopefully it brings the same sort of browsing experience to the platform that iPhone and Android users have long enjoyed.

I took a look at the official BlackBerry Torch 9800 page and checked out the full specs and features of the device, some of which include:

Those are some impressive specs right there and the phone looks stunning in the photo gallery i posted below. I am definitely going to be buying this phone ASAP as its available in Canada, and it looks like RIM managed to create a great device right here.

The phone might not be the iPhone-killer we’ve been waiting for RIM to make but it’s definitely a great smartphone that should appeal to current RIM customers. I bet customers in the UAE and other countries are going to be pretty pissed off at their countries for crippling such great phones from RIM by banning some very popular BlackBerry services.

Off topic, I wonder if the Torch does the Death Grip too!

Here are some helpful keyboard shortcuts that will help you save time and be more efficient while typing and working.

Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
Alt + D Select the address bar
Alt + Enter Open the Properties dialog box for the selected item
Alt + P Display the preview pane
Alt+Left Arrow View the previous folder
Alt + Right Arrow View the next folder
Alt + Up Arrow View the parent folder
Ctrl + E Select the search box
Ctrl + Mouse scroll wheel Change the size and appearance of file and folder icons
Ctrl + N Open a new window
Ctrl + Shift + N Creates a New Folder on the active desktop or in the active Windows Explorer window.
End Display the bottom of the active window
F11 Maximize or minimize the active window
Home Display the top of the active window
Num Lock + Asterisk (*) on numeric keypad Display all subfolders under the selected folder
Num Lock + Plus Sign (+) on numeric keypad Display the contents of the selected folder
Num Lock + Minus Sign (-) on numeric keypad Collapse the selected folder
Left Arrow Collapse the current selection (if it’s expanded), or select the parent folder
Right Arrow Display the current selection (if it’s collapsed), or select the first subfolder

General Keyboard Shortcuts
Alt + D Move focus to address bar in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer
Alt + D, Tab Move focus to search bar in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer
Alt + Enter Open Properties window of selected item
Alt + Esc Cycle through all open windows.
Alt + P Turn Preview Pane on or off in Windows Explorer
Alt + Left Arrow Go back in Windows Explorer
Alt + Right Arrow Go forward in Windows Explorer
Alt + underlined letter Display the corresponding menu or Perform the menu command
Alt + Up Arrow Go Up a directory in Windows Explorer
Alt + Tab select a open items or windows to see.
Alt + Spacebar Open menu of the current active window
Ctrl + Alt + Tab Use the arrow keys to switch between open items or windows
Ctrl + Down Arrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph
Ctrl + Up Arrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph
Ctrl + Left Arrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word
Ctrl + Right Arrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word
Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Select a block of text
Ctrl + Arrow + Spacebar Select multiple individual items in a window or on the desktop
Ctrl + A Select all items in active open window
Ctrl + C Copy the selected item
Ctrl + Esc Open Start menu
Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Increase or decrease icon size in current active Windows Explorer window or desktop
Ctrl + N Opens new Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer window
Ctrl + Shift + N Creates a New Folder on the active desktop or in the active Windows Explorer window.
Ctrl + Shift + Esc Open Task Manager
Ctrl + V Paste the selected item
Ctrl + X Cut the selected item
Ctrl + Y Redo an action
Ctrl + Z Undo an action
Delete Delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin
End Scroll to the bottom of the current active window
Esc Cancel the current task
Home Scroll to the top of the current active window
Right Arrow Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu
Left Arrow Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu
Shift + Arrow Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document
Shift + Delete Delete selected item permanently without it going to the Recycle Bin first.
Shift + Left Click Select a item or multiple items
Shift (when you insert a CD) Prevent the CD from automatically playing

Calculator Keyboard Shortcuts
Alt+1 Switch to Standard mode
Alt+2 Switch to Scientific mode
Alt+3 Switch to Programmer mode
Alt+4 Switch to Statistics mode
Alt + C Calculate or solve date calculations and worksheets
Ctrl + E Open date calculations
Ctrl + H Turn calculation history on or off
Ctrl + L Press the MC button
Ctrl + M Press the MS button
Ctrl + P Press the M+ button
Ctrl + Q Press the M- button
Ctrl + R Press the MR button
Ctrl + U Open unit conversion
Del Press the CE button
Esc Press the C button
F1 Open Calculator Help
F9 Press the +/– button
R Press the 1/× button
@ Press the square root button
Ctrl+ Shift + D Clear the calculation history
Enter Recalculate the calculation history after editing
Esc Cancel editing the calculation history
F2 Edit the calculation history
Down Arrow Navigate down in the calculation history
Up Arrow Navigate up in the calculation history
D Press the Mod button in Scientific mode
I Press the Inv button in Scientific mode
L Press the log button in Scientific mode
M Press the dms button in Scientific mode
N Press the ln button in Scientific mode
O Press the cos button in Scientific mode
P Press the pi button in Scientific mode
Q Press the x^2 button in Scientific mode
S Press the sin button in Scientific mode
T Press the tan button in Scientific mode
V Press the F-E button in Scientific mode
X Press the Exp button in Scientific mode
Y Press the x^y button in Scientific mode
Ctrl + B Press the 3√x button in Scientific mode
Ctrl + G Press the 10x button in Scientific mode
Ctrl + O Press the cosh button in Scientific mode
Ctrl + S Press the sinh button in Scientific mode
Ctrl + T Press the tanh button in Scientific mode
Ctrl + Y Press the y√x button in Scientific mode
F3 Select Degrees in Scientific mode
F4 Select Radians in Scientific mode
F5 Select Grads in Scientific mode
; Press the Int button in Scientific mode
# Press the x^3 button in Scientific mode
! Press the n! button in Scientific mode
F2 Select Dword in Programmer mode
F3 Select Word in Programmer mode
F4 Select Byte in Programmer mode
F5 Select Hex in Programmer mode
F6 Select Dec in Programmer mode
F7 Select Oct in Programmer mode
F8 Select Bin in Programmer mode
F12 Select Qword in Programmer mode
J Press the RoL button in Programmer mode
K Press the RoR button in Programmer mode
< Press the Lsh button in Programmer mode
> Press the Rsh button in Programmer mode
% Press the Mod button in Programmer mode
| Press the Or button in Programmer mode
^ Press the Xor button in Programmer mode
~ Press the Not button in Programmer mode
& Press the And button in Programmer mode
Spacebar Toggles the bit value in Programmer mode
A Press the Average button in Statistics mode
D Press the CAD button in Statistics mode
S Press the Sum button in Statistics mode
T Press the S.D. button in Statistics mode
Ctrl + A Press the Average Sq button in Statistics mode
Ctrl + S Press the Sum Sq button in Statistics mode
Ctrl + T Press the Inv S.D. button in Statistics mode

Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts
Arrow Keys Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons
Backspace Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box
Ctrl + Shift + Tab Move back through tabs
Ctrl + Tab Move forward through tabs
Enter Replaces clicking the mouse for many selected commands
F4 Display the items in the active list
Shift + Tab Move back through options
Spacebar Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box
Tab Move forward through options

Ease of Access Keyboard Shortcuts
Left Alt + Left Shift + Num Lock Turn Mouse Keys on or off
Left Alt + Left Shift + PrtScn Turn High Contrast on or off
Num Lock (hold for 8 seconds) Turn Toggle Keys on or off
Right Shift (hold for 8 seconds) Turn Filter Keys on and off
Shift (pressed 5 times) Turn Sticky Keys on or off
Windows Key + U Open Ease of Access Center

Function Key Keyboard Shortcuts
F1 Open Help window
F2 Rename the selected item
F3 Opens Search window
F4 Display the Address bar drop down list in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer
F5 Refresh the current active window
F6 Cycle through items in current active window
F10 Displays the menu bar in the active window and underlines the menu bar shortcut keys
F11 Toggle Full Screen Mode On or Off in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer
Alt + F4 Close the current active window or program. From the desktop, it opens the Shut Down Windows window.
Ctrl + F4 Close the active document (in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
Shift + F10 Open context menu of selected item

Magnifier Keyboard Shortcuts
Ctrl + Alt + Arrow keys Pan in the direction of the arrow keys
Ctrl + Alt + D Switch to docked mode
Ctrl + Alt + F Switch to full-screen mode
Ctrl + Alt + I Invert colors
Ctrl + Alt + L Switch to lens mode
Ctrl + Alt + R Resize the lens
Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar Show the mouse pointer
Windows Key + Esc Exit Magnifier
Windows Key + Plus Sign (+) or Minus Sign (-) Zoom in or out

Paint Keyboard Shortcuts
Alt Display keytips
Alt + F4 Close a picture and its Paint window
Ctrl + A Select the entire picture
Ctrl + B Bold selected text
Ctrl + C Copy a selection to the Clipboard
Ctrl + E Open the Properties dialog box
Ctrl + G Show or hide gridlines
Ctrl + I Italicize selected text
Ctrl + Minus Sign (-) Decrease the width of a brush, line, or shape outline by one pixel
Ctrl + N Create a new picture
Ctrl + O Open an existing picture
Ctrl + P Print a picture
Ctrl + Page Down Zoom out
Ctrl + Page Up Zoom in
Ctrl + Plus Sign (+) Increase the width of a brush, line, or shape outline by one pixel
Ctrl + R Show or hide the ruler
Ctrl + S Save changes to a picture
Ctrl + U Underline selected text
Ctrl + V Paste a selection from the Clipboard
Ctrl + W Open the Resize and Skew dialog box
Ctrl + X Cut a selection
Ctrl + Y Redo a change
Ctrl + Z Undo a change
Delete Delete a selection
Esc Cancel a selection
F1 Open Paint Help
F10 Display keytips
Shift + F10 Show the current shortcut menu
F11 View a picture in full-screen mode
F12 Save the picture as a new file
Right Arrow Move the selection or active shape right by one pixel
Left Arrow Move the selection or active shape left by one pixel
Down Arrow Move the selection or active shape down by one pixel
Up Arrow Move the selection or active shape up by one pixel

Remote Desktop Keyboard Shortcuts
Alt + Delete Display the system menu.
Alt + Home Display the Start menu.
Alt + Insert Cycle through programs in the order that they were started in.
Alt + Page Down Move between programs from right to left.
Alt + Page Up Move between programs from left to right.
Ctrl + Alt + Break Switch between a window and full screen.
Ctrl + Alt + End Display the Windows Security dialog box.
Ctrl + Alt + Minus Sign (-) on numeric keypad Place a copy of the active window, within the client, on the Terminal server clipboard (provides the same functionality as pressing Alt+PrtScn on a local computer).
Ctrl + Alt + Plus Sign (+) on numeric keypad Place a copy of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard (provides the same functionality as pressing PrtScn on a local computer).
Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow Tab out of the Remote Desktop controls to a control in the host program (for example, a button or a text box). Useful when the Remote Desktop controls are embedded in another (host) program.
Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow Tab out of the Remote Desktop controls to a control in the host program (for example, a button or a text box). Useful when the Remote Desktop controls are embedded in another (host) program.

Taskbar Keyboard Shortcuts
Ctrl + Left Click Use on pinned taskbar program icon links to switch through that program’s open windows.
Ctrl + Shift + Left Click Use on pinned taskbar program icon links to open another instance of that program with Administrator privileges
Shift + Left Click Use on pinned taskbar program icon links to open another instance of that program.
Shift + Right Click Use on pinned taskbar program icon links to open the context menu for the icon.
Windows Key + 1 to 0 Opens the pinned taskbar icon link that corresponds to the order that they are in from left (1) to right (0) on the taskbar. 0 is for 10.
Windows Key + T Cycle through programs on the taskbar. Press Enter to open the one selected.
Windows Key + Shift + T Cycle backwards through programs on the taskbar. Press Enter to open the one selected.

Windows Logo Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows Key Open or close the Start menu
Windows Key + Pause/Break Opens the System properties window
Windows Key + B Moves focus to Notification Area on the taskbar
Ctrl + Windows Key + B Switch focus to the program that displayed a message in the notification area
Windows Key + D Toggles to Show Desktop and restore desktop
Windows Key + M Minimize all opened windows
Windows Key + Shift + M Restore minimized windows to the desktop
Windows Key + E Open Window Explorer to Libraries
Windows Key + F Open Search window
Ctrl + Windows Key + F Search for computers (if you are on a network)
Windows Key + G Displays desktop gadgets
Windows Key + L Lock your computer or switch users
Windows Key + P Displays desktop to projector display presentation switch window.
Windows Key + R Open Run command window
Windows Key + T Cycle through programs on the taskbar. Press Enter to open the one selected.
Windows Key + Shift + T Cycle backwards through programs on the taskbar. Press Enter to open the one selected.
Windows Key + Tab Cycle through open windows by using Flip 3D. Release to open the window in the front.
Ctrl+Windows Key + Tab Use the tab or arrow keys to cycle through open windows by using Flip 3D. Press enter or click on the first window to open the window in the front.
Windows Key + U Open Ease of Access Center
Windows Key + X Open Windows Mobility Center
Windows Key + Spacebar Press and hold for a Desktop Preview. Also known as Aero Peak.
Windows Key + 1 to 0 Opens the program pinned to the taskbar that corresponds to the order that they are in from left (1) to right (0) on the taskbar. 0 is for 10.
Ctrl+Windows Key + 1 to 0 Switch to the last active window of the program pinned to the taskbar that corresponds to the order that they are in from left (1) to right (0) on the taskbar. 0 is for 10.
Shift + Windows Key + 1 to 0 Start a new instance of the program pinned to the taskbar that corresponds to the order that they are in from left (1) to right (0) on the taskbar. 0 is for 10. If the program is already running, switch to that program.
Windows Key + Left Arrow Docks and undocks current active window to the left side of the screen.
Windows Key + Shift+ Left Arrow Moves the current active window over one monitor to the left.
Windows Key + Right Arrow Docks and undocks current active window to the right side of the screen.
Windows Key, Right Arrow, Enter Shutdown
Windows Key, Right Arrow, Right Arrow, R Restart
Windows Key, Right Arrow, Right Arrow, S Sleep
Windows Key, Right Arrow, Right Arrow, W Switch Users
Windows Key + Shift+ Right Arrow Moves the current active window over one monitor to the right.
Windows Key + Up Arrow Maximizes current active window to full screen.
Windows Key + Shift + Up Arrow Maximizes current active window vertically.
Windows Key + Shift + Down Arrow Restores vertically maximized current active window back to the way it was before maximized vertically.
Windows Key + Down Arrow Minimizes current active window to taskbar.
Windows Key + Home Toggles minimize and restore not active open windows.
Windows Key + + Zoom in
Windows Key + – Zoom out
Windows Key + = Open Magnifier

Windows Media Player Keyboard Shortcuts
Alt + 1 Video Size 50% in Now Playing or skin mode, with a video playing
Alt + 2 Video Size 100% in Now Playing or skin mode, with a video playing
Alt + 3 Video Size 200% in Now Playing or skin mode, with a video playing
Alt + Enter Full Screen Toggle in Now Playing, skin, or full screen mode
Ctrl + 1 Switches to library mode from any mode
Ctrl + 2 Switches to skin mode from any mode
Ctrl + 3 Switches to player mode from any mode except full screen
Ctrl + 7 Add to Play in library mode
Ctrl + 8 Add to Burn in library mode
Ctrl + 9 Add to Sync in library mode
Ctrl + A Selects everything in a list in the library or list
Ctrl + B Previous (Item or Chapter) with content playing
Ctrl + E Focus on Search text box and switch to library mode if not there
Ctrl + F Next (Item or Chapter) with content playing
Ctrl + H Turn on/off shuffle mode
Ctrl + J Eject in any mode
Ctrl + M Toggle menu bar in library in any mode
Ctrl + N Create playlist in library mode
Ctrl + O Shows Open Dialog in any mode
Ctrl + P Play/Pause Toggle with content queued up
Ctrl + Q Adds selected track to open list. Default is Play list.
Ctrl + S Stops Playback with content playing
Ctrl + T Turn on/off repeat mode in any mode
Ctrl + U Shows Open URL Dialog in any mode
Ctrl + W Stops playback with content playing or paused
Ctrl + Shift + B Rewinds playing content with DVD playing
Ctrl + Shift + C Caption On/Off Toggle when playing content which has captions
Ctrl + Shift + F Fast forwards playing content with content playing
Ctrl + Shift + G Play Speed Fast with content playing
Ctrl + Shift + N Play Speed Normal with content playing
Ctrl + Shift + S Play Speed Slow with content playing
Ctrl + Right Arrow Next playlist in playlist history when focus is not on Seek bar
Ctrl + Left Arrow Previous playlist in playlist history when focus is not on Seek bar
Ctrl + Right Arrow Skip forward (large increment) when focus is on Seek bar
Ctrl + Left Arrow Skip backward (large increment) when focus is on Seek bar
Shift + Right Arrow Skip forward (small increment) when focus is on Seek bar
Shift + Left Arrow Skip backward (small increment) when focus is on Seek bar
Right Arrow Skip forward when focus is on Seek bar
Left Arrow Skip backward when focus is on Seek bar
Ctrl + Click Resize player to image in Now Playing mode
Escape Return to Now Playing in Full Screen Mode
F1 Opens Help file in any mode
F2 Edit meta data column in library mode with an item selected
F4 Switch view mode in library mode, focus in list view
F5 Refresh screen when focus is on library or in online services
F6 Increases album art when focus is in list view
Shift + F6 Decreases album art when focus is in list view
F7 Mutes sound in any mode
F8 Decrease sound volume in any mode
F9 Increases sound volume in any mode
F10 Show menu bar in library from any mode
Shift + F10 Context menu shortcut in any mode

WordPad Keyboard Shortcuts
Alt + F4 Close WordPad
Ctrl + 1 Set single line spacing
Ctrl + 2 Set double line spacing
Ctrl + 5 Set line spacing to 1.5
Ctrl + A Select the entire document
Ctrl + Shift + A Change characters to all capitals
Ctrl + B Make selected text bold
Ctrl + C Copy a selection to the Clipboard
Ctrl + D Insert a Microsoft Paint drawing
Ctrl + Delete Delete the next word
Ctrl + E Align text center
Ctrl + End Move to the end of the document
Ctrl + F Find text in a document
Ctrl + H Replace text in a document
Ctrl + Home Move to the beginning of the document
Ctrl + I Italicize selected text
Ctrl + J Justify text
Ctrl + L Align text left
Ctrl + Shift + L Change the bullet style
Ctrl + N Create a new document
Ctrl + O Open an existing document
Ctrl + P Print a document
Ctrl + Page Down Move down one page
Ctrl + Page Up Move up one page
Ctrl + R Align text right
Ctrl + S Save changes to a document
Ctrl + U Underline selected text
Ctrl + V Paste a selection from the Clipboard
Ctrl + X Cut a selection
Ctrl + Y Redo a change
Ctrl + Z Undo a change
Ctrl + = Make selected text subscript
Ctrl + Shift + = Make selected text superscript
Ctrl + Shift + > Increase the font size
Ctrl + Shift + < Decrease the font size
Ctrl + Left Arrow Move the cursor one word to the left
Ctrl + Right Arrow Move the cursor one word to the right
Ctrl + Up Arrow Move the cursor to the line above
Ctrl + Down Arrow Move the cursor to the line below
F1 Open WordPad Help
F3 Find the next instance of the text in the Find dialog box
F10 Display keytips
Shift + F10 Show the current shortcut menu
F12 Save the document as a new file

In this post I will show you how to import and export your email, contacts, calendars, etc. from Microsoft Outlook 2007. This is something people often forget to do when reformatting a PC. The worst part is most local email services don’t keep your emails on their servers; ie: Once your emails are downloaded into Outlook; they are deleted off their servers. They do this because it means they dont need as much storage; and when these services are outsources it means they save a bit of money.

There is also a local copy of your .pst files that are saved automatically in case something happens and you need to retrieve your files. The way to find this file is by first enabling to view hidden files in your folder options, then depending on what OS you are using you want to go to my documents > user in question > app data (hidden folder) > local > microsoft > outlook . Inside this folder you will see a .pst file. This is how you can restore your emails if something happens and you aren’t able to view them anymore.

Okay so the first part to this will be how to export the .PST file

1- Open up Microsoft Outlook and click on File > Import and Export

2- Since we first need to export the .PST file before we can import it again we want to select “Export to a file” and click “Next”

3- Here is where you select where you want the file to be saved. I usually save it to my desktop and then just move it where i want it after that. So select where you want it by click on ‘Browse…” and when you have made your selection click on “Finish”

4- Here you want to make sure you select “Personal Folders” because if you select one of the other individual options you will only export that. ie: if you select “Calendar” only your “Calendar” will be exported. We want to export all the settings which is why we select “Personal Folders”. Also make sure that you check the box beside “Include subfolders” this will select all the outlook settings. When you have do this click on “Next”.

5- Finally we want to select where to save the file, as I mentioned above i usually save it to my desktop (because it’s easy to find) and then move it where i want it after this. Select the file name you want it to be and click on “Ok”

Now, if you are trying to import the file, it is almost the same process except that on step 2 you will be selecting “Import from a file” instead of “Export to a file” and on step 3 you will be browsing to find your backup file (i usually place it on the desktop to make it easy to find it)

*If you have any questions, please post them below and i will respond to them promptly

Here are some of the websites that i have launched recently:

I am also currently working on about a handful of projects, so stay tuned for more websites!

Please provide me with any feedback you have, it’s all greatly appreciated!

What sense does it make to have a beautiful theme and a killer portfolio that isn’t search engine optimized?  Google, Bing, and Yahoo could care less about your pretty photos and web design.  They care about things like alt tags, file names, keywords, and hundreds of other really, really boring tech things.  Understanding those “boring tech things” might bring you new success.  Misunderstanding them could help to put you out of business.

What is Search engine optimization (SEO)?

SEO is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to your website from search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo etc. via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results in search engines. The theory is that the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and so on.

The following ten tips are those that I think are either often overlooked or common mistakes.  This is not a top ten list.

10 simple tips to get noticed by the world wide web:

• Content is the best optimization. Any type of optimization is effective only in combination with high quality and unique content. Ideally, the text contains keywords that highlights the overall theme of the post.  The content should be understandable and readable. Use your keywords wisely. Text should be written primarily for visitors, not for search engines.
• Exchange backlinks with other relevant websites relating to your topics and with high authority websites (websites with high page ranking). Also link between pages within your website, but do this with caution and only if it’s relevant.  Don’t link every page to each other.
• Think of a good name for your image files. Google also draws images in the calculation of the ranking. Google displays both text and images on it’s search results page, drawing on relevant images contained in the post itself, which are linked to the corresponding page. Implement keywords of a specific subject in your file name, instead of DSC93948.jpg use Tennis-Andre-Agassi-New-York.jpg if you have a picture of Andre Agassi in New York for example. Don’t forget to use the alt tag and title tag for your images, which also provide better usability and optimization for your search ranking.
• Use short permalinks, including keywords. Use an understandable permalink.  Instead of http://yourwebsite.com/page-id?495/ use http://yourwebsite.com/andre-agassi-new-york/. Please note that only the first four words in a permalink are relevant.  Google doesn’t care about any succeeding words in your permalinks.
• Use search engine optimized themes. Some themes use a lot code to create the layout and design. Google will wade through the source code to find the relevant content. The more code you have, the less content and keyword density. Fast performing themes are good for your Google ranking, since the performance of a website is one of two hundred criteria that determine your ranking.
• Create a sitemap in XML format. With WordPress and plugins like Google XML Sitemaps it is a very easy task.  Google has a variety of other useful tools, too, such as Website Optimizer and Webmaster Central.
• Highlight informative content or keywords on your website. Use h1-h6 to highlight headings or subtitles of an article or important sentences. Use the strong tag, too. But please don’t overdo it!
• Add your posts to social networks. But please don’t only promote yourself.  Promote other posts and websites you like.  People will honor your kindness and link back to you.
• Don’t use black hat techniques or mirror html sites. If you try to trick Google, they will find out.  Promise.  Recently, some pretty high-profile portfolio sites were recently punished by Google for such practices.  Being sneaky will do more harm than good.
• Don’t use flash. Flash is virtually invisible to search engines.  Use WordPress.  Period.

Last but not least, don’t try too hard!  Concentrate on publishing unique, relevant and quality content. If you do that, everything else will be a cake walk.  Content is King!

The search bar in both Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 is very helpful and something I use everyday. As the hover text says “search programs and files”; you can search through everything on your hard drive(s) with either a short or long description.

The search scans through your documents, programs, emails, etc. almost instantly and accurately. It also has a memory, so the more often you click a certain result for a keyword it will rank it higher. IE: if i always search ‘note’ and open notepad, it will move to the list so all you have to do is search for your keyword and press enter.

Here is an example of how i will find both the title of the notepad document, and also the text within it:

1- I will be searching for – notepad document: search bar – document content: search bar test

2- Now i press the windows menu icon (bottom LHS corner) *a shortcut to open up the windows start menu is by hitting the “windows key” which is on the bottom LHS of the keyboard in between “Ctr” and “Alt” if your keyboard has it.

3- I enter what i am looking for, i want to find my word document ‘search bar’ so i type in ‘search bar’ See how the file is highlighted for selection; to open it simply hit ‘Enter’ or click on the link.

4- next i will search for the ‘search bar test’ content from within the sample notepad document. Now since i have done a more refined search; only 2 results came up, one from my email(Outlook) and 1 File(the one i am looking for). It has read the text within the document and given it as a result of the search. I highlighted the wording on the RHS so you can see what i was looking for and the result it brought up. The same can be applied to anything; in emails, documents, spreadsheets, etc. It is a very helpful trick.

5- The same can be applied to anything. For example, i open firefox quite often, and the easiest and faster way for me to do it more often then not is to simple hit the “windows key” and type in “fire” and hit “enter” and it brings up exactly what i want. I have my browser up within seconds with this simple combination.

*If you have any questions, please post them below and i will respond to them promptly.

this picture is crazy, i cant distinguish either of them; it’s blended too well. I’m not sure who made this, but I’m impressed.

In this tutorial I will walk you through installing Media Player Classic and stretch your video frame; to get rid of the black strips you get on the bottom and top of your screen (or right to left).

I use Media Player Classic for its user-friendly interface, tiny memory usage, and retro look. I have been using this player since I found it several years ago, and it’s still the best I’ve found.

Okay, let’s get started.

1- Go to http://download.cnet.com/Media-Player-Classic/3000-2139_4-10518778.html

2- Click on “Download Now”

3- Click on “Save File”

4- If the download doesn’t start automatically click on the “Click Here”

5- Run the program after the download is complete
6- Click on “Next”

7- Click on “Install”

8- Click on “Finish”
9- Leave “Run Media Player Classic 6.4.9″ checked off (to open the program)

Now i will show you how to set your default player to Media player Classic

10- Find a video file (.avi .mkv .mp4 etc.) and right click on it

*I suggest repeating this process for all video files you use for ease of use in the future.

11- Click on “Properties”

12- Click on “Change”

13- Click on “Browse”

14- Scroll Down until you see the “Media Player Classic” folder
15- Click on “Open”

16- Select “mplayererc”
17- Click on “Open”

18- Click on “Ok”

19- Click on ‘Options’

Now I will show you how to stretch the video frame

20- Double click on the file to open it

21- Right click anywhere within Media Player Classic
22- Select (hold your mouse over) “Video Frame”

*You may want to just override the aspect ratio here if you know what you are doing. Otherwise, I suggest that you keep following the steps.

23- Click on “Stretch To Window”

*You may want to select stretch to inside of window or outside of window here if the image is getting too distorted. The reason i use ‘Stretch To Window’ is so that i dont have those chunks of black on the top and bottom – or right and left. I have a 46″ TV and i actually use all 46″s

24- Double anywhere within Media Player Classic, to make it full-screen

25- Voila, you now have a video player with all the codecs you will need, tiny memory usage, and friendly user-interface.

*You can control the volume by using the “Mouse 3″ button (scroll button between the Left and Right click buttons), roll up for higher volume, and down to lower the volume.

This has been floating around the net recently. It’s a Windows 7 feature called “God Mode”.

What it basically is, is an extended control panel that allows you to control various aspects of the OS that are not typically surfaced via a GUI.

Here’s how you enable it

Create a new folder (right-click and click on “New Folder”).

Right-click on the folder and click on rename, copy and paste this…

Extended Control Panel.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

What comes up is a Control Panel like window with sections for Action Center (“Check security status” and so on), Administrative Tools and AutoPlay.

Here’s an article i found really helpful from the February 2010 PC World magazine

Toggle between apps: Use <Alt>-<Tab> to switch open programs without touching your mouse. The oldest—and still the best — Windows timesaver.

Navigate app windows: Press <Ctrl>-<Tab> to cycle through an application’s windows (or through a Web browser’s tabs). First cousin of the tip above, and probably the most underrated tip ever.

When in doubt, type it out: If you don’t want to hunt through nested menus and the like, you can access most functions, applets, or = les the old-fashioned way—by entering them into the Search box. Type Calculator, Control Panel, or even the name of a piece of music on your hard drive, and press <Enter>.

Unobtrusive updates: Keep your OS current by opening Windows Update (Automatic Update in XP) and setting it to Download updates but let me choose whether to install them. (To get there, press the <Windows> key and type Windows Update.) That way, you won’t have Windows urging you to restart when you don’t want to (or worse, triggering a restart when you’re away from the PC with an unsaved document open).

Tweak your taskbar: Right-click the Taskbar and choose Properties to find options for switching to the old Start menu, choosing which icons show in the notification area, setting default programs to appear in the Start bar menu, and more.

Full-frontal folders: In Windows Explorer, click Folder Options (located under the Organize menu) to reveal hidden files, show the full path in the title bar, display = le extensions, and more.

Partition, partition, partition: Make backups and restores easier by partitioning your hard drive (see find.pcworld.com/64173 for details) and keeping one partition for the OS and the other for your documents and data.

Make your text special: Need a special character such as © or á? Press the <Windows> key and type character map in the field to bring up an app that will let you copy and paste the characters you need.

Sticky keys (the good kind): Holding down two keys at once—such as <Ctrl>-C to copy—is a royal pain. Press the <Shift> key five times to start Sticky Keys, a feature that allows you to initiate a keyboard shortcut by merely pressing <Shift >, <Ctrl>, <Alt>, or <Windows> instead of holding that particular key down. Press <Shift> = ve more times to toggle Sticky Keys o[ .

Simple screen capture: Take a screenshot by pressing <Print Screen>, which copies an image of your full screen to your clipboard so that you can paste it into Paint or your preferred image editor. To capture just the active window, use <Ctrl>-<Alt>-<Print Screen>. For more = ne-tuned controls, try Screenshot Captor (fi nd.pcworld.com/64174).

Take a shortcut: Right-click on any application icon, bring up the Properties menu, and click the Shortcuts tab. You can specify a keystroke combination to start your application here. Our personal favorite: Making a shortcut for Windows 7’s Snipping Tool makes screenshots much easier. (Windows 7 only)

Line ’em up: Want to arrange two (or more) windows side by side in Windows XP or Vista? Hold down <Ctrl> and click on the desired windows in the taskbar; then right-click the taskbar and select ! le Vertically. In Windows 7, you can simply drag any open window to the right or le/ edge of your screen and then let go.

Instant classic (control panels): Miss Windows’ old Control Panel, which conveniently displayed all of its items at once? In Windows XP and Vista, just open the Control Panel and select Switch to Classic View. In Windows 7, click the View by drop-down menu in the upper-right corner and select your preference.

Speed Up Your Services

Manage the Task Manager: Windows’ built-in Task Manager (press <Ctrl>-<Alt>-<Del> and click Task Manager) is great for seeing what your system is up to, but power users will prefer Process Explorer(find.pcworld.com/64175), which shows more details that can help you find a memory leak or troubleshoot a pesky DLL problem.

Index this, not that: From the Windows Search indexer speeds up built-in search functions, but the indexing process itself can consume system resources at inconvenient times. Open Indexing Options in Control Panel (or press the <Windows> key and type Indexing Options). F e resulting dialog box will let you specify which folders or types of data are indexed to avoid bogging down your PC needlessly.

Clean up your startup: If your PC drags its feet during the startup process, press the <Windows> key and type msconfig to open the System Configuration utility. Check in the Startup tab to see what your machine is loading. Your computer might be loading services or apps that you don’t need or want to use on startup.

Nudge your network: If you have network problems, try opening the command prompt (enter cmd in the Start menu’s search box) and typing ipconfi g /renew to reset your network connection.

Sharing is caring: For a little assistance in tracking your shared folders, right-click My Computer (or Computer in Windows 7) and click Manage to bring up the Computer Management tool. F en click Shared Folders to see a list of all of your machine’s shared folders, D le-sharing sessions, and open D les.

Essential Add-Ons

Look, Ma, no mouse: XP users should grab Launchy (fi nd.pcworld.com/64176), a free keyboard-driven launcher application that allows you to access programs, D les, and even Websites with just a few keystrokes. (Vista and Windows 7 users get the same functionality from the Start menu’s search tool.)

Cleaner than you found it: To make sure that your programs uninstall completely, use Revo Uninstaller (find.pcworld.com/62049)—it’s o/ en more thorough than the programs’ own supplied uninstaller routines.

Annoyance buster: If you’re tired of User Account Control dialog boxes popping up all the time in Windows Vista, but you don’t want to disable the security feature completely, grab TweakUAC (fi nd.pcworld.com/61960) to set it to Quiet Mode. Windows 7 has its own UAC controls, but can still benefit from TweakUAC.

Get your hands dirty with Greasemonkey: Optimize your Web browsing with Greasemonkey for Firefox (fi nd.pcworld.com/61166), an add-on that lets you choose among thousands of user-designed scripts (userscripts.org) for blocking ads, changing the layouts of popular sites, and more. (Variants also exist for Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari; see find.pcworld.com/64197.)

Work Your Windows Key

Lock your doors (and Windows): Stepping out for a minute? Remember to press <Windows>-L to lock your computer’s screen so that no one can nose around without entering your account password.

Run, Windows, run: To access the Run command easily, press <Windows>-R.

Keyboard explorer: Want to open a new Windows Explorer window without leaving the keyboard? Press <Windows>-E.

Declutter your desktop: Access your desktop instantly by pressing <Windows>-D to hide all of your open windows. Press <Windows>-D again to return to where you were before.

Here i will explain how to convert a .PDF file into a .JPG – converting it from a document to a picture file.

Okay, lets get started. Please just follow the instructions and you can also use the visual aids if you are still having difficulties.

Converting .PDFs to .JPGs

1. Open the pdf file
2. Adjust the zoom so that you can view the entire photo

3. Press the ‘PrtScn’ button (beside the f12 key)
4. Open up paint
5. Select Edit > Paste

6. Select the box tool

7. Make a box all around the ad (to remove the extra stuff)

8. Select Edit > Cut

9. Select File > New

10. Click ‘No’

11. Click on Edit > Paste

12. Make sure to selet ( .jpg ) as the file extension

You can now convert .PDFs into .JPGs, congratulations!

I have found that a lot of people send and receive Microsoft office documents but cannot open them because they are currently using Microsoft 2003 which cannot read Microsoft Office 2007 (.docx) It’s kind of like a CD-Rom, it can only read cds; however a DVD-Rom can read both a cd and a dvd.

I have taken screen shots to make it easier, just follow the read circles. It is the exact same process for all Microsoft Office 2007 programs (excel, powerpoint, access, etc.)

Microsoft Office Word 2007

1- Open Microsoft Word 2007

2- Click on the windows office logo in the top LHS

3- Click on the ‘Word options’ button roughly in the middle of the page

4- Click on the ‘Save’ tab on the LHS

Click on the drop down menu and select ‘Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc) (3^rd from the top)

*Now any files you save going forward will be automatically saved to the old office format(.doc .xls .ppt etc.) and will be able to opened by the majority of people.

In this post i will walk you through installing the latest software i am using for my real-time protection against viruses, spyware, trojans, adware, etc. — and best of all it’s free and from Microsoft with a genuine copy of Windows XP, Vista, or 7.

*Just a quick note before I get started,if you already have some real-time protection installed on your computer you will need to un-install it or stop it from running at start-up (will probably just be easier to remove it). By real-time protection i mean the programs that run at windows startup and stay in your system tray (bottom RHS). IE: avg, norton, mcafee, avast, etc. The reason for this is because when you have two real-time protection programs running at the same time, they are competing for control and will also think that the other is a virus, and vice versa.

Okay, lets get started. Please just follow the instructions and you can also use the visual aids if you are still having difficulties.

1. Open up your internet browser, and go to http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

- click on the ‘Download Now’ button.

2. Select your operating system and bit rate(most people still run Windows XP): Here i selected Windows Vista/Windows 7 32-bit because that is what i am running.

**If you don’t know your operating system click on the ‘Start’ button in the bottom LHS corner. – Right-Click on ‘Computer’.

- Click on ‘Properties’.

- Here your operating system and system type (bit rate) will be displayed**

3. Click on ‘Save File’

4.** If you are running internet explorer, this is what will be displayed when you select your operating system. Click on ‘Run’ **

5. Click on ‘Next’.

6. Click on ‘I Accept’.

7. Click on ‘Validate’ :: This will verifiy that your copy of windows is genuine, if it isn’t you won’t be able to instal the software.

8. After validation click on ‘Install’.

9. Click on ‘Finish’. I would also suggest to leave the ‘Scan my computer for potential threats after getting the latest updates.’ box checked off so that your computer gets a quick scan after the install in complete to eliminate any possible threats.

10. This is what Microsoft Security Essentials will look like while downloading the updates.

11. This is what Microsoft Security Essentials will look like while performing a system scan.

12. This is what Microsoft Security Essentials will look like once the scan is complete.

**This is where you will also perform your scans, simply select the type of scan you want to do and click on ‘Scan Now’.

13. You can find the Microsoft Security Essentials icon in your system tray (Bottom RHS). *Since i am running Windows 7 the system tray looks a little bit different, just click on the arrow to expand the tray if you cannot see the icon.

Frustrated with your computer speed, performance, pop-ups, etc? I have compiled a free, simple How-To tutorial on how to remove spyware, trojans, worms, hi-jacks, viruses, etc.

**Follow the red circles, if you want a larger image — simply click on the image and it will open a new window with a full size picture.**Before you start, you should disconnect your computer from the internet and reboot it. Rebooting it in safe mode is the best way to do so because programs(viruses) can’t be removed if they are in use — and Safe Mode is the ”Safe Mode” (press F8 when you reboot for boot menu)**

CCleaner (Download)

CCleaner is a Computer Cleaner tool that:

- Removes unnecessary files

- Clears your private data

- Removes unnecessary file extensions

Step 1: Click on the ‘Analyze’ button

Step 2: Click on the ‘Run Cleaner’ button

Step 3: Click on the ‘Registry’ tab on the LHS. Click on the ‘Scan For Issues’ button

Step 4: Click on the ‘Fix Selected Issues…’ button

Step 5: Click on the ‘No’ button

Step 6: Cick on the ‘Fix All Selected Problems’ button

Step 7: Click on the ‘Ok’ button

Step 8: Click on the ‘Close’ button

Step 9: Click on the ‘Tools’ tab on the LHS. Here you can remove unnecessary files that run at start-up.

Ad-Aware (Download)

Ad-Aware is an ad removal tooltool that:

- Removes Adware

- Removes Spyware

- Removes Grayware

Step 1: Click on the ‘Options’ button

Step 2: Click on the ‘Next’ button

Step 3: Cick on the ‘Next’ button

Step 4: Check off all the boxes, and click on the ‘Next’ button

Step 5: Click on the ‘Ok’ button

Helpful resources for webmasters

Google Webmaster Help Forum – Have questions or feedback on our guide? Let us know

Google Webmaster Central Blog – Frequent posts by Googlers on how to improve your website

Google Webmaster Help Center – Filled with in-depth documentation on webmaster-related issues

Google Webmaster Tools - Optimize how Google interacts with your website

Google Webmaster Guidelines – Design, content, technical, and quality guidelines from Google

Google Analytics - Find the source of your visitors, what they’re viewing, and benchmark changes

Google Website Optimizer – Run experiments on your pages to see what will work and what won’t

Tips on Hiring an SEO – If you don’t want to go at it alone, these tips should help you choose an SEO company

Download a search engine optimization guide from Google.com

*Click here to view this photo full-size

I have broken up the SEO into 3 categories, which are labelled 1, 2, & 3 respectfully. I will give a general overview of all 3 categories, but I am going to focus on #2 — Google Local Business Center — because it is a free and very effective tool to generate quality leads on a regular basis.

As you notice my local business listing is the only one that shows up, and this is because Google’s algorithms have given my ad a very high quality score. High enough of a score that they removed the other 9 listings(normally there are 10, like here). This is because the algorithms say that this is exactly what people will want & expect when they type these keywords in.

Okay, let’s get started;

#1 Sponsored Links – Google AdWords

• Target your ads specifically to people who are looking for your products or services.
• Avoid showing your ads to users who aren’t likely to purchase from you.
• Obtain the maximum return on your advertising investment.

• You can choose to pay for ad clicks (CPC) or for impressions (CPM).
• Because you can choose your own CPC or CPM amounts, you decide how much you’ll pay each time someone clicks or views your ad.
• There’s no minimum spending limit. In addition, you can set a maximum daily spend (daily budget) that the AdWords system won’t exceed.
• You can edit your budget settings at any time.

• You can edit an existing ad, then see your updates within 15 minutes.
• You can edit your account at any time, as often as you like. AdWords is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Ads start running for the first time almost immediately after you activate your account with your credit card or direct debit information. (Advertisers in certain countries can pay by bank transfer. In this case, ads run when we receive the first payment).

*Content taken from here.

#2 Local Business Center

The reason I think Google Local Business ads are critical to any SEO campaign is because they are often the top result when searching for any type of business. IE: when people are looking for computer repair in ‘Regina’ they will search for ‘regina computer repair’ or ‘computer repair regina’ — if they were to search ‘computer repair’ they would get a very large amount of results, but very often the people at the top don’t live in an area where they can get service.

The same can be said for any keywords, such as ‘Regina Web Design’ or ‘Regina Auto Body’ etc. When people are searching for services they type in the same of their city, because they need service. If they are looking to research or get educated on a subject, then they would search for broad terms and not include their city in the keywords. IE: Searching for ‘computer repair’ when researching, and ‘regina computer repair’ when searching for services.

Some of the key features to this SEO are:

• Free listings: local customers already search Google for the products and services you offer. Create a listing to be sure they find you.
• Free updates: Keep your address, phone number, hours of operation, and more up-to-date. Even create coupons and display photos and videos, all for free.
• Free insights: use the power of Google’s data to learn where your customers come from and what they search for to find you.
• Often at the very top of local organic search

Some tips on how to get a higher placement on Google’s Local Business Center:

• Put your keywords in your tile
• Make the landing page of your ad the one that contains the relevant information for the specific keywords you targeted in that ad. IE: For my ‘Regina Computer Repair’ keyword, my landing page is www.justincaron.com/computer (not my homepage). This gives you a higher score because the content is more relevant to the keywords, people don’t have to navigate through your website to find the content they were looking for. IE: computer repair.

• When choosing the categories you are targeting – don’t use broad terms – make your categories the specific keywords you are targeting.

*Some content taken from here.

#3 Organic Search

As a search engine, Google gathers and organizes a multitude of information from the Internet, then makes this information available to online searchers throughout the world.

Users can simply visit the Google homepage or other Google domains, enter a search query (terms related to information they’d like to find) into the search field, and click Google Search. Google returns a variety of search results — including lists of files, articles, documents, and websites — that are all highly relevant to the query. (If a user clicks I’m Feeling Lucky, the user goes directly to the first website or document in the Google search results.) Users can also search for results within Google Images, News, and other specialized Google services.

Search results appear on the left side of the page. It’s important to note that Google doesn’t accept payment to place websites or documents in search results. However, advertisers can purchase Google AdWords ads, which appear on the right side of the page, and sometimes above the search results.

How to effectively use meta tags

There is one sole purpose for adding metatags to your web pages – to help your website get listed in search engines.

The Meta description tag is located in the <head> area of your website’s HTML code and its content is sometimes displayed in the results page of crawler search engines. The description tag looks something like this in your code:

<meta content=”Brief description of the contents of the page”>

It used to be that all search engines would pull this information and use it as part of their search results. Not only would your search engine listing include information from your title tag, but also below it would be a copy of your Meta description tag.

With this predictable structure, search engine marketers could manipulate the way their website listing was displayed in the search engine results by changing these tags.

In addition, the Meta description tag would have great importance when determining which position your website showed up in the search results. The number of keywords, their relevance and density within the description tag could be manipulated to help achieve the elusive #1 position on the search engine results.

Below i have put the html code to my homepage’s meta tags to give you an example on how to use them. It is a picture because you can’t paste html code in a post (:

…this is the end of the meta tags

*Some content taken from here.

*still under construction, i will be adding more visuals and more in depth tips and tricks

Although it may seem very simple, I have found that rebooting the computer in question usually resolves 80 – 90 % of problems. So next time you notice that you are having issues with your computer, reboot it as a troubleshooting step.

What does rebooting your computer do? It simply ‘reboots’ windows. IE: it stops all the services and applications, and restarts them. When you restart services the problem is often resolved because it starts from scratch, and the ‘bug’ won’t come up.

In this tutorial i will walk you through changing your password using Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access (OWA) which is basically like running Microsoft Outlook; but from an internet browser and an application.

.

1- Go to http://owa.bdf.ca

2- Enter your username and password

3. Click on ‘Options’

4. Click on ‘Change Password’

5. Enter your old password

6. Enter your new password

You have now successfully changed your exchange email account using microsoft outlook web access.