The recording includes a picture of the screen during each mouse click (screen shots), a location and description of each click, and an option to annotate an area of importance. Once the recording is finished you can save the file and send it to your support personnel to help them diagnose the problem.

Here is an article from Microsoft which explains how to use the Problem Steps Recorder.

You can also view a video demo on Microsoft TechNet of the Problem Steps Recorder in action.

Microsoft TechNet provides a quick tip on how to customize which icons and notifications appear in the notification area, and also how to change what Windows maintenance and security messages pop-up.

Turn Off Security Messages and Other System Notifications in Windows 7

Rather that blab on about information that is so readily available (go and google Windows Phone 7 Series), I’ll just provide some links to good articles here.

Gizmodo – Windows Phone 7 Series: Everything is Different Now

Engadget – Windows Phone 7 Series is official

Gizmodo – Windows Phone 7 Series: Hands-On Pics and Video

Channel9 – 22 minute Windows Phone 7 Series Hands-On demo

Gizmodo – Xbox Live in Windows Phone 7

Beginning on January 1, 2010 “consumers may begin to recycle their CED through the manufacturer recycling programs.” The Hawaii State Department of Heath provides information about the e-waste recycling law, what devices are covered, and how to recycle the device. Many manufacturers already had recycling programs in place prior to this law, but information on how to submit your device for recycling was hard to find. This law makes that information easy to find and up to date – Manufacturer Recycling Plans.

Pretty much all major computer and printer manufacturers provide a recycling program, all of which are free (except for a nominal shipping charge in some cases) Most of the device remittance is done by mail with free to cheap shipping, and some manufacturer plans provide local drop off points on Oahu.

Hawaii DOH E-Waste page

Electronic Waste and Television Recycling Law – info sheet

Electronic Device and Television Recycling Law – full text

Honolulu Dept. of Envi. Services Bulky Item Pickup

Go to www.mozy.com/home and click on the sign up button for MozyHome Free.

Enter your email address, and set a password.

Mozy requires that you take a basic survey, you don’t need to put your actual information if you don’t want to, but all the fields are required to be completed.

Your account is created, now check your email for a verification email from Mozy, make sure to check your spam/junk box just in case.

When you open the Mozy email, click on the link to verify your account, and download the Mozy client.

Download the Mozy client, for your operating system (either Windows or Mac). Save the file to somewhere you can easily access, like the desktop. If prompted, Run the Mozy installer.

Ok, almost there, click the Next button to install Mozy.

Enter the email address and password that you used when you created your Mozy account.

All data uploaded to Mozy is heavily encrypted to protect your data. Mozy gives you the option to either use their default encryption key, or use your own key. It is highly recommended that you use Mozy’s encryption key.

Now you can choose which files you want to backup. As you can see, Mozy automatically tries to backup all files on your computer, which is a good thing, but in this case I want to limit my backup to 2GB so that my Mozy service remains free. Uncheck which files you do not want to backup, in this case I chose not to backup my music and photos. After your files are under the 2GB free limit, click Next.

Mozy will then test your Internet connection to ensure that you have the minimum amount of bandwidth to upload all your files. If you have a DSL, cable, or wireless 4G type connection, then you should have no problem passing this test.

The next screen allows you to choose how fast your backup will happen. Basically, this slider allows you to choose how much of your system resources Mozy can use to backup your data. Move the slide closer to Faster Computer, and Mozy will limit how much processor and bandwith it will use. This will keep your computer faster during a backup, but the backup will take longer. Move the slider closer to Quicker Backups and Mozy will take up more processor and bandwidth, but your backups will happen quicker.

And that’s it! You have completed configuring Mozy to remotely backup your data. You now have the choice to let Mozy start the backup immediately, or let it run when your computer is idle.

When Mozy completes a backup successfully a message will appear showing when the backup completed, and how much of your Mozy quota you are using. You can opt to not have this message appear after a successful backup.

• DreamHost Webpanel
• DreamHost-provided Webmail
• Signups
• Domain Registrations
• DreamHost Wiki

The maintenance window is expected to last 4 hours. If you would like to get DreamHost status updates, go to www.dreamhoststatus.com. There you can check status updates on server or network outages or maintenace, and even subscribe to RSS feeds to receive alerts in your email client, or favorite RSS reader.

Aero Peek gives you live previews of websites that you have open

Some programs have special features that work with Aero Peek, like iTunes shortcut controls.

Some programs like iTunes have features that work with Aero Peek

Aero does require a certain level of hardware to run, and is not available in Windows 7 Basic regardless of what hardware your computer has.

• 1GHz processor (32 or 64 bit)
• 1GB of RAM (32 bit)
• 128MB DirectX 9 graphics card w/ Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 or higher

Generally speaking, if your computer was purchased in the last couple of years, then your computer meets the minimum requirements for Aero.

If you recently upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate, or recently purchased a new computer, and these features don’t look or sound familiar, then your Aero may be disabled. There are several reasons why Aero might not be enabled, especially if you installed Windows 7 from scratch. Things like updating video drivers, or not running the Windows Experience Index, can cause Aero to be disabled.

Here is a simple test to see if Aero is enabled or not. You won’t get those nice Peek preview thumbnails when you hover over open Internet Explorer windows, instead you get a list of website titles.

When Aero is disabled you won't see Peek when hovering over open windows

Here is how to enable Aero.

First makes sure that you have run the Windows Experience Index.

Click the Windows button, and type experience in the box. This should bring up a few results, click on Check the Windows Experience Index.

Click the Rate this Computer button if you have never run the check, or the Re-run the assessment link if you need to re-run the index check. Windows will then check and rate various components of the computer. Once it completes the check, your computer will receive an overall index rating. This will determine if Aero can be enabled or not. Generally once the Windows Experience Index has determined a sufficient graphics rating, Aero should automatically start.

If Aero is now enabled you can stop here, and start enjoying the new Aero features!

If after running the Windows Experience Index you still cannot enable Aero, here is what to do next. Click the Start button, and type Find and fix problems. This should bring up a list of Find and Fix links. Click the Find and fix problems with transparency and other visual effects link.

This will bring up the Aero troubleshooting wizard. Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions.

The wizard will run through various checks and attempt to automatically resolve any issues.

If the wizard does detect problems, a red X will appear next to the particular issue. It may be a lingering hardware issue, or driver incompatibility. Try to resolve the issues, and then run the Aero wizard again. If the Aero wizard continues to fail, make note of the error, and give us a call.

• Spyware/Viruses

  • How to tell: Strange things happen, pop-ups open by themselves, unknown programs saying “viruses detected”, programs asking for credit card information.
  • What you can do: Keep virus scan software up to date, be careful when clicking on pop-ups from the internet, watch for unusual behavior.
  • When to call: As soon as you think you may have something wrong call immediately.
  • Why it is important: The worst viruses can actually delete files, cripple your computer, or permanently damage your system. Additionally many types of viruses and malware can spread to other computers through your network or by emailing itself to your entire contact list.
  • Cost to repair: $100 – $250

• Not Enough Memory

  • How to tell: Computer becomes slow after working on it for a while, when many programs or windows are open things become slow.
  • What you can do: Have fewer open programs at one time.
  • When to call: If you find yourself constantly going over your usable memory (RAM) call to have more added.
  • Why it is important: While at first it is simply an annoyance if you continue to use more memory then you have you can permanently damage your hard drive. When all of your usable memory is used the computer uses your hard drive as a secondary source of memory (virtual memory). The constant reading and writing required of virtual memory causes your hard drive to wear out prematurely.
  • Cost to repair: $200

• Old Hard Drive

  • How to tell: Computer is always slow from boot to shutdown and the hard drive light is always on.
  • What you can do: Watch for this problem after 3 – 5 years after purchasing, make regular data backups.
  • When to call: Call immediately to replace your hard drive.
  • Why it is important: The deterioration of your hard drive can lead to a catastrophic disk failure which could mean that you lose everything on your drive. Once your computer no longer starts up properly there is less than a 25% chance that we will be able to recover your data.
  • Cost to repair: $300 + $275 for data recovery (if necessary)

We offer this service at a reduced rate of $15/quarter hour, which is less than our standard hourly rate; plus we don’t charge our on-site fee. We are able to offer such discounts by eliminating the need to travel to your location, and we are able to service more people. However, this service will not replace our on-site service completely, as many complex problems can’t be solved remotely.

Our hope is that you will be less hesitant to call for simple questions as they arise to eliminate the need tor waiting until something is “really” broken before you call. As always our goal is to provide you quality service when you need it.

A standard Linksys or Netgear wireless router that can be purchased from Best Buy should be sufficient for most people however for those who need extra coverage we have the EnGenius brand of wireless products. We have personally tested and implemented many units and have found them to be reliable and perform very well. The units that we install are extremely powerful (about 6 times a standard wireless router) and have an excellent coverage area. They are also very flexible and can be used to easily extend your current network within minutes.