Wow, Microsoft have been really busy this month, 80MB of updates.

Windows Update has blessed me with the latest browser offering from Microsoft: Internet Explorer 9. The install is completing as I type (what’s the bet I’ll need to reboot?), let’s see what revolutionary improvements we get.

After this reboot.

Just installed Windows 7 Service Pack 1. 10 minutes in and so far so good.

Pretty good for a bunch of people who can’t spell humour.

You can setup Outlook to prompt you to enter a subject before sending an email message. The steps are simple and can be completed in only a few minutes. Follow these simple steps to create the reminder:

1. Open Microsoft Outlook.
2. Press Alt+F11. This will open a Microsoft Visual Basic Window. In the left hand panel, you will see a folder called ‘Project1’. Expand the folder by clicking on the plus sign.
3. After expanding the Project1 folder, you will see a folder called "Microsoft Outlook Objects", expand this folder by clicking on the plus sign.
4. Now you will see "ThisOutLookSession". Double click on "ThisOutLookSession" and the code editor window will open.
5. Copy and paste the following code in the code editor window.

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
Dim strSubject As String
strSubject = Item.Subject
If Len(Trim(strSubject)) = 0 Then
Prompt$ = "Subject is Empty. Are you sure you want to send the Mail?"
If MsgBox(Prompt$, vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbMsgBoxSetForeground, "Check for Subject") = vbNo Then
Cancel = True
End If
End If
End Sub

6. Select ‘File’ and then ‘Save’, and close the Microsoft Visual Basic Window to return to Microsoft Outlook. Now, if you try to send an email without a subject, you will get a prompt reminding you to enter a subject.

To remove the reminder, from Microsoft Outlook, press Alt+F11. In the code editor, select and delete the code you entered for “ThisOutlookSession”. Select ‘File’ and ‘Save’, and close the Microsoft Visual Basic Window.

Extracting a 798MB zip file under Vista will allegedly take nearly a day and a half!

Outlook calls it an Internet Calendar, and uses the iCal link in your Google Calendar Settings.

1. Log on to your Google Calendar account.
2. In the left column, under Calendars, click the arrow button next to the calendar that you want to add to Outlook as an Internet Calendar Subscription.
3. Select Calendar settings.
4. Under Private Address, click ICAL.
5. Select the Internet Web address that appears, and then press CTRL+C to copy the selected text to the Windows clipboard.
   Note:Do not click the link. If you click the link, the calendar will be opened in Outlook as a Calendar Snapshot which is not updated.
6. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click Account Settings.
7. On the Internet Calendars tab, click New.
8. Paste the Internet Web address you copied in step 5, by pressing CTRL+V.
9. Click Add.
10. In the Folder Name box, type the name of the calendar as you want it to appear in Outlook, and then click OK.

Viewing your Outlook Calendar in Google Calendar is still only possible via import/export – the instructions are there if you want to put yourself through it, but I’ll keep waiting until there’s a dynamic solution.

This in particular resonated with me:

“In a recent study, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment Web sites.”