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Outlook2007 posts

Filed under: Business, Windows, E-mail, Office, Productivity, Microsoft, How-Tos

Outlook 2007 Tip: Remove Windows Desktop Search prompts

Outlook 2007 tipOutlook 2007 is a pretty great upgrade to Outlook in terms of user interface, but is not without problems. Chris Pirillo describes a few here, and personally I'm still underwhelmed with Outlook's performance on my machine. Even when I turn off all of my Outlook add-ins (and I run a few of them), my dual-core machine still hesitates noticeably when Outlook is sending or receiving messages. In fact, it hesitates to the point that the mouse will stop moving for a moment or two. Very frustrating.

Unfortunately that's a problem that has been plaguing Outlook for years, and I don't yet have a fix for it. I do have a fix for another Outlook 2007 annoyance, however.

Microsoft seems to think that if you're using Outlook 2007 on Windows XP, you should also be using Windows Desktop Search to index your email and files. That's fine, but I've done some pretty extensive testing and in my opinion Windows Desktop Search is not the best desktop search option out there. In fact, I wouldn't put it in the top three. If, like me, you have a different desktop or email search preference (like Google Desktop, Copernic Desktop Search, Yahoo! Desktop, or my personal preference Nelson Email Organizer which is not desktop search, but the best email search tool I've found) you get stuck looking at a yellow bar in Outlook 2007 that sits at the top of every message window, prompting you to download Windows Desktop Search.

Luckily, the fix is easy, and just requires a quick delve into Outlook's options. On Outlook's menu simply navigate to Tools, Options, Other tab, Advanced Options under General and uncheck "Show prompts to download Windows Desktop Search". That's it!

Filed under: Business, Text, Windows, E-mail, Office, Productivity, Microsoft, Commercial

ClearContext Outlook add-in releases version 3.0

ClearContext IMS 3.0Back in August I did a pair of articles outlining software that can be used to support Getting Things Done functionality using online software, and offline-capable software. My offline article focused on Outlook and the various add-ins that are available for it. Of the ones I commented on, ClearContext generated the most attention by far.

Lucky for us ClearContext fans, today they've released version 3.0 of their fantastic Outlook plugin, which they're referring to as an Automated Personal Assistant. As a long time user of the product, I agree that when used correctly it really does act as a personal assistant, sorting and tagging your email to make sure that your attention goes to the messages that matter first. It also lets you very easily turn emails into appointments or actionable tasks with literally just the click of a mouse.
ClearContext Inbox Management System is now also compatible with Outlook 2007, which has been in wide beta release for a few months now. I can tell you, the combination of Outlook 2007 and ClearContext can't be beat. I've got no financial interest in the company - I'm just a user who loves how much better Outlook is to use with ClearContext installed.

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The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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