No thought unthought

Oh, you said 2 servers

Ben Kirkness — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:56:00 GMT

Oops. Looks like I need 2 servers to setup the lab environment. Luckily I have a spare one in the back room

Final config should be: 1 SLES/OES server with eDirectory etc installed. 1 SLES/OES server with bare minimum services installed (no edirectory etc), but with XEN Virtual Machine Host server; then install host machines (netware kernel or whatever) into the XEN host server.

Exceptional documentation - no, seriously

Ben Kirkness — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:54:00 GMT

It's been a long time since I've had to read anything along the lines of 'how to do'. The install of Novell's Open Enterprise Server (and its prerequisite Suse Linux Enterprise Server 10) has got the better of me.

I tend to have little faith in documentation, however the docs by Novell are really, really good (so far). They have volumes and volumes of easy (enough) to understand instraution, and a 'lab environment' step-by-step.

RTFM or Go 4 Broke

Ben Kirkness — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:45:00 GMT

It must be an evolutionary problem for man to read the manual. When posed with the option to carefully read instructions or widly press button, why does the button pressing win.

Well in this instance, although it is very easy to insert the CD and click next - next - next, once the product is installed I have no idea what I've just done and what to do to it. Afterall, the base of OES is Linux; and I dont know what a Linux is!

Time to try again - after downloading some instructions (and reading them).

Goodbye Netware, Hello Suse

Ben Kirkness — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:23:00 GMT

Time to bring the school network into the 'teenies' and retire the old Novell Netware 6.5 servers and introduce new Novell Open Enterprise Servers.

It's quickly apparent however that there is a larger leap of faith than desired to welcome the new technology and close out the old.

Advanced Word Exercise Files

Ben Kirkness — Thu, 24 May 2007 22:02:00 GMT

Click here to download the student data for advanced Word.

Project 2K files

Ben Kirkness — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 19:52:00 GMT

Click this link: http://www.myhelpkey.com/images/Examining.zip to download the class and post class files.

Dictionary Malfunctions

Ben Kirkness — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:11:00 GMT

If you mistakenly add a mis-spelt entry to your Publisher dictionary while running a spell check, it makes sense that you would like to then remove that bad spelling from the dictionary. If you dont, Publisher will think the wrong spelling is the right spelling from that point onwards.

In Microsoft Word, this is a simple (enough) process - click menu heading TOOLS > menu item OPTIONS > tab SPELLING & GRAMMAR > button CUSTOM DICTIONARIES > button MODIFY > then find your bad word in the list click it and button DELETE > buttons OK, OK, OK.

No such feature is available within Publisher. So it would appear you are stuck with the bad word forever. Good news is that programmers are inherently lazy, and when they slapped together Publisher, they decided to borrow the custom dictionary feature from Word, rather than build their own. This means if you need to modify an entry in the custom dictionary for Publisher, you'll need to do it via Word.

Try it out if you dont believe me. Make a text box in Publisher, type the word 'floqq' and press enter, presuming there is now a red squiggly line under that word - right click it and choose 'add to dictionary'. Now close Publisher, open Word, follow the steps above, reopen Publisher and type floqq again - notice the squiggle is back.

DP Publisher Training

Ben Kirkness — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:37:00 GMT

Thanks Melissa, Eyvonne, Zoe, Tania and Angela for the enjoyable day's training.

Our followup questions are: Exact Ruler Placements; Helpful Mouse Pointers; Multiple Master Pages; Dictionary Malfunctions; cHANGING cASE; Styles and the Default Template; Convert Text to Table.

I'll create a blog entry for each one of these. Good luck.

Going to the Printers with Publisher

Ben Kirkness — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 10:16:00 GMT

So you want to have your fantastic publication printed at a professional printers. It may not be as easy as you think.

Dont assume you can just send off your publisher file and that the printer house will be able to use it. Call them up first and ask.

Aside from that, here are some Microsoft recommendations on how to get 'print ready'.

This link contains some good general purpose pointers for 2003 and 2007 - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/HP100819661033.aspx

This link contains some more 'heavy duty' information on what to prepare for (2003 and 2007) - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/HA012189471033.aspx

Finally, here is a link to a PDF with instructions, but based on Publisher 2003 only

...and good luck

Publisher 2003 training data files - student download

Ben Kirkness — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 03:56:00 GMT

Follow this link to download student data files for Publisher 2003 Level 1 training. Click Here.

This will download a file called 1866LGEEdd.exe. Once downloaded, double click the file to extract the exercise data files to your hard disk. The file will extract to a folder called C:\084119Data by default. Whenever the book instructs you to open a file / insert a picture, you need to navigate to the extraction folder.

These files are for the 'New Horizons' Publisher 2003 Level 1 training.

Word versus Publisher

Ben Kirkness — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 03:23:00 GMT

If people tell you that using Microsoft Publisher is a waste of time, and that you could make newsletters or brochures in Microsoft Word just as easily—those people don't know Publisher.

Word and Publisher both have their place in a modern computing world, but sometimes there is confusion between the similarities and benefits of the programs.

Microsoft Word

Word is a multi purpose word-processing package designed to write everything from short letters to thousand page business reports.

Using Word you can create polished documents that include features such as footnotes, bookmarks, indexes, table of contents, advanced layout and formatting control with tabs, tables and styles, and the inclusion of pictures and clip art.

Many people are self taught with Word, as it is generally a very intuitive program to use. Point, Click and Type tends to be an operation most people can readily grasp.

Microsoft Publisher

Publisher is also a word-processing package of sorts, but it is optimised for ‘desk-top publishing’.

You can achieve pinpoint layouts with ruler guides, story boxes and picture controls.

You can change the entire theme of publications with just 1 or 2 mouse clicks.

A single publication can change from single sided pages to double-sided books in seconds. Websites are a breeze too, with the ability to import catalogue information from a spreadsheet into Publisher.

There is no winner

Neither program is better than the other. It’s a matter of using the right tool for the task at hand.

Out with the old and in with...

Ben Kirkness — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 03:14:00 GMT

Goodbye toolbar, Hello ribbons.

There are MAJOR cosmetic changes to the look of (most of ) the new Office programs.

The ‘User Interface’ (UI) as it is called, has been redesigned from the ground up.

The classic menu and toolbars have been given the kiss of death, and are replaced by… a ribbon.

The ribbon is a series of commands organized, grouped and displayed as a length (or ribbon) of selectable tabs.

The tabs provide better access to the features within Word. Or so we’re told.

Compatibility takes one for the team.

Remember when you could send a Word document to someone using an earlier version of Office than yours.

Time to forget all that. The new default format of files created in Office 2007 is not compatible with earlier versions of Office.

The classic .DOC now becomes a .DOCX. The X stands for XML and by using this format Microsoft can significantly improve the security / reduce virus vulnerability of their software. It will also (ironically) improve the inter-operability of Office documents with on-office programs (like upcoming versions of Open-Office)

There are ways to save your new 2007 files in ‘compatibility’ mode if the need be.

Windows Vista—Is the new windows Going to be one big Pane?

Ben Kirkness — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 03:00:00 GMT

Windows Vista—the new Windows as finally been released.

Should you care, should you worry, should you upgrade? Here are some of the features you should know about.

Aero Glass

Anything that sounds expensive when you say it must be good, right?

Well that’s the case with Aero Glass, the new ‘user interface’ (UI) of Vista.

As long as you have a very modern PC, you can use ’aero glass’ to ‘Windows Flip’. This feature is a new way to manage the problem of having many programs open at one time.

Think of the ALT+TAB feature already available in normal windows, then add steroids.

As you ‘cycle through’ active windows with ALT+TAB you will see a live thumbnail of the running program rather than a classic icon.

Flip 3D is one step up again, whereby you can see a very large thumbnail of the open Windows.

Task Bar and Explorer thumbnails

If you hover your mouse over a program that is minimized to the task bar, you will see a live thumbnail of the program pop up (just like Windows Flip).

Also, there are new Explorer windows which display your files using thumbnails if you would like.

Instant Search

There is a zooped-up desktop search feature built into Vista.

Now you can find items like email, pictures, music and documents and programs all from the one spot on the start button.

Sounds Expensive?

Versions of Vista include: Home Basic; Home Premium; Business; and Ultimate.

I’ll save the price surprise for you to find out, but I am reminded of a Simpsons episode where Homer applies for credit for a new RV (“Is that a good siren? Am I approved?”)

Office 2007 - A License to Kill?

Ben Kirkness — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 02:52:00 GMT

The long awaited, anticipated and sometimes dreaded update to Office has finally been released.

Office 2007 offers a brave new world of cosmetic changes and feature enhancements.

Are you ready for 2007. Prepared to be shaken, not stirred.

What to purchase

Microsoft will provide no shortage of ways to part you from your cash. The versions of Office 2007 include: Home and Student, Standard, Small Business, Professional, Professional Plus, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

Happily, you will be able to upgrade from most old versions of Office to 2007—as long as your computer can handle it.

System requirements include: Windows XP or better; 256 meg of RAM or better; high resolution monitor display (1024 x 768)