PC World has posted its list of 101 Fantastic Freebies covering free utilities to tweak MS Windows, secure your computer, productivity applications, communications and more. Check out the list when you have time.

Ever wondered how to create a shortcut to today’s date in Excel or how to find enormous attachments in Outlook? Answers to these questions and five hundred and twenty-seven more can be found in PC Magazines article 529 Computing Tips

If you have ever wondered how to do something on your computer, your PDA or even Apple OS X, this is a good place to start your search.

For those of you who live in a mixed household – some Windows XP computers and some Windows Vista computers – getting the Vista systems to share files with their XP brethren can be challenging, if not downright frustrating. In most instances, the problem arises because the Vista systems can’t “see” the XP systems on the network. According to Microsoft “

This problem occurs if the Link-Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) Responder component is not installed on the Windows XP-based computer.

Network Map in Windows Vista makes network diagrams of the connections between network devices that can be used to troubleshoot connectivity problems. Network Map uses a discovery protocol called Link-Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) that queries other devices on the network to determine how the network is organized.

A less complex explanation would be that Vista can’t “hear” XP system on the network without the addition of a new louder door bell on the XP systems.

You can find the Microsoft fix to this problem here.

Despite the perception that Windows has every utility you need to get the most out of it, the truth is that 3d party programs still play an important role in obtaining the best user experience. While Windows often includes features to do things such as defragment your hard drive, switch between open programs, view files, etc. they are often not “Best in Class” or perform as well as 3d party utilities. PCMagazine has posted it’s 2008 list of software utilities in 91 Utilities to Supercharge Windows.

The list includes both free and fee utilities including some of my favorites like IrfanView, TweakUI (from none other than the Redmond giant itself), SnagIt, Truecrypt and Filezilla. While some of there choices aren’t the same as I would have made, it’s definitely worth taking a look. Who knows, you may find something useful or that you didn’t know there was a utility that could help you with something that has been driving you crazy.

Microsoft Outlook is the mail/calendaring/contact application of choice for a majority of companies and law firms throughout the US. However, to get the greatest advantage of the Outlook feature set, you need to add Exchange Server into the mix. Exchange is a good product, but it is also a product that is constantly being upgraded and patched and can place a burden on smaller offices and companies trying to stay up to date. While there are a number of products that can give you much of the functionality of Exchange without having it (See 4Team Corporation, Slipstick Systems ), they all work in different ways and require installation of software on your computer systems. However, none of these provide the benefit of being able to tap into the infrastructure provided by Google Gmail such as anywhere accessibility (with an internet connection), data backup and storage space. What has been missing is a way for multiple users that need to share information to easily tap into Gmail with Outlook while keeping the functionality of Exchange. That may no longer be the case if Cemaphore Systems has its way.

c|net News Blog reports here that Cemaphore Systems is preparing to roll out a beta of its Software as a Service (SaaS) product Mailshadow for Google Appa a/k/a MailShadow G which will allow the use of Outlook with Gmail for multiple users without Exchange Server. According to the Cemaphore Mailshadow G webpage:

 
Let Google handle the backend

Ready to cut the ties that bind you to your costly Exchange servers? Use MailShadow for Google Apps to eliminate the expensive infrastructure, hardware, and co-location facilities required by Exchange.

MailShadowG, the newest offering from Cemaphore Systems, will revolutionize the way you think about email continuity and content management. Using a SaaS-based (Software as a Service) model, MailShadowG allows you to synchronize your Outlook client with web-based email service providers like Google’s Gmail. This effectively turns Outlook into a universal front end client for different email systems, reducing infrastructure costs dramatically and making email backup portable and affordable. MailShadowG severs your dependency on the costliest elements of a traditional Exchange backup system.

Mailshadow G, if it works as billed, will open up the benefits of Exchange without the expense and people/hardware requirements of Exchange since it leverages the benefits offered by Google’s infrastructure. While it is true that you can purchase hosted Exchange services, for those users who want to move away from a full dependency on Microsoft products, SaaS products such as this may provide part of the answer. At a minimum, it gives Outlook users an additional option for taking full advantage of the potential in that product and will allow those companies and firms looking to reduce their IT costs and needs to do so.