Did you miss me? Come on, admit it! You know you did. You just didn't realize it until now.

I've been lax in getting an issue of the newsletter out to you partly because of article deadlines. But over Easter weekend I also took a 3,000-mile road trip with one wife, six kids, and two grandkids. No bodies are buried along the way, so the trip was a success. Personal DVD players are a Godsend. Next time I'll take more wives and fewer kids...or maybe more girlfriends and...well, never mind.

No books in the works at the moment at Casa Boyce, but lots of articles are happening for Microsoft.com and TechRepublic. Microsoft has launched a new site geared toward helping Office users work more productively in a range of different job categories. Check out Tools for Your Job to learn more.

For those of you waiting to hear the good news about free books, the wait is over. I'll be sending out notifications to the winners soon. If you don't hear from me with the glorious news within a few days of this newsletter, you can stop waiting, 'cuz you didn't win. I guess I could post the winners' e-mail addresses, but then they would be flooded with hate mail from the losers, and I'd be flooded with hate mail from the winners!

Finally, if you are in my neck of the woods here in Minnesota anytime soon, stay off the sidewalks. My 16-year-old-son just got his driver's license. Don't tell my insurance company. They'll find out about it on the news some day soon, anyway.

Hasta luego,

Jim

Featured Windows Tip
Move the Internet Explorer cache

Internet Explorer maintains a cache that contains images and other elements from visited Web pages. IE pulls these items from the local cache for subsequent visits to the page, speeding up browsing and reducing bandwidth utilization.

The IE cache is assigned a certain amount of disk space. If you visit several sites on a frequent basis, the cache could consume a lot of disk space. For that reason, you might prefer to move the cached to a different drive with more space.

You can configure the location of the IE cache in one of two ways: through the Options dialog box for IE or by modifying the registry. To configure the cache location in IE, choose Tools, Internet Options, and click Settings on the General tab. In the Settings dialog box, click Move Folder, choose a new location, and click OK. Windows will log you off after confirming the change in order to move the cache to the new location.

You can also modify the registry to move the cache. Click here if you want to learn how.

Featured Office Tip #1
Two tips for using AutoComplete in Outlook

I have really come to appreciate the AutoComplete feature that automatically completes email addresses in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields based on email addresses you've typed before. In fact, I rarely use the Address Book to address message. Instead, I just type the first few letters of the address and let AutoComplete do its thing. Here are two things you should know about AutoComplete.

First, AutoComplete entries are stored in a .NK2 file on your local hard drive. Although this file isn't user-editable, you may want to back it up if you are especially attached to your AutoComplete listings--or if you want to copy those listings to another machine. Each profile on your machine has its own .NK2 file, but it's easy to find the one you want. The filename is [profile name].nk2, where [profile] is the name of the Outlook profile. For example, my Outlook profile is named jim, and the AutoComplete file is jim.nk2. The file is located in the C:\Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder, where [user] is your logon name. To back up the file, just close Outlook, copy the file to the destination, and restart Outlook.

If you want to move the list to a different computer, copy the file to the appropriate folder on the new computer, make sure the NK2 file has the same name as the Outlook profile, and start Outlook. Enter a few addresses to test it.

Second, AutoComplete will frequently offer an address that you only used once. If you'd like to remove that address from AutoComplete, type the first few letters of the address, use the arrow keys on the keyboard to select the address, and press the [Delete] key. This will delete the address right in the AutoComplete pop-up window.

Featured Office Tip #2
Configure attachment blocking in Outlook

In order to help reduce virus infections and to prevent other malicious programs from affecting your system, Outlook attachment blocking feature prevents you from opening specific types of attachments. Outlook supports two levels of attachments for attachment blocking.

Level 1 attachments are hard-coded into Outlook and include BAT, COM, EXE, VBS, SCR, and several others. These can't be opened or saved to disk. Level 2 attachments are defined at the server level by an Exchange Server administrator. These attachments can't be opened directly in Outlook, but you can save them to disk and open them from there.

If you're not using Exchange Server, you might prefer to change the list of file types that Outlook treats as Level 1 attachments to enable you to access those types of attachments. You can do so through a registry change:

1. Open the Registry Editor and open the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\ Security. (Replace 10.0 with 11.0 for Outlook 2003.)
2. Add a string value named Level1Remove in the Security key and set its value to include the file extensions of those files you want removed from the Level 1 attachment list. Separate multiple file extensions by semicolons.
3. After you restart Outlook, the attachments listed in Level1Remove will be treated as Level 2 attachments. You will be able to save them to disk but not open them directly in Outlook.

You might also want to check out DetachOL, a tool that lets you detach blocked attachments from messages. DetachOL gives you the capability to access Level 1 attachments without hacking the registry.

Note: Before editing the registry, be sure to back it up first so that you can restore it if something goes wrong.

Featured Windows Server Tip
Quick backup of the registry

The Windows registry comprises several files, the majority of which are located in the \%systemroot%\System32\Config folder. Windows 2000 Server also maintains a backup copy of the registry hive files in the folder \ systemroot%\repair. However, Windows doesn't back up the registry here automatically. It places a copy in the repair folder at Setup, but does not update these files on its own. However, you can use Windows Backup to quickly back up the registry.

1. Open Backup and choose Tools, Create an Emergency Repair Disk.

2. In the Emergency Repair Diskette dialog box, select the option to back up the registry to the repair directory and click OK.

3. After the backup is complete, Backup displays an error that there is no diskette available for the backup. Simply click OK at this error message.

The registry files are now backed up to the repair folder. If your server experiences a corrupted registry or you need to revert to the previous configuration, boot the server with the Recovery Console and copy the registry files from the repair folder to the config folder, then reboot.

Note that backing up the registry does not offer the same level of recoverability as performing a full system state backup. You should use the Backup utility or a third-party backup tool to periodically back up the system state data.

In the News:

What the heck is a dual-core CPU? Find out here.

New security flaws for IE. Seems like we see this type of story every week, doesn't it? Story

Time to dig that Commodore 64 out of the attic. Old computers can be worth big bucks, but are you will to give up all those arcade games? Story

...or that junk PC or modem could end up in the Museum of Things Nobody Wants Anymore. Too bad I don't own any really cool old stuff. Story

Naughty blog software company! Watch what you put on your web site if you don't want to get dropped like a hot Google. Story

Hey, what's the number for 911? If you are a Vonage customer, forget about dialing 911. Story

Windows Server 2003 SP1 is out . Do you care? Story

Uh, oh. The government is talking about computer security again... Now it's the OMB that's getting into the act. Story

Let's add some cruel and unusual punishment! This anti-spyware law might be toothless without a little pain involved. Story

Time! Does your work day often slip away like sand in the hourglass? Get control of your work schedule with these tips and tools. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=2614733

Outlook junk mail filter update. If you use Outlook to filter your junk mail, have a look at this update from Microsoft. http://support.microsoft.com/?id=870765

Free Office tips. Check out the latest free edition of the Office Letter for some handy Office tips. www.officeletter.com

Want a cheap copy of Microsoft Outlook? Get Outlook and a 2GB MSN Mail account for $44.95. www.msn.com

Great CD burning tool. One of the best programs for burning CD and DVD formats. www.nero.com

A new browser for all the Microsoft haters. I've tried it and still like IE, but your mileage may vary. www.mozilla.org

My favorite download site! Tucows is my first stop when I'm looking for shareware.

OK, so I'm not Elmer Fudd and this is a chicken recipe, not rabbit. But Chicken Fricassee has been a favorite of mine since I could say, "Yum!" It's even better the second day as chicken enchilada filling. The onion is the key ingredient that gives the dish its flavor.

Dredge about 8 pcs of chicken with flour, then brown lightly in butter in a large, heavy skillet or Dutch oven over low-to-medium heat (extra flour helps thicken the gravy). Add chopped onion, salt and pepper to taste, and add just enough chicken broth to cover the chicken. Simmer, covered, on the stove for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Or, place covered in a 350-degree oven for about an hour if using a Dutch oven or cast iron skillet.

When the chicken is done, mix the egg yolks well with about 1/4 cup milk. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Gradually stir the egg/milk mixture into the pan and simmer for a few minutes to thicken the gravy. If gravy is not thick enough, add additional egg yolks to thicken. Then, place the chicken back in the gravy. Serve over rice. Homemade biscuits are a nice addition for all of that gravy.

Now about those enchiladas: Shred the left-over chicken (please throw away the bones) and place with remaining gravy in a saucepan. Add ground cumin, garlic, and paprika to taste. Allow to cool a little, then use mixture along with shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack, or goat cheese to fill tortillas (corn or flour, whatever floats your boat). Spread some grated cheese over the tops of the enchiladas and bake in a 350-degree oven until heated through. Lock the door so no one else can have any and dig in.

Special thanks to faithful reader Robert S. who reminded me that "gallo" translates to cock or rooster, not chicken. So, pico de gallo is beak of the rooster. Still no beaks in it, though.