Are you tired of spending what seems like hours searching through email after email to find one from two weeks ago? Maybe we should hold a contest to see who has the most emails? If you are like me, I am afraid that as soon as I delete it, that is when someone will question it. Or there are a lot in my inbox, that I just don’t know what to do with or don’t have time at the moment, so it gets left for later, (which sometimes turns to almost never). Well we are going to try and get it organized together this week, here are a few tips:
       1. Set up a simple and effective folder system for reference.  A lot of your emails are just for reference and do not require any action, set up a system to move them to a folder as quickly as possible. 
       2. Schedule uninterrupted time to process and organize your email.  It is impossible to stay on task when you get a phone call, than someone stops by your office with a question, then you receive an instant message, then another phone call, and over and over again. (And people wonder what I did all day?) If you don’t make time, it won’t get done. Book yourself an appointment to spend a half hour (or longer) every day, or every few hours (depending on the amount of emails you receive) to do nothing but respond to emails and get them out of the inbox. Now, I am not saying to only look at emails during that time, scan them throughout the day to take care of the “emergencies”, but don’t spend all day back and forth with emails, but don’t let them go for a week with no attention.
       3. Process one at a time, starting at the top. During your appointment, focus on first things first. Don’t look to far ahead, you may get overwhelmed, and don’t skip, it may get forgotten and sit for a week.
       4. Use the “Four D’s for Decision Making’’ How many times can you look at the same message? The answer doesn’t magically appear, you have to decide what to do with it.
            a. Delete it – Usually you can delete half of the emails you get. But some of you are like me, and hate to delete. I may need that tidbit in six months, right?! Here are a few tips about when to delete.
                  i. Does the email relate to anything you are currently working on?
                  ii. Does the email contain info you cannot find somewhere else?
                  iii. Are you really going to need it in six months?
                  iv. Is it required?
        If answered no to all of these questions, then please delete!
          b. Do it – if you don’t delete it, then decide what to do with it. If it can be done quickly, do it. Why put it off for later? You will be surprised how many you can clear out in five minutes this way.
         c. Delegate it – If you can’t delete, and you can’t do it, can you delegate?  If so, pass it on. Why waste your time, if someone else can do it quicker?
         d. Defer it – If you can’t delete, can’t do, can’t delegate, then defer it. If it is going to take ten or fifteen minutes to handle that particular email, defer it until you have finished the processing the rest. You can defer it two ways – turn it into a task on your task list, or schedule an appointment to deal with it.

Be sure to follow through daily, or it will be back to the way it is now, if not worse. 

I found an interesting tip this week for all of us “blind” people. If you have eagle eyes, like Neadom, you can skip this tip. But, if you have a hard time seeing your cursor, especially next to a couple of “l”s, you better keep on reading. This tip is to enlarge your cursor in a couple of steps.
If you have Windows Vista like me, click on “Start”, “Control Panel” “Ease of Access Center”, “Optimize Visual Display”. Near the bottom of that screen, you will see “Making Things on the Screen Easier to See”. You will then see an option to set the thickness of the blinking cursor. Set it to the desired width (Mine is now a three.) and it will not hide between the “l’s” anymore.
If you have Windows XP, like Rene, click “Start”, “Control Panel”, “Accessibility Options”, choose “Display Tab” and then you will see “Cursor Options”. You can set your width by sliding the bar. Rene also achieved this tip and found a way to enlarge the text size of all windows. (That maybe a tip for another day.)

I am not sure about you, but without my computer at work, I may as well go home until it is fixed, then plan to work all night to get caught up again. I try my best to keep the computer up-to-date to try and prevent a break down. I also do not want to be the one who downloaded the file and infected the entire network. (That would be embarrassing.) Here are a few tips that I have learned and will pass on to you: 

1. Install all updates required by Kotori Technologies. Depending on the type of plan your company has with Kotori, we may install these updates for you, as long as the computer is turned on overnight. If your company is not on one these plans, you may be responsible for all updates. Not installing updates as required by Kotori Technologies can expose your company to viruses and other security risks. Some companies may prevent computers from accessing the network if patches aren't installed after a set date. Also, find out whether Kotori wants you to install updates on Microsoft Update. If they do, make it a habit of checking Microsoft Update regularly. You'll save yourself the hassle of Kotori forcing you to install updates when it's not convenient for you.
2. Install only licensed programs. Make sure that you, or your company, have a license for any software you install on your work computer. Your company can get sued for having software without a license installed on its computers. For example, installing a program your friend bought could present some problems. Software that you've bought a license for is probably fine, but double-check the license to make sure. Sometimes, software bought for home use cannot be installed at work as well.
3. Don't install different versions of software. Even if you prefer the version of software you use at home rather than work, don't install it on your work computer. You could have incompatibility problems with the software your co-workers are using and with your specific line of business applications. Kotori Technologies may also not be able to make any required updates or provide technical support.
4. Let Kotori Technologies know when hardware isn't working. Fixing a broken computer yourself could just cause more problems. Your fixes, for example, could make the computer incompatible with the corporate network. We offer a helpdesk or technical assistance program designed for this type of work. Kotori may have already seen the same problem and have a known fix. Helping Kotori Technologies track common computer problems can also help them decide which brand and make of computer to order in the future.
5. Let Kotori know when you need something. Giving the Kotori reasonable requests and adequate time for planning can help Kotori respond to your needs. Otherwise, you may end up with computer software or hardware you didn't want, which can hinder how effective you are at work.
6. Don't download programs from Internet sites you don't trust. By downloading programs that may not be secure, you put all the computers on the network at risk.
7. Be aware of suspicious e-mails. A virus introduced though e-mail may be disguised as a downloadable file. If an e-mail you receive is from someone you don't know, contains strange text, or otherwise looks suspicious, contact Kotori Technologies. If you open it, you could potentially cause problems for you and you co-workers. If it does contain a virus, Kotori can ask other employees in the organization to look for similar e-mails.

This week we have the final posting in “House Cleaning for the Not So Geek”. You should have already cleaned up your computer (inside and out http://kotoritechnologies.com/blog/post/2009/09/25/Tips-for-the-Digital-Pack-Rat.aspx and http://kotoritechnologies.com/blog/post/2009/10/01/Computer-Cleaning-for-the-Not-So-Geek.aspx  ) and backed up your files. Now it is time for the defrag. This will help to increase your computer performance.
This is also a very important step in computer maintenance because it can extend the life of your PC.
You may be asking “What is defrag?” or “Why do I need to Defragment?”
The answer is: Your computer is sort of like a newspaper. Your computer files can start on the “front page” and continue elsewhere in the middle of another “page” or file. When you use your computer, it writes to the first available spot on the hard drive. Over time, files tend to get rearranged on your hard disk, or fragmented.
If your disk is fragmented, when it tried to load a program, it may have to grab one file from the middle of the hard drive, one towards the outside, and then back to the inside. The net result is that your computer runs slower.
When you run a defrag program, it puts the pieces back together, like in a magazine article, and organizes them in similar groupings, so stuff loads faster. It's probably a good idea for the average user to defrag once every 2-3 months or so.
Warning - Be careful when running defrag. First off, it takes a long time (I usually run it at night) to defragment a large hard drive (80Gig or higher). Also, the defrag program takes files off your hard drive and sticks them into your system RAM while it's reorganizing your disk. If you lose power during a disk defragmentation, it can spell disaster for your computer. At best you'll mess up a program or two and at worst you may no longer be able to access your hard drive and Windows. I suggest backing up your files before starting, (see http://kotoritechnologies.com/blog/post/2009/10/02/Save-It-Before-Youe-Need-It.aspx). Definitely not something to do during a thunderstorm!
How do you perform a defrag? Simple – make sure you have backed up your files. You may need to disable your antivirus software and close out of all applications.
First, you need to run Scandisk.
Windows 95/98/ME Users: Click on the Start Menu then select Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then Scandisk. Select the drive you would like to check, then select the type of test you would like to run (standard or thorough). Finally, click Start.
Windows NT/2000XP Users: Double click your My Computer icon. Right click on the C: drive. Select Properties then choose the Tools tab. Under Error Checking, click the Check Now button. A dialog box will pop up, check both check boxes and click Start.
A dialog box will pop up telling you, "The disk check could not be performed because exclusive access to the drive could not be obtained. Do you want this disk check to be scheduled the next time you restart the computer?" click ‘yes'
Second step is to start the defrag.
Click on the Start menu, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and select the Disk Defragmenter. Select/highlight the drive you want to defrag and click Defragment.
Another easy way to find any program is to use the search field on the Start Menu.
For best results, perform a “computer cleanup” (see http://kotoritechnologies.com/blog/post/2009/09/25/Tips-for-the-Digital-Pack-Rat.aspx ) before starting the defrag.

Ok, this week we are continuing with “House Cleaning for the Not So Geek”. Our topic today is “Save It Before You Need It.” I don’t know about you, but I have my daughter’s life chronicled on my home computer. She is six years old, and I have thousands of pictures of her. Everything from the baby showers, birthdays, vacations, to playing around with the camera. If my computer were wiped out for any reason, I would be devastated.

There are different options out there for the home user, we will discuss a few.
1. CD/DVD ROMs – most computers have a DVD-ROM drive that can write large amounts of information rather quickly to either a DVD-R or CD-R disc. The discs are relatively inexpensive and they are a good form of back up data, as long as they are labeled and tested for consistency. You don’t want to find out too late, that it didn’t copy over. Also, with these, you may want to swap out with a friend’s back up, so that it is off-site, just in case of fire.
2. Flash drives/USB thumb drives – of you don’t have a lot of data to back up, the flash drive is an option for you. Flash drives are usually hard to break, reliable, and usually hold 1 to 6 GB of information. Again, you may want to store off-site.
3. External Hard Drives – They are reliable and simple for the home user. They are increasing in size and now come with software that can be used to backup your data regularly. With the software, you can set up a nightly back up to take place. As with the others, it is important to check the backups regularly for accuracy.
4. Remote Data Storage via the Internet – Many companies, like Kotori Technologies, http://kotoritechnologies.com are offering an offsite data storage for a small monthly fee. Your data is encrypted so that it is safe. And since it is off-site, often in two different states, your files are fine and no matter what happens, you’re never far away from recovering your data.

Now that you have decided on which method, you are probably asking how to go about it, so here you go:
1. Choose a backup program. For personal computers, there are many options. If you are using Microsoft Windows, there is a back-up program built in (Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Backup). You can also use third party back-up managers, ranging from small programs to full online backup services. If you use a flavor of Linux, there are many open source options available in repositories for all of the major distributions.
2. Prepare your back-up device of choice. If you are using a hard drive, it's best to use it just for back-up purposes. Make sure whatever you are using is ready to accept the back-up.
3. Open your choice of programs, select the files you wish to keep, select the media where you will be saving the back-up, and start it up. Make sure that you verify your backups. This typically takes longer to backup, but the verification insures that what you wanted to backup actually got backed up.

Just remember, even backup is not 100%. Keeping multiple copies of your backups will help insure recoverability. So now, you have a clean computer and your data is safe, next week we will discuss defragging your computer.