Excel is one program that I need some help with. It seems I am always moving keyboard to mouse, back to keyboard, back to mouse…back and forth. It can also be confusing if you are dealing with a large document. Quite often, the content is multiple pages, and if all the information is on the first row or column, it gets confusing. So instead of doing lots of scrolling up and down or back and forth, follow these few tips.
To Lock the first or Header Row or Column on Screen
    1. On the worksheet, do the following:
         • To lock rows, select the row below the row or rows you want to keep visible.
         • To lock columns, select the column to the right of the column or columns you want to keep visible.
         • To lock both rows and columns, click the cell below and to the right of the rows and columns you want to keep visible.
    2. On the View tab, in the Window group, click the arrow below Freeze Panes.
    3. Do one of the following:
         • To lock one row only, click Freeze Top Row
         • To lock one column only, click Freeze First Column
         • To lock more than one row or column, or to lock both rows and columns at the same time, click Freeze Panes.
   Please note, you can only freeze rows at the top and columns on the left side. You cannot freeze rows or columns in the middle of the worksheet.
How to Print the First or Header Row or Column on Every Page in Excel
 Now, you have learned how to keep them visible on screen, you just need to know how to print them out.
    1. Go to Page Layout and click Print Titles under Page Setup.
    2. In the Page Setup, under Print Titles, click the red arrow icon next to rows to repeat at top.
    3. Use the arrow to Select the First Row, or the row you want to repeat on each page that is printed.
    4. Click the Red Arrow icon again and you will return o the Page Setup Screen. Click OK.
    5. To have the first column print on each page, repeat the process choosing Select the First Column in step three.
Hopefully this will help to lift some confusion when dealing with Excel, especially if the pages get mixed up when you take them off the printer.

A Few Shortcuts Too
Move right to left, cell by cell                                    Tab
Move up and down, cell by cell                                  Enter
Erase data in current cell                                          Backspace
Return to the beginning of the row                            Home
Enter the date                                                        Ctrl + ; (semicolon)
Enter the time                                                        Ctrl + Shift + : (colon)
Start a formula                                                       = (equal sign)
Check the spelling of titles or words                          F7
within the cells 
Find out about the style within the cell                       ALT + ' (apostrophe)
Display the Format Cells dialog box                          Ctrl + 1
Apply the general number format                             Ctrl + Shift + ~
Turn numbers into dollars                                        Ctrl + Shift + $
Make numbers a percentage                                    Ctrl + Shift + %
Apply a border                                                        Ctrl + Shift + &

I hope these tips will help you save some time and cut down on the confusion. And remember, the more you use the shortcuts, the easier it will be to remember them.
*Please note that these tips work for Office 2007 and may vary with other versions.

So recently the FCC has tried to put its spin on broadband for everyone.  The Federal Communication Commission (FCC)  wants to make sure that all rural areas have access to fast internet.  I have reviewed the plan and just like with all government programs it will be paid for with tax dollars.  However this one might actually be useful in some parts.  It wants to make sure that all hospitals and schools have fast access to the internet.  Many rural areas have little or no access currently.  With the emergence of electronic medical records (EMR) around the corner,  this will allow all hospitals and doctors access to the important data.  So to kick off their program, the FCC has released an Internet speed test service to assist customers in comparing their actual Internet speeds to the speeds advertised by their broadband Internet provider. In preparation for the National Broadband Plan, a program by the FCC to ensure that all Americans, including those in rural regions of the country, have access to broadband Internet. The Internet speed test and information regarding the National Broadband Plan are available at www.broadband.gov.  If you have questions about your current broadband internet connection please feel free to give us a call. 

Wouldn't it be fun to have shortcut keys for your favorite web pages on your desktop? For instance, if you type Ctrl+Shift+G it would bring up Google while Ctrl+Shift+K would bring up Kotori Technologies. Well, by combining a few simple techniques in Windows XP you can.

First, go to the web page that you want a shortcut for and create a shortcut on your desktop by right-clicking a blank area of the page and selecting "Create Shortcut".

Now that you have the shortcut for the web page on your desktop, right-click the link and select "Properties".

Under the "Web Document" tab look for "Shortcut key". Put your cursor in the box then type a letter. It will automatically add "Ctrl+Alt+" in front of it. You can also create any combination using Ctrl, Alt, Shift plus a keyboard character by typing them at the same time.

After you're done you can bring up the page with your new key combination any time you need to. Use it for search engines or your favorite blog, or even your online email. Keep in mind that it will open up in your default web browser. Also keep in mind, if you delete the shortcut from the desktop, the key combination will no longer work.

Kotori Technologies, LLC, a Goose Creek based technology services provider, announced they have hired a new Outside Sales Representative, Jason Murphy. Mr. Murphy will be responsible for the relationship building and development with businesses in the West Ashley area.
 
“We are very pleased to have Mr. Murphy join our team,” said Neadom Tucker, Kotori Technologies’ owner. “Jason brings with him an excellent attitude and excitement, which will help Kotori better serve our customers and help continue our success.”
 
Prior to his new position, Jason worked as a golf professional. As Kotori’s new Outside Sales Representative, Jason will be responsible for business development, including overall strategy, new market segments, and managing the existing client base in his area. He will also be in charge of providing customers with warranty/maintenance and sales information. Jason is a graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in liberal arts.
 
About Kotori Technologies, LLC
Kotori Technologies is a computer consulting firm with a group of highly skilled technicians delivering larger-enterprise IT solutions to small and midsize businesses founded in 2006. They combine cutting-edge technology and innovative minds to create customized solutions that resolve today’s business issues and anticipate tomorrow’s needs. Kotori Technologies has helped clients increase efficiencies and decrease operating costs. Kotori Technologies is headquartered in Goose Creek, SC. For more information about Kotori Technologies, go to http://kotoritechnologies.com or call 843-553-8800.

You hear it all the time… Web 2.0, Facebook, Twitter and many other sites and internet services that kids are a part of today.  In my day, the biggest thing parents had to worry about was if I could find my dad’s stash of nudie magazines.  Now porn is just a very small part of what the internet has to offer the young minds of America.  There are millions of sites out there that are not meant for the youth of any country.  The internet makes it easy for anyone to get anything.  Search engines have made it easy to find out anything any kid wants to know about whatever.

So how do you as the parent, protect yourself and your kids from material that you don’t want them to see?  Well you have to put in safe guards.  The measure at which you need to put up safeguards will depend on how old and how tech savvy your kids are. There are countless software programs out there, and no matter how well your raise your kids, curiosity killed the cat.  Your kids will start to wonder some at some point.  So you have to do your homework.  If you are reading my blog post, then you are halfway there.

Here are my 5 Steps to protecting your home pc for the general home user.  If your child is a “wanna be” hacker, then you need more help than I can provide in this post.  Call us and we will get you all set up.
     1) Upgrade to Windows 7 – If you have not done this, then do so.  The new parent safety features of Windows 7 takes care of all the work for you. If you’re a MAC user than this will not work.  Go to: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/parental-controls.aspx
     2) Use Google Safe Search – Safe search is a feature in Google to not allow certain content to be searched.  Go to: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=134479
      3) Use Open DNS – Open DNS allows you to filter all of your internet traffic by content and block access to those pages.  They offer a free version and a pay for version that is only $10 per year. Go to: http://www.opendns.com
      4) Use Safe Eyes – Safe Eyes allows you to block sites and set time limits for any user.  It has more bells and whistles than Windows 7.  So if your budget is not a huge issue, it is $50 per year.  It works for both MAC and PC.  Go to:  http://www.internetsafety.com
      5) Install Anti-Virus – How does this help keep the kids off the PC?  Well it doesn’t.  But what it does do is provide you a good level of protection for your computer and peace of mind.  We suggest Viper by Sunbelt Software.  Go to: http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Home-Home-Office/VIPRE/

Just as with anything out there this is not 100% bulletproof but it gets you going in the right direction.  If you have any questions on these or any software products, please feel free to give us a call.