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Eurogames for iOS / mobile devices

For the past several years I've started playing Eurogames . Eurogames are board games that are much more strategic in nature than the games we grew up with. Basically they require significantly more skill than luck. It's a great alternative to sitting in front of a computer by yourself playing a game. More recently there have been apps created that work just like the board games, and making setup and cleanup much easier. Most of these games have options to play against online opponents, pass-around mode, and a built-in AI. (Yes it puts you back on an electronic device, but you can do it in the living room or other public place.) I've enjoyed a few of these apps as they offer multiple benefits: Ability to practice strategies Usually faster than waiting on each person to take their turn You don't have to wait for a convenient time to gather enough players You can stop in the middle and resume later These have been my favorites Le Havre : Played on iPad 2 and

Help with iTunes 11

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With the changes to iTunes 11, I struggled finding a couple of features. First, the left side-bar was missing. Hide or show the left side-bar by clicking CTRL-s (or CMD-s). The other thing I struggled with was finding the option to Manually manage music and video . It was quite easy once I found it. The problem was that it was hidden below the fold. Go to your device (iPod, iPhone, or iPad), and click on the Summary section. From the Summary section, scroll down. The option is located just above the Reset Warnings button. Then it's simply checking or unchecking the box and clicking Apply .

Merge PowerPoint Slides from Different Language Sources

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I recently had a situation where I needed to merge PowerPoint slides that had originated from two different language versions. While both were written in English, one group of slides were created from a Spanish install of PowerPoint. Of course the English text was displaying as incorrect spellings in the Spanish version. First, I was surprised to see the English text still displayed as spelled incorrect when I opened in my English install of PowerPoint. After that, I figured once the slides originating from the Spanish version of PowerPoint were inserted into an English version PowerPoint, it would correct itself. I found that still wasn't the case. All the slides that were authored in the Spanish version of PowerPoint still retained the Spanish dictionary, and therefore the English text on those slides indicated they were misspelled. Come to find out, each text box within PowerPoint is assigned its own dictionary language. In order to correct, follow these steps. (Note that I&

Get the last value in an Excel Range

I frequently copy formulas from one months data to the next, but I run into trouble when I want to get a total off the last row, when the last row is different each month. I discovered a formula that will read the last value (before blanks) in a range. Enter the formula =INDEX($E$1:$E$5100,LARGE(IF($E$1:$E$5100<>"",ROW($E$1:$E$5100)),1),1) Press Ctrl-Shft-Enter The key here is you must use Ctrl-Shft-Enter. It will insert curly brackets, which wont work if you manually enter them. The curly brackets are needed as this is an array formula. See Introducing array formulas in Excel from Microsoft or search for other websites for further information.

Unable to direct edit an an Excel cell

I noticed working one day that Excel was no longer letting me make edits directly in cells (when I double-click on a cell). I needed to go to the formula bar to make my edits, which is much more time consuming and mouse intensive. After living with this for a week or so, I discovered the issue and how to correct. Note that I'm using Excel 2007, so your version may be different. Click the Office Button (upper-left round Office button). On the bottom of the menu, click Excel Options . - This will open the Excel Options dialog box. Select Advanced from the left-menu. Check the box, Allow editing directly in cells . Click the OK button at the bottom of the dialog box. I'm not sure how this setting got changed, but nevertheless it solved the issue of not being able to edit directly in cells.

Alternative to Nested IFs in Excel

Using Excel for multiple comparisons with Nested IFs has some limitations. There a couple of different solutions. One would be to use values on a separate sheet and the vlookup function. Another option is to use multiple IFs separate by an ampersand (&). Here's and example: IF(NOT(ISERROR(FIND("Incident Created",A2))),"Incident Created page",""))&IF(AND(ISERROR(FIND(" | ",A2)),ISERROR(FIND("Community",A2)),ISERROR(FIND("Search Results",A2))),"Help Landing page","") Note the false condition sets an empty value. I see a benefit in that the code is much easier to read, as nesting can become difficult to follow. The down side is you need to test the negative condition of other IFs so you don't have multiple matches.

Replaced my Macbook with a PC

For the last 4 months I've been using a Macbook at work... my first Mac since the late 90s. I did this so I could enjoy all the benefits Mac lovers rave about. Today I replaced the Macbook with a Lenovo Win7 laptop, because there were more hindrances than benefits. The funny thing, I'm not sure if it's caused by Microsoft or Apple. Here's what I'll miss about my Macbook: Slightly lighter weight Scrolling using two-fingers on the touchpad My Lenovo does that too (though not as smooth). Here's why I gave up my Macbook: Several features of Outlook unavailable Date difference in Excel No Visio or Project Some websites require IE So the Mac fanatics could say it's because Microsoft has purposefully lagged behind in Mac versions of their software. Microsoft people could claim it's too costly to develop for an additional platform when Windows runs on 80%+ of all desktops and laptops. Regardless, I have a job to do and it's much easier on Wi

Start Application on Startup on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

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Sometimes we want programs to automatically start for us when we start our computer. For Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, it takes just a few steps. Open System Preferences . Look in the System section and select Accounts . Select Login Items . You will see a list of applications already set to start when you start your Mac computer. Find the + and - boxes below the list and select + . Navigate to the application you want to start when you start your Mac computer, and select it. Select the Add button. Repeat for additional applications, and close the Accounts window when you're done.

Dates differ for Excel between Mac and Windows

Who knew? The default date system in Excel for a Mac is different than that used on Windows. I was working across spreadsheets, referencing a column from one to a column from another and my results were driving me crazy. First it appeared my results column was just not formatted for dates as I was just getting numbers. But when I changed the column to be formatted for dates, I got dates but they were off by about 4 years. After checking my formula, which I've used countless times ( Lookup values in Excel ), I finally went searching and found this article, Microsoft Excel Date Systems for Windows and Mac . Sure enough, one of the spreadsheets I had created on my Mac while the other came from a Windows user. Bottom line, Windows uses the 1900 date system while Macs use the 1904 date system. Before you create a spreadsheet you can change the date system, but if changed afterward it will also change your dates, so be careful. Read Microsoft Excel Date Systems for Windows and Mac

Command Prompt on Right-Click

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In Windows XP it was fairly easy to add a link to the right-click menu in Explorer, so when clicked it would open the Command Prompt at that location . I posted a how-to in April 2008 on how to accomplish this. With the release of Windows Vista and Windows 7, the Tools >> Folder Options is no longer available, so the task required a new solution. I've identified 3 possible alternatives: All 3 options in use Hold the Shift-key while right-clicking. This is built-in behavior. Update the Registery. Open the Registry by entering "regedit" at the Run prompt. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell. Create a new key called "Command Prompt." For the default value, add the right-click menu name, such as "Open Command Prompt Here." Navigate down to your new "Command Prompt" key (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\CommandPrompt). Create another new key called "Command." For the default value, add