Both Outlook 2003 and 2007 have a feature, where you can attempt to recall a message, effectively unsending the email message. This has got me out of trouble in the past. It is nice to be able to add in that after thought, or to remove that risky remark.

A recalled message is invisible on the recipients computer, as long as the recall takes place before the email has been downloaded onto their computer.

This recall feature is not totally reliable. Much depends on how quickly you send the recall message. However, there is no harm in giving this a try when it is needed.

To try it out, open up your sent items folder and double click on an email message. The email will open up in a new window. In Outlook 2003, Click on the actions menu. In Outlook 2007, click Other Actions. Finally, select Recall this message. It’s that simple.

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These preview handlers (which tell Outlook how to preview the file) can save a lot of time, as there is no need to load up an entire program to view a document. So, we are covered for the standard Office documents and PDFs, but what about other types of files like audio or video files?

I came across a site jam packed with with these preview handlers ready to download, and a few links to other sites on the topic. The site features a preview handler that uses Windows Media Players ActiveX. This means that a wide range of media files can be previewed from within Outlook 2007. There is no need for external media players to be tampered with anymore, nor playlists altered.

Also on this site are handlers for previewing zip files, html files and various other source code files. After installing these packs, I can’t think of any file I would would want to preview that is not supported.

These handlers work in both XP and Vista, but they do require MS Outlook 2007.

For a lot more information, and the downloads, check out the Azar Family Site.

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Windows lets you change the device that audio is sent out of, in the Sounds and Audio options within the control panel. While this method works, it can be tedious to navigate to, especially if you want to change your playback device regularly. Many individual programs also let you choose which audio device will be used for playback, but then changing the playback device within the program requires a separate set of preferences to navigate through.

I came across a couple of tools that make switching the default playback device much easier, and that offer much more control over your audio devices. These tools are System Tray Audio Device Switcher (STADS), and Quick Sound Switch (QSS). Both are great utilities, but they do things slightly differently, and both offer slightly different features.

In this article, I will run through what they both do so that you can decide which one is best for your needs.

System Tray Audio Device Switcher (STADS):

STADS sits in the task tray. It lets you change both the default recording and output devices quickly from its extremely easy to use interface.

When launched, it shows you the playback devices available on your system, but you can change to recording devices by clicking on Show Recording Devices.

There is not much extra to this program. It is just very simple to use.

STADS is 2MB in size, and it requires installation.

Quick Sound Switch (QSS):

QSS can be used the same as STADS, but it also offers a whole bunch of extra options that I can see as being very handy.

QSS offers a tool to make shortcuts to change the default playback device. You can even make shortcuts to individual programs, which will select the playback device that the program will use. Using this method, you can easily have one programs sound come out of one playback device, and have another programs audio use a different playback device.

Another feature that may interest you is hot keys. You can setup hot keys that will change the default device. These use the ctrl+? format.

It is tiny at only 108kb, and it does not require installation.

Which tool is right for you?:

As you can see, QSS has a lot more features than STADS, but some of these extra options may get in the way with day to day use. There is no reason why both of them can’t be used side by side.

I am going to use STADS to change the default device for Windows, and then use QSS to change the output of particular programs, through shortcuts.

Finishing up:

The only thing that these programs can’t do is switch the audio output while sound is coming out. It will not crash the system, but the audio will remain coming out from the same device. This is because most programs decide which default device will be used on launch. Because of this, most programs will need to be restarted for the selected device to take effect. This is the same for the inbuilt Windows options.

System Tray Audio Device Switcher is available for free from here.

Quick Sound Switch is available for free (donations welcome) from here.

I hope you have found this article useful. Please stick around and check out some other useful utilities at Inspect My Gadget.

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Evidence of this popularity can be seen in pubs around the nation, which almost always have a dedicated pokie room. The only problem is that it is against the law to get one of these machines installed at home without a license.

We can now play these games in the comfort of our own home, and there’s no need to spend a cent. This is supposedly thanks to someone internal to Aristocrat releasing these ROMs to the public. These are not remakes, but the actual ROMs that are used in the machines that are played in clubs all across Australia.

There are 4 ROMs in all to download. These include 50 Lions, Atlantis, Orchid, and one of my favourites, Indian Dreaming (shame about the included link feature). Each ROM comes with an emulator which represents the buttons on a real Pokie machine.

The ROMs are downloaded from RapidShare, so if you are not a member, you may need some patience for the download to be made available to you.

Read more, see more screenshots, and get the links for the ROMs from the ShareMe.org forums.

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Because of this common need to recover passwords, a few tools have been created to get past this problem. I once heard of a program called Ophcrack, but it looked a bit tricky to use.

A tool called PC Login Now was recently made available as freeware, so I tried it out. The download is an iso file that needs to be burnt to a CD, using just about any CD burning software. The result is a Linux Live CD. Restart your computer and ensure that the computer will boot from your CD drive first (most will by default). Watch the Linux Live CD boot to life.

PC Login Now will work with any Windows install, and it can even handle dual boot machines. The opening screen shows you the operating systems available on the computer. Select the operating system you want to tinker with and press next. You should now be able to see all of the user accounts for that system.

You can then reset the password of any account, as well as enable or disable accounts. You can pretty much perform any of the basic user account options available in Windows. This program does not show you the old password as some tools do, but resetting the password is just as useful in most circumstances.

Once your computer reboots, a disk check will be run. When prompted, try to login leaving the password blank. You should be able to get into the system. PC Login Now claims a 100% success rate, and so far I have had no failures on the 3 machines I have tested. It couldn’t be quicker or easier to use.

This will not work for computers which login to a domain, but there is normally a local user account on these computers, which you can use to gain access.

Take some caution using this in the workplace as many companies don’t like these tools.

PC Login Now 2.0 is available for free from pcloginnow.com.

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Types is a worthwhile replacement to the inbuilt Windows file type utility. It works on both Windows XP and Vista. It also offers a large display window so that you can easily find the extension you want tinker with.

To use Types, right click on the extension you want to edit and select properties. From the window that opens, you are able to change which program will open up the file, the extensions icon, and a few class options, but you shouldn’t need to worry about those.

This program does a small job well, and it is an improvement on the inbuilt Windows options.

Types is available for free from SourceForge.

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XPise is a nice addition to any Windows XP install. It’s main features include:

• Patches for more than 150 system files without user interaction.
• Updates tonnes of old resources still existing in Windows XP, which have come from the Windows 95/98/2000 days.
• Gives Windows XP a fresh new look, with new animations, icons and images.
• Installs some cool extras, such as a boot screen, logon screen, screensaver and more.

After looking around my system, once I had installed XPise, I was amazed to see how many things had been changed. All the changes seemed to be for the better in the time I had it up and running. Everything was recognisable, but with a modern look and feel.

XPise also comes with TaskSwitchXP Pro 2.0, which is an alt-tab task switcher replacement. This is a great leap forward from the default alt-tab task switcher. As well as seeing the title of all the programs you have open, each program shows a large screen shot, making it easy to know what is what.

Upon install, XPise pops up a prompt offering to make you a system restore point. It is good that this is offered. I have tried many programs that do this kind of theme changing, only to find my system in a bit of an aesthetic mess after uninstalling it.

If you want even more theme choices, get your hands on XP All-In-One Styler. I had no success changing my login screen using this, but the themes that come with it are something else. You can use a combination of the various components to make your own personalised theme.

There are so many ways to change the appearance of XP. It is just one way to make the workday a little more interesting.

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Chronobis is a utility that is a nice workaround to this problem. Chronobis accesses the Outlook Web Access data, and synchronises it with a Windows Mobile calendar client. The only requirement is that you are able to access Outlook Web Access from a public or home computer. This should be available to most people.

Chronobis is still in Beta development, so there are a lot of things lacking over a direct Exchange connection. The sync currently only works with calendar, and it only transfers data to your device. If you add new calendar entries on your device, these changes won’t be transferred back to your Exchange account. This problem can currently be solved with an ActiveSync connection when you are next at your computer. This makes it convenient enough to use.

I look forward to seeing Chronobis evolve. Of course mail, tasks and contacts are important features to sync. There are lots of hints in the software and the forums, that these features will be made available in the future, and that the sync will occur both ways. This will be a real gem if all these features become a reality.

This program is of no use to you if you are already able to connect directly to an Exchange server directly from your device.

Get your copy of Chronobis for free from Chronobis.com.

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How-to: Use your computer to alert you of incoming land line calls: This article looks at how you can connect your phone to your computer via a modem. We then look at a number of utilities we can use to pop up a caller ID message on our screen telling us who is calling. This can be used to track your calls, or to block unwanted calls. It is easier to setup than it sounds. 

Windows Mobile: Tools to improve your data input speed: This article looks at a number of software keyboards you can download and use on a Windows Mobile Device. The built in keyboard is fairly small, making data entry extremely slow. Taking advantage of these keyboards will help you get the job done much quicker.

Vista: I noticed while writing this article, that it has been exactly 1 year that I have been running Vista on my computer. There were some early hiccups as it was new (and still the shop install), but I reckon that it is great. I would not go back to XP. Most of the problems I have seen over the last year are with laptop manufacturers installing Vista on computers that only just scrape into the Vistas minimum requirements.

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When I am told that a computer is running slow, the first thing I do is look in the locations that call these programs to load, and I cull the programs that are not necessary. There are numerous locations (registry, startup folders and win.ini) where these programs are called from, so the process can take quite a while.

Startup Manager is a free utility that shows you each of these locations in a single, easy to use interface. Just check out the screenshot of it. This is certainly a no nonsense program.

Startup Manager shows you what is going to be loaded at startup. All you need to do is untick the items that you no longer want to be part of your daily life.

The startup programs should probably be checked every 6 or so months to keep your computer running lean. The list can expand very quickly, often without the users knowledge. Using this utility can save a lot of time. It is one of those useful programs to keep on a USB disk, so that you can load it up quickly in the case a friend is in need.

Get your copy of Startup Manager for free from StartupManager.org.

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