If you are reading this article, I suppose you are still using Windows XP at this very moment. I hope you know that Windows 7 is already out and if you have heard of anything bad about Microsoft Windows Vista, fred not, cause Windows 7 is seriously a lot better than Windows Vista.

For us, we still have customers using Windows XP and their reasons are:-

• “why spend extra when everything is working fine?”
• “it’s working with my current hardware and software, so no reason to  introduce unforeseeable problems into our environment”
• “we are comfortable with Windows XP so no point wasting time to learn anything new”

As you can see, the bottomline is the inertia to upgrade and the mentality of “don’t fix when ain’t broken”.

If Can’t Beat Them, Join Them

There are actually tonnes of reasons for you to upgrade to Windows 7, which we’ll probably list in another article, but for now, if the users are  still comfortable with Windows XP and don’t intend to upgrade any time sooner, the only thing we can help is to improve the performance of Windows XP so that it can run as good as new (new as in the time when they bought their system then…)

So, for those who are still using Windows XP, you can do the following to  enhance your Windows XP eXPerience:-

1. Defragment your hard disks
   • Even if you have a fresh installation of XP, you should regularly defragment all your system’s physical hard disks.
   • To run the system defragmenter, use the defrag command or run dfrg.msc.
   • I recommend doing so at least once a month, however, do note that you should not be running any other program, including your screen saver, when you are  running the defragmentation program.
2. Periodically clear the Prefetch folder
   • Found at %Windows%\prefetch, the prefetch folder contains pointers that help the system load programs that you’ve recently run. Over time, the accumulation of little-used entries can degrade system performance.
   • Empty this folder about once a month; Do note that cleaning it out much more often will degrade performance.
3. Disable unneeded services
   • By default, XP installs services that many users don’t need. Disabling unnecessary services makes the resources that they used available to other applications.
   • You can use the Msconfig utility’s Services tab to disable services.
4. Get rid of unneeded Startup programs
   • Programs that automatically install icons in the system tray and Startup folder are those you need to look out for. Although they usually add no functionality, they do eat away at system resources.
   • To get rid of these parasites, run Msconfig, click the Startup tab, and clear the check box for each program you want to disable.
5. Adjust the Visual Effects setting
   • For systems that don’t have a lot of CPU power (less than 800MHz), you can boost screen performance by changing the Visual Effects settings.
   • Open the Control Panel System applet, click the Advanced tab, click the Settings button in the Performance area, then select the “Adjust for best performance” option.
6. Preset the paging file size
   • When your system needs more memory than it has, Windows expands the paging file and all other system functions stop until the expansion is complete.
   • Setting the maximum paging file size to twice the amount of physical RAM typically lets you avoid that performance hit.
   • Open the System applet, select the Advanced tab, and click the Settings button under Performance. In the Performance Options window, select the Advanced tab, then click Change under “Virtual memory”. Enter the desired maximum paging file size in the “Maximum size” field.
7. Get a second hard disk
   • With today’s high performance systems, the performance bottleneck is almost always the I/O subsystem. Spreading I/O over multiple hard disks relieves that choke point.
   • Put your OS on one drive and your applications on the other.
   • Adding a drive also helps you keep the recommended 20 percent free space on your system drive.
8. Use the DMA setting for all your hard disks
   • When you add a second hard disk, XP often automatically sets it to the slowest Programmed I/O (PIO) mode. Most of today’s drives are capable of using the far more efficient direct memory access (DMA) setting.
   • To change the drive settings, open the System applet, click the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager. Expand “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” and open the properties of the Primary IDE Channel. Select the Advanced Settings tab, and select “DMA if available” from the Transfer Mode drop-down list under both Device 0 and Device 1.
9. Paging File Location
   • If you use a two-drive system, you can enhance performance by moving the paging file I/O to a different disk spindle than the one the OS uses.
   • To do so, open the System applet, select the Advanced tab, and click the Settings button under Performance.
   • Select the Advanced tab in the new window, click Change under “Virtual memory,” and select your system’s second drive from the Drive list.
10. Get more RAM
    • Getting an adequate amount of RAM is the most effective way to improve XP’s performance. If you don’t have enough RAM, no amount of tweaking will make your system run faster.
    • Every XP system should have a minimum of 512MB of RAM. For power users, 2048MB is even better.

So, this sums up what you need to do to improve the performance of your Windows XP system. If you have any other tips, do feel free to comment below.

To determine whether you are eligible for the grant, let’s go through the following checklists:-

• Are you a GST-registered merchant/trader?
• Are you still using Microsoft Excel and NOT using any other proper accounting software for your accounting and book-keeping function?
• Are you pondering over the possible purchase of an accounting software but was put back by its high cost?
• Do you wish that the Singapore government will help you to fund part of your accounting software purchase in order to lighten up your load?

If you answer ‘Yes’ to every one of the question above, you are in luck!!

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has partnered with each other and spearhead a new government grant called the Accounting Software Assistance Scheme.

This scheme will be valid only from July 1st, 2009 to March 31st, 2012 and it is to encourage businesses to implement accounting software so that SMEs can improve their record keeping practises and GST (Goods & Services Tax) compliances.

This scheme will be helping the SMEs to defray the cost of purchasing and setting up of the accounting software, as well as training on the use of the software.

For more information regarding this scheme, please feel free to contact us. We’ll be able to assist you from the initial consultation to the implementation and the final training and application for the scheme.

You may also go to http://asas.sg for more information.

All current customers or new MYOB customers are eligible for this lucky draw, as long as you buy a new full pack of the MYOB product will do.

Terms & Conditions:-

• Qualifying products are MYOB Accounting, MYOB Premier or MYOB Premier Plus
• Purchase period is between March 1st, 2010 and March 31st, 2010
• Registration of software MUST be done by April 9th, 2010
• MYOB will select the lucky customer and send them their copy of the Windows 7 by April 30th, 2010

For enquiry, please feel free to contact us.

Following are the Windows® 7 products released on March 1st 2010:

• MYOB Accounting 18.3.2
• MYOB Premier version 12.3.2
• MYOB Premier Plus version 12.3.2

The benefits of using a Compatible with Windows 7 product:

• Passed Microsoft designed tests to minimize the possibility of crashes, hangs, and reboots.
• Represents a commitment that the product will continue to work over the life of Windows 7.
• Meets privacy standards set forth by the Anti-Spyware Coalition.
• Installs cleanly and reliably.
• Eliminates unnecessary reboots.

Following is the message from MYOB to our customers:

“ You have enough to think about with your business – your technology should not be a worry. Save time and money by purchasing “Compatible with Windows 7” applications such as MYOB Accounting and MYOB Premier. Applications that carry the Windows 7 logo have signed executables and drivers for authencity, and have passed Microsoft designed tests to help ensure they install readily and run reliably
with minimal number of hangs, crashes or restarts.”

Follow these steps to add odd and even page headers to your Word 2007 documents:

• Click anywhere on page 1.
• On the Insert tab, click Header in the Header & Footer group.
• Click Austere (Odd Page) or any Header formatted for odd pages.
• Under Header & Footer Tools, click the Design tab and then click to select the Different Odd & Even Pages check box in the Options group.
• Click the Next Section button in the Navigation group.
• Click Header in the Header & Footer group.
• Click Austere (Even Page).

If your document already has a header that is not formatted for odd and even pages, you don’t have to delete it and start over. You can simply convert it to an odd/even format by following these steps:

• Double-click the header area in your document.
• Under Header & Footer Tools, click the Design tab, and then select the Different Odd & Even Pages check box in the Options group.
• Click the Next Section button in the Navigation group.
• Click Header in the Header & Footer group.
• Click Austere (Even Page) or any Header formatted for even pages.

You can also create odd and even footers for your Word 2007 documents. Simply follow the steps above, substituting the word footer for header.

• Click the photo to select it.
• Under Picture Tools, click the Format tab.
• In the Picture Styles group, click the down arrow once to display Row 2 of the overall visual styles. Point to the Reflected Rounded Rectangle style, which is the first style in the second row. Word displays a preview of the style.
• Click the Reflected Rounded Rectangle Style to apply it.

You can also preview a dropped shadow before applying it. Follow these steps:

• Click the photo to select it.
• Under Picture Tools, click the Format tab.
• In the Picture Styles group, point to the Drop Shadow style, which is the fourth style in the first row.
• After you see a preview of the style, click to apply the style.
• Under Picture Styles, click Picture Effects.
• Point to Shadow.
• Click Shadow Options.
• Move the distance slider to 45 pt.
• Click Close.

• Right-click any toolbar.
• Click Drawing.
• Click AutoShapes on the Drawing toolbar.
• Point to Basic Shapes and click Rectangle.
• Click and drag in your document where you want to position the rectangle.
• Click the Fill Color button’s drop-down arrow in the Drawing toolbar.
• Click Fill Effects and then click the Picture tab.
• Click the Select Picture button.
• Navigate to the picture and click Insert. Click OK.
• With the shape still selected, right-click the shape and select Add Text.
• Type the text you want at the prompt.
• Select and right-click the text.
• Click Font.
• Choose the desired font, font size, color, etc. from the Font dialog box and then click OK.

You can position the text within the shape by adding blank lines, spacing, indents, or any other paragraph formatting you wish.

1. Open the workbook containing the report you want to send.
2. Press [Alt][F11].
3. In the Project-VBA Project pane, double-click ThisWorkbook.
4. Go to Insert | Procedure.
5. Click in the Name text box and enter WeeklyReportEmail. Click OK.
6. At the prompt, enter the following code:
   • Dim DistList As Variant
   • DistList = Array(“name1@company.com”, “name2@company.com”, “name3@company.com”)
   • ActiveWorkbook.Sendmail Recipients: = DistList
7. Press [Alt]Q.
8. Press [Alt][F8].
9. Click WeeklyReportEmail in the Macro list.
10. Click the Options button.
11. In the Ctrl+ box, enter m. Click OK.

Now when you need to send a report to everyone on your distribution list just open the workbook and press [Ctrl]M.

Many e-mail hoaxes will trick you into forwarding messages about fake viruses or other fabricated stories. These e-mails waste time, clog inboxes, and might cause embarrassment when they’re proven untrue. But there are other, more insidious types of fraud that might end up costing you a lot of money.

About advance fee frauds

An advance fee fraud is a scam that hooks you with the false promise of large sums of money for little or no effort on your part.

An advance fee fraud is a scam that hooks you with the false promise of large sums of money for little or no effort on your part. Once you’re deeply involved in the scam, you’re asked to pay certain amounts of money to expedite the process. You end up not making a dime.

Here are a few examples of the most popular advance fee frauds:

• A foreign government official would like your assistance in transferring funds and will pay you a hefty commission if you agree.
• You stand to inherit millions of dollars from a relative you don’t remember.
• You’ve won a prize or a lottery (perhaps one from a foreign country) that you don’t remember entering.

Spotting a fraud: 7 signs of a scam

If you think an e-mail you received is a scam, one place to check is the Urban Legends Reference Pages list of examples. However, these scams can come in thousands of different forms.

Here are seven more tell-tale signs of a scam:

1. You don’t know the person who has sent you the message.
2. You are promised untold sums of money for little or no effort on your part.
3. You are asked to provide money up front for questionable activities, a processing fee, or to pay the cost of expediting the process.
4. You are asked to provide your bank account number or other personal financial information, even if the sender offers to deposit money into it.
5. The request contains a sense of urgency.
6. The sender repeatedly requests confidentiality.
7. The sender offers to send you photocopies of government certificates, banking information, or other “evidence” that their activity is legitimate (these are fake).

Image extracted from http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2007/07/17/101623_money-confession-nigerian-scam.html

Before you begin writing your report in Word 2007, follow these steps to add headers, footers, a confidential watermark, and a cover page.

1. Open a blank Word 2007 document and click the Insert tab.
2. Click the Quick Parts command drop-down arrow in the Text group.
3. Click the Building Blocks Organizer.
4. Scroll to the Footer gallery and select Tiles.
5. Click the Insert button.
6. Click the Close Header And Footer button.
7. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
8. Click the Quick Parts command drop-down arrow in the Text group.
9. Click the Building Blocks Organizer.
10. Scroll to the Header gallery and select Tiles.
11. Click the Insert button.
12. Click the Close Header And Footer button.
13. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
14. Click the Quick Parts drop-down arrow in the Text group.
15. Click the Building Blocks Organizer.
16. Scroll to the Watermark Gallery and click Confidential 1.
17. Click the Insert button.
18. Click the Quick Parts command drop-down arrow in the Text group.
19. Click the Building Blocks Organizer.
20. Click Tiles in the Cover Page Gallery.
21. Click the Insert button.
22. Scroll to and double-click the footer section in the document.
23. Click Page Number in the Header & Footer group in the Ribbon.
24. Click Format Page Numbers.
25. Type 0 in the Start At text box and click OK.
26. Click the Close Header And Footer button.

Assemble Professional Documents with Word 2007's Building Blocks