How Dumb Is That?

If you are using Windows 8, you might have figured out by now how to close an app, but then again you may not. It isn’t intuitive at all.

An example is the Mail app. (I don’t know why anyone would use it, but it’s there so I’ll use this.)  Once Mail is opened there doesn’t seem to be any way to close it.  There is no Menu, so no ‘Close’.  There is no little ‘x’ in the upper right corner. So how do you close Mail? Or any other App for that matter?

So far I’ve found two ways. (There may be more!) Besides just rebooting, which may be how some users are closing Mail, pressing the Win key and D key at the same time will take you to the Desktop.  Then in the far upper left corner of your screen. is a tiny little Mail icon.



Right click that tiny icon and get this:

Click Close and then Mail closes.

OK, yep that’s dumb. Now if you think that’s the only way to close mail, think again.

Once Mail is open and you want to close it, move your cursor to the very top of the screen and with the little hand that shows up, drag it down to the bottom of the screen and Mail is closed.

(I tried to get a screenshot of this process, but for some reason all I couldn't get a screenshot to work.)

I simply could not get this to work using the touch pad, it was the mouse or Mail didn’t close.

This seems to be even more dumb to me.

The more I use Windows 8, the less I like it. I feel like Microsoft threw me under the bus.

Maybe Windows 8.1 will be better, but I am not holding my breath.

The Awful Ask Toolbar

That blankety blank Ask Toolbar installed stealthily on my computer today.

I know how it usually gets on computers. It piggy backs on downloads for stuff folks want and if we aren’t careful and watch what we click or don’t uncheck, that nasty little sucker installs on computers.

Except in my case, I didn’t download or install anything today. I didn’t download or install anything yesterday either.

The only thing I could figure is I must have inadvertently touched a link on a web page somewhere that caused this sneaky toolbar to install. I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it, but WinPatrol popped up and asked if I wanted to allow the Ask Toolbar to add itself to my Startup.

I couldn’t believe it! But there it was in the Control Panel/Programs and Features!  The date of the install showed 8/16/2013, today’s date.

So since I didn’t download anything or install anything, how or where did I get this nasty toolbar? After I uninstalled the awful Ask,  I decided to investigate.

First I looked at the Event viewer in Administrative tools. Whoa! Tons of entries for APNMCP. A Google search let me know this was part of the Ask Toolbar. I kept looking at the Event viewer and saw an entry for APNMCP on 8/12/2013! So that set the old brain cells churning, I reinstalled Cute PDF Writer on the 12th! As I remembered, the install wanted me to install the Ask toolbar, but I unchecked the boxes and denied the install. Apparently it didn’t take ‘NO’ for an answer.

Since I had used Revo Uninstaller to remove this sneaky toolbar, I couldn’t find anything else about the Ask install. However, I have a Dell computer that I use just for testing stuff, so I fired it up, downloaded and installed Cute PDF Writer.

What an eye opener. This install was every user’s nightmare. The following screenshots tell the tale. Click an image to get the larger view.

The first screen after I started the install. Note the check boxes oh so conveniently already checked.



I unchecked the boxes and clicked next.



Then the installer wanted me to install Price Finder, which of course I declined.  Fortunately this didn’t install anyway, at least I can’t find it.

Finally after the install completed a browser window opened with the Read Me and then another window opened.



I closed the window and looked at the Add-ons in Firefox. Yep, there it was, although it was disabled.

I started looking.  In MSCONFG it was in Startup.



It was also in MSCONFIG/Services.



I looked some more, this time in Programs on the C drive. Yep, there it was!



Then I looked in the Temp Directory in AppData/Local and found a lot of other stuff including two log files, and therein tells the tale.

This is a partial listing from the log file, a screenshot.



I left all of this on my test computer and will wait to see just when the Ask Toolbar shows up, if it does. But it does show in the Control Panel/ Programs and Features, so I expect it will bare it’s ugly self eventually.

I have seen a lot of reprehensible behavior from unsavory folks and I have read a lot about the nasty Ask Toolbar. This is absolutely one of the worst and I am now recommending NEVER install Cute PDF Reader.  There are other utilities that will do the job and won’t install the awful Ask Toolbar without your permission.

The Nitro Reader will do the job and it’s free and when I installed it, no offer of the awful Ask Toolbar was there.

Don't Print it, 'PDF' it!

UPDATE! Since the experience I had today with the Awful Ask Toolbar, I suggest using Nitro Reader.

I used to print lots of stuff. I printed web sites with how to do stuff, because it might come in handy later. It probably would have come in handy, if I had been able to find that printed page when I needed it.

I had piles and piles of printed stuff.  I went through so much paper and so much ink!

Then I got smart and started printing all this stuff to PDF files and saved them all in my digital file cabinet. No more trying to find something I printed a month ago in that ever growing stack of printed stuff.  No more buying lots of paper and especially that expensive printer ink.

I used Cute PDF Writer.

Installing Cute PDF Writer has some ‘gotchas’ though.  Just like all of the other used to be free of sneaky installs, Cute PDF Writer also has some ‘extras’ if you aren’t careful during the install.

Those gotchas were worse than I thought. Read here!

The download page can be a bit confusing, but just click the free download link and start the process. Be sure to note where you are saving the file. (I like to save the file instead of running them, in order have them in case I need to reinstall something later.)

Click the images to view a larger size.



Once you have the file, click it to install it and watch carefully during the install.First come the infamous Ask toolbar. You DON’T want it, so  un-check those already checked boxes.



Then the installer wants you to install ‘Hotspot Shield’. Whatever that is, I don’t think you want that either, so click the ‘Decline’ button.



Then Cute PDF Writer will install and once more try to get you to get the Ask toolbar, just decline it.

It’s worth the hassle.  While I despise the way shareware sometimes (usually) wants to push unwanted junk on to users, I know why they do it. They need the $$ and this is one way to get paid for their wares.  You just have to be careful during the install.

Now that you have a new ‘printer’ to print to PDF, why not get a great PDF Reader to read all of those files?  I like PDF-XChange Viewer.

The download link is right there on the first page.



So save some trees, not to mention some dollars and print to PDF using Nitro Reader!

The Quick Access Toolbar in Outlook 2010

Of all the programs Microsoft has made, my very favorite is Microsoft office’s Outlook. I got hooked on Outlook way back in 1998 when Microsoft made it free (because Outlook 1997 was so bad). Since then I have always used Outlook, even though later versions have not been free. It is in fact rather pricey especially when there are so many good free email programs available.

But Outlook manages my life.  The reminders alone make it worth while to me. It tells me when my doggy needs her monthly heart worm medicine. It tells me when it’s time to take my daily vitamins, and it tells me a host of other things.

All those ribbons in Outlook are a bit daunting at times, but the Quick Access toolbar makes the ribbons work for me.

(Click images for a larger view)

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To add just what you want to the Quick Access toolbar, in Outlook click File, then Quick Access Toolbar.

Then add the items you want for easy access.



Once you have just what you need on the Quick Access toolbar, you can hide the ribbon for more room for reading email.





I have tried to find a program that will work for me that is free. There are lots and lots of email programs that are free and lots more that aren’t free but not so expensive as Outlook. Some are pretty good, but so far I haven’t found one that would really work for me.

The Name Game..With Microsoft

Microsoft makes great software.  More computers use Windows than any other operating system available.

They make a great office suite and they also make my favorite web editor, Expression Web.

But Microsoft has a naming problem. They manage to name the different versions of Windows with names that don’t confuse folks, but some of the products they make have names that surely confuse.

If you want to tell someone about Explorer, you better be sure to preface Explorer with either Internet or Windows. While it’s true both of these products actually explore something, they don’t explore the same things.

Then there is Outlook.  ‘Do you mean Outlook Express or the Outlook that comes with Microsoft Office?’ (There is no telling how many times I have asked that question when trying to troubleshoot an email problem!) And there is outlook.com as well!

Not to be outdone with naming email programs, here comes Windows Mail, then comes Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Mail 2012. These are all email programs, but they are totally NOT the same.

There was a confusion about Messenger as well. There was Windows Messenger Service and just plain Messenger. I think both of those are obsolete, but I imagine they may be in use by some folks. (Microsoft bought Skype and Messenger is now incorporated into Skype.)

Microsoft’s Windows 8 is still having a problem with names. While in the beta stage, The start page for windows 8 was being called ‘Metro’ by Microsoft. (Still is by a lot of folks!)  But then a Germany-based conglomerate called Metro AG, said, ‘Metro’ is their trademark, so now that ugly start screen is called ‘Windows 8 Modern UI’ which doesn’t make it look any better.

As if that isn’t enough, now Microsoft is having a problem with the name ‘SkyDrive’, the online service for too many things to count. How could they have not seen this blunder coming?  I think they need new trademark lawyers or whoever it is that searches trademarks.

Then again, maybe they need someone to name everything else, and just stop using outlook, explorer, live and probably some other unoriginal names as well.

Magic Desktop

Today I uninstalled an unwanted program. I used Revo Uninstaller and while it was loading I noticed a program called Magic Desktop. I had no idea what it was, but figured it was a game and decided to check it out.

Dummy me! I found the program and opened it and could not get out of it. So decided to use the good old ctrl, alt, delete to get to Task Manager to stop the process. That's when I discovered Task Manager would not open.

ACK!



A System Restore point from yesterday saved me from needing a total restore and brought back my Task Manager.

According to Programs and Features, this was installed on 11/29/2011.  I surely should have noticed it before now!

But guess I didn't.  Apparently this was part of the crapware included with my computer, as HP is listed as one of EasyBits partners. I can't understand why I just now noticed it. I thought I had uninstalled all the junk when I first first got this laptop, but I sure missed that one. I probably thought it was a game if I indeed noticed it at all, and I do like games.

So I am thinking I should pay more attention to what's included on a new computer. There should be a big fat warning somewhere before this program executes, but nothing indicated what it was going to do before it started.

But this is also a warning! If you get a new computer with Magic Desktop by EasyBits Software, do NOT open this on your main profile.  It will totally change everything on your Desktop, disabling Task Manager among other things. I didn't check to see what else it did, because I just wanted it gone and my Task Manager back.

So unless you are setting up a computer for  your very young kids, UNINSTALL THIS program!  I can see where it would be good for really young children (under the age of six) but otherwise, get rid of it ASAP!