Dreamweaver to PDF

A while ago I was stumped by the question of how to convert web pages authored in Dreamweaver to pdf files. This is probably not on the horizon of most of you, however for the record there is a simple answer. Microsoft Word opens html documents happily, and for the most part renders them fairly faithfully, although it sometimes struggles with images used as a background in a table. It is a simple matter then to convert the Word document to a pdf.

Accessing Favourites and Bookmarks

I have collected thousands of website addresses over the years, storing them as either Favourites (Internet Explorer) or Bookmarks (Firefox). Being a tidy Kiwi, I have created a fairly extensive filing system, creating a folder for each area of interest, and storing the Bookmarks in the appropriate folder. I drag and drop folders (and items within folders) to order them according to frequency of use. So far, so good. The problem is that when I use a Bookmarks folder down the bottom of the pile, I face a long scroll to get to the bottom, and often have to repeat that long scroll each time I want to call up a new website. There are two solutions to the problem. IE has a Favourites Bar and Firefox a Bookmarks Toolbar, to which you can drag folders for easy access (you reach both through the browser's View menu). Alternatively, you can have a sidebar at the left-hand side of your screen, similar to the History sidebar, which is easily scrollable and can be easily shown or removed. The IE sidebar is found at View/Explorer Bars/Favourites, and the Firefox version at View/Sidebar/Bookmarks. Incidentally, a Firefox add-on called FEBE can automatically back up all your Bookmarks (I back up weekly, because I would hate to lose all those years of work collecting).

Using email as to-do list

Have you ever thought of using your email program as a to-do list? I am constantly thinking of important things needing to be done when I am away from my work desk, but I am getting to that stage in life where if I don't write something down it is as quickly forgotten again. I always carry a small pocket diary and jot essential things into that, but if I am at home, I send myself an email with a reminder, and then it's waiting for me when I get to work. It saves losing scraps of paper, or remembering to look at them. Even at work, I will email myself a reminder of some important task. Because I monitor my emails numerous times through the day, the reminder is constantly there in front of me, and it cuts down the clutter on my desk.
Another solution is electronic post-it notes. A freeware example is Simple Sticky Notes. Double-click the program's icon in your system tray, and it creates a note for you. Type in what you want to remember, and you're done. You can drag the note to any spot on your desktop. There are more complex paid programs, which for instance can post notes inside a Word document or in your web browser, but this one is straightforward and simple to use.

When your PC won't boot

There's nothing to make the blood run cold in your veins like a PC that won't boot - and Murphy's Law ensures that it happens at the most critical time. It happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, I had done a major back-up of data a short time previously, so was not rendered a total gibbering wreck on the spot. When I got the machine back from the repair shop, it turned out that a cable from the DVD player was shorting on the case - not something I would immediately have thought of. A simple problem, but it did set me back $90 for the tech's time.
Before you run to the shop, there are quite a few things you can do yourself if your PC won't start. This PC World article by Lincoln Spector gives you a good run-down in simple language. My only comment is that I am surprised he does not recommend pressing the F8 key on start-up (to start the computer in Safe Mode) as a first restort. In the past I have found that effective in at least 50% of cases.