Thursday, July 18, 2013

Save the date: Join us for Project Conference 2014 in Anaheim, CA

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AppId is over the quota

Project Conference is back by popular demand: Mark your calendar now to join us February 2-5 for Project Conference 2014. After over 1,000 people from around the world made Project Conference 2012 a huge success in Arizona, our expectations are even higher for an excellent event this time around in Anaheim, California--right next door to the happiest place on earth and just a quick trip from some of North America's most loved beaches. Have a look at our quick teaser video packed with pictures from last time!

Can't view this video? You can also watch it here.

That's the question everyone is asking. Simply click through to the official Project Conference 2014 website and submit your email address to be notified when tickets go on sale.

Start connecting with Project Conference attendees on our LinkedIn Group or join the broader conversation with #ProjConf on Twitter @msftProject.

It's time to anticipate greatness. The countdown to Project Conference 2014 has begun!


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Office 365 now available in 38 new markets

Global networkOffice 365 builds commercial availability in 38 new markets, 3 new languages, and 5 new currencies.  Office 365 is now available worldwide on 127 markets, and it is easier for customers to pay with their method of choice.  All Office-365-plans are now available for customers in the Philippines and Thailand to the subscribe.  The other new markets can now start a 120-day trial before a paid subscription will be made available.

The new languages are Turkish, Arabic and Dutch. This increases the number of Office 365 languages up to 36, including English.

New markets are: Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, Lebanon, Jamaica, Bolivia, Brunei, Nicaragua, Honduras, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Georgia, Ghana, Mauritius, Macao SAR, Iraq, Bermuda, Rwanda, Belize, Cameroon, Nepal, Moldova, Mongolia, Zimbabwe, Barbados, Cape Verde, Fiji, Kyrgyzstan, US Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Angola, Libya, [1] Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Yemen.[2]

New payment are accepted currencies: Brazilian real (BRL), Mexican peso (MXN), Malaysian Ringgit (MYR), Hong Kong dollars (HKD), Indian rupee (INR).

We are pleased to bring you the Office 365 for more customers around the world.  You can see, hereis the complete list of markets Office 365.

[1] Five markets later this year offering no academic calendar: Virgin Islands, United States, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Angola and Libya

[2] Three markets will have academic offerings, but not to later studies: Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Yemen.


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Review: Free-OCR performs adequately on text docs

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AppId is over the quota
Free-OCR If your OCR needs are small, then this limited but free online service will extract your text just fine.

Download Now

To convert only a few small documents. there's no need to install a full-blown OCR program. You can use a free service like Free-OCR (also known as Free-OCR.com) and upload a scan of your document. File size is limited to 2MB and 5000 pixels in any direction, about 150 dpi for a standard page. The OCR engine handles 29 languages, including English.

Let's give Free-OCR some credit for admitting that CAPTCHAs are annoying.

Although you don't have to register or even fork over your email address, the Free-OCR site does make you fill in one of those annoying CAPTCHAs. (Thanks, Web bad guys, for making everyone's life more difficult.) Those CAPTCHAs serve to remind one just how difficult OCR can be. If humans, with our incredible heuristic abilities, occasionally have problems with these, just think how poor straight-line software perusing a stream of bits must feel.

Free-OCR did a decent job of extracting the text from my test documents. With standard typed pages, you should have no problems. The site does not output files or recreate documents. It simply places the extracted text in a box for cutting and pasting. As a matter of fact, embedded graphics tend to confuse the output.

Free-OCR does a nice job on text, but has trouble with even simple graphic elements.

Free-OCR is not suitable for large jobs or overly complex documents, but when all you need is to quickly get the text out of a basic document scan, it does nicely in most cases.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can use this Web-based software.


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Review: Abbyy FineReader 11 Professional Edition does clean OCR and is easy to use

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AppId is over the quota

Anyone who's purchased a multifunction printer or scanner recently will probably recognize the name FineReader, as the Sprint version ships with many such products. Obviously, there are deals being made, but there's no questioning that the program also does a very nice job of OCR. Text extraction is great, though it's not quite as good at recreating complex documents in Word and RTF files as Acrobat or OmniPage.

Abbyy FineReader 11 Professional ($170, 15-day free trial) is straightforward and easy to use. The main window shows a list of images in a column to the far left, the image being processed in a pane next to it, and the OCR'd text and elements in a pane on the right side. This side-by-side arrangement, shared with OmniPage Standard 18, makes it super-easy to spot mistakes and compare page elements.

Abbyy FineReader 11 Professional's easy-to-understand interface makes it easy to use even if you're new to OCR.

Abbyy FineReader 11 is fast, recognizes text in 189 languages, and outputs in a number of different formats including editable PDFs, Microsoft Word, ePub and even open-source PDF competitor DjVu.

FineReader created a searchable PDF of my yearbook scans just fine, but like OmniPage, it was over-zealous at rotating images trying to find text until I turned off this feature. With most OCR programs, you're better off using Windows' own Photo Viewer to rotate scans to their correct orientation before OCR'ing.

Jon L. Jacobi has worked with computers since you flipped switches and punched cards to program them. He studied music at Juilliard, and now he power-mods his car for kicks.
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The Access 2013 Runtime now available for download

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Access LogoAfter a long, hard effort by many people, the stars have finally aligned. The Access team is pleased to announce the release of the Access 2013 Runtime! We know lots of you are very anxious to get your hands on the Access 2013 Runtime. You can now go and download the Access 2013 Runtime from the following location:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0c44d623-a8bc-4be5-a561-f11d33602505

The Access 2013 Runtime is available for download in 38 languages.

Microsoft Access 2013 provides a rich platform for developing database management solutions with easy-to-use customization tools. If no end user customization is required (including report modifications), you can choose to distribute those Access 2013 solutions so that they run without requiring a full installation of Access 2013. To do so, you must package and distribute your application with the Access 2013 Runtime.

Web-based apps for SharePoint that are built with Access 2013 do not require a runtime--only a supported web browser is required.

Enjoy!


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Webinar: Office Mobile for iPhone

Dave Ludwig is a content developer for Office.com.

Office webinar logoThe webinar is over. Go to http://aka.ms/offweb for more information, how to join the series.

This week Webinar to learn about Office Mobile for the iPhone. We move on to start and the accessing, viewing and editing Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations.

What do you learn in Tuesday's webinar

How can I have Office Mobile for iPhone to get how to open e-Mail either from the cloud or MessagesHow to read and navigate FilesHow to edit files, Word, Excel and PowerPoint--and add to save CommentsHow and share

References for this webinar

--Dave Ludwig


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Webinar: Getting things done with Office Web Apps

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AppId is over the quota

You can access and share Office documents with browser-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. Learn some of the basics and the latest features of these free tools.

Can't see this video? It's also available at Microsoft Showcase? Need a sneak peek? Here's a 30-second trailer.

What you will learn at Tuesday's webinar

Yes, Office Web Apps are different than Office 365 Storing docs with SkyDrive New features customers asked for Working on a doc with someone else at the same time

References for this webinar

Office Web Apps:

SkyDrive:

NEW! Download free Office Webinar Apps: Windows 8 App and the Windows Phone 8 App.

Go to http://aka.ms/offweb to join us live every Tuesday for an Office Webinar and a Q&A session.

--Doug Thomas


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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

OneNote Jump Start recording available

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AppId is over the quota

JumpStartA couple of weeks ago, we did a live, 2-hour course on getting started in OneNote 2013. It was all about getting organized, taking notes, and sharing information. If you missed it, no worries, because the recording is now available here: http://aka.ms/OneJump.

After you sign in to the Microsoft Virtual Academy site, you can watch the videos and follow along at your own pace. You can also download the OneNote workbook we used in the session.

The course uses examples that are common in the IT field, but the stuff we teach will ring true for people in other industries as well. I mean let's face it: we are bombarded with gobs of information every day. And OneNote is a great way to collect, organize, and make sense of it all.

So watch the videos when you're ready. Or share them out at your company so that other people can learn the power of taking notes, sharing, and collaborating with OneNote.

--Dave Ludwig and Doug Thomas

---------------
Download OneNote: onenote.com
Follow OneNote: twitter.com/msonenote
Like OneNote: facebook.com/MicrosoftOneNote


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Top travel tips for summer

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AppId is over the quota

Travel + LeisureKristin Luna is a seasoned journalist for a host of travel and lifestyles magazines and shares her adventures via her blog Camels & Chocolate. She also runs a digital marketing company, Odinn Media, and is the co-founder of Nashville-based tech conference KEEN Digital Summit.

Summer is nearly here, the taste of vacation hangs heavy in the air and if you haven't already planned your getaway, there's never a better time than the present. Here are some important things to remember--and tips to follow--as you begin to plot those summer adventures.

Some like it hot--go where the weather is less desirable (to some). New Mexico, Arizona or Palm Springs may be steamy in summer months, but if you can handle the (dry) heat--literally--you'll find lower prices and fewer crowds in the desert regions during June, July and August.Keep copies of all travel documents handy. Never leave home without back-up copies of your driver's license, passport and other important documents. I recommend scanning and inserting such images into a OneNote notebook and putting it in SkyDrive. That way you'll always have a copy at your fingertips from virtually anywhere on the planet (with an internet connection) via your PC, smartphone or the web.If flying, brush up on the latest TSA rules. Those traveling with small children ages 12 and under will be happy to learn that kids are no longer required to remove their shoes when passing through security (neither are adults over the age of 75). Other new rules for 2013? Small knives, golf clubs and other previously banned items are now allowed in carry-ons--but always check the TSA site before you go as the prohibitions are ever-changing.Consult the web for the "local's" experience. The new special edition OneNote travel notebook created in collaboration with Travel + Leisure allows users to get advice from T+L editors while planning their vacation and take advantage of their expertise to find where the locals eat, drink, shop, and go (while also using the notebook to organize and store all travel research, itineraries, notes, web clippings and more!). And when in doubt, ask your concierge--they are there to serve you, after all--or your social media network if you have a well-curated following of fellow travelers.Choose your luggage wisely. Flight 001 co-founder Brad Johns offers up four things to look for in the perfect suitcase: lightweight (with airlines charging for overweight bags, this is of utmost importance), layout (i.e., do you need a piece of luggage with dividers and pockets, or do you prefer to pack a case that is just one big open space?), sturdy wheels (with a carry-on, you want wheels that have a low profile; for a check-in, the wheels need to be strong enough to withstand being tossed around), and an unconventional-looking piece (so you can spot it easily as it comes down the beltway).Explore your own backyard. So often travelers forget about the experiences in their own backyard. Use summer as an excuse to check out that town two hours away you've always heard about but never visited or to take a road trip rather than flying. A campsite in a national park is far cheaper than a hotel room--plus, the views are way better.Pack in one color scheme. I've always adopted the single-palette tip to cut back on the number of extras like shoes, bags or jewelry needed, often choosing a color scheme of neutral accessories to match everything. A well-known celebrity stylist, who packs for actors and musicians going on long jaunts, recently told me that when it comes to summertime, pick things that are light and fresh and all go together. For example, bring a white jean or skirt that will go with every top--tank, tee or cardigan--you pack.Seek out free Wi-Fi hotspots. Want to save on data packages with your cell phone provider? You don't need to pay for Internet when so many chains like McDonald's and Starbucks now offer it up for free to patrons. For those who travel via car rather than plane, most RV parks and campgrounds also include complimentary Internet access (and cable, too). Want to phone home? Take advantage of the 60 minutes of Skype calls (per month) that is included with Office 365.Carry on when possible. Not only does it save you the money of checking a bag, it also prevents the hassle of having to wait for your bag to come down the luggage belt--while eliminating the risk of the airline losing your bag entirely (something that has happened to me far too many times). As a result, I've learned to pare down my necessities and cram it all into a carry-on if I'm traveling for 10 days or less.When flying, dress for comfort--not style. We're no longer in the golden days of air travel where frequent fliers are expected to dress to impress. Comfort reigns supreme. Dress in layers, wear materials like cotton or cashmere that breathe well and will keep you cozy, and be sure to don footwear that slips on and off easily for security check. If you have bulkier pieces, save space in your luggage and wear them on the plane instead--after all, they can always double as a blanket or a pillow (both things that airlines are skimping on these days).

--Kristin Luna

Kristin LunaCheck out Camels & Chocolate to follow Kristin's adventures and learn more expert travel tips.


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Office 365 news round-up

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Diese Woche Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) erinnert mich an John Donne's Gedicht "Niemand ist eine Insel." Microsoft hat ein ausgedehntes Netz von Partnern in allen Größen, von die alle eine entscheidende Rolle spielen bei der Herstellung unserer Produkte und Dienstleistungen ein Erfolg. Donnes Worten ausgedrückt, ist jeder unserer Partner "ein" Stück des Kontinents, ein Teil des Mains." Ich bin gedemütigt durch die unglaubliche Kreativität und das Engagement, die jeder unserer Partner auf die Mischung bringt.

WPC-2013 wurde ein bemerkenswerter Vorgang. Zu den Höhepunkten: Power BI für Office 365haben wir angekündigt, eine neue Self-Service-Business Intelligence (BI) bietet, ermöglicht Unternehmen an leistungsstarke neue Möglichkeiten in Excel und Office 365 Erkenntnisse aus ihren Daten gewinnen. Wir erleichtert nach Partnern für ihre Kunden den Übergang zwischen verschiedenen Versionen von Office 365. Windows 8 Partner Gelegenheitbesprochen. Wir veröffentlichten Untersuchungen, die belegen, dass Partner mit mehr als 50 Prozent ihres Umsatzes mit Bezug zu der Wolke haben Genuss höheren Rohertrag. Und wir unsere Top-Performance-Partner geehrt.

Wenn Sie noch nicht, sendet bitte lesen Sie in der Gast-Blog von Palmetto Technology Group, Wortell, SkyKick, CDW Corporationund Sapienta Holdings--einige der vielen Microsoft-Partner, die Kunden, die Migration zu Office 365 helfen. Bitte siehe auch unsere Ankündigung über die Verfügbarkeit der Office und SharePoint-Speicher in 22 neue Märkte.

Hier ist eine Zusammenfassung von einigen von diesen und anderen wichtigen Nachrichten aus den letzten paar Wochen:

Microsoft: It's Time to Pounce auf Cloud-Markt mit den richtigen Tools. Mit der großflächigen Einführung von Office 365 und Windows Azure ist der richtige Zeitpunkt für Partner in dem Reich Markt Cloud-Ready Kunden zu erschließen.

Microsoft COO Turner sagt, dass noch mehr Innovation kommen in diesem Jahr ist. Rede auf der Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft-COO Kevin Turner verspricht, dass Microsofts Geschäftsjahr 2014 werden seine größte Jahr der Innovation aller Zeiten.

Microsoft-Intros macht BI für Office 365. Microsoft kündigt Power BI für Office 365, eine neue Self-Service Business-Intelligence bietet gelieferten durch Excel und Office 365.

Microsoft Spreads Office Store für 22 neue Märkte, Intros Business-Intelligence-Tool. Die Microsoft Office und SharePoint-Speicher ist in 22 neue Märkte mit zusätzliche Sprachunterstützung für Französisch, Deutsch, Spanisch und Japanisch jetzt offen.

Microsoft bietet nahtlose Bewegung zwischen Office 365-SKUs #WPC13. Microsoft machte es möglich, nahtlos von einer Office-365-Kunden-Plan, oder SKU, auf einen anderen verschieben.

Poste Italiane zielt auf Cloud-Computing mit Office 365 binden. Poste Italiane, der staatlichen Postdienst in Italien, hat einen deal mit Microsoft-Italien, um seine digitalen Dokumenten-Services mit Office 365 integrieren.

Windows 8.1: neue Chance für Microsoft-Partner. Windows 8.1, die zur Fertigung Ende August veröffentlicht wird, bietet neue Möglichkeiten für Partner mehr apps auf weitere Geräte für Kunden zu bringen.


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Review: Instagram Explorer puts Instagram on display in Windows 8

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Sie mögen denken, eine Instagram-app, die Ihnen nicht erlaubt, Fotos zu machen wäre irgendwie sinnlos... aber Instagram-Explorer, eine Windows-8-app für die moderne Benutzeroberfläche hat viel Potenzial. Benutze es ist nicht anders als das Surfen auf der Website Instagram.com, aber Instagram-Explorer bringt diese Erfahrung in Windows 8 alternative Ansicht.

Schöne Bilder sehen noch schöner auf einer großen Leinwand.

Instagram Explorer-Standardansicht wird Ihre live-Feed, viel wie angezeigt, wenn Sie Instagram.com besuchen. Es ist eine schöne Abwechslung zum Anzeigen einige der wunderschönen Fotos findest du auf Instagram auf einen größeren Bildschirm. Es ist auch einfacher, Fotos kommentieren, wenn Sie geräumige Immobilien eine Windows 8 Desktop oder Laptop verwenden, und das Kommentarfeld wird auffälliger angezeigt hier, als es am Instagram.com ist.

Instagram-Explorer für Windows 8 zeigt Ihres Freundes-profile fast genau wie Sie sie auf Instagram.com sehen würde.

Instagram Explorer-Profil-Ansicht ist besser als die quadratischen Fliesen gleich große neueste Fotos auf Ihrem Smartphone anzeigen. Stattdessen Instagram Explorer — wie Instagram.com—displays von in verschiedenen Größen Fotos und einige ändert wie Sie suchen. Insgesamt ist die Wirkung weit optisch ansprechender als die mobile Ansicht.

Die app kostenlose, werbefinanziert schlägt Promis zu folgen.

Instagram Explorer schlägt "berühmt" Benutzer, die Sie möglicherweise, um Ihre Favoriten zu machen, aber ich fand diese Funktion überflüssig. Es schlug vor, ein paar Leute würde ich kannte (Katie Couric), einige, die ich hatte noch nie gehört (Cody Simpson?) und mehrere ich möchte (Kim Kardashian) vergessen. Klick auf einen beliebigen die Namensvorschläge können Sie diese Person Profil um check it out, zu besuchen, obwohl die app ein bisschen langsam war, manchmal umsteigen.

Wenn Sie ständig schnappen Fotos und teilen sie mit Ihrem Instagram-Anhänger, Instagram-Explorer möglicherweise ein bisschen eingeschränkt für Sie. Und wenn Sie nicht auf Windows 8 moderne Benutzeroberfläche angewiesen sind, haben Sie keine Notwendigkeit für diese app: Instagram.com bietet eine fast identische Feature-Set. Aber wenn Sie nach einer einfachen Möglichkeit suchen, sich zurückzulehnen und Fotos auf Instagram bei der Verwendung von Windows 8 durchsuchen, diese kostenlose app ist für Sie.

Hinweis: Die Download-Schaltfläche gelangen Sie in den Windows-laden, wo Sie herunterladen können diese Windows-8-app.

Liane Cassavoy ist ein Technologie-veteran und Wirtschaftsjournalist. Sie schreibt regelmäßig für PCWorld und schrieb über Geschäftsangelegenheiten und Produkte für Entrepreneur Magazine und anderen Publikationen. Sie ist Autorin von zwei Business Start-up Führer von Unternehmer Presse veröffentlicht.
Mehr von Liane Cassavoy


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Automatically plot multiple pieces of online data in your Excel spreadsheet

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AppId is over the quota

This post on exploring Webservice functions is brought to you by Lee Bizek, a Program Manager in the Excel Team. 

Automatically plot multiple pieces of online data in your Excel spreadsheet If you’ve ever wanted to incorporate data from online resources into Excel spreadsheets, now you can with the new Webservice function. With this new feature, you can add information such as stock quotes, weather, Bing Search results or even Twitter feeds to your spreadsheets—and you can make the information update automatically. In this post, we'll discuss some of the more advanced aspects of the Webservice function.

I’m starting with a spreadsheet I created to organize a group camping trip that includes the latest weather information from the internet. In this example, being aware of online weather updates helped us to prepare for the elements and also predict high and low tides because we wanted to go crabbing as part of the adventure. I’ll show you how to take this spreadsheet a step further to use the =FILTERXML(xml, xpath) to extract multiple records of data from the XML string with an array. This will allow you to automatically plot multiple pieces of data in your spreadsheet.  

Note: Before you start the exercise, be sure to review how to use Webservice functions to automatically update Excel 2013 spreadsheets with online data so that you know how to:

Use a =WEBSERVICE(url) function to get dataUse the =FILTERXML(xml, xpath) function to extract a single piece of data from the XML string

We’re going to set up a Webservice function call to the URL for the 10-day weather forecast and then pull out the details from the XML string. To do this, follow these steps: 

1. Open the example file Kamping 2013 – Start and Complete Sample Files.zip located at the end of this post (click the icon next to Attachment).

2. Go to http://www.wunderground.com/weather/api/d/docs?d=data/forecast10day to get the URL for the 10-day forecast. At the bottom of the page, you’ll see an example URL.

3. Copy the example URL and paste it into your Webservice function in cell B11 of your spreadsheet. (Note: Be sure to replace the API key and location information in the URL to the cell reference we used to incorporate data from an external source so that you can control the API key and zip code for both Webservice functions in the same place.)

4. In your Excel spreadsheet, select cell range B14:B23.

5. Click the Formula Editor Box and then type: 

=DATEVALUE(CONCATENATE(FILTERXML(B11, "//date//month"), "/", FILTERXML(B11, "//date//day")))

In this example, I am pulling out the month and day, CONCATENATING them together and then converting the string to a DATEVALUE.

6. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to execute the array. This action adds the brackets { } that indicate it is an array. Find more information about array formulas here.

7. Select cell range C14:C23, then type: =FILTERXML(B11, "//high//fahrenheit")

8. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER for the high temperature.

9. Select cell range D14:D23, then type: =FILTERXML(B11, "//low//fahrenheit")

10. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER for the low temperature.

11. Select cell range E14:E23, then type: =FILTERXML(B11, "//conditions")

12. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER for the conditions.

 

Note: To edit the formula, select all of the cells in the array, then click the Formula Editor. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to execute the new formula.

WEBSERVICE Functions are “non-volatile”, which means they refresh only when:

A referenced cell is edited

The entire workbook is refreshed (CTRL + ALT + F9)

Some text strings include spaces or non-URL-friendly characters instead of URL-friendly characters such as a zip code. You can still use the URL in the WEBSERVICE function, but it’s best to encode the string first. Use the =ENCODEURL(text) function to include text searches into your WEBSERVICE function URL. Learn more about ENCODEURL function here.

 

Now we are better prepared for packing and planning our crabbing activities!

--Lee Bizek, Excel Program Manager

Download the full example file Kamping 2013 – Start and Complete Sample Files.zip attached below. The example file also utilizes the tide data and includes XPATH filters in the WEBSERVICE Functions. Remember you can use this functionality for many different web services to pull in data that you can then analyze using Excel.

To use the web service in this example, go to www.wunderground.com and register for their Weather API to get your own API key. Once you have your API key, add it to the Weather tab. All WSF calls in the file will use this cell reference in the URL.


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Review: Batten down the hatches and man the.... railgun? in Leviathan Warships

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AppId is over the quota

Leviathan: Warships is a game of classic warship tactics...or would be, if Admiral Nelson had railguns and lasers at his disposal. Victorian styling, World War I armored battleships, and far-future force fields and beam weapons combine to give Leviathan a unique style that works perfectly for a tactical game.

Leviathan alternates between tactical orders and seeing those orders played out.

Although this game evokes Gratuitous Space Battles, it has differences as well. You give orders, see them carried out for ten seconds, then give new orders. This allows you to adjust your tactics as the battle evolves, reacting to new ships or new objectives.

There's a level of granularity to the control. Most weapons can auto-fire, selecting targets of opportunity, but you can also override this and pick some targets individually, on a case-by-case basis. In other words, you can assign some and leave some to autofire, and keep switching.

A great deal of information, such as ship status, targeting, plotted course, and visual range, is conveyed efficiently.

You must constantly make decisions in battle. One of the most important is your shield facing. Most ships have force fields, but they can face in only one of four directions, and it takes time to power down the shields from one facing and power them up in another, sometimes leaving your ship exposed on all sides. Weapons have minimum as well as maximum ranges: If your ship gets too close to an enemy, you will not be able to bring some weapons to bear on it.

Friendly fire is a real issue as well. If you aren't careful, some of your own ships will pass between an ally and an enemy they are firing at. Once you've given the orders for a turn, you can only watch them be carried out. You can't correct them mid-turn.

Raise forward shields! Plot course for intercept!

Battles are often won or lost before they begin, at the fleet- and ship-editing level. Each scenario offers only so many points to spend, and each weapon, defensive system, or hull type offers advantages and disadvantages. Weapon firing arcs are very important…do you maximize power along one axis, or try to cover all angles?

If feature lists and play options were the basis for reviews, Leviathan: Battleships would be a five-star game I'd likely play long after the review had gone to press. However, implementation matters, and while Leviathan: Battleship is by no means unplayable, it has a number of smaller issues that undermine the game's potential.

Armor, firing arcs, and ranges all need to be considered. Ship design and tactics feed into each other.

First, there are a number of interface issues. The lists in the shipbuilder sometimes refresh improperly, so you might not see a weapon until you leave a screen and then return. Flipping from windowed to full-screen mode caused a number of graphic glitches. Some of the fleet management and ship editing actions are less intuitive than they could be. I suspect some of the issues are due to tablet support: Many game actions have multiple single-click steps that would be easier to do with a right-click popup.

Second, because Leviathan: Warships is new, the online community for random battles is still small, so small that I was unable to find a matchmaker fight. I got into one, once, but after 15 minutes of my opponent doing nothing while I waited for them to signal completion, I gave up. This should be a self-correcting problem as the game builds an audience.

The 1.1 patch that came out at the end of May resolved some of the interface and balance issues. Balance in a multiplayer game is always an ongoing process, however.

"Went rouge"? It could be worse. He could have gone ochre. Or even plaid.

At ten dollars, Leviathan: Battleships is inexpensive, but there's currently no trial. The issue orders/see results style of play is very appealing to me, but it's not for everyone. I think there's enough fun to be had here, currently, to be worth the cost if you like tactical games, especially those with "build your own unit" functionality.

Note: The download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download this buy-only software.


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Review: iTunes library toolkit order on iTunes

If on iTunes to manage you assigned your music collection and all applications and files that you store on your iOS device, his library can quickly become unmanageable... and Apple allows himself does not like to give a lot to control, how you organize it. Give iTunes library toolkit, a practical application, which offers you control over at least part of your iTunes library.

iTunes library toolkit interface is a bit simple, but perfectly easy to understand.

ITunes library toolkit is free for one month test. Then you've got a one year license 3.5 United Kingdom pound ($ 5 stand 12.06.13) pay. And it is the kind of application you more than once want to use their goal is to provide "ongoing maintenance of your iTunes library." For this purpose can they add to new media files to iTunes, remove dead links iTunes and the iTunes files metadata to be updated.

ITunes library toolkit is a newer application of said, who also offers a similar program iTunes folder watch. iTunes folder watch is a special function: add new media to iTunes folder observed. iTunes library toolkit provides this feature too, but without some of the controls more finely tuned, that iTunes offers watch folders, such as the ability to override any additions manually.

Easily set up watched folders and iTunes library toolkit will scan and find add tracks to iTunes.

Remove dead links - these references to files that no longer exist - is easy, and I was surprised to see how many iTunes library could clean up Toolkit for me. I wish you can preview the links, before you, rather than away, after the task is handled. ITunes library toolkit is checked to be sure, it is not operated live links as dead, however, and it made no mistake in my tests.

Music lovers will appreciate how iTunes can update library toolkit the attributes of the track, the track tags match in the song files automatically, and how it can generate a Web Gallery, which allows you, share your music collection with friends. This Web catalog music files do not actually share. Instead is a HTML file lists the albums, artists and tracks generated in this library.

The Web catalogue is a file that someone else could read to get inspiration for your own music library.

ITunes library Toolkit offers many automated tools for maintaining your iTunes library. I'd like it users offered a bit more control over all of its features, but it looks like it is to keep perfectly clean with an excellent tool for your iTunes library

Liane Cassavoy is a veteran technology and business journalist. She writes regularly for PCWorld and wrote about business matters and products for Entrepreneur magazine and other publications. She is author of two published business start up guide by Entrepreneur Press.
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OneNote updated Windows store app for touch and Office 365

Today we release another update for OneNote for Windows Storage , which will add two things. First of all, you can now login with your Office 365 account so that you can easily open your work notes. Secondly, we have facilitated to dismiss the keyboard on your touch device.

If you already the app, just tap the store -Kachel in Windows 8, and then tap or click top right on updates . You have not the app yet? You can download it here.

Has your work or school Office 365? It's great to keep your working notes in the cloud with Office 365, and OneNote. With the update, now can you just login with your Office 365 and see all notebooks that you have recently used.

Here is how:

1. Tap on more notebooks.

(2) On the lower left tap the plus button, the more notebooks to see Add a work or school accountsays.

 

3. Sign up with your work or to the school account.

4. That's it! Now, you see a list of the most recently used notebooks. Tap a just to open it.

One of the best things about OneNote is that you can enter anywhere only. You want to record something from the page? Go ahead. OneNote is your way out and lets you concentrate on your notes.

But sometimes you want to omit. Can now dismiss you, the onscreen keyboard, so you can see the whole screen to read.

In Windows 8 you don't have to usually the keyboard thinking. It is evident, when typing in the text box type you and it goes way when you tap outside. It works great. Like so typing "out there" in OneNote? Just tap an empty area and the keyboard goes away.

If the keyboard is down, touch anywhere to bring and take notes to start.

We use better to make your feedback OneNote. So let us know what you think. We are looking forward to hear from you.

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Download OneNote: onenote.com
Follow OneNote: twitter.com/msonenote
Like OneNote: facebook.com/MicrosoftOneNote


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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Review: LibreOffice 4 liberates you from Microsoft Office

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
LibreOffice 4.0 If your needs don't include macro and programming compatibility, this office suite might just wean you away from Microsoft.

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If you're feeling like an overtaxed and unappreciated serf in Microsoft's kingdom, LibreOffice 4 might just offer the freedom you seek. An extremely capable office suite, LibreOffice 4 is also highly configurable, extensible, and cross-platform. It supports OS X and Linux in addition to all flavors of Windows. It's also free—not an insignificant attribute for most of us.

I'm writing this article using Writer and enjoying every moment of the process. For pure writing and editing, it's simply more in tune with my methods than anything else I've tried. I don't miss Microsoft Word's pitiable grammar checking one bit. Writer's grammar checker is better, and the spell checker and other tools are also top-notch.

Writer is enough like Word that the transitional learning curve is minimal, and I've yet to find an important feature missing. Indeed, it has some of its own, such as the predictive word assistance similar to the one Microsoft has on its phone software, but has never bothered to implement it in Word. It offers only one word—not a choice of several, as Microsoft's does—but it is handy on occasion.

LibreOffice Writer is a stellar word processor and highly compatible with Microsoft Word.

The one thing that's truly held me back from Office alternatives over the years was lack of support for Word's Track Changes feature, which is a mainstay for many writers and editors. Writer fully supports revisions and presents them in more tasteful default colors. One feature I do miss is the Word's formatting paintbrush, but I don't miss it enough to go back.

Bloggers and website writers take note: Writer supports HTML, and if your content management system supports the CMIS interoperability standard, you can user Writer to edit your CMS entries and articles as well.

Calc proved a very pleasant surprise by loading every Excel spreadsheet I have and mimicking the formatting perfectly. I'm heavy on the conditional formatting and Calc does it better than Excel, extending it and recalculating automatically when I copy in another row. Excel requires manual intervention.

The one disappointing area of Calc is macros. Calc has its own capable macro and programming language, but it's largely incompatible with Office's VBA, so I had to redo the range names and macros for my hardware ratings sheets. But from there it was easy to attach them to the button objects I employ for sorts and the like.

Note: Calc retains VBA macros when it saves files in Excel format, unless you tell it not to.

Base is capable enough that I'm seriously considering moving my invoicing system over to it from Access. It has all the basic features, including forms, reports, SQL, and relational multiple table support.

LibreOffice Base is a relational database.

It can connect to external databases, including those from Microsoft Access. Base doesn't import Access forms and reports, but its form design wizard and editor are good enough that recreating them is a not an unduly tedious task. Subforms are supported so you can display multiple tables in a single form.

LibreOffice Base easily connects to Access tables.

Base requires Java for its own databases. However, as a front end for external databases such as the Access database I used in my hands-on, Java is not required.

My test database had only about a thousand records, so I can't say how well Base scales. Feature-wise, it's strictly an end-user database. There are no means to make a database run as a standalone.

Impress didn't display some portions of PowerPoint presentations imported, so in that regard it was one of the less successful modules in LibreOffice.

LibreOffice Impress has impressive presentation creation capabilities, though PowerPoint compatibility isn't quite 100%.

However, Impress is quite facile at creating presentations, and it exports to PDF, which is the format I see most often these days. PDFs don't require proprietary software, namely PowerPoint, to render. A design wizard and a decent collection of nice-looking templates help to get you started.

Both the Math (formula rendering and shaping) and Draw applications are capable. I found the Draw program and its myriad shapes and objects particularly useful and easy. You can also use the Draw app to create presentations.

LibreOffice's interface is enough like Microsoft Office's that few users will have trouble adjusting to it. It also give you complete control over the contents of menus and toolbars, as well as the actions invoked by keyboard shortcuts. This makes it easy to emulate a program you might be more familiar with, or to streamline your workflow by hiding features you don't use. Personally, I decidedly do not miss Office 2010's window-obscuring menu, poor organization of options, and too-many-clicks interface.

The only time you'll see LibreOffice's launch app is when you first open it. Subsequently, you can open any module from within any other module by selecting New File.

As much as I like LibreOffice, I do have some minor gripes. I do not like the mixing of document types in the recent files list in all the modules. When I'm in Writer, I want to see Writer documents, not the database files and spreadsheets I've been working with. At the very least, they should be divided by type. On the other hand, I like it that LibreOffice provides other types of documents under the “New File” heading. Yes, some reviewers are just hard to please.

Note that the inline help is a separate download. There are also a lot of very nice guides available for download as well as extensions that add capabilities to all the modules.

Where Microsoft seems focused on changing the look of its products and optimizing them for tablets, LibreOffice is improving basic functionality and efficiency with an eye for the desktop. It's not perfect, but neither is the competition. Document compatibility with Office and just about every other standard is so good that the average user can make the switch without qualms in that regard.

On the downside, macro and programming incompatibilities in Base and Calc will be a problem for some, and there will undoubtedly be a feature missing here or there that some user just won't be able to live without.

But put aside those years of disappointing alternatives to Office and take a look at LibreOffice 4. Really. I mean really as in click on the download button and install it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.


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Review: Rising Storm puts you into WWII's Pacific Theatre

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AppId is over the quota
Rising Storm $20.00 An immersive game that makes the danger feel real while still being a fun, addictive shooter.

You can talk about all the fancy graphics, crazy guns and manic run-and-gun gameplay all you want, but the modern shooters of today are missing that special something—immersion. Rising Storm is different.

Red Orchestra 2's expansion, Rising Storm, takes you away from the European theater of WWII and throws you deep into the jungle and beaches of the Pacific. It lacks the glamour and polish of games like Call of Duty and Battlefield, but it compensates with the rarified charm that comes from spending a few hours in a Pacific Rim trench. The average Rising Storm match looks less like a competitive videogame than a scene cut from a World War II documentary. We won't truly ever be able to understand what the soldiers of WWII went through, but Rising Storm may be the closest I'm willing to get.

Iwo Jima is dark, gritty and large. A recipe for a violent encounter.

Huddled in a foxhole on the beach of Iwo Jima or in a ravaged trench in the jungles of Guadalcanal, you keep your head down as you hear, and feel, the bullets whizzing by. Rising Storm does suppression so well, you can't help but freeze and retreat slowly, crawling on your stomach until you feel relatively safe. If all hell begins to break loose around you, the screen grays out, a red pulsing color surrounds the screen, sound becomes garbled and you lose your ability to zoom. All you can do is hunker down and hope it stops so you can regain your composure.

The MG placements don't have a lot of ammo but will stop a soldier instantly.

But video games have taught us that bullets aren't that scary. You get shot a few times, you run to cover and wait until the screen stops glowing—time heals all wounds. Not here though—here, the danger is real. One well-placed shot can send you right back to the respawn queue where you wait up to 20 seconds to respawn back where you started—a significant sprinting distance away. Even if the shot doesn't kill you, you only have a short time to use one of your two bandages to patch up before you bleed out. Staunch the bleeding and you'll still be hobbled: a leg wound means you can't run as quickly, while a wounded arm will skew your aim. Suffer a wound to the heart and head and, well...you're dead.

Rising Storm doesn't mess around.

A typical match consists of two rounds of attacking or defending key points on the map. When the attackers manage to take a point the defenders retreat to a new point. Each side also has a finite number reinforcements that slowly deplete every time a member dies. Run out of reinforcements and they lose the ability to spawn, leaving the remaining team alone against an overwhelming force. A set time limit puts the pressure on the attackers, who need to push forward or risk losing momentum.

The Japanese can bury grenades for some nasty mine traps.

American and Japanese forces employed very different weaponry and tactics during World War II, and that disparity is represented well in Rising Storm. The Americans possess some serious automatic firepower—Thompsons and Browning Automatic Rifles along with classic Springfield and M1 Garand rifles. If that's not enough, you've also got access to a flamethrower—able to shoot hot death at a distance, perfect for cleaning bunkers and trenches. Players on the Japanese team rely on bolt-action rifles but have the ability to bury their grenades to create booby traps and have portable mortars to devastate troops in cover. There is also a banzai attack that allows players to run further with damage resistance that stacks if you surround yourself with other banzai-ing teammates. The Japanese can quickly break through American lines and fight in devastating blade-to-chest bayonet combat. The two sides play very differently, but the game is surprisingly balanced if teamwork and communication are present—easy to do with the in-game VoIP system.

To keep everyone on the team from rushing for the nearest flamethrower, players are encouraged to pick a role for themselves on the team. The Commander manages recon planes and launching artillery, Squad Leaders spawn their squad of 5-6 men at their location, and everyone else fills weapon-specific roles. In my matches we always had room for 2-3 flamethrowers, 2-3 machine gunners, a couple snipers and plenty of riflemen—the backbone of both sides.

Pyromaniacs rejoice and say hello to the flamethrower.

A ranking system is used for every gun—leveling up will increase things like accuracy and stopping power—and class, as well as your overall Honor Level. Having a higher level may gives you priority over other players when selecting higher-ranking classes like the Commander.

On the surface, Rising Storm is a dated-looking WWII first-person shooter with some fun mechanics—a simple cover system, lean controls and realistic damage, for example. But as you learn the ropes and throw yourself at the death's door time and time again, the deeper mechanics come to light. Playing with a competent team coordinating via voice communication allows you to execute coordinated attacks from different angles, pop cover for your team with smoke grenades and pull off massive front-line assaults that can crush an opponent that outnumbers you. When all that comes together, it's honestly one of the most addictive shooters I've ever played.

It's available now on Steam for a cool $20.


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Announcement makes BI for Office 365

Mobile BIAt the worldwide Partner Conference, we have today announced a new supply-makes BI for Office 365, power BI for Office 365 is a cloud-based business intelligence (BI) solution, which enables our customers, easily gain insight from their data in Excel analyze and visualize data in a self service way work. It works with Office 365, customers share knowledge, find answers and stay to assist you in connecting to their data from their favorite mobile devices.

Business data continues to grow at an exponential rate and a prerequisite for a flourishing industry now is a sense of all incoming information. Success can literally be determined by the tools that a company employee is available, because they affect the flood of data.  People love Excel for analyzing data, so that we make BI for Office 365 right in this experience have built so that an even more powerful tool. You may have already seen the power pivot and power-view functions in Excel and today we continue, to enhance our BI. Power BI for Office 365 now consists of:

Power query, the customer to easily search and public data and your company data, all within Excel (formerly known as "Data Explorer").Power card, a 3D data visualization tool for mapping, to explore and interact with geographical and temporal data (formerly known as code name "Geoflow").Power pivot for create and customize flexible data models in Excel. Power view for the creation of interactive charts, graphs and other visual representations of data.

We know that not only important for people the possibility to easily new insights identify it from their data, but also to operate and provide access to this data in a trusted environment have. Therefore makes BI stretches for Office 365 is existing premise systems about your deliver value within an already trusted service to provide:

Power BI pages dedicated to community BI workspaces in Office 365 for the exchange of data and knowledge with colleagues. Power BI sites also keep up-to-date with connectivity and refresh customer data back to their on premise data sources. New natural language query capabilities allowGet customers to ask questions and answers. Simply enter your question in a dialog box, and the system interprets and generates automatically interactive charts and graphs, on the basis of available data.Native apps for Windows 8, Windows RT experience BI connected, stay dedicated and iPad with your reports and data connected, where you, as well as HTML5 indicate support for browser are based on any device.

To learn more about how you hide the insights in your data unlock makes BI for Office 365 can help, check out these two blog posts: what powers makes BI for Office 365? and introduction of power-BI for Office 365. And go here for the preview, coming later this summer to register!

--Julia White, General Manager, Microsoft Office Division


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