If you need to quickly type a single number on your iPhone, then tapping the number key (to switch from the alphabetic keyboard to the numeric keyboard), followed by tapping the number, then tapping the alphabetic keyboard key (to return to the alpha keyboard) is a long-winded process involving three taps. However, this can be shorted to one tap and drag. Tap and hold the number key (you will notice the numeric keyboard appears without needing to lift your finger from the screen) and then without lifting your finger drag across to the number you wish to insert and then release your finger. That number will be typed/inserted and the keyboard will then flick back to the alphabetic keyboard without any further taps.

Recently I purchased a new laptop running Windows 7 64-bit. However, many of the websites which I visit use Flash so I need to use the 32-bit version. I am suspicious that something may be wrong with the installation of Flash on my computer as when I use Internet Explorer I can no longer open any new programs as all the computer memory is consumed – I need to keep the Task Manager open and kill the IE 32 before other things will work. I am loathed to uninstall and reinstall Flash since the plug-in seems to automatically upgrade itself. Any ideas are welcome. (more…)

When attempting to install some new software on my Windows XP computer a message appears during the installation wizard that says “The following error occurred on file: C:\WINDOWS\System32\ioctlvdd.dll. Access is denied”. Around the time this error began to occur I remember that a Trojan virus or alike was detected, quarantined, and deleted. Do you have any advice on how this problem can be solved? (more…)

A little known feature of Microsoft Outlook is the ability to change the subject line for received email messages. This is very handy, particularly if you would like to change the subject to ease identification of the email in the future. Alternatively, if the sender did not provide a particularly clear subject then you can modify the subject to be more descriptive. To change the subject, double-click on the email message that you wish to modify so that it opens in a new window (you cannot do this procedure through the preview pane in Outlook). Once the email message is open in a new window, click within the current subject of the email message. It won’t look like anything has changed, but you will now see a flashing cursor within the subject. Start typing and you will see that you are able to modify the subject. Be aware, this only modifies your copy of that email message and will not affect the copy residing on the sender’s computer (in their Sent Items folder). Additionally, it does not matter what email client the sender used to send the email message – you will be able to modify the subject on your computer regardless.

My computer running Windows 7 indicated that new updates were available and proceeded to install these when I shutdown the computer. However, the next day when I started the computer it got stuck at the screen saying “Preparing to configure Windows. Please do not turn off your computer”. Since I could not proceed past this point I had to start Windows in Safe Mode and complete a System Restore. This successfully restored the computer to a working state, but the next time I shutdown and then started the computer Windows kicked off the same update, again getting stuck at the “Preparing to configure Windows” screen. What are my options for avoiding this problem? Should I backup all of my data and reinstall Windows? (more…)