News: 3G now available on Airtel

The wait is over - 3G is finally available on Airtel. Coverage is not city wide as yet but certainly Mombasa Rd, Westlands, Parklands and Loresho are active.

If you notice that your phone hasn't picked 3G yet - you can change your mobile network settings to 3G only and force the connection.

Remember - 3G drains battery faster.

Tips: Video to show you how to delegate access to your Google Calendar to a Personal Assistant

Hi - This is a very useful feature if you have a PA

Click on the link to view

http://v21.lscache8.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/enterprisetraining/gapps/aa/calendardel/delegating_cal_020510.mov

Tips: How to automatically forward email on Google Apps

Gmail lets you automatically forward incoming mail to another address, if you'd like.
Here's how to forward messages automatically:

1. Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page.
2. Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
3. From the first drop-down menu in the "Forwarding" section, select 'Add new email address.'
4. Enter the email address to which you'd like your messages forwarded.
5. For your security, we'll send a verification to that email address.
6. Open your forwarding email account, and find the confirmation message from the Gmail team.
7. Click the verification link in that email.
8. Back in your Gmail account, select the 'Forward a copy of incoming mail to...' option and select your forwarding address from the drop-down menu.
9. Select the action you'd like your messages to take from the drop-down menu. You can choose to keep Gmail's copy of the message in your inbox, or you can send it automatically to All Mail or Trash.
10. Click Save Changes.

You also can set up filters to forward messages that meet specific criteria. You can create 20 filters that forward to other addresses. You can maximize your filtered forwarding bycombining filters that send to the same address.

How to stop auto-forwarding

If you no longer want to auto-forward your mail, follow these instructions:

1. Click the Settings at the top of any Gmail page
2. Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, or if you use Google Apps, you might have a Forwarding tab instead.
3. In the "Forwarding" section, select the Disable forwarding radio button.
4. Click the first drop-down menu in the "Forwarding" section and check for any forwards created by filtering.

Tips: Keyboard Shortcuts when using Google Interface

Keyboard shortcuts help you save time by allowing you to never take your hands off the keyboard to use the mouse.


To turn these case-sensitive shortcuts on or off, click Settings, and then pick an option next to Keyboard shortcuts.

Shortcut Key	Definition	Action
c	Compose	Allows you to compose a new message. <Shift> + c allows you to compose a message in a new window.
/	Search	Puts your cursor in the search box.
k	Move to newer conversation	Opens or moves your cursor to a more recent conversation. You can hit <Enter> to expand a conversation.
j	Move to older conversation	Opens or moves your cursor to the next oldest conversation. You can hit <Enter> to expand a conversation.
n	Next message	Moves your cursor to the next message. You can hit <Enter> to expand or collapse a message. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
p	Previous message	Moves your cursor to the previous message. You can hit <Enter> to expand or collapse a message. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
o or <Enter>	Open	Opens your conversation. Also expands or collapses a message if you are in 'Conversation View.'
u	Return to conversation list	Refreshes your page and returns you to the inbox, or list of conversations.
e	Archive	Archive your conversation from any view.
m	Mute	Archives the conversation, and all future messages skip the Inbox unless sent or cc'd directly to you. Learn more.
x	Select conversation	Automatically checks and selects a conversation so that you can archive, apply a label, or choose an action from the drop-down menu to apply to that conversation.
s	Star a message or conversation	Adds or removes a star to a message or conversation. Stars allow you to give a message or conversation a special status.
!	Report spam	Marks a message as spam and removes it from your conversation list.
r	Reply	Replies to the message sender. <Shift> + r allows you to reply to a message in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
a	Reply all	Replies to all message recipients. <Shift> +a allows you to reply to all message recipients in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
f	Forward	Forwards a message. <Shift> + f allows you to forward a message in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
<Esc>	Escape from input field	Removes the cursor from your current input field.
<Ctrl> + s	Save draft	Saves the current text as a draft when composing a message. Hold the <Ctrl> key while pressing s and make sure your cursor is in one of the text fields -- either the composition pane, or any of the To, CC, BCC, or Subject fields -- when using this shortcut.
#	Delete	Moves the conversation to Trash.
l	Label	Opens the Labels menu to label a conversation.
v	Move to	Moves the conversation from the inbox to a different label, Spam or Trash.
<Shift> + i	Mark as read	Marks your message as 'read' and skip to the next message.
<Shift> + u	Mark as unread	Marks your message as 'unread' so you can go back to it later.
[	Archive and previous	Archives your conversation and moves to the previous one.
]	Archive and next	Archives your conversation and moves to the next one.
z	Undo	Undoes your previous action, if possible (works for actions with an 'undo' link).
<Shift> + n	Update current conversation	Updates your current conversation when there are new messages.
q	Move cursor to chat search	Moves your cursor directly to the chat search box.
y	Remove from Current View*	Automatically removes the message or conversation from your current view. From 'Inbox,' 'y' means Archive From 'Starred,' 'y' means Unstar From 'Trash,' 'y' means Move to inbox From any label, 'y' means Remove the label * 'y' has no effect if you're in 'Spam,' 'Sent,' or 'All Mail.'
.	Show more actions	Displays the 'More Actions' drop-down menu.
?	Show keyboard shortcuts help	Displays the keyboard shortcuts help menu within any page you're on.

Combo-keys - Use the following combinations of keys to navigate through Gmail.

Shortcut Key	Definition	Action
<tab> then <Enter>	Send message	After composing your message, use this combination to send it automatically. (Supported in Internet Explorer and Firefox, on Windows.)
y then o	Archive and next	Archives your conversation and moves to the next one.
g then a	Go to 'All Mail'	Takes you to 'All Mail,' the storage site for all mail you've ever sent or received (and have not deleted).
g then s	Go to 'Starred'	Takes you to all conversations you have starred.
g then c	Go to 'Contacts'	Takes you to your Contacts list.
g then d	Go to 'Drafts'	Takes you to all drafts you have saved.
g then i	Go to 'Inbox'	Returns you to the inbox.
g then t	Go to 'Sent Mail'	Takes you to all mail you've sent.
* then a	Select all	Selects all mail.
* then n	Select none	Deselects all mail.
* then r	Select read	Selects all mail you've read.
* then u	Select unread	Selects all unread mail.
* then s	Select starred	Selects all starred mail.
* then t	Select unstarred	Selects all unstarred mail.

Tips: Ipad: Why does your iPad battery drain so quickly?

If you have a 3G iPad and notice your battery levels dropping rapidly, one of the reasons could be that you have no credit left for data on your prepaid sim card. Battery drain is faster when email has been setup on your iPad.

Check your balance by going to Settings -> Mobile (or Cellular) Data -> SIM Applications and follow the steps to find your balance

Tips: Google Calendar: New Feature Appointment Slots

About Appointment slots

The Appointment slots feature lets you set time slots on your calendar that other people can book.
For instance, a CEO could allow his or her PA to reserve time during office hours each week.

This is a handy tool with many possibilities! Read on to learn how to set up and start using it.

Set up an appointment slot

To start, you’ll need to set a time slot that you’d like to make available for appointments. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Sign into your Google Calendar account at https://calendar.google.com.
2. Click anywhere in the calendar grid. In the event bubble that pops up, click Appointment slots.
3. Indicate the details for the appointment slot using these fields:
• What: Enter a short title for the appointment(s), like “Hasit Available Office Hours.”
• Calendar drop-down menu: Choose the calendar you’d like to create the appointment slot on.
• Offer as a single appointment: Select this button if the entire time slot will be for one appointment.
• Split into smaller slots: Select this option if you’d like to allow multiple appointments to be scheduled during the slot. Simply select and indicate the duration for each appointment (in minutes) in the text box to the right.
4. If you’re all finished, click Create slots on the bubble, or continue to the next step to add more details to your appointment slot.
5. Click Edit details to open the appointment slot details page and add more information, such as a location or description, or to make the appointment slot repeat. To make the appointment slot recur, click the Repeat checkbox to choose your settings. Read more about repeating events here.
6. If other people should be present during the appointment slot, you can invite them using the Add Guests field. For instance, a professor may want their assistant to be there during office hours and could invite them using this feature.
7. When you’re finished, click Save.

You’re set up! Your appointment slot will display as a single event on your calendar and the calendars of any invitees. You’ll be able to distinguish the appointment slot from other events by its striped pattern. Once actual appointments are booked, they’ll appear as regular events overlapping with the striped appointment slot.

Make appointments

To let people start booking appointments, simply direct them to the appointment page. You can find the URL for it at the top of the appointment slot details page.
Visitors to this page will see a calendar showing the available appointments. They’ll also see their own calendar overlaid on the appointment page, making it easy to see what times work for them.
To book an appointment, visitors simply click one of the available appointment buttons and click Save. Visitors can also edit other fields in the popup to make changes to the title, location, and event description.
Appointments that have been booked won’t be visible to future visitors to the appointment page.
Attendees can cancel their appointment by deleting or declining the event on their own calendar, which will appear as a decline on your calendar. The appointment then becomes bookable for future visitors to the appointment page.

Tips: Google Docs: Setting Automatic Notifications for documents that change

You can set notifications to find out when your collaborators have modified documents, and learn what changes have been made.You can also choose how often you'd like to be notified. Here's how you can enable notifications:

1. Click Share at the top right of the document and select Set Notification Rules.
2. In the window that appears, select when and how often you want to receive notifications:
   • When changes are made to the entire spreadsheet
   • When changes are made to a specific sheet
   • When changes are made to specific cells
   • When collaborators are added or removed
   • When changes are made to forms
   • By 'daily digest' or 'right away'
3. Click Save.

Ramco Group has signed up with Google Apps

We have finally signed an agreement with google to take our group into google apps. Those that wish to migrate will be able to take advantage of collaborative features within their own organisation.

The agreement is for Google apps and Postini - their leading archiving service. If you want to read more on Postini please visit http://www.google.com/postini/

The Beginning...

So you have devices and no time to learn them? Your organisation's IT policy is rapid fire and it's hard to keep up? Subscribe to this blog and get simple tips on using your IT infrastructure to get the most out of life!

While this blog is primarily for users within the Ramco Group of Companies in Kenya you will find that the technologies we adopt are ones that almost all companies deploy - making this a useful tool for your organisation.

The success of a blog lies in the people who follow it - I am always looking for topics that might interest you and others in this part of the world, so please feel free to drop a line if you are looking for answers in particular. write to blog@ramco.co.ke.