--==>> OFFICE WATCH <<==--
The Microsoft Office newsletter from Woody's Watch.
Your independent source for MS Office advice and news since 1996
4 March 2005 Vol 10 No 8
New! "The Desktop Search Handbook" - http://shop.woodyswatch.com/dsh/
Advertise in Woody's Watch - great rates, great reach, no hard sell. Ask
Jan ow.ads@woodyswatch.com
1. Editing incoming messages
2. Preventing Editing of your messages
3. Too good to be true
4. Publisher 2003 for $50
5. Save Attachments
6. Keep OW Alive and Free
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1. EDITING INCOMING MESSAGES
Thanks to everyone who wrote in about Outlook's ability to edit an incoming
message. http://www.woodyswatch.com/office/archtemplate.asp?v10-n06 For many
readers it's just a handy feature but for anyone in the legal or corporate
world it could have interesting consequences.
I think the best summary can from James R who wrote:
"After working for many years for a legal department consulting on various
IT issues, it has become remarkably clear to me that the law puts way more stock
in the integrity of e-mail than is deserved. Email messages are edited enroute
to there final destination every day. Most times these changes are innocuous,
beneficial and mostly identified by the system doing the changes. However, it is
a far leap from the integrity assumed by lawyers, and to be fair the vast
majority of the e-mailing population "
While there's a difference between the changes to the email header made
enroute and changes in the substance of the message - his point is a good one.
It's a mistake to treat emails as having the same verifiable integrity as a
printed document. Unlike a paper document, an email can be changed without
trace and that needs to be acknowledged by everyone.
It's worth remembering that not only received items can usually be edited
but the 'Sent Items' copy of message you send can be edited after
sending. So it is possible for someone to change their record of an email that
was sent.
Far be it for us to give legal advice but we suspect that any savvy legal
department is covering themselves by putting some form of disclaimer that says
the emails supplied are as found and there's no guarantee that the messages
have not been edited after receipt. The same applies to government departments
subject to Freedom of Information laws.
_______
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Finding your way through all those old documents and worksheets was a horrible
task until the fantastic new and free tools for all Office users; Google, MSN,
Yahoo, Copernic and Microsoft. They all have their pros and cons - choosing one
isn't easy - so Woody's Watch has made
The Desktop Search Handbook
an Office Watch guide
http://shop.woodyswatch.com/dsh/
Which products search not just Word and Excel documents but other formats like
WordPerfect and Quattro Pro? Which ones can find documents inside compressed ZIP
files? How can you search Microsoft OneNote files even though Microsoft's
own products don't support it?
This is the Woody's Watch teams first ebook - over 65 pages of in-depth and
original info and how to's on the major desktop search products. Searchable
text and color images throughout - naturally.
* All new and expanded content
* NO advertising - 65 pages plus appendices.
* In depth reviews and how to for the major Desktop Search products
o Copernic Desktop
o Google Desktop Search
o Lookout for Outlook
o MSN Toolbar Suite
o Yahoo Desktop
* Simple guide to making desktop searching work even better for you.
o Effective indexing
o Simple searching and beyond.
o Tips on how to effectively index audio, video, OneNote, web caches and
PDF's.
o Search Command Reference
NEW - quicker delivery. Thanks to some programming smarts from Claudia and
Claude we now send the link to your personal copy of the e-book fast - usually
within minutes of your paid order.
Even if you have a Desktop Search program The Desktop Search Handbook has tips
on how to get the most from these new tools and details on any add-ons that are
available.
Not only do you get the ebook but you also get FREE updates / new editions as
they are released during 2005. We'll update the book as new and revised
Desktop Search programs are released.
Value for only US$14.95 but great value for Woody's Watch subscribers who
pay just US$9.95 - our gift to those of you who have supported us over the
years. We have options to pay in Canadian dollars, Sterling, Euro, Yen and
Aussie dollars too.
Check it out at http://shop.woodyswatch.com/dsh/ not only do we think
you'll get a lot from the book and free updates -- but buying The Desktop
Search Handbook is a practical way to support Woody's Watch as a free and
independent newsletters.
NEW! There's now a special diskette edition available via Amazon USA - so
you can add a copy of the Desktop Search Handbook to your regular Amazon
shopping cart.
http://shop.woodyswatch.com/dsh/AmazonUS.asp
_______
2. PREVENTING EDITING OF YOUR MESSAGES
There's a few ways to block the editing of a message you have sent but they
are by no means fool-proof.
In an all Outlook situation (ie sender and receiver) then marking the outgoing
message as 'Private' will make the message body un-editable by the
receiver. Strange, hardly obvious but true. You can mark an outgoing as
Private in the View Menu, Options, Sensitivity.
Beyond the narrow confines of Outlook you can send the message with a digital
signature attached. The signature should verify the sender and if the message
is changed, the certificate should display an error. Sadly digital signing of
emails has been poorly implemented in Outlook (it is there but it's a pain
to use and receive) and isn't universally accepted so it is not the solution
it could be.
Of course once you hit the Reply or Forward button you can edit the contents of
the message to your hearts content but that doesn't change the contents of
the original incoming message.
_______
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3. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
Some prominent ads have been appearing on the web offering Microsoft Office,
among other products, at very low prices and with immediate download. Usually
these offers are via spam or obscure web sites but we've seen one site
advertising prominently, some might say shamelessly, on Google.
With a retail price of US$500 and legitimate street prices around $390 or less
for Office 2003 Professional then an offer of US$69.95 looks good, but only the
most optimistic or na?ve buyer would think that there isn't something very
strange going on. When you see Autodesk products for $100 instead of $3,750
then surely alarm bells ring.
US$70 is well below the wholesale price to legitimate retail outlets, and
furthermore Microsoft's main products like Windows and Office are not
legally available for sale via download. You have to buy them as a 'box
product' with a CD or bundled with a new computer.
Mostly likely these sites are selling downloads of the readily available
'pirate' versions of software that almost anyone can get from a
peer-to-peer web service. Assuming you get any kind of download at all (or your
credit card isn't misused in some way) then the software won't have any
support and most likely won't qualify for updates from Microsoft. And that
assumes that the software will install properly and run at all.
Redmond's product activation system is being increasingly used to prevent
access to product updates as well as allowing access to the software in the
first place.
We asked Microsoft for comment on this particular web site and to confirm that
sales via download was not available for their core products. We also asked
them to confirm that the retail price on offer by the site was well below the
wholesale price.
Microsoft declined to answer our questions and would say only that "we will
not be able to confirm whether or not (web site).com is selling
legitimately". We find that response to be disappointing but unsurprising.
For many years Microsoft has 'battled' piracy but has placed the
obligation on their customers to know if they are buying legitimate software or
not. In this case it's pretty likely from the prices and method of delivery
that the software is pirated - but if Microsoft can't or won't say
whether it is legitimate or not - how do they expect customers to know?
On the company's anti-piracy web site it has plenty of generic information
but nothing that covers this common situation of a web site selling Microsoft
software for immediate download.
Microsoft loves painting Office Watch as the enemy - but in situations like this
we try to do the right thing and get stonewalled. Makes us wonder how serious
Microsoft really is about software piracy.
If you want a good and legal deal on Office 2003 it is still hard to go past the
Student and Teacher Editions we talked about in
http://www.woodyswatch.com/office/archtemplate.asp?v9-n17
_______
OFFICE 2003 TIMESAVING TECHNIQUES FOR DUMMIES Woody's book is available now
- click here for a list of online booksellers
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0764567616 or try our new online store
http://shop.woodyswatch.com
_______
4. PUBLISHER 2003 FOR $50
Much as I hate mail-in rebates, the bottom line on this offer from Amazon is
pretty good.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000BZM38/ref=nosim/woodsoffiwatcwoo
Publisher normally sells for US$169 and Amazon offers it for US$130 but then
there's mail-in rebates amounting to $80 making the final price only $50.
If you're willing to wait and live in hope of receiving the pesky rebates
then it's a good deal, but rebates are so unreliable and slow you'd be
forgiven for ignoring this offer altogether. Vendors budget that many customers
will simply forget to send in their rebate forms, and that non-receipt of a
rebate check will probably be also overlooked.
There's a great marketing opportunity for the online retailer who arranges
to by-pass the mail-in rebates and offer direct discounts at time of purchase.
Amazon would have the clout to do it - how about it Mr Bezos?
5. SAVE ATTACHMENTS
We're not too concerned about the size of our Outlook PST/OST file
especially since Outlook 2003 has lifted the size limit on the main data file.
We like having the file attachments in Outlook partly because deleting them is
time wasting and partly because they are a useful informal backup.
But we know many readers do fret about attachments cluttering up their Inbox and
for those people, it is nice to report that You Software has a utility that can
move file attachments to one or more folders on your hard drive.
Check it out at http://www.yousoftware.com/save/ for US$29.95
6. KEEP OW ALIVE AND FREE
If you like the no-nonsense style you see in this newsletter - the straight
scoop, whether Microsoft likes it or not, dished out in a way that won't put
you to sleep - get one of Woody Leonhards books!
"Office 2003 Timesaving Techniques for Dummies" , Wiley
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0764567616
"Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2003" with Ed Bott, Que
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0789729555
"Windows XP Timesaving Techniques For Dummies", Wiley
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0764537482
"Windows XP All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies, 2nd Edition", Wiley
http://woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0764574639
"Special Edition Using Microsoft Office XP" with Ed Bott, Que
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0789725134
"Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2000" with Ed Bott, Que
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0789718421
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OFFICE Watch
Copyright 2005 by Peter Deegan. All rights reserved. ISSN 1328-1674.
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