Brandon Dimmel

If you've been stymied by the intricacies of email in Windows 8, you're not alone. An Infopackets subscriber asks: "Dear Infopackets, I just got Windows 8 and am interested in trying out the new Windows 8 Mail program. But I can't figure it out. It ... seems things have changed a lot since I last used Outlook in Windows 7. Do you have any tips on how to use this software properly? Thanks, Brian D." My response: You're right, Brian. Windows 8 Mail is a lot different from Outlook, Windows Live Mail, or any other email client you've used before. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Microsoft has ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a new report allowing the use of improved satellite antennas on commercial aircraft. The new hardware will significantly improve in-flight wireless Internet (WiFi) service on many US airline ... flights. Right now, few US airlines have outfitted their planes with hardware capable of offering their passengers fast and reliable wireless Internet service. For many passengers, the result is significantly reduced productivity during the time they spend in the air. FCC: Americans Want Better In-Flight WiFi Apparently, that's about to change. A ... (view more)

PhotoToFilm Amateur photographers will love this free software tool for Windows computers, which lets anyone make short movies using standard image files. PhotoToFilm also lets you compress your movie creations into relatively small files, so you ... can more easily share them with friends and family over the Internet. http://www.kcsoftwares.com Carroll 1.13 Do you hate when someone else changes the screen resolution on your computer? Carroll is a free software utility for Windows that lets you set a different screen resolution for each system user. You can then easily switch between these ... (view more)

Acer president Jim Wong has come out to defend Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system (OS). Wong says people should spend more time learning how to use the OS before dismissing it as inferior to its predecessors. In an interview with technology ... blog DigiTimes, Wong noted that, "in the past, market observers would accuse Windows of lacking innovations." Wong suggests it's ironic that this time around, Windows 8's innovative new features, including a completely new user interface (formerly known as 'Metro', now known as 'Tiles' or 'Live Tiles'), have "been greeted with pessimism." (Source: ... (view more)

This question recently came to us from several readers, including one in Colorado: "Hello Infopackets team, I recently purchased a Windows 8 PC and want to move my files from my old computer -- a Windows 7 machine -- to the new one. Since you seem ... to know so much about Windows, I thought I'd ask you for the best way to do that. Thanks very much, Mona S." My Response: When buying a new PC, transferring files from our old computer is one of the first things we think to do. Thankfully, the process has now become really straightforward. Using Windows Easy Transfer Begin by going to the desktop on ... (view more)

Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Service Pack 2 (SP2) Microsoft Expression Encoder is a free Windows software tool that allows advanced users to encode video and audio files. It's also a live-broadcasting application that provides you with feature ... support and updates while using Microsoft Silverlight. If you need these kinds of capabilities, this is a good way to go. http://www.microsoft.com Flutter 0.5.2 This cutting-edge software tool allows you to interact with your Mac or Windows computer by using only hand gestures. For example, it can be configured to play, stop, and fast-forward DVDs ... (view more)

Those of you who just received a brand new fourth-generation Apple iPad for Christmas may not like what I'm about to tell you: a new report indicates that Apple will release an even newer, fifth-generation iPad in just a few months. The updated iPad ... is reportedly much lighter and thinner and may ship to retailers as early as March 2013. The report comes from Japanese blog Macotakara, which indicates the next iPad will show a 4mm reduction in height, a 17mm narrower width, and a 2mm loss in depth. Currently, the fourth-generation iPad measures as follows: 241.2mm in height, 185.7mm in width, 9 ... (view more)

aTunes 3.0 Looking for an alternative to Apple's iTunes media player? Then check out aTunes 3.0. It gives you an interface similar to the one used by iTunes, so you can quickly and easily access all of your favorite video and audio files without ... having to learn new commands and control sequences. http://www.atunes.org LiveContactsView 1.21 LiveContactsView gives you instant access to all of the personal data associated with your Windows Live Messenger contacts. Displayed data includes nickname, real name, email address, and more. Using this program you can easily export this information to ... (view more)

Streaming video service Netflix suffered an international service outage on December 24-25, 2012, that left perhaps 90 per cent of its subscribers unable to access the company's massive catalog of TV shows and films. According to Netflix, Amazon was ... responsible for the problem. Netflix users intent on spending Christmas Eve in front of the boob tube were upset to find the service completely unavailable. One subscriber told The Wall Street Journal that they "came home to relax and watch movies," but after trying to access the Netflix catalog "several times" they simply "gave up" and turned to ... (view more)

For years the office of the United States Trade Representative, in addition to US-based copyright protection agencies like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), have insisted that ... Russia do more to protect American intellectual property (IP). Now, it appears the Russian government is finally prepared to work with the United States to help protect American IP. The new agreement, known as the "Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Action Plan," is connected to Russia's recent entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trade ... (view more)