by Moez Janmohammad
Lightroom has tools built in that allow users to quickly and easily correct lens distortion and vingetting in images. Lenses have distortion because the light “bends” as it enters the front glass, so when it hits the sensor of the camera, it spreads the edges just a bit. Thankfully, digital photography has allowed us to easily fix this distortion.
This mini-webinar by IT Help Desk Consultant Zach Peterson show you how to enroll and use SMU’s password reset tool.
by Moez Janmohammad
iOS 8 was announced Monday, and the beta for developers went out that day. I’ve had it now for about 48 hours, and I’m pleased to say that it’s a pretty solid update, especially for the first beta seed. It’s robust, surprisingly stable, and very fast. iOS 7 was plagued with crashes and glitches in its beta stages, iOS 8 is a different animal. Of course, there are a few issues, but again, it’s the first beta and those will be ironed out.
Users who feared a complete UI overhaul like the transition from iOS 6 to iOS 7 need not worry. iOS 8 looks and feels exactly like its predecessor, albeit with a few functional changes. It was more of an “adding features” update as opposed to a “let’s make everything new” update.
Here’s a rundown of some of the biggest updates:
Quick Reply: You can now reply to text messages directly from the lock screen, or even in the notifications drawer. Just slide to the left, hit “Reply” and type away! Note that if your screen locks while you’re idly staring at the message you typed, iOS will not save a draft of it, although I’m sure that may be added in a future beta update.
The Keyboard: Since 2007, the iOS keyboard has remained largely unchanged. In iOS 7, it was given a different skin, but the same software laid underneath. Now, you get a “Quick type” bar at the top of your keyboard. It guesses, based on context, your next word and learns as you use it. It understands that the formal way you talk to your boss is different from the informal slang you may use with your friends, and suggests words depending on who you’re texting, and any previous messages you may have sent to that contact. Also, support for 3rd party keyboards is now available. Once companies like Swype and Swiftkey build their iOS version, you’ll be able to use those too.
Spotlight: Until now, Spotlight search was just a way to search documents, music, contacts, and other local files. Now, Spotlight has been revamped to include internet searches, restaurants near you, apps in the App Store, Wikipedia snippets, movie showtimes and even location based data in your own photos.
All in all, iOS 8 seems to be a fantastic step in the right direction for Apple, but the big test will come when all of the paired features in OS X Yosemite start working. Continuity, phone calls on your Mac, and Airdrop from OS X to iOS will push both platforms to the next level.
As with any upgrade, we strongly suggest when iOS8 becomes available in the fall that you delay upgrading for a short time. This allows OIT time to navigate any bugs that may conflict with SMU applications or services. We’ll make sure to give you the green light when our testing is complete.
Wouldn’t you know it, right after I posted my last blog “Never miss an email again“, I found myself being humbled in a conversation saying “You sent what email?”
In my prior post, I talked about setting alerts in Outlook for those critical emails that you need to respond to right away. However, the messages that rank high in the importance category and require some phone calls or research before I can respond need a different approach. I need those types of messages to stand out in my inbox as a visual reminder of their importance, and for me it’s also a kick in the pants that I better not drop the ball on this one – especially, when it comes to prompt customer service.
How do I solve that dilemma? Conditional Formatting – that is, it’s a great solution if you are a PC user. (Sorry Mac users, it’s not available in Office 2011, but I have read there have been a lot of requests for it in the next release. Maybe you’ll see that in the future.)
Notice in the above pic, you’ll see unread email in the standard blue font and then one in a bold green font. I changed my formatting, so every time I get an email from a specific email account, it stands out with that font. You can specify conditional formatting to occur from specific individuals, when certain keywords are used, etc.
Here’s how…
1. Go to your mail, task, calendar etc. (wherever you want to add conditional formatting)
2. From the View tab, select View Settings 
3. Select Conditional Formatting
4. Click Add and type the name of your rule
5. Click Font and specify the font type, size and color that you want your specified email to display
6. Click the Condition button
7. Specify the condition for your email
8. Click OK
9. Click OK
Will conditional formatting solve my problems for not missing an email again? Probably not, but between this and setting alerts, I’m hopeful it will keep me more organized and lessen my chances of eating humble pie once again!
I’m constantly looking for tips on how to work more efficiently in Microsoft. The Office suite is so powerful that I’m pretty sure we underutilize the resources at our fingertips.
If you’re struggling with the “I want to learn, but I don’t have time…” sentiment consider sharpening your skills in 15 minute bites. A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled on Microsoft’s Tuesday morning webinar series and was perusing through their archives. You can join their webinars live or watch at your own convenience.
Here’s a sample of their Office Timesavers session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF3H02gi3oA#t=605
You can view upcoming Office webinars here. Got your own Microsoft Office tip you’d like to share? Let us know at ittraining@smu.edu and we’ll be sure to pass it on!
