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I’ve been having some issues with our work computer systems and came across an exchange recovery software online at DoubleTake.com. It looks like a good software and I’m wondering if any of you have tried it? Let me know if you have!

Learning to use new software, or even new versions of my usual software products is certainly not among my favorite things. I’m the kind of person who likes to learn a program and then continue to use it time and time again until it becomes almost like an extension of my own hand! Okay, maybe that is pushing it a bit, but I really hate the process of learning new software programs, and what is even more annoying, is learning where everything has been moved after upgrading a software. Really, when things are working well, I don’t understand why software producers can’t leave them alone. I mean, sure go ahead and give the design a tweak, but why do you have to move my beloved tool bars around? It’s just not fair!

Okay, so I am a wee bit dramatic, but the thing is that I have a lot of work to do and hate to waste time monkeying around with new software. For that reason I often delay upgrading as long as possible. You know, until the inevitable issues arise where the old software can no longer open versions made in the new version, and stuff like that. This was an especially big issue with Microsoft Word, and unfortunately, I found that Word 2007 was taking just way too long to get used to!

Gratefully, I finally found a solution to my upgrade issues at addintools.com. What you’ll find at addintools.com is a download that will allow you to use the classic style menus from Word 2003 in Word 2007. So you can show your favorite menus and toolbars in Word 2007, and avoid some of the less than pleasing layout elements that are standard in the new version. There are a host of other useful Microsoft Office related downloads available at addintools.com, so visit them if you’re yearning for your old menus and toolbars.

If you’re like me, you get attached to certain softwares as using them becomes natural, easy, and barely requires a second thought. Unfortunately, many times when we upgrade to the newer versions of different softwares there is a steep learning curve. We then having to learn where all the functions and features that we normally use are kept, and it can be very frustrating. This can be especially true with softwares that we have been using for along time, such as Microft office products like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Publisher.

Often times it is not even our choice whether to upgrade or not, as company policies dictate the decision, or their are compability issues with older software products. One recent example of this happening to me is with Microsoft updates such as the upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista (I mean, who didn’t have troubles with that one?) Also, the change from Microsoft Word 2003 to Microsoft Word 2007 was a difficult one for me, as I had been using Microsoft Word 2003 for many years, and felt like I knew it like the back of my hand.

When starting with Microsoft 2007 I was forced to start learning where all the toolbar items and functions I had been used to for years were kept. Frankly, I found the new version of Word to be very non user friendly, and was generally unhappy with the product. Thankfully, there is a download which can restore the classic menu toolbars which are found in Microsoft 2003, to Microsoft 2007. So instead of being frustrating with trying to get used to the newer Microsoft Word, you can simply download the Classic Style Menus and Toolbars for Microsoft Word 2007 product, and be get back to work as usual.

You can find such a download at addintools.com, which is a website that I really like as they offer classic menu downloads for many Microsoft products such as Excel, Outlook and Access. Now if only they could fix my Vista issues…

The folks at Google today brought out a new beta edition of their Chrome web browser and like other comparable web browser producers, they’re certainly enjoying highlighting the incredible speed of their newest version. In fact, a representative from Google has claimed that the company’s newest beta version of Chrome is almost twice as fast as the previous version. If that’s true, I may just have to forsake my beloved FireFox and stick with Chrome full time!

The new beta version of Chrome isn’t just faster, it also includes new features such as draggable (sure, it’s a word!) tabs, auto fill technology, and even a full page zoom option.

Unfortunately for all you Mac fanatics out there, currently Google Chrome is still only compatible with Windows environments.

MTV Games and Harmonix have released additional information pertaining to the forthcoming Beatles game, including the price and date of availability. The game, The Beatles: Rock Band, will become available in North America and Europe on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Wii on September 9. The game players will use the drum, guitar, and microphone found in the first 2 Rock Band games, it will also include additional devices used by the band members. It’s not known yet what these devices will be.

The game will also have the participation from Beatles band members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison and producer Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer George Martin. Although the game will maintain the Rock Band brand affiliated with its title, Harmonix insists that the game will be a standalone title. This plausibly means that a player will not be able to play Aerosmith on The Beatles: Rock Band. The game on its own will cost $60 and the guitar will cost $100, while the entire package will sell for $250.

Today Microsoft confirmed the determinations of a couple of bloggers who observed that beginning with the major trial release of Windows seven, Internet Explorer, for the first time, is able to be removed.

Microsoft officials made this public by mentioning it on the Engineering Windows seven blog. Furthermore, they went on to detail that other Windows programs will also be able to be removed from Windows Seven, as well. Among these programs are: Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, Windows Search, Windows DVD Maker, Windows Gadget Platform, and more.

For those of you (likely FireFox users), who are ready to remove IE from your Windows 7 Beta platform, it is unlikely that the version you’re using will allow for this yet. The function is set to come in the next Windows Seven Test program, which should be due in a month or so. However, users that do have access to Windows Seven Test Build 7048 (a minority, for sure), can currently remove IE if they wish.

Google recently stated that it would utilize its software knowledge to help consumers track their home energy utilization and by doing so lower demand and the global warming emissions that result from electricity production. The move is part of Google’s attempts to infuse hundreds of millions of dollars into renewable energy, electricity-grid upgrades and other steps that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Google has already invested in various newcomer solar, wind and geothermal companies, as well as two “smart grid” companies. Smart grid describes a more efficient and less expensive process of moving electricity along long-distance transmission lines to local power lines and consumers in homes and businesses.

On its blog, Google stated it is developing a smart grid application named Google PowerMeter, which will display home energy use virtually in real time on a user’s computer. The company referenced studies showing that access to home energy data typically saves between five to fifteen percent on monthly electricity bills. The application currently is not available to the public. The company desires to develop partnerships with utility companies so it can offer PowerMeter to consumers in the coming months. Google’s investments in smart grid companies include Germantown, Maryland-based Current Group and Redwood City, California-based Silver Spring Networks.

Online gaming enthusiasts have been provided with the opportunity to become the “Hero of the Hudson”, although some have called the video game as offensive. US Airways pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s heroic water landing into the Hudson River was able to save all of the passengers and crew and was heralded as “the miracle on the Hudson”.

Now a team of developers has created an online video game that allows users to attempt their own version of the landing. The game is situated on the approach to the Hudso Rivern, beside Manhattan’s West Side in New York, where the plane landed in icy cold waters. Players have to keep the plane leveled at the correct altitude and bring it to a stable landing on the water. Failing could indicate placing the lives of virtual passengers at risk, as the jet crashes and sinks into the river with an ominous bubbling sound.