Devices

Personal Computers

Asus G1 running Windows 8

Surface with Windows RT

Entertainment

Xbox 360 with Kinect

Portable Devices

Windows Phone 8X

Apps

Here are the apps I use the most on my various devices. Note that I’m only including personal apps. As a business analyst, my usage pattern at work is essentially dominated by Outlook and Excel and isn’t near as interesting.

Operating System

Windows 8

Productivity

Office

SkyDrive

For the light coding and image editing I do for my various sites, I use Adobe Fireworks and Dreamweaver CS3 (released just after Adobe bought these programs from Macromedia). Although truth told, most of this work falls into Notepad and Microsoft Paint.

I manage my photo collection in Windows directly, and on my desktop PC I use Windows Photo Gallery 2012 for light photo editing.

Outlook.com

If needed, I can remote desktop into my home PC via the built-in Windows Remote Desktop functionality.  I also use Team Viewer.  Free for personal use, this app makes remote connecting simpler by taking care of the NAT traversal for you (no port forwarding).

Internet and Communications

IE 10

I use the built-in apps on all my devices for the aforementioned email, calendar, and contacts. The Mail app in Windows 8 is sufficient, and I access this mail with Chrome when I’m at work.

Skype

Security

Security Essentials

Windows Defender

System Maintenance/Cleanup Apps

I do not use, nor do I recommend, third party maintenance utilities.  From cleaning up temporary files to optimizing your hard drive, all modern operating systems have the tools you need (and in most cases, do the work for you). Most so-called “cleaner” apps are scams. Don’t touch them.

Windows Phone Apps

Windows Phone

WonderReader as a news reader that syncs with Google Reader feeds

Rowi for twitter organization (sorts into columns like TweetDeck)

MyFitnessPal for tracking my workout and meal plans

GroupMe for group SMS texting (because Verizon cripples group communication)

WordPress app for checking this site’s statistics

Glympse for time-limited live location sharing (show where you are when you’re on your way)

HERE Drive by Nokia, which I reviewed in February

MetroTube, by far the best YouTube experience on Windows Phones

SkyDrive for accessing all my personal files, also automatically saves pics and videos I take to the cloud – not only keeping them safe and backed up, but also making them immediately accessible on my PCs.

NBC News for updated headlines right in my Start screen live tile. CNN and FOX both offer similar capabilities.

Skype for video calling and instant messaging.

A few weather-related apps when I’m storm chasing (or stay-chasing from my couch)

Services

Entertainment

Xbox Live

For music, I use Xbox Music Pass, currently on a complimentary year subscription from purchasing the Surface (normally $99/year). I have a very small personal music collection, and Xbox Music pass provides unlimited downloading and streaming over the entire catalog of music, which is actually larger than the iTunes portfolio.  This subscription works among all my devices from phone to PC and Xbox, and synchronizes my playlists among them all.  I also use Pandora for Windows Phone 8 (which is ad-free during 2013 for Windows Phone users).

The post What I Use appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Opening SkyDrive as a local folder presents several benefits. For example, this is the only way to directly save files to SkyDrive from the desktop using apps that are not inherently cloud-aware, such as Notepad or Paint. While these are edge cases and most users are not using these apps, sometimes real work is done on the desktop even on a consumption oriented RT device, and dragging files to and from SkyDrive is necessary.  This method would work just as well on any other version of Windows, but a better choice on those PCs would be to install the SkyDrive sync app, which will keep your local copy of files synchronized to the cloud.

Actual example: This mapped SkyDrive allowed me to drag and drop images from my SkyDrive into this very article from my RT tablet.  Could I have done it without this? Sure, but it would have been much more difficult!

Access SkyDrive as a mapped network drive..

Before we begin, there are a few caveats to consider when setting up Explorer-based access to SkyDrive.

• This is not officially supported. While this method is the very same method used by Office apps to save to SkyDrive, it is not an intended user scenario. In the future, architectural changes could break this functionality.
• New native support is on the way. According to many tech blogs, Windows 8.1 (codename Blue) is anticipated to add native SkyDrive cloud storage synchronization to Windows 8 devices, including RT. Time will tell.
• You can choose to access SkyDrive as a mapped drive letter (I use S:\ for SkyDrive) or as a WebDAV folder. WebDAV access allows thumbnails of icons to show their true contents, but because these files are stored online, the creation of these thumbnails is slow and can make it tedious to browse your files. I recommend the mapped drive option.
• Regardless of your choice, you can only browse your SkyDrive files from Explorer when you have an Internet connection.

With those in mind, it only takes a moment to set up, and you have nothing to lose. Here’s how:

1. First you will need to find your SkyDrive WebDAV address. The easiest way to get this is to look in an app that already knows it. Start any Office app on your Windows RT device, begin a blank document, then choose Open on the File menu. Select your SkyDrive location, then click Browse.
   

   From any Office app on your RT device, choose SkyDrive and then browse from the Open menu.

   The address bar of next window will be your SkyDrive WebDAV URL.  Right-click anywhere on the address bar, copy the address as text, then cancel and close the program.

   

   This address bar contains your SkyDrive WebDAV address. Right-click it to copy.

2. Open File Explorer and select Computer in the navigation pane. On the computer tab at the top of the folder, select Map Network Drive.
   

   The Map Network Drive button is only available from the Computer folder.

   In the window that opens, just choose your favorite letter and paste your copied URL into the next box. When you click Finish, you’ll be prompted for your SkyDrive login information (your Microsoft Account email address and password).

Once you’re done, you’ll see the SkyDrive, er, drive, right in your Computer folder.

Once mapped, the SkyDrive drive can be used like any other folder or drive — as long as you have an Internet connection.

Have more SkyDrive questions?  Tweet me @LtCmdrKeene or contact me here on my site.

The post Open SkyDrive as a Desktop Folder in Windows RT appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Internet Explorer on the desktop

Shortcuts to websites can be placed (pinned) to the taskbar for easy access, and also provide functionality similar to a fully installed program on the jump list (right click) and alerts (such as new mail notifications). Hundreds of sites integrate with this feature, including CmdrKeene’s blog.  Just go to any website using IE, then drag the tab down to your taskbar and drop it there.

Only one of these jump list menus is from a program and not a website. Like the shampoo commercial says, if you can’t tell, why should we?

Internet Explorer in Windows 8

Similar to the desktop pins, Internet Explorer in Windows 8 allows you to place shortcuts to sites directly on Start. Just like the desktop, these pinned site icons can share live information and updates.  Go to a site, swipe up (or right click), then click the Pin button.

Skeene.net and facebook are just two of the many sites I’ve pinned to Start.

Mail

Great for when you have rules that filter messages into folders, and you want to know when new mail arrives there without opening the mail app. In mail, go to any folder and then swipe up (or right click), choose Pin to Start.

Customize the name of your pinned folder…

…and it displays on Start (size can be adjusted)

People

Keep up to date with family and friends, or news feeds you care about. Open People, go to any person, then swipe up (or right click), choose Pin to Start.  Try pinning some news twitter feeds.

See the updates from the people you care about right on Start.

News, Sports and Stocks

Just as with People app above. Any news source, topic section, sport, team, or stock symbol can be pinned directly to Start for instant at-a-glance updates.

Taskbar and Jump Lists

Right click File Explorer to pin folders to the jump list for easy access to common destinations. Try this with other apps like Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Photoshop, even Notepad!

Office Apps

If you need to keep an Excel file (or other Office doc) handy, you can also pin it to the recently used files list shown in the file menu of the app.

Pinning a file to the Recent list keeps it up top.

Windows Phone

If you like to keep your favorite people and things a single touch or click away, Windows Phone goes even further. You can pin a shortcut direct to any photo album, music artist, Pandora station, and more.

It’s fair to say that in Windows, anytime you see the pushpin icon or see the word pin, you are being given an opportunity to make your experience uniquely yours and customize your workflow to suit your needs.  This page highlights only a few examples.  Hundreds of other apps from companies around the globe take advantage of these shortcuts.  Explore, and share your favorites in the comments below.

The post Pin Your Stuff All Over Windows appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

While this is by no means exhaustive, these are all programs I’ve personally used and will use again during severe weather operations. Because I’ve made the switch to Windows Phone, those with Android devices may with to take a look at my Weather Apps 2012 post, which includes several great recommendations for that platform.

GRLevel3 version 2.11 grlevelx.com
GRLevel3 is a powerful Windows desktop app for Level III radar data from the National Weather Service. Many television stations use this product to display radar data to their served area (although you wouldn’t know it after it’s deeply customized). In addition to even greater customizations, the newest version includes GIS integrations – high resolution satellite imagery with detail that scales to your zoom level (you can even see your rooftop).

MRLevel3 Windows Phone Store
From the maker of GRLevel3, this Windows Mobile version is a powerful mobile app for the same detailed Level III radar data. Because Windows Phone has the full Windows operating system (not just a mobile system called Windows), as well as DirectX graphics support like a PC, it can power great apps like this. I ♥ Windows Phone!

RAD Now! Windows Phone Store
As advertised, this Windows Phone app allows you to quickly access real-time US weather radar imagery without any fuss, cost or advertisements. While it lacks some of the sophistication and customizability of paid Android apps like RadarScope, this app serves most use cases just fine.

Weather Radar Tile Windows Phone Store
With functionality complimentary to Rad Now! above, this app provides quick access to NWS radar products, including velocity products. You can pin any or multiple radar tiles to your Start screen for an always-up-to-date view of the weather.

AllisonHouse allisonhouse.com
AllisonHouse is an aggregation and integration service specializing in weather data. For a small monthly fee, AllisonHouse provides faster and more reliable data access to radar scans than the public NWS systems, while expanding available data feeds to include almost any NOAA Storm Prediction Center product. These feeds integrate into software (incluging GRLevel3) for seamless data displays of rich information. I use these to include mesoscale discussions, frontal positions, even mesonet and lightning strike information into my radar display of GRLevel3.

WP8 Radio Windows Phone Store
Allows you to listen to online streaming audio, including NOAA Weather Radios sites, amateur radio, police scanners and more from around the world. Although Weather Underground maintains a directory of weather radio broadcast repeaters, this app makes finding and listening to the audio a breeze.

SpotterNetwork spotternetwork.org
Tracks live position, contact information, and storm reports of chasers and weather spotters. Integrates seamlessly into both GRLevel3 for live position reporting and viewing.

Garmin USB GPS Receiver
Roof-mounted GPS receiver for better coverage and reception during storms. Integrates with GRLevel3 to plot current position on top of live radar data, allowing for critical position decisions to be made when seconds matter. I also use GPSGate software to share this COM device with several applications simultaneously, such as the SpotterNetwork update client.

Rowi hiddenpineapple.com
Similar to the column layout of TweetDeck, this Windows Phone Twitter client allows you to save a search and maintain live updates by keyword or hashtag. I keep a tab open of #okwx to monitor all Oklahoma Weather reports, for example.

National Weather Service
Of course it should go without saying that I make heavy use of NOAA’s products from the National Weather Service and the Storm Prediction center. Their sites are vast, but you should bookmark at least spc.noaa.gov and weather.gov. There are also handy shortcuts, including weather.gov/norman for the Norman Forecast Office (OUN) webpage.  On your phone, check out mobile.weather.gov for small-screen-friendly view of the hazardous weather outlook and other products.

Weather Radio
While online services are useful and convenient, they are by their very nature prone to failure during emergencies. While listening to weather radio from your PC is convenient, Power outages, data failure, or network congestion can all cut off your critical information in life-or-death situations. Keep a weather radio with fresh batteries available at all times. And most importantly, keep the weather radio on, especially when you go to sleep! Warning sirens outdoors may sound loud enough to wake you during the Saturday tests, but during heavy storms their alerts are drowned out by rain, thunder, and atmosphere.

Have more? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

The post Weather Apps 2013 appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

From the Settings charm, tap the connection button to display your wireless networks. Tap and hold on the current connection to receive the menu below.

Tap and hold (or right-click) the WiFi network name for additional options.

From here you can choose Show estimated data usage to see how much data has been used through this network. This information displays whenever you tap your wifi network in the list.

With data usage enabled, you can view or reset your usage anytime from the network name.

You can also choose Set as metered connection, which will reduce the amount of data that is used through this connection. Windows will not download automatic updates or automatically transfer SkyDrive uploads over a metered connection. Other apps can take advantage of this as well and do their part to use less data, such as refreshing less frequently (or only manually within the app).

Even for those of you lucky enough to have unlimited data plans can benefit from using metered connections. These are greatly useful on the road using mifi or other shared hotspots where bandwidth – and power – are at a premium.

The post Quick Tip: Monitor or Limit Data Usage in Windows 8 appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Can’t touch this. Just because you can’t move a folder doesn’t mean it can’t be synced to SkyDrive.

At first thought, this would seem impossible – only items inside your SkyDrive folder can sync to the cloud, right?  Not exactly.  Using a little known Windows feature called junctions, your files can virtually be in two places at once. So while they might physically live on your external hard drive, they can appear to also be inside your SkyDrive folder and sync to your online storage and other computers.  A junction is very similar to a shortcut that points to another location, except it’s transparent to programs – they don’t know they are looking at a shortcut.

Let’s look at an example.  I have an external Seagate hard drive with a lot of large files on it, including sound studio recordings.  These are all stored in G:\Recordings while my SkyDrive syncs to c:\users\shawn\skydrive.

My recordings live on my external hard drive (G:), but I want them to sync to SkyDrive without relocating them.

Here’s how I can “trick” SkyDrive into thinking my recordings are in the SkyDrive folder, without actually moving them.  This is an advanced feature that requires using the command prompt, but don’t be intimidated, it’s quick and easy to do!

1. Go to the SkyDrive folder
   Open File Explorer, then click SkyDrive in the Favorites section at the top left.
2. Open a Command Prompt at the SkyDrive folder
   On Windows 8, select open command prompt from the File menu.
   

   From the SkyDrive folder, choose Open Command Prompt from the file menu.
   (Windows 7 users, hold shift while you right-click the SkyDrive folder, and you’ll see an open command window here link).
3. Type the command below to create your junction:

   mklink /j "SkyRecordings" "g:\recordings"Let’s break down each part of this command and what it does.

   • mklink is the name of the program that creates these types of links
   • /j tells the program to create a junction
   • “SkyRecordings” here is the name of the junction, it will appear as a new folder inside your SkyDrive folder. Name it whatever you wish (it can be the same as the actual folder, “Recordings”, but I chose a different name to distinguish it here), quotes are only needed if the name contains a space
   • “g:\recordings” is the target of the shortcut, or where the files are actually stored

   When you press enter, you’ll receive a message that the junction was created, and you can close the command prompt by clicking the X.
   

When you look back at your SkyDrive folder, you’ll see the new folder and all the items from the other drive will appear to be inside it — without having actually been moved.

The post Sync Unmoveable Folders to SkyDrive appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

I’ve shared before how you can sync your libraries with SkyDrive so your documents, pictures, music, and other libraries are always backed up and available wherever you go.  But what if you want to sync other folders or locations?

Take the Desktop for example. It’s the first thing you see when you use your computer, and if you’re like me, it’s where you keep documents and files you’re working on for easy access. Unfortunately they are trapped there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone home and needed a file that was on my Desktop at the office. With SkyDrive, this never has to happen again.

First we need to know how the Desktop works. The icons scattered all over your wallpaper are really stored in a folder inside your user account. For me, any files in c:\users\shawn\desktop will appear on my Desktop. All we need to do is move this to the SkyDrive folder instead. Fortunately, the Desktop is a special type of folder, called a shell folder, that can relocated anywhere. Here’s how.

1. First, make a place for your Desktop files inside SkyDrive.
   Open File Explorer, click the SkyDrive link in the Favorites section at the top left, then create a new folder.  Name it whatever you like, I called mine SkyDesktop.
   
2. Go to your user account folder. The easiest way to do this is just click your name in the address bar.
   
   Here you’ll see the actual folders that store all your stuff – documents, videos, music, favorites, downloads and yes, even the Desktop.
   
3. Finally, move the Desktop to be inside SkyDrive.
   Right click the Desktop folder, choose Properties, then go to the Location tab.  Click Move… and then select your new folder you made in step 1. 
   Click OK to save your new chosen location, then click Yes to move your desktop contents to the new folder.
   

That’s it. Now that the Desktop is stored inside your SkyDrive folder, it will be kept in sync with your online storage. You’ll see this new folder on your other computers, just repeat steps 2 and 3 on your those PCs so that your desktop on each one will stay in sync.

You can use the same steps to relocate other shell folders, such as your Favorites (browser bookmarks) and Downloads folders. Now when you bookmark a site or download a file, it’s on all your other computers too, automatically.

Update: If you want to sync folders that you can’t relocate to be stored inside your SkyDrive folder, see my next post in this series: Sync Unmovable Folders to SkyDrive.

The post Sync the Desktop across all your PCs with SkyDrive appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

If you aren’t familiar, I began my fitness journey under instruction from Cody Bobay, when I set out on my own body transformation in July 2011 (see My Fitness Story for details), the first step of which was to strip down to as lean as possible. Since then I’ve been trying to gain lean mass — with occasional guided adjustments to my diet and workouts to guide my progress.

Solid clean gains for a year, then I fell off after Christmas 2012 and quickly gained bodyfat until March (not pictured).

By and large, I’ve steadily gained lean mass for months, kept eating a ton and growing as much as I could.  In November 2012 though, I hit the wall and I’ve struggled since. Although my diet is pretty clean, I am today at 188 pounds and I’d guess about 18% bodyfat. The flab means I’m far less apt to post progress pictures.  I’m more than disappointed, I’m angry and frustrated that I haven’t been able to do more or push myself harder.

March 5, 2013: Weight: 186 Pounds, bodyfat: too high to take the shirt off yet.

Changing it Up

No more spinning the wheels. It’s time to do something new, and make a concerted effort and change to stimulate new progress.  That’s why today I’ve joined a new gym with more options and opportunities to grow my routine and experience.  I’ve also changed my diet to focus on cutting bodyfat. And incidentally I have also won a free month of crossfit sessions at CrossFit405. Although I don’t see myself as a crossfitter and am not likely to continue a membership, I will certainly take advantage of the high intensity workouts.

With crossfit 3x a week, I will still continue my strength training/lifting three mornings a week.  My short term goal right now is to lose bodyfat while maintaining as much muscle mass as possible. I’ve come along way to grow from 158 to 188. Although this is considerably below my desired lean weight of 200, I believe the time is right to cut while still making (much slower) lean gains. The downside is that this will also delay my This cutting will likely leave me at about 175 pounds further delaying my ultimate goal of 200. But I believe this mode switch will help me come back harder and shoot past my current plateau.

Also, my workout partner has recently moved across the country to be with his fiancé and family. I wish him all the best, and I’m looking for a new gym partner. I may even hire a trainer if I can find one here in the Moore area.

Big Thanks, or “now for something more positive”

Believe me: I am just getting started, but I want to thank Cody Bobay of Bobay Fitness for getting me started about three years ago by taking me through a transformation I didn’t think was possible (read it at skeene.net/fit if you haven’t).

Thanks to Mike Sydnes and Al Garrison for letting me join the Gladiators in PT sessions with Cody. I gotta thank Chad Kerr for being a consistent workout partner during his time at teleflora and running those stairs at OU’s stadium. Gonna miss you bro.

Thanks for the support from awesome friends that got me thirsty for fitness, like JJ Kelley, Brandon Payne, Josh Jerden, Shelby Lee. All of whom either inspired, pushed me, or got me started the first time I entered a gym.

Thanks to my all my other friends and peers for your support, advise, encouragement, inspiration, and positivity. Travis Schluter, Christian Spencer, Tommy Taylor, Wyatt Tilton, Jeff Griffith, Brandon sullivan, Ricardo Pinedo, Curtis smith, Spencer Basoco, Scott Chain, Jordan Jones, Austin Standage, Kim Brenneman, Landon Davidson, Joe DeMattio, Tyler Furfero, Coby Harvey, Brandon Kennedy, Ozzie Gallegos, Scott Do, Matt Marshall, Tim Valencia, Andrew Galura, Kwesi Keller, Brandon McCoy, Shannon Smith, Korey Bell, Erick Brockman, Buck Torres, Nikki and Wes Gautreaux, Brian Beahan, Charlie Al-Attar, Bryan Journey, Clint Gulley, Nate Asch, Andy Simon, Jessica McCarty, Magan Alyssa, Colby Pearce, Jeremy Benavides, William Vaugh, Cody Irons, Josh Jacobs, Nathan Teruel, Mike Wolfe, Chris Grady, Rod Casey, Stephen Penwell, Jordan Kelly, Matt Justin, J.j. Trudeau, Kyle Klingman, Josh Patterson, Oda Williams, and everyone else that I don’t have room to mention.

Also thanks to Teleflora for their wellness program, my boss Jamie Ham and VP Amas Tenumah for the flexiblity to take full advantage of it.

The post Progress and Next Steps – March 10, 2013 appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

There are several ways to adjust animations and visual effects in Windows, and these are surfaced where they make the most sense: ease of access/accessibility settings, visual styles, and the personalization control panels.  However, a master list of Visual Effects is available under the System Performance options.  To get there, open Start, type the word “effects”, and choose the Settings search result titled “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.”

Opening effects settings from Start: just begin typing and touch/click Settings.

In Windows 8, the graphics hardware-assisted desktop composition previously known as Aero is no longer optional (again, see my previous post about why this is a good thing), but options here can still have a noticeable, albeit small, impact on performance.  Here’s what some of the less obvious options do.

Performance Options in Windows 8 are nearly unchanged since Windows 2000, but affect the modern Windows 8 interface in new ways.

Animate contacts and elements inside windows Pulsing color of the default button in dialog boxes, the fly in effect of tiles on Start, sliding motion of updating tiles, smooth movement when re-arranging tiles, smooth movement when snapping/closing Windows 8 apps, and smooth motion when searching, zooming, filtering in Windows 8 apps and Start.

Animate windows when minimizing or maximizing In addition to minimizing and maximizing windows, also controls fade of Start in and out of view (when disabled, Start menu appears as a hard cut, no transition fade effect).

Animations in the taskbar In addition to the smooth sliding of taskbar buttons when re-arranging or opening apps, also controls cursor-tracking color effect when pointing to a running app, and the fade-in motion of preview thumbnails.

Enable Peek Peek temporarily hides all windows as you cycle selections in Alt-Tab, or when pointing to a taskbar preview of a running app. This disables this effect.

Show thumbnails instead of icons Allows icons to show their contents (such as the picture) instead of a generic icon representing the file type.

Smooth edges of screen fonts Trust me, you want this on. Without it, text becomes blocky and barely readable – especially on high-res LCD monitors.

Unlike the decision of enabling or disabling the Aero engine, turning these options on and off have very small effects, only shaving tiny fractions of a second off of common tasks.  Before you disable them, consider that flourishes can and do provide delight when using the system, and can indeed even make the system “feel” more responsive because you see content fade into view as it loads, rather than a brief noticeable pause before it simply appears. Animations can save time in other ways — for example, by drawing your eyes to an updating tile as you open Start. Without this subtle cue, you might not know that the content of the tile had changed since your last visit.  Perhaps then, the tweaks that offer the biggest performance/power gain while being least noticeable to the naked eye would be the shadow effects. If you’re looking to (infinitesimally) boost the performance of a resource-constrained system, I would recommend starting here.

The post Visual Effects and Performance Options in Windows 8 appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

On a Windows Phone device like the HTC 8x, no other real-time group chat application exists. Even apps that use data, such as Facebook Messenger or Skype, cannot notify you when a new message is received in a group conversation. One must continuously open the app and ‘refresh’ to see if any new messages have arrived. Push notifications from text messaging is not only more power efficient, but also more ubiquitous.

For users on the AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint networks, this is not an issue. Both Apple and Microsoft have included group-messaging SMS/MMS in their devices. For customers of the Verizon, this functionality does not exist. For reasons that are not clear and have never been stated, Verizon has removed the ability to engage in a group conversation from all devices on their network except the iPhone.  Why?

You won’t find this group messaging switch on Verizon models of Windows phones.

I’ve attempted to contact Verizon several times for an explanation, but all their service agents know is that the feature is not present.  I’ll be engaging the BBB to request that Verizon elaborate on their decision to restrict communications of users of these phones, and will update this article with the response.

May 17, 2013 Update:  Verizon has responded to my FCC complaint and advised that they will be releasing a software update mid year to bring group communications to Windows Phones.

In the meantime, does anyone have a suggestion for a real-time text application that allows for both group chat and push notifications when new messages arrive?

The post Verizon Cripples Group Communication appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

User Experience

The app is noticeably faster to both start and acquire my position than the stock Verizon Navigator (paid, $2 to $4/mo.) app. Once summoned, you’ll be greeted in true Windows Phone style to a minimalist interface.  Almost too minimalist in this case, as there’s no obvious starting point.  One must venture into the Options to set a destination.

Where do I go?

Searching for a destination is straightforward, whether searching by place name or by address.  I’ve yet to have a search misinterpreted or yield no results, and while there is no voice recognition to allow for setting a waypoint without typing from within Drive directly, the same effect can be had by holding and using the system speech recognition to answer your call to, for example, find Starbucks.

Venturing into the Options reveals the Destination search

On first use, the user is prompted to download a voice file.  Choose carefully.  I found that when hastily selecting the first “English” I saw, that driving navigation was only barely voice assisted. Rather than text-to-speech, this option uses a few pre-recorded messages: “enter highway”, or “in one mile, turn left,” which is about the most specific phrase you will hear.  Contrast this with the English, ‘announced street names’, which as you would expect announces specific exit numbers, street names, and more.  While it uses mobile data and is not required to use the app, text-to-speech provides a higher degree of confidence and allows the driver to eliminate the need to glance at the device for the upcoming street name.

Data limit friendly, or detailed descriptions? The choice is yours.

Speaking of mobile data, Nokia Drive is superb at sipping bandwidth. In addition to pre-recorded voice clips, maps for entire states can be downloaded to phone memory for fully offline navigation.  I was surprised to see that Nokia Drive also detected and used downloaded maps previously acquired via Verizon Navigator.  This sharing saves phone storage space, which is always a precious commodity.

They take up a bit of storage, but allow for totally-offline navigation later.

One final nice feature is the Speed Limit Alert.  Initially, the default zero tolerance threshold drove me to seek to disable the annoying alert.  Once set to allow for more generous speed limit interpretations, I decided to leave the option enabled for those trips through unfamiliar territory.

Creating a little extra wiggle room allowed me to keep the annoyance down until I really am overdoing it.

Limitations

There are two features within the Verizon app that are not seen in the Drive+Beta.  En-route fuel prices, sometimes called “find along”, and traffic integration.  You will have to decide if this is worth $48 dollars per year.  To me, it’s not worth an on-going subscription.  Even with previous apps with traffic integration, such as my late Android phone, I never once took an alternate route due to traffic information (not always by choice, it was usually just provided too late to be of use).

Despite these two limitations, in all I found the Nokia Drive app to be an amicable utility, and one I’d recommend any Windows Phone user try before paying for similar apps.

The post First Impressions of Nokia Drive+Beta for Windows Phone 8 appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Normally it’s not a problem, but there are times when it costs me. For example, last Friday I compiled some information, saved it to my desktop*, and subsequently forgot to email it to my boss. That afternoon I deleted the file, and before going home I emptied the bin, only to have my boss call wondering where the data was.  Oops.

The Recycle Bin is there to be used, and emptying it every hour undermines its usefulness. Therefore, I’ve removed it from my desktop to avoid the compulsive housekeeping from getting me in more hot water.  After removing it, the bin is still accessible from the Desktop folder from the File Explorer, but it’s less readily noticeable when it has papers in it.

To remove it, simply go to Desktop Personalization, and use the Change Desktop Icons link on the left.

Some have suggested I simply change the “has trash in it” icon to the empty recycle bin image. But that doesn’t work for me, I still know it has files in it.

*I avoid using the Office “send in email” option, because the file name ends up as Document1.xlsx and not a proper title.  Presentation counts, kids.

The post Remove Recycle Bin from the Desktop appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Online subscription services make great gifts, and allow the recipients to make use of the hardware they already have with a new (or extended) subscription of content.

Gift 1:  Xbox Live Gold Membership (One Year)
Perfect For:  Any hardcore or casual gamer, or as a gateway to enjoy online video, streaming movies and music from a variety of partners.  This gift comes in the form of a redemption code, or can be purchased on cards at retailers like Target.
Retail Price:  $48.99

Gift 2:  Pandora One (One Year)
Perfect For:  Music lovers, runners, gym rats.  You can send by email or print, or purchase cards at retailers like Target.
Price: $36 | pandora.com
Similar:  grooveshark.com

Gift 3:  Netflix (One Year)
Perfect For:  Movie and TV buffs. Available as an online gift to be printed or emailed.
Price: $95.88 | netflix.com

Gift 4:  Amazon Prime (One Year)
Perfect For:  online shoppers, Kindle ebook readers, and more. Provides free 2-day shipping plus access to Amazon Instant Video (tv/movies).
Price:  $79 | amazon.com

Gift 5:  Audible.com (One Year)
Perfect For:  those with long commutes or trips.  Audible is a audio book provider from Amazon with a huge selection of titles available.
Price:  $150 | audible.com

Gift 6:  Office 365 (One Year)
Perfect For:  students and families with multiple computers.  Provides Office for up to 5 PCs, plus anywhere access to all your files.
Price:  $99 (currently free) | microsoft.com

The post Consider Services as Gifts this Christmas appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

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The post More Commands in the Quick Access Toolbar [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

By default when working with Gmail accounts, Delete commands actually archive messages instead.  Tapping the Delete button in your mail app will move the message (or relabel it), where it will show in the All Mail label or folder.

If you do want to move a message to the trash, simply move it there as you would move to any other folder and Gmail will happily oblige. If you move to the Spam folder, it is also smart enough to mark the message as spam on the server and prevent more unwanted mail later.

And if you do prefer delete to be a real delete instead of archive, you can change the default delete behavior from the Gmail website.

If you are keen to archive mail in Exchange, be sure to check out my post about bringing this one-click archive functionality to Outlook.

The post Using Gmail in Windows 8 Mail App [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

The post Deep Pinning on the Windows 8 Start Screen [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Even better in Windows 8: The first Quick Access button on my File Explorer is “copy path”, which copies the address of a file by pressing Alt-1. This command used to require holding shift and right-clicking, and the mouse is so 2011.

Take a look at how to customize your toolbar below (spoiler, you can also just right-click any existing icon and ‘add to quick access’).

The post Use Quick Access from the Keyboard [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Being a nerd with more than a few obsessive tendencies, I was fixated on this style and was determined to replicate it for my computer.  Using then-Macromedia Fireworks (Macromedia was later acquired by Adobe), I sized and layered elements of Windows Vista.  As the anonymous Mac user had done, I used a ghosted watermark of the official default wallpaper behind my blueprint pattern.

Windows Vista Desktop blueprint, blended with the default and Ultimate Extras Strands images

Not to be outdone, I decided the Welcome Screen needed some blueprint love as well.  In Windows Vista forward, the Welcome Screen includes a few buttons and badges for your product edition, so I made sure to allow these elements to stand through and be enhanced by the blueprint pattern:

Windows Vista login (Welcome Screen) background, including areas for product branding to display.

To apply my custom image, I used a free application from Stardock, a Microsoft partner company, called LogonStudio, which can edit the Welcome backgrounds in Windows Vista or Windows 7.

All the backgrounds I’ve created so far are included below for your enjoyment.  You’ll notice an interesting trend where every successive version has further reduced and simplified the number of interface elements on the screen.  With Windows 8 setting the stage for the desktop to become a historic relic, my next wallpaper may have no schematics at all.

     
Click any image to see or download the full size copy.
Windows Vista desktop/lock, Windows 7 desktop/lock, Windows 8, and RT.

These are the original PNG layered images, so you can open them up inside Photoshop or Fireworks and edit the images and text to your liking.  The font I used is a common system font included in Windows Vista and later.  Source blueprint patterns are below for two common screen resolutions.

 

The post Custom OS Blueprint Wallpapers appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

1. First, you’ll apply the same template to all subfolders:
   1. Go to the top folder (music in my example), right-click and choose Properties.  On the Customize tab, choose a folder type, and apply it to all subfolders.
2. Now that all subfolders have the same type (template), you’ll apply a few style to that template.
   1. To do this, customize any folder that has that template (I used Music again).  Set your preferred icon size, style, sort order, group settings, and more.
   2. Open Folder Options on tools menu (tap alt to see it if it’s not visible), or on the View tab in Windows 8, then click Apply to Folders on the View tab.  This applies the current style to the folder template, which means all folders you applied that template to in step 1 now have the same style.

While this applies to folders, please remember that Libraries are not actually folders (they’re actually more like live search results) and will always use a consistent style as you navigate within them.

This tip is part of the Community Video Tips campaign from the Microsoft MVP program, celebrating all the ways current Microsoft consumer products, apps and features solve people’s real world needs. Each tip provides a solution for a specific scenario, and all tips can be seen on the MVP channel on YouTube.

The post Apply Folder Styles to All Subfolders [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

One of the top frustrations I see among Windows users is with the search experience. Sometimes searches for a keyword just don’t seem to find the expected results when you know the file is there.  What’s going on?

By default, the search system only indexes files in your libraries (such as Documents and Pictures, for example) and a few other key areas. During indexing, a record is built of every file and the words within them, allowing you to retrieve instant search results even when searching through thousands of files.  It’s the same trick search engines use to allow searching the entire planet in under a second: it’s all been scanned ahead of time.

To save time when you search in a location that is not indexed, such as an external drive or network location, the search system only looks at the file names — not deep inside each file.  This allows it to return results faster (not instantly), but at the cost of quality.  When possible, it’s best to add other locations to your index so they can be scanned beforehand as well, however you can also change this behavior and tell Windows Search to always do a slow crawl search deep inside every file, even if it will take longer.  This gives you a full search experience that is still instant when possible, yet still complete when it’s not (at the cost of some time).

1. Type folder into your Start menu to find and open Folder Options, then go to the Search tab.
2.  Enable the “always search file names and contents…” box, then click OK.

For a related tip to boost your search experience, check out Enabling Search Inside More File Types.  Both of these tips are consolidated in an older article, Boosting Windows Search in Two Steps.

This tip is part of the Community Video Tips campaign from the Microsoft MVP program, celebrating all the ways current Microsoft consumer products, apps and features solve people’s real world needs. Each tip provides a solution for a specific scenario, and all tips can be seen on the MVP channel on YouTube.

The post Enable Full File Search in Non-Indexed Folders [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

1. To have your files on your computer automatically sync up to the cloud, you’ll need the SkyDrive app.  You can quickly grab at SkyDrive.com (get the app for your phone while you’re there).
   • Installation only takes a few seconds, but be sure not to breeze past the “fetch” feature.  With that enabled, you can remotely access files from anywhere on your computer, even folders/drives that aren’t part of your skydrive storage.
   • After installing, you’ll see a new SkyDrive folder on your computer.  Anything you put in there will be synchronized with your online storage.  To have your existing libraries (documents, photos, etc) store their content in SkyDrive by default, take the following steps.
2. Enter your SkyDrive folder and create folders for Documents or Pictures (or whatever you want), then right-click each and choose “Include in Library” and match it up to the proper library.
3. Right-click each Library in the folder list at the left, choose Properties, then set the SkyDrive location as the default location for the library.

Now every file you store, even from apps that aren’t “cloud aware” will still sync to your online folders and will be available at SkyDrive.com.  This is great for remote access or simply keeping a safe copy of your files off-site.

This tip is part of the Community Video Tips campaign from the Microsoft MVP program, celebrating all the ways current Microsoft consumer products, apps and features solve people’s real world needs. Each tip provides a solution for a specific scenario, and all tips can be seen on the MVP channel on YouTube.

Edit: For more advanced ways to use SkyDrive, see my two followup posts about keeping your desktop synced across all your computers, and syncing folders from other locations or drives.

The post Sync Your Libraries to SkyDrive [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

1. On your Xbox home screen, go to Settings, System Settings, choose Language and Locale, and then finally select the Language option.
2. To use a standard keyboard layout, choose English (QWERTY), or just plain English for the default alphabetical keyboard.

This tip is part of the Community Video Tips campaign from the Microsoft MVP program, celebrating all the ways current Microsoft consumer products, apps and features solve people’s real world needs. Each tip provides a solution for a specific scenario, and all tips can be seen on the MVP channel on YouTube.

The post Changing the Xbox Keyboard Layout [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

1. From your Start menu, type index to find and open the Indexing Options (or find it in your Control Panel).
2. Click the Advanced button, then go to the File Types tab.
3. Find your file type in the list and set it to allow indexing of the contents.  If the file type isn’t listed, you can add it below.

This should allow instant search for most type of files, but remember that the file will be indexed as plain text, so you’ll have the best experience simply searching for real words or strings from the code.

I use this primarily for web development files, but what do you routinely search?

This tip is part of the Community Video Tips campaign from the Microsoft MVP program, celebrating all the ways current Microsoft consumer products, apps and features solve people’s real world needs. Each tip provides a solution for a specific scenario, and all tips can be seen on the MVP channel on YouTube.

The post Instantly Search Inside More File Types [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Still, there are valid scenarios in which automatically logging into a particular account can be beneficial, such as public kiosks, or classrooms and other shared workspaces.  Ultimately it is up to you to thoughtfully determine if bypassing a login requirement is in your best interests.  If you do decided to do so, I would suggest that you enable automatically logging in only for restricted accounts, such as the Guest or otherwise limited account.  Here’s how:

1. Type netplwiz into your Start menu (or Run box if you are using an older OS without Start search), and run the command to open the User Accounts properties.
2. Uncheck the “Users must use a username and password…” box at the top, then click OK.
3. You’re prompted to provide the name and password to be used for automatic signin.  Simply provide the information and click OK to save.

The next time you boot your computer, the saved credentials will be used to login automatically.  However the other user accounts will remain active.  You can always log back off (or “switch user” in newer versions of Windows) to use the other accounts when needed.

Let’s hear from you, are there any situations where you find automatic login useful?

This tip is part of the Community Video Tips campaign from the Microsoft MVP program, celebrating all the ways current Microsoft consumer products, apps and features solve people’s real world needs. Each tip provides a solution for a specific scenario, and all tips can be seen on the MVP channel on YouTube.

The post Automatically Login to Windows [Video] appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Today I’d like to share how I’ve setup my Microsoft Outlook inbox to behave similarly to Gmail.  While a quick web search on the subject turns up several results, most focus on Outlook 2007.  And while a new version of Office is just around the corner, Outlook 2010 is and will continue to be the center of communication for the majority of us for some time to come. Let’s dig in.

1. The first step to bringing a gmail-style workflow to Outlook is setting up conversation views.  These allow you to see all emails in a conversation, sent and received, no matter whom the message was from or what folder you moved it to.  It’s especially useful in long conversations that split off into separate discussions from multiple recipients.  One click expands a message to show the rest of the conversation, and each email includes the folder it currently calls home:
   

   Conversation View shows all related messages, no matter what folder the email was moved to.

   Take a look at my earlier blog post for details on setting up conversation view.

2. Next, set up an archive folder.  Call it whatever you like: this is where you’ll banish emails after they’ve arrived to your inbox, you’ve made eye contact, and decided what to do with it.  In other words, your Inbox lives up to its name and only holds items you still need to take action upon.I’ve setup a Quick Step button to mark a message as read and move it to the Archive folder with one click.  To set up a Quick Step, simply right-click any message, point to Quick Steps and use the New option near the bottom.  Here’s my archive button’s setup:
   

   My Archive button’s settings. I have an identical Quick Step that also marks a message as “done” with a checkmark. I use it on to-do or assigned tasks so I can quickly find completed chores later when inevitably asked to document their completion.

3. Finally, the All Mail folder. While the conversation view in step 1 allows you to see all items of a single conversation,  this last step allows you to view a chronological list of every conversation, regardless of the folder, er.. label, it’s filed under.  For Outlook, this will be implemented as a Search Folder.Search folders look and feel like a normal folder, but the contents inside them are live search results.  So to view our All mail folder, we’ll setup a search folder that displays content from all other folders.  In the navigation pane, right-click Search Folders, choose New, then scroll to the bottom to create a custom search folder.  Click Choose to give it a name (“All Mail” or “Everything”) then browse to select the folders it should display results from.  I chose everything except my sent folder (sent messages are already shown in conversation view, so including it is not necessary).
   

   Search Folders behave just like normal folders, but their contents are dynamic. Also shown, the Unread Mail search folder, which always gives a consolidated view of all unread items.

   This new all mail Search Folder is also a great place to begin a search: it will cover all your bases at once, instead of searching in several places to find that one email you lost.

The post Bring Gmail-style workflow to Outlook appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

bloatware at its best

These pre-installed bundles of software are commonly referred to as bloatware or crapware.  At best they’re an inconvenience and distraction with dozens of icons littering your desktop, but in practice they slow down your computer and web browsing, drain your battery, invade your privacy, deliver advertisements, and nag you to upgrade.  The practice affects security as well.  More often than not, consumers believe they have antivirus security software, when in fact their computer came installed with only a time-limited trial edition that requires additional subscription costs to stay protected.

bloatware at its worst

Microsoft has been selling Signature computers through their own stores to combat this. These systems contain no bloat or trials — not even trials from Microsoft’s own products such as Office are allowed.  In short, the PC is best is can be.  Everyone can appreciate a system without nag screens, advertisements or privacy invasions, but Signature systems are also faster all around, the way Windows is meant to be.  Compared to their bloated counterparts, these Signature computers go to startup 40% faster, sleep 23% faster, and resume back from sleep 51% faster.

clean and simple

If you aren’t looking to buy a new computer, Microsoft has now launched a program to “Signature-ify” your existing computer.  Simply bring it into any one of the 16 Microsoft stores and pay $99 dollars to receive the treatment.

No Microsoft store nearby? No problem. Get better than new performance with a expert tuneup. If your computer is slow to start, sluggish all around, or unprotected, this is for you.  On-site or remotely, I’ll clean, optimize and tune for the best performance, and setup comprehensive virus/spyware protection that never expires or requires subscriptions, all for a single one-time price. See Services I Offer, or contact me to schedule an appointment at cleanup@skeene.net.

The post Ask a Geek: Bloated Computers appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Search results appear as fast as you can type

Since 2007, Desktop Search has been integrated into Windows.  Just open any folder, and notice a search box at the top right.  Here you can search your files with nearly endless criteria:  Images taken by Samantha during the first week of October? Piece of cake. JavaScript code snippet you want to reuse on your site and only remember one word inside? Too easy.

That is, if it’s setup correctly.  By default, Windows only searches inside files if the location is indexed.  Just like in a textbook, an index is a collection of words and where they appear, designed for fast locating.  On your computer, the index allows Windows to return instant results without actually searching your files at that moment:  that work has already been done when the files were indexed.

So why are some searches so slow, or don’t find files I know should be there?

Perhaps you’re searching places that aren’t indexed.  Take your libraries (Documents, Pictures, Music) for example.  Your libraries are meant for your personal files, and so they are indexed automatically.  And while it’s recommended to store your files here, sometimes you find a situation where you need to store files elsewhere.  And when you go to search, you may not find the results you expect.  In these cases, or if you routinely need to search non-indexed locations, you can tell Windows to do an intensive search: literally crawl through every single file and search for what you are looking for while you wait.

Some have pointed out that you can also folders to your indexed locations.  While this is not always possible, the easiest way to accomplish it is to right-click the folder, choose “Include In” and choose a library.  This way your files don’t move, but you gain the benefits of Libraries — which goes well beyond fast searches.

To enable full search, even in non-indexed locations, open Folder Options (type ‘folder’ into the Start menu to find it).  On the Search tab, click the 2nd option (“Always search file names and contents”), then click OK.

Searching in indexed locations will remain optimized for speed, while still allowing full search of non-indexed folders

After that, words you type in the search box will be found, even if those words appear inside one of your files.  Searches may take a little longer if you’re not in an indexed folder, but they’ll be complete and should return the results you want.

Still not finding it?  If the location is indexed, but your phrase still isn’t being found, do this to make sure the file type is getting included in the index. Do this, for example, if you are trying to find a phrase inside a non-standard file like a JavaScript or PHP file.  Type ‘index’ into your Start menu to find the Indexing Options, then click the Advanced button.  On the File Types tab, find the file type you want to be indexed (tip: click in the list, then type the file type letters like JS to jump to it).  With the file type selected, make sure the 2nd option is selected “Index properties and file contents”, then click OK to close each box.

Tip: Did you know you can search your entire computer (and beyond) from the Start menu?  Just tap the  key on your keyboard, then start typing anything.  It will search your programs, files, emails, and more.  I use this constantly to find people in my Outlook address book without actually switching away from what I’m doing.

These two simple changes will go a long way to reduce search frustrations people commonly have with Windows 7.  Your performance in indexed locations will be as quick as ever, and you gain reliable results outside of those locations. As the best of both worlds, I believe this should have been the default settings from the start.

The post Boost Windows Search in Two Steps appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

The 5:00am Hazardous Weather Outlook from the Norman NWS Office reads:

Probability of storms occurring in the area: 100%
Probability of severe storms if storms occur: 100%

Listen to the Hazardous Weather Outlook (2 minutes)

This is a particularly dangerous situation.  Do not rely on television or Internet outlets for severe weather information.  Power and network outages, and Internet congestion can cut off critical life-saving information.  If you do not have one, purchase a Weather Radio today (Walmart, $17) and be sure you have batteries as well.

Likewise, do not rely upon the city warning sirens. These are intended for outdoor warning only.  Further, they can and usually are delayed.  Yesterday when a moderately strong EF2 tornado tore through downtown Norman, the tornado had already been on the ground for a full five minutes, destroying several city blocks before the sirens were activated.

Make your plan now: know where you will go for shelter.

Saturday’s tornadoes stand to be large, violent and long-lived. Do not hesitate to bring a mattress, bicycle helmets, or any other protective gear you can into your safe spot to protect yourself and your family.

The post April 14 Severe Outlook appeared first on CmdrKeene's Blog.

Below I’ve listed some weather programs, applications, and services.  While this is by no means exhaustive, these are all programs I’ve personally used and will use again during severe weather operations.

Update: For my latest recommendations, including Windows Phone apps, see my Weather Apps 2013 post.

GRLevel3 grlevelx.com
GRLevel3 is a Windows viewer for NEXRAD Level III radar data from the National Weather Service.  With the addition of backgrounds, shapes and placefiles, you can customize the display in detail.  Many television station broadcasters use this product to display radar data to their served area (although you wouldn’t know it after it’s deeply customized).

AllisonHouse.com allisonhouse.com
AllisonHouse is a data aggregation and integration service specializing in weather data. AllisonHouse provides faster and more reliable data access to radar scans than the public NWS systems, while expanding available data feeds to include almost any NOAA Storm Prediction Center product.

Scanner Radio Google Play
Allows you to listen to online radio repeaters for police and fire scanners, weather radios, and amateur radio from around the world.  Although Weather Underground provides weather radio broadcast repeaters, this app makes browsing and listening to the closest scanner a breeze.  Similar apps are available for iOS.

SpotterNetwork spotternetwork.org
Tracks live position, contact information, and storm reports of chasers and weather spotters. Integrates seamlessly into both GRLevel3 and RadarScope for live position reporting and viewing.

RadarScope Google Play
Displays reflectivity, velocity, and other radar products from any NEXRAD radar site. Supports receiving data from AllisonHouse.com for high-availability and reliability of data services when the NWS public site is busy (such as during severe weather operations).

• Garmin USB GPS Receiver
Roof-mounted GPS receiver for better coverage and reception during storms.  Integrates with GRLevel3 to plot current position on top of live radar data, allowing for critical position decisions to be made when seconds matter.  I use Franson GPSGate software to share this COM device with several applications simultaneously, such as the SpotterNetwork update client.

TweetDeck Google Play
This Twitter client allows you to save a search and maintain live updates by keyword or hashtag.  I keep a page open of #okwx to monitor all Oklahoma Weather reports, for example.

National Weather Service
Of course it should go without saying that I make heavy use of NOAA’s products from the National Weather Service and the Storm Prediction center.  Their sites are vast, but you should bookmark at least spc.noaa.gov and weather.gov.  There are also handy shortcuts, including weather.gov/norman for the Norman Forecast Office (OUN) webpage.

• Weather Radio
While online services are useful and convenient, they are by their very nature prone to failure during emergencies.  Power outages, data failure, or network congestion can all cut off your critical information in life-or-death situations. Keep a weather radio and fresh batteries available at all times.  And most importantly, keep the weather radio on, especially when you go to sleep!  Warning sirens outdoors may sound loud enough to wake you during the Saturday tests, but during heavy storms their alerts are drowned out by rain, thunder, and atmosphere.

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