MSN Outlook is Outlook Live connected with MSN Hotmail. As the world’s largest free Web-based e-mail service which currently has 187 million accounts across the globe, MSN Hotmail’s Microsoft Office Outlook has advanced email tools that allows users manage their files more efficiently. But with millions of users, many are still unaware how to use it. So how do you use an Outlook with MSN?
The best thing about MSN Outlook is that it lets you manage all your files and information. But it doesn’t stop there. You can also use it to keep track all your appointments, take important notes and store contact information efficiently. But what people like most about MSN Outlook is that you can use it to access your email from your desktop. You can also configure it to all your other email accounts such as Yahoo and Gmail. But the thing is MSN email has various versions. It could either be a POP3 or web-based account. Furthermore, MSN Outlook has a few different versions lately, which means you have to be very careful in configuring your accounts. So how do you configure your email accounts correctly?
Configuring your accounts is quite easy. First, go to the ‘Start’ option and click Control Panel in MS Office Outlook 2007. From there, you look for “Pick a Category” and click on User Accounts. Then, you double-click on Mail and then proceed to Email Accounts. Once there, select the “Microsoft exchange, POP3, IMAP or HTTP” option, click the “NEXT” button and check the box allowing for manual configuration of the server settings. Afterwards, you click “Next” again. Then, you choose “Internet Email” and you enter in your account info such as your MSN email address, your password, and your name. When you are filling in the name field, make sure to type in the name as you want it to appear in the “From” field of your sent email. Then choose “HTTP” under the “Account Type”. Then, de-select the Secure Password Authentication box, click the “Next” button and then finally click “Finish”.
But the procedures above are only meant for the Outlook 2007 with a web-based MSN Account. Keep in mind that there are some variations when you configure Outlook 2003 or earlier versions in order to function with an MSN POP3 account. But the differences are only the things being in different places in the control panel. For instance, you need to click on the “Outgoing server” tab when you want to set the server authentication. Other than that, most of the procedures are pretty straight forward.
When you want to access Hotmail emails using Outlook Express, you have to create an account first by entering MSN’s server settings, plus your personal account info such as email ad, user name and password, the server name and type, etc. Then, you click on “Start” and go to “Outlook Express” located in the main toolbar. Select the “Tools” button and click on “Accounts”. Once there, the instructions are pretty much straightforward. In order to check if the account is working properly, try sending a test email to a friend.

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A lot of people say using Google Voice could be a life-changing experience. But what exactly is Google Voice? How important it is to your business? Can this service improve business productivity? Google came up with Google Voice for voice communications. Formerly known as Grand Central, Google Voice was actually purchased and repackaged by Google. Google Voice works using voice over IP (VoIP) technology which allows individuals to place long distance phone calls through their Internet connection at a very affordable price. This ingenious service provides you with one phone number so you can link all your phones. You can also make voicemail in a very easy manner. Lately, Google Voice has gone beyond what it used to offer. For instance, people are now capable of using it to call their landline, office, and cell phone simultaneously while you push calls to your voicemail for less urgent matters. You can use Google Voice for free, but you have to pay a certain amount when making international calls. Here is the trick: you can get a separate phone number from Google Voice which you can give out to others. The phone number you have would act as your regular phone number. Then, you can adjust the settings so that incoming calls will be forwarded to any of your phones. This way, you and your caller’s life will be much easier especially if you have multiple phones. You can reach all of them using your single number provided by Google Voice. Because you have several phones, people trying to reach you will have a hard time. But with Google Voice, you can decide how to route the calls. With the help of Google Voice, contact management is at its best. Now isn’t that clever? During the day, you can forward to one group of phones and another during the night. Google Voice allows you to forward calls from certain numbers differently than calls to other numbers. It also lets you block spamming callers from known telemarketers and send some calls directly to your voice mail. Moreover, you can adjust the setting that sends you an SMS message or an email every time you receive a voice mail. This way you can check your voice mail using your email. This certainly makes Google Voice as the ideal choice in voice communications. One of the benefits of Google Voice is that you can save some money because of its free text messaging service. Also, you don’t have to pay for a call blocking service, or other services for that matter. Even though most telecom companies aren’t big fans of Google Voice, it has already been used by Blackberry and Android-powered smart phones. Google Voice is such an essential tool especially if you make regular international calls and you’re on a budget. Compared to other carriers, you can get incredible savings using Google Voice even if you have calling plans. Making calls is also very easy using Google Voice. Simply key in your Google number, press 2, and then type 011 plus the country code and the phone number. Users agree that Google Voice is the best service Google had ever come up so far.  –> Speedy KAVAINT.COM W3C Software Directory COUNTERDEAL.COM By: Twitter Buttons

In your daily use of the Internet, you may have heard of the term Google Apps. But what exactly is Google Apps? Every day, you are being bombarded with a lot of Google plugins, widgets, and applications. As the leader in search engine tools, Google offers various Web applications with the same functionality to traditional office suites such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Talk, and productivity tools like Google Docs (text files, spreadsheets, and presentations), iGoogle, and Google Sites. The aim of Google Apps is to make content sharing very easy. It also makes collaboration, peer review of academic materials and collective generation of knowledge possible.

Interestingly, a lot of people are still unaware how valuable Google Apps are especially for their business. And more importantly, Google Apps are available free of charge. The use of such tools is totally free which does not only enables a person to set up email accounts, but it also lets him share files, create schedules and communicate with others in real time. Most of these apps are used by people for personal use, but businesses should also take advantage of the benefits of Google Apps software.

Most businesses would want a customized email account. But with Gmail, businesses will be able to create accounts for free. It may include @Gmail-dot-com, but Google mail is superior to many other email clients; besides if you verify your website you can have an email account that is customized. Additionally, Gmail has a user friendly interface and sufficient storage for all of your incoming and outgoing mail.

Google Docs is another application that can be very useful both for personal and for business use. It allows you to share files and store information on the internet. Sharing file over the Internet is essential for business these days. With the use of Google Docs, you can create, modify, and republish your files anytime you want. You can also manage your time more effectively using Google Calendar. It doesn’t only allow you to schedule tasks and set target dates much more successfully, but you can also share your schedule with other users enabling for an easy collaboration. Your Google calendar will send reminders to your gmail automatically. And of course, you can all do these for free.

Another important tool that could help businesses is the Google Webtalk. This tool provides communication between individuals anywhere in the world in real time. This tool can be used by businesses and entrepreneurs for more flexible meetings with their clients and colleagues. There is no need for a travel itinerary when meeting with clients; with Google Webtalk, you can meet them wherever they maybe.
Using any of these tools can bring so many benefits, not only to an individual, but to businesses that want to succeed and improve business productivity in a fast- moving, competitive market. This is especially true if you want to manage your business from anywhere in the world. By creating an account with Google, you can avail of this powerful application known as Google Apps free of charge.

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Sustainability and smart environmental thinking will help small business to think innovatively and work with what they have. The very tenets of green thinking, i.e. reducing energy and waste, will help small business owners cut costs and be more profitable. Being innovative is what distinguishes the companies that successfully emerge from hard times and those who flounder.

Sustainability is all about meeting needs and seeking a balance between people, the environment and the economy. Green thinking promotes the well being of each of these components because the decline of one would mean the detriment of the others.

It may seem counter intuitive, but it will not cost small businesses more to be green. Green thinking is about cutting costs. It will save your small business money in both the short term and long term; but especially in the long term. In addition to this, it will boost your social responsibility ratings and increase customer loyalty. That in turn will boost your bottom line.

If your small business barely exists in survival mode, the best things you can do to think green is to act green. You and your employees can turn off lights that are not being used; unplug appliances that are energy hogs (even when not being used); raise the temperature on the thermostat (in the summer and of course reverse in winter); buy goods in packages that can be recycled (and meet the recycling criteria of your local recycling center – many of which are unable to process some types of packaging even though the recycle symbol is on it); reuse things through repurposing (get creative here), and consolidate driving trips. These activities are just a few examples of the free things you and your employees can do to go green and save.

Small businesses that have more resources will benefit from investing in green strategies which will have longer term cost savings. This includes buying energy efficient light bulbs, windows, refrigerators and other appliances with the energy star seal of approval. These do make a big difference in the long haul. Energy efficient windows cut down glare and heat in the summer and the effect is noticeable immediately.

Green thinking is most effective when your small business creates a culture of green. This means that employees are involved and given the go ahead to be creative participants. This has a number of benefits including: promoting innovation, being more effective in cutting costs because of full participation, and most importantly, increasing employee loyalty and productivity because their input is valued. Cutting back is much more bearable when everyone is on board. The message should be that your small business is going lean on “things” rather than on people. This is an important morale booster.

Small businesses will always fare much better in tough times when employee morale is high. The attitude of your employees always comes through to your customers. Positive employees are able to be genuinely interested in customers instead of just wearing a phony smile that masks their displeasure at working in a stressful environment. Customer loyalty increases when customers feel better served. This again is an example of how people, environment and economics need to be in balance; the essence of green thinking and sustainability.

One of the most important work trends today, telecommuting, reflects this balance. It considers the needs of workers and saves energy in terms of reduced commuting and office space requirements. Small businesses that are able to use virtual administrative secretaries and other virtual assistants (e.g. for outsourcing SEO and other activities that require expertise) will save significantly because they will not have to incur the costs of hiring and maintaining a large staff (in addition to the savings realized from reduced commuting and needing less office space). They will save because outsourcing will enable them to find expertise at prices that may not be available to them in their local areas. Small businesses who do this will be embracing green thinking, cutting costs, be more socially responsible and be more successfully positioned to emerge from the economic downturn.

Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation Aims to Simplify Home Office Tax Deduction to Better Assist American Small Businesses

June 25, 2009

Washington, D.C -

Today, U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) along with U.S. Rep. Charles A. Gonzalez (D-Texas) announced the Home Office Tax Deduction Simplification and Improvement Act of 2009, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to establish an optional home office deduction to help ease the burden of the complex tax code on American small businesses.

Under current law, a home office tax deduction can be utilized by qualified individuals who use a portion of their home as a principal place of business or as a space to meet with patients or clients.? Although recent research from the Small Business Administration (SBA) indicates roughly 53 percent of America’s small businesses are home-based, few of these firms actually take advantage of the tax incentive due to complex and rigid reporting regulations. ?The Home Office Tax Deduction Simplification and Improvement Act of 2009 would direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an optional, easy-to-use standard deduction to encourage greater use of the incentive.

“With a morass of paperwork attributable to the home office deduction, the time-consuming process of navigating the tangled web of rules and regulations makes it unsurprising that so many small business owners forego the home office deduction,” said Senator Snowe, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.? “By simplifying this vital tax incentive, our bill will give small firms much needed relief from burdensome tax rules, which in turn, will allow them to focus their efforts on developing new, cutting-edge 21st century products and services and creating new jobs.”

“More than half of small businesses in the country are based in the home, but the?current home office deduction?rules are so complicated that many business owners take a pass.?It is our hope that we can help simplify this part of the tax code, and eventually see this deduction actually become a tool to promote the growth of more small businesses, and more jobs and economic activity,?in America,” Senator Conrad said.

“Home-based businesses are one of the fastest growing segments of our nation, providing jobs and nurturing our economy.” said Rep. Gonzalez. “To maximize the job creation role that small businesses can play in our economy, they need the right tools, which we are helping to provide by simplifying the tax deduction regulations.? Our bill provides the provisions to help small businesses flourish. In this troubled economy, I encourage all those eligible to take advantage of this key incentive that will make a positive contribution to our economy by making the home deduction process easier for the nearly 53 percent of American small businesses run from home.”

Thanks to Barbara Weltman for finding this.

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