I just learned of some cool software called Watchflag from Jason Langridge's blog. The Watchflag software lets you create custom alerts for incoming messages as they arrive on your Windows Mobile phone. Although you can receive alerts on email in subfolders, as he points out, you can also do so much more, too.

Using rule-based notifications, you can have different mp3 sounds play based on sender or subject, have the display light up, have the phone vibrate, or have alerts repeat, and much more.

This could be really handy to help you sort through your influx of email, making sure that you don't miss that all important email from your boss or the meeting request from your department head. But personally, I like some of the examples uses that Watchflag comes up with, like a loud siren when you server goes down or a fight song for score updates from your favorite team.

The software is available for a free trial which you can download straight to your phone from m.watchflag.com.

Today, the guys at PerfectDisk announced on their blog that a new build of PerfectDisk 2008 for Windows Home Server is now available. This new version includes full integration with the Windows Home Server console, where PerfectDisk 2008 will now have its own tab.

The PerfectDisk software defrags and optimizes disks which leads to better performance and reliability. Their "Space Restoration Technology" also helps create a large piece of contiguous free space so there is less fragmentation in the future while also improving write file access, whereas typical defragmenters only focus on read file access.

If you already have PerfectDisk installed on your WHS, you'll need to remove that first before installing the latest version. Installation instructions are here. The software for WHS is only $39.99, or you can purchase a Home Site License and get 10 licenses for your network for $99.99.

As part of a PCWorld article entitled, "50 Add-Ins and Utilities That Can Improve Your PC Experience," there was a section on Office optimizers that I thought was really useful. The list included some great extras and tricks to do more with Office. Here are some highlights:

• Open Office 2007 files with older office versions via the Office Compatibility Pack
• Use CenoPDF to build PDFs without ever having to leave Word, PowerPoint, or Excel.
• Become a meeting power user with MeetingSense, which provides an extensive dashboard for meetings, agendas, creating minutes, etc.
• Organize your data with ClearContext (See? I told you so!)

For the full list, check out the article at PCWorld.

I just saw a great tip on Steve Clayton's blog for quickly locking your Windows PC, so I just had to share. Instead of using "Windows + L" (not everyone can love the keyboard shortcuts, you know), Steve makes himself a little icon for his taskbar instead. Here's how:

   1. Right-click on your desktop and select "New," then"Shortcut"
   2. Paste this text in: rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
   3. Click "Next" and type a name for the shortcut (e.g. "Lock")
   4. Click "Finish"
   5. You can right-click on your new shortcut and change the icon (there is a lock icon as part of the collection in %SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll)
   6. Now drag the icon to your taskbar.

Awesome!

I've written a few posts about apps that get your Facebook contacts into Outlook - like FBLook, which provides access to Facebook via a toolbar add-in, and Facebook app, Fonebook, which syncs your contacts; but what about exporting contacts from Outlook to Facebook? If you are like most people, you still tread a fine line between work-related social networking and personal social networking. However, in most people's inbox (the most inclusive social network we all have), resides all different types of people and connections. You may want to export your work colleagues to LinkedIn but export your friends and family to Facebook. Now you can, with the new ClearContext Contact Exporter for Outlook (Beta). The program lets you create and export groups of email addresses found in messages that are stored in the Outlook folders you select.

Once you’ve created the list using the Contact Exporter tool, you can import these contacts into any services that accept CSV files.  Here are import links for a few popular sites (log into the sites before clicking the links below):  

LinkedIn
Facebook (click Email Application and scroll down to Contact File)
Evite
Socializr

You can also use the exporter to create distribution lists and new contact files in Outlook. The ClearContext Exporter for Outlook (Beta) is a part of the company's latest IMS v4 suite, which is free for 30 days during the trial period. However, the Contact Exporter remains functional even after the 30 days are up.

Was TweakUI your favorite PowerToy? Have you been searching for something similar for Vista? Several different programs are available that may be what you're looking for. Here's a quick list:

1. TweakVI is a software program designed just to tweak and optimize Vista. The program comes in 3 editions - basic, premium, and ultimate - so there is sure to be one to fit your needs. Only the basic edition is free, but it includes desktop tweaks, Start Menu tweaks, IE & Firefox tweaks, Hardware tweaks, System info, Virtual Desktops, System folder tweaks, Mouse tweaks, Outlook tweaks, & Shutdown tweaks.
2. VistaTweaker is small enough (664KB) to run from a flash drive but has a huge list of tweaks available including IE tweaks, Windows UI tweaks, System tweaks, Software tweaks, Network tweaks, and more.
3. XdN Tweaker is small too (516KB) and supports XP, Vista, and even Windows Server 2003. XdN can tweak things like disabling Windows Mail's splash screen, disabling user account control, better save folder views, remove or replace IE7's search box, disable the "send to" option, and much more.
4. Stardock's TweakVista: Unlike other programs, TweakVista automatically prompts with enhancement recommendations, offering easy “one click” updates to otherwise complex changes, but it's also safe to use. TweakVista is a great way for casual tweakers to get their feet wet without having to worry about causing major havoc on their system. However, there are enough features for the experienced tweaker to enjoy it, too. The trial is free, the program itself is $20.
5. Vispa is a free executable that doesn't even require an installation in order to use it. It's focus is more on privacy, allowing you to do things like disable error-reporting and other similar communication. But you can also turn on settings like "fast shutdown," which is really a reg hack, without you having to dig into the registry.

Slide.Show is an open source Silverlight 1.0 control for publishing highly-customizable photo slideshows on the web. Created by Vertigo, the application lets you build rich, interactive web slideshows with minimal setup and configuration required. You can add your own transitions and customize various options like color, font, size, position, and behavior. You can even configure it to display your photos from flickr. The app is 100% customizable via XML or JavaScript and works on IE 6 and 7, Firefox 2, and Safari 2 and 3.

To see some great examples of the Slide.Show app at work, check out the links below:

http://www.duncanchannon.com/baddecisions

http://blog.offbeatmammal.com/post/2007/12/Silverlight-Slideshow.aspx

http://www.nikhilk.net/Silverlight-Slideshow.aspx

Slide.Show is available as a free download from CodePlex.