Not happy about this experiment. I tried, I really...

Redesigns happen, but the good thing about the old Google news is that it gave the top few stories in a section and if you wanted more you could click through.  All the center column is now is a long list.  That means the only useful part is the right column - which is cluttered before any categories are added.
This new formatting is incredibly atrocious—Google needs to learn to not try to fix what isn't broken. If they think that the new formatting is an improvement of any kind, they couldn't be more wrong. It looks like they simply removed any formatting that was there in the first place and didn't fix it....Bring back the old layout: one of the reasons I gravitated to Google News was because it had several top stories and then had more articles in various columns/sections as you scrolled down. I could get a decent sampling of all the news this way.

The new set up is counter-intuitive and does not allow me to simply peruse through headlines as easily as before. I would be willing to try it out, if it made more sense or made things easier, but overall, the inability to change it back makes me more irritated than anything else.

Some of the people in this post were asking for a comparison screen shotSee screen shot comparison here: New news is bad news.  Not coming back.It SUCKS! Please put it back, or give me an option to display it the old way. Who needs a news page with nothing but headlines? I like scanning the tidbits of the story before I waste time clicking through. Also, I was enjoying the quick-flip at the bottom. I didn't realize Google used production pages for experiments, but it's enough to make me find another source. Put it back, or loose a user! I hate it. I used to go more than once per hour to google news, but now I have looked into other news services. Still I haven't found one as good as google news, but I really dislike the new layout so much that now I go one or two times per day because its almost impossible to me to find the news that I like, or may like.Google is getting WAY too big for its britches.One more day, and then I am out of here - Probably to Yahoo, or someone who cares about MY choices.Amazing. Nearly all of the feedback HATES the new design.

The new design also produces a lot of junk articles.

Google's attitude? Screw the users. Google won't change the design.

Here's another Google screwup, just like Buzz.

Why not give us an option to opt out of this "experiment"?

Or is the experiment to see how long before we give up using Google altogether?

New design is horrific, what were they thinking? Makes Huffington Post look like a Nobel Prize design.

In other words, following in the great tradition of Buzz, Google should immediately roll this out to everybody. Hey, we're Google, got a problem with that?

Worst layout ever, I will never use google news if it doesn't go back to the original layout. I DID opt out.  I am back (Thank HEAVENS) to a real news page.Delete your cookies for Google.

Deleting cookies

You can delete all or some cookies in Internet Explorer.

To delete a single cookie

In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options. On the General tab, under Browsing history, click Settings. Click the View files button. Click the Name column heading to sort all the files alphabetically, and then scroll down until you see files that begin with the prefix Cookie:. All cookies will have that prefix, and they usually contain the name of the website that created the cookie. So, look for something that says cookie:YOURNAME@Google something Right-click the cookie you want to delete, click Delete, and then click Yes. Close the window that contains the list of files, and then click OK twice to return to Internet ExplorerThe redesign is terrible. Please revert back to previous version.I was so pissed off i actually went to yahoo, somthing i swore i would never do and it is clear where google got their inspiration from since they are almost identical. The yahoo page sucks just as bad as this new bullshit layout. The first reviews and furious comments regarding this "experiment" were posted on Feb 4th, why the F*** is this not being addressed? Google is seriously the next Microsoft, fixing shit that is not broken and then pretending to actually listen to all of the sheep complain. FUCK YOU GOOGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I also do not like the new design. Deleting all the google.com cookies as described in an earlier post "fixed" the problem for me (brought back my customized news page).

As others have mentioned, I wish there had been an easier, more "visible" way to opt-out.

The new design looks awful!!! Please revert back to the old design as it's much easier to navigate.
Seriously, move it back, or at least give users the option to choose.  What, exactly, is the experiment?  Where was the notice, or option to opt in?  Based on the feedback that I'm seeing, you're trying to see how far you can aggravate people before they move.  Please give us the option to opt out.I am sad to report that while deleting the cookies worked for me for a period of approximately two weeks, the redesigned layout came back uninvited.  I am afraid that this means that Google is expanding the scope of this ill conceived "experiment."  What is most disheartening is that there has been no response or comment by the Google staff since Feb 4.  Almost all the feedback posted here has been negative, but Google remains silent.  Reluctantly, I've been looking for alternative news aggregators.  Perhaps not coincidentally, the Bing news page also uses an ungrouped large central column like the new Google News layout.  Among alternatives, the best I've found is reuters.com.  Because we, as users, do not pay for Google News we have no effective way to voice our dissatisfaction except to go elsewhere.  Perhaps the true experiment here is not with the page layout, but with what abuse we Google users will tolerate.Awful. Awful Awful.  How can I get my old page back? Deleting cookies did not work for me either. Very angry not to have been given a choice.  Wasted half an evening trying to "fix" page, scrolling through endless articles in which I have no interest whatsoever, unable to find the sections I want. What are you thinking?
Sigh.....    I uderstand that I don't pay for any of this, at least not in cash, so I have no "rights" in this situation, but this is so annoying.  The effects, of Google's "news experiment", that they SHOULD be evalutaing are not how users feel about the usability of the new layout, but rather user's reaction to the forced change; that no one wants these types of changes forced on them.  They don't want their home page unneccesarily turned upside down, and they don't want to feel led around by the nose (with all the bovine implications) with something as fundamental as the FIRST THING THEY SEE every time they open a browser.  Is that what the expeiment is actually about: "How important are user's home pages to them"?There are two duscussions running about Google's "news experiment".  Among approximately 80 comments, only one post wasn't actually angry, and even that commenter didn't like the changes.  Some commenters are angry, and offer comments about usability, but most commenters are just angry;  angry at having this thrust in their faces, angry at being forced to learn a new interface for which there is no apparent benefit, and, in fact seems to provide considerable detriment.In light of Google's lack of response to both of these threads, I've changed my home page to msn.com.  Another users suggested that Reuters website is customizable in a manner similar to Google's old News layout.  I may try that, but I'm done here.I REALLY don't like the "new" Google news page.  Firefox goes straight to the new news page.  IE goes to the old format.  I will be using IE until Google gets their heads out of their collective A$$ and at least gives users an option to switch between the two formats.
Finally, the experiment is over. The idiot designer got a promotion. My news page returned to its normal (and much better) layout.

If Google wants to make an improvement, get rid of the default Top Stories section at the top of the page. Let us define our own keywords for every section.

Instead of having the top stories organized by category and all categories visible at the same time, I have to click through each one at a time. I'm not seeing the improvement here, in fact it's really turning me off from Google news. Fast Flip is the greatest thing google has ever done!!! Fast Flip is the future of web surfing especially for news sites.If Fast Flip is what this debacle is called, here is a heartfelt, cumulative & collective bird flip to Google from all of us here on this site.1)  The suggestion that those of us who are displeased should flush our cookies is idiotic and patronizing.   A PROMINENT button saying "RESTORE" would have been how hard to code?
2)  You want feedback?  Don't make me jump through 4 screens to give it.
3)  Want to surprise us people with Beta "experiments"?  Don't!  I don't need goddamn surprises.
4)  Oh yeah... feedback.  If you guys need someone to tell you what a piece of shit your redesign is... you should be fired.
Terrible design, I'm totally surprised by Google. they are usually pretty good at coming up with better products not worse ones. Where did my sections go? Oh - the left panel? Now I have to make multiple clicks to see the news I had customized before in one single comprehensive page. If there was some thought as to how this new layout would be "better" I wish they would have made some note of it. Instead I got dropped onto a page that made no sense. I cleared my cookies and cache and now it's back to what is more helpful to me. If it happens again, I'm gone...To DATABONG .... thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
I really dont like this new outlook design crap.  I cant read news at google.  Please change back my layout or at least show us how to do it I am extremely unhappy with it and I would like the old layout back this is really harassing people like me who read google news everyday.  I wont be coming to google and reading news ever again if it doesnt get back to normal.Horrible design, cluttered, distracting, dumbed down and too damned "widgetized".  I don't want to (and simply won't) do a mouse-hover over every item just to see some context. The sidebars are out of hand. It's annoying as hell to see a "progress indicator" on the personalization -- Come on people, you're making it seem as if I'm morally obliged to personalize the thing. It should be an option, not a chore and an eyesore.

When I want clutter I go to "igoogle" (rarely) and to Google Reader. News should be simpler and smarter.

I can't understand why you folks in Googleville keep up with these endless, counter-productive tweaks to your products when you leave many basic, simple, commonsense improvements undone.

I have put up with this idiotic experiment for a week now and enough is enough.How long do your experiments run before you realize that its not working and you go back to what worked fine in the first place??? Kinda reminds me of BP,they dont listen either.Oh well guess its off to Yahoo news.Bye bye.I am done with google news.  I shouldn't have to spend all this time messing with their website because of their stupidity.  There is plenty of evidence that users want the old format back and they have chosen to ignore it.  I'm voting with my web surfing ability.  Someone else will take my web news traffic.  I'm sure I'll hear about it when and if google news reverts back.PLEASE REMOVE THE IMAGE BACKGROUND ON HOME PAGE.  THIS IS HORRIBLE.  WE WANT OPTIONS.  STOP COPYING BING!!Not happy about this experiment. I tried, I really tried but the new format is too bad. Too much wasted space and not enough glancable content. The 2 column format was way more readable. So now, how do I put it back withouth nuking all of my browser's cookies?Here's how to bring back the old news format in IE 81.  Go to the Google news page in IE2.  Hit F12 to bring up IE's developer tools window3.  Select the Cache menu then select "clear domain cookies'4. Close the IE windows and re-launch Google newsThis will nuke just the Google cookies and reset the news back to the old format.Before running such huge experiments, you should try to run a focus group between your users, you can pre-test ideas without creating a major pain around the world.Big lesson today, research more about your users preferences, and as Coca-Cola learned sometime ago, even if you are Coca-Cola, do not try to change the Coke flavour!!!Even if you are Google, do not get out of the simple search engine homepage!!! That is why your users love you!!! Simplicity!!!PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE revert it back to how it was!  I used to go to news.google.com MANY MANY times a day and now I won't go back if it remains like that!  I WON'T GO BACK EVER AGAIN!  I'LL GO TO BING I SWEAR!You guys really, really screwed up.  Revert or I stop using Google, period.
PLEASE (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) give us the option to completely get rid of ALL of the following sections:* Greater New York (i.e., local news)I used to be able to customize Google News to only show the sections which *I* am interested in. Now, there is all of this extra, annoying junk which completely ruins the news page for me.It would be OK if we had a choice about whether we could see this experimental stuff, but currently, there is no way to get rid of it, and THAT IS ***TOTALLY*** UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Sorry for shouting, but this is really infuriating.If you folks at Google want to release an experimental look and feel, that's fine. But you should also provide a way for us users to disable it if we don't want to see it. It is at best amateurish and at worst condescendingly arrogant to not allow us a way to remove these new features in your experimental software.The Google employee who made the decision to not allow us to disable this experimental stuff should be summarily fired.Please *immediately* give us a way to disable all of the sections that I mentioned above.I'd also like to add that it is rather dishonest to call all of this new stuff "personalization".In the past, I could choose which items would appear or not appear on my Google News page. Now, there are all of these sections which I can't get rid of. In other words, this new, experimental stuff is much *less* personalizable than before.Or perhaps you folks at Google are arrogantly thinking that *you* know how to "personalize" things for me better than I do. I hope I'm wrong about this. I'd hate for Google to become another Apple.PS: I deleted all google-related cookies and restarted my browser, but I'm still seeing the experimental Google News page. I'm using the Google Chrome browser under Windows.Go to: Choose a category All Discussions Google News Suggestions Google News Users - Troubleshooting How to use Google News Google News Publishers - Sitemaps Google News Publishers - Troubleshooting Google Living Stories - Troubleshooting The Google News redesign Quality of Google News Sites

This is making me so angry I want to smack somethi...

To fix the issue where all your news is "jumbled together" find the News For You line and change View As from List to Sections. Well, I have tried the deleted cookies suggestion & I still get the new format! Google, tell us, did an alien invade your brains and took over the company? Back to Yahoo I go. You guys suck.....big time.So after googling (ha) the google news news story, i have found someone who we can directly contact to express our dissatisfaction. KEVIN STOLT.  Google engineer who blogged about the new google news redesign.http://www.facebook.com/kevin.stoltsend him a FB message to complainI just discovered that the page is more user-friendly and functional when viewed in the old Lynx text browser. It can't pull any of that javascript box resizing stuff, and it fills up the empty space more efficiently. Say hello to the future- 1994!
here is how I rolled back to old google news layout by anthony_anthonyunder "Other News Edition", choose "Canadian English", it's back!now some further tweaking to make a USA Google News homepage on the Canadian SiteUnder "Create a custom section"in the "Editon" box, choose "U.S."in the "Section" box, choose "World"Back to the Google News homepage, you will see a new section called  "World (U.S.)" besides the old "World" sectionDelete the old "World" section by Click the "x"Repeat these steps to add "Business(U.S.)", "Entertaiment (U.S.)"... delete the old sectionsIDIOTS. Leave google as is, stop trying to fix what's not broken. You're all lucky I'm not Google CEO, you'll all be fired STAT.
This is making me so angry I want to smack something, what makes you think you can just change the page and expect people will automatically like it even though tens of testers said it sucks? That is arrogance to in its most extreme case. I am not going to use Google News anymore, its as cluttered as DIGG.com you actually have to go down aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way to see some stuff and will end up missing many stories as well.So, I'm a human factors/usability consultant, and I just need to know: "We'd love to hear your feedback" as part of our "Homepage Redesign experiment" means exactly...? You basically wasted everyones time with this discussion. It was clear that users liked it the way that it was and disliked the new layout. Usability is not Google's strong suite, and, apparently, neither is making use of online discussions and user feedback.Next time, since you already know what you are going to do, just do it. Don't pretend to listen to users like you care. It is quite insulting. If this is driving you as crazy as it is me, try news.bing.com and put in feature requests for customization. If they get a swarm of old Google people who come over and want those features they'll probably do it. The Google/Bing competition these days is fierce enough that for a chance to steal away some Google customers I think Microsoft would probably make some real changes in order to keep us. We might end up with a better product on both that way!In the end I think voting with your feet is the most effective way. Google wants us to stick around and give it a few days to see if we come around to it but it sucks too much for that to me, so Bing it is until Google fixes this back the old way. I would give it more time to try but this is just too disruptive to my staying up on the news, something I consider important to me, to let Google screw with me for their benefit. If they'd asked me if I wanted to be in the test group I would have said no.I don't like single columns and the thing on the right. The old page wasn't earth shattering either but the new one is horrible. Give us options to arrange it the way we want.

Also, I hate when I go to click the "all #,### news articles" link that the link scrolls down and out from under my cursor because I moved the cursor into the article box. Jeez folks, more thought would have been nice.

The new format is awful.  I used to choose to display 5-10 stories for my favorite sections, now I only see 3?  And one column instead of 2?  I'm going to find somewhere else to get my news.I have now switched my homepage from Google News to Bing News. I do hope that Google see the folly in their re-design of what was a most valuable resource.

Google News had been my home page since I discovered it several years ago. I had customized the layout to access news that was important to me and deleted that for which I had no interest.

Wake up Google!

You guys need to go the Opt-In route with layout changes.  One would think you would learn from Facebooks mistakes.

New format sucks, give us a change back button.

All together now...
CHANGE - IT - BACK!!! 
CHANGE - IT - BACK!!!
CHANGE - IT - BACK!!!

Today it's just angry mobs on the help forums...
Fix this before it turns to angry mobs on the corporate lawn with torches and pitchforks.

-- From the web --
Signs and Symptoms of Early Onset Arthritis:
#1: The new Google News layout.
#2: Joint swelling and pain - especially in the first or second finger with respect to scrolling the new Google News layout.
#3: Wrists, hands, and knuckles are affected - can also lead to carpal tunnel or worse due to increased demand on the scrolling fingers.

Remedies:
#1. Change the layout back to the classic view.
#2. Change online News Provider - looks like the only option at this point due to no ability to switch to classic view.

I agree the new google news is crap completely unusable it hurts to even go there now just go back to what worked.It now feels like Bing which isnt good at all.
The new design is a bad joke, who on earth can ever like that?Although not as good as using the old Google News, and because you must log in, I've found that I can pretty much modify the iGoogle page to simulate the layout and customization of the old and preferred Google News. It took me a while, but found that iGoogle is now much more usable. I've been able to delete most the extraneous crap and show only what I want.

My search for a replacement has taken me to http:\\bing.com\news, http:\\news.ask.com\news and http:\\my.yahoo.com\. Yahoo has permitted some customization, but not to the extend the old Google News did. I've also investigated some not so notable aggregate news sites such as jimmyr.com, newscred.com and icurrent.com. Although all are superior to the mess that is now Google News, I couldn't quite "feel" the comfort that I had with the old site.

yeah,, this is sooooooooooooooooooooooo bad!!!!My suggestion: Write David Pogue, NYT tech journalist, and implore him to look into the horrible redesign and Google's disdain for their loyal news reader base.I really dislike it, because my custom section, which is my favorite, is now at the bottom of the page.

Also, the "news for you" tab always starts open, even though I don't use it an always close it.

Gah!

Go to: Choose a category All Discussions Google News Suggestions Google News Users - Troubleshooting How to use Google News Google News Publishers - Sitemaps Google News Publishers - Troubleshooting Google Living Stories - Troubleshooting The Google News redesign Quality of Google News Sites

How to increase browsing speed: 7 ways to work faster on slow connections

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

Learn how to clean your computer

I have a dirty secret. I've never cleaned my computer. Sure, I've dusted my monitor, but I haven't taken off the cover or tried to reach the crumbs lurking inside my keyboard. And I honestly don't know the difference between pressurized air dusters and compressed air cleaners.

"Your computer could fry if you don't keep it clean," says Jonathon Millman, chief technology officer for Hooplah Interactive.

Whether it's a desktop or laptop/notebook computer, dust and lint can clog the cooling vents. This can cause your computer's brain—the central processing unit (CPU)—to heat up. And heat is the biggest cause of component failure in computers. Regular cleaning could save you costly maintenance fees down the road.

Follow the five simple steps in the cleanup and maintenance routine below to keep your computer and accessories looking shiny and new. It's an easy, do-it-yourself solution to help them run smoothly and last longer.

You'll need:

Standard (flat-tip) and/or Phillips screwdriver

Can of compressed air (available from computer dealers or office-supply stores)

Cotton swabs (do not use a cotton ball)

Rubbing alcohol

Soft, lint-free cloths, paper towels, or anti-static cloths

Water

Safety glasses (optional)

Important: Always turn your computer off and disconnect it from the power source before you begin any of these steps.

If you see dust or other debris accumulating around the vents of your desktop or laptop, you can bet there's more inside—and it's only going to cause trouble. To remove it, you'll need to open the case. That may sound more intimidating than it really is. Before you begin, of course, make sure the computer is turned off and disconnected from the power source.

One more consideration: Manufacturers' policies vary, but, in some cases, opening your computer case may void your warranty. You may even encounter a warning sticker on the case. Review your warranty terms before continuing.

For desktop computers. Desktop computer manufacturers employ a variety of fastening mechanisms to secure the case. Face the back panel: Modern cases typically use two or more small knobs that you can turn by hand, or buttons that you press in, to release a side panel or the entire shell of the case. Others may require you to remove two or more slotted or Phillips screws. If in doubt, consult your owner's manual for specific instructions.

For laptop and notebook computers. Set the computer upside down on a table or other stable surface. (You may want to place a towel or paper under the computer to prevent scratches and scuffs.) Remove the battery. On most laptops, the vents on the underside will be grouped on a removable panel, secured to the case with several screws. Typically, these are very small Phillips-type screws, which may be of different lengths. Remove them, and be sure to keep track of which goes where.

After you're inside either your desktop or laptop, touch as little as possible inside the computer—keep your fingers away from cards and cords. Look for any dust bunnies or other bits of fluff in the nooks and crannies. Pick these out carefully with tweezers or a cotton swab. Blow compressed air around all of the components and along the bottom of the case, keeping the nozzle at least four inches away from the machine. Blow air into the power supply box and into the fan.

Try to aim the stream of pressurized air in such a way that it blows debris out of and away from crevices and recesses, rather than driving it deeper in. Safety glasses are a good idea, too, to keep the flying dust out of your eyes.

Take particular care when blowing the delicate fans. Overspinning them with excessive pressure can crack a blade or damage the bearings. Position the compressed air can well away, and use short bursts of air rather than a steady blast. As a precaution, you might also carefully immobilize the fan blades with your fingertip or a cotton swab while using the air can.

Lastly, blow air into the floppy disk, CD or DVD drives, and I/O ports—but again, not too aggressively. Wipe the inside of the cover with a lightly moistened cloth, and dry it before replacing it.

Millman recommends doing this every three months if your case sits on the floor, if you have pets that shed, or if you smoke. Otherwise, every six to eight months is fine.

Run a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol around all of the openings on the outside of your case. Give them one swipe with the damp end of the swab and one swipe with the dry end. Do this as often as you clean the inside of your computer.

Turn the keyboard upside down and gently shake it. Most of the crumbs and dust will fall out. Take a can of compressed air and blow into and around the keys. Next, take a cotton swab and dip it in rubbing alcohol. It should be damp, but not dripping wet. Run the cotton swab around the outside of each key. Rub the tops of the keys. Don't be stingy with the swabs. Discard them when they start to get dirty, and switch to a fresh one. If you have a laptop, follow the same procedure but take extra care with your machine—treat it as gently as you would a carton of fresh eggs. If your laptop has a touchpad, use the damp swap to wipe it clean, as well. Do this keyboard cleanup monthly.

It's tempting to use a vacuum cleaner to suck the debris out of the keyboard and other parts of the computer, but technicians warn that it can create a static electrical charge that can actually damage the computer's sensitive electronics.

If a spill happens, immediately turn off your computer, disconnect the keyboard, and flip it over. While the keyboard is upside down, blot the keys with a paper towel, blow compressed air between the keys, and leave it to air dry overnight. Check to ensure that all traces of moisture have evaporated before using the keyboard again. Laptop spills need more attention because liquid can easily penetrate the keyboard and damage internal parts. For laptop spills, immediately turn off the computer and remove any external power source and other items plugged into it. Turn the laptop over, remove the battery, and then bring it to your nearest repair center to check for internal damage. Simply blowing compressed air into the keyboard and letting your computer air dry upside down overnight aren't enough, because liquids can sit inside a laptop for days.

For all spills, be aware that anything other than plain water may cause severe damage, and never attempt to dry a keyboard or laptop in a microwave or conventional oven.

Disconnect the mouse from your computer. Rub the top and bottom of your mouse with a paper towel dipped in rubbing alcohol. Scrape hard-to-remove grime with your fingernail. If you have an optical mouse, ensure that no lint or other debris obscures the light-emitting lens on the underside of the mouse.

If you use a mechanical mouse, open the underside of the mouse and remove the ball. (In most cases, you simply need to rotate the plastic ring encircling the ball one-quarter turn counterclockwise.) Wash the ball with water, and let it air dry. To clean inside a mechanical mouse, dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and rub all of the interior components, paying particular attention to the little rollers, where gunk tends to collect. Finally, blow compressed air into the opening and ensure that the interior is dry. Replace the ball and the cover.

Clean your mouse monthly.

For liquid-crystal display (LCD) laptop and flat-panel monitor screens, slightly moisten a soft, lint-free cloth with plain water. Microfiber cloths are excellent for this purpose. Avoid using paper towels, which can scratch monitor surfaces. Don't spray liquid directly onto the screen—spray the cloth instead. Wipe the screen gently to remove dust and fingerprints. You can also buy monitor cleaning products at computer-supply stores.

For glass CRT (television-style) monitors, use an ordinary household glass cleaning solution. Unless your manufacturer recommends differently, don't use alcohol or ammonia-based cleaners on your monitor, as these can damage anti-glare coatings. And never try to open the housing of a CRT monitor. Capacitors within can hold a dangerous electrical charge—even after the monitor has been unplugged.

Clean the monitor weekly. Finally, make sure that everything is dry before you plug your computer back in.

Article adapted from an original article written by Alyson Munroe.

Was the information in this article helpful?

10 tips to help improve your wireless network

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

Free music: Listen to the radio on your computer

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

Take steps to keep your family in sync in the new year!

Keeping my family organized and on time is tough. I’ve tried different options for maintaining calendars, like white boards, paper calendars, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and more. Unfortunately, none of them worked. What we needed was a single calendar that each of us could view and update. When Windows Live Calendar came along, we had the solution.

We check—and change—our new family calendar on the Internet many times a day. As an added bonus, I can sync the Windows Live Calendar with the Microsoft Outlook calendar I use at work and keep events in my work life and home life from overlapping.

Windows Live gives me lots of options, which I provide details about below: I can publish our calendar online for anyone to see, or I can send calendar information in email messages so that the grandparents can keep up with what’s happening. If you are looking for tips on creating a family calendar using Windows Calendar with Windows Vista, read this article.

Windows Live Calendar is part of Windows Live, a set of Microsoft services and software products which includes Windows Live Hotmail. To use any of the Windows Live services and products, you’ll need a free Windows Live ID, which allows you to create one account with a single sign-in for all services. If you’re already using Hotmail, Messenger, or Xbox LIVE, you already have an account ID.

After you have created a free Windows Live ID for yourself, you can get to your calendar: Sign in to it directly, or, from the More menu on your Windows Live home page, choose Calendar. You can even access it from the left navigation pane of your Hotmail account, by selecting Calendar.

Windows Live Calendar is similar to desktop calendar applications: It features daily, weekly, monthly, and agenda view modes. Calendar events are stored online and can be viewed from any location. You can set up alerts as helpful electronic reminders for upcoming calendar events. Alerts are delivered via email, SMS text messaging, or Instant Messenger (IM). We usually set up our alerts to remind us 20 minutes before an event starts, which gives us enough notice to get to most events right on time, even if we’ve forgotten about them. This is a great feature that has saved family members from embarrassing "no shows" more than once in our busy lives.

Sign in to the Calendar website with your Windows Live ID.

On the toolbar, click the arrow next to New, and then click Calendar.

In the Name box, type a name for the new calendar.

Next to Color, select a color for the calendar.

In the Description box, type a short description of the calendar.

To share your calendar so that other people can view or edit it, click Edit Sharing. (I’ll talk about sharing calendars in following paragraphs.)

To receive a daily email with details of all the events scheduled for that day, select the check box.

Click Save. Your new calendar is added to the list of calendars in the left navigation pane.

Sign in to the Calendar website with your Windows Live ID.

In the upper-right corner of the window, click Options.

In Calendar options, under Set your reminder time, click Change how you get reminders.

On the Alerts page, specify where you want to get your alerts, and then click Save. You’ll need to set up Windows Live for mobile to get alerts on your mobile phone.

When I was setting up our calendar, I especially appreciated that I didn’t need to manually re-enter calendar information I’d already stored in another calendar. First, I exported my old calendar to a file (following the directions in that program), and then I imported the file into Windows Live Calendar. Voilà! I was ready to go.

In Windows Live Calendar, you have three choices for how you share your calendar. You can choose an option when you create a calendar, or you can select it at another time. Click the arrow next to the Share menu above the calendar, and then click the calendar name. Here are your choices:

Share your calendar with friends and family. This is the option I chose for our family calendar. I made sure that each computer user in the family got a Windows Live ID, and then I gave them full permission to view, edit, or delete calendar entries.

Send friends a view-only link to your calendar. When we last visited my parents across the country, I set up their computer so that they could see a view-only version of our calendar. They like knowing what we’re doing, even if they can’t be here.

Make your calendar public. I used this option during our extended family reunion last summer, just so relatives who wanted to connect with us would know where we were.

After I made sure my family members all had access to the calendar, I found out how simple it is to fill up the calendar with our appointments (referred to as creating events in Windows Live Calendar).

On the Calendar toolbar, click the arrow next to New, and then click Event. Or, in the calendar window, click where you want to add the event, and then click Add.

In the Add an event window, type the information about the event, including what the event is, the date of the event, the start and end times, and where the event is taking place.

Next to Calendar, select the calendar that you want to add the event to.

You can click Add more details or click Save to add the event to the calendar.

When you create an event, you can send email notifications to people to tell them about the event or to invite them to attend.

To invite people to an event in your calendar, in the Add an Event box, click Add more details.

Click Invite People.

On the To line, select recipients from your Contact list or type in the email addresses.

Add any additional information you want them to have, and then click Send.

The people you invite receive an event invitation in their email Inbox, and if they accept, the meeting is added to their calendar in Windows Live Calendar. We just used this feature to invite the local set of grandparents to our son’s piano recital. He was thrilled to spot them in the audience.

For someone like me, whose work schedule is as hectic as my family schedule, tools that help me combine the two are invaluable. I use an Outlook calendar at work and the shared family calendar in Windows Live Calendar. Now, there’s something called the Outlook Connector that allows me to keep the two schedules in one place. To set this up yourself, download and install the free Outlook Hotmail Connector on the computer you use with Outlook. Installation only takes a minute, and when it’s done, your Windows Live Calendar will automatically be added to Outlook. You’ll see it under My Calendars in the navigation pane on the left.

Now, whether I’m online or offline, all of my calendars are available in Outlook. And any changes I make to my Windows Live Calendar in Outlook is automatically synchronized with the web version in my Windows Live account, so the whole family can see the changes immediately.

Note: You can view and edit your Windows Live Calendar in Outlook; however, your Outlook calendar will not be available on Windows Live.

As I mentioned in the beginning, there are lots more options available for keeping calendars. If you use Windows Vista, for example, you’ll be able to do just about everything we’ve mentioned here using Windows Calendar. And if you’re using Outlook, you have many options for sharing your calendar. With all these helpful tools keeping your calendar up to date and sorted, you can actually relax and enjoy the many events filling your life!

Laurel Harmon is a communications specialist with over 20 years of experience in explaining technology and helping others communicate clearly in the global marketplace.

Was the information in this article helpful?