No one likes opening up their e-mail account to find a bunch of junk. Yes, the delete button is a handy tool but I don't know about you, after a half hour of going through a big pile of unnecessary e-mail, my deleting finger goes numb and my mood turns sour.

There are things you can do to avoid getting this stuff in the first place, if you just take a few steps and be proactive.

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In my opinion, the Outlook calendar is one of the most powerful features in all of Office. I use it for keeping track, not just of meetings and appointments, but for tasks, to-do lists, reminders, and more.

But I'd be willing to bet that you're unaware of a good many tricks that can make the calendar even more useful for you. I've been using Outlook for years and years, and I still learn new things about the calendar on a weekly basis. Today I'll offer a few calendar tips that can really make your life easier (not to mention your calendar more useful to you).

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Our latest update for the Outlook Hotmail Connector--which connects your Hotmail with Outlook--includes support for HTTPS protocol, a standard for sensitive content. HTTPS helps keep your private information private, which is why it's commonly used for example by banks, merchants, certificate verification processes, etc.).

To start to use HTTPS with your Hotmail account, install the latest version of Outlook Hotmail Connector. No other changes are required in Outlook or on the Windows Live site. Keep reading for the details, links, and install how-to's.

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The recent release of Microsoft Office 365 is a great opportunity for small and medium businesses to get the power of Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Server together, for a lower cost than ever. If you’ve been using a POP3 or IMAP email account from your Internet service provider (ISP) or an email hosting service here are some reasons to try Microsoft Exchange Online with Office 365. The Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 that you already have works with Office 365. There’s...

In a recent independent survey of 1,268 professionals and students age 18 and older, 96 percent said they expect their email communication in the workplace to increase or to stay the same over the next five years. The bad news: If you already feel overloaded with email, the situation is unlikely to change. The good news: Outlook 2010 has some great features that can help you gain control over your email.

Here are three features I use the most to stay on top of my messages.

This is post #4 in the Ten Days of Office series celebrating the one-year anniversary of the release of Office 2010 with tips and tricks for getting the most from your Office experience.

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I’ve been using the Outlook Social Connector for the last year with Office 2010. It’s a quick way to see the most recent interactions I’ve had with someone in a single place. I want to share what I’ve learned so you can get the most out of the Outlook Social Connector too. Read on to learn more.

This blog is post #2 in the Ten Days of Office series to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the release of Office 2010 by providing you with tips and tricks to get the most from your Office experience. Tune in each week day for new tips and tricks!

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We've got good news for those of you who read your Windows Live Hotmail accounts in Outlook. We have released an update to the Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector. This update brings a number of fixes and is required to continue using Hotmail accounts in Outlook. The version number for the updated Hotmail Connector is 14.0.5139.5001. To determine which version is installed on your computer, see the end of this article. Here is an overview of changes in this update: Several send/receive issues are...

You might find that headline counter-intuitive. The common perception is that social media are just about posting updates, sharing pictures, and connecting with friends and family. Unless you have “social media” in your job title, you might think there’s no way it can be part of your work day. However, social tools are being adopted in the office too. In a recent independent survey of 1,268 professionals and students age 18 and older, conducted by MarketTools Inc., 35 percent of...

Some users have been experiencing error messages when using Print Preview in Outlook 2007 after installing the April Public Update . Print continues to work correctly despite the error message. We released an update as a Microsoft Hotfix that addresses the Print Preview error message and is referenced as KB article KB2512788 . If you are experiencing this issue, download and install the hotfix here . This update will also be part of a future Public Update distributed by Microsoft Update. Thank you...

If you are a fan of the Snooze button for Outlook reminders, you might have noticed a subtle change in how the feature works in Outlook 2010.

In Outlook 2010, your last selected snooze time is remembered so that it is automatically selected the next time you click Snooze. We made this change in response to feedback that some of you preferred to repeatedly snooze items by using a delay other than the default 5 minutes before start time. After we released Outlook 2010, we received a lot of feedback that many of you missed the default 5-minute snooze time, and that the change was confusing.

We heard you loud and clear! In the upcoming Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 1, the old Snooze returns with the 5-minute default.

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