Have you ever received an e-mail with a blank subject line? Of course you have; everyone has. If you are like me, you want a way to provide a meaningful subject line both to identify the contents of the message and to help search for that message in the future whenever the need arises. Unfortunately, users of Mozilla's Thunderbird e-mail client cannot directly edit the subject line with the base program alone.
There is a Thunderbird add-on called TB Header Tools Extension that apparently used to work well in older versions of Thunderbird. Regrettably, it is no longer maintained, having been last updated in July 2005. As a result, it no longer works with any recent version of Thunderbird. Other developers have revised the original extension, but those unofficial versions are not supported by Mozilla, and they reportedly work in some cases but not others. I therefore generally steer clear of those unreliable, unofficial add-ons.
In the course of Googling this topic, I stumbled upon one interesting suggestion that did seem to hold promise at first blush. The writer's suggestion was encouragingly simple: copy the message to the Draft folder, then edit the message to change the subject line, save the change, and move the message back to its original folder.
That method appeared to work: it did succeed in changing the subject line. However, it also changed the sender's name to that of the mailbox owner (namely, me) instead of the original/actual sender, and it also overwrote the original time and date with the time and date of the edited change. If I were to later search for messages from the original sender, the e-mail in question would no longer even appear. Thus, this method does more harm than good.
Even though that approach ultimately failed, it did set me to thinking. I already have a marvelous add-on called ImportExportTools that is fully supported by Mozilla and is actively maintained. As its name implies, it allows users to export and import individual messages to and from the .eml file format. The beauty of this solution is that users can edit .eml files with any basic text editor. With this add-on, it becomes a simple matter to export the message, open the saved message in a text editor, type the desired new subject line, save the newly edited file to the same .eml format, and import back into Thunderbird.
Eureka! The subject line of the imported message now reads as I intended, and the message still reflects the original sender and date/time stamp.
So now whenever anybody tells you "Don't change the subject!" you can blithely ignore them and change the subject to your heart's content.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Microsoft Wireless Woes
I recently encountered a problem with Microsoft's wireless network connection. After buying a Toshiba laptop with Windows 7 for my own use, I gave my older Dell laptop with Windows XP to my son. The problem: the Windows wireless network connection on the XP machine worked only with my administrative account. It totally failed to connect when my children logged on under their limited accounts.
Whenever they clicked on the Windows network icon in the system tray, the expected listing of the available wireless networks that I saw in my admin account failed to materialize. Instead, the following message would appear: "Windows cannot configure this wireless connection."
I navigated to the control panel's wireless networks connection properties, selected the Advanced tab, and checked the box marked "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection." Still no luck.
I scoured Google for hours searching for solutions from other folks who had encountered the same problem. Some people suggested converting the limited accounts to admin accounts, but I refuse to do that for my two pre-teenage children: there's no telling what kind of mischief that would create. Others recommended uninstalling and re-installing the operating system, but that was way too radical for my taste. Other respondents recommended scrapping the current modem and purchasing a modem from a different manufacturer, another impractical solution. In short, I found no useful suggestions that I was willing to apply.
In sheer frustration, I continued to poke around my son's machine. Eventually, I stumbled on the fact that Dell had installed an Intel wireless network connection. It had not been readily apparent to me because the system tray icon was marked as "Always hide" and therefore was invisible to me. I suspect that I myself hid it when I first bought the machine in an effort to reduce the clutter in the system tray from all of the crapware that Dell installs on its machines.
While logged on under my own limited account, I unhid the Intel wireless icon and clicked on it out of sheer desperation more than anything else. Eureka! Much to my surprise and delight, the list of available wireless networks appeared as if by magic, including our own home network. I repeated the process on my son's limited account and successfully connected to the internet in the same way: by using Intel's connection rather than Microsoft's. My son has been a happy camper ever since.
As it turns out, I much prefer the Intel user interface anyway. In the main window, it lists only those networks that are currently within range. It also permits users to save wireless networks that they have previously accessed as separate profiles with meaningful names (for example, "motel@NewarkDE") for later use.
The Windows interface, on the other hand, lists all computers accessed in the past in the main window as if they were still within range even when those networks are hundreds of miles away and no longer accessible! For example, every Thanksgiving we travel to my sister's house in Pennsylvania, and Windows continues to list the wireless network connection to our public library 250 miles away in Richmond, Virginia. How silly is that?
Furthermore, the reported signal strength with Intel is much more believable than Windows. My son's wireless notebook is less than 30 feet from our modem, yet the Windows icon reports signal strength as "Low" whereas Intel reports it as a far more credible "Excellent."
There are at least two lessons illustrated by this experience. The first is to be wary of well-meaning but sometimes misguided on-line technical support "gurus." Be skeptical of extreme remedies like re-installing your operating system from scratch or buying replacement hardware. More often than not, there will be a simpler, more straight-forward solution to your problem. In my case, the answer turned out to be very close at hand. You might have to keep digging and consult with a variety different knowledgeable sources before you eventually stumble on a satisfactory method to fix the immediate problem.
The second observation from this episode involves Microsoft and the quality of its products. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we now have yet another case in a steadily growing list of examples where Microsoft produces an application for its own operating system that is markedly inferior to products of other vendors. You would think that as the originator of the operating system, Microsoft would have a distinct advantage in creating useful applications for that O/S. In reality, quite the opposite is true: for reasons I cannot begin to fathom, Microsoft continually squanders its advantage and instead wallows in mediocrity.
As my favorite philosopher Yogi Berra once stated, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." In this case, if you come to a fork in the road with at least one branch leading away from Microsoft, by all means take it. Chances are favorable that you be happier with the non-Microsoft option.
One final note on the history and origins of wireless technology:
After digging to a depth of 100 meters last year, Japanese scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1000 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago.
Not to be outdone in the weeks that followed, Chinese scientists dug 200 meters and headlines in the Chinese papers read: "Chinese scientists have found traces of 2000 year old optical fibers and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years earlier than the Japanese."
One week later, the Greek newspapers reported the following: "After digging as deep as 800 meters, Greek scientists have found absolutely nothing." They have concluded that 3000 years ago, their ancestors were already using wireless technology.
Whenever they clicked on the Windows network icon in the system tray, the expected listing of the available wireless networks that I saw in my admin account failed to materialize. Instead, the following message would appear: "Windows cannot configure this wireless connection."
I navigated to the control panel's wireless networks connection properties, selected the Advanced tab, and checked the box marked "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection." Still no luck.
I scoured Google for hours searching for solutions from other folks who had encountered the same problem. Some people suggested converting the limited accounts to admin accounts, but I refuse to do that for my two pre-teenage children: there's no telling what kind of mischief that would create. Others recommended uninstalling and re-installing the operating system, but that was way too radical for my taste. Other respondents recommended scrapping the current modem and purchasing a modem from a different manufacturer, another impractical solution. In short, I found no useful suggestions that I was willing to apply.
In sheer frustration, I continued to poke around my son's machine. Eventually, I stumbled on the fact that Dell had installed an Intel wireless network connection. It had not been readily apparent to me because the system tray icon was marked as "Always hide" and therefore was invisible to me. I suspect that I myself hid it when I first bought the machine in an effort to reduce the clutter in the system tray from all of the crapware that Dell installs on its machines.
While logged on under my own limited account, I unhid the Intel wireless icon and clicked on it out of sheer desperation more than anything else. Eureka! Much to my surprise and delight, the list of available wireless networks appeared as if by magic, including our own home network. I repeated the process on my son's limited account and successfully connected to the internet in the same way: by using Intel's connection rather than Microsoft's. My son has been a happy camper ever since.
As it turns out, I much prefer the Intel user interface anyway. In the main window, it lists only those networks that are currently within range. It also permits users to save wireless networks that they have previously accessed as separate profiles with meaningful names (for example, "motel@NewarkDE") for later use.
The Windows interface, on the other hand, lists all computers accessed in the past in the main window as if they were still within range even when those networks are hundreds of miles away and no longer accessible! For example, every Thanksgiving we travel to my sister's house in Pennsylvania, and Windows continues to list the wireless network connection to our public library 250 miles away in Richmond, Virginia. How silly is that?
Furthermore, the reported signal strength with Intel is much more believable than Windows. My son's wireless notebook is less than 30 feet from our modem, yet the Windows icon reports signal strength as "Low" whereas Intel reports it as a far more credible "Excellent."
Lessons Learned
There are at least two lessons illustrated by this experience. The first is to be wary of well-meaning but sometimes misguided on-line technical support "gurus." Be skeptical of extreme remedies like re-installing your operating system from scratch or buying replacement hardware. More often than not, there will be a simpler, more straight-forward solution to your problem. In my case, the answer turned out to be very close at hand. You might have to keep digging and consult with a variety different knowledgeable sources before you eventually stumble on a satisfactory method to fix the immediate problem.
The second observation from this episode involves Microsoft and the quality of its products. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we now have yet another case in a steadily growing list of examples where Microsoft produces an application for its own operating system that is markedly inferior to products of other vendors. You would think that as the originator of the operating system, Microsoft would have a distinct advantage in creating useful applications for that O/S. In reality, quite the opposite is true: for reasons I cannot begin to fathom, Microsoft continually squanders its advantage and instead wallows in mediocrity.
As my favorite philosopher Yogi Berra once stated, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." In this case, if you come to a fork in the road with at least one branch leading away from Microsoft, by all means take it. Chances are favorable that you be happier with the non-Microsoft option.
One final note on the history and origins of wireless technology:
After digging to a depth of 100 meters last year, Japanese scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1000 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago.
Not to be outdone in the weeks that followed, Chinese scientists dug 200 meters and headlines in the Chinese papers read: "Chinese scientists have found traces of 2000 year old optical fibers and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years earlier than the Japanese."
One week later, the Greek newspapers reported the following: "After digging as deep as 800 meters, Greek scientists have found absolutely nothing." They have concluded that 3000 years ago, their ancestors were already using wireless technology.
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