To file or not to file...
Email is an essential tool in the business world; being able to find old messages and exchanges is one of the rewards of a well-managed email environment.
But how do you keep the mass of emails under some sort of control? Is it better to organise your email history into folders for each client/project/ topic, or should you just lump everything together. Surprisingly, the formless lump approach has benefits.
No Optical Drive? No Problem
Many new laptop computers don't have a CD/DVD drive; this is fine if you're installing software over the internet but not all suppliers provide downloadable installers. And then there's all those reference manuals on CD that you sometimes need.
There are two fairly simple alternatives: a USB optical drive,or a software drive emulator.
Reporting Bugs
In theory, the point of reporting a bug is to get it fixed, or at least to help. Too often I see (and receive) bug reports that are almost useless.
Writing a good bug report isn't hard, it just takes a little discipline, which can be assisted by a good bug tracking system.