If you're using your network to support multiple clients, you may want multiple VLANs that can't talk to each other, but can both access some shared resources. Layer 3 switches give you the basic infrastructure to do so.

Other potential benefits of using layer 3 switching include greater performance, security, and quality of service. In a sense, switches with layer 3 capability are like a partial hybrid between switches and routers. They're designed for speed and also make decisions on how to route traffic at the network layer.

Windows Server 2012 Top Ten Free Webinar: Wednesday, July 25 - Noon CST/1pm EST:

Windows Server 2012 provides a dynamic, highly available and cost-effective server platform for the modern datacenter and the private cloud, which scales from a few individual servers all the way up to multitenant-aware, multisite environments. With the release of the next milestone of Windows Server 2012 – it has become apparent that this is one of the biggest releases of Windows Server since Windows 2000. That being said - there are so many new things that it can be overwhelming. Join me as I walk you through my personal “top 10” features / changes to the operating system that will have the biggest impact on your environment. This demo-heavy session is guaranteed to get you excited and ready to try them yourself. http://www.newhorizons.com/webinars.aspx

Free Webinar: Getting the Most out of Microsoft PowerPoint 2010

Date: Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Time: 10:00am PDT / 1:00pm EDT / 5:00pm GMT

Presenter: Andrew Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation

Discover the synergy of working with Microsoft PowerPoint to present and deliver information to your audience. You will learn about new features and timesavers to help in your day-to-day work. This session is good for beginner, intermediate, or advanced users – everyone will learn something!

https://www147.livemeeting.com/lrs/1100002433/Registration.aspx?pageName=2j4335q6zkz15n8t

Register for these webinars to get free tips and tricks for working in this platform.

MAY

Getting the Most out of Microsoft Excel 2010
Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Time: 10:00am PDT / 1:00pm EDT /5:00pm GMT
Presenter: Andrew Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
Explore how Excel 2010 takes advantage of a new, results-oriented user interface that provides easy access to powerful productivity tools, offers a larger workspace, and delivers faster performance. This presentation will demonstrate useful tips and tricks about new features and timesavers to help in your day-to-day work with Microsoft Excel.

Getting the Most out of Microsoft PowerPoint 2010
Date: Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Time: 10:00am PDT / 1:00pm EDT /5:00pm GMT
Presenter: Andrew Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
Discover the synergy of working with Microsoft PowerPoint to present and deliver information to your audience. You will learn about new features and timesavers to help in your day-to-day work. This session is good for beginner, intermediate, or advanced users – everyone will learn something!

JUNE

Microsoft Office 2010 Cloud Access
Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Time: 10:00am PDT / 1:00pm EDT /5:00pm GMT
Presenter: Andrew Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
Discover how Microsoft Clouds services and products will provide you endless ways to work and collaborate – from anywhere, at any time, and on any device. This will include storage strategies, Microsoft Office System for productivity and insight into what cloud services mean to the typical user of PCs. This will be demonstrated using Microsoft Word, Microsoft SkyDrive (Microsoft Live), Office365 and other Cloud implementations.

JULY

Microsoft Office 2010 Application Content Sharing
Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Time: 10:00am PDT / 1:00pm EDT /5:00pm GMT
Presenter: Andrew Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
Learn the ways and approaches for sharing content, from simple cut, copy & paste to shared drives, and information from your PC to the internet and back. Learn the tools, formats and reasoning behind how Microsoft Office system shares and accesses content for productivity. This will be demonstrated using Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Microsoft Office 2010, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, offers flexible and powerful new ways to deliver your best work. Register for these webinars to get free tips and tricks for working in this new platform.

Office 365 Doesn’t Mean You’re Fired: A primer for Admins
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Time: 10:00 am Pacific
Many times, the justification for cloud solutions is to reduce cost by removing IT overhead. The reality is, Office 365 can mean freeing IT from maintenance tasks and allow them to do things that impact the bottom line. This comphttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giflementary 75 minute session provides a tour of the admin tools and tasks you’ll still perform in an Office 365 environment.
Getting the Most out of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint 2010
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Time: 10:00 am Pacific
Explore how Excel 2010 takes advantage of a new, results-oriented user interface that provides easy access to powerful productivity tools, offers a larger workspace, and delivers faster performance. Plus, discover the synergy of working with Microsoft PowerPoint to present and deliver information to your audience.
Myths of the Cloud
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Time: 10:00 am Pacific
Cloud computing represents the next major shift in the way that IT will be delivered to companies large and small. Cloud computing is a career-defining opportunity to add real business value through strategic and tactical understanding of the cloud's relationship with organizational goals. There are many misconceptions surrounding the cloud and what it has to offer. This complementary 75 minute session will address these myths and give you a better understanding of the next steps to take to enable your organization to reap the benefits of cloud computing. It can provide much more than savings, creating a foundation for new competitive advantages.
Presenter: Joey Snow, Senior Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation
Joey Snow is a Senior Technical Evangelist for the worldwide Developer and Platform Evangelism team at Microsoft focusing the IT Professional audience for Windows Server, IIS and Windows Azure. Based in Redmond, WA, Joey works closely with relevant MS Product Teams to evangelize new technology and products to the IT Pro community at large.

If you'd like to create new DataGrid headers to visually separate your grid rows, you can do so quite easily with the DataGridItem object. Creating new DataGrid headers with this object is a three-step process. You start with a new DataGridItem object. Then, you add Cells to the DataGridItem, and finally you add the DataGridItem to the DataGrid, like so:

Dim dgItem As DataGridItem
dgItem = New DataGridItem(0, 0, ListItemType.Header)

Dim dgCell As TableCell
dgCell = New TableCell
dgCell.Text = "someval"

dgItem.Cells.Add(dgCell)

DataGrid1.Controls(0).Controls.AddAt(0, dgItem)

This codë creates a new DataGrid header with one table cell and adds it to the first row of DataGrid1 on a Web form.

A Memphis mans testimonial from New Horizons Memphis - he went from homeless to hired thanks to hard work, determination and a handful of guardian angels helping him along the way.

Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Time: 10:00 am Pacific; 12:00 pm Central; 1:00 pm Eastern; 5:00 pm GMT
Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
Hosted by: New Horizons Computer Learning Center

Click here to enroll today!

Get informative tips for Microsoft Word 2010 documents. It is now easier than ever before to save time and simplify your work while working together and doings so from more locations. Witness how Microsoft Word 2010 facilitates the collaborative process, handles large documents, and provides easier building blocks for more clearly defined content. This session is for individuals who spend significant time writing and creating documents and have some familiarity with Microsoft Word.

2010NHLearningCatalogOverview

On November 18, 2010, jump-start, re-start, or catalyze your IT career at the Microsoft Certified Career Conference. The Microsoft Certified Career Conference is a 24-hour virtual event where you can:

• meet potential employers
• hone your technical skills
• acquire job-seeking skills
• network with fellow professionals
• glean career advice from real-life experts in the field

Register at www.msregistration.com/msl.

Use the New Horizons discount code: NewHorizons10 to get a 10% discount on your registration.

Spoofing is a term used to describe methods of faking various parts of the browser user interface. This may include the address or location bar, the status bar, the padlock, or other user interface elements. Phishing attacks often utilize some form of spoofing to help convince the user to provide personal information. If a user's browser is vulnerable to spoofing, they are more likely to fall victim to a phishing attack. You can search the US-CERT and CERT/CC web sites for malicious scripting and content vulnerabilities at the following URL: http://search.us-cert.gov (use the search term browser+spoof). The US-CERT document "Technical Trends in Phishing Attacks" (available at http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/phishing_trends0511.pdf) has more information about spoofing and phishing techniques.

New Horizons Remote Classroom offers you the flexibility of taking courses from any remote location, with LIVE Dual Screen Video and LIVE audio participation integrated with our Classrooms and Instructors. So stay home and log-in - you'll remain an interactive student with your own designated seat and computer in our on-site classroom. View more >>>

Go to http://www.myremoteclassroom.com/
to receive 25% off your online class purchase! Ends April 30!

Here's a summary of just a few unique features of New Horizons Remote Classroom that other training centers fail to deliver:

• Live VIDEO with Dual Screen Views
  Rotate your view during your class between instructor view and classroom view! From your classroom view, you can see the on-site students taking the class with you in real-time.


• Live AUDIO with Headset: Included
  We will ship your own headset to you before class begins. This headset ensures you will be able to hear your instructor clearly! Free Shipping!


• Labs On Demand, Kits: Included
  Unlike other IT training centers, we do not charge a separate fee for Labs on Demand or your course kits. A one-time class price includes everything you'll need for your class, without additional hidden fees!

Quicklink Resources for Remote Classroom

• View Our Remote Classroom Demos on YouTube
• Go to the MyRemoteClassroom.com web portal to receive 25% off your course purchase! (use REMOTE25 promo code)
• View the Remote Classroom Online Schedule in PDF Format
• Contact us today for a personal demo

• Excel’s EDATE function doesn’t always give you the flexibility you need when you’re coming up with expiration dates. We’ll show you an alternative that might work better.
• When you need to connect between two locations, such as a main office and a second branch, a virtual private network (VPN) can do the job. We’ll discuss how to use hardware at each end of your VPN tunnel.
• Adding a drop-shadow to your website’s image can slow down your site’s load time and cause problems when you need to edit the image. We’ll show you how to use CSS styles for drop-shadows that work without these drawbacks.
  

Click here for details and instructions for each of these topics.

Save resources. Save money.
See more green. Save more green.

Do more with fewer resources
Learn how Green IT and Environmental Sustainabilty can help your business enhance its competitive advantage by saving money and saving carbon.

• Save on energy and power consumption with current technologies.
• Save on travel and communication with virtual meeting and collaboration tools.
• Help reduce management and support costs with virtualization.
• Save money on daily tasks including printing and transportation.

Join us for a Green IT webinar series to learn how you can combine small changes with solutions based on Microsoft software to create a large overall impact. Take advantage of offers that can help you save money, including a FREE Small & Medium Business Green IT Assessment, valued at $1,000!

• Reduce Power/Energy Costs, Boost Productivity
  (Windows 7 and Microsoft Office)
  Tuesday, March 9
  10:00 AM Central / 11:00 AM Eastern
  REGISTER
  
  
  Reduce Capital Costs and Improve RONA (Hyper-V)
  Tuesday, April 13
  10:00 AM Central / 11:00 AM Eastern
  REGISTER
  
  
  Improve Communication & Collaboration (Exchange/UC)
  Tuesday, May 11
  10:00 AM Central / 11:00 AM Eastern
  REGISTER
  
  
  Anywhere Decision Making (SQL/BI Mobility)
  Tuesday, June 8
  10:00 AM Central / 11:00 AM Eastern
  REGISTER
  
  
  Cloud Computing (BPOS & Hosted Exchange)
  Tuesday, July 13
  10:00 AM Central / 11:00 AM Eastern
  REGISTER

We've added more courses to our Remote Classroom Schedule! To learn more about our courses and how New Horizons Remote Classroom works, just visit the portal @ http://www.LearnAtNewHorizons.com/RemoteClassroom.

We are happy to answer any questions you have, and as always, if you do not see a course listed on the schedule, just let us know! You can contact us directly or just fill out the form here. We look forward to hearing from you.

Here is the update for July, August, September, October & November 2009.

Start	End	Course Title
7/23	7/24	2276C - Implementing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure Network Hosts
7/23	7/24	Excel VBA
7/23	7/24	Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 - Level 1
7/24	7/24	Excel 2007 - Level 3
7/24	7/24	Project 2007 - Advanced
7/24	7/24	Project Management Fundamentals (Second Edition)
7/27	7/29	2261C - Supporting Users Running the Microsoft Windows XP Operating System
7/27	7/28	2795A - Designing an ETL Solution Architecture Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services
7/27	7/31	4994A - VB - Introduction to Programming Microsoft .NET Applications with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
7/27	7/27	5049A - Managing Messaging Security Using Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
7/27	7/29	6158A - Updating Your SQL Server 2005 Skills to SQL Server 2008
7/27	7/29	6214A - Effective Team Development Using Microsoft Visual Studio Team System
7/27	7/29	6417B - Updating your Applications Infrastructure Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008
7/27	7/28	Access 2007 - Level 1
7/27	7/31	Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
7/27	7/31	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND1
7/27	7/31	CISSP
7/27	7/31	Network+ Certification
7/27	7/27	SQL - Level 1
7/27	8/1	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND2
7/29	7/31	6236A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
7/29	7/31	6417B - Updating your Applications Infrastructure Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008
7/30	7/31	2262B - Supporting Users Running Applications on a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System
7/30	7/31	6215A - Implementing and Administering Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server
8/3	8/7	2277C - Implementing Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure:
8/3	8/7	2277C - Implementing Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure:
8/3	8/5	2791A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services
8/3	8/5	2792A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services
8/3	8/5	5047B - Introduction to Installing and Managing Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
8/3	8/5	5115A - Installing and Configuring the Windows Vista Operating System
8/3	8/7	6421A - Configuring and Troubleshooting a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure
8/3	8/7	6425A - Configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services
8/3	8/5	6460A - C# - Visual Studio 2008: Windows Presentation Foundation
8/3	8/7	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND1
8/3	8/7	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND1
8/3	8/4	Illustrator CS4 Level 1
8/3	8/3	Project Management Fundamentals (Second Edition)
8/5	8/7	5928A - Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 Managing Projects
8/6	8/7	5116A - Configuring Windows Vista Mobile Computing and Applications
8/6	8/7	50027 - Querying and Processing SQL Server Data Using Microsoft SQL Server
8/6	8/7	5051A - Monitoring and Troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
8/6	8/6	Adobe Captivate 3.0
8/6	8/7	Indesign CS4 - Level 1
8/10	8/15	AXZO Press CompTIA Security+ Certificiation 2008 Edition + CertBlaster
8/10	8/14	2278 - Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
8/10	8/12	2543B - Core Web Application Development with Visual Studio 2005
8/10	8/14	2780B - Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database
8/10	8/12	2792A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services
8/10	8/11	5060A - Implementing Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
8/10	8/14	6419A - Configuring Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2008 Servers
8/10	8/12	6422A - Implementing and Managing Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V
8/10	8/14	6425A - Configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services
8/10	8/14	Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
8/10	8/14	CISSP
8/12	8/14	5061A - Implementing Microsoft Office 2007 SharePoint Server
8/12	8/14	6418A - Deploying Windows Server 2008 (Beta 3)
8/12	8/14	6460A - C# - Visual Studio 2008: Windows Presentation Foundation
8/13	8/14	2544A - Advanced Web Application Development with Visual Studio 2005
8/13	8/14	6438A Implementing and Administering Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 in Windows Server 2008
8/13	8/13	Cold Fusion 8 - Level 1
8/13	8/14	Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 - Level 1
8/14	8/14	Cold Fusion 8 - Level 2
8/17	8/21	2279B - Planning Implementing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure
8/17	8/18	2547A - Advanced Windows Application Development with Visual Studio 2005
8/17	8/19	2778A - Writing Queries Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Transact - SQL
8/17	8/17	5050A - Recovering Messaging Servers and Databases Using Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
8/17	8/19	5118A - Maintaining and Troubleshooting Windows Vista Computers
8/17	8/21	6232A - Implementing a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database
8/17	8/19	6236A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
8/17	8/21	6416B - Updating your Network Infrastructure and Active Directory Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008
8/17	8/21	6420A - Fundamentals of Windows Server 2008 Network and Applications Infrastructure
8/17	8/21	6436A - Designing a Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Infrastructure and Services
8/17	8/19	6461A - C# - Windows Communication Foundation
8/17	8/21	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND2
8/17	8/18	Crystal Reports XI Advanced
8/17	8/21	Network+ Certification
8/17	8/17	SQL - Level 1
8/18	8/19	5051A - Monitoring and Troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
8/18	8/18	SQL - Level 2
8/19	8/20	2544A - Advanced Web Application Development with Visual Studio 2005
8/20	8/21	5119A - Supporting Windows Vista Computers with Desktop Images and Application Packages
8/20	8/21	6462A - C# - Windows Workflow Foundation
8/24	8/26	2830B - Designing Security for Microsoft Networks
8/24	8/28	4995A - C# - Programming with the Microsoft .NET Framework using Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
8/24	8/28	50028A - Managing System Center Operations Manager 2007
8/24	8/28	6421A - Configuring and Troubleshooting a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure
8/24	8/25	6431A - Managing and Maintaing Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Servers
8/24	8/28	Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
8/24	8/28	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND2
8/24	8/26	Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX Using Visual Studio 2005
8/26	8/26	JavaScript Programming
8/27	8/28	50051A - Architecting Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Portals and Collaboration Solutions
8/27	8/28	6432A - Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Servers
8/27	8/27	Excel 2007 - Level 2
8/31	9/4	2278 - Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
8/31	9/4	2779B - Implementing a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database
8/31	9/4	5929A - Managing Projects and Programs
8/31	9/2	6317A - Your SQL Server 2000 Skills to SQL Server 2008
8/31	9/2	6422A - Implementing and Managing Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V
8/31	9/4	6451A - Planning Deploying and Managing Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007
8/31	9/2	6461A - C# - Windows Communication Foundation
8/31	9/4	Cisco - Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Networking Essentials - IUWNE
8/31	9/4	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND1
8/31	9/4	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND2
9/1	9/2	Flash CS3 - Level 1
9/1	9/1	Project 2007 - Basic
9/2	9/4	6234A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server2008 Analysis Services
9/3	9/4	6462A - C# - Windows Workflow Foundation
9/3	9/4	Dreamweaver CS4 - Level 1
9/8	9/10	2793B - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services
9/8	9/10	6424A - Fundamentals of Microsoft Server 2008 Active Directory
9/8	9/9	6463A - ASP.NET 3.5
9/8	9/9	6463A - ASP.NET 3.5
9/8	9/8	Project 2007 - Advanced
9/9	9/10	2439 - Scripting Using Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation
9/9	9/11	6423A - Implementing and Managing Windows Server 2008 Clustering
9/9	9/9	Acrobat 9.0 - Level 1
9/10	9/11	6464A - Visual Studio 2008: ADO.NET 3.5
9/10	9/11	6464A - Visual Studio 2008: ADO.NET 3.5
9/11	9/11	Project Management Fundamentals (Second Edition)
9/14	9/19	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND1
9/14	9/18	2272B - Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows XP Professional
9/14	9/18	2779B - Implementing a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database
9/14	9/18	6231A - Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database
9/14	9/18	6232A - Implementing a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database
9/14	9/16	6235A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services
9/14	9/18	6425A - Configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services
9/14	9/16	6434A - Automating Windows Server 2008 Administration with Windows PowerShell
9/14	9/16	Access Programming with VBA
9/14	9/15	Crystal Reports XI Basic
9/14	9/18	Network+ Certification
9/16	9/18	6424A - Fundamentals of Microsoft Server 2008 Active Directory
9/21	9/25	2274C - Managing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment
9/21	9/25	50031A - Complete .NET 2.0 Security
9/21	9/24	5047B - Introduction to Installing and Managing Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
9/21	9/25	6231A - Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database
9/21	9/23	6235A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services
9/21	9/25	6419A - Configuring Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2008 Servers
9/21	9/25	6425A - Configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services
9/21	9/25	6430A - Planning and Administering Windows Server 2008 Servers
9/21	9/25	Cisco - Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security - IINS
9/21	9/25	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND2
9/21	9/25	Computer Hacking Forensic Investigation
9/21	9/21	Illustrator CS3 - Level 2
9/23	9/23	Excellence in Servie: Basic
9/25	9/25	5049A - Managing Messaging Security Using Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
9/28	10/2	2779B - Implementing a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database
9/28	10/2	2780B - Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database
9/28	10/2	2933A - Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006
9/28	9/29	50027 - Querying and Processing SQL Server Data Using Microsoft SQL Server
9/28	10/2	6231A - Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database
9/28	10/2	Linux+
9/30	10/1	2276C - Implementing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure Network Hosts
9/30	10/1	Photoshop CS4 - Level 2
10/1	10/2	6431A - Managing and Maintaing Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Servers
10/1	10/1	Cold Fusion 8 - Level 1
10/2	10/2	Cold Fusion 8 - Level 2
10/5	10/7	2275C - Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment
10/5	10/9	2310C - Developing Microsoft ASP.NET Web Applications using Visual Studio.NET
10/5	10/7	2792A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services
10/5	10/6	5060A - Implementing Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
10/5	10/7	6426A - Configuring Identity and Access Solutions with Windows Server 2008 Active Directory
10/5	10/9	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND1
10/5	10/9	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND1
10/5	10/9	CISSP
10/7	10/9	5061A - Implementing Microsoft Office 2007 SharePoint Server
10/7	10/9	6158A - Updating Your SQL Server 2005 Skills to SQL Server 2008
10/8	10/9	2276C - Implementing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure Network Hosts
10/8	10/9	6428A - Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services
10/8	10/9	Organizational Behavior
10/12	10/12	Excellence in Service: Advanced
10/12	10/16	2277C - Implementing Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure:
10/12	10/16	2780B - Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database
10/12	10/14	2791A - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services
10/12	10/16	6425A - Configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services
10/12	10/14	6427A - Configuring and Troubleshooting Internet Information Services in Windows Server 2008
10/12	10/16	Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN)
10/12	10/16	Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
10/14	10/16	6436A - Designing a Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Infrastructure and Services
10/15	10/16	2934A - Deploying and Managing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006
10/19	10/23	2272B - Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows XP Professional
10/19	10/21	2793B - Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services
10/19	10/23	4994A - VB - Introduction to Programming Microsoft .NET Applications with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
10/19	10/23	6232A - Implementing a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database
10/19	10/21	6426A - Configuring Identity and Access Solutions with Windows Server 2008 Active Directory
10/19	10/23	6430A - Planning and Administering Windows Server 2008 Servers
10/19	10/23	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND2
10/21	10/23	2278 - Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
10/26	10/30	2279B - Planning Implementing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure
10/26	10/30	2310C - Developing Microsoft ASP.NET Web Applications using Visual Studio.NET
10/26	10/30	2780B - Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database
10/26	10/30	50028B - Managing System Center Operations Manager 2007
10/26	10/30	6231A - Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database
10/26	10/30	6417B - Updating your Applications Infrastructure Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008
10/26	10/30	6451A - Planning Deploying and Managing Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007
10/26	10/30	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND1
10/26	10/30	CISSP
10/26	10/30	Project Management Professional Certification
11/2	11/6	Cisco - Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices - ICND2

You’ll want your website visitors to stick around and read the great information on your web page. But if the text isn’t legible, they won’t have the patience to stay. Use our typography tips to increase your site’s appeal.

Note: All images referenced in this article can be viewed @ http://bit.ly/tyqqt

Because it’s so easy to set fonts, background colors, and other formatting with CSS, some developers forget to choose this formatting carefully for legibility. Of course, it doesn’t matter how pretty the text looks if the reader can’t read it and leaves your site in disgust.

To make judging legibility even trickier, many developers don’t see the full text that will appear on the site, since the server-side code may generate it automatically. While a few test words on the site may look okay, bad formatting can cause readers to struggle while attempting to read whole paragraphs. To avoid these kinds of mistakes, it pays to know a few readability principles.


Key rules for readability

Readability refers to the ability to read all the text added to a web page. It’s much harder to read text onscreen than in print, so special considerations are required. For starters, consider the following guidelines:

• Don’t size text too small or too large.
• When possible, avoid specifying absolute font sizes, since they may prevent readers from making the text larger through their browser options. For example, fontsize: 1.5em is better than fontsize: 15px.
• Avoid overuse of type styles (e.g., bold, italic, all caps). A long paragraph in italics, for example, can be difficult to read.
• Don’t contradict common web practice in your use of type styles. For instance, avoid using colored, underlined text for anything that’s not a hyperlink.
• Be careful about placing text on a colored background.
• Choose common fonts that are easy to read on the web.

Choose appropriate fonts

Let’s take a closer look at font choice. Two key rules apply here:

• Some fonts that are good when you print a document aren’t so great online. Often, the difference comes from subtle character spacing issues. So once you find a font you like, try out several similar ones on the screen. You can use the CSS font-family property to specify your first, second, and third (etc.) choices.
• Sans serif fonts are usually easier to read than serif fonts, and they tend to look bigger. This is one good reason to specify some fonts in your style code, since browsers often default to serif fonts.

Tip: Avoid mixing serif and sans serif fonts; the transition between reading such different types of fonts can slow down a reader.

Not all sans serif fonts are created equal

Just because a font is sans serif doesn’t guarantee legibility. And while the fancier fonts may look great in titles, they can be hard to read in paragraphs. Let’s see what happens when we take even a great piece of text and put it onto a website with a poor font choice. We’ll make a CSS declaration specifying the Impact font (or any sans-serif font if the client machine doesn’t have Impact):

See page 6: http://bit.ly/iCFJt

Even great words lose impact with the wrong font

We’ll now apply this style to an excerpt from a famous speech Lincoln gave in October, 1854:

See page 6: http://bit.ly/iCFJt

Apologizing to the great Lincoln in advance, we see that the results, as shown in Figure A, demonstrate that even the most cogent text in the world is virtually unreadable in the wrong font. Even if you find it not bad reading once you get into it, the mere appearance of such a font can intimidate readers from reading it at all.

More legible alternatives

Perhaps a better choice is to stick with a system font, such as Geneva (Mac) or Arial (Windows). These fonts aren’t only easier to read onscreen, but are also more likely to be installed on the user’s computer, thus reducing the risk of font substitution.


Be careful with colored backgrounds

Another area that’s important to watch out for is the colored background. As with most things on the web, less is more. Simply put, it’s hard to beat black text on a white background (or some shade of white) for legibility.

Certainly, depending on your site’s theme and purpose, you can still get satisfying results with other color combinations, as long as the contrast is adequate. And, in some cases, a client may demand a particular color scheme.

The trick to text on color: Make it bigger

One of the problems with any colored background is that it tends to make the text look smaller — especially if the text color is lighter than the background. For instance, suppose we apply the following style definitions to a page:

div {padding:1em;}
.withcolor {background-color:#880088; color:#00FF00;}
.bigger {background-color:#880088; color:#00FF00; font-size:1.3em;}

While the result in Figure B is okay in print, the second block of text is hard to read onscreen and looks surprisingly small — as if the text is dissolving into the color around it. The final block of text uses a larger font size to help overcome the readability problems caused by the background color.


Break up the text

Choosing the right font and size with which to format text is just the beginning. Also consider the way in which you place text on a web page. As a rule, it’s easier to read text that’s in narrow columns, rather than long rows that span the entire width of the page.

Create a column effect without multiple columns

Of course, this rule creates a little of a dilemma: You certainly don’t want readers to have to scroll up and down the website to read the sort of multiple column layout you’d see in the newspapers. That’s probably why such layouts aren’t as popular as they were a few years ago. However, you can still keep text from going all the way across. The one danger here is that this sort of formatting may not come out on a printer, which is why The New York Times offers a button to see a printer-friendly page.

Keep paragraph size small

A related issue is the size of the paragraphs. If you’re involved in writing any of the actual text for the web page (e.g., instructions for a web application), favor short paragraphs over long ones that seemingly never end. Otherwise, readers may lose patience and not even read what you wrote.

Don’t let your code get rid of all the white space either

Similarly, if your web application reports on data that users have entered, don’t get rid of all the white space. Some applications trim every bit of white space out of a string of text, assuming that every line break or indent is wasteful. In some instances, developers fail to encode text entered as a line break as an HTML break <> . The result is large blocks of impenetrable text.


Design for legibility

Even using techniques to increase text readability doesn’t guarantee the content will be entirely legible. Legibility has to do with the overall design of text on the page. The goal is to format and position the text so it’s easy for viewers to recognize the hierarchy of the content.


A matter of purpose

You’ll probably notice that some sites deliberately seek to be disorderly, jarring, or even annoying. Glitzy, flamboyant sites, may work as part of marketing strategy, or to appeal to specific audiences. But if your goal is to impart information, your best bet is usually to create an orderly page.

You don’t have to be a fancy web developer to take advantage of Flash animations in your PowerPoint presentation. We’ll show you how it’s done.

Note: All images referenced in this article can be viewed @ http://bit.ly/tyqqt

In a world in which it’s rare to see a static web page — yet common to see a boring slideshow— it’s likely that your website designers have some Shockwave Flash File (SWF) animations that you can snag to add some zip to your PowerPoint presentations. We’ll show you how to insert and take charge of them, as shown in Figure A, so they work perfectly and are at your disposal.

Prepare PowerPoint to use SWF files

Before you can insert or control SWF files, you need to ensure that PowerPoint is set up to handle the format. If it isn’t, you can easily download the controls you need.

To determine whether you can use SWF files:

1. Open PowerPoint to the slide on which you want to insert your Flash file.
2. Select View Toolbars Control Toolbox. (In 2007, go to the Developer tab’s Controls group. If you don’t see a Developer tab, click the Office button, click PowerPoint Options, and in the Popular section, select the Show Developer Tab In The Ribbon check box.)
3. Click on the More Controls icon to expand the list of available items.
4. Scroll down and look for the Shockwave Flash Object, as shown in Figure B.
5. If it’s listed, you can skip to the next section. If you don’t see the control, visit www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer and download the free player.

You may have to close and reopen PowerPoint to activate the control. If you’ve updated Shockwave from a previous version, you may have trouble getting a SWF movie to play. See the Adobe TechNote article at www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_12727 to fix the problem.

Plan your file’s resting place

Now that PowerPoint is able to play SWF files, you must decide where to store the file permanently.

• If you plan to play your presentation at various locations, you can store it on the web and link to it there.
• On the other hand, if you want to use the presentation solely on your computer, simply place it in a folder and use that path.
• You can also embed the file, which increases the PowerPoint file’s size, but avoids the need to keep track of multiple files.

Whichever method you choose, note the path to your SWF file.

Insert the Flash file

Inserting a Shockwave Flash Object is straightforward. Just navigate to the slide on which you want the object to appear, and follow these steps:

1. Once again, click on the More Controls icon on the Control Toolbox toolbar and select Shockwave Flash Object, as shown in Figure B.
2. When the pointer changes to crosshairs, click and drag a rectangle to house your SWF movie. (You can resize it later.)
3. Right-click on the placeholder that appears, and select Properties. Click on the Alphabetic tab if necessary.
4. Note the text shown in the (Name) property text box — you’ll need it later. For instance, ours is ShockwaveFlash1.
5. Set the Playing property to False by selecting it from the dropdown list.
6. Click in the Movie property field and enter the URL or pathname for the SWF file you wish to insert, as shown in Figure C.
7. Close the Properties sheet and view your slideshow to ensure the movie plays correctly.

At this point, you may wish to embed your movie. To do so, simply reopen the Properties sheet, set the EmbedMovie property to True, and then close the Properties sheet.

Take control of the SWF playback

Now that your movie is in place, you can allow it to play as soon as your slide displays by setting the Playing property to True. However, if you want more control over the movie, you can add a bit of Visual Basic script and a few colorful buttons that allow you to Play, Rewind, or Pause your movie. This can really come in handy when you need to address an audience question or replay the movie a second time.

I can’t control my movie!
Some versions of Flash allow developers to disable the play, pause, and rewind navigation commands. If you use a movie file secured in this manner, the action buttons described in this article won’t work. If you know the Flash developer, however, you can request a navigable version of the file.

Let VB code do all the work

To create seamless navigational controls for Flash movies in PowerPoint, you need to enter a few lines of VB code into the Visual Basic Editor (VBE).

1. Choose Tools Macro Visual Basic Editor (or press [Alt][F11]) to launch the editor. (In 2007, go tothe Developer tab and click Visual Basic in the Code group or use the shortcut key.)
2. In the VBE, choose Insert Module and type the code in Listing A into the new module.
3. Replace all instances of SlideX with the number of the slide on which you’ve inserted your movie(for instance, Slide2, in our sample presentation).
4. Replace all instances of ShockwaveFlashName with the name of your Shockwave Flash Object we noted earlier. (We used ShockwaveFlash1.)
5. After you enter the code, save your work and close the VBE.

Each Sub line creates and names a new macro that you’ll use later to make your movie play, pause, or rewind on command. For instance, Sub PlayShock() created a macro named PlayShockthat, when activated, plays your ShockwaveFlash1 movie.

Check your macro security settings: The VB code creates macros that PowerPoint may block depending on your current security settings. To adjust them, select Tools Macro Security. (In 2007, go to the Developer tab, and in the Codegroup, click the Macro Security button.)

Create the control buttons

With the code in place, all that’s left to do is to create the control buttons on our slide and assign the appropriate code to each one.

1. On your movie slide, select Slide Show Action Buttons.
2. Select Action Button: Custom button (the blank square).
3. Click and drag a rectangular button on your slide where you want the Play button to sit. When you release the mouse button, the Action Settings dialog box appears.
4. On the Mouse Click tab, select Run Macro, and then select PlayShock from the Run Macro dropdown list and click OK.
5. Right-click on the button you just created and select Add Text.
6. Enter Play and click away from the button.
   

Adapt for PowerPoint 2007: In 2007, you need to insert a shape for your action button first; just go to the Insert tab, click the Shapes button, select a shape you want to use, and then click and drag theshape onto your slide. Then you can select the shape and click the Action button in the Insert tab’s Link group to open the Action Settings dialog box. From there, you can set up your macro to run just as you would in earlier versions.

Your button is ready to use, but you may wish to format it to match your slide. Right-click on it and use the Format AutoShape dialog box to change its appearance. Our finished button is shown in Figure D.

Repeat the process for the PauseShock and RewindShock macros. When you’ve finished, you should have three buttons on your slide, as shown in Figure A. Now, when you run your slideshow, you can use the buttons you just created to play, pause, and rewind your movie to your heart’s content.

We’ve already told you that New Horizons is going to be at Cisco Live in booth #1243.

But we’ve added a little something extra just for our followers on Twitter. When you follow us @NHCisco you’ll be eligible to win a Free Wii!

So follow us today and we’ll tweet about how to enter the drawing for a Free Wii from New Horizons.

Here’s the fine print:

• One entry per day per account. One bonus entry per day per account may be earned.
• Winner must follow @NHCisco in order to be eligible for the drawing on Thursday, July 2, 2009.
• Enter Monday, June 29 through Wednesday, July 1.
• Open to residents of US & Canada only.

So start following us now @NHCisco to find out all about how to win your Free Wii from New Horizons!

JULY

Tips & Tricks for Microsoft Office 2007, PowerPoint and Excel
Explore how Excel 2007 takes advantage of a new, results-oriented user interface that provides easy access to powerful productivity tools, offers a larger workspace, and delivers faster performance. See how to quickly create pivot Tables and Charts to better analyze you information, while still creating easy to read & use spreadsheets. Additionally, discover the synergy of working with Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 to present and deliver your information to your audience with presentation tools that allow you to paint a picture of what you need to convey.

• Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
• Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2009
• Time: 10 am Pacific; 12 pm Central; 1 pm Eastern
• Register: http://bit.ly/Ur1Z

Creating Complex Documents with Microsoft Word 2007
Creating Complex document with Microsoft Word 2007 Get informative tips to help you create better Microsoft Word 2007 documents more easily than ever before, and learn why the less work you do, the better your Microsoft Office Word documents will be. Witness how Microsoft SharePoint Services enhances the collaborative process. See the options available to streamline the creation of your documents and learn how to share this with other Word users, 2007 & previous.

• Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
• Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2009
• Time: 10 am Pacific; 12 pm Central; 1 pm Eastern
• Register: http://bit.ly/Ur1Z

AUGUST

Collaborating with Microsoft Office 2007 using Microsoft SharePoint Services
See how enhancements in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office 2007 make it easier than ever to share documents, track tasks, use e-mail efficiently and effectively, and share ideas and information. Discover the tools to create Team Sites, Document libraries, and meeting sites with Microsoft SharePoint Services.

• Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
• Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2009
• Time: 10 am Pacific; 12 pm Central; 1 pm Eastern
• Register: http://bit.ly/Ur1Z

ENROLL in all New Horizons Webinars at: http://bit.ly/Ur1Z

We've added more courses to our Remote Classroom Schedule! To learn more about our courses and how New Horizons Remote Classroom works, just visit the portal @ http://www.LearnAtNewHorizons.com/RemoteClassroom.

We are happy to answer any questions you have, and as always, if you do not see a course listed on the schedule, just let us know! You can contact us directly or just fill out the form here. We look forward to hearing from you.