Set up Autocorrect in Microsoft Word and Outlook Express

The Auto Correct feature is one that enables the application to correct the spelling of misspelt words — automatically.

The advantage of Auto Correct over Spell Check is that Spell Check will only report the misspelled words and provide a list with the option of words that can be replaced. One will have to manually choose the correct one from the list of options whereas in AutoCorrect, the correct word gets replaced automatically.

For instance, if we type the word “the” as “teh”, if Auto Correct is enabled, the application will change the word to the correct spelling “the”.

This feature is useful for persons with low vision or visual impairment, people with learning disability and users with mobility impairment.

This feature is available in Microsoft Word and from Outlook 2002, also referred as Outlook XP. To enable this in Word, please go to the “Tools” menu, Click “AutoCorrect” (in Word 2000) in Tools menu, “Auto Correct Options” in Tools Menu (in Word 2003), in “AutoCorrect: English” dialog box, in the Auto Correct Tab. Select the check boxes “Replace text as you type” and “Automatically use suggestions from spelling checker”. In the same AutoCorrect tab, you can scroll down to browse through a long list of words with correct spelling for replacing in AutoCorrect. You can also add words for this auto correction.

To add words to AutoCorrect, please type the word to be added in the word document and highlight it by selecting it. Then click AutoCorrect in Tools Menu. In the AutoCorrect tab, the ‘With’ box will display the highlighted word. Select the Formatted text radio button if you want to retain the format of the text, or select Plain text. Type the word that has to be replaced with, in the Replace window.

It is possible to move the Auto Correct entries from one computer to another. More details about this are available at this URL: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/207748 for Word 2000 and at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/826147 for Word 2003.

To enable Auto Correct in Outlook 2003, from the Microsoft Outlook window click Options in Tools menu. In the Spelling tab, select the check box “Use Auto Correct when Word isn’t the e-mail editor”. Click the Auto Correct options button. The Auto Correct dialog box will open. “Select the check box Replace text as you type”.

Spell Check is available in Outlook Express and if you run it, will prompt you to manually replace with the correct words.

Enrich the search for local information with a mouse click.

Returning to India after a stint in the US, Ravi, an avid surfer of the Internet, found it difficult to locate small yet useful information — such as a Chinese restaurant in his area/place of posting.

Not to worry. There’s a way out. “The India-specific search product, Google Local Search, is a useful tool for users searching the Web for locally relevant information,” says Amit Somany, Product Manager, Head of Search, Consumer Application and Infrastructure at Google India.
People search the Web for all kinds of information — placement consultant for a business process outsourcing firm, PG Diploma in Fashion Technology, travel information and booking, among others.

By simply doing a search on one can get information of local relevance, says Somany.

But that’s not all. The surfer has a role to play too, for information on local businesses, such as restaurants, shops and hotels, will not be available if the same has not been added to Google Local, says Somany.

Take, for instance, coaching classes for Plus Two children.

You probably are conducting the class for 50 students in a small room. You may be known in and around that area. How do you get better reach and for free? Just get online, make your listing, such as contact details, address, your offering, etc, available to users, even if you are working offline.

The Google Local Business Centre at <> allows any business to add its information to Google Local for free, he says.

When users search on Google Local Search, the listed business information is displayed.
Local Business Centre already exists in other geographies.

“The Local Search and Local Business Centre will provide better local business results by increasing the corpus and depth of business listings and ensure visibility on the Internet for free,” he says.

These will typically provide the address, phone contacts and location of local shops, establishments and institutions — and will also link their own Web sites, if available.
According to Somany, millions of questions are posed everyday on the search engines — from eye clinic to fashion institute, to old age home in Bangalore, guest house in Anna Nagar, Chennai, or best place to hang out in Delhi.

Such information can be made available at the click of the mouse by listing it on Google Local, says Somany.

India clinches first foreign deal to sell Dhruv

India has made aviation history by concluding a USD 51 million deal with the South American Republic of Ecuador for the sale of seven 'Dhruv' Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).

The deal signed between Ecuador Aviation Authority and bluechip state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) envisages the supply of seven helicopters in semi knock-down conditions to the Republic in a time-frame of 15 months to two years, Defence Ministry officials said.

With this, India has joined a select group of nations with a capability to bid for international contracts for choppers. So far, the helicopter market has been dominated by US, European companies and Russia.

The ALH 'Dhruv' has been making waves in international air shows worldover from the past two years but international sales of the helicopter have eluded HAL.

HAL came very near bagging its first international order when it bid for the Chilean armed forces contract two years ago, but was beaten to the closing line by the US competitors.

AMERICIANS SEEK EMPLOYMENT IN INDIA

Americans seek employment in India

Robert Durbin was looking nervous when he went to the India Visa services centre in Manhattan this past week.

With a professional degree in Information Technology from New York University last year, Durbin has been desperately looking for a job for the past six months; but unsuccessful so far, primarily because US companies these days have been cutting jobs rather than recruiting new people.

After months of job search, the only place Durbin received a job offer was from a Bangalore-based IT major this month. ''I am here to apply for my work visa to India,'' Durbin told NDTV.com, standing outside the India Visa Services Centre in Manhattan, to which the Indian Embassy and Consulates have outsourced visa-processing system.

Durbin, requesting his identity not be disclosed till he joins the job in Bangalore next month, said he was nervous as he did not know if he will get the work visa or not. ''I hope, I will,'' he said, as he went inside to submit his applications. It will take another couple of days before he knows if his application has been approved.

Without referring to this particular case, P S Sasi Kumar, who handles the visa section at the Indian Consulate in New York told NDTV.com that normally most of the applications for work visas are being approved. Of late, the Consulate in New York has been experiencing a steady flow of such applications seeking work visa.

Though, India might still not be a hot destination for foreigners like the US is for Indians for jobs, Kumar said applications for work visa has been gradually increasing. From what used to be a rare category of visas a couple of years ago, hardly a day passes when the Consulate in New York does not receive at least one such application in this regard.

In the past two years, the New York Consulate has issued work visa to more than 900 people. In 2006 the New York Consulate issued 335 employment visas while in 2007, more than 430 employment visas were issued. If the trend of the first three months is of any indication, 2008 could well break all previous records. It is a couple of applications every day, Kumar said.

While New York tops the list, the three other Indian consulates in the US - in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago - and the Indian Embassy in Washington have also seen quite a number of applications for work visa.

Figures made available indicated the Indian Embassy in Washington issued about 300 work visas in past two years, while Houston Consulate down South issued nearly 100; indicating India is gradually emerging as employment destination for the Americans as job opportunities in the US has increasingly been shrinking in past two years.

KAJOL-WANTS 3 MORE KIDS

.Kajol wants three more kids

Kajol was never the one to talk too much.

The lady likes her privacy and prefers to talk to the media mostly when her films are about to release. And her father’s death recently has made her quieter still. Recently, she was in the city to endorse a brand but kept her appearance to a short 30-minutes pose-appear-and-disappear routine.

Asked what she has been doing of late, she said, “Ajay is busy shooting and my daughter Nysa keeps me busy.”
Kajol, who has said in the past that “she was born to be a mother,” perks up immediately at the mention of her daughter. “Everybody I work with knows that my kid comes first. In fact she occupies the one to 10 slots,” she said. And does she plan to become a mother again? “Oh definitely,” she says, “I want to have at least three more kids.”

The actress who has done only selective work since she became a mother may completely go off the screen then! But what is she working on just now? “It’s a film that I will do with my husband. It’s actually an animation film with human characters called Toonpur Ka Superhero, something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? We’re actually playing ourselves, yes, we’ll be Ajay and Kajol. But the cartoon characters get the main roles. It will be healthy competition.”

IT industry's footprint looks set to expand beyond its existing homes.

Faced with a challenge from upstarts threatening to erode India's low-cost appeal, the government is planning to build 43 new information technology cities across the country to retain its top dog status in the business and to be in a position to tap the huge surge in demand for IT-enabled services over the next 10 years.

The move comes at a time when the rising infrastructure and employee costs in big cities is threatening to blunt India's crucial cost advantage.

While India has held on to its pre-eminent position, its IT and BPO companies are losing their global cost advantage with the emergence of countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, which offer similar services at cheaper rates and are threatening India's status as the world's back office.

As the allure of BPO jobs goes down and attrition rates go up, companies are increasingly finding it difficult to recruit quality employees in the big cities. Also of concern is infrastructure constraints in Bangalore, Gurgaon and elsewhere.

The plan to build brand new towns is designed to address some of these issues. It is felt that these new towns will provide a steady supply of workers besides being specifically geared towards the needs of the IT and BPO sectors.

The proposal, suggested by a high-level group on service sector, has been cleared by the Planning Commission. "The modalities for the ambitious plan will be finalized very soon," a source said.

According to the plan, each IT city will be set up in an area of more than 500 hectare. The cities will altogether generate employment for around 3.5 million people by 2018.

The proposal is to create self-contained satellite townships with commercial space for renting and a commensurate increase in residential accommodation, education, healthcare, retail and recreational facilities.

"Improvement in infrastructure is very important to ensure the continued competitiveness of IT and BPO industries," an official said while explaining the rationale behind the move.

At present, the major volume of IT-enabled services is concentrated in seven cities — Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon and Noida. Government estimates point out that 95% of the IT and BPO service industry is in these cities, with around 36% of services concentrated in Bangalore alone.

According to officials, the IT and BPO business in the country is likely to grow by 2.5 times in the next 10 years. The growth cannot be absorbed in major cities.

As infrastructure in major cities is already under tremendous strain, the IT sector has started migrating to smaller cities. However, the volume of business in the IT sector likely to come to India is huge which even tier II & III towns are unlikely to handle, considering poor infrastructure.

Under the ambitious proposal, the government plans to shift 40% of the business to the upcoming 43 cities by 2018.

The new towns will be properly planned and laid out and endowed with modern infrastructure and good connectivity to the big cities and airports.

These townships will have residential and work areas with all essential services - water supply, power, civic amenities, health, education, transport and entertainment - to meet the civic and commercial needs of the workforce.

The Centre has sought the support of state governments in facilitating creation of these new towns. The proposal suggests that the towns will be developed by private players and state governments will ensure trunk services like electricity, water supply, sewage and drainage

Federer captures 55th title

HALLE (Germany): Roger Federer kept alive his grass-winning streak and captured his 55th title on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Gerry Weber Open.

Federer, who sailed through the Wimbledon warm-up without a dropped set, ran his record unbeaten run on grass to 59 matches.

The 40th-ranked German netted a backhand after a long rally to end the match.

“I never lost my serve in this tournament, that had never happened to me,” Federer said. “That was very special.”

The top-ranked Swiss restored some confidence after one of his worst defeats — a rout in the French Open final at the hands of rival Rafael Nadal. He took just four games.

Federer, who raised his record to 10-0 in grass finals, won Halle for the fifth time. The previous four were followed by Wimbledon triumphs three weeks later.

Federer didn’t face a top 10 player, but had an easier time than his last appearance at the event in 2006. He was pushed to three sets in four of his five matches that year.

Federer won Halle for the first time in 2003 — before going on to win his first Wimbledon title — and now has won 24 straight at the tournament, a streak dating back to that year.