When you click links, most specifically links in your Outlook email client, you receive this error message: “This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.” Now, for the magic question that might blow your mind… have you ever had Google Chrome installed, and just recently uninstalled it?
If you say no, you can keep reading, the solution applies to many scenarios, but the Google Chrome uninstall is the most common. Google has supposedly fixed this is newer uninstallers, but I still see the problem all the time. The file association in the registry is still pointing to Chrome and can be fixed by modifying certain registry keys… but I’ve put together a handy .REG file that you can download, double click, and be done! Don’t forget to exit and re-open Outlook for the fix to activate. If you’re more intersted in what registry keys are being modified, you can right click the .reg file and select “EDIT” to see the keys that will be changed in plain text.
Microsoft has also developed a “FixIt” utility for this purpose, so if you don’t trust a random stranger making changes in your registry, I understand! You can download Microsoft’s official fix for Hyperlinks not working in Outlook (vague enough?) from their knowledgebase.
UPDATE: See our 2014 follow up with The Districts.
I used to live in York, Pennsylvania. Little did I know that a few kids (probably in grade school or junior high the time I was there) in near by Lititz, PA were about to make a name for themselves. The Districts is made up of four very young members who play a soul-filled style of rock. You can pick up out influences by the dozen and their style travels a fascinating line between Blues and Grunge Rock.
Distorted guitars play jazz-like riffs in tracks like Thank You Please, and the music in Radiator has an indie-folksy sound, similar to that of Dr. Dog.
What makes The Districts stand out from their peers, right now, is in the lyrics and vocals. Although I’m unsure who writes the lyrics, Rob Grote belts them out like a downtrodden blues singer struggling to find his next meal. He sings with conviction and confidence. The only downside is that the rest of the band is okay. The instrumentals in the band go well together, they are well rehearsed, and sound fine. But absolutely nothing on the album is going to wow you or make you astonished at the talents of the musicians. You should anticipate, though, that if the members are this good at this age, that they very well could do something to knock your socks off in the next year or two – and as long as they keep playing and stay part of the scene there in the Lancaster area, they will mature. You have to, in that neck of the woods: there are an abnormal amount of skilled players there. But I have high hopes that The Districts will continue to stand out, and not just because of their young age.
If you think all of this sounds interesting, you can stream the entire album from The Districts’ bandcamp site, then download the album with a “name your price” scheme – how much is it worth to you to support up and coming talent?
This Xbox tip of the week is a handy one, and surprisingly little known!
Last weekend I was on the road and stayed with a friend. I realized I hadn’t brought along my cell phone charger, but not to worry! Since the majority of phones use a Micro USB cable these days, I found a spare cable of just such size, connected one end to my cell phone and plugged the other end in to one of the USB ports on the front of my buddy’s Xbox 360. Just a few seconds later, even with the console off, the charging indicator light on my cell phone lit up! Crisis averted. Hopefully this one helps you out, some day.
