Sunday, February 25, 2007

Speed up Firefox with these tweaks

clipped from: www.tonyspencer.com

Does Firefox seem way slower than Internet Explorer to you? Well it certainly is out of the box. I’m not sure why they don’t make the following settings default but check these out. They may change your opinion of the browser.


firefox_icon.jpg

Type “about:config” in your firefox address bar.


Search for the following settings:


1. network.http.pipelining
Set to true
2. network.http.pipelining.firstrequest
Set to true
3. network.http.pipelining.maxrequests
Set to 32
4. network.http.proxy.pipelining
Set to true
5. nglayout.initialpaint.delay
Set to 0


Its very likely that you won’t have an entry for network.http.pipelining.firstrequest. Thats ok. Just add one.


Right-click on the preferences list, select ‘New’ then select ‘Boolean’


On the first prompt, type:
network.http.pipelining.firstrequest


On the second prompt, set it to ‘true’


Its also likely that you won’t have an entry for nglayout.initialpaint.delay


Right-click on the preferences list, select ‘New’ then select ‘Integer’


On the first prompt, type:
nglayout.initialpaint.delay


On the second prompt, set it to ‘0′


Enabling the pipelining features allows the browser to make multiple requests to the server at the same time. The “maxrequests” is the maximum number of requests it will send at once. I’ve heard that 8 is the most it will send at once, but setting it higher won’t hurt, just in case. The initialpaint.delay is the length of time (in milliseconds) after the server response before the browser begins to paint the page.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Speed Up Your Windows PC: The basics



To start off, the single most important thing you can do to increase your computer’s speed is to add RAM--random access memory. It’s also the one thing in this course that will cost you money (but it’s worth it).


The challenge, however, is getting the correct memory module for your PC. Just about every computer is different. Some are already equipped with plenty of memory, while others have very little. And there are a lot of different types of memory, so you need to be sure to get the exact right module for your system.


A good reference on this topic can be found at CNET Labs’ guide to buying RAM. This guide explains what RAM is and how to install it. There’s also an online tool called a


Configurator" target="_blank">memory configurator that tells you exactly what kind of memory your computer make and model uses.


Cut the graphics


Here’s how:


  • Go to Control Panel and choose Display (you may have to click Appearance and Themes first).

  • On the Themes tab, change your current theme to Windows Classic, which uses fewer resources than the new look does. You can then click the Appearance tab and change that look to suit yourself.

  • Go into Control Panel and choose System (you may have to click Performance and Maintenance first).

  • Click the Advanced tab.

  • In the Performance box, click Settings.

  • You can now select Adjust for best performance, or you can choose Custom and play around with the settings. The more you uncheck, the less work your computer will have to do.

  • Browse files faster


    So let’s tell Windows not to search for them unless you ask it to. Here’s how:


  • Open My Computer.

  • Click the Tools menu.

  • Choose Folder Options.

  • Click the View tab.

  • Uncheck “Automatically search for network folders and printers.”

  • Click OK.
  • Howto Create your own Windows Installation CD with all updates & software included

    clipped from: www.nliteos.com

    nLite


    Deployment Tool for Unattended Windows
    (Remove components, integrate hotfixes, drivers and themes. Tweaks, patches...)


    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    CloneCD 5.3.0.0

    21Dec06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    Firefox 2.0.0.1

    19Dec06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
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    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    Launchy 1.0

    13Dec06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    Hamachi 1.0.1.3

    12Dec06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    VLC 0.8.6

    12Dec06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    WinRAR 3.62

    04Dec06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    Foobar 0.9.4.2

    29Nov06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
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    7-Zip 4.42

    17Oct06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    ImgBurn 2.1.0.0

    17Oct06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    PSPad 4.5.1

    16Oct06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    Gaim 1.5.0

    16Oct06
    clipped from: addons.wordpress.com

    200 Firefox extensions at the same time

    clipped from: tech.cybernetnews.com

    Earlier this year a guy installed 100 Firefox extensions without any problems. Well…I decided to try and top that. I picked the nice round number of 200 for a few different reasons. First and foremost because Firefox “2″ was recently released but also because back in August Mozilla celebrated 200 million downloads of the fantastic browser! Right now they are past 263 million but this is kinda like a belated celebration.


    To install the extensions I went through the Mozilla Extension page one by one, like any normal person would be doing. I went through the top Firefox extension page until I had all 200 installed. I did install repetitive extensions (such as the three versions of Forecast Fox) because I wanted to see if they affected each other, but there weren’t too many extensions that overlapped in functionality. The only ones that I really skipped were the dictionaries which there happened to be quite a few of.


    After I had installed 50 of them I decided to restart the browser to see how things were going. It took about one minute to startup but everything looked like it installed correctly. Then I moved on and after about an hour I had all 200 installed and was ready to restart the browser. I didn’t think that it was going to work but to my surprise it did…


    It was quite a site to see and there was a very limited viewing area for websites because of the toolbars. On my 24″ widescreen monitor I had about 2″ of viewable area at the bottom of the browser. But hey, it was still usable. Here is a screenshot of the overall result of a Google search that I performed:


    200 Firefox Extensions Installed

    It is also pretty amazing what the Google website looks like when I have all of those extensions installed. Not to mention how funny it is when you type a search in the search box and press “Enter” just to see it replicate itself amongst all of the toolbars. That was probably my favorite part about the whole experience. ;)

    20 Must Read HOWTOs and Guides for Linux

    clipped from: www.foogazi.com

  • Introduction to Linux
    This is a great overview of Linux, a definite must read for Linux newbies.

  • Advanced Bash Scripting
    Understand and learn how to write bash scripts for the command line.

  • Linux Administration Made Easy
    A very detailed document on Linux administration.

  • Linux Complete Backup and Recovery
    Anyone who has a Linux desktop or server must know how to backup and restore their system at any moments notice. This is an important guide if you absolutely do not want to lose any crucial data.

  • Linux Gamers
    Learn the inner workings of how games work on Linux along with how to resolve common problems.

  • Linux Security
    Understand the general concepts of security on a Linux system, complete with examples and applications to use.

  • Linux System Administrator’s Guide
    Learn the aspects of the Linux System Administrator.

  • Networking Overview
    A great overview of the networking capabilities of the Linux operating system.

  • XWindow User
    Learn how to configure and use the XWindows system in Linux.
  • clipped from: www.foogazi.com

    Best Application Site:
    http://www.freshmeat.netFreshmeat is the webs largest index of Unix/Linux related software. There are a ton of Linux application sites out there, but nothing as well established as Freshmeat. There are also a good deal of articles on software applications and book reviews that I enjoy reading from time to time. If your looking for a software application for your Linux desktop, server, or router, chances are it is listed on Freshmeat.


    Best Development Site:
    http://www.sourceforge.net


    Best Document Site:
    http://www.tldp.org



    104 Performance Tips for Windows XP.

    clipped from: www.pcstats.com
    Beginners Guides: 99 Performance Tips for Windows XP

    From faster boot times, to speeding up your current hardware, PCstats has 99 Tips to make your computer run quicker, better, and more efficiently. - Version 1.0.0

    Preparing Your System (1-8)

    BIOS tweaks and Insight (9-13)

    Overclocking your processor and memory (14-16)

    WindowsXP Software and Registry Performance Tweaks (17-46)

    Graphics Performance Tweaks (47-55)

    Network and Internet Performance Tweaks (56-66)

    WindowsXP User Interface Shortcuts and Hints (67-78)

    Improving Windows XP boot speed (79-94)

    Increasing XP shutdown speed (95-99)

    100 Keyboard shortcuts (Windows)

    clipped from: www.hongkiat.com

    CTRL+C (Copy)


    CTRL+X (Cut)


    CTRL+V (Paste)


    CTRL+Z (Undo)


    DELETE (Delete)


    SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)


    CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)


    CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)


    F2 key (Rename the selected item)


    CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)


    CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)


    CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)


    CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)


    CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)


    SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)


    CTRL+A (Select all)


    ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)


    F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)


    ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)


    ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)


    ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)

    CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)


    ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)


    ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)


    F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)


    F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)


    SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)


    ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)


    CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)


    ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)


    Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)


    F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)


    RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)


    LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)

    Get old version of popular software

    clipped from: www.oldversion.com


    clipped from: www.oldversion.com

    About OldVersion.com


    Sometimes upgrading to a newer version can be a good thing. Other times, your computer may not be compatible with the new version, the new version is bloated, or all the options you liked are no longer available. OldVersion.com has been supplying the online community with old versions of various programs since 2001. The service is utilized by thousands of users every day and has been featured in newspapers and magazines as well as on radio and television.

    OldVersion.com has several objectives. One is to discourage the use of spyware by software companies. Also known as adware, these hidden programs come bundled with certain applications and secretly transmit user information via the Internet to advertisers. It is sometimes possible to avoid spyware by downloading an older version of a program. Use OldVersion.com and show the industry your dissatisfaction with these types of business practices.

    OldVersion.com also assists computer users who are unable to continually upgrade their computer. Those who find that their machine is not able to run the latest version of a certain application have no choice but to use an old version of the program. Unfortunately, the vast majority of software companies do not offer this opportunity. We are doing our small part to help everyone enjoy the same software titles regardless of their hardware.
    clipped from: mail.google.com

    Why windows takes so long to start up

    clipped from: www.intelliadmin.com
    Most of us have had a brand new computer at one time. It's a great feeling. You boot up windows and within 30 seconds you are surfing the net, checking your email, or playing your favorite game. 10 months down the road things aren't so nice anymore. You power up your computer and it seems to take forever to load.

    1. The prefetch cache

    Here is how it works: Yesterday you used MS Word, and Duke Nukem 3D. Today you boot your system to check e-mail. It sees parts of these two programs in the prefetch folder and loads them into memory before windows completes the boot process. The benefit is faster application launch times. If you really wanted to use MS Word, it would pop up really quick when you double clicked on it.

    What can be done about it? Well there are a few things we can do to tweak the prefetch cache. One method is to disable it partially, and this can be done quite easily.

    Simply browse to the windows folder (Ex: C:\Windows) and under there you should see the prefetch folder. Go into the prefetch folder and delete all the files (Careful! It should look like this c:\windows\prefetch) And here is a screenshot of one if you still have questions


    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters

    2 - Boot : The prefetch only caches boot system files.

    2. Hard drive fragmentation

    3. Disconnected network drives

    4. Spyware & Adware

    5. File and Printer Sharing

    One other item that can significantly impact is the "File and Printer Sharing" feature within windows. Obviously, if you are sharing your printer, or folders you don't want to disable this - so this tip is not for you. If you never use it, then why waste your time waiting for it to load?

    Here is how to turn it off:

    Go into the control panel. Click on "Network Connections"


    Now right click on "Local Area Connection" and click on properties

    Uncheck the "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks"

    Click OK, and reboot.