clipped from: www.realtechnews.com

20 Things the Average Person Doesn’t Know About Windows XP

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By Unknown Writer
Via Digg
1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type ’systeminfo’. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type ’systeminfo > info.txt’. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

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2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run… and type ‘gpedit.msc’; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care — some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).

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4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can make it show everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word ‘hide’ and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be the software and you can now uninstall it.

How to: Hack Gmail?

useful article.

clipped from www.maximumpc.com How To: Hack Gmail By Robert Strohmeyer Tired of stingy ISPs imposing arbitrary email restrictions on you? Yeah, so are we. 1MB attachment limits, 25MB storage limits, and restricted SMTP servers are sooo 1997. For a 21st-Century mail experience, step up to Gmail. 1. Use Gmail as an Online Storage Vault 2. Filter Your Mail with Positive Thinking 3. Take Notice with a Notifier 4. Import Your Old Mail into Gmail 5. Turn Gmail into an MP3 Player 6. Email Impersonator

Firefox CAN be faster - 4 easy tricks

clipped from www.our-picks.com Firefox CAN be faster - 4 easy tricks Now that we all know the hidden pages in Firefox, it’s time to go a bit deeper into tweaking your browser for optimal use. All of the operations will be made in the about:config page, so save your important stuff, open up a new tab, write about:config in the address bar and be prepared. I have gathered four tricks that will improve your Firefox experience, and here they are. 1. Fetch only pages that you click 2. Limit the RAM usage 3. Reducing the RAM usage even more when Firefox gets minimized 4. Make pages load faster This is just about it, and if you guys have any other tricks for improving the Firefox experience, we’ll be glad to hear them.

clipped from www.lifehack.org Top 10 Firefox Extensions to Improve your Productivity Firefox is the browser of dreams for many people (myself included). One of the great perks of Firefox is that there are tons of extensions that enhance the functionality of the browser. With over 1500 extensions in existence, there are many that can be used to improve your productivity. The following is my take on the top 10 extensions that will keep you focused, reduce distractions, streamline your daily work flow, and improve your productivity.