Shorten the list of frequently used programs in the Start menu

Windows XP, Vista, 7 Windows maintains a list of the most frequently used programs in the Start menu. These shortcuts enable quick access to the applications. But the long list also tends to be unclear. You can reduce the number of entries in the list. Right-click ‘Start’ for this. Select ‘Properties’ in the following context menu. The ‘Taskbar and Start Menu Properties’ dialog box opens. In case of Windows XP and Vista, ensure...

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Extra Cores for Free

Keep your fingers crossed and you might be able to turn your dual-core or triple-core AMD Phenom II CPU into a quad-core one. Core unlocking is one of the hottest topics these days. The AMD Phenom II X2 and X3 CPUs are made from quad-core silicon wafers that didn’t make it to quad-core Phenom II CPUs due to minor defects. As a measure to minimise wastage, AMD disables the defective cores and uses the remainder to manufacture dual-core and triple-core...

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End hanged programs with a mouse click

Windows XP, Vista, 7 A program has crashed and is blocking several other processes. Normally, the only way out is to use the Task Manager and end all programs individually by confirming in each case. The ‘taskkill’ command can be used to generate atool for automatically ending hanged processes. You can end programs without any query in the command line, using the ‘taskkill’ command. It even off ers other options. For instance, it can fi rst determine...

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Start system tools without annoying user account queries

Windows Vista, 7 The security query every time you start a system tool like Regedit is annoying.Although the User Account Control cangenerally be deactivated, this stopsWindows from warning you beforestarting unknown programs. Calling system tools via the Task Scheduler helpsavoid the annoying security query. You can avoid the annoying security query with a trick. Arrange for an indirect program start using task scheduling. Subsequently, start...

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The online storage service is not just for developers. You can use it as a cheap online backup location for all your important files.

Amazon S3 Back up data using an affordable cloud service Amazon S3 is an online storage service where youonly pay for the space you use. If you are looking for a simple, inexpensive online Web storage service, opt for Amazon S3. Contrary to the popular belief, this service from Amazon is not just for developers. It is equally useful for home users. It can be used to store your data like music fi les, videos, pictures etc or you can use it to...

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Adjust font size in the Firefox menu

FireFox Adjust font size in the Firefox menu UserChrome.css allows you to change font sizes inthe Firefox interface. You can increase the font size of the file menu items and reduce the font size of the bookmarks if you fi nd it to be too large. Firefox uses the Windows default settings, so you could increase the DPI value of the system font size. Alternatively, you can customize the required settings by creating a 'userChrome.css' file instead....

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Use hardware graphic acceleration now

Chrome 7 Google aspires to boost browser performance with the help of GPU acceleration sometime in the future. But is that possible even now? Adding a parameter in the command link of Chrome ensures faster graphical output. Enabling GPU acceleration provides improvedgraphical performance in Google Chrome.                          The integration of GPU  acceleration...

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Configure multifunctional homepage

Chrome 4.x onwards In Chrome, the automatically generated selection for new tabs is really practical. Still, you can customize the homepage in the browser for quick selection and other functions. A free Chrome extension called Incredible Startpage helps you confi gure your Chrome homepage. Incredible Startpage allows you to customize theGoogle Chrome homepage. You can customize Chrome to your liking with the free Incredible Startpage extension,...

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Customize the Office Menu to your liking.

Office 2010 The Offi ce Menu 2010 off ers manyfeatures, but often not where you wantit. However, you can customize themenu to your style of working.  From version 2010 onwards, you can set up the menu in all Offi ce applications individually. To do so, open ‘File | Options’ and click on ‘Customize Ribbon’ from the options displayed on the left. You can even customize the standard commands to a certain extent. To do so, select ‘All Tabs’ in...

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Define specific cells as per the maximum value

Microsoft Excel You want to display the content of one result cell in another which is to the left of the relevant maximum value of a specifi c data fi eld in the table sheet. This task can be carried out using a combination of three simple functions. The functions are used in one single formula. Just imagine: The fi elds “B1” to “B4” contain four numbers. If the largest number is in “B3”, the result cell should return the value from “A3”. For this, enter the formula given here: =INDEX(A1:A4, MATCH(MAX(B1:B4),B1:B4,0),1) “MAX(B1:B4) fi rst...

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Display hidden data on the server

Filezilla An FTP client normally shows nohidden fi les on the connected serverwhose name starts with a leadingpoint. However, if you need to access afile with the name ‘. htaccess’, the FTPclient Filezilla can be forced to displaythe hidden files on the server. One simple option can gives you access to hiddenfiles in Filezilla. If you want to see the hidden files on the connected server, you can easily do so by a simple click. If you are using version...

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Create e-mail signatures with text and images

Thunderbird Instead of a signature that just contains the sender details, it’s possible to create a sophisticated signature with an image or logo. Signatures with logos lend your emails a moreprofessional feel. Thunderbird supports text-based signatures, but if you need images to go with your signature, you will have to code it as an HTML fi le. You can use the Word editor to arrange your image and text settings. Save the fi le as a webpage. Next,...

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Install new fonts and manage them centrally

Windows 7 has a wide range of fonts but they are still not enough for some users. Unfortunately, a command for installing more fonts is not available in the font folder at first glance. Simplify font management with Windows' ownbuilt-in tools. In order to configure fonts, click ‘Appearance and Personalization’ in the Control Panel and then ‘Fonts’. In this view, every entry already has a mini preview of the relevant font. There are several...

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Display the month or day for a specific date

Excel 2003, 2007, 2010 You want to define the month or theday for a specific date automatically ina work sheet. The “TEXT()” formula converts dates and times inExcel cells into different text outputs. Use the Excel function “TEXT()”. It converts numeric values into text outputs. Excel internally saves a date as a numeric value. You can infl uence the text output using the formatting sign and can for instance determine the week day for a particular...

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Define the actual folders hidden behind shortcuts

From Vista onwards, specifi c folders seem exist for the sake of compatibility, but actually redirect to other real folders. This messes up scripts and batch files you’ve written yourself. Backward compatibility is maintained throughlogical shortcuts called Junction Points. These shortcuts, called junction points, exist throughout Windows. For example, programs can try to save data to the old ‘Documents and Settings’ folder, but will be seamlessly redirected...

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Add data types to hard drive cleaning

Hard drive cleaning helps in tracking trash on the system. Unfortunately, the functionality is restricted to predefi ned fi le types. You can add more data types for this function to clean out. For this, right click a free place on the desktop and select ‘New | Shortcut’. Enter the following command in the ‘Item location’ input field: C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe /c cleanmgr /sageset:4711 & cleanmgr /sagerun:4711 and confi rm with ‘Next’. On...

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Hide unused libraries in Windows Explorer

The Libraries function in Windows 7 help in structuring data. But a lot of users still prefer the conventional folder structure. In such a case, you can hide the libraries and thus make space for displaying more folders. For this, right click the fi rst library ‘Pictures’ and select the context command ‘Do not display in navigation fi eld’. Repeat this step for all other unused libraries. In order to display individual entries again, click ‘Libraries’...

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Switch between applications quickly with Apple’s Exposé function

When you fl ick the cursor to a specifi c corner of the monitor, Exposé shows thumbnails of all active programs minimised on the desktop. You can then quickly switch to another application – but only on Mac OS X. The tool SmallWindows equips Windows with the practical Exposé functionality of Mac OS X. SmallWindows has two functions: It either minimizes all windows so that it is easy to toggle between applications, or it moves all windows to the...

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Get a constant overview of several time zones

When making a call to another countrysuch as the USA, you don’t want toinadvertently wake someone up inthe middle of the night. But this canactually happen if you do not payattention to the time diff erence. Additional clocks can be placed in the system trayto help you work better with international clients. Windows provides help indisplaying several time zones. Clickthe clock to the right of the taskbar.A window with an analog clock and acalendar...

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Defragment several disks automatically without monitoring

Regular defragmentation keeps the system performance consistent. But you cannot sit at your PC through this entire process. What is also irritating is that defragmentation needs to be manually activated if there are several hard disks. The graphical interface of Windows’ defragmenter does not provide the option to process several drives one after the other, at least under XP. What a lot of people don’t know is that Windows has an additional command...

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Switch off Aero interface automatically or program-specifically

Windows 7 You need to switch of   the Aero ef ects in Windows for taking screenshots or for some games, but using the display properties dialog box each time is extremely teous. This simple setting will ensure that the program runs without consuming extra system resources.  You can automate this task by means of a property in the shortcut with which you can call up a specifi c program, such as the Screenshot tool. The programs...

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