After discussing things with my associates above, I have compiled a list of ideas that may add to your computing efficiency and enjoyment:

 

Control SPAM in your EMail.

Spam, to put it politely, is unwanted EMail sent by companies who got your address by hook or crook and are trying to sell you something.  YUKK!!  I have searched far and wide for an answer to so many clients and friends question "How do I stop it"?  Well, the best answer I have come up with so far is a program called `Spamfighter'.  If you want to try it, download it here spamfighter_web.exe (click on it).  It is Microsoft certified (so it HAS to be wonderful :o).

Place a shortcut on your desktop:

Go to `Start>all programs' and find the program you want to put on your desktop.  Point to it, hit your `right' mouse button, and choose `send to>desktop'.

Remove a shortcut from your desktop:

Right click on the icon and choose `delete'.  This does not delete the program from your computer - it only removes the shortcut from your desktop.  To remove the program itself, you need to go to `Control panel>add or remove programs'.

 

Find out ANYTHING about your computer.

Go to "www.pcmech.com" - it puts my meager efforts to shame!

Find a driver for a PC device (video, sound, modem, etc.).

Go to "www.driverguide.com" - they have as good a driver database as I have found.  Or, try Google.

Find ANYTHING on the World Wide Web!

The best `search engine' I have run across yet is http://www.google.com.  It employs searches via all the other major `engines', and comes back with a very selective list of sites that have what you are looking for.  I consider this my very favorite web site - and I use it almost daily.  To get exactly what you are looking for, add quote marks to your search topic ("subject"). 

Close all Windows "background" programs.

This is a very good idea while you are creating a CD, defragmenting your hard drive, etc.   Download the EndItAll.exe program from this site and use it.

Minimize the number of programs running in the background.

Unnecessary background programs soak up system resources and slow down your PC operation!  Go to "start-run" and type and enter "msconfig".   Choose "selective startup" and then go to the "startup" tab.  Uncheck all of the programs that you seldom use or that can be started by a desktop icon (the main ones to leave checked are your scanreg,  antivirus programs, mouse `pointer', systray, and `Office shortcut bar').  If you are unsure of what the program does, leave it checked!

Give your PC a break:

I have been asked numerous times "Should I turn my PC off at night?"  The answer to that is definitely "YES"!  Like anything else, the more you use it, the sooner it will wear out (especially things that stay on all the time - like the power supply).  Also, every time you boot up your PC, it performs a lot of `self-tests' that can detect problems before they become fatal.  If you never shut down and reboot, you will never give your PC a chance to do this.

Get the most out of your mouse:

Remember, clicking the left button on your mouse always means "enter" and clicking the right button will invoke a pull-down menu (which will always be different based on where you are and what you are doing).  

If you have a "scroll" mouse (see Keyboards/Mice) and have the Microsoft "Intellipoint mouse" driver (or Windows XP) installed, the roller between the buttons will allow you to scroll down (or up) long documents and web pages instead of using the scroll bar on the right of your screen.  Also, you have an auto scroll (hands free) function that works in most Windows applications. Position your cursor anywhere on the screen and depress the wheel. A circle with two arrows will appear. Move the cursor above the circle to scroll up, below the circle to scroll down. Adjusting the distance from the circle will change the scrolling speed. Depressing the wheel again turns the scrolling off. 

Last, while  creating or reading an E-Mail letter, depressing your `ctrl' key and rolling your wheel up and down will increase and decrease the font size of all text in the letter!

Put the MS Office shortcut bar on your desktop.

This is one of the most convenient features in MS Office - and you can add any program on your PC to it!  Go to "Start-Programs-Microsoft office tools" and select "MS Office shortcut bar".  You may be prompted to put in your MS Office CD so the feature can be installed.  

Add programs to your MS Office shortcut bar:

Place a "shortcut" to the program on your desktop (see above) and then "drag-and-drop" it to your shortcut bar (point to the icon with your mouse, hold down left button, slide it to the shortcut bar, and release left button).  That's it!  You can see how I have set up my own shortcut bar on the Files Management page.

Use your Windows/Applications `clipboards'.

Most of you know (I hope) that when you select something (highlight it) in any Windows (or internet) program, right click on your mouse (or go to `File' on your top menu), and select "copy", the selection is temporarily stored on the Windows `clipboard' (a space in your RAM) from where it can be "pasted" somewhere else in the document you are working in - or into any other Windows application program.  You can view the current content of your clipboard by going to "Start\Programs\Accessories\System Tools\Clipboard Viewer".  What you may not know, however, is that most `Applications programs' have a more powerful clipboard from which you can not only `cut-and-paste' - but you can "undo" cut/copy commands from up to 12 previous commands.  To enable this tool in these programs, go to `View' on your toolbar, select `toolbars', and check "clipboard".  The next time you do the cut or copy trick, a small screen will pop up showing you the commands you have already executed - and let you restore (or undo) them.

 

Get rid of the hidden "junk" on your hard drive.

Every time you print a letter or visit a web site, temporary files are created on your hard drive that must be deleted manually to get rid of.  For those of you that are concerned about `disk space', this is very important!  Use your `Win Explorer' and go to the "Windows-Temp" - and then "Windows-Temporary internet files" and I think you will be shocked at what you see contained in the folders (if you need help here, go to Files Management).  I have seen as many as 40,000 temporary files in the Temp Internet folder just taking up space and slowing down operation.  Once at these folders, hitting "ctrl-a" will select all the files in the folder, and right-clicking on them and selecting "delete" will erase them all.

To facilitate cleaning up your files much quicker, download "Empty temp folder.exe"  from this site, install it, and use it.  I promise a marked improvement in system performance if you use this on a regular basis.

Lastly, a program called `Window Washer' from Webroot will do it all - and it is only about $20.