The sudden surge in popularity for Rock Camp’s is a great boon for the struggling music store and professional instructors. A Rock Camp is essentially a camping adventure of a few days to a possibly a few weeks. The attendees are children and young adults intent on learning to play an instrument, and then to forming a band and performing at the cam
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
10 Steps to Reviving Windows Vista
10 Steps to Reviving Windows Vista
Windows Vista seem to be slower than ever? Here are 10 steps to reviving Windows Vista!
Vista, in it's efforts to make things easier and simpler often tends to fall short in other areas. For every plus there is a minus. Automatic tasks for example run on a preset schedule, however they steal valuable resources such as processor time and memory.
Turn off Automatic Disk De-fragmentation
Windows Vista has a disk defragmenter feature that is turned on by default. If you opt to manually defragment your disk once a week, there si no ned for this to be running all the time. To disable it;
- Click Start then Open Computer
- Right Click the C: Drive
- Left Click on Properties
- Select the Tools Tab
- Click Defragment Now
- Uncheck Run on Schedule
Remote Differential Compression
Remote Differential Compression measures the changes in files over a network to transfer them with minimal bandwidth rather than transferring an entire file that has previously been moved. By constantly checking for file changes, this service can hinder system performance. Turn this off:
- Open Control Panel
- Switch to Classic View
- Select Program Features
- Select Turn Windows features on and off
- Uncheck Remote Differential Compression
Windows Hibernation
Windows hibernation background services can use a large amount of system resources. It uses approximately 1.5 times your total system ram. Hibernation allows you to quickly restore the system from it’s last powered on state as opposed to cold booting. It saves some time during the boot up process, but also degrades system performance. Disabling hibernation adds time to the boot up process, but saves precious hard drive space and lessens the probability of system degradation over time.
Select the Control Panel then Power Options
Select Change Plan Settings
Click on Change Advanced Power Settings
Expand the Sleep selection
Expand the Hibernate After selection
Move the selector to zero and apply the changes
Turn off System Restore
System restore saves a system snapshot of all your settings and operating system information in case your system ever fails to load. It then can recall the information and reload the computer to the last known working state. System restore should only be disabled by advanced users, and it is a good practice to at least save a few restore points prior to disabling the feature. To disable system restore;
Open Control Panel, then System Icon
Click System Protection on the left panel
Uncheck the main system drive
Disable User Access Control (UAC)
User Access Control is a protection system by which every interaction with the control of the computer requires user intervention. It is a nuisance and is not essential to everyday computer use. To disable UAC;
Click start then Control Panel
Select User Accounts
Select turn user account on or off
Uncheck user account control box
Restart the computer
Disable Auto-Launch services at Start-up
Vista ships with a myriad of services pre-enabled that load at start-up that are seldom used. To see what services and programs are loaded at start-up, and to disable the ones you rarely need: (they can always be restarted manually later)
Select Start then control panel
Select Administrative Tools
Choose system configuration
Click Services Tab
You may safely disable the following:
Offline Files
Tablet PC Input Service
Terminal Services
Windows Search
Fax
Disable Excess Windows Features
Windows Vista ships with additional features which are listed separately from the startup usual services.
Clicking Start then Control Panel
Select Program Features
On the left panel, select Turn Windows Features on or off
You can safely deselect:
Indexing Service
Remote Differential Compression
Tablet PC Optional Components
Windows DFS Replication Service
Windows Fax & Scan
Windows Meeting Space
Windows Ready Boost (Additional Memory Cache)
Ready Boost is Microsoft’s name for using a USB thumb/flash drive to provide some quick access memory the operating system can use as extra RAM. The Ready Boost system can significantly improve system performance. However not all USB memory flash drives support readyboost. Check before you buy one. To enable Ready Boost;
Insert USB Flash Device
Click start then My Computer
Right click the USB drive in My Computer
Select the Ready Boost Tab and choose Use this device
Choose as much space as you can free up (RAM Usage vs Storage usage)
Turn off Automatic Windows Defender Operation (for advanced users)
Windows Defender is a real-time protection suite against malware, and spyware. It continues to run despite having Automatic operation disabled. To disable it:
Alternatively, you may opt to try other products such as Windows One Care
To disable Automatic Windows Defender;
Open Control panel
Select Windows Defender
Choose tools from the top menu
Select Options
Uncheck auto-start at the bottom of this window
Turn off Windows Search Indexing (not recommended)
Windows Vista search indexing is a service that runs continually, constantly reviewing files on your system to make their contents available for quick searching. It uses valuable resources, but it also very useful. If you choose to disable it;
Click start then My Computer
Right click on the drive you wish to stop indexing
On the general tab, uncheck index this drive for faster searching
On the subsequent dialog box, select Include subfolders and files
Windows Vista seem to be slower than ever? Here are 10 steps to reviving Windows Vista!
Vista, in it's efforts to make things easier and simpler often tends to fall short in other areas. For every plus there is a minus. Automatic tasks for example run on a preset schedule, however they steal valuable resources such as processor time and memory.
Turn off Automatic Disk De-fragmentation
Windows Vista has a disk defragmenter feature that is turned on by default. If you opt to manually defragment your disk once a week, there si no ned for this to be running all the time. To disable it;
- Click Start then Open Computer
- Right Click the C: Drive
- Left Click on Properties
- Select the Tools Tab
- Click Defragment Now
- Uncheck Run on Schedule
Remote Differential Compression
Remote Differential Compression measures the changes in files over a network to transfer them with minimal bandwidth rather than transferring an entire file that has previously been moved. By constantly checking for file changes, this service can hinder system performance. Turn this off:
- Open Control Panel
- Switch to Classic View
- Select Program Features
- Select Turn Windows features on and off
- Uncheck Remote Differential Compression
Windows Hibernation
Windows hibernation background services can use a large amount of system resources. It uses approximately 1.5 times your total system ram. Hibernation allows you to quickly restore the system from it’s last powered on state as opposed to cold booting. It saves some time during the boot up process, but also degrades system performance. Disabling hibernation adds time to the boot up process, but saves precious hard drive space and lessens the probability of system degradation over time.
Select the Control Panel then Power Options
Select Change Plan Settings
Click on Change Advanced Power Settings
Expand the Sleep selection
Expand the Hibernate After selection
Move the selector to zero and apply the changes
Turn off System Restore
System restore saves a system snapshot of all your settings and operating system information in case your system ever fails to load. It then can recall the information and reload the computer to the last known working state. System restore should only be disabled by advanced users, and it is a good practice to at least save a few restore points prior to disabling the feature. To disable system restore;
Open Control Panel, then System Icon
Click System Protection on the left panel
Uncheck the main system drive
Disable User Access Control (UAC)
User Access Control is a protection system by which every interaction with the control of the computer requires user intervention. It is a nuisance and is not essential to everyday computer use. To disable UAC;
Click start then Control Panel
Select User Accounts
Select turn user account on or off
Uncheck user account control box
Restart the computer
Disable Auto-Launch services at Start-up
Vista ships with a myriad of services pre-enabled that load at start-up that are seldom used. To see what services and programs are loaded at start-up, and to disable the ones you rarely need: (they can always be restarted manually later)
Select Start then control panel
Select Administrative Tools
Choose system configuration
Click Services Tab
You may safely disable the following:
Offline Files
Tablet PC Input Service
Terminal Services
Windows Search
Fax
Disable Excess Windows Features
Windows Vista ships with additional features which are listed separately from the startup usual services.
Clicking Start then Control Panel
Select Program Features
On the left panel, select Turn Windows Features on or off
You can safely deselect:
Indexing Service
Remote Differential Compression
Tablet PC Optional Components
Windows DFS Replication Service
Windows Fax & Scan
Windows Meeting Space
Windows Ready Boost (Additional Memory Cache)
Ready Boost is Microsoft’s name for using a USB thumb/flash drive to provide some quick access memory the operating system can use as extra RAM. The Ready Boost system can significantly improve system performance. However not all USB memory flash drives support readyboost. Check before you buy one. To enable Ready Boost;
Insert USB Flash Device
Click start then My Computer
Right click the USB drive in My Computer
Select the Ready Boost Tab and choose Use this device
Choose as much space as you can free up (RAM Usage vs Storage usage)
Turn off Automatic Windows Defender Operation (for advanced users)
Windows Defender is a real-time protection suite against malware, and spyware. It continues to run despite having Automatic operation disabled. To disable it:
Alternatively, you may opt to try other products such as Windows One Care
To disable Automatic Windows Defender;
Open Control panel
Select Windows Defender
Choose tools from the top menu
Select Options
Uncheck auto-start at the bottom of this window
Turn off Windows Search Indexing (not recommended)
Windows Vista search indexing is a service that runs continually, constantly reviewing files on your system to make their contents available for quick searching. It uses valuable resources, but it also very useful. If you choose to disable it;
Click start then My Computer
Right click on the drive you wish to stop indexing
On the general tab, uncheck index this drive for faster searching
On the subsequent dialog box, select Include subfolders and files
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Google's patented PigeonRank
Google's Pigeon Rank
When a search query is submitted to Google, it is routed to a data coop where monitors flash result pages at blazing speeds. When a relevant result is observed by one of the pigeons in the cluster, it strikes a rubber-coated steel bar with its beak, which assigns the page a PigeonRank value of one. For each peck, the PigeonRank increases. Those pages receiving the most pecks, are returned at the top of the user's results page with the other results displayed in pecking order. More can be read here
Hillarious, you must read the entire document!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sib Icon Editor Goes Free!
Icon Editor Goes Free!
Sib Icon Editor is a fast and lightweight image editing tool designed for creating and editing icons, toolbars, navigation buttons, small
logotypes and similar graphics. Fitting the niche between simplistic Windows Paint and almighty Adobe Photoshop, Sib Icon Editor offers
small-graphics designers a way to unleash creativity without the steep learning curve. Having just enough painting tools available for
creating images detailed by the pixel, Sib Icon Editor is small, light and blazing fast on any PC.
Sib Icon Editor supports icons, toolbars, logos and other graphics of any size, color depth or aspect ratio. Both 16 and 256-color images are supported, while 32-bit graphics gets alpha-channel support for creating images with no edge jaggedness. The alpha-channel comes handy when adding semi-transparent shadows that look extremely effective on
Windows XP and Vista.
Sib Icon Editor allows creating great-looking images with minimum learning. Having just the right number of painting tools, Sib Icon Editor offers a choice between a number of pens, sprays and paintbrushes. There is the usual bucket tool for filling the void, and there are gradients and chess fills to quickly achieve desired effects.
Adding shadows or making highlighted or disabled versions of the same icon are easy if you use Sib Icon Editor. It only takes a few clicks to add a translucent or opaque shadow, modify opacity, colors, and gamma. Disabled icons are typically grayscale, so there is a tool for that as well. Tools for smoothing, inverting and colorizing images are also available. The resulting image can be saved in ICO, ICPR, BMP, JPEG or PNG formats. Sib Icon Editor can also convert Mac icons into
Windows format.
Sib Icon Editor offers a variety of features to effectively manage your icons. Supporting the ICL format for icon libraries and collections of icons, Sib Icon Editor makes it easy to organize and
store your icons with no clutter.
Sib Icon Editor is a fast and lightweight image editing tool designed for creating and editing icons, toolbars, navigation buttons, smalllogotypes and similar graphics. Fitting the niche between simplistic Windows Paint and almighty Adobe Photoshop, Sib Icon Editor offers
small-graphics designers a way to unleash creativity without the steep learning curve. Having just enough painting tools available for
creating images detailed by the pixel, Sib Icon Editor is small, light and blazing fast on any PC.
Sib Icon Editor supports icons, toolbars, logos and other graphics of any size, color depth or aspect ratio. Both 16 and 256-color images are supported, while 32-bit graphics gets alpha-channel support for creating images with no edge jaggedness. The alpha-channel comes handy when adding semi-transparent shadows that look extremely effective on
Windows XP and Vista.
Sib Icon Editor allows creating great-looking images with minimum learning. Having just the right number of painting tools, Sib Icon Editor offers a choice between a number of pens, sprays and paintbrushes. There is the usual bucket tool for filling the void, and there are gradients and chess fills to quickly achieve desired effects.
Adding shadows or making highlighted or disabled versions of the same icon are easy if you use Sib Icon Editor. It only takes a few clicks to add a translucent or opaque shadow, modify opacity, colors, and gamma. Disabled icons are typically grayscale, so there is a tool for that as well. Tools for smoothing, inverting and colorizing images are also available. The resulting image can be saved in ICO, ICPR, BMP, JPEG or PNG formats. Sib Icon Editor can also convert Mac icons into
Windows format.
Sib Icon Editor offers a variety of features to effectively manage your icons. Supporting the ICL format for icon libraries and collections of icons, Sib Icon Editor makes it easy to organize and
store your icons with no clutter.
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