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This assortment of tips inspired by magazines and the Microsoft web site.
If you want to get back to your home page in your browser, press alt and home at the same time. This works in Netscape and Firefox also.
Microsoft has a nifty upgrade to the calculator that comes with Windows XP. It has a new look, and additional functions, including conversions of currencies and measurements of all sorts. This is what the conversion view looks like:
If you upgrade your monitor to an LCD panel, don’t forget to turn on ClearType. The text becomes much clearer and sharper. You go to the Control Panel, select Appearance, select the Display icon, click on the Appearance tab, and then click the Effects button. Check the box “Use the following method to smooth…” Select “ClearType from the drop down menu. An easier way to get to this: right-click on the desktop, select properties, then follow the instructions starting with “click on the Appearance” tab.
While you are there, try changing some of the other settings. If you are running a slower computer, you may want to un-check the boxes for shadows and showing the window contents.
Speaking of slower computers, did you know that you can change a number of settings that will make the computer appear to work faster. Go to the Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance and go to System. Then select the Advanced tab. Under the Performance section (the first one), click on Settings. Click on the Visual Effects tab. Note that there are selections for best appearance and best performance. Best appearance turns on all the options and best performance turns them all off. I am running an AMD Athlon 3000, 64 bit processor, with 1 gigabyte of memory. If I click on Let Windows choose, it selects all the options. You may want to try some of these to see which ones suit your system.
You paid Microsoft a fair amount of money for your operating system and any other software you might have purchased. In exchange, they actually do provide resources on the Internet that may be of some help. Below are the “Communities” listed in the Windows XP Home section of the Expert Zone (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/default.mspx).
Resources available include articles, forums, tips, blogs, live chats and more. There are similar resources for users of other versions of the operating system. Each includes a similar set of expert communities—all yours for the taking.
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