Tag: preference
Starting in the third week of April, Microsoft has debuted automatic upgrades to Internet Explorer 8. IE6 and IE7 users running Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 are being offered IE8 as an update via AU. Still, Microsoft has stressed the fact that Internet Explorer 8 delivered through Automatic Updates will not in fact install automatically. Instead, end users must opt in for the upgrade from previous versions of Internet Explorer for IE8 to happen.
“IE8 will not automatically install – the user has control over whether to upgrade to IE8. When offered IE8, three choices are offered: Ask later, install, or don’t install. If one chooses “Ask me later” then IE8 will continue to be offered via Automatic Update, and choosing “Don’t Install” will cause IE8 to no longer be offered via this method. Users who choose “Don’t Install” can still download IE8 [from the Download Center] or from Windows Update as an optional update,” explained Eric Hebenstreit, lead program manager. Read More»
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1. Select multiple files
Select multiple files and folders by holding down the Command or Shift key as you click with the mouse. This also lets you select non-continuous items, so you can skip those that you don’t need. You can then drag them all to another location as one, or duplicate or copy them all in one go.
2. Open multiple files
Open multiple files and folders as one by hitting Command + [O]. Folders will show their contents, and any files selected will open in their respective applications.
3. Transfer multiple files
If you need to email or transfer a group of files, say via iChat or FTP, multiple-select the items or group them into a folder. Then right-click on the folder or items and choose Create Archive or Compress (depending on your version of OS X). Finder will then create a zip file containing all the items. The overall file size will now be smaller, so sending the email will also be quicker. Read More»
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1. Boost memory
The simplest way to a faster Mac is by installing extra RAM. Before you buy, check the maximum RAM capacity of your Mac. You can download a free program called MacTracker that will tell you the precise technical specifications of every Mac ever produced.
2. Install RAM in pairs
Many Macs will give you a speed boost if you install matching RAM modules in pairs. G5 and Mac Pro towers actually require the installation of pairs of modules, though most other Macs will allow the use of an odd number, with the proviso that you won’t get the fastest possible performance from them. Crucial’s website will tell you the specifics for your model.
3. Faster drive
Installing a faster hard drive as the boot drive on a tower Mac will yield performance gains, especially if you go up to a 10,000-speed drive. On a laptop, installing a 7,200rpm drive (to replace a 5,400 rpm model) will also make things faster, though older Mac portables don’t have user replaceable hard drives Read More»
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1. Enable pipelining
Browsers are normally very polite, sending a request to a server then waiting for a response before continuing. Pipelining is a more aggressive technique that lets them send multiple requests before any responses are received, often reducing page download times.
To enable it, type about:config in the address bar, double-click network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining so their values are set to true, then double-click network.http.pipelining.maxrequests and set this to 8.
Keep in mind that some servers don’t support pipelining, though, and if you regularly visit a lot of these then the tweak can actually reduce performance. Set network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining to false again if you have any problems. Read More»
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October 04, 2008 by
Jason
Registry tweaks can fix problems, boost performance and improve Windows features, and the risks are minimal as long as you follow our advice.
There are many ways to change your settings and your applications within Windows. You might click Edit > Preferences or Tools > Options, right-click on a system tray icon, or just poke around in your Control Panel. But the end result is almost always the same. When you’ve tweaked an option and clicked OK, the new setting will be stored in a central database called the registry.
Normally you don’t have to worry about low-level technical details of individual registry settings. But occasionally they can come in useful. If a program won’t start or can’t be reinstalled, for instance, it could be down to a corrupt registry setting: change it and you might fix the problem. Other applications have useful settings that can only be accessed from the registry, too.
There is a potential down side, though. If you delete the wrong registry setting you could corrupt an application, and even prevent Windows from loading on your next reboot. But then Windows Explorer can be dangerous, too, if you start randomly deleting things from the Windows or Program Files folders. Don’t worry though, as long as you’re cautious and sensible – registry editing actually poses very little risk. Read More»
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If you’ve been following our site you’re probably already familiar with how the about:config works in Firefox, but since several of these tips utilize the about:config screen I figured it wouldn’t hurt to provide a crash course. So before we dive into the tweaks glance through to make sure you know how to make the adjustments, or just reference this section when you need it.
1. Start Firefox.
2. Type about:config into the address bar and press Enter. When you’re presented with the warning screen click the I’ll be careful, I promise button.
3.You should see a long list of hidden settings that look meaningless and confusingly complicated. Read More»
Posted in Firefox | 1 Comment »
September 03, 2007 by
Jason
Mozilla applications render web pages incrementally – they display what’s been received of a page before the entire page has been downloaded. Since the start of a web page normally doesn’t have much useful information to display, Mozilla applications will wait a short interval before first rendering a page: by default, Firefox doesn’t try to render a web page for 250 milliseconds while it’s waiting for data.
If you use about:config to add the Integer preference nglayout.initialpaint.delay, and set the value to 0, Firefox immediately starts to display the page, even without complete data (lower values will make a page initially display more quickly, Read More»
Posted in Firefox | 2 Comments »
By default, the about:config preference UI automatically detects localized preferences and displays the localized setting. But if you are a hacker working on customizing the default settings, this can be very confusing. This little extension “fixes” the default behavior to display the chrome URI of the localized .properties file.
Works with Firefox 2 -> 2.0.0.* Read More»
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February 01, 2007 by
Jason
One easy, cool preference you might want to tweak deals with speed. By default, Firefox runs fast enough—it’s like driving at the speed limit. But if you want to push your browsing experience, modify a few settings in about:config. Note that these edits are for broadband connections only; if you’re still dialing up, you’re stuck with whatever speed you’ve got.
Read More»
Posted in Internet, Software | No Comments »