Tips for Vista and XP

Cookies in Internet Explorer 7. Vista comes with IE 7 as the default Web browser, so if you're new to using that, let's go over how you can delete cookies from there. To begin, go to Start, Control Panel and double click on the Internet Options icon to open the Internet Properties box. (You need to be in the classic view for this to work. To get there, just click on the Classic View link on the left hand side of the Control Panel window).

Once you're there, look for the Browsing History section and hit the Delete button. Another window with several options will then come up for you. Click on the Delete Cookies button to get rid of all your stored cookie files. You will then be asked if you're sure you want to delete your cookies, so when you're ready, just hit Yes. Next, hit the Close button and then the OK button to close everything out. That's all you have to do. All of your cookies will be gone for good (that is, until you make new ones!) Either way, this is a good thing to do on a regular basis, just to make sure the information you put on the Internet is kept as safe as possible!

Add/Remove Programs

Most Windows components can be uninstalled by going to the Add/Remove Windows Components section in the Control Panel. But, what about the ones you can't find? You know they're on your computer somewhere, but how can you get rid of them if you can't find them? Well, it's actually not too hard to bring these out of their hiding. Let's learn how!

Bring up the Windows Explorer (one way to do this is to right click on the Start button and select Explore).

Find your way to C:\Windows\Inf. (Double click on the My Computer icon on your desktop, double click on the C: drive and then go from there).

Make a copy of the "Sysoc.inf" file. (Click the file and hit Ctrl + C then Ctrl + V).

Next, right click "Sysoc.inf" and choose Open with, then Notepad. Type Ctrl + H to bring up the Replace box.Replace ,hide, (comma hide comma) with ,, (comma comma).Then hit the Replace All button. Save the file.

Now, when you go to Start, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Add/Remove Windows Components, you will see stuff that wasn't there before. Some of the items will be in subfolders, like "Games," which is under "Accessories." Double click to open any folder. Just uncheck the items you want to remove. There you have it. No more hidden programs!

Keep It Regular

Below is a list of some of the things I thought of that everyone should do on a regular basis. These are things I do to my own computer as well, because it's just that important!

Okay, to get started, one of the more obvious practices is that you should run an antivirus scan at least biweekly, if not every week. . Most programs will allow you to set up a time for the scan to run, so you don't have to worry about running it manually each time. If you want it to run at 4:00 on Friday afternoon, it will just automatically do that for you, with no hassle. The antivirus programs also have certain boxes that you should keep checked in case of a problem. . Just take some time to browse through the Options menu in the antivirus software you use and you'll be all set.

Along with the above tip, you should also run your Live Update scan regularly. That way, you won't miss any of the updates the program has to offer. I, for one, run my Live Update each morning before I check my e-mail here at the office. It only takes a few minutes and it's just a simple way of ensuring that the computer is safe before all those junk e-mails come rollin' through.

Next, another smart thing to have on your computer is an adware/spyware program. This isn't as serious as virus protection, but it is very important.There are also programs such as SpyBot or AdAware out there to help keep you safe.

Now, on to some more! There are several things you can do to your computer to clean up space. For one, you should run a disk cleanup pretty regularly to make sure nothing is eating away at your space. To do this, click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and look for the C: drive. Right-click on that and choose Properties. This will bring up a pie chart of how much space is being used and how much you have left. It has all kinds of information there for you regarding your disk space, so you can check and make sure you have the appropriate amount of disk space left. Just click on the Disk Cleanup button and let it run. You may be amazed at how much stuff that will remove from your computer. It may all be unnecessary stuff that you didn't even know was infested on your PC!

Another thing you can do to clean up some space is go through your Add/Remove programs (Start, Control Panel) and clean up some of the unwanted items in there. There always seems to be some sort of program or attachment that you don't need, so you might as well get rid of it and use the space for something else, right? The Add/Remove list also tells you when you last used a program, so it's easy to tell if you should get rid of it or not. If you haven't used it in the last month or so, I say, "Get it outta there!"

You should also go through all your files (I know, that may take awhile) and clean some stuff out of those too. You don't have to do this weekly or anything, but every two or three months may not be a bad idea. You can also help your PC by deleting old e-mails completely off your system. If you're never going to read them again, why waste the space? Getting rid of all those forwards you get and things like that will help your e-mail program and your system work better. Make sure you delete them from your deleted folder as well, not just from your Inbox.

There are just a couple more things you can do to keep your computer safe, secure and running smooth! If you surf the Internet a lot, clean out your Web browser history often and delete your cookies and files. This task is simple. Just go to your Web browser, click on Tools, Internet Options and under Temporary Internet Files, click Delete Cookies and Delete Files. Then under History, click on Clear History. This gets rid of the history of all the Web pages you've visited and all that comes with those. It's a good idea to do this every so often.

You can also clear up unused icons on your desktop.

One last thing! It's also a good idea to empty out your Recycle Bin when you get a chance. After you've deleted all this stuff from your PC, you'll want to make sure it's gone permanently by deleting it out of your Recycle Bin. Just find the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, right click on it and choose Empty Recycle Bin. It will throw away all that junk for you!

These are just a few practices you can do to keep your PC up and running as well as possible.

Do you know of any alternative programs I can use instead of iTunes?

Below is a list of music players that come with multi-platform compatibility and tools that will help you manage your digital music, as well as, keep it organized all at the same time.

1.) Foobar 2000 - This one is a digital music management program and it works with Windows 2000, XP and Vista. It is also compatible with several music platforms, including WAV, Ogg Valis, WavPack, AIFF, AU and many more. It also comes with full unicode and replay options, as well as, several other customizable features. You can check Foobar 2000 out for yourself right here.

2.) Songbird - This one is built off of the Firefox browser platform and it works with several media players, including the iPod. Songbird comes with many different add ons, with more added to the list everyday. It's an open source program, so it's very easy to work with. Check it out here.

3.) YamiPod - This particular player is a little different in that you don't have to install it on your computer. You can just copy it to your iPod's hard drive and use it from there. With YamiPod, you can manage your songs from any computer that runs Mac OS X, Windows or Linux. Just click on this link to check it out for yourself.

4.) Winamp - You may recognize the name on this one, because we here at WorldStart have talked about Winamp before. It has been around for quite a long time, but it is still one of the most popular music players out there today. It's a full featured music manager and it comes with complete iPod support. Also, if you have QuickTime installed on your computer along with Winamp, you are able to play protected songs. Cool, huh?! Take a look at it for yourself right here.

5.) Amarok - This one only works for Linux and Unix users, but it is a great iTunes alternative. It works with a wide variety of media players, including iPods, Zen players, Nomad players, USB players and more. It also comes with features like album covers, Wikipedia integration, awesome visual effects, lyrics support and so on. All of that just makes it ten times better. Check Amarok out today right here.

6.) Banshee - Banshee only works with Linux, so if you're a Linux user, I know you're just going to fall in love with it. It's a free download and it allows you to do just about anything with your music. You can import your music, organize it, play it back, share it and even rip it to a CD. So, if you want to manage your music with no limitations, Banshee is for you. Check it out here.

7.) Cog - Like iTunes, this is another music player that works perfectly with Macs. But, if you feel like you're being limited with iTunes, you may want to give Cog a look see. It takes care of all those problems and it allows you to actively manage your music. It is supported by several music platforms, including Ogg vorbis, MP3, FLAC, WavPack, Musepack and many more. It also comes with features like gapless playback, auto updating, Growl support, hot keys and seeking. It's definitely worth checking out, which you can do right here.

Use ClearType to smooth the edges of fonts displayed on your computer's monitor.

If you don't know about ClearType and ClearType tuning, it's something that Microsoft develop to make text look clearer on early, low-resolution laptop screens. ClearType will make fonts more readable by smoothing the rough, distorted edges of fonts displayed on your screen so they are bolder, clearer, brighter and easier to read.

Better yet, with Microsoft's ClearType tuner, you can adjust the fonts to what looks best to you, on your monitor, with your own eyes. So maybe it's not your eyesight that's getting worse, maybe your ClearType settings are turned off or were never tuned in the first place. Or, maybe, settings on your computer changed and ClearType Tuning somehow was turned off.

Visit this page to learn more about ClearType tuning. From this page you can turn on ClearType tuning on your computer, in case it has somehow been turned off - or if you never had it turned on in the first place. You can also adjust your ClearType setting to your own preferences. This is important. We all like things to look a certain way. We all have our own tastes. If you have trouble reading online, you can make the fonts look brighter and even bolder using the ClearType Tuner. It will make a HUGE difference in how fonts are displayed on your computer and in your email program. It will make everything you read more readable.

There's also a ClearType Tuning Powertoy you can download and use from your own computer rather than using the ClearType tuner on the Web. Visit this page to learn more about and/or download Microsoft's ClearType Powertoy. Microsoft states that the Clear Type Powertoy is for Windows XP only, however we've installed it on Vista and used it.