Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language that permits web designers to attach style like spacing, color, font, etc. to HTML documents. Cascading style sheets work similarly to a template; permitting web developers to label style for an HTML element and after that apply it to the number of web pages required. Thus, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are collections of formatting rules, which control the appearance of content in a web page. With CSS styles you have great flexibility and control of the exact page appearance; from precise positioning of layout to specific fonts and styles.

There are many benefits of using CSS. One of the major benefits of using CSS is the easy maintenance of the website. Maintenance of a website made with CSS is much easier compared to the ones which are table based. CSS splits the presentation style of documents from the content of documents and makes the maintenance of the site easier. Aside from being able to make site extensive changes with no trouble through one CSS file, the clean code it generates makes it easier to update. Webmasters can characterize the appearance of a site in one place, and change the whole site by changing just one file. With CSS, when you decide to craft a change, you simply alter the style, and that element is updated automatically anywhere it appears in the site. So, if you have to alter the color of all pages in your site, you only have to edit one style sheet. This saves you enormous amount of time, particularly if you have to edit each page independently. CSS generally requires less code compared to table based. This makes your code lighter and cleaner. Clean code makes a huge difference in maintaining your site.

Cascading Style Sheets Benefits and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Another major benefit of CSS is that it makes your website SEO friendly. The reason behind this is simple. The search engines spiders are actually very lethargic. They do not go through the bundles of HTML codes to get to the indexed codes. Font tags and tables make the HTML code very cumbersome; thus, reduce the accuracy of the results. If you use external CSS files to design and determine the design attributes; the HTML code will be clean and it will result to better search engine rankings. With some knowledge of CSS you will be able to change the code layout without destroying the actual visual layout. For instance, you could easily make the main content of your site to show up above the header or navigation menu in the code of your website; thus will help to show search engine crawlers the importance of your content. I personally saw a huge boost in rankings in fully CSS web sites. When I look at someone’s website that was built using old school HTML code with tags such as: TABLES, TD, TR, FONT and so on, I feel awkward and immediately convert that site to a fully table-less CSS layout. There are many tools on the Internet that shows the actual code over text ratio weight of your site. Do you know why? Because modern search engines such as: Google, Yahoo and MSN love light-weighted websites. They want to see your content; the text, not the code. With CSS everything is possible. You practically externalize excessive code into external file, thus leaving the actual page clean and simple.

Website Accessibility

CSS makes your website more accessible. The number of users browsing the web through hand held devices are continuously growing tremendously. It is estimated that by 2008, one third of the world’s population will be using hand held devices for accessing Internet. It is always important that your site is accessible to them also. You can make an additional CSS document particularly for handheld devices like cell phones, which will be called up in place of the regular CSS document; which is not achievable with a tabular layout. CSS benefits accessibility chiefly by separating document structure from presentation. By separating style from markup, webmasters can simplify and clean up the HTML in their documents, making the documents more accessible.

Increases Download Speed of Your Website

CSS code downloads faster than tables. Browsers read through tables twice previous to exhibiting their contents; first to work out their structure and then to determine their content. Moreover, tables are shown on the screen as a whole, no part of the table will be displayed until the entire table is downloaded and rendered. Tables support the use of spaced images to assist with positioning. CSS generally requires less code than cumbersome tables. All code to do with the layout can be placed in an external CSS document, which will be called up just once and then stored on the user’s computer; while the table layout stored in each HTML document, must be loaded up each time a new page downloads. Also with CSS, you can manage the order of the items downloaded into the screen. You have the control to make the content appear previous to the slow loading images, which is liked by most of the web users.

Cross Browser Compatibility

For all webmasters out there! CSS makes your website more professional. Taking the benefits of CSS like making your websites load faster and easy to maintain, you save a lot of time and labor. This in turn makes you lots of money. CSS makes links of the website look more attractive and dynamic. Using CSS, you can slot in rollovers easily and effectively, without having to use a single character of JavaScript. Thus, CSS gives your websites a professional look. It is wise to use CSS to jive with the current trends of the industry. All major browsers like Firefox, Explorer, and Netscape presently recognize CSS and it is definitely safe for web designers to use CSS now.

Mikhail Tuknov
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/make-your-website-rank-higher-in-major-search-engines-benefits-of-css-in-seo-84963.html

You bought a top of the line system with the best parts, however after a few months you end up find it running at snail’s pace wondering whatever happened to your “best” computer. Well, here you must remember, a computer is unlike a television that once you buy, it works the same way it used to for years and years. A computer is not a static device. It is highly dynamic – in the sense that you do lot of stuff with it.  You process and save documents, spreadsheets, run a number of applications, play games, save loads and loads of music and video files, etc. To do all this job, with the same speed of a newly bought one, it requires a lot of tuning up.

Here are some simple methods to tune up your system.

Remove unwanted programs

Your computer’s hard disk is like your file cabinet. You don’t want to clutter it with the brochure you got when shopping for something, outdated magazines, rough drafts, etc. Sometimes you might have downloaded an application that was required to visit that particular site, which may still be sitting in your hard disk eating the space. Needless to say the countless trial software that you don’t even need, live in your system even after their trial period ended. Over a period of time, these programs and get piled up and you may not be aware this is slowing down your system.

 Removing these programs not only will improve your computer performance but will also leave more space for the important data you need. You can periodically check out your start up menu for unwanted applications. Also, you can check for duplicate data and remove those. For example, when you download a WinZip file after extracting it, you can delete the compressed file.

Clean up the Registry

Your operating system’s Registry is a bank of information about everything that is happening in your computer. It s very much like our brain, that keeps track of everything in our human system. When you delete a program, or move a file location or any of those routine tasks that you perform, a residue of that is left behind in the Registry. What you can do is you can clean up your Registry from time to time. There are many free programs available in the Internet, you can safely download them and clean up your computer.

Hard Disk fragmentation

To understand Hard Disk fragmentation, first let’s see how data is stored in a Hard Disk. Hard disk stores data in portions called sectors. Imagine the surface of the Hard Disk divided into rings like the many rings on a circular race track, then imagine dividing each ring into small pie-slices. A sector is one such slice on the ring. Each sector holds a fixed amount of data.

So when you install a new program to your empty hard disk, your computer can store the files of the program in a sequential manner, on the rings. This is the best way to store the data on a hard disk – for the reason that it can be quickly retrieved when needed. However, in due course of time, when you keep installing and uninstalling many applications, this sequential storing of data becomes harder for your hard disk. When a single program’s files are dispersed in your hard disk like a jigsaw puzzle pieces, it only increases the time taken for the disk’s arm to access them, resulting in slowing down.

When you defragment your disk, all the files are stored on sequential sectors on sequential rings of the disk. The point here is to minimize the arm movement when a program loads. This also helps to increase the speed of file loading.

Virus Removal

A virus, with creating other harmful problems, may decrease the performance of your PC too. To protect and improve your PC performance, you can install anti-virus software in your system and run virus scans regularly. There are several free anti-virus programs and Internet Service Providers too offer free anti virus software.

If your system is severely affected by virus, it’s advisable to seek a technician’s help to get rid of them. There are many online technical support providers that offer virus, malware removal services at affordable rates. You can just call them or opt for remote support where a technician will have access to your computer and clean up your system.

Thendral
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/how-to-optimize-your-pc-performance-744100.html

With Norton 360 Antivirus, how can i clean up and maintenance my computer and speed it up and all that?
My computer isnt running right, it is slow, it dosent load pages right sometimes it dosent load them at all. what can i do to help? i even have trouble posting this question!!! i have Norton 360

I have never had a computer run right with Norton’s on it.
I do not know why people use it.
Why pay for something that does not work.

I recommend using Advanced System Care. (Cnet.com) (free)
After downloading Go to utilities and click on IBot 360.
I do not recommend clicking on Returnil Virtual System.

I had used this Program for years and it has very high rating.
This program also cleans your computer and makes it run better.
Be sure to its Smart Defrag. This is not the same as windows defrag.

I also recommend formatting your computer so that you can kill Norton’s before it gets a big hold on your system.
Norton roots itself in your system and is hard to completely kill.

Teaching yourself how to play electric guitar can be difficult and time consuming for most people. Actually learning to shred on your electric guitar is even harder. There are some very simple things you can do though, to make the art of shredding easier to master

Tip # 1 – Repetition

The single most important way to increase your speed is to use a drum machine or metronome. Begin by playing the lick, solo or lead at a slower speed and very clean. Gradually increase the speed using your metronome or drum machine. Be patient. This process could take days or even weeks to master the piece of music you are learning. Remember, this is repetition and it could take hundreds or even thousands of times for you to play it perfectly at full speed.

Tip # 2 – Fingering

When playing guitar, fingering is important at any speed. But, it is absolutely crucial when shredding. You can actually get by with sloppy or bizarre fingering when playing slowly. If you attempt to increase the speed of the phrase though playing with that same sloppy fingering, you will definitely encounter problems. You will generally reach your top speed very quickly.

This is when it becomes time to study your fingering choices and make some changes. To truly shred, you have to be efficient with your fingering choices. You will normally have to relearn the phrase or lick using the new changes, because it will change how your subconscious mind views the phrase.

Tip # 3 – Picking Technique

To truly shred, the piece of music you are learning needs to be analyzed for the most effecient way to pick the notes. This can utilize sweep arpeggios, hammers and pulls, alternate picking and several other techniques. The key is effeciency. Minimize the movement of the pick as much as is possible.

Do not flick your pick when trying to shred. Shredding requires a very effecient machine like motion,. When shredding, the emotion is conveyed through the choice of notes, not the way the note is played. It is very different from playing the blues or jazz.

Tip # 4 – Teach the Subconscious

This is a vital part of shredding. You must be able to play a lick, lead or phrase without consciously thinking about the choice of notes. One way to achieve this to distract your conscious mind by watching TV or anything else while repeating the lick with a metronome or drum machine. An even better test is if you can read and comprehend what you’re reading while playing along with a metronome. This will be difficult until you get the lick firmly established in your subconscious. But, the dividends will be well worth it.

Use all of these techniques and see how quickly your ability to shred will improve.

James Hill

With development in technology, broadband internet connections provide faster access. However, slow internet connection has become a major problem. The speed of internet connection depends on numerous factors. Hampering any of these factors can result in slow internet connection. Though some causes of slow internet connection cannot be controlled, most of the problems can be taken care off. Some tips for fast internet connections are discussed below.

1. Scan for malware and spyware: Spyware and malware are one of the major causes for slow internet speed. The first tip for fast internet is to scan your computer for spyware and malware and then delete them if they are found. These get downloaded on your computer along with some software or video that you download through internet. You must update your antivirus and anti-malware software quite often to detect and delete such harmful spyware and malware. There are many free and paid resources and programs to clean your pc of harmful threats. Take advantage of them.

2. Empty web cache: Next tip for fast internet is to empty your web cache or keep it as small as possible. Web cache contains temporary internet files that get downloaded when you visit any website or webpage. These files occupy huge disk space leading to slow computer speed as well as slow internet. Emptying it can speed up your computer as well as internet. You must delete all the cookies and history too from the cache. Cookies can be harmful if they are from malicious websites and can cause harm to your hard disk and invade your privacy.

A very useful feature on both firefox and internet explorer is the option to clear your cookies after each internet session. This can drastically speed up your web experience.

3. Increasing speed of web pages: One of the main reasons for slow internet connection is slow web page. They tend to be slow due to overload of animation and other scripts. The next tip for fast internet is to reduce the number of scripts and animation load on your web page. The fastest option is to restrict browser to display only text.

Another trick you can do to speed up the loading of web pages is to load
text only browsers. This type of setting loads only the text and prevents the loading of any heavy graphics or animation, often the culprit of slow web browsing.

4. Use of proxy: A proxy server acts as a buffer between the internet resources that are being accessed and your computer. The servers save files that are frequently requested by numerous internet users in a special database which is called “cache”. Hence, proxy servers enable high internet and personal computer speed as they allow your computer to utilize this “cache of saved data”. Your computer need not load the information or website that is sought to be accessed as it already exists on the server’s hard drive. Setting up proxy server is very simple and can be done manually in 10 minutes.

Paul Java
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/internet-kind-of-slow-715814.html

Weight loss products has become a monstrous industry that, in the late eighties, centered its sights on the easily led and desparate solution seekers in the fitness world. Over the last 20 years there has been amazing advancements in nutrition science. Some good and some not so good. We live in a microwave minded society of “quick, instant, and easy”. Our dietary lifestyles have seen the most dramatic changes with people being on the run with work and play like never before. One detriment is the long standing tradition of sitting down for several meals per day. We have transitioned to an eat on the run crowd and require convenience in everything in everything, including food. This led to poor food choices that has created a fat society. Now the weight loss products industry has come full circle. Eating healthy isn’t always quick and easy. The mutli-billion dollar weight loss products industry would like you to think so but as you’ve been told before-you can’t fool Mother Nature

If you’re one of the millions in this country who are into weight loss products such as diet pills, appetite suppressants, body fat burners, metabolism boosters, fat binders, diuretics, diet drinks, energy drinks, etc… and are routinely feasting on fast foods, you may want to reconsider this lifestyle approach. Looking at what’s happening in the body relevant to weight control, health and well being we’ll start at the point of origin of the natural energy production at the cell level.

Food that is consumed is broken down into its nutrient base and those nutrients are utilized by the cells in producing energy for the body to run on. The challenge we face today is that there are high toxicity levels in most all the weight loss products and fast foods on the market. The damaging energy frequencies, preservatives,and chemicals create these toxins. These toxins create a toxic “bio-film” buildup on every cell wall. This plaque-like substance causes an inefficient nutrient absorption process that often results in the body activating the hunger mechanism causing you to consume even more food to get the necessary nutrients for cellular metabolism. Do you now understand why people are gaining weight like never before and can’t ever seem to get rid of it? The hunger mechanism can’t shut off.

The typical result of the continuous hunger response if being compelled to eat junk food. When we eat junk food the toxins continue to build up around the cells walls and may lead to a lymphatic water build up around the cells. As we continue to crave more food we are in a never ending cycle that the weight loss product and junk food industries bank on. In fact, to speed up that cycle, there are addictive components in many of those products. Because there are preservatives, additives and chemicals in synthetic weight loss products, they actually contribute to this “catch-22″ self-perpetuating cycle. This industry marketing campaign is surprisingly effective, wouldn’t you say?

Let’s not overlook another weight loss methodology-diet pills. I have never seen this approach work. I remember decades ago women who had children would go to their physician for a diet pill to shed off the excess bodyfat that was acquired through pregnancy. These pills were mainly speed and elevated the metabolism via the adrenal glands. Not only are these pills dangerous, they are toxic. So you see that there are some viable solutions in the weight loss products industry but rarely ever when resorting to drugs or processed and chemicalized packaged foods.

So – what’s the answer? The true weight loss products are natural foods and organic foods. There are no gimmicks here. Fat burning is a nutritional biochemical function that requires feeding the body the vital nutrients is needs on a consistent basis so as to allow the body to burn body fat as well as food fuel. A readily available and convenient solution can be found in a quality all natural botanical based supplement that delivers the proper energy producing compounds that cleanses the cell walls and provides the key components of metabolic functioning.

Look to the Chinese as an example of a healthy culture built consuming natural plant based compounds that avoids toxicity challenges and delivers vital nutrients. Their day-to-day diets include such things as garlic, ginger and organic green tea (known to clean cell walls). Check out some of the Chinese Herbs that contain those components, as well as other natural ingredients that advance your health and well being. The information is easily available to you on the internet. When it comes to your health and well being, there is no such thing as: The Quick Fix!

Johanna Myers
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/weight-loss-productsthe-truth-of-it-all-473827.html

As a professional Technology geek, I sometimes get my hands on the coolest tools and utilities. Mostly out of necessity, as I’m in a crunch and need to get something fixed. When I’m in the field, and need to find that cool little app that does just what I need, I also don’t have time to whip out my credit card and purchase what I need.

 

So, I turn to the Open-Source community, and thanks to the geniuses that make up this community, I am hardly ever disappointed. Find out the ten coolest (and FREE) apps you’re not using… but should!

 

What qualifies as one of the Ten coolest (and FREE) apps? First, in order to qualify as one of the ten coolest (and FREE) apps, there are criteria. These can’t be just any old applications off the street, they have to be able to meet a set of standards. Here are the criteria:

 

1. They have to be Free. Free means not having to purchase prior to download. However, Free doesn’t always mean no money. A good amount of time and effort went into making these applications for you and I to enjoy, so donations to the authors are highly encouraged. In other words, if you find an application that doesn’t charge you to use it, consider making a donation to the developer(s) as a means to enable them to continually improve the product, which will allow others to enjoy the software as well. Plus, it’s just good ju-ju!

 

2. They cannot be “trial-ware” or “nag-ware”. Shareware was really big in the 90′s. Try it before you buy it was the big mantra back then. Well, these ten coolest (and FREE) apps have to not have the shareware thing happening at all. No messages with how many days are left to try their product. No disabled features that get unlocked if you buy the product. None of that crapola. Zilch, nada, zip! Again, in order to have good karma come your way, you should donate to the software makers, but these software authors politely and rightfully ask for a donation; but do not disable any features in order to hold your software hostage until you pay for it.

 

3. They have to be easy to use. Now, I don’t necessarily mean brain-dead easy. I mean, still, in this day and age, there still has to be some sort of blip on the evolutionary radar to even use a computer, let alone the ten coolest (and FREE) apps that will make your life SO much easier. So, easy to use means that an average user can use these utilities if they read the how-to’s that come with them. OK, you’ve been warned! If you don’t read the how-to’s, and don’t donate to the software authors, and your PC starts spewing smoke, don’t come crying to me about the bad ju-ju. Good things come to those who do nice things for others (and who read the how-to’s that come with the software).

 

4. The apps are created by knowledgeable pros. There have been tons of stories of how this person or that created the coolest app or computer in their garage by not sleeping (or showering) for days, living on Doritos and Full Throttle. However, in order to make the cut, there has to be some sort of professionalism behind these apps. The biggest reason for that is that if I’m going to use an app at a client site that I am consulting for, it has to look good and work right. By using these apps myself, I am in a sense endorsing them. So, if my name is attached to something, it has to make me look good. So, even when it comes to software, production value counts. Some guy who’s “tinkering” by creating some utility that was written poorly can very well hose a PC. I’m just going to be sure it isn’t one of the one’s I happen to be working on.

 

5. The apps have to be useful. Just because an app is free, and is cool, doesn’t always mean it will do something useful. These aren’t flying toasters (dang I’m old!), or dancing aliens, these are useful applications that will speed up your PC, protect you from virus and malware, optimize your Internet bandwidth, and restore health to your hardware and hard drive. How’s that for useful?

 

And now for some disclaimer…

 

Well, now that you know what it took for these awesome application to make the grade, let’s list them for you now. But, before I do that, let me just give you a couple of disclaimers I have to. It wouldn’t be responsible of me to do otherwise.

 

Disclaimer

 

Neither, I, nor HelpfulAdvisor.com, or any person or organization affiliated with HelpfulAdvisor.com is responsible for the use of the software listed in this article. HelpfulAdvisor.com makes no warranties or guarantees of performance or improvement as a result of the use of these applications. HelpfulAdvisor.com does not support these applications, and any sort of support or assistance required, would be the responsibility of the user to obtain by whatever means made available by the software author. Using the software and applications listed in this article are solely at the discretion and responsibility of the individual user.

 

Ok, now that we got the legal stuff out of the way, here are the ten coolest (and FREE) apps you’re NOT using… but should!

 

On to the apps!

 

Please note that all software mentioned in this article can be downloaded for free by going to http://www.HelpfulAdvisor.com.

 

10. DriveImage XML by RunTime.org

 

What makes this application so cool is that it does the same thing that commercial software does, and does it very well! DriveImage XML is a drive imaging tool that takes a snapshot of your entire hard drive, and stores it for recovery any time you need it. This is powerful because taking a snapshot of your entire hard drive will enable you to restore your hard drive, operating system, settings, preferences, applications, everything, should you need to upgrade your hard drive, or replace a failed drive. Comparable commercial software runs anywhere from $100 to $1,000, and yet this product does it for free!

 

9. Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows (UBCD4WIN) by Benjamin Burrows

 

Has there ever been a time when your Windows XP just blew up and you couldn’t boot into it? Or worse, has your hard drive become so infected by virus and malware that you couldn’t do anything once you did get in? Well, the Ultimate bood CD 4 Windows comes to the rescue, literally!

 

Back in the days of DOS and Windows 95/98, a boot diskette was a formidable weapon against computer crashes and virus infections. That was because back in the day (showing my age, AGAIN!) a diskette could contain the most essential bootup information in order for you to at least boot your PC and run an anti-virus, or perhaps access your drive to get data off, or to restore a backup from a system crash.

 

Nowadays, Windows XP uses an encrypted file system called NTFS. Long story short, there’s no way all the NTFS bootup information can fit on a diskette, let alone, not many PCs that have diskette drives anymore. So, UBCD4Win, solves all that and more by being a Swiss-Army Knife for your PC.

 

As it’s packed with features, essentially, you download this program, select the features you want the BootCD to have, and voila! By booting up from a boot CD, you can restore a drive image created by DriveImage XML (see number 10 above), or you can clean out pesky viruses, or you can do a variety of other things. To me, this is essential gear when working with PCs. Great job Benjamin and Team!

 

8. ClamWin Antivirus by ClamWin Pty Ltd.

 

This is one of those instances where Linux technology ends up helping the Windows users of the world. ClamWin Antivirus is an open-source anti virus that aims to be as comparable in features and reliability as any commercial product. And, in my opinion, they come very, very close.

 

It’s based on the ClamAV engine that was developed for Linux servers and desktops, and is ported into a Windows compatible GUI. It has great features like virus pattern updates that you can schedule either hourly, daily or weekly. You can schedule scans of specific directories or whole drives. You can right-click and scan individual files, and best of all, it integrates right into MS Outlook.

 

Aside from Outlook virus scanning, the only thing I can see this application lacking is the real-time virus scanning feature that most commercial products have. Of course, real-time scanning can be a resource hog, so this may be a blessing iin disguise. I’ve found ClamAV to be able to handle most threats out there, and does a very good job. And, if there’s a sticky virus that you just can’t get of, well then the Ultimate BootCD 4 Windows (see number 9 above) may be your next option.

 

7. Smart Defrag by IOBit

 

Although Windows comes with a defragmentation utlity, there certainly is room for improvement. Enter Smart Defrag. This utility literally goes where Windows Defrag has never gone before. Ok, I went over the top on that. But here’s the thing. Smart Defrag is easy to use. It’s also schedule capable, where you can set what time and day to run the defrag. To be fair, this can be done with Windows Defrag IF you use Windows Scheduler with it. In the case of Smart Defrag, it’s all self-contained, eliminating the need to use two separate programs.

 

Now, are you ready for the best feature Smart Defrag has that Windows Defrag doesn’t? There has to be something that gets this utility on the list, right? Ok, here it is. This defrag utility can be set to run in the background. That’s right. When you’re doing your regular work on your computer, this utility will be working along with you in the background. Plus, the software has a threshold that will stop the defrag if it starts using too much of your PC’s resources. This is great because then you’ll always be sure that your defrag is not going to slow down your PC.

 

Always having a defragmented disk is extremely valuable to your PC, as it speeds up access to your programs, and eases strain on your hard disk. This is the defrag utility that you can’t beat for the price.

 

6. Tune XP by DriverHeaven

 

Did you know that Windows XP has several hidden settings that could actually speed up your PC? In fact, the default installation settings can actually be slowing down your PC, even after a fresh install!

 

Well, now you can harness the hidden powers of WIndows XP and give your PC the speed boost it deserves. Best of all, you can give it that boost without buying a single piece of hardware or a stick of RAM. Although this utility is powerful, it is a bit advanced, so it is highly recommended you read the help file before using.

 

5. 7-Zip by 7-Zip.org

 

This is another one of those great utilities that replaces what already comes with Windows XP. Windows comes with a file compression and archiving utility called WinZip. However, 7-Zip does a few things better than WinZip. For one, 7-Zip compresses files much smaller than WinZip, making for smaller archive (.zip) files.

 

For two, 7-Zip supports more types of archive types than WinZip. This is especially useful when downloading from the Internet, only to find that the compressed file you just downloaded isn’t recognized by WinZip. Therefore, having this utility can ensure that whatever you download can be uncompressed and useful for you.

 

4. Cobian Backup by Luis Cobian

 

Have you tried to use the NT Backup that comes with Windows? Yeah, so have I. It’s pretty fussy to say the least. Well, your backup troubles are over. Cobian Backup is fast, easy to use, and extremely flexible.

 

Imagine a backup utility that will compress your backup file into one large file, or several smaller ones. Imagine a backup utility that will automatically store your backup file to any drive you select, or better yet, will upload your file via Internet FTP to an off-site server of your choosing. Imagine a backup utility that you can schedule or initiate right on the spot.

 

Cobian Backup is so flexible and versatile, you would be amazed that it can be offered as donation-ware. However, by going to Luis Cobian’s website, it appears his next version isn’t going to be open-source. Therefore, you’d better grab Black Moon while you can.

 

3. Firefox Web Browser by Mozilla

 

In my arsenal, this is considered essential gear. That’s because Firefox allows for safer browsing of the Internet without being acosted by all the pop-ups, automated Active-X downloads that spy on you and your PC, or other forms of malware that come in via your regular Internet Exporer browser.

 

Anyone who surfs the net can appreciate pop-up free, malware free surfing. Firefox also has many add-ons that make an already poweful browser even more beastly. There are download accelerators, proxies, YouTube extensions, and all kinds of stuff to make your Internet time as cool as it ever was.

 

If you need to keep Internet Explorer because some sites absolutely require you use that browser, at least download and use Firefox for the other times you don’t need IE. You’ll find that you’re spending a lot less time herding cats by way of malware and mailicous Active-X on your browser. And that, my dear reader, spells more fun for you on the Internet; which is how it should be.

 

2. Free Download Manager by FreeDownloadManager.org

 

This is what’s called a download accelerator. A download acclerator does just that, speed up your downloads. The concept is cool because you can queue up your downloads, and when they are downloading, they will download faster using this technology than say, a standard download from your browser. This is because your browser initiates a single session for the download of your selected item. However, a download accelerator will initiate multiple sessions at a single time and download your file across multiple sessions. Therefore, your download will happen faster and increase your bandwidth for the download.

 

Free Download Manager does this very well, and has tons of cool features. It even offers BitTorrent support for download of torrent files, and allows you some very powerful management of your downloads. This tool can integrate with Windows, and is compatible with Firefox and Internet Explorer. I can’t live without this app, and I think after using it a couple of times, you won’t be able to either.

 

And now for the number 1 Coolest (and FREE) app you’re NOT using…

 

1. CCleaner by Piriform, LTD.

 

This utility used to be called CrapCleaner, but has since toned down it’s title to be just CCleaner. Perhaps it was a politically correct thing to do, who knows. All I know is this tool works! The basic premise is that this tool goes in and finds all the little files that get left behind by Windows, and other apps you’re using on a daily or even irregular basis.

 

Junk files can add up. When they add up, they rob your PC of valuable hard drive space, and what’s worse, it can rob your PC of performance. By running CCleaner at least on a weekly basis, you can clean out all those junk files and free up space. When you run this utility in conjunction with SmartDegrag by IOBit (number 7 on our list), you are keeping your PC tuned up and ready for action.

 

We’re not done yet. CCleaner also has a neat feature that allows you to clean your computer’s registry. A clean registry is the second half to a fast running PC. When software gets installed in Windows, stuff gets written in the registry. However, when software gets uninstalled, the entries in the registry don’t always get removed. Call it sloppy or lazy programming, or just a way of life in the Windows world. Either way, a bloated registry makes for a slow running PC. CCleaner help you keep that in check.

 

CCleaner also has other cool stuff like a startup manager, that helps you manage your programs that launch at startup. Which, you guessed it, will eat away at your system resources and slow down your PC, unless you pare down the apps you don’t have to have at the time of Windows startup.

 

All in all, CCleaner is one of the most useful utilities for cleaning out junk files, clearing out your web browser cache, emptying your recycle bin, and allowing your PC to reclaim space that is otherwise taken up by “stuff” that only serves to slow down your machine. Because this tool is so easy to use, and so powerful, it has earned our number one spot on our list.

 

One Final Thought

 

Although the software on our list is open source, or doesn’t cost anything to obtain, these applications cost time and money to develop and make available to the public. These applications are in many cases supported by donations of any amount the user deems fair for use of the product. If you download and find any of these applications useful, please consider a donation to the developer(s). You can do so by going to their respective websites and clicking on a donation link that is usually prominently displayed on their sties.

 

All software in this article can be downloaded for free by going to http://www.HelpfulAdvisor.com

 

Jay Medina
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/the-ten-coolest-and-free-apps-youre-not-using-706025.html

laptop i really have no idea what i can delete an not delete. all i know it is very very slow for some reason . it is really slow at loading pages on the internet. i found some programs that say their free yea rite, free to download but not to use. is there any thing ican do to fix this laptop? my little sisters b-day is tommorow she will 13 and i would like to give it to her,since she has been beggin for one.but i’d like to try an get it working a little better. can anyone help me ?

to start with you can go in to control panal and remove soem applications which you don’t need

also if you have the product recovery CDs and you don’t have any data you need in the laptop you can do a clean new install..

any old laptop can do with a bit of new memory.

The quickest way to see what loads at startup, is to run the MSConfig utility. MSConfig is a troubleshooting utility that lets you edit .INI files, services and startup files. While not documented in Windows help, it is explained in the online Windows XP Resource Kit. You must have Administrator’s rights to use the MSConfig utility.

To run MSConfig, click on Start/Run and type in MSConfig and enter. Clicking on the Startup tab will show you all the programs loading at start-up.

However, don’t utilize msconfig to disable startup applications. Though it functions as a basic startup manager, msconfig shouldn’t be used to alter your PC’s auto-start programs, because by doing that:

- you change the registry where there are services that are necessary for hardware and booting. Once you uncheck a service in msconfig, you disable it entirely.

- while disabled with msconfig, programs may not be uninstalled properly and orphaned entries often will be left behind.

- switching back to normal startup mode, the orphan entries can result in boot up errors.

- msconfig does not list all applications loaded in all possible startup locations, some entry points are hidden and unknown to the user.

- msconfig does not allow the complete removal of disabled entries from its list.

It is far better to use a startup manager. You can download quite a few managers and use for free. You can try out Mike Lin’s Startup Control Panel, Autoruns and Starter by CodeStuff. In any of these programs, If you untick an entry it will no longer run at startup. This will allow you to experiment and see how your system performs with any of them disabled.

But, first things first. Before you attempt any changes to the startup configuration it is wise to create a restore point which you can fall back on if an unforeseen problem arises.

Click on Start – Help and Support.

Click on the System Restore menu.

Select Create a restore point and click Next

Enter a name for the restore point and click on Create

The restore point has been created. Click Close.

Now you are sure that you have a point you can fall back to if you run into any problems altering your startup.

From a clean start, you can add back files, such as antivirus and firewalls that run at boot time. A major problem with editing the startup is knowing which files you need or not. Usually you can get an idea of what a file is by looking at the ‘command’ or ‘location’ column. The command is the actual executable file, including any options or switches, used to start a file. For example, the startup item ‘eventsrc’ has a command that shows us that it is in the Real folder, so we know it’s associated with the RealMedia player. The location shows where the command is executed from, usually from a registry key, or the Windows Startup folder.

If you don’t know what the file is or does, the Sysinfo.org startup list is a database of known files that you may encounter. When you find a file in the startup list you don’t know, for example, “eventsvc”, look it up in the database. But the database has many entries and the easiest way I found to identify these programs was to google them.

Now when you’re all done and you have disabled the uneccessary programs running at startup, your system should be booting faster and trouble free.

Now that you have partially fixed the slow boot, you can carry on with the process of fixing your slow computer.

To really speed up your slow computer you need to:

- Remove unused applications.

- Clean your browser’s history, temp data and your Favorite or Bookmark list.

- Optimize the Windows Registry

- Scan for and remove threats like viruses, malware etc.

- Take some more measures to make the boot process faster.

- Keep those startup apps you’ve disabled from reloading into the startup.

- Free your PC’s memory whenever possible.

- Schedule your cleanup programs to run automatically.

- Place all your data files together in one easy to use location.

- Defrag and organize your disks so that your most used files are in the fast lane.

- Optimize, tune and tweak your PC for optimal speed and stability.

I have researched and tested several products over a period of several months and in order for me to get our slow PC’s performance up to speed again, I made use of not less than 17 different products, each of which is designed to do a certain task on the computer. Eventually we ended up using 11 of these apps (all freeware) on a regular basis which keeps our PC’s performing clean and error free.

In forthcoming articles I’ll explain to you in detail, how to clear out forgotten programs, unused, unnecessary and junk files and how to clean and streamline the Windows registry.

Tom Meintjes
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/slow-computer-fixing-the-boot-and-why-you-should-not-use-msconfig-to-edit-the-startup-files-717508.html

Use a temp file cleaner such as this one:

http://download.cnet.com/Temp-File-Cleaner/3000-2094_4-10628816.html?tag=mncol

This will get rid of old files for you.

Also defragment your computer. to do this, right click on the hard drive (in my computer) that needs it, usually c drive, and go to properties. then from there, you can click defragment.

if all of this is done, and its still slow, buy more ram. if that is still not enough, a new computer would be the best option.