Instead of copying files to multiple locations in your hard drive to make sure you can find it easily, consider using shortcuts instead.

Shortcuts are simply links to the original file, folder, or programs from which it was created. You can distinguish a shortcut by the arrow in the lower-left corner of the icon. To create a shortcut, right-click the file and then click Create Shortcut. Create as many as you want, and drag them to the appropriate locations within your hard drive.

Did you know that typing “about:” plus another word in Firefox will allow you to view special configuration information of the browser—some of which you can actually tweak and customize?

To try it, type “about:” to show general and version information. Try “about:cache” to view the browser cache, or “about:plugins” to show plugin information. If you are feeling adventurous, try “about:config” to show the browser configuration settings (but be careful when changing settings here). And for some extra fun, type “about:Mozilla” to see a special things provided by the developers.

If you share your computer with other users or manage the computers in your home or office, there are times when you may want to restrict users from changing folder options, such as making Windows system files visible which are invisible by default or showing file extensions.

To do this, go to the Windows Start Menu and click on Run. Type “regedit” to launch the windows system registry tool. Next, go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Curre ntVersion/Policies/Explorer. It may be a good idea to backup your registry at this point. After creating a back-up, double-click on NoFolderOptions and set its value to 1. After doing so, users will no longer be able to edit Folder Options.   To reverse, set the value back to 0.

Do you have a Gmail account but prefer using Outlook to access your email? You can configure your Gmail to behave like a normal mailbox so that you can download it using your favorite desktop or mobile client such as Outlook. You can then access your mail offline, and use tools you already use with Outlook, such as Outlook’s mail formatting features and MS Office integration. Here’s how:

1.       First set up your Gmail account for POP or IMAP. If you use other Outlook features such as Tasks and Notes, consider using Google App Sync for Outlook instead.

2.       In Outlook, add a new email account.  Remember to use your email address when setting up your account (including ‘@gmail.com’ or ‘@your_domain.com’). For the exact steps, follow the instructions here.

3.       Are you using a mail client other than Outlook? Check out instructions from Google here.

Adding a shortcut to the Recycle Bin is easy if you know how to edit your system registry. Here’s how:

First go to the Windows Start Menu and click on Run. Type “regedit” to launch the windows registry tool. Next, go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerMyComputerNameSpace. It may be a good idea to backup your registry at this point. After creating a back-up, create a new key named {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} under the NameSpace section. Go back to your My Computer window and the Recycle Bin should be there.

Would you like to customize the Windows 7 Logon Screen and use your own wallpaper image? There are actually several ways to do this.

The first method involves editing the registry and creating a folder containing your own custom images. However, if you are uncomfortable doing this, or if it seems like too much work, there is a free application that can do it for you called Windows 7 Logon Background Changer. The download is a zip file, and once you unzip it, just run the installer. After installation, the program will allow you to choose from images already on your drive and view a preview of how it will look. Find out more by downloading the program.

When you installed MS Office 2007 or 2010, you had the choice of installing the entire suite or picking and choosing which apps you wanted. If you now find you want to change those selections, we can help.
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Have you ever clicked “Never Remember” for a password, only to decide later that you do want Firefox to remember it?  Here’s how you can get Firefox to re-prompt you.
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Windows 7 offers location-specific Aero themes based on the language and location you pick during installation. But did you know you can access other hidden themes from different countries?
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Mozilla Firefox too slow? Here’s a tip for speeding up Firefox by moving cache memory to RAM.
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