Hibernate…especially with laptops. I’ve had trouble reconnecting to network drives while resuming from hibernate from domain computers, so if we’re talking about computers on a domain with users that cant deal with problems very well, this might be a bad idea.(Trust me, I’m a systems administrator for a grade school.)
Keep the install files of utilities that you install in a specific directory(Team 910 usually makes it C:\Original Software and then have a subdirectory for categories of utilities, like backup software, task managers, etc.
Don’t use Internet Explorer unless something won’t work in Firefox(or whatever browser you use).
NEVER use Adobe Reader. I agree that foxit is far superior for reading pdfs.
Use the quicklaunch bar. Be sure to have show the desktop, your non-IE browser and any programs you find yourself using very often(usually Word, whatever media player you use, Email client, etc) showing on the task bar with any programs you use less frequently, but that are still important on the part that isn’t showing.
Keep a file called notes.txt on the root of C:\ to use for any miscellaneous things to remember. Don’t try to really organize it at all. Use Ctrl-F to find things. Keep a shortcut to this on the quicklaunch bar and remember that if you go to start>Run> C:
otes.txt, this will open it too.
Don’t close things until you are sure you are done with them(this will save you a lot of time).
Use keyboard shortcuts, the mouse is a pain. Its much faster to save using ctrl-s than file>save. It really helps with copy and paste.
regarding too many tabs: I think as long as you can find what you need, and the browser isn’t slowing down, you can never have to many tabs. Just close them when you are done, or bookmark something you want to come back to(Ctrl-d, enter)
Keep your bookmarks organized(unlike me)
Use the bookmarks toolbar.
Have chief delphi on the bookmarks toolbar.
For Vista users: since Bill Gates decided to make things more “user friendly” he took a few things out that I think are kind of important, but you can work around them. First, add printers back to the start menu. Next, add a shortcut to network connections somewhere accessible. Mine is the desktop, but trust me, you’ll probably wish it was there(especially if you have a laptop.)
Make control panel display as a menu on the start menu.
NEVER EVER use Adobe Reader.
usually Freeware > not Freeware
If you’re not the most computer savvy person, remain calm when you have problems. Especially if it is with a computer that isnt yours, i.e. one at work or school. There arent many things IT guys hate more than a user screaming that its their fault the computer isnt working. Bribing IT guys with food is usually a good idea.
The more monitors you have, the better. Most people usually use one or two. This is easiest with laptops, but can be done with desktops.
Wide aspect ratio is not always better than standard. If you are going to be watching movies, wide is better, but if you are reading web pages all day, you may be wasting pixelage(yes, i made that word up), especially if you like to have things maximized.
I’m sure I’ll think of more…
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