Hiding the Windows Live Messenger icon in Windows 7

If you use Windows Live Messenger a lot, you'll have noticed that the icon now resides on the taskbar, where you can easily change status and quickly send an IM to someone. If you prefer to keep Windows Live Messenger in the system tray, where it's been for previous releases, just close Windows Live Messenger, edit the shortcut properties and set the application to run in Windows Vista compatibility mode.

Restore the Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 7

If you're unhappy with the new taskbar, even after shrinking it, then it only takes a moment to restore the old Quick Launch Toolbar.

Right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars > New Toolbar, type "%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch" (less the quotes) into the Folder box and click Select Folder.

Now right-click the taskbar, clear 'Lock the taskbar', and you should see the Quick Launch toolbar, probably to the right. Right-click its divider, clear Show Text and Show Title to minimise the space it takes up. Complete the job by right-clicking the bar and selecting View > Small Icons for the true retro look

Recover screen space in Windows 7

The new Windows 7 taskbar acts as one big quick launch toolbar that can hold whatever program shortcuts you like (just right-click one and select Pin To Taskbar). And that's fine, except it does consume a little more screen real estate than we'd like. 

 

Shrink it to a more manageable size by right-clicking the Start orb, then Properties > Taskbar > Use small icons > OK.

Desktop slideshow in Windows 7

Windows 7 comes with some very attractive new wallpapers, and it's not always easy to decide which one you like the best. So why not let choose a few, and let Windows display them all in a desktop slideshow? Right-click an empty part of the desktop, select Personalise > Desktop Background, then hold down Ctrl as you click on the images you like. 

 

Choose how often you'd like the images to be changed (anything from daily to once every 10 seconds), select Shuffle if you'd like the backgrounds to appear in a random order, then click Save Changes and enjoy the show.

Right-click everything

At first glance Windows 7 bears a striking resemblance to Vista, but there's an easy way to begin spotting the differences - just right-click things.

Right-click an empty part of the desktop, for instance, and you'll find a menu entry to set your screen resolution. No need to go browsing through the display settings any more.

Right-click the Explorer icon on the taskbar for speedy access to common system folders: Documents, Pictures, the Windows folder, and more.

And if you don't plan on using Internet Explorer then you probably won't want its icon permanently displayed on the taskbar. Right-click the icon, select 'Unpin this program from the taskbar', then go install Firefox, instead.

Automatically switch your default printer in Windows 7

Windows 7's location-aware printing allows the operating system to automatically switch your default printer as you move from one network to another.

To set this up, first click Start, type Devices, and click the Devices and Printers link.

Select a printer and click Manage Default Printers (this is only visible on a mobile device, like a laptop - you won't see it on a PC).

Choose the "Change my default printer when I change networks" option, select a network, the default printer you'd like to use, and click Add.

Repeat the process for other networks available, and pick a default printer for each one.

And now, as you connect to a new network, Windows 7 will check this list and set the default printer to the one that you've defined.

Adjusting Windows Task bar size In Windows 7

In Windows 7, the usual size of the Windows Taskbar is a bit larger than usual. This takes some extra space at the bottom of the computer screen. This makes selecting the applications easier as the buttons are bigger. However for those who are using smaller screens this may be a bit annoying as it takes more space on the screen. If you want you can make the size of the taskbar smaller by following the steps below.

1. In a blank space in the taskbar right click and select properties.
2. You will see the ‘Taskbar and Start Menu Properties’ dialog box with many tabs.
3. Here click ‘Use small icons’ and select it.
4. Now click OK and close the dialog box.

Now the task bar will occupy smaller space. If you want you can also hide the task bar when not required. If you want to hide the task bar, in step 2 above, select the ‘Taskbar’tab, and in ‘Taskbar appearance’, select ‘Autohide the taskbar’. If you choose this, if you bring the mouse to the bottom of the screen the taskbar will appear and if you move away from the task bar, it will be hidden.

Set the time zone in Windows 7

System administrators will appreciate the new command line tzutil.exe utility, which lets you set a PC's time zone from scripts. If you wanted to set a PC to Greenwich Mean Time, for instance, you'd use the command
tzutil /s "gmt standard time"

The command "tzutil /g" displays the current time zone, "tzutil /l" lists all possible time zones, and "tzutil /?" displays details on how the command works.

Windows 7 Shortcut Keys

Here are some useful shortcut keys for Windows 7 users.
Windows key + Up Arrow = Active window will be maximized
Windows key + Down Arrow = Active window will be minimized
Windows key + Left Arrow = Active window will be moved to the left
Windows key + Right Arrow = Active window will be moved to the right
Windows key + Home Key = All windows will be minimized. If already minimized they will be opened.
Windows key + T = The first application in task bar will be given focus. If you press T continuously the focus will be switched to other applications in that order.
Windows key + Space bar = If you keep pressed, Windows Startup will be shown.
Windows key +  1-9 any number key = The respective application in the task bar will be given focus.
Windows key +  Plus key = Window will be zoomed in
Windows key + Minus key = Window will be zoomed out.

ViewPad 10 features Windows and Android

Viewsonic's new tablet has a unique solution for consumers who are still clinging to Microsoft's Windows, even as Google's Android operating system gains traction: It offers both.

The ViewPad 10 is a dual-boot unit. It can launch either Windows 7 or Android as you start the computer.

Out of the box, the specs are impressive. The ViewPad has a 10.1-inch display, which is larger than the iPad's 9.7 inches. It weighs less than two pounds, has built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and is stuffed with a relatively fast Intel 1.66 GHz processor. It costs $599 for the 16-gigabyte version, and $679 for double the memory.

The ViewPad has a built-in camera. The resolution is just 1.3 megapixels, well short of what the iPhone and other smartphones offer. So, don't expect great images.

The device also features a mini VGA port, a standard audio jack, two USB ports and a MicroSD card slot. It's pretty full-featured for a tablet.

The computer comes with Windows 7 Home Premium installed, and I updated the test unit with version 2.2 of Android, also known as Froyo.

The ViewPad didn't present as rich an experience, primarily because the graphical interface that presents the shortcuts, widgets and navigation on the tablet isn't as advanced as those on smartphones.

Moreover, the apps shortcut on the tablet didn't present the full offering of apps available on Google's Android Market. Instead, it offers a much smaller selection at something called "AndAppStore." .

The better half of the ViewPad is Windows 7.

It runs fast and is pretty intuitive about responding to the right icons, scroll bars and objects on the display that I was trying to touch. It is a new experience to navigate the Web in Firefox by swiping across the screen.

Mozilla starts coding for mobiles and tablets

The creators of the Firefox web browser have started developing an operating system for mobiles and tablets.

Although the project will draw on some parts of Google's Android mobile operating system much of the code will be freshly written.

Once finished, the operating system will compete with Android as it will run on the same devices.

The project team said all code development would be done in the open and shared as soon as it was written.

Called Boot To Gecko the code creation is being overseen by the Mozilla Project which created the Firefox browser. It was announced on the Mozilla discussion forum by researcher Andreas Gal.

Gecko is the rendering engine that powers the Firefox browser and the Thunderbird email program. A rendering engine interprets the code on webpages and displays it in the right format on screen.

With B2G, the Mozilla developers aim to get applications running without the need for the browser, effectively creating a web-centred operating system.

It will draw on some core parts of Android but aims to add a wrapper around it that is much more open than the one created by Google. If successful, the project will face stiff competition from Google's Android and Chrome as well as Apple's iOS and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.

The Mozilla team admitted that the project was in its "infancy" but said it already created some basic software from building blocks that are similar to those needed to get the OS running.

Download Free Antivirus Software for Windows

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6 essential software for your windows machine

Here is a list of 6 essential software that are required on your windows PC or laptop.

1. Adobe Reader – Most of the documents related to travel, banking or professional are published and shared in the adobe pdf format, hence it is necessary to have this installed on your new PC.
2. 7-zip – This is an open source unzip and archive utility that supports  multitude of formats including XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP, WIM, ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DEB, DMG, FAT, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR, Z . This is a must have software on your new PC. This software is a good open source replacement to WinZip.
3. Firefox - Yes! there are websites that appear different and better on firefox and it is better to have an option of a browser other than IE on your PC just in case.
4. Adobe Flash plugin for your browser – This is required to watch flash video’s on the internet including websites like youtube.
5. ZapGrab - This is a free utility to grab screen shots of  portions of your screen, although one could choose to use printscreen and MS paint to achieve the same result, this utility makes the task easier.
6. Freecorder browser plugin – This is a must have tool for recording streaming audio and video played on your computer from external websites like youtube etc. The audio can be recorded as you listen from the website, any youtube video’s that you watch can be automatically stored in the cache and saved for later viewing.

All the above software can alternatively downloaded from download.com. This site contains software that serve every need of yours. Best of all, the software available on this site is tested spyware-free by the editors and reviewed. Downloading software from other un-reliable sites can introduce sypware or malware into your machine.

How to you check the popularity of your website

Websites can also be categorized similarly based on popularity and reputation. Here are few methods for checking the popularity and reputation of any website.

Alexa Ranking

This is perhaps the most used and most controversial method of checking the popularity of a website. In this method, the traffic rank of a website as compared to other websites in the internet is measured. Traffic rank is an indication of the popularity of a website. For normal website, an alexa traffic rank of anything less than 500,000 is considered to be good enough. The top ten ranked sites in the world according to alexa are:

1. Google - Alexa Rank 1
2. Facebook - Alexa Rank 2
3. Youtube - Alexa Rank 3
4. Yahoo.com – Alexa Rank 4
5. Blogger.com – Alexa Rank 5
6. Baidu - Alexa Rank 6
7. Wikipedia - Alexa Rank 7
8. Windows Live – Alexa Rank 8
9. Twitter - Alexa Rank 9
10. QQ.com – Alexa Rank 10

Inbound Links

Inbound links are the links pointing to a website from other sites.  More number of inbound links from different websites indicates the reputation of the website. Although Alexa lists the number of inbound links, not all links are actually listed. It is difficult to find all the inbound links of a particular website. Different tools for checking inbound links for a particular website are available on the internet, but results vary greatly. The Quality of inbound links also matters, an inbound link from a reputed website like bbc.com is worth more than 10 inbound links from lesser known sites.

Finally, there are websites or blogs that may be popular among a local community and frequently visited by their members. So, for some websites, the popularity and reputation may be irrelevant as long as it serves the purpose of a community.

How to create an email signature for MSN

Most of the email providers allow you to make your own customized signature that will be automatically inserted at the end of each message that you send. An Email Signature represents you, your business and your profession. It is the best way to promote your company or your business with an E-Signature which will contain the essential contact information, website URL link of your business or company and with a brief tag line about your business. The Signature can be either personal or professional one. Keep in mind that your email signature should be simple and easy to read. General Thumb rule is that the E-sig should limit to 4-6 lines.

Your email signature is a clear indication to your recipient that the message is from you and provides the sender’s name, company position and contact information. Email Signatures are very powerful and high-end marketing tool for your business or organization. Few lines that you make as signature will let people to know who and what you are. The most useful benefit with the email signature is, it can be used as a business card or an ad that enables the recipients to have direct access to your website.

 

Windows Live Hot Mail1. Select “options” and “More Options” from the windows Live Hot mail Toolbar.
2. Select the Customize your mail and click on Personal e-mail signature.
3. Type the desired signature in the text field.
4. MSN Hotmail does not include the standard signature delimiter automatically, so you should do that manually when composing your signature.
5. Click OK.
6. Add Rich Formatting to Your MSN Hotmail Signature.