- by Jim Edwards

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
    http://www.thenetreporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It seems like fast never quite rates fast enough.

No matter how quickly something moves, especially on the Internet,
it could always move faster.

Email, web surfing, downloading files (legally of course), none of
them ever go as quickly as we want or expect.

Well, let me do my part to perpetuate this microwave oven mentality
(why must popcorn take 3 ½ minutes instead of 2?) by giving you some
tips and hints for making your online experiences and overall
computing as fast as possible (even on a dial up connection).

** Hit The Accelerator **

Sensing a need for faster Internet access in markets where broadband
cable or DSL can’t or won’t go, Internet Service Providers (ISP’s)
like NetZero offer Internet "accelerators."

Using a system of caches, compression schemes, and other technology
to double or even triple your dial-up connection speeds, Internet
accelerators can save you hours spent waiting for simple web pages
to appear in your browser. ** Though they won’t work for everyone in
every single situation, check out www.netzero.com, www.propel.com
and www.slipstreamdata.com for more information.

** Clean Up Your Hard Drive ** Often a messy hard drive can
contribute to slow online experiences. Perform a "Disk Cleanup" and
a "Defrag" (available by clicking <Start>, <Accessories>, then
<System Tools>) to clean out the garbage files on your hard drive
that slow your system down considerably.

This will help when running offline applications too.

** Get More RAM **

RAM (Random Access Memory) allows your computer to process data more
quickly without writing and reading from the hard drive.

Ask any nerd and they’ll tell you straight out, "You can NEVER have
too much RAM!" RAM costs so little now that virtually anyone can
afford to add more memory without a big hit to their wallet.

** Avoid Time Wasters **

Speeding up your surfing doesn’t just mean pulling the maximum
amount of data through your phone line until it melts!

It also means avoiding things that suck your time up and leave you
sitting twiddling your thumbs instead of getting things done.

Make the most of your time online with these time-saving tips:

Use Google - Search giant, Google.com, consistently returns relevant
search results in minimum time.

Sure, big search engines like Dogpile.com and AskJeeves.com query
multiple search engines, but the time spent waiting for and then
wading through those results rarely makes it worth the occasional
extra result.

Avoid Instant Messenger - "Heresy! I must have my instant messenger"
you cry! Keep a log of how much time gets spent mindlessly chatting
on the IM instead of doing something important. If you must IM, do
it in moderation.

Filter Spam - Use a program to filter your spam instead of wading
through it by hand. Even if you only get 25 spam messages a day (I’d
love to be you) and only spend 10 seconds on each message, at the
end of a year that comes out to over 30 hours wasted on spam!

Filter your email messages before you take the time to download them
to your machine and you’ll love the spare time that magically comes
your way.

** Slow Mouse? **

When I flick my wrist I expect that mouse to hop from one side of
the screen to the other like the house was on fire!

A slow mouse can steal seconds of precious time that add up to hours
of frustration over weeks and months.

If you suffer from a "slow mouse," click <Start> then "Control
Panel" then "Mouse".

Then you’ll see a tab that says "Pointer Options" or "Motion" (or
something similar) and you can adjust the slider left or right to
increase or decrease the speed of your mouse’s movement across the
screen.

** Use Windows Keyboard Shortcuts **

Windows has a number of nifty keyboard combinations that most people
don’t know about, but can save you incredible amounts of time,
energy, effort and frustration. <Ctrl>+Z - I call this the "panic
button."

Hold down the "Ctrl" key and hit the letter Z and you can often undo
the last action you took in Windows.

This comes in especially handy when you’ve deleted something (like a
term paper or 500 word article) and want it back.

If you accidentally do something wrong, STOP hitting keys
immediately and do <Ctrl>+Z to undo what you just did.

<Windows Key>+D - Ever wonder what the little "flag" key is on the
keyboard next to "Alt?" (I sure have wondered.)

Well, it turns out that little key has some cool uses.

Hold down <Windows Key>+D and you can minimize all the open windows
on your desktop.

Very handy when you keep many programs running and need to hit your
desktop in a hurry. <Windows Key>+F - allows you to search for any
file on your computer immediately.

It will amaze you how much faster you can get things done just by
understanding how to save little bits of time here and there using
shortcuts, tools and better ways of doing things.

– Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author
of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr-e articles
to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or
affiliate links…

-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving
Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate
links… without spending a dime on advertising!
Click Here> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Popularity: 1% [?]