Tips & TidBITS
©
by Caroline Horton
The prices on CD-ROMs has dropped dramatically - 4X’s $40, 6X’s $90, 8X’s $125, and the new 10X’s $200. Wow! Who would have thought 8X CD-ROMs would be selling for less than 4X’s were selling for 6 months ago.
The latest new feature(?) is the substitution of DRAM for SRAM used for system caching. This is a spin-off of the over supply of memory chips and production space. DRAM is cheaper to produce than SRAM, but that is the only benefit. Typically SRAM is 4X’s faster than DRAM and SRAM does not need to be refreshed. (Refresh means that the memory in the chip has to be reset periodically.) During the refresh cycle the DRAM memory cannot be accessed. If you consider the price differential, less than $1 per chip or about $8 total for a system, this does not seem to be an option that I would select. Expect to seem systems using DRAM starting sometime after June. If the manufacturer, or supplier does not offer this information - ask; You will benefit in the long run.
For those of you that missed it in my previous columns, I have compiled a list of hard drive manufacturers and their compatibility with each other. There are two standards
FAST ATA-2 and EIDE, you cannot mix the two standards in the same computer. To mix brands make sure to select drives using the same standard!Connor, Maxtor, Samsung, and Seagate – using the
Fast ATA-2 standard.Quantum and Western Digital -- using the
EIDE standard.I have been busy building the beast (computer) of my desire, a166 MHz Pentium©, 4.8 gig hard drive, 8X CD-ROM, 64 meg EDO ram, 17 inch monitor, and a 28.8 kb modem. The only item I am hesitating on adding is a WORM CD-ROM, which would give me the capability of creating my own CD-ROM’s. The latest price has fallen to $700 and this price still gives me pause. The benefit of being able to write my own CD-ROM’s is tantalizing.
I would be able to free up storage space on my hard drive by moving whole programs onto a CD-ROM. Many new programs still come compressed on 3 ˝" disks and are not available in CD-ROM format. During installation I would just specify that the program be installed on the drive supporting the CD-ROM and save hard disk space. Blank CD-ROM’s are very inexpensive.
Here are this month’s tips for customizing Windows 95 for your computer.
Want to customize the Start Menu - by dropping an object (folder, shortcut, program, or document) onto the Start button adds it to the Start menu. If the object is a folder, the contents will be displayed as cascaded menu items.
To modifying Start Menu items - just right-click the Start menu and select Open or Explore to view and modify its contents. By putting a new folder in your start menu directory it will allow additional hierarchies off of the Start menu.
Moving the Taskbar - if you do not like where the Taskbar is located (the default is at the bottom of the screen), simply drag it to one of the other 3 edges of the desktop area.
Want to hide the Taskbar - select Taskbar properties by right-clicking the Taskbar, and enable the Auto Hide feature on the Taskbar Options property page. Now the Taskbar will be hidden until the you move the mouse near the Taskbar area.
To change your display properties - click the right mouse button anywhere on the desktop and choose the properties option. The Display Properties dialog box will appear, and will allow you to adjust the color scheme, fonts, font size, monitor resolution, monitor type, screen saver, and window size for your computer.
For a Global Font Change - to make a global change in your primary display font, click the right mouse button anywhere on the desktop and choose the properties option. Select the Appearance page from the Display Properties dialog box. Now select Item and a drop down list will appear - select ICON and then choose a new font.
Does your Taskbar Clock need adjustment - just hold mouse pointer over the Taskbar clock to see the date displayed as a tool tip. Double click the Taskbar clock to set the system time, date, and time zone, and to remove the clock from the Taskbar: Right-click the Taskbar and select Properties, on the Taskbar Options page, un-check ‘Show Clock’, or just press ‘C’.
Tired of your boring Folder Icons - from the folder’s View menu, select Options. In the Options dialog box, select the File Types tab and scroll down the list to the Folder item. With the Folder item selected, click on Edit, then select the Change Icon button and select a new icon.
Need to view the Remaining Battery Life of Laptop - if your computer has APM functionality, clicking on the battery icon in the Tray status area brings up a detailed battery meter.
For changing Languages and Keyboard Layouts - from the Control Panel box choose the Keyboard control panel applet. Choose the Language tab from the Keyboard Properties dialog box, and add whatever other languages necessary to your keyboard layout. Check the ‘Enable indicator on Taskbar' option. A Language layout icon will now appear on the Taskbar. Clicking on this icon will expand a menu of the installed Languages and you can choose any of the options.
Need to convert Old Program Groups - After completing the installation of Windows 95, you can manually convert old Windows 3.x program groups in one of two 2 ways - by double clicking the
*.GRP file will automatically convert the program group to a Windows 95 folder, OR by executing the command grpconv.exe with the /m switch from the Run command line will display a dialog box that enabling you the option to select which groups you would like to convert.Hints and Tips for using Microsoft Plus!
You can use the System Agent to schedule any application, .com, .exe, or .bat file. First double click the System Agent Icon on the Taskbar, then choose Program, click on Schedule a New Program and choose the program you wish to schedule from the list or click browse to select any additional programs. Once you have selected the desired program, click the When to Run option and set the time for it to run.
You can access Internet Resources Via the Run Command - (new for Windows 95) - simply click the Start button and choose the Run option. Type the URL address into the Run Command Line, (e.g.: http://www.microsoft.com), the Internet Explorer will launch and automatically initiate a connection to the desired address.
To save selected images as wallpaper file using Internet Explorer is as simple as right clicking on the desired image from Internet Explorer, and then choosing Set As Desktop Wallpaper.
