Quick Tips For A Tidy Computer
By Cate Eales
Appeared January 1, 2009 on castanet.net
You'll find this column is a Resolution Free Zone. I hope you have a happy
and prosperous 2009. Here are three things that might make your computing
a little easier and a little tidier.
Find photos fast
If you have more than ten or a dozen photos on your computer, and you're
looking for a certain one, you probably wish you had taken my advice and
organized those photos before now, right? As luck would have it,
procrastination paid off, just this once.
Photology helps you find photos by using filters. You don't need albums,
tags, or folders. As the Photology website puts it, "it just knows."
I downloaded and installed it, let it index my photos, and then made a few
simple choices until it found the pictures I needed.
Grab it here.
Although Photology is really easy to use, there are several excellent,
short tutorials, and the program is absolutely free. It doesn't run all
the time, and it doesn't install a bunch of junk along with the program.
Clean up your Vista Desktop
Vista users will be familiar with the Sidebar. (We talked about it
here). Now there's a sidebar
gadget to help you keep the junk off your desktop and put it where it
belongs. Install the gadget, drag a file to it, and the Magic Folder will
put it where it belongs. It does this by looking at the file type and
making decisions based on that. Documents go into the Document folder,
pictures go into PIctures. You can customize the Magic Folder's rules, add
more locations, and change Magic Folder's appearance. You can learn more
and
download the gadget here.
Keep Installed Files Handy
It used to be that we installed all our programs from CD's. (Well it used
to be that we installed all our programs from floppy discs. But we also
used to listen to audio files on things called "records" while we were
installing those files! Let's not go back that far.) Nowadays, many of us
download programs from various websites and install them. Whether these
programs are free or paid for, if you need to reinstall them, it's a
nuisance to go out and find them all again. (It's even worse than digging
through a pile of CD's!)
After I install a program I move it to a folder called "Installed" on my
hard drive. The file doesn't clutter up my desktop or download folder, but
it's available if I need it. Periodically, I backup the "Installed" folder
to a CD or DVD, and delete the older installed files from my hard drive,
just to keep down the clutter.
Do you need help with your computer? With your printer/camera/music
player? Do you have a new computer and now you're wondering how to get the
files from the old one over to the new one I'm here to help you and your
computer get along! To ask a question, make a comment or suggestion, or
schedule a visit, email
cate@rlis.com. You can read previous columns
here. If you'd like to
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Happy New Year! Please drive safely!
Links
Photology
http://www.getphotology.com/
Gadgets, Surges, Shutdowns
column165.htm
The Magic Folder
http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=0ed6a06a-6782-41a7-b68c-2753fad412a5
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives
http://rlis.com/column.htm
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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible
and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric,
and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions,
helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware
eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image
management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management.
Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your
comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit
the Real Life Internet Solutions website at
www.rlis.com.
©
Cate Eales 2008 – All Rights Reserved
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