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Start Your PC the Productive Way (30 Second “Startup”)

Posted by Stu On February - 11 - 2010

The most annoying part of using a PC, is surely booting it up in the morning for the days use.

After seeing this software reviewed by Lifehacker a while back, I realised I could start my PC in the morning in around 30 seconds as opposed to, in some cases, 10 minutes.

Now, I know the PC is not technically off whilst Boot Snooze is in use. It’s in hibernation mode or Standby which puts the PC in a very low power state. It barely even draws whilst it’s in Hibernation.

So the idea here, is to use Boot Snooze last thing in the day to reboot your PC. Once it’s been rebooted, Boot Snooze will automatically start a countdown timer (previously specified) to put your PC into a low power state. During the countdown, we’ll set Windows to automatically start programs that we always find ourselves using. I find the first 3 programs I always start are; Outlook, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, so we’ll use those in this example. Once they have opened, Boot Snooze will put your PC into the low power state.

When you start your PC out of standby or hibernation in the morning, it will take around 30 seconds to get to the desktop where your programs are already opened ready and waiting. Much better than waiting a matter of minutes and then having to open the programs up one by one.

So, here’s a walk through guide on how to start your PC the smart way.

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Texter Automates Commonly Typed Phrases/Scripts

Posted by Rich On December - 11 - 2009

If you find yourself repeatedly typing phrases or snippets of code, you’ll find Texter very useful. Texter is designed to take the repetition out of computer use. I use it when I write guides for this site; I always write the guides in plain HTML first and then move them to my CMS. I’ll often write lines of HTML code over and over again, so this tool is a real time saver.
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Make Creative Folder Shortcut Links in Vista [How To]

Posted by Rich On August - 11 - 2009

There are many ways to organize your files on your computer and provide shortcuts to them. In this guide, I hope to provide some inspiration; hopefully you can come up with some great ways to access the data on your drive.

I’ve written about how to organize your files in the past and in this guide I will focus mainly on how to get to those files easily without installing any extra software.
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Remove Shortcut Overlay Arrow Icon in Vista [How To]

Posted by Rich On August - 10 - 2009

Windows, by default, put a small arrow on shortcuts to indicate they are a shortcut and not a file. This feature is very useful and can help you determine what type of file you are dealing with. If you are customizing your desktop or a folder, you may not want these shortcut overlay icons as they may ruin your design. In this guide, you’ll learn how to remove the icons from the shortcuts with a simple program.

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Restore Quick Launch Shortcut Icons in Windows Vista [How To]

Posted by Rich On June - 30 - 2009

Restore Quick Launch Toolbar 1

Many people use Vista’s quick launch feature. The quick launch can be found next to the start menu; however, over time I’ve found myself instructing readers on how to restore these icons if they lose them. The reason I knew how to do this is because I, too, lost them myself! In this guide, you’ll learn how to restore the quick launch icons to the quick launch menu in Windows Vista.

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FreeSnap Resizes Your Windows with the Keyboard

Posted by Rich On June - 5 - 2009

FreeSnap is designed to take the pain out of resizing and moving windows by providing convenient keyboard shortcuts to do the job. If you are someone who likes keyboard shortcuts, you’ll know how much of a pain it is to resize and move windows with the keyboard alone.

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