Alvin's Educational Technology Blog

I have talked before about the fact that I have a lot of picture files.  Like most digital cameras, mine names all the pictures with sequential names: IMG_0001, IMG_0002, etc.

I put my pictures into folders based on the event where the picture was taken.  If I am going to do something else with a set of pictures (like give a copy to my parents), it is better to name the actual files with a descriptive name.  My parents don’t use my Neanderthal-like folder structure.

Here is an easy way to rename a group of files using the Rename command built into Windows.

1 – Highlight all the files you wish to rename.

2 – Press F2.

3 – Type the new name all the files will receive.

Windows will rename all the files with the file name you specify in step three and follow the name with a sequential number.

TSPY=1.02

Windows XP has a nice feature called ClearType that is disabled by default.  Your screen can look a lot more clear if you turn this feature on… especially if you have an LCD panel display.

ClearType uses anti-aliasing to make curved parts of letters look smoother.  This makes them easier to read.

Here are two pictures – one with anti-aliasing (top) and one without (bottom).

The top picture is easier to read because of the anti-aliasing.  ClearType does this same thing, but with text on your screen.

To turn ClearType on, right-click a blank part of the desktop and select Properties.  Click the Appearance tab and then click the Effects button.  There should be a check-box for “use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts.”  That is where you will find ClearType.

Windows has many options that are designed to make the experience of using the operating system more enjoyable.   There are animations, fading effects, drop shadows and many other things that can make objects in the interface look better.  Unfortunately most of these features will slow your computer down just a little.  With enough of them running on your system, you may notice the impact on your computer’s performance.

Fortunately Windows has a way of figuring out what your system can handle and making adjustments that keep the system peppy by turning off features that slow your particular system down.  Here is how you do it.

Right-click My Computer and select Properties.  When the System Properties window opens, click the Advanced tab.  There should be a section called Performance.  Click the Settings button under Performance.  This will bring up the Performance Options where you can select from:

1 – Let Windows decide what’s best
2 – Best appearance (most taxing on system)
3 – Best performance (all the eye candy will be turned off)
4 – Custom – You pick and choose what you want

If you aren’t sure, go with the first selection.  You can experiment if you like.  If you can’t figure out a better set of options, you can always go back to that first option and let Windows decide everything for you.

TSPY=0.42

If you are running Windows XP, you need 1 GB of RAM.  If you have Vista, double it to 2 GB.  To find out how much memory your computer has, press Shift-Ctrl-ESC.  Click the Performance tab and check the value at the bottom for Physical Memory.  The “Total” is the number you need to find.  Mine says

Total: 2095196k

which translates to 2 GB.  You can run with less memory than I recommend.  If you have several applications (browser, email, photo program, Skype, etc) running at the same time, your computer will bog down if you don’t have enough RAM.  Right now I have a dozen programs running, which is typical for me.  I have Firefox and IE running with three windows of each (I don’t use tabs – some please tell me one benefit of tabs).  My email is running plus all these things: RSS Reader, Paintshop Pro, AVG Anti-Virus, Hamachi, Skype, iPodder, Roboform, allSnap, Picasa and GoogleDesktop.  On top of that, my machine also runs Apache so I can test all my web apps without uploading them to my server.

You may not have this much running on your computer.  This box runs XP.  Its memory usage hovers right at 1 GB.  Because I have so many things going all the time, I have 2 GB of RAM.  It never slows down to copy information to a “swap” file on the hard drive.  That is what happens if you fill up your computer’s memory.  The operating system analyzes the programs in memory and removes items that aren’t active at the moment to make room for new processes.  As soon as the hard drive becomes involved in any process, things slow down.  The hard drive is mechanical.  It moves thousands of times slower than the electronic components can handle.

Having enough RAM to run all the programs you use will save you time.  When I went from 1 GB to 2 GB in this machine, I found myself waiting noticeably less time for almost all my normal processes.  It cost me $100 to add that second gigabyte of RAM.  It was well worth it.

TSPY=2.91

Every two years I get a new computer.  I’ve done this for the past twenty years.  On top of that I always have a laptop or two that I use along side my desktop.  Several years ago I started using external hard drives for most of my storage.  There are several benefits to doing this.

1 – I can move the hard drives to a new computer simply by unplugging from the old and plugging into the new.

2 – External drives make perfect backup drives that can be easily moved off-site.  During my recent vacation, I took three external hard drives with me just in case my house blew up while I was gone.

3 – Most of your files will be data not programs.  I have 25 gigabytes of programs installed on my computer and several hundred gigabytes of data.  My data files are the most valuable.  I created them.  I want them backed up and I need to move them to any computer I use.  External drives are perfect for data.

4 – External drives are inexpensive.  At my last pilgrimage to BestBuy, they had a 160 GB USB drive for $75.

When using external drives, it is important to keep things consistent.  For instance, my music is always on the M: drive.  I have an external drive with my music.  Using this technique – http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844 – I change the external music drive letter to M: on every computer that uses that external drive.  By doing this, I can unhook the drive from one computer, go to another and the same drive letter is used.  Music is always on the M: drive just like pictures are always on the P: drive.

Before you rush out and buy an external drive, check your computer to see what technologies are available.  External drives come in three basic flavors: USB, Firewire and Ethernet.  You will pay the most for an external drive with an Ethernet connection.  On top of that, unless you have a network switch, you won’t be able to attach the external drive to your network.  You will most likely use a USB connection to attach an external drive.  Make sure your USB port on your computer is USB 2.0.  Older USB connections (1.x) will be too slow to be useful.  Check your computer’s documentation to find out what you have.  If your computer is two years old or newer, you probably have USB 2.0 connectors.  If you have a Macintosh, you will have Firewire and USB connectors.  This means you can use either to connect an external drive.

You can also pay a little more and get an external drive with multiple interfaces.  There are some circumstances where you might need a drive like this.  Depending on your budget, you may find the extra options handy.

TSPY=2.42