Hot Tips #2 -Computer Performance and Money

I’ve run into a few computer tips lately that I felt like sharing. Hope you guys find them useful too.

A Wi-fi Issue: I’m sure a lot of us now have wireless cards on our computer. However, there are some interesting problems that arise with it. For one, you appear connected according to the computer, but yet you’re not on the Internet. So far this is the best way of dealing with the problem is to follow these steps, if you run Windows XP:

• Go to Control Panel.
• Choose Administrative Tools.
• Select Services. A two-pane window comes up.
• In the right-hand pane, scroll down and click Wireless Zero Configuration.
• Click Stop the Service. A progress bar may come up briefly.
• Click Start the Service. Again, a progress bar may come up.
• Close the Services window. At this point, Fleishman said, the connection should come back.

(supplied by this Wired article)
Acrobatic Bloat: Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 is a commonly used program for document distribution on the net. However, you notice how long it takes to load or how many system ;resources it takes up? There’s any easy fix for that though.

  1. Navigate to the folder ;Acrobat is installed;to in ;Explorer (most likely Program Files>Adobe>Acrobat 6.0>Reader), locate the plug_ins subfolder and rename this folder to plug_ins_disabled.
  2. Create a new plug_ins folder.
  3. Move the files EWH32.api, printme.api and search.api from plug_ins_disabled to plug_ins.

It may be problematic to view some .pdf files after doing that. If it does, put a few more those plugins back. (thanks to The Firefox Help FAQ)

Governor’s Scholarship Money: If you went to high school in California in the last, I want to say 3-4 years, you may have received a Governor’s Scholarship for high standardized test scores, be they AP, Stanford 9, or Golden State. You made your claim sure, but you probably don’t know how to get the money (and there’s a chance you might forget you even had it). Head over to http://www.scholarshare.com/gsp/qualwith.html and print out a Qualified Withdrawal Form. The money does accumulate interest, though if you leave it there, so it might be good to wait until senior year of college.

-Do you support the Kerry and Edwards campaign for president? Do you enjoy porn? If the answer to both questions is a resounding yes, head over to Porn for Progress. They’re selling a DVD which according to them is “part political satire and part hardcore hot sex!” Yeah… I think I’ll stick with grass roots campaigning thank you. (found via this Village Voice article)

Alright, I think that should do it. I may have a few more, but I might leave that for an entry that doesn’t take up so much of your friends page.