Improve Your System Performance Painlessly

By Jeff Ropelato

There are several small things that you should do to tune up your PC performance. First, clean. Get rid of all the spyware hiding on your machine. You might think your computer is uncontaminated because you only visit reputable sites, but if you cruise the Internet, you have spyware.

After you run a spyware program that deletes active spyware files, you are still left with references to those files in your computer registry. These traces will clog your registry over time, leaving your computer vulnerable to failure.

That's where Registry Cleaners can help out. Cleaners will eliminate all the leftover traces of spyware and scan your registry for possible problems, saving you from future headaches.

But even after you have scrubbed your computer with anti-spyware and registry cleaners, there are simple steps you can take to improve your PC speed further.

Minimize multitasking
As you work on your computer, you may have the tendency to leave all sorts of programs running simultaneously. Is that solitaire program still running that you were playing hours ago? Do you have a calculator program up just in case you might need it?

Only use programs that are necessary. Close the rest. For example, running scans on your computer is essential to make sure your machine runs smoothly, but after you have run an anti-spyware or anti-virus scan, close them down. You don't need these programs running. They suck up your computer's processor time and RAM.

And do you really need to be connected to the Internet 24/7? It's OK to work offline. Keeping open connection to the Internet uses up your system resources.

Learn what's lurking in the background
A good registry repair tool it should allow you the ability to see what programs automatically start up with Windows. Most of the time, you don't even know these programs are running, but some place a small icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. You can manually right-click on the icons to close them, but this won't keep them from loading up the next time Windows boots up.

With a registry repair utility, you can see these programs and choose which ones you want to disable. This will save your processor and memory resources-reserve these for programs you care about.

Economize-space doesn't last forever
Unlike outer space, your computer disk space does not go on forever. Our computers use space for a variety of things-caching files and images, virtual memory, backups, and of course, storing applications and files. As a general rule, you should never allow your available disk space to fall below five percent of total disk space. Clean house, get a larger drive, or both.

This is another area where registry cleaners come in handy. You can run file cleaners that will get rid of all the excess junk building up quietly in unseen corners of your computer.

Don't delete-uninstall instead
Windows not only keeps track of all your programs, it also stores the tools you need to uninstall programs. When you don't take time to go through the correct process to uninstall old programs, you'll have stale leftovers rotting in your registry.

A good registry cleaner can help you edit the Windows Add/Remove list, completely erasing all those leftover files from deleted applications. This frees up disk space that can be used for more important items.

Defrag the hard drive and the registry regularly
They are two types of defrags you should perform monthly (or even weekly if you use your computer a lot). You need to defragment your hard drive as well as your registry. Typically, you will receive a defragmenting tool with your operating system software.

What defragers do is rearrange and group scattered bits of program data together. Data becomes scattered with normal use since your computer will plug in data where ever it is most convenient at the time, filling holes left by programs that have moved. If your hard drive gets too cluttered, your computer may plug a new application into a half-dozen tiny slots. This partitioning makes loading time far longer.

Scandisk or another registry scanner can also find and fix most errors on your hard drive. Both will make your software programs run faster and more organized software speed your computer's boot time.

Registry defragers come with registry cleaning software. Like any database, your registry will become cluttered and fragmented with use and you should defragment the system to keep it running smoothly.

Adjust your restore settings
Windows XP reserves 12% of the hard disk space for restore points by default; the size of your hard drive is irrelevant. Restore points means "restore your computer to previous points in time." This system backs up your registry and other vital files regularly, usually when you install new applications. If your system is ever severely damaged, you can travel back in time on your computer to a previous point and restore your settings at that point. Typically, your operating system will store new reference points daily or whenever you make changes, such as installing a program.

So why mess with the 12% default to store these points? Doing so will give you more storage wiggle room on your hard drive. If you keep your computer clean you don't really need more than 5% or 6% of a large hard drive reserved for restore points; this isn't a full backup-it's far smaller.

You can manually lower this amount simply by right clicking on My Computer, then Select Properties. This will take you to your System Properties screen. Select the System Restore tab. In the middle of this screen you will see a slider bar that will allow you to decrease the amount of space Windows XP reserves. This will free up a lot more space for you to use.

If you get into the habit of taking care of your computer, it will take care of you. Like the rewards of brushing your teeth each day, regular maintenance is cheaper and faster in the long run than finding a cure after things go wrong. If you make these simple steps of computer maintenance a habit, you will give your system greater speed and stability and you'll give yourself peace of mind.

Number of students taking online courses

Roughly one in six students enrolled in higher education -- about 3.2 million people -- took at least one online course last fall, a sharp increase defying predictions that online learning growth is leveling off.

A new report scheduled for released Thursday by The Sloan Consortium, a group of colleges pursuing online programs, estimates that 850,000 more students took online courses in the fall of 2005 than the year before, an increase of nearly 40 percent. Last year, the group had reported slowing growth, prompting speculation the trend had hit a ceiling.

"The growth was phenomenal," said Jeff Seaman, Sloan's CIO and survey director, who also serves as co-director of the Babson College survey research group. "It's higher in absolute numbers and higher in percentages than anything we've measured before. And it's across the board," at schools ranging from doctoral institutions to those offering associate's degrees to for-profit colleges.

Some online programs have flopped, and several for-profit universities have seen their share prices slump in the last two years amid concern over online's growth prospects. Shares of Apollo Group, which owns the giant for-profit University of Phoenix and is now embroiled in a stock-option scandal, are more than half off their 52-week high.

Still, many universities are investing heavily in online learning, hoping the model will prove more economical than traditional classes, thus expanding their reach. A recent survey by Eduventures, a consulting and research firm, found 50 percent of consumers who expected to enroll in a higher education program said they would prefer to get at least some of their instruction online.

About 80 percent of online students are undergraduates, and they are generally older and more likely to be working and have families. But only about half are pursuing online degrees, according to Eduventures.

The rest are taking individual online courses or -- increasingly -- mixing online courses with more traditional campus-based classes. One reason online enrollment may be growing is that the difference between traditional and online classes is blurring. It's not unusual now for traditional classes to post syllabi and homework assignments online or to have class discussions in group forums. Some classes take place more than 80 percent online, which makes them count as online courses for the Sloan survey.

"That's bumping up enrollment," said Eduventures senior analyst Richard Garrett.

The Sloan survey results also suggest academic officials are becoming more comfortable with online learning. About 62 percent of chief academic officers said they felt students learned as well or better from online courses as they did in face-to-face ones.

However, that left about 38 percent who found online courses degraded the educational experience. And almost all said they aren't certain online learning will be more widely adopted. Among the obstacles: online courses take more time and effort to prepare, students need more self-discipline, and faculty often aren't convinced online learning is worthwhile.

Officials at the schools surveyed "all acknowledge that there are significant barriers," Seaman said. "The question is going to be when do those barriers kick in and how do they cope with them."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Picasso out of NY auction amid ownership claims

By Michelle Nichols
Reuters
Wednesday, November 8, 2006; 7:49 PM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's Art Foundation has withdrawn a Picasso painting worth up to $60 million from a planned Christie's auction later on Wednesday amid claims by a German man that he owns the piece.

The Lloyd Webber foundation and Christie's said ownership claims by Julius Schoeps meant a "cloud of doubt has been recklessly placed" on the ownership of the painting from Picasso's Blue Period, "Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto."

Schoeps is suing the Lloyd Webber foundation, saying in a federal complaint that he was an heir of wealthy Jewish banker Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy from Berlin and that the banker lost the painting in Nazi Germany in a "forced sale."

Schoeps claims Mendelssohn-Bartholdy "never sold any works from his private collection until after the Nazis came to power." Then he began selling his works into a depressed market because many Jewish collectors were selling their art.

A U.S. judge on Monday briefly halted the planned auction, but gave the go ahead for the sale on Tuesday and dismissed Schoeps' case, saying the case lacked federal jurisdiction.

But late Wednesday, lawyers for Schoeps filed a civil complaint in Manhattan Supreme Court seeking damages of $60 million from the foundation and the return of the painting.

The foundation said best evidence suggests the painting was sold after Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's death in 1935 by his second wife, who was not Jewish.

"The joint decision (to withdraw the painting) was the result of 11th-hour claims -- claims that Christie's and the Foundation believe to have no merit -- about title to the picture," the foundation and Christie's said in a statement.

The 1903 painting, also known as "The Absinthe Drinker," was valued by Christie's at between $40 million and $60 million. Proceeds from the sale were to go to charity.

Christie's and the foundation have questioned why the suit was filed now considering that the sale of the painting to the foundation in 1995 for $29 million was widely publicized.

"The Foundation reserves the right to seek damages for the harm caused to the portrait and the charity, which rightfully owns it, by the unfounded and spurious claims brought by Julius Schoeps and his attorneys," the foundation said on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Jeanne King)

Easy Guide on Networking Your Home Computers

Let's say you have 3 desktop computers at your home. One in your kid's room, in your home-office and one in your family room. Your idea is to have all these 3 computers connect to the internet. One computer has an internet connection on a DSL or cable modem (this is just a terminology for that little box that you connect from the phoneline or cable port!).

So you want all these 3 computers connect to the internet, share files? print from any of this computer?

Here are your step-by-step guide:

(1) Your DSL or cable internet service already comes with a modem. This is a connection from your phoneline to the modem. And then, you will notice your computer#1's network cable directly connect to this modem called the Ethernet port (or on the USB port).

(2) For the other 2 computers to share internet connection, you must have a router with 4 ports (at least!) --- looks like a telephone ports. There are a lot of router brands, one is Linksys and is my favorite. But as I have said there are a lot of different brands out there!

You must buy a network cable if you don't have one. You can buy it from most electronic store.

(4) Here we go! (considering ofcourse we are networking a Window-based computers-- Windows XP (home & professional) and Windows 2000 and higher)

(5) Connect a network cable on your router (port name: "internet" or "ethernet" - this is usually a separated port from the other 4 ports). The other end of the network cable will directly be connected to the DSL or Cable modem's (port name: "ethernet").

(6) Connect a network cable on each computer that you want to get connected to the internet-- (connect this cable at the back of the computer (port name: ethernet).

(7) The other side of each of this network cable will then be connected on each of the port on the router

(8) Now you are ready to be connected! -- turn on your dsl/cable modem. Make sure all lights are on and solid. Turn on your router.

(9) Then turn on your computer(s) -- make sure the light at the back of the computer is blinking! (this is a good sign that you are connected on the network!)

(10) Then set up your router which is normally you choose the proctocol PPoE and just enter your username and password supplied to you by your internet service provider. Oh! by the way, depending on the router, the admin window of the router is on the manual. It's so easy to find it. Trust me.

(11) If your username and password provided to you by your internet service provider is valid... then you should be connected to the internet!.Go and start browsing the internet!

*** most of the routers available in the market now are interlligent routers! There is really nothing complicated on how to set it up. Its entirely DHCP (automatic IP assignment). I don't want to be technical but .. there you go! Enjoy and be safe on the internet!