How to Improve System Performance

As with all types of computer systems, the performance of a system would eventually break down. As much as we'd want to keep our computer running smoothly, it doesn't tend to be the case most of the time. The normal wear-and-tear of the system will eventually take its toll and slow the system down to a crawl. Surely, a Here's a few maintenance tips that can be done to keep your system in tip-top shape. Note that this is for Microsoft Windows systems.

1.) Minimize startup items: It must be taken into consideration that as we install more and more programs into the system, some of these items tend to be loaded by default into the startup group of the computer. This, in turn, makes the computer start up time considerably longer, as programs that you don't need to load necessarily at once are being preloaded. To prevent this, and only keep important programs running (e.g. antivirus, ISP software), you can do the System Configuration Utility.

To open this Windows utility, just click on Start -> Run -> msconfig. Go to the startup tab, and weed out the items you do not want to load at startup. Be careful with disabling items though, and if you are not sure as to what a certain program or listing does, just type in the startup item's name in Google, and most of the time, you'd get the information about it.

2.) Cleaning out the clutter: As with normal use, Windows keeps copies of the web pages you visit (e.g. cookies, temporary internet files), programs you load (Windows' prefetch folder), and some compressed old files. Overtime, if you don't keep an eye for it, the space consumed by these items would be huge. Now, you might think that this would not be an issue if you have a big hard drive, but it still is. To maintain this, we can use another Windows utility that takes care of these items. This utility is called Disk Cleanup.

To access Disk Cleanup, go to My Computer. You can have a shortcut of it in your desktop or if not, click on Start->My Computer. Once there, right click on your hard drive C: (by default it is named Local Disk C:) and select Properties. You should have the option to do the Disk Cleanup there [there is a button for the disk cleanup beside the pie chart which describes your current drive space situation]. It would be advisable to perform this once a month or so, to prevent items from accumulating.

3.) Say Bye-bye to Unused Programs: As much as it would be nice to keep all the programs we install, not all of these software are going to be used anyway. For example, you have Ulead's photo software. You were able to get a copy of Adobe Photoshop. Eventually one of those programs would be left out. Another example is with productivity suites. You might've heard of free software like OpenOffice.org or IBM's Lotus Suite and have installed both on your system to try them out. Then, you eventually get Microsoft Office and use it consistently, all those other programs would be unused and is set to grow molds [not literally] in your hard drive. Do yourself a favor, and lessen the clutter by removing all the unused programs in your system.

You can do this by going to the Control Panel (Start -> Control Panel), and selecting Add/Remove Programs. You should get a list of all the programs installed in your computer. Go through the list and remove all the programs you are not using. A word of precaution though, as with disabling startup items, if you are not familiar with the program you are trying to remove, google it first before proceeding. It never hurts to be careful.

I'm pretty sure that there are still other items that can be done to further improve performance. I might've missed a workaround or two, but this is the basic steps you can take to ensure your system performs nicely. But if all else fails, you could back up your files and do a complete Windows reinstallation. But that should always be the last resort. ^_^ V

After 2 World Series games, I still think the same

A few hours after I predicted that the World Series would not be as lopsided as most experts predicted, Josh Beckett shut down the potent Rockies offense and the Sox bats went to work for a 13-1 drubbing in Game 1 of the World Series. To make things worse for the Colorado Rockies, when they were able to limit the Red Sox bats in Game 2, they couldn't score themselves after the initial salvo.

I watched as Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling show Jeff Francis and Ubaldo Jimenez what it takes to be a top performer during October. From Dustin Pedroia's leadoff home run, to the "Pap-ajima" bullpen combination of the Boston Red Sox, everything seems to be swinging their way. Halfway through a sweep, I'm still confident that the Rockies can turn things around, and make a series out of it.

Game 3 would be shifting to Denver, where shaky starter Daisuke Matsuzaka would be starting for the Sox. The next two games would be the perfect opportunity for the Rockies to pounce, as Dice-K have had difficulty performing consistently in October during his first trip to the postseason. Whether it is fatigue, or just bad luck, it is prerogative for Todd Helton and company to get their bats going early and often. It also favors the Rockies that one of Boston's bats would have to sit out [whether its' David Ortiz, or possibly Kevin Youkilis is not yet confirmed].

Game 4 should be more of the same, Tim Wakefield was left off the Series roster due to injury, it provides the Rockies another crack at a pitcher who hasn't been active in awhile. Jon Lester may be backed up by a potent set of bats, but he's no Josh Beckett or Curt Schilling to be able to silence the Rockies bats.

I correctly predicted that with Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling, the Red Sox will win the Series, but the Rockies would be able to creak out a win or two with the other starters. I'd be in utter shock if this Series ends in a sweep.

2007 World Series: Boston Red Sox vs. Colorado Rockies

It's that time of the year again, when the baseball season is about to come to a conclusion. After two rounds of playoffs in each league. The top two teams from their respective groups come off to face each other to decide the best team for the year.

From the American League, coming off an astounding comeback from a 1-3 deficit, the Boston Red Sox. A team filled with powerful hitters (David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez), and two of the best postseason pitchers in history (Curt Schilling, and Josh Beckett). We must not forget the guys like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and Mike Lowell, as they drove in crucial runs during the improbable comeback against the Cleveland Indians.

From the National League, coming off from a record 8 days off since sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies. A team of youngsters with a veteran leader Todd Helton. Matt Holliday? Troy Tulowitzki? Jeff Francis? Ubaldo Jimenez? Yorvit Torrealba? Not quite the big money-big marquee names that people are expecting to compete at this time of the year. The Rockies management have patiently built this team with young players and avoid overspending on free agents. This is the first ever appearance of the team in the World Series since joining the major leagues in 1993. The Rockies have strung together an amazing run of 21 wins in their last 22 games, including a 7-0 start in the playoffs.

From how it looks like, this is a series the Red Sox are to lose. They are heavy favorites, the household names facing off against the unknowns. Analysts are pointing to a lot of factors that are supposed to swing in favor of the boys of Boston.

The layoff that the Rockies got was similar to what the Detroit Tigers had last year. It resulted in a 4-1 drubbing by the St. Louis Cardinals after a ton of errors from the favored Detroit team. I personally think though, that there is one stark difference between the Tigers and this year's Rockies. The Rockies are coming in as the underdogs, as they have been throughout the season. This also happens to be one of the best infield defenses in the majors this season. I'm in the minority that don't believe it was the layoff that got the Tigers, it was the overconfidence. They were, after all, facing a St. Louis Cardinals team that only managed to win 83 wins for the whole season.

The morale of the Red Sox are also very high after pulling off another big comeback reminiscent of the 2004 season, when they beat rival New York Yankees from an 0-3 deficit. The Rockies are still high with their 21 of 22 games streak still waiting to be challenged [their only loss was to Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks, who they've beaten in game 1 of the NLCS].

My prediction would be that the Red Sox would win in 6 games. I personally want the Rockies to win it all and finish off their Cinderella season, but realistically speaking, with Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling around, I don't think so.

Sansa Clip: Another alternative for the iPod

I'm just here at work, enjoying what is left of my lunch hour when I happened to bump into one article about a new Yahoo! Tech review for an MP3 player. It is called the Sansa Clip, and it comes in 1 and 2GB 'flavors'. It uses a scroll wheel control similar to that of the iPod. It looks nice and very lightweight, and it has its own FM tuner. It comes in cheaper than the iPod Shuffle, and it works with Windows Media Player 10 or 11.

Sounds nice, doesn't it? Just as a precaution, don't come running and buying this gadget just yet. Give it a few weeks [as with all newly released gadgets] so that people in your area could check it out and provide feedback, then you decide if you still want to buy it.

One drawback that has been noted in the Yahoo! Tech comments on the article is that it does not show in Media Player even when it is plugged in.

I haven't used this device myself, but this would be a pretty cool alternative to the very pricy iPod line of mp3 players.

October proves that Money Can't Buy Championships

I'm here in the office trying to test out Google Docs and see how it stacks up. I am fairly intrigued by this concept of being able to have the basic Microsoft Office functionality online and for free. The additional features are also peachy. ^_^

So, what can we talk about for now? Oh yeah, here's something that we can discuss about: The New York Yankees falling flat again, even after having the biggest payroll in all of baseball and they can't get past the American League Division Series. After the brilliant run, coming out of a 19-29 start to capture the Wild Card race and almost overtaking the Boston Red Sox for the AL East pennant, they fell with hardly a whimper to the superior pitching of the Cleveland Indians. Some things hardly changed in the series: the questions whether Roger Clemens can pitch in his condition were not as unfounded as many thought them to be: he only lasted for 2 2-3 innings. A-Rod sputtered through the first two games, and managed only 1 RBI total for the whole series. The feared Yankee bats fell silent.

People can point out that Joe Torre shouldn't have brought back Chien Ming Wang after his atrocious Game 1 start. I personally thought it was a bad move for Torre to start Wang again after his Game 1 outing and 3 days rest. It was similar to what the Cleveland Indians did in the 1997 World Series, sending out Orel Hershiser twice and the Florida Marlins feasted en route to their World Series win. But then again, we're talking about the Yankees' manager for over the past decade, and someone who brought four World Series titles in his first five years.

The Yankees organization isn't the only team who spent tons of money to produce results. The Chicago Cubs, with its history of futility, spent $300 million dollars on free agents and a new manager in Lou Piniella. They improved surely, they made it to the playoffs since the Sammy Sosa era, but promptly got eliminated after a 3-0 sweep. The New York Mets, the third highest in terms of payroll, collapsed late in the season and failed to qualify. Teams that qualified for this year are small market.

This is not to say that having loads of money to spend on top free agents would not help in building a contender. You need to have the budget to sign in the key pieces for your team. Players aren't coming in cheap these days as well, especially marquee names and pitchers. With a 162-game schedule, it also helps to have a stockpile of reliable players. It surely helps, and in the case of the Boston Red Sox, the no. 2 team in terms of expenses, it kept the team afloat during the course of the season.

Critics are saying that small market teams aren't being given a fair shake since the bigger market teams are hogging all the big time players. But as another October has proven, money just can't buy the championships.

Yet Another iAccessory comes out in the market

With the proliferation of iPod accessories in the market, another new concept comes around the corner. As if having all sorts of cases, necklaces, and arm bands made for Apple's MP3 player is not enough, nekFIT (www.nekfit.com) has come up with the idea of placing your iPod behind your neck to lessen the wire tangles.

Looking at it though, it makes me cringe at the thought that if I run and jump around, my iPod would fall off. I also don't get the assurance that it would be easy to shuffle through my playlists while its in my back. It is currently available for all iPod Nano's [2nd and 3rd gen] and Shuffles.

It might just be me, but if this is something you might've been looking for, help yourself and go over to www.nekfit.com. Each nekFIT costs $34 [roughly 1700+ Php]. For me though, I'll be getting my iPod Nano from my pocket... just like the good majority of people.

Tech: TV Remote Control with 100+ buttons?

Of all the items around the house that I didn't expect to get a makeover is the remote control. It's plainly easy to see why. It does what it needs to do in its relatively simple interface. There's the numeric keypad where you type in the two (or sometimes three) digit channel code and there's the volume control, and a few more buttons to round up the basic features you would need out of your remote.

Then Art Lebedev came around with a novel concept.

The former is coming up with a 102-button remote, one for every channel that you might have. The estimated size at the moment is a rough 20 inches. Imagine having to browse through the dozens of buttons trying to find your channel. It does not include controls for volume and other features you normally use (mute, on/off, etc). It is still in the drawing board at the time being and no specific timetable IF this would be released.

From the looks of it, it should be just long enough to manually press the buttons on the TV itself. Haha.

Credit goes here.