Soft District

Despite the fact Windows Vista works well with most modern computers, once you finished tuning it, I still consider Windows XP the best choice for a lot of PC users that still want to remain by Microsoft's side. I am not talking about things I've heard on the street, because I am a Windows user having to choose between XP and Vista each time I boot up my computer(not too often, I should say that, since sometimes I get Windows uptime of 1-2 or even 3 weeks or more), and Windows XP wins in over 90% of the cases. Anyway, since having an older OS on a modern computer can sometimes cause problems, let's see a few speed tweaks for XP, shall we?

Obviously, there are hundreds of registry tweaks, as well as software Windows optimizers, but I don't want to talk about those now. Why? Well, in the last 6-7 years, these have always been hot topics on the Web, while others are still hanging in the balance.

For example, let's take the optimum swap file size. According to Microsoft, this should be 2.5 times the amount of memory your computer has. While this is efficient with computers having less than 1GB of memory, and can be further improved by creating a partition only for the swap file, there's something you don't hear too often - disable the swap file!

Yes, I know, this can lead to various problems, but it depends a lot on the programs you're using. Anyway, the advantage is that, as long as you have at least 2GB of memory, it should be enough to keep Windows XP away from writing data to disc when it shouldn't. For example, now I have a bunch of programs up and running, over 1GB of free memory, but also 1GB of swap user. Got the idea? While disabling the swap file will surely limit multitasking capabilities, your computer will be much faster with only a few programs open. Give it a try! After all, you can always get back and restore default settings...

I know some may say this is not really a speed tweak for Windows XP, but it may be the best choice in the right place and the right time. As an example, I was just about to sell my old computer, but after giving away the video card, hard drive and memory, I decided it would be better to keep it and turn it into a Linux box. I found a 40GB hard drive lying around that I considered dead, performed a low level format, and now that one is as good as new, I got an old GeForce 4 MX440 video card that was also lying around, but I only managed to find 256MB of memory. Considering this, and after a lot of research, I got to a point where the only conclusion was that Xubuntu is the best OS for my oldie, and this is the pure truth - compared to those days when I was running Windows XP using only 256MB of memory, Xubuntu is going as fast as a shark!

One last thing - if you are looking for speed tweaks for XP, it may be possible that your solution is one of the two unconventional ones I just described. I know this may sound strange, but the straight line between two points is not always the shortest path...

When thinking about AIM secrets, you can't escape feeling the urge to look back in the dark past of instant messaging. Just thinking that you're using a technology that appeared in mid-1960s, while thousands of many others appeared and slowly died in the meantime is quite a thrill for me, despite the fact I didn't manage to use any instant messaging software older and more basic than the UNIX "talk" command. Anyway, modern GUI-based messaging clients, as we all know them now, started with ICQ, in 1996, followed next year by AOL Instant Messenger, shortly known as AIM...


...and the rest of it is history! To be honest, the above should be just enough, because we arrived exactly where I intended: AIM secrets! For me, one of the secrets of this instant messenger is its market share. Back in 2006, there were over 50 million active users, and AIM had over 50% of the US instant messaging market. Now...I have no idea, but I don't think it went down too much, either. If you have some info about this AIM secret, please go ahead and enlighten me, you will surely get my eternal gratitude!

This may not be a secret for experienced users, but if you're just getting started with AIM, you should know that AOL's instant messenger is freely available for Mac, Windows and Linux users. Even more, if you want to take full advantage of your AOL account without installing any software, AIM Express is a very good option, only that you have to feel comfortable using Beta software. Other than that, everything's just fine, I can bet on that(I am also an AIM user, I have to mention that).

As it happens with almost every decent piece of code, the AIM client supports plugins. Be sure to use them! If you don't know where to find them, just start with the AIM homepage - in my opinion, it's the best place to get'em - just look at the top AIM plugins located to the right side of the page!

I know this is not one of those well guarded AIM secrets, but using the bots can be quite fun, and even useful, in most cases. To learn how to give commands to a bot, simply open a dialog box with the one of your choice, and say something. I usually say "Hello," but it works with anything. If you have too much time to waste, you can even type a 2000 words story and send it to a bot, it won't make any difference...:)

Well guarded or not, I hope you enjoyed these AIM secrets I have been able to find and sort out for you today. Obviously, you know more than I do, so I am waiting for your tips and tricks. After all, I am only one, and you're an entire legion of current and future AIM users, hunting for AIM secrets, right? Let's make this only a first step in our joint effort to seek and retrieve as many AIM secrets as possible!

Almost one year ago, we were talking about SensorsView Pro 3.1, a pretty capable computer software for controlling the fans of your computer, only that its price was its only weak point I could find back then, apart from a few minor glitches. In the meantime, a new version of this software has been released, while the price remained the same, but I won't get into SensorsView Pro once again. After all, there could be more than a paid program to control your fans, right? Well, let's see...



...what about that nice fan controller in the image above? While I must admit one could come in pretty handy, I think we should skip it, obviously because it's harder to install than a software application, and it doesn't come for free, either. Anyway, we have a lot of answers to that "freeware computer software cooling fan controller" question, and I must admit I asked myself this question for a pretty long time in the past, but now I have some answers, which I will share with you.

If you own an older computer, then my first suggestion is Motherboard Monitor. Despite the fact its development has been stopped a few years ago, it is still a very good program for its purpose, and the only potential problem you may face because of its age is the lack of support for newer motherboards. Obviously, we're talking about a free program, and you can still download it from most major download sites, like Softonic or Major Geeks, since the former official page is now hosting a parked domain page...

SpeedFan is, currently, my favorite freeware computer software cooling fan controller, and I also think it's the best free Windows program in its category. To make a longer story short, here's what I like - very good hardware support, although not perfect, voltage and SMART monitoring capabilities, ease of use and a very low profile, of course.

If you are using a Windows computer, most chances are you'll find a software able to control fan speeds on one of the CDs that come with your motherboard, since all major manufacturers have such a program ready, but I must confess I don't like them. Anyway, just for your knowledge, be sure to remember that Gigabyte, MSI, AOpen, ASUS and Universal abit (formerly ABIT) motherboards come with such programs.

Since I didn't say "freeware computer software cooling fan controller for Windows," I will conclude today's article by telling you about such a program for Apple's Macs, called smcFanControl.

smcFanControl is a mature application, its current version being 2.1. The good part is that this program is also able to monitor system temperatures, so everything is just fine, especially since you won't be able to set anything wrong and damage your hardware, because minimum fan speed can't be set to a rate below Apple's defaults.

I hope today's guide will help you keep your computers cooler in these hot days, and from now you'll be able to guide your friends looking for a freeware computer software cooling fan controller. Good luck and...stay cool!