Tips, Tricks, Tweaks and Annoyances

[Quoll]

or

How to take control of your pc.


Want to get rid of that stupid paperclip?
Hate the way the start menu looks?
Your OS just pissing you off?
There are thousands of tweaks to make your pc do what you want it to, ask here.
With the amount of Tech Heads and Geeks here at Lit we should be able to get your pc under control.

 

[Quoll]

Here's one that I haven't looked into, but it really pisses me off, I need a way to stop programs (acrobat and others) from creating those stupid "My" folders in my Docs folder.




[rant]Who the fuck came up with the brilliant idea to name everything "My" anyway, it's MY computer morons of course it's MY folder, and if I'm sharing the pc with someone else then it's not MY folder it's THEIR folder, ffs if I want to create a folder for music why wouldn't I just call it Music, I already know it's mine and so does anybody else using MY computer.[/rant]

 

[silverwhisper]

killing clippy

killing clippy isn't hard. right click on him and hide him. if you do this three times, office will eventually ask if you want him to stick around at all.

ed

 

[Quoll]

killing clippy isn't hard. right click on him and hide him. if you do this three times, office will eventually ask if you want him to stick around at all.

ed

Sheesh, way to kill a thread dude http://members.iinet.net.au/~nels1/ultimaT.gif
Actually that's my point, a lot of these things are very simple if you know where to look.

 

[silverwhisper]

hey, i wasn't sure if you wanted more gripes or some solutions. i opted for 2. it's what we backwards folk on this side of the international date line do.



ed

 

[Weird Harold]

Here's one that I haven't looked into, but it really pisses me off, I need a way to stop programs (acrobat and others) from creating those stupid "My" folders in my Docs folder.

I have looked into that a bit, and as far as I can determine, it's not possible to change the default folders in Adobe Reader even by editing the registry -- even though editing the registry will allow you to move Windows folders and functions away from the C: drive and default \Windows folder.

I even sent a technical assistance request to Adobe asking how to move them and/or recommending that the folder locations be made configurable -- it was ignored.

 

[Quoll]

hey, i wasn't sure if you wanted more gripes or some solutions. i opted for 2. it's what we backwards folk on this side of the international date line do.



ed

What you supplied is what I wanted, I know dozens of people who hate the little bastard and all his friends but are too scared to try and change things.

 

[Quoll]

I have looked into that a bit, and as far as I can determine, it's not possible to change the default folders in Adobe Reader even by editing the registry -- even though editing the registry will allow you to move Windows folders and functions away from the C: drive and default \Windows folder.

I even sent a technical assistance request to Adobe asking how to move them and/or recommending that the folder locations be made configurable -- it was ignored.

Oh really, well that seems a bit rude, definitely something that irritates me, still that's just the thing that makes me more determined to find a solution.

 

[Weird Harold]

Oh really, well that seems a bit rude, definitely something that irritates me, still that's just the thing that makes me more determined to find a solution.

As far as I can tell, it would require a patch to each program's code to change the base directory to something other than "My Documents." Although those programs do put a pointer to their directories in the register, it appears to be for other programs' reference and the program that creates the directory simply ignores the registry.

It is not only "rude," it's bad/lazy programming that ignores the fact that not every computer has one single humongous "drive C:". The practice makes having separate drives and partitions for different types of data/programs almost more work than it's worth.

 

[Cathleen]

<snip>




[rant]Who the fuck came up with the brilliant idea to name everything "My" anyway, it's MY computer morons of course it's MY folder, and if I'm sharing the pc with someone else then it's not MY folder it's THEIR folder, ffs if I want to create a folder for music why wouldn't I just call it Music, I already know it's mine and so does anybody else using MY computer.[/rant]

I you!

 

[ceninant]

Simple. Don't use Adobe, use Foxit Reader.

 

[Quoll]

Simple. Don't use Adobe, use Foxit Reader.

Sweet, there's always more than one way to defur a feline.

For those that want to use acrobat however, try this one.
Remove ( either delete or zip it , zip seems more prudent, but hey, it's your pc)
C (or whatever drive you store your program files on):\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\plug_ins\eBook.api.

So far it is working for me, although I haven't done a restart yet.

 

[Quoll]

I you!

Thank you.
The whole thing just bugs the shit out of me, it's like they are saying this is our computer but we will let you have these little "MY" folders to put your stuff in, that and those cute little warnings about how doing stuff may affect "our" pc. Damn straight it will affect it, and yes I know what pressing this button will do, that's why I pressed it.

 

[Quoll]

It's not dead yet.

Ok, lets try a different tack.

POLL
What operating system do you use?
What is it's most annoying feature?​

 

[Weird Harold]

POLL
What operating system do you use?
What is it's most annoying feature?​

Windows (Win98SE to be specific)

It's dominance of the market that prevents me from using a more efficient and stable operating system without restricting my choice of applications.

Second most annoying feature is that WIN98 no longer has any support from Microsoft but my computer isn't new enough to run later versions of Windows.

 

[Quoll]

Windows (Win98SE to be specific)

It's dominance of the market that prevents me from using a more efficient and stable operating system without restricting my choice of applications.

Second most annoying feature is that WIN98 no longer has any support from Microsoft but my computer isn't new enough to run later versions of Windows.

Hmm snap, I'm close to having enough to upgrade, just need more HDD space and a real graphics card.

Here's a site you might be interested in if you haven't come across it already Axcel216 , especially the Unofficial 98SE service pack.

 

[Verbiwhore]

This is a Mac related question, can anybody help me attach a spellcheck to Firefox, have been trying Spellbound but it won't work with version 1.5...
any ideas?

 

[bobsgirl]

We're running Windows XP on our computer. My husband and I have separate desktops. When his is running and he has several IEs running, when I log onto mine, Internet Explorer will not open. I get an annoying little note that says Runtime Error. Any ideas?

 

[Quoll]

This is a Mac related question, can anybody help me attach a spellcheck to Firefox, have been trying Spellbound but it won't work with version 1.5...
any ideas?

This looks promising Developers Version

 

[Quoll]

We're running Windows XP on our computer. My husband and I have separate desktops. When his is running and he has several IEs running, when I log onto mine, Internet Explorer will not open. I get an annoying little note that says Runtime Error. Any ideas?

Standard answer: Don't use IE.
Can you post the complete error message and do you have administrator rights?

 

[Leah57]

[rant] OK... I have about 15 icons that are in my systray when I startup my computer (WinXP). How do I get rid of the ones that I don't want in there??

 

[Weird Harold]

[rant] OK... I have about 15 icons that are in my systray when I startup my computer (WinXP). How do I get rid of the ones that I don't want in there??

Items get into the system tray by several routes.

First, open each program and look for a "show icon in system tray" in the options or poperties menu.

Second, look in your startup folder for programs that you can remove -- removing aprogram from the startup menu will stop it from running at all so be careful about deleting anything that you need to have running in the background.

There are going to be some that you simply cannot get rid of because they come and go as the only point of access to programs and processes that you need. The Dial-up Networking Icon, for example is a status indicator that can't be blocked, but it's only there while you're connected to a dial-up network.

 

[Verbiwhore]

This looks promising Developers Version

That was the one I was trying, it won't work with 1.5 or above, I may have to resort to dumbing down Firefox or work on my literacy skills.
Thanks for trying tho.
Put yourself down for a blown kiss, or a tit flash as you prefer.

 

[Quoll]

That was the one I was trying, it won't work with 1.5 or above, I may have to resort to dumbing down Firefox or work on my literacy skills.
Thanks for trying tho.
Put yourself down for a blown kiss, or a tit flash as you prefer.

Try HERE. Just make sure you read the whole page, it could save you a lot of extra work.

 

[australwind]

This is a Mac related question, can anybody help me attach a spellcheck to Firefox, have been trying Spellbound but it won't work with version 1.5...
any ideas?

I refer back to World Book Dictionary which is in my Services drop down when I know I am being linguistically challenged.... rest of the time I hope like hell I have it right... generally most of my spelling errors are typos.....