Over the course of three articles, I have explained the basic premise of an operating system, have highlighted pros and cons for each major camp, and shown how to tweak the security to close up any holes there may be.
In this final installment, we will discuss utilities for making your machine more user-friendly and customized to you. For simplicity’s sake, we will discuss only Windows – I find that most of the visual effects I will discuss are modeled on Mac OS, and most of the organizational concepts are based on Linux.
To begin, StarDock’s Object Dock (www.stardock.com) is a nice addition to your desktop. It gives quick and easy access to programs you use most. Much like the Dock incorporated into Mac OS, it allows for magnification of icons upon selection.
If your desktop is cluttered or you have a smaller screen, consider learning various commands to use in the Run dialog – for a complete list of frequently used commands.
If you use AIM, MSN Messenger (now Windows Live Messenger), Yahoo! IM or GTalk, consider using Pidgin as your IM client. This application is a free and open-source alternative to the pre-packaged clients that are standard, and as an added bonus will work on almost any protocol. You can hold one conversation with an AIM buddy, switch tabs within the window and talk to your Yahoo!-using friends. Formerly Gaim, Pidgin can be found at www.pidgin.im. Make sure you get the binary and not the source.
On a slightly different note, Google Desktop, though useful, can get in the way on occasion – the search function is very nice, but the rest of the application is mediocre at best. Instead try SideBar, also from StarDock. It provides the same sidebar that Google Desktop does, but does it well. If you crave the search functionality from Google, install only the search component of Desktop.
Do you have a list of Web sites you visit on a regular basis? Try using an RSS aggregator. RSS (which stands for Really Simple Syndication) feeds provide a quick and dirty way to preview the site’s content, and readers are built into most modern Internet browsers.
If you don’t have an RSS compatible browser, consider iGoogle (www.google.com/ig). It provides a wealth of widgets and gadgets on your homepage, and doesn’t require you to save anything locally – your homepage travels with you from place to place. You can add RSS feeds, your Gmail inbox preview, your favorite comic strips and even games, among many, many other things.
If you crave more organizational tips for your computer, visit www.lifehacker.com regularly.
