| Get green! Save a little money, save some energy |
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Want to save on electricity to save a little money and reduce your impact on the environment? You may not have an environment like a large IT shop, but that doesn't mean you can't save a little energy in your own world. It's possible by activating the Sleep or Standby features in Windows.
Standby or sleep mode is a power saving state. It basically turns off power-consuming components like the hard disks and monitor, at a specified time, which switches the computer to a low power state. While your computer sleeps, Windows saves all open documents and programs to memory. As long as your computer doesn't lose power, your work is safe. When you resume from Standby or Sleep, the system is restored to the same state it was prior to Standby or Sleep mode so all of the programs and documents that were left open before Standby occurred will be present.
By enabling the sleep or standby feature, your system will use less power when not in use, which in turn lowers your CO2 emissions.
For Windows XP:
1. Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.
2. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Screen Saver tab. Then, click the Power button.
3. In the Power Options Properties dialog box, click the Turn off monitor list, and select a time to automatically turn off your monitor.
4. Next, expand the System Standby option and select a time to put the machine on standby.
5. Click OK twice.
To manually put your PC on Standby, click the shutdown button and choose Standby.
For Vista:
1. Right-click the desktop, and then click Personalize.
2. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Screen Saver settings link. Then, choose change Power settings.
3. In the Power Options section, click the choose when to turn off display link and then set the turn off display option.
4. Next, expand the put the computer to sleep list and select a time to put the machine in sleep mode.
5. Click save changes.
To manually put your PC to sleep, click the power button and choose Sleep.
To wake your PC, press the hardware power button.
Save a little money. Use a little less energy. Let your PC sleep while you do, or while you're playing somewhere else! |
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Clean up and organize your system tray |
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The notification area on your taskbar is most commonly referred to as the "system tray". The system tray is located in the Taskbar, usually at the lower right corner of your monitor, next to the clock. It contains a collection of icons for easy access to system functions such as printers, volume control, battery status, and access to different programs that you've installed over time. Applications put icons in the system tray to indicate a status of an operation or to notify you about an event.
As more programs are installed, the system tray can become cluttered. As each icon takes up space on your taskbar, this leaves less room for your program buttons and other windows.
You can clean up this area by hiding icons that are not used often.
To organize your notification area:
Windows XP
1. Right-click the system clock, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, click Customize. If this button is not highlighted, then check the hide inactive icons first and then select Customize.
3. The Customize Notifications dialog box appears. For each icon you want to hide, click the Behavior list, and then click Always hide. For each icon you want to always show, click the Behavior list, and then click Always show.
4. Click OK twice.
Windows Vista
1. Right-click the system clock, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, click the Notification area tab.
3. Select the Customize button under icons. The Customize Notifications dialog box appears. For each icon you want to hide, click the Behavior list, and then click Always hide. For each icon you want to always show, click the Behavior list, and then click Always show.
4. Click OK twice.
Your notification area will be much less crowded, giving you more room for program buttons on your taskbar. To show the icons you have hidden, click the left arrow beside the notification area.
Less clutter, cleaner look - less stress! |
| Cool Tool of the Month T-Shirt Winner |
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 This month's Cool Tool of the Month winner is Ron Pezzillo, who gave us the Lavasoft File Shredder recommendation to help you really get rid of your files.
Congratulations Ron!
 Become the very next winner of this fine t-shirt (Click here to see it in detail) by sending us your nomination for Cool Tool of the Month. Click the link above at top left to nominate your choice. | |
Volume 1 Issue 13
Welcome to another edition of Keep Your PC Healthy.