Technical Stuff
THE MYSTERIOUS WINDOWS KEY
Do you have that Windows key or on your keyboard? You know, the one that looks like the Microsoft Windows Logo? Chances are if you've purchased a computer or keyboard in the last 4 years, you do. You've been wondering what magic powers it holds. All it seems to do is push the start menu. Boring! Well, try these shortcuts on for size:
- Windows + E: Launches Explorer
- Windows + F: Launches Find File
- Windows + D: Minimizes Current Window
- Windows + M: Minimizes Current Window
- Windows + R: Run Dialog (Run a program)
- Windows + L: Log Off (Network)
- Windows + Tab: Kind of like the ALT + TAB combination, but lets you scroll through running programs in the task bar.
HOW TO ENSURE BETTER INTERNET CONNECTIVITY
The Internet's unbroken growth can occasionally cause some nasty connectivity problems. The problem could be identified as hosts sending out IP packets with too small initial TTL (Time to Live) values. Worst case maximum hop counts of up to 40 can be observed. TCP and UDP initial TTL values should be set to a "safe" value of at least 60. Windows 95 defaults to a value of 32 for both TCP_ttl and UDP_ttl. How to modify it:
- Go to "Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP"
- Select Edit, New
- Add a String format Value with the Name "DefaultTTL" and assign the value "64" to it.
- Done.
Reference Source: www.switch.ch/docs/ttl_default.htm
Submitted by Arnim Noeldechen, Arnim_Noeldechen@compuserve.com
THE GOOD OL' SHIFT KEY
Did you know that just about every function from a mouse click to hitting enter has another function when you hit shift along with it?
Here are some good examples:
- If you hold shift when booting Windows, none of the startup items load.
- If you hit shift and enter when in a text box, it will advance to the next line rather than hitting the OK (or default) button.
- If you hit shift and select the Restart Computer button (Start | Shut Down) windows will restart and not the whole boot process for the computer.
The possibilities are endless -- you can experiment and see what happens.
