Washington - Thinking of trying Linux? If you are, you'll quickly discover that there are dozens of different distributions - or "distros" - of the operating system floating around on the internet. Which should you choose? These days, the consensus favourite for easiest to set up is Ubuntu. Based on the stable Debian distro, Ubuntu comes with most drivers and productivity applications that you'll need to start working right away. --------
Washington - Want to eke more battery life out of your notebook? Turn down the brightness level of the unit's LCD monitor. Typically there's a button dedicated to this function on the laptop. Keep the monitor as dim as possible, and for the longest battery life, establish an aggressive power-saving scheme that turns off the display after a brief period of inactivity.
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Washington - One of the most frequently used Windows applications - Windows Explorer - is also one of the easiest to access. Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and tap the letter E. Windows Explorer will open in a snap. This trick works in all current versions of Windows, from XP to Windows 7.
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Washington - Have an extra flash drive sitting around? If you are using Windows Vista, you can put it to good use by plugging it in and letting the operating system use it as additional memory. When you insert the drive, the AutoPlay window should appear. Click "Speed up my system using Windows ReadyBoost" to get started.
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Washington - Notebook computer users too often fail to backup their hard drives, leaving them vulnerable to data loss should a hard drive crash. To be fair, it's often more difficult to back up a notebook computer because the unit is so often mobile, not connected to an external storage device onto which files can be copied. So do yourself a favour, and carry a large flash drive or portable external drive along with the notebook. Plug it in and back up your notebook whenever possible.
