tweak posts

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Windows x64

7 Taskbar Tweaker gives you more control over the Windows 7 superbar

by Lee Mathews Nov 5th 2009

The Windows 7 superbar sports some very cool improvements over the old Windows taskbar. But suppose you want to customize your taskbar a bit. Say, for example, you find the close buttons just a bit too small to be practical. What then?

Why not set your middle mouse button to close using 7 Taskbar Tweaker? By default, middle-clicking a superbar icon in Windows 7 opens a new instance of that program, the same way shift +left click does. I don't need to do that very often and holding shift really isn't an inconvenience for me.

On the flip side, I close windows and tabs from the superbar all the time. Right click -> close all windows works, but why not make use of your scroll wheel's clicking ability?

Taskbar Tweaker also allows you to change other superbar click actions. Another change I've made is swapping the default left click to open previews to cycling through windows/tabs. It's a welcome switch if your web browser happens to support per-tab thumbnails.

You can also use the app to disable thumbail previews if you choose, and the settings menu provides options to run at startup, hide the main window, and even hide the tray icon if you like keeping clutter to a minimum.

7 Taskbar Tweaker is a free download and versions are available for both 32 and 64-bit Windows 7.

Thanks for the tip, Miklos!

Tags: superbar, taskbar, tweak, windows 7, Windows7

Filed under: E-mail, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Integrated Gmail simplifies the view for minimalists and Google junkies alike

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Jul 22nd 2009

If there's a Gmail equivalent of adding a zillion toolbars to your browser, then I'm the poster boy. I've added so many lab features and gadgets that my Gmail functions rather... differently. But I'm all about simplifying, and the Firefox add-on Integrated Gmail does just that while also giving you a window into more Google services in a top-down view. The pic above shows you "minimalist" mode and is an incredibly slimmed-down version of Gmail, Reader and Calendar. Integrated Gmail also supports custom URLs and Gadgets like Remember the Milk, so you're not just stuck with Google stuff like Picasa, Notebook, etc.

Be aware that this does a lot of fancy Javascript work to make things happen, so a few Labs features will cause conflicts. I had enabled the ability to move nav columns around, which it didn't like. Also, even in settings you'll see Reader, Calendar, etc. So if you're not keen on seeing this in every single screen, you're kinda stuck with it.

That said, if you live in Gmail and you need a simplified dashboard, this is a nice little add-on to Firefox. The developer is asking for $5 donations, which is pretty reasonable for keeping your mind uncluttered.

Gallery: Integrated Gmail

Tags: add-on, browser, firefox, gadgets, gmail, interface, simplified, tweak

Filed under: OS Updates, Utilities, Features, Windows, Freeware, Lists, Windows x64

7 free Windows 7 tweaking utilities

by Lee Mathews May 29th 2009

If you're running the Windows 7 RC, chances are good that you're the kind of user that likes to monkey around with settings and tweak your OS. While you can go the DIY route and hack your registry and run your mouse ragged clicking through various control panel screens, there are a number of good, free apps available designed to simplify tweaking.

Pro tip: if you run one of these apps, use their built-in checkpoint creator before committing changes or create a system restore point yourself - just in case something goes awry.

Here are five - go ahead and add your picks in the comments if you don't see your favorite listed!

EnhanceMySe7en (pictured above) - One strike against EM7 is that you must install it. On the plus side, it's 32 and 64-bit (native). On the minus side, it uses 65Mb memory when running. On the plus side, it comes with a free frogurt!

Joking aside, EM7 is absolutely packed with options. Apart from tweaks covering every nook and cranny in Windows 7, the program also includes CCleaner-like registry and disk cleaning tools, a shortcut creator, fast access to many built-in Windows utilities, and much, much more. It's a beast.

Tags: performance, registry, tweak, tweaker, tweaking, windows-7

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Windows x64

Ultimate Windows Tweaker updated, works on Windows 7

by Lee Mathews Feb 10th 2009

WinVista Club has released an update to their Ultimate Windows Tweaker, which now features more than 150 tweaks for Vista.

Windows 7 beta testers looking to do a bit of tweaking may want to try it as well. UWT worked well on my install, apart from throwing a single error message which didn't seem to impact the changes I made anyway.

The app allows you to customize your Windows UI a number of different ways, from taskbar and start menu settings to shutdown behavior to Internet Explorer configuration. One of my favorites: adding take ownership to the right-click context menu. For a more complete look at what UWT can do, check out the tweaks page at WinVista.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker is a free download, and it's also portable. If you work on a lot of Vista machines, it's well worth copying to your USB flash drive.

Tags: performance, portable, registry, tweak, tweak-ui, tweakui, vista, windows-7

Filed under: Games, Utilities

AMD Releases Fusion for Gaming RC1

by Lee Mathews Oct 6th 2008

AMD's Fusion for Gaming tool is finally out of beta, and ready for download. So what's it all about?

Well, for starters, it's no doubt intended to create a little buzz for a platform that has taken a bit of a beating in the recent past.

Beyond that, Fusion is designed to boost performance by shutting down background processes and applications automatically before you settle in for a gaming session. While most power users already know how to do this using services.msc and other tools that ship with the OS, the average user or ~~lazy~~ efficiency-minded geek will find Fusion a very handy way to get the job done.

There really aren't any other tools out there right now that offer Fusion's one-click simplicity.

Overclocking features are built-in as well, though they'll only be available if you happen to be running a pure AMD platform (Athlon CPU and ATI video card). If you do, Fusion will automatically tweak your CPU and GPU to squeeze out a few extra ounces of gaming muscle.

Is it worth it? Try it yourself and see, you may get a few extra frames for your trouble.

Tags: amd, gaming, overclocking, tweak

Filed under: Internet, Mozilla

Eliminate the 3 second delay when installing Firefox add-ons

by Brad Linder Apr 28th 2008

If you've ever installed a Firefox add-on, you've probably encountered a pop-up window like the one pictured here, which tells you to wait a few second before hitting the install button. For a long time, we thought the delay was because Firefox was busy downloading the file, but you know what? Most Firefox extensions are tiny. It doesn't take very long to download them.

No, the delay is actually so that your computer won't wind up running arbitrary code when you click on something that you only thought was an add-on. But if you only install add-ons from trusted sites (and have a backup of your profile), you can disable the delay dialog.

All you have to do is type "about:config" into your address bar to bring up the advanced configuration screen, and search for the security.dialog_enable_delay setting. Then change the value to 0.

Again, keep in mind that Firefox implemented that delay to keep your computer safe. But if you're too busy to wait three seconds, this trick will help you regain a tiny fraction of your day.

[via Lifehacker]

Tags: add-ons, firefox, tweak

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

TweakNow: Yet another Windows XP/Vista tweaker?

by Brad Linder Apr 8th 2008

Sure, Windows tweaking applications are a dime a dozen. Cheaper really, since you can pick up a few excellent ones for free. But we're always a fan of any application that lets you customize your operating system without mucking around in the Windows registry manually. Nothing ruins your day as much as changing a few registry settings only to realize that you can't remember how to restore them when things go horribly wrong.

That's why we're pretty impressed with TweakNow, a Windows tweaking tool that gives you control over a ton of hard to find Windows settings. Probably the coolest feature of TweakNow is that the free program automatically backs up any changes you've made. So you can undo changes you've made by clicking the "Restore Now" button. The restore function isn't quite as robust as we'd like. And the program's help file helpfully includes installation instructions and a changelog. That's about it.

But TweakNow does let you do some pretty cool things like change the title bar text on Internet Explorer, show or hide Control Panel modules, hide programs from the Add/Remove Programs dialog, disable the Windows registry editor, disable prefetching, and hide drives from Windows Explorer.

TweakNow is free for home use and works with Windows XP and Vista.

[via gHacks]

Tags: tweak, tweaknow, vista, winsecret, xp

Filed under: Design, Fun, Utilities, Windows

Vista Visual Master 1.0.2: A well-crafted Vista tweaker

by Simon Kerbel Feb 25th 2008

If you enjoy being the master of your domain, you'll love Vista Visual Master 1.0.2, a freeware tweaker created by Vista123.net.

The program incorporates many of the best-loved tweaks for Vista and offers them up in a single, simple package. It's a no-brainer download.

Vista Visual Master gives you a smorgasbord of customization, including the ability to:

Remove the arrows from the shortcut icons
Show the Windows version of your desktop (who doesn't want a jumbled mass of numbers in the bottom corner of their screen?)
Change system and file icons
Change the boot and logon screens

Vista Visual Master also includes a boot screen file creator, so you can create a boot screen using any image of your choosing.

Vista Visual Master is freeware, and, ahem, Vista only.

[via Confessions of a freeware junkie]

Tags: tweak, vista, vista visual master, VistaVisualMaster

Filed under: Windows

How to disable the Windows system tray

by Brad Linder Feb 15th 2008

The Windows System tray has been with us for years. And while it's great to have quick access to some of your running programs through a tiny icon, once you've got a dozen or so of those icons running, the system tray can seriously eat into your Windows Taskbar space. Fortunately, Windows XP and Vista can dynamically resize the system tray to hide icons you're not currently using. But if you'd rather get rid of system tray altogether, here are the steps to do it (courtesy of the How-To Geek):

Open the run programs dialog box (either by hitting Win+R or finding the Run icon in the Windows Start Menu)
Type "regedit" to open the Windows Registry Editor
Find this section: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Create a new DWORD Value by right-clicking and selecting new DWORD or clicking Edit, then New, then DWORD
Name your DWORD Value NoTrayItemsDisplay
Set the value to 1

That's it. Next time you log out of Windows or reboot your system tray should be gone. All of your programs will continue to run, but you won't see any icons at the bottom right of your screen.

You can restore your system tray either by changing the value to 0 or by deleting the entry. On some systems, the entry may show up in more than one place so if at first you don't succeed, make sure to search your registry for "NoTrayItemsDisplay" to make sure you've deleted every instance.

Tags: regedit, registry-hack, system-tray, tweak

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware, Troubleshooting

EnhanceMyVista Free 1.3: Tweak your Vista installation

by Simon Kerbel Jan 22nd 2008

EnhanceMyVista is a free program that configures various settings, hidden or otherwise, in Windows Vista.

EnhanceMyVista has lots of different options, including:

Registry cleaner and defragmenter
View all running processes
Recent items cleaner: cleans recent document lists, temporary folders, recently played items in Media Player
Complete customization for your start menu, taskbar, system tray, and Windows Media Player

The program itself is very straightforward and user friendly, with a menu running across the top with the different sections to customize. The options load below as you select each section. Some of the options are reserved for the "pro" version, though the free version offers enough customization to keep you busy.

All in all, a very good tool for tweaking the hidden options and removing the unnecessary headaches of Vista.

Tags: freeware, registry cleaner, RegistryCleaner, tweak, vista

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Customize Windows settings with FreshUI

by Brad Linder Jan 21st 2008

If you're looking for an easy to use application for tweaking just about every setting you could ever want to tweak in Windows, you might want to check out Fresh UI. While Fresh UI is hardly the only game in town, this Windows tweaking tool is both powerful and easy to use. And it has features that work with pretty much every version of Windows from Windows 95 through Vista.

Fresh UI divides tweaks up into a couple of different sections, including UI tweaks, system tweaks, and hardware settings. For example, you can customize Windows folder context menus, change the layout of the Windows start menu, or change what items show up on your desktop.

You can adjust most of these settings by making registry changes or using windows tools like gpedit.msc, but Fresh UI makes it much easier to adjust hard-to-find Windows settings. And best of all, it's free.

[via Confessions of a freeware junkie]

Tags: fresh-ui, tweak

Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Apple, Freeware

LeopardMOD - tweak Leopard settings sans command line

by Todd Ritter Jan 14th 2008

LeopardMOD 2.3 (for Mac 10.5 only) provides an easy way to change some Leopard interface options without having to use the (gasp!) command terminal. The tool utilizes the tabbed look found in some Mac system pref panes, with tabs for Finder, Dock, Dashboard, Safari, and Menu Bar.

LeopardMOD lets you change the menu bar to a solid color (white or grey) instead of the Leopard default of transparent. You can disable the Dashboard, change the Dock from 3D to 2D, add Dock spacers, and change Finder window titles to display the full path of the folder instead of just the folder name.

Of course like any good system-tweaking tool, LeopardMOD provides a "Restore Defaults" option.

Tags: command line, CommandLine, leopard, modify, tweak

Filed under: Internet, Macintosh, Productivity, Apple, Search, web 2.0

How to make OS X better: taking hints from Ubuntu

by Danny Mendez Jan 2nd 2008

There's a bit of an OS fanboy in all of us, but we're not all computer programmers. So when it comes down to arguing which OS is "better," we may not always have our facts straight. Andy Matuschak, on the other hand, is an OS X fanboy with a level head on his shoulders, and he believes OS X would be much better if Apple took a few more cues from Ubuntu.

Matuschak believes an operating system is only as good as its ability to avoid or solve problems, and that's what Ubuntu's really good at. For example, in Ubuntu, if a user tries to watch a video and doesn't have the proper codec to do so, the open source OS will attempt to find and install the codec.

But there's a solution on the horizon, or Matuschak would like there to be. He believes the answer is in Spotlight, a commonly underused but very powerful OS X feature which can be adapted to be a general problem solving tool.

Coming back to the video codec problem, if the user would like to figure out what's needed to play the video file, he types the file extension into Spotlight. The service would return a variety of options including codecs and programs. The suggested codecs and programs aren't necessarily installed on the computer, but, with one (or two) clicks, the user can then install whatever programs or codecs came up as a result of the search. It's merely a concept at this point, but Matuschak would like to make it a reality. If you'd like to help him out, make sure to check out his site.

Tags: linux, Mac, mac os x, MacOsX, operating system, OperatingSystem, os x, osx, software, tweak, ubuntu

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

VistaTweaker 0.5 helps you tweak those pesky settings

by Brad Linder Oct 25th 2007

There's no shortage of tools out there for tweaking those hard to reach settings in Windows Vista. Want to disable the user account control or at least disable some of the warnings? How about disabling auto-complete in file dialogs? You could muck around in the Windows registry, or you could just check a few boxes and let someone else do the heavy lifting.

VistaTweaker 0.5 is the latest tweaking tool we've taken for a spin. It's lightweight, at just 664KB. There's also no installation required, which is always nice. And it means you can also run VistaTweaker from a flash drive. There's even a U3 setup file for installing VistaTweaker on a U3 compatible flash drive.

VistaTweaker also has one of the most complete lists of tweaks we've seen, covering everything from the Windows User Interface and Internet Explorer settings to disabling word-wrap in Notepad. And this is just version 0.5. We can't wait to see what's in store for VistaTweaker 1.0.

It doesn't look like the developer has posted the latest version on his website yet, but you can download it from Major Geeks.

[via WinBeta]

Tags: tweak, vista, vistatweaker, vistatweaker-0.5, windows-vista

Filed under: Windows, Freeware

Tweak Windows Vista with Vispa

by Brad Linder Jun 18th 2007

Want to make a few changes to Windows Vista, but don't feel like mucking around in the Windows Registry? Vispa is a free executable (no installation required) that lets you make a whole slew of modifications to Windows Vista's appearance and behavior.

For example, you can easily convert your start menu and theme to Windows Classic, (which you could also do through the control panel), or you can enable "fast shutdown," which basically changes some windows registry settings to decrease the amount of time Windows will wait for unresponsive services to terminate before shutting down.

Vispa has a strong focus on privacy, allowing you to disable error-reporting, automatic updates, and other communications with Microsoft.

When you start Vispa, it also gives you the option of undoing all of your previous changes. If you've already manually changed some of the settings included in Vispa, you might want to be careful about choosing the restore option, as it might undo those changes as well.

[via CyberNet]

Tags: tweak, vispa, vista, windows vista, WindowsVista

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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tweak posts

7 Taskbar Tweaker gives you more control over the Windows 7 superbar