Archive for May, 2008
Take a look at the The first alpha release of Thunderbird 3, the open source mail client built on the Gecko rendering engine which is now open for developer preview. The Mozilla Messaging team has named this release “Shredder a”1 to signify that this release is early, buggy and should NOT be used in a production environment.
Thunderbird development community aims to release the first alpha of Thunderbird 3 next month. Plans began to take shape yesterday during the very first Thunderbird weekly status call meeting, at which developers discussed potential features and other issues of relevance. Early plans for Thunderbird 3 first emerged last month when the Mozilla Foundation announced the official launch of Mozilla Messaging, a new subsidiary that will focus on communication software. This alpha release is primarily intended to let Thunderbird fans know that the project is alive and well and the team is working hard on the next version of the open source
e-mail client. Shredder Alpha 1 builds on the Gecko 1.9 platform which also provides the underpinnings for Firefox 3. The primary goal of the recently released alpha version is to discover to what extent the platform will cooperate gracefully with Thunderbird. Thunderbird 3 will use Gecko 1.9, a new version of the rendering engine that serves as the foundation for the Mozilla platform. Gecko 1.9, which has also been instrumental in the making of Firefox 3, offers a number of very significant improvements, including a new Cairo-based rendering backend and support for JavaScript 1.8. Improving the Thunderbird user interface is another very high priority for version 3.
Plans include a visual refresh and refactoring the configuration interface to improve basic usability and support for calendaring are the two killer features that will make Thunderbird a success. Resolving usability problems with the configuration system is one way that he thinks Thunderbird could be made more accommodating for new users.
The most interesting-looking feature that is part of this alpha release is the ability to open messages in tabs, which looks like a fantastic way to keep frequently needed messages easily at hand. There are some other new enhancements, too, like a new add-ons manager similar to the one found in Firefox 3, and a much-improved search tool for finding text within messages.
Again, be aware that this is a developer preview and is certainly not ready for prime time. If you feel ready to give the newest alpha a try, you can download it for your platform of choice here.
Windows Vista has additional features that helps to speedup the system load without adding more memory to the system. Upgrading memory can be difficult and costly, and some machines have limited memory expansion capabilities, making it impossible to add RAM. Windows Vista introduces Windows ReadyBoost, a new concept in adding memory to a system. You can use non-volatile flash memory, such as that on a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, to improve performance without having to add additional memory. Windows ReadyBoost relies on the intelligent memory management of Windows SuperFetch and can significantly improve system responsiveness.
Windows SuperFetch enables programs and files to load much faster than they would it also monitors which applications you use the most and preloads these into your system memory so they’ll be ready when you need them.
In order for ReadyBoost to function properly, you will need at least a 64MB Hi-Speed USB flash drive that exceeds 3.5MB/s for 4KB random reads and 2.5MB/s for 512KB random writes uniformly across the device. You will get more benefits from this if the capacity and small file size speeds excel the baseline requirements.
Although the actual performance increase by using ReadyBoost is minimal, you may still want to try to activate ReadyBoost to see if it helps and boosts your system speed or not. However, not all flash device are compatible and can be used to Ready Boost. To make it possible for normal usb drive to take advantage of Windows Vista ReadyBoost Technology, some modification to need to be done with the registry. Follow this step : -
- Go to Start | Run.
- Type in ‘regedit’ (without the inverted commas) and press enter.
- When a prompt by the User Account Control is displayed, click on ‘Continue’.
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\EMDMgmt key.
- Find out the sub key for the USB stick.
- Double click on the ‘DEVICE STATUS’ DWORD value and modify it to ‘2′.
- Click on OK.
- Now, change DWORD values of ‘ReadSpeedKBs’ and ‘WriteSpeedKBs’ to ‘1000′.
- Finally, close the Registry Editor.
Now just insert your USB stick into the USB port and wait for the Auto-Play Dialog box to open. Click on the “Speed Up my system” button and configure it.
Have fun.
Editing sysctl.conf in your linux can improve your internet connection and maximize your bandwidth. This work with all current linux operating systems including Ubuntu:
first open a Terminal via Applications->Accessories->Terminal
sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.conf
Then Paste the Following at the end of the file:
# increase TCP max buffer size setable using setsockopt()
net.core.rmem_max = 16777216
net.core.wmem_max = 16777216
# increase Linux autotuning TCP buffer limits
# min, default, and max number of bytes to use
# set max to at least 4MB, or higher if you use very high BDP paths
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 16777216
net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 65536 16777216
# don't cache ssthresh from previous connection
net.ipv4.tcp_no_metrics_save = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_moderate_rcvbuf = 1
# recommended to increase this for 1000 BT or higher
net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 2500
# for 10 GigE, use this, uncomment below
# net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 30000
# Turn off timestamps if you're on a gigabit or very busy network
# Having it off is one less thing the IP stack needs to work on
#net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 0
# disable tcp selective acknowledgements.
net.ipv4.tcp_sack = 0
#enable window scaling
net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 1
Press Ctrl-S To save then alt-F4 to exit and then type:
sudo sysctl -p
That’s should do it.
source : http://www.ubuntu-unleashed.com
It takes just 2 clicks two tweak your windows vista to your needs. WinBubbles will help you to customize and tweak your Windows Vista easily. Its features cover Customization, Security and Optimization. It will let you change just about every part of the operating system you can imagine.
WinBubble enables you to customize and tweak several Vista features, in particular the Bubbles screensaver, which cannot be customized from the screen saver settings dialog. With WinBubble, you can choose the type of bubbles and their size and optionally add a drop shadow effect. The program also allows you to customize the Ribbon and Mystify screensavers, as well as shortcut icons, OEM information and the OEM logo.
In addition to the visual tweaking features, WinBubble enables you to set a variety of security restrictions, such as disabling Taskmanager and Control Panel, hiding drives and disabling of Internet Explorer features among other things. It also allows you to activate a hidden Aurora boot screen in Vista.
There’s plenty more, including hacking the Desktop and Internet Explorer, customizing all your icons, removing the shortcut arrow from shortcut icons, and plenty more. In fact, it’s hard to find something that this remarkable tweaking program can’t do. Whether you’re a dedicated Vista tweaker, or just getting started, there’s something here for you.
Latest WinBubble 1.72 can be found here

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