Hey people! It's been a long time since i last posted. Perhaps, this would my last post for 2009.

Before i start on my topic, i like to thank Iitto from Jaben who enlightened me all the knowledge i need for headphones within a short period of 3 days.

Note that all headphones, In-ears and headphone amplifiers here are below SGD$ 150.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

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HEADPHONES (open) / airy or open field-like :

Grado SR-60

Alexandro MS-1

HEADPHONES (close) / dolby surround :

Portable: Audio technica ATH-SJ3 

                 Koss PORTA PRO

IEMS: Ultimate Ear - SF3

             Weststone - UM1

Remember to burn-IN your headphones and IEMS before usage to achieve its optimal performance.

Heres the web where u can download the Burn-IN playfiles. Recommend 100-300 hours with rest at intervals in between.

http://www.burninwave.com/

Posted wise cIean3rs f0r reg + disk.

And 0bj3ct d0ck pIus V1.9.

Getting windowblinds ne

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Ever wanted to give your computer a complete make over?

Here's the simple solution i found.

1. Change the "windows and buttons".

2. Get a high resolution wallpaper for your desktop.

3. Use a dock like how the Macs does. No taskbar unless it has a very nice theme.

4. Get flashy icons, which makes a big difference if browsing in a folder. 

Here are some good docks being recommended.

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Objectdock Free V1.9

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http://www.download.com/ObjectDock/3000-2072_4-10210264.html

Rocketdock

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http://rocketdock.com/download

Rk Launcher

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http://home.cogeco.ca/~rklauncher/

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Here're some webs that give some free good, high resolution desktop wallpaper.

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www.interfacelift.com

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Visit stardock for more info about customizing your pc.

Windowblinds trial v 6.3

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http://www.download.com/WindowBlinds/3000-2326_4-10026826.html

Virus i got for playing with objectdock =(.

My final desktop for now =)

I have updated 4 more downloads, namely winamp pro, ausl0gic boost speed portable, rapidshare link grabber and Intern3t d0wnload manager(I.D.M).

Note that I.D.M contains trojans of high risk! However its a must to patch for it to work. So use a virus scanner after its installation. 

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For more info on how to use RapidShare Link grabber:

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2006/10/01/how-to-use-cms-the-grabber-to-bypass-rapidshare-download-limit/

However, this empowering laptop costs S$1600-1900 only, below S$2000! 

Post in ChatBox your recommendations as well.

In reply to jo, i had made this guide to help slow users of Xp to enjoy a boost in speed.

1. Remove Annoying Delete Confirmation Messages.

Right-click on the Recycle Bin on the desktop.
Click Properties, 
Clear the ˜Display Delete Confirmation Dialog" check box and click ˜Ok".


2. Disable Indexing Services.

Go to Start
 Menu.
Click Control Panel, 
double-click Add/Remove Programs.
Click the Add/Remove Window Components, uncheck the "Indexing services" box
.


3. Off themes (Less flashy display, more performance).

Right click My Computer, click properties.
Go to Advance tab, and click settings under performance.
Check the "adjust for best performance" bullet.

Go to Run.
Type, services.msc
Find themes and set it to manual.


4. Speedup Folder Browsing.

Open My Computer, and click on Tools menu
Click on the View tab.
Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box.
Apply and click "ok".



6. Download and install CachemanXP (Cache and Memory Optimizer).
Link: http://www.outertech.com/index.php?download=28&imageField.x=25&imageField.y=5

Click Cache tab, and check CachemanXP controlled.

Click Tweaks tab, and uncheck these.  
Indexing
NTFS last access update
system restore (optional)

Extra settings
________________________
Limit reserved bandwidth=0%
Max IE connections per server=20
Show Menu Delay=100msec
Wait to kill application timeout=2sec
wait to kill service timeout= 2sec

Click Options, and uncheck "Do not use performance counters".


7. Optimise your internet connection.

Read below. December 2008 entries.
use SpeedGuide TcpOptimizer for simplicity.
Link: http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php


8. Optimise Your Pagefile.

Right click on My Computer and select Properties.
Select the Advanced tab
 under Performance.
Choose the Settings button
.
Select the Advanced tab again.
Under Virtual Memory select "Change".
Highlight the drive containing your page file and make the initial Size of the file the same as the Maximum Size of the file.
Recommended value: 2000MB, if ram is bigger than 2GB.

Download and Run PageDefrag to defrag your pagefile.
Link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897426.aspx


9. Optimise boot times.

Download and install BootVis.
Link: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/BootVis.shtml

Select trace, and click "next boot+drivers delays".
Reboot.
Select trace, and click Optimise.
Reboot. After this wait for the boot files to be laid out on disk. 
Do a disk defrag after this.


10. Disable Unnecessary Services.

Go to run, type Services.msc

Disable these by double clicking and set it to "disable" mode.
______________________________________________________________
Alerter

Clipbook

Computer Browser

Distributed Link Tracking Client

Fast User Switching

Help and Support - (If you use Windows Help and Support leave this enabled)

Indexing Service

IPSEC Services

Messenger

Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)

Portable Media Serial Number

Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)

Remote Procedure Call Locator

Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)

Remote Registry Service

Secondary Logon
Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)

Server
SSDP Discovery Service - (Unplug n Play will disable this)

Telnet

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper

Upload Manager

Universal Plug and Play Device Host

Windows Time

Wireless Zero Configuration (Do not disable if you use a wireless network)  


11. Improve Swapfile Performance (Do it when there is more than 512Mb of ram).

Go to Start then Run.
Tyoe msconfig
Click on the System.ini tab
Expand the 386enh tab by clicking on the plus sign.
Click "new".
Type this in: ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
Click "ok".


12. Close unnecessary startup programs.

Go to start then run.
Type msconfig.
Click on startup, and uncheck unnecessary programs.
For examplem quicktim3, ad0be, ja\/a.

Ever had a sudden strange message from someone on Messenger?

Click it and? you got a virus?

Here's the solution.

1.  Get Spyware Doctor Starter Edition. This set allows the removal of virus =).

http://www.download.com/Spyware-Doctor-with-AntiVirus-Starter-Edition/3000-2239_4-10816521.html?tag=mncol

Do a scan and remove those detestable virus!

For auto shutdown virus, like what i had recently, Cpggxy.dll -,-'", boot your computer to safe mode. How? Read first.

Restart your computer. While booting, press F8 continuously, till you come to a black screen.

Choose SafeMode, without network or others.

Repeat the scanning process, and restart again if required.

Once your HardDisk is virus-free, please create another partition and backup there. Have not seen any virus wiping the backup images in the second partition, where system32 is not present.

For more safety, you could use these firewalls, which i found useful.

3.  Comodo Firewall Pro 3.5.57173.439

http://www.download.com/Comodo-Firewall-Pro/3000-10435_4-10460704.html?tag=mncol

4.  Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall 4.40 

http://www.download.com/Comodo-Firewall-Pro/3000-10435_4-10460704.html?tag=mncol

5.  Zonealarm firewall free 8.0

http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/1025_update/zaSetup_en.exe

I recommend using Zonealarm, because it has a "game mode" function, that allows easy opening of ports if need for gaming. But i personally use  Comodo Firewall Pro because it has more security features.

Cablenut is a more comprehensive internet accelerator than SG TcpOptimizer.

It includes details like transmitworker, initiallargebuffer, and more, which is found in the AFD parameters. Not like SC TcpOptimizer that tweaks Tcpip parameters only.

Here's the download link.

1. http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download/fid,22416-order,4-page,1-c,internettools/download.html

Install the adjuster would be enough.




You must be surprised by now. Why is this a tweaker for Windows 2000? Not Xp?
Sadly, till today, i myself have yet to understand too.

Now, go here.
http://www.j79zlr.com/cablenutXP2k.php

Select your connection type, if not enter your MTU manually. If you're not sure whats your largest MTU, get the TCP optimizer and use it to find. Enter your connection speed as well, which's your advertised speed. For me, it's 8Mbps.

DefaultReceiveWindow, GlobalTcpMaxWindow and tcpWindowSize should be the same(RWIN).
For simplicity, here's the easy solution.

RWIN=(MTU-40) x 44 --------------->connection speed up to 2MBps
(MTU-40) x 44 x 4 ----------> connection speed 2-14MBps
(MTU-40) x 44 x 8 ----------> connection speed 8-30MBps
(MTU-40) x 44 x 16 ----------> connection speed 25-60 Mbps and beyond.

Visit this web for more information.
http://www.speedguide.net/tcpoptimizer.php

NOTE! Leave FastSendDatagramThreshold, Fat MaxFreeTcbs, MaxHashTableSize and MaxNormLookupMemory blank if you are using DSL connection. Check your modem to see if you're on DSL connection.

DefaultTLL = 36-42 would do. The recommended 128 is too big, causing delay or long loading time for internet browsers.

DisableUserTOSSettings should be zero for DefaultTOSValue to work.

TOS represents Type Of Service. According to the DiffServ values, 80 and 136 are good.

Some ISP may ban you from entering the default gateway, if your TOSValue is changed. Default is zero.

Set DefaultTOSValue to 80 for precedence over normal traffic and to have low delay, and set it to 136 for flash override settings and high throughout.

Vist here for more details.
http://www.speedguide.net/tcpoptimizer.php#advanced_qos