Blast with da Booz

Friday, March 27, 2009

Tips on Upgrading a Motherboard

March 24, 2009
-By Joel Durham Jr.

30 Tips on Upgrading a Motherboard

Discuss this now (13 posts)

it comes time to pull a motherboard out of a working system and replace it with something different.

when you think you're all done, you still have to coax Windows through the trauma of waking up with new hardware.

share our very best hints on swapping out a motherboard

Now, remember—this is a series of tips, not a step by step how-to. Don't expect a full-on motherboard installation manual; instead, use the manual that comes with your motherboard, and use our tips to make the job even easier.

Preparing Windows for the Inevitable Freak-out
The first step in motherboard replacement is to prepare the operating system, and since most of the world runs on Windows, we'll concentrate on that. Before you even think about pulling the board out of the case:

Anti-cancer benefits of fruit and veg

clipped from www.independent.co.uk

Fruit and vegetables are known to have high levels of salicylates, which are also the active anti-inflammatory ingredient of aspirin. Vegetarians meanwhile are known to have low rates of cancer, as well as having higher levels of salicylates in their bodies.

many herbs and spices are also especially rich in salicylates. This could explain international differences in cancer rates

Salicylates, first identified in strawberries at the beginning of the 20th century, have been found to occur naturally in a wide range of plants.

Most medical authorities have said for 20 years that it is the antioxidants in fruit and vegetables that account for their protective effects. It leads us to wonder if the beneficial effects of fruit and vegetables are because of the salicylates they contain

‘Man caves' a sanctuary for the manly man

‘Man caves' a sanctuary for the testosterone set - Catholic Online

Before setting foot in a so-called "man cave," it's always best to be aware of the cave-dweller's rules. Just ask "Chicago" Joe Hofman.

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The San Ramon, Calif., resident maintains a stringent decorum in his special room _ one brimming with movie posters and sports memorabilia, neon signage, a teeth-rattling 1,200-watt sound system, two arcade games and a hideous mounted fish.

It's essential, Hofman insists, that visitors be prepared to chill out and leave "life's B.S." at the door, and, at all times, respect the sanctity of the man cave.

"My wife knows the rules," he says. "There are certain things that we simply won't discuss in the man cave. It's like a shrine. It's like not talking in church."

For the uninitiated, a man cave _ aka man room, mantuary _ is a space specifically reserved for the male member of the family. Whether it's a loft, a basement, a converted garage or shed, it serves as a safe haven where he can escape the manly pressures of the world to engage in manly hobbies, store his manly collectibles and guzzle a manly beverage.

The man-cave dweller can go there either to be alone with his thoughts, or to hang with his buds, usually doing so without fear of female reprisal. Think of it as a grown-up version of the treehouse or fort.

"For me, it's mostly about control," says Robert Lee, whose suburban man cave in Fremont, Calif., is stocked with, among other things, John Wayne lobby cards, "Star Trek" action figures and a "Batman" graphic novel library. "You want to feel like you have control over at least one piece of your life. You want a place to call your own."

The concept apparently is growing in appeal. According to a survey by ServiceMagic.com, 40 percent of the respondents said there is a man cave in their home. Another 13 percent said their cave is in the planning or construction stages.

There's even a weekly television show on the DIY network called "Man Caves." Hosted by licensed contractor Jason Cameron and former NFL star Tony Siragusa, the program dispatches work crews into residences to create the "ultimate guy hangouts."

"The majority of our clients talk about how they feel that the house isn't really theirs," says Cameron. "They gave the OK and agreed to certain things (in the design and decor) just to cooperate and go along with their wives. Now they want their own space."

Cameron says that most of the projects on the show actually are initiated with calls from wives who "feel guilty" because they've taken over so much of the house.

"But some of them have a hard time removing themselves from the process," he says. "They want to pick the colors and to have input on the design. We have to tell them: No doilies. No scented candles."

On the other hand, officially sanctioned provisions are limited only by the imagination and budgetary concerns. At bare minimum, the typical list of manly must-haves contains a cushy recliner, a stereo, a cooler/refrigerator and, of course, man's best friend _ the awe-inspiring flat-screen television.

Man-cave themes can also vary widely. For example, Jeff Von Ward of Pinole Valley, Calif., set up his garage to resemble a classic arcade hall with 50 "old-school" games including Asteroids, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. Music buff John Mulford of Concord, Calif., has a room he calls "the hole" filled with rock 'n' roll memorabilia, a huge vinyl record collection and vintage guitars.

But Dave Baker decided to stick with the ever-popular sports theme. When he and his wife, Marcy, moved into their Dublin, Calif., home a couple of years ago, Dave, a passionate Raiders fan, immediately claimed the garage as his own and had it painted silver and black. Then came the guy-centric decor: hordes of sports paraphernalia including several keepsakes from his youth-league days.

"It's like taking a trip down memory lane when I go in there," Dave says. "It's a comfortable place to be."

And sometimes a loud place. The Baker man cave has been the site of raucous Super Bowl and Cinco de Mayo blowouts, during which patrons (including women) are urged to dance, drink and sign a wall of multicolored graffiti. Notes Dave, "It's not uncommon for the man cave to be open for business until 3 a.m. on weekends."

Asked why it was so important for her husband to have such a lair, Marcy just smiles and shakes her head.

"I'm not sure. Maybe to show off to his friends, or to show them up," she says. "All I know is that we have a lot of guys who have been in there who are now starting to clean out their own garages."

Ah, yes, the humble garage. Remember when it was a place mostly used to keep your tools, store holiday decorations and occasionally park the car? Try telling that to Lafayette resident Terry Engel, who has turned his four-car, 900-square-foot garage into an eye-popping old-style saloon and casino.

It all started about two years ago when Engel, who along with his wife, Nancy, is an antiques buff, thought it would be cool to create a "fun little room" to serve as his special getaway.

That led to the acquisition of an 1890s-era bar. Later came a 1942 Wurlitzer jukebox. Then some antique slot machines, poker tables, a 1953 phone booth, a 1920s popcorn machine and much more.

About the only modern amenities in his retreat are two elevated high-definition TVs, usually tuned to ESPN, of course.

"I really had no plan when we started, but it just kept growing and growing," Engel says. "I never imagined it would get to this point."

Now, he presides over one of the glitziest garages you'll ever see. It's so tricked-out "" and so dazzling and inviting "" that Engel often goes through long evening stretches during which he rarely enters the actual house.

"Once in a while I might stroll into the kitchen to toss a dirty dish into the dishwasher," he says. "And sometimes that's about it."

Spoken like a man-cave dweller about to go into hibernation.

Firefox tweaks that will double your browser speed

A handful of Firefox tweaks that will double your browser speed

Firefox users take note: You need to do this. Now. As in, this instant. More savvy users are probably already familiar with editing Firefox’s configuration file but whether you’re a computer rookie or a seasoned veteran, Gnoted has issued a handful of tweaks that really get Firefox cooking. As much as we all love the fox, it can get a bit slow on occasion - especially if you’re like us and have 35 open tabs spread across four windows at any given time. By tweaking the way Firefox handles some caching functions, you can dramatically improve page load speed and even prevent Firefox from hogging your system resources while minimized. If you don’t currently have any experience playing with your configuration file, don’t be scared. Just follow the simple instructions, take your time and if you want a security blanket to squeeze, jot down each setting before you change it so you can always restore the default configuration if need be. So without further ado, hit the jump and get tweaking - just remember to restart Firefox when you’re done.
Reduce the amount of RAM Firefox uses for its cache feature

1. Type “about:config” (no quotes) in the adress bar in the browser.
2. Find “browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewer”
3. Set it’s value to “0“;(Zero)
Increase the Speed at Which Firefox loads pages

1. Type “about:config” into the address bar and hit Enter.
(Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.)

2. Alter the entries as follows:
Set “network.http.pipelining” to “true”
Set “network.http.proxy.pipelining” to “true”
Set “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” to some number like 10.

This means it will make 10 requests at once.

3. Lastly, right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0“;.(Zero)

This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives. If you’re using a broadband connection you’ll load pages faster now.
Optionally (for even faster web browsing) here are some more options for your about:config (you might have to create some of these entries by Right Click –> New– > Interger or String

network.dns.disableIPv6: set “false”
“content.notify.backoffcount”: set “5“; (Five)
“plugin.expose_full_path”: set “true”.
“ui.submenuDelay”: set “0; (zero)
Reduce RAM usage to 10MB when Firefox is minimized:

This little hack will drop Firefox’s RAM usage down to 10 Mb when minimized:

1. Open Firefox and go to the Address Bar. Type in about:config and then press Enter.
2. Right Click in the page and select New -> Boolean.
3. In the box that pops up enter “config.trim_on_minimize”. Press Enter.
4. Now select True and then press Enter.
5. Restart Firefox.