Are you tired of Vista’s Aero theme?

If so, then you should start using custom themes in Windows Vista. Unfortunately Windows Vista doesn’t provide any straight forward way to use custom themes. 

Option 1

In order to use third party custom themes in Vista  you will have to do a hack by patching the three system files viz, uxtheme.dll, shsvcs.dll and themeui.dll. These 3 theme files reside in %systemroot%\System32 folder. Fortunately you don’t have to do the patch yourself. It has already been patched and can be downloaded from the link below:-

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Windows Vista has numerous ways to launch an application. Here are some of the ways to launch an application in Vista:-

• Double-click on a program icon in Explorer, on the Desktop.
• Double-click on a file associated with an application to launch that application and open the file.
• Pick the name of a program from the Start menu.
• Click on a program’s icon in the Quick Launch Toolbar to start it
• Right-click on a file, executable, or application icon and choose Open.
• Select (highlight) an icon and press the Enter key.
• Type the filename of a program in the Address Bar, which is displayed above the toolbar in any folder window, in Explorer, in Internet Explorer, or even as part of the Taskbar. You may also have to include the path (the folder and drive names) for some items.
• Type in the filename of a program from the Start Search box and press Enter. You may also have to include the path (the folder and drive names) for some items.
• Type in the first few letters or the entire name of a program (not necessarily the filename) in the Start Search box, choose the program you want to run from the list that appears, and press Enter. For example, if you wanted to run Microsoft Word, you could type Word, then select the Microsoft Word icon and press Enter.
• Open a Command Prompt window and type the name of the program at the prompt.
• Create shortcuts to files or applications. A shortcut is a kind of pointer or linka small file and associated icon that point to a file or program in another location. You can put these shortcuts on the Desktop, in the Start menu, or anywhere else you find convenient. Double-click on a shortcut to launch the program. To launch programs automatically at startup, just place a shortcut in your Startup folder (C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp).

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If you are looking to increase your Windows Vista SATA Disk Drive Performance you can definitely do so. What your first step is in doing so is setting up your write caching. But keep in mind as you do that there is a risk of data loss and corruption in the event of a power loss. This loss is only significant in a personal computer, the risk is a lot less in a lap top because, it runs on batteries.

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If you are looking to speed up your Vista Start Menu searching methods then you can try this. Go to your Start Menu and narrow down the scope of the search. In other words try to narrow down what you are looking for. Instead of a general term use something more specific. There are two ways in which you can do this.

The first way is called the Registry hack and for that this is what you have to do.

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You can set up your computer to log on automatically at startup even if it has more than one account or if your account is password-protected. You may like automatic logon if you’re the main user but sometimes others log on, or if you keep your own separate accounts for different tasks.

To log on automatically at startup:

1. Choose Start, type control userpasswords2 in the Search box, and then press Enter.
or
If you’re connected to a network domain, choose Start > Control Panel > User Accounts >Advanced Options. If a security prompt appears, type an administrator password or confirm the action.

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If you were raised on IBM 84-key, nonstandard laptop, or ergonomic keyboards, you may be near madness from the placement of the Caps Lock, Ctrl, and Windows logo keys on stan-
dard 102-key keyboards.

PC Magazine’s TradeKeys utility ($8 U.S.; www.pcmag.com) lets you change, swap, or disable keyboard keys (including modifier keys) in almost any way. Different users can switch among
different mappings quickly.

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The world’s major print newspapers have also launched online editions that you can browse for free. Many ask you to fill out a free registration form so the site can harvest a little demographic data for its advertisers. Other newspapers try to make a few bucks by charging for online articles, either by monthly subscription or per article. For example, a number of newspapers let you read breaking news for free, but make you pay for archived articles more than, say, a week old. News sites like Google and Yahoo News frequently link to articles on newspaper sites. If you hit a for-pay site, use your Back button and try another link. You can usually find the same article for free from another paper’s site.

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There are a variety of News sites offering plethora of news on any subject under the sun. Among them Google and Yahoo are topmost.  These sites let you peruse headlines from hundreds of news organizations at once. Broadcasters like the BBC and CNN have also created Web sites, making text versions of their storiesalong with photos, audio, and videoavail-able online. 

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