11-30-2009, 11:06 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-30-2009, 11:12 AM by Questioner.)
I think that the intention is to help people enjoy smoother, trouble-free computing, and I'm all for that. However, this is the kind of unorganized list that puts many people into a state of overwhelm or confusion. As someone who's been paid to write code for over 20 years now, I have some suggestions about how to make this kind of list a more valuable resource.
My top suggestion is to break things into categories with no more than ten items in each: top 8 ways to make the use of old hardware, top 10 Vista-only tips, top 9 ways to make the most of your hard disk, etc.
Almost all of these suggestions apply only to Windows. If it's possible to change the thread title, it would be useful to retitle it something like "Tips for Windows users." Tip # 86 makes almost everything else totally irrelevant, as there is no Linux registry nor any PAE switch for OS X, etc.
Some suggestions apply only to particular versions of Windows. It would be useful to indicate this more clearly, for example, with all the Vista-only tips in their own group.
Some suggestions only apply to particular hardware, such as SCSI, or systems with more than one hard drive, or more than 4 GB RAM (if so, why not run a 64 bit OS?). All the comments about using a different hard drive are irrelevant for laptop machines with just the one hard drive. Having tips for less than 1 GB and more than 4 GB of RAM in the same list forces readers to wade their way through a lot of irrelevant stuff to find a few useful items for their situation.
Some suggestions apply only to users of particular software or web sites. It would be useful to split off those suggestions to their own list.
Some of the suggestions are contradictory. For example, if you virtualize installations with Altiris SVS, then when the layer is turned off, there is nothing to clean up in the registry. But you do need to make sure the hidden installation cache directory is included in your incremental backups.
Some of the tips are suitable for novices, while others are only appropriate for well-informed experts. Some kind of indication of the level of expertise needed would help people find the tips that are most useful for them.
Some of the tips give step by step instructions, such as # 91, while many others assume that the reader knows how to do the tip or is willing to search for a tutorial.
Some of the tips have security implications, for example, disabling Vista's UAC so any program can arbitrarily grab administrative rights, can be downright dangerous.
Some of the tips only need to be done once until hardware is replaced. Some should be done daily. How are users supposed to know the difference?
If you could organize the list that way, then you could have a really useful 15 page pdf ebook or a series of articles or blog posts, guiding people through the steps that are relevant for their situation. Ideally, you'd include links to safe sites (such as cnet) to download the utilities you mentioned, with an appendix collecting all the links.
Finally, the tips together can't guarantee the outcome promised by the headline! If you have a clunky old computer, or run too many programs at once, or like to run performance-heavy programs like high-end games, CAD or media editing, all these tips together might never make your machine "blazingly fast!"
My top suggestion is to break things into categories with no more than ten items in each: top 8 ways to make the use of old hardware, top 10 Vista-only tips, top 9 ways to make the most of your hard disk, etc.
Almost all of these suggestions apply only to Windows. If it's possible to change the thread title, it would be useful to retitle it something like "Tips for Windows users." Tip # 86 makes almost everything else totally irrelevant, as there is no Linux registry nor any PAE switch for OS X, etc.
Some suggestions apply only to particular versions of Windows. It would be useful to indicate this more clearly, for example, with all the Vista-only tips in their own group.
Some suggestions only apply to particular hardware, such as SCSI, or systems with more than one hard drive, or more than 4 GB RAM (if so, why not run a 64 bit OS?). All the comments about using a different hard drive are irrelevant for laptop machines with just the one hard drive. Having tips for less than 1 GB and more than 4 GB of RAM in the same list forces readers to wade their way through a lot of irrelevant stuff to find a few useful items for their situation.
Some suggestions apply only to users of particular software or web sites. It would be useful to split off those suggestions to their own list.
Some of the suggestions are contradictory. For example, if you virtualize installations with Altiris SVS, then when the layer is turned off, there is nothing to clean up in the registry. But you do need to make sure the hidden installation cache directory is included in your incremental backups.
Some of the tips are suitable for novices, while others are only appropriate for well-informed experts. Some kind of indication of the level of expertise needed would help people find the tips that are most useful for them.
Some of the tips give step by step instructions, such as # 91, while many others assume that the reader knows how to do the tip or is willing to search for a tutorial.
Some of the tips have security implications, for example, disabling Vista's UAC so any program can arbitrarily grab administrative rights, can be downright dangerous.
Some of the tips only need to be done once until hardware is replaced. Some should be done daily. How are users supposed to know the difference?
If you could organize the list that way, then you could have a really useful 15 page pdf ebook or a series of articles or blog posts, guiding people through the steps that are relevant for their situation. Ideally, you'd include links to safe sites (such as cnet) to download the utilities you mentioned, with an appendix collecting all the links.
Finally, the tips together can't guarantee the outcome promised by the headline! If you have a clunky old computer, or run too many programs at once, or like to run performance-heavy programs like high-end games, CAD or media editing, all these tips together might never make your machine "blazingly fast!"
![[+]](https://www.bring4th.org/forums/images/collapse_collapsed.png)