Many Firefox users notice that the open source browser can take a lot of memory, sometimes several hundreds of mega bytes. Fortunately Firefox lets you control to some extent how much memory it will consume.

To set the configurations you’ll need to edit Firefox settings. To do that you’ll need to type about:config in the address bar and edit the keys we’ll discuss in this article.

Cached Pages
When a page is loaded, it can be cached so it doesn’t need to be rerendered to be redisplayed. As a default Firefox will set the amount of cache memory according to the total amount of RAM your system got. The problem with that is that these values are per tab, so the more tabs you’ve got opened the more memory Firefox cache takes.

The config parameter is browser.cache.memory.capacity and you can set it to the number of KB you want let Firefox use for cache. Value of 0 will tell Firefox not to use any memory for cache. Note that the parameter browser.cache.memory.enable has to be true

The default value is -1 where Firefox will set the memory usage according to the following values

In Firefox 2 these defaults will change to the following:

To view current memory cache usage, type about:cache?device=memory in the address bar

Pages Stored In Memory

Pages that are visited are stored in memory in such a way that they don’t have to be re-parsed. Although it sounds like cache this is different from the cache. This setting improves performance of Firefox when pressing Back and Forward buttons.

The setting key to control this behavior is: browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers. The default value is -1 where Firefox use the following settings based on the amount of memory your system has.

This preference limits the maximum number of pages stored in memory. Setting the value to 0 do not store any pages in memory.

Let Windows claim back memory
On Windows operating systems, when a program is minimized and left for a period of time, Windows will reclaim the memory the program used in anticipation that other programs might need it. Because of the way Mozilla applications are stored in memory, Windows is much more aggressive in reclaiming the memory they use, which can cause a delay when the program is restored. This preference determines whether to allow Windows to reclaim memory from a minimized Mozilla application.

Firefox’s default setting prevents Windows from reclaiming memory when the program is minimized.

To change this settings you’ll need to change or create the key config.trim_on_minimize and set it to true or false. True - allows Windows to reclaim back the memory and false (default) prevents Windows from doing that.

Note: Changing Firefox’s settings may not be enough to stop it from taking too much memory, plugins can also be a big factor in memory consumption.

Notebook computers are now a part of modern life. They can be found in offices, schools and homes across the country. There are tens of millions of portable computers in use. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is aware of at least 47 incidents involving smoke or fire associated with notebook computers, from January 2001 through August 2006. To promote safe use of notebook computers, batteries and chargers, CPSC offers the following tips:

• Do not use incompatible computer batteries and chargers. If unsure about whether a replacement battery or charger is compatible, contact the product manufacturer.
• Computer batteries can get hot during normal use. Do not use your computer on your lap.
• Do not use your computer on soft surfaces, such as a sofa, bed or carpet, because it can restrict airflow and cause overheating.
• Do not permit a loose battery to come in contact with metal objects, such as coins, keys or jewelry.
• Do not crush, puncture or put a high degree of pressure on the battery as this can cause an internal short-circuit, resulting in overheating.
• Avoid dropping or bumping the computer. Dropping it, especially on a hard surface, can potentially cause damage to the computer and battery. If you suspect damage contact the manufacturer.
• Do not place the computer in areas that may get very hot.
• Do not get your computer or battery wet. Even though they will dry and appear to operate normally, the circuitry could slowly corrode and pose a safety hazard.
• Follow battery usage, storage and charging guidelines found in the user’s guide.

If you have SP2 installed already, there is an easy way to enable access to all files and folders in the Recovery Console. This requires the user to modify a setting using the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).

1) Start>Run>gpedit.msc

2) Once the GPE console opens, expand Computer Configuration by clicking on the + sign left of it.

3) Expand the Windows Settings folder by clicking the + sign left of that.

4) Expand the Local Policies folder by clicking the + sign left of that.

5) Click on the Security Options folder. A long list of configurable options comes up in the window pane to the right.

6) Scroll down until you find:: Recovery Console: Allow floppy copy and access to all drives and folders.

7) Right click on it and select Properties, which appears in bold.

Click on the Enabled radio button.

9) Hit OK.

10) Reboot.

Congratulations, you can now access all files and folders on the system, and you can copy to/from floppy drives all while inside the Recovery Console.

Strict warning to anyone messing about in the gpedit.msc: You can totally screw up your Windows install if you change options in there without knowing what you are doing. CHANGE SETTINGS IN THERE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Also, there is an option above that, called Automatic Administration Logon that will automatically store and log in the Administrator account information when you try to log into the Recovery Console. Very useful in situations like this. Just enable it, and you aren’t bothered with trying to remember the admin password credentials, Windows will automatically log into the Recovery Console for you with this option enabled.

Thanks for thejynxed from the forum for this tip

If you are a java programmer you probably know the Ant build tool. However creating an Ant build script can be very complicated, and hard to maintain. The apache group recently released a new build tool called Maven (which is now in version 2), and it makes the build scripts very easy to create.

Maven is a software project management and comprehension tool. Based on the concept of a project object model (POM), Maven can manage a project’s build, reporting and documentation from a central piece of information.

Indeed getting started with Maven is pretty strait forward, however if you are working in a corporate network and behind a firewall this simple step of configuring maven to use the corporate proxy will save you a lot of time and aggravation.

Edit your maven configuration file settings.xml under maven-2.0.x/conf

Now we need to configure a proxy. In the settings.xml file find the element and add the following child element under it:


<proxy>
   <id>myproxy</id>
   <active>true</active>
   <protocol>http</protocol>
   <host>proxy.yourcompanydomain.com</host>
   <port>80</port>
   <nonproxyhosts>localhost|158.187.*</nonproxyhosts>
</proxy>


Note the <nonProxyHosts> element. This element is needed to bypass proxy for local network access, such as for working with local corporate repository

The recovery console is used to troubleshoot and repair damaged Windows installation.

Many users are not aware that when working with the recovery console, although it looks like a regular command prompt, you actually have a different set of commands that you can use than the regular command prompt.

Also your disk access is restricted to the Windows folder and to the root folder of your hard drive ( you still have access to the floppy drive, if you have one)

Here are the recovery console list of commands.

• Attrib - Changes the attributes of a file or directory.
• Batch - Executes the commands specified in the text file.
• Bootcfg - Boot file (boot.ini) configuration and recovery.
• ChDir (Cd) - Displays the name of the current directory or changes the current directory.
• Chkdsk - Checks a disk and displays a status report.
• Cls - Clears the screen.
• Copy - Copies a single file to another location.
• Delete (Del) - Deletes one or more files.
• Dir - Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.
• Disable - Disables a system service or a device driver.
• Diskpart - Manages partitions on your hard drives.
• Enable - Starts or enables a system service or a device driver.
• Exit - Exits the Recovery Console and restarts your computer.
• Expand - Extracts a file from a compressed file.
• Fixboot - Writes a new partition boot sector onto the specified partition.
• Fixmbr - Repairs the master boot record of the specified disk.
• Format - Formats a disk.
• Help - Displays a list of the commands you can use in the Recovery Console.
• Listsvc - services and drivers available on the computer.
• Logon - Logs on to a Windows installation.
• Map - Displays the drive letter mappings.
• Mkdir (Md) - Creates a directory.
• More - Displays a text file.
• Net Use - Connects a network share to a drive letter.
• Rename (Ren) - Renames a single file.
• Rmdir (Rd) - Deletes a directory.
• Set - Displays and sets environment variables.
• Systemroot - Sets the current directory to the systemroot directory of the system you are currently logged on to.
• Type - Displays a text file.

Related: Add The Recovery Console To Windows Boot Menu

Sometimes installation programs get corrupted and it makes removing the installed application difficult. However if you are not able to remove or uninstall an application in Windows XP using either the Uninstall option or the Add/Remove Programs tool, Mircosoft has a nifty utility called Windows Installer CleanUp Utility.

If you installed an application that uses Windows Installer, Windows Installer CleanUp Utility can remove all the files, folders, registry keys, and entries from your system.

Download Windows Installer CleanUp Utility

Negotiating or renegotiating your salary is, to say the least, a delicate dance. You want the folks that control the purse strings to show you the money, and if your workplace is like most, they’d rather keep it in their seemingly gold-lined coffers.

Your company might be willing to bend a little, but will avoid disclosing how much from the outset. You’re worried about asking for too much, thus seeming presumptuous; but if you ask for too little, you may be selling yourself short.

But it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. With a little bit of preparation, advice from bosses and experts, and that old fallback, common sense, you’d be surprised to find income negotiation wiggle room where it might have seemed impossible.

eWEEK rounds up tips from pros about when to negotiate or renegotiate, how to prepare yourself, what to never do and even when to fold your cards. But, with good preparation, that should be a lot less likely.

Alternate Data Streams is used by recently discovered Rootkit to hide itself from the being discovered. By using Alternate Data Streams you can totally hide files from the user and from Anti-Virus applications

What is an alternate data stream (ADS)?
In NTFS, a file consists of different data streams. One stream holds the security information (access rights and such things), another one holds the “real data” you expect to be in a file. There may be another stream with link information instead of the real data stream, if the file actually is a link. And there may be alternate data streams, holding data the same way the standard data stream does.

heysoft.de published a page called: FAQ: Alternate Data Streams in NTFS which gives you all the information about Alternate Data Streams.

Do you know about RoamDrive ?

RoamDrive is a great application that permits you to upload whatever data you want in the free store space on one of your webmail accounts. You can choose between GMail (about 2700MB actually), Hotmail (non-paying up to 250MB & paying up to 2GB),MSN (paying up to 2GB) and (maybe) Yahoo! Mail soon.

It acts exactly like a Hard Disk Drive. You can simply Drag&Drop files or folder from your computer in the application window. RoamDrive will just compress it and then upload it directly on your webmail account.

You will be able to access you file on any computer you want in the world : just install RoamDrive on it and then connect to your account.

The difference between RoamDrive and GMail Drive is that RoamDrive,allows you to upload files greater in size than 10MB, and you are not limited to file names of 40 characters maximum. It is free, there is no adware in it and the minimum system requirements you will need to meet are any version of Windows XP and the Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1. Actually it is a beta version.

You can learn more and download it by checking their website here : RoamDrive beta.

Working regularly on at least 4 computers (at home and work), synchronizing the passwords, extensions and bookmarks between them is a daunting task. However there are 3 extensions that help you manage this task

Google Browser Sync for Firefox is an extension that continuously synchronizes your browser settings – including bookmarks, history, persistent cookies, and saved passwords – across your computers. It also allows you to restore open tabs and windows across different machines and browser sessions.

Firefox Extension Backup Extension allows you to quickly and easily backup your Firefox extensions. In fact, it goes beyond just backing up — It will actually rebuild your extensions individually into installable .xpi files. Now you can easily synchronize your office and home browsers.

FEBE backs up your extensions, themes, and (optionally) your bookmarks, preferences and cookies.

Another great extension is Compact Library Extension Organizer. CLEO is a Firefox extension that works with FEBE to package any number of extensions/themes into a single, installable .xpi file.

(Thanks for Blot for the heads up on the last two)

For more powerfuls extension check out our Most Useful Firefox Extensions page

If you are working with the command prompt with Windows XP, you probably need to copy and paste text and commands from previous lines. In Windows XP the copy and paste operation are done by right click and selecting the mark, copy or paste menu options.

Users who use older versions of Windows, such as Windows 2000, know that in previous versions you could immediately mark a text without having to select the Mark item menu, and pasting was as easy as right click (again no need to select from a menu).

Well fortunately you can still use this quick edit mode in Windows XP. To enable Quick edit mode follow these steps:

• Click on the top left corner of your command prompt windows (on the C:\ icon )
• In the popup menu select Properties
• In the Options Tab Check the box that says QuickEdit Mode
• Click OK, and apply this setting to the current windows or to all the windows when asked

If you use a local network and share folders over the network you probably want to be able to find out what files are opened and who is using them.

Although Windows XP does not come with a nice GUI application to show you that it does bundle a little know command line application that goes by the name Openfiles.exe

To use this program go to Start->Run and type cmd

Now in the command prompt window type Openfiles [/parameter]

where /parameter is one of three settings that you can use to configure Openfiles:

• /Disconnect: Disconnects one or more open files.
• /Query: Displays files opened locally or from shared folders.
• /Local: Enables/disables the display of local open files.

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