I discovered a new detail that was shown to me by a friend and it seems to be a surprisingly helpful trick. It makes Windows run a little faster by hitting the network less frequently. I still need to do more empirical testing with this but it's worth showing since it is so simple. This works in Windows XP.

1. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer
2. From the menu select "Tools...Folder Options"
3. Click the "View" tab
4. Uncheck the top option labelled "Automatically search for network folders and printers"
5. Click "OK"

Now, opening a window that sees the network will be faster as the contents will be shown without waiting for acknowledgment from any connected network drives or printers. The dialog box to save or open files for most programs will be a little faster. It's simple and effective.

The funnest part about using a computer is coming up with new tasks that they can perform that are simply not possible without them. People have been writing stories and essays using paper and pen for all of recorded history (since that is the definition of recorded history, after all). While it is possible to deal with drafts and rewrites when using paper, it is endlessly faster and easier on a computer. When we get to publish writings online for the world to see, it shows the new capabilities that a computer so easily has beyond paper.

The original killer app for personal computers was Visicalc by written by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston. It was a spreadsheet that had many features that we all expect today in Microsoft Excel and OpenOffice.org Calc. But at it's heart Visicalc was just an extension of performing calculations on paper. I played with a copy of Visicalc when I was 12 and had little idea what I would do with a spreadsheet. But spreadsheets became indispensible to me by the time I got to college since I could easily complete complicated calculations with it.

New uses for technology was also part of my criteria for carrying a PDA with me. I have an HP iPAQ hx 2450 and I had to justify the expense by finding uses for it that could not be accomplished just as well by keeping a paper notepad in my pocket. The inclusion of a spreadsheet and wireless network easily allowed it to meet that requirement.

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