Report for Previous Meeting
August 2009
The August meeting led off with a usability question about any means of giving us a warning when we activate the Caps, Insert or NumLock keys. The answer was a configurable little freebie from Italy, good in XP, but at end-of-life, though. Vista/Seven will need a newie.
We then explored the art of seeing inside protected system folders and discussed the merits of doing so.
Another question related to the speed of database queries in a small network. Analysis delved through different machine characteristics to query types and timed tests, together with the standard clean-up measures implemented beforehand.
This prompted a general query on slowing computers as registry and disk cleaning. CCleaner was recommended as a first step since it really benefits some setups. We were shown special settings and why some settings were best avoided. We were then given a broad-ranging description and hard’ and software checks for better tuning. A new idea suggested was a virtual PC for testing.
Next from around the audience was odd behaviour from a repeating keyboard. With it being a wired device the factors looked like BIOS repeat rate and like settings.
The session was rounded off with discussion of portable apps, pdf / jpeg capture and pre-paid 3G net access. Peter H reported a new section in the SIG web pages dedicated to Windows 7.
Finally Peter Carpenter gave us a presentation on his new assembly of components forming an i7-CPU PC. He detailed, with photos, the process of merging old and new parts and the adaptation necessary to accommodate much faster computing.
.oOo.