If you run Microsoft's most widely used e-mail programs - Outlook, Outlook Express or OE's Windows Vista successor, Windows Mail - you can find yourself waiting to get an urgent message. That's because all three applications, when configured for the most common type of e-mail system, come set to look for new mail only every 30 minutes.
To speed that up, you'll need to adjust a setting in each program. In Outlook, go to the Tools menu and select ''Options . . .''; in the Options window, click the ''Mail Setup'' tab, then the ''Send/Receive . . .'' button underneath it; in the send/receive window, click the drop-down menu next to ''Schedule an automatic send/receive every'' and pick 10 minutes (or whatever number suits you best). In Outlook Express and Windows Mail, go to the Tools menu and click ''Options . . .''; in the Options window, choose a different interval from the drop-down menu next to ''Check for new messages every.''
Skip the extras » A new wireless router may come with a CD full of software for you to install, but you're often better off skipping it. Windows XP and Vista czn log onto a wireless network, and most WiFi routers' settings can be inspected and changed just by typing a special address (it's often 192.168.1.1) into your Web browser. Installing some aftermarket wireless-networking utility may gum up Windows' own networking systems; if nothing else, it's likely to be harder to set up and use than the tools built into Windows. So, it's best to decline these optional software installations. There is, however, one exception to that rule: Apple's AirPort routers, which come set up to be managed only by Apple's AirPort Utility program.
Let's get small » Many pages have addresses too long for a single line of text; by the time these multiple-line links (often called ''URLs,'' short for ''universal resource locators'') land in a friend's inbox, they can get split into separate strings of text that go nowhere when clicked. To avoid that, use a free site - try TinyURL.com or bit.ly - that will generate a shortcut to an overly long address. Both of those sites include ''bookmarklet'' snippets that you can add to your browser's bookmarks list; when you select that bookmark, it will convert the current page's address to a shortcut link, ready for you to paste into an e-mail, instant message or social-network status update.
From : http://www.sltrib.com/
