Increase game performance on Windows with Game Booster!

As described on their site :

Designed to help optimize your PC for smoother, more responsive game play in the latest PC games with the touch of a button, Game Booster helps achieve the performance edge previously only available to highly technical enthusiasts. It works by temporarily shutting down background processes, cleaning RAM, and intensifying processor performance. That means you can keep all the features of Microsoft® Windows Vista® and XP® ready for when you need them, but turn them off when you are ready to get down to serious business – gaming.

I tried it before playing Left 4 Dead, and did notice smooth play, especially during horde attack.

Info + Download : [Click]

Windows Live Hotmail Wave 3 Rollout has started!

The next update of Windows Live Hotmail, Wave 3, has begun rolling out to end users. Currently, Bay: 136 & Col: 102 have been upgraded to Wave 3. Other bays will receive updates in the coming days.
Here are the improvements in the Wave 3:

– No Full and Classic versions. Both are now combined to provide faster and simpler interface.
– Enhanced address book, allowing customers to easily see emails they’ve exchanged with contacts and keep contacts in one consolidated place to use across Windows Live services.
– Ever Increasing Storage – 5 GB to start, with an additional 500 MB per month if customers hit their limit
– Integrated web-based IM with Windows Live Messenger
– Improved spam fighting technologies that significantly reduce spam.
– Integrated calendar features and Outlook Connector.

And here are the screenshots of the new Hotmail : [Screenshot 1] [Screenshot 2] [Screenshot 3]

Thanks to LiveSide.net for this update.

Multiple instances of Windows Picture and Fax Viewer in XP

Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is the default application that opens up evertime you launch an image file like jpg or gif. But in Windows XP, you can have only one window of Picture Viewer open at a time. When you open a new image, the previous window closes. But what if you wanted to have two or more pictures showing in Picture Viewer? You can do this, but it’s not exactly feasable to do everytime.

1) Open one image.
2) Now click on Print icon. This opens up Photo Printing Wizard. Let it stay open.
3) Open another image of your choice. Note that previous image stays open.
4) Now just close the Photo Printing Wizard.

Now you have two instances of Windows Photo and Fax Viewer open!

Block ads without Ad-Block

Let’s admit, many of us don’t like ads while surfing websites, much less those flashy and ultra-cool (read irritating and dumb) ads. If you use Firefox, there’s a good chance that you are using Ad-block or similar extension. Opera has something similar too. But what of those ads that you see when (rarely) you use Internet Explorer? Or what of those ads integrated in Messenger windows?
To block these relatively harmless (and other potentially dangerous) ads, you can use Hosts file created by MVPS. According to them :

The Hosts file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. This file is loaded into memory (cache) at startup, then Windows checks the Hosts file before it queries any DNS servers, which enables it to override addresses in the DNS. This prevents access to the listed sites by redirecting any connection attempts back to the local (your) machine. Another feature of the HOSTS file is its ability to block other applications from connecting to the Internet, providing the entry exists.

You can use a HOSTS file to block ads, banners, 3rd party Cookies, 3rd party page counters, web bugs, and even most hijackers. This is accomplished by blocking the connection(s) that supplies these little gems.

You can get more information and download link at MVPS website.

Windows 7 Milestone 3 (6780) Screenshots!

Thinknext.net has posted many new screenshots of Windows 7’s M3 build. Looks like Microsoft is going for a lighter UI and there are some promising changes elsewhere in the OS as well. (Paint and Wordpad finally get a new look)

Some changes :

1. A lighter interface than Vista
2. Ribbon interface in Wordpad and Paint.
3. Some changes in looks of Start Menu
4. Calculator UI changed.
5. A new term Libraries is introduced which is equivalent to Documents
6. A few changes in Windows Explorer’s toolbar.
7. System Tray icons setting option in Control Panel
8. Few more options in control panel like Locations and Other Sensors, Credential Manager and Biometric Devices.
9. New Theme options for windows
10. Homegroups
11. Some display setting changes
12. Games updates in Games Explorer
13. Some changes in Windows Media Player
14. New PowerShell

Hop over to Thinknext for screenshots!!!

Update : I think he has taken off the screenshots after receiving an email from Microsoft 😦