Windows only: If you are accustomed to scrolling quickly through long documents, there's a secret Firefox 3.6 config setting that allows you to enable acceleration, which will scroll more quickly based on how many times you've scrolled. To tweak the acceleration for yourself, head into Firefox's about:config page, and then filter by mousewheel.acceleration to find the two settings that apply—the m

Streaming video, digital DVD backups, DVR recording—it's all possible from your TV-connected media center, and you don't need a system administrator to pull it off. These 10 apps make filling and controlling your media center PC even easier. Photo by William Hook. 10. Give your tunes the covers they deserveYour favorite band, assuming it's not Motörhead, probably spend a good bit of time thinking

Cloud computing means you can store your data in web applications and access it from any browser, anywhere—but that doesn't mean you don't need a backup plan. Safeguard your data when a storm's a-brewing in the cloud with these tools. Next time your favorite web site is down or you're locked out of an account, make sure you've got the crucial info you need where you can get to it: on your computer

Unlike the Windows system tray, the Mac menu bar provides few options for customizing it to your liking. Here's how to hide your menu bar to free up an extra 20 pixels of precious space and create a cleaner desktop. After reading our feature-by-feature comparison of Windows 7 and OS X, in which we noted that the Mac menu bar is "fixed to the top of your Mac's screen with no easy way to hide it," r

Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Firefox is a powerful browser with extensions to do almost anything, but it's never been accused of being light on resources—and limiting your history size can help. Every time your browser requests a page or image from anywhere, that data is stored in your browser history for a default of 90 days—for most of us that translates to an enormous amount of data stored

Mac OS X only: Freeware menu bar application Isolator is another simple tool in the fight against distraction on your Mac. Similar to previously-mentioned Think and Backdrop, Isolator covers your desktop with a solid overlay and helps you focus on one app at a time. The two best features of Isolator (in comparison to its previously mentioned counterparts) are the shortcut key (F8 by default), whic

Windows only: Free application DropboxPortable makes the popular file-syncing application thumb-drive friendly, so you can access your synced bucket from your thumb drive no matter what computer you're using. It's great that Dropbox allows you to access a synced bucket of files on your several computers so you know you're always working with the latest and greatest, but if you're using a computer

Mac OS X only: Earlier today we reported that Mac OS's latest update to 10.5.3 included Google contact syncing to Address Book—if you've connected an iPhone or iPod touch to your Mac, that is. If you don't have an iPhone or iPod touch and unlocking this useful bit of functionality isn't worth paying hundreds of dollars for the device, a simple system tweak can turn it on for you. Here's what you d

Mac OS X only: Screen locker utility LockTight adds a shortcut key combination for OS X users to quickly lock your workstation from the keyboard. Windows users switching to using a Mac might be surprised to find no equivalent to the Winkey+L shortcut combination that locks the screen, especially helpful in work environments or at home to keep little fingers from opening things they shouldn't. Lock

Click to viewBacking up your data on a regular basis is important, and turning a spare computer into a backup server is often the best way to make sure it gets done. But most methods require either a good deal of command-line learning or serve only one operating system. Not with Restore, a free, open-source backup system that can install or run from a live CD, work with any OS, and operate through

When it comes to computers, you want it all: the portability of a laptop, the extensibility of a desktop, as well as the sleekness of Mac OS X and the wide selection of software for Windows. After virtualizing and dual-booting Windows on my MacBook Pro for well over a year, I'm done—done with slow virtual machines and "your hard drive is low on space" messages, done with having to switch gears to