Free system software for Windows Vista, make it work right with some tweaks
By Justin Montgomery
For those that are frustrated that Vista won’t do what you want it to do, don’t write it off just yet. With some simple system tweaks and some free software downloads, you can change almost every aspect of your OS to better suit your needs.
PCWorld laid out choices for software downloads that make it easy to alter several aspects of Vista so you can fine-tune the environment for whatever your needs are. For example, if you’re a gamer, you can optimize performance to be much better suited for a gaming environment over an out-of-the-box installation.
Vista Smoker Pro allows you to alter just about all aspects of Vista. It lets you optimize the way that Vista runs, from memory to hard disk operations to even the basic user interface. The "GameBoost" feature will shut down services and free up RAM and CPU cycles for you when you’re ready to do some hardcore gaming, and you can also optimize your CD drive, improve your system’s graphics performance, shut down unwanted services, and tweak Internet Explorer to your heart’s content. If you dislike Vista’s intrusive User Account Control feature, you can even use the program to change UAC’s behavior.
Systerac Tools for Vista is a combination of tools and utilities that include things like a memory optimizer, a disk doctor, a Registry backup program, a Registry optimizer, a shutdown scheduler, an Internet booster, a startup manager. All combined, they provide an impressive all-in-one solution to controlling the OS to behave properly. The only problem is that with so many different tools running, you constantly get pop-ups asking if you’d like to alter a setting, or turn something on or off. It sound like it can be quite annoying, but the benefits might outweigh the annoyance. Especially if it fixes those nagging problems that have been plaguing you since the beginning.
While it might not make up for a lacking OS in the long run, it might at least make life easier in the interim. Beyond these two examples of tweak-software, there’s also things like Mz Vista Force, Vista Manager, and Tweak Vista that provide the same functions, so give them a try before you hock the OS all together.
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Read more entries by Justin Montgomery.
August 1st, 2008
So Microsoft spent years of their time and billions of their dollars writing the wonderful operating system that is Vista (OK, they spent years and billions rehashing Windows 2003 and adding DRM and UAC, but you know what I mean), and what they end up with is something that requires a multitude of tweaks before it even faintly resembles something that is usable?
As I recover from a paroxysm of laughter, and wipe the tears from my eyes in order to finish this post, I can only wonder at the irony of it all: how many of those who are downloading free software in order to try and fix Vista are among that supercilious crowd who are so dismissive of the free software that is open source?
August 16th, 2008
“I can only wonder at the irony of it all: how many of those who are downloading free software in order to try and fix Vista are among that supercilious crowd who are so dismissive of the free software that is open source?”
Probably about as many people that download software to tweak XP!