30th June 1998

By now, 23% of you have upgraded to Windows 98. You'll find out that the UI really isn't that much different than IE4 with shell integration. There are subtle differences, in this respect, between W95 and W98. A few of the following tips will actually apply to both IE4 & W98 users. The moral of the story: get W98 if you're a hardcore geek who needs the "latest thing" or if you have fast hardware.

No doubt you've downloaded TweakUI from Microsoft for W95. You won't find an updated version for W98 online; instead, it should be on the Windows W98 CD-ROM (\Tools\ResKit\PowerToy\). It's invaluable for any experienced user and should be installed immediately. You can control just about every unseen aspect of W98 with TweakUI--truly one of the best Control Panel applets ever invented.

If you're only a novice (or afraid that you'll miss something when upgrading from W95 to W98), Windows-Help.net has a page you should read. They've mapped out a rock-solid way for making the big move (step by step). Even if you know what you're doing, it couldn't hurt to double-check:

http://www.windows-help.net/windows98/start-01.shtml

If you're bored with the Explorer interface, try adding a background image to it. Who said every window had to look the same? Simply open a folder, select View | Customize This Folder from the pull-down menu, select "Choose a background picture", then assign a BMP image and/or toggle the color options for that folder. You gotta admit, it's kinda cool.

Here's something else you might not have known: you can fade between any two colors in the active & inactive window title bars (with high or true color depth enabled). Right click on the Desktop and select Properties. Fly over to the Settings tab to see if you have high/true color abilities in your resolution. If you do, go to the Appearance tab and click on the Active Window Title Bar. Notice you have 'Color' and 'Color 2' options now!

While you're looking at the Desktop properties, be sure you've got the highest possible refresh rate selected (within reason) for your monitor. In the Settings tab, click the Advanced button. Choose the Adapter tab and see if you can get a better refresh rate (75 Hz or higher is sufficient). You need a good monitor and decent video card to achieve higher rates. The higher the refresh rate, the less eye strain you'll have, the less headaches you'll get. After 75 Hz, however, you won't see a difference.

Sometimes website frames can be useful, but when they don't clear themselves from your browser when you click on "outside" links, they turn into a pain. So, next time this happens in IE4, simply click (and hold) a link, then drag & drop it onto the address line of your browser. Voila -- no more frames! Plus, you can drag & drop any URL the same way onto IE4's Home button to make it your default start page.

Having problems in Windows 98? There's a doctor in the house! Simply select the Run command from the Start Menu and type: DRWATSON (then hit Enter). You'll get a doctorish icon in your System tray. He'll help you troubleshoot & document crashes plus show you the Windows operating environment. While you're "running" things, enter MSCONFIG if you want to control how (and what) Windows starts up. Maximum tweakability!