By Matthew Ferrara, Matthew Ferrara & Company

Favorite Links In Your Start Menu
          Internet Explorer allows you to keep a list of your favorite web sites. This makes it faster for you to access these sites. All you have to do is click the Favorites button and click the URL you want to go to from the list that appears in the right pane.

          Web sites that you access several times throughout the day can link directly to the Start Menu. Opening the web site is as simple as clicking on the Start button and selecting the link. You no longer need to open Internet Explorer first. To add a favorite to the Start Menu, open Internet Explorer, and click the Favorites button. Select one of the links and while holing down the mouse button, drag the link onto your Start button.

Google Alerts

          Google Alerts can be useful if you are looking for current specific information.  You can create a Google alert and receive an email update when something relevant is indexed.  You can even set parameters as to how often you would like your alerts.  You can set up a Google alert by visitinghttp://www.google.com/alerts.

Resize Your Icon Labels In XP

1. Right-click a blank space on the desktop and choose Properties.
2. Click the Appearance tab.
3. Click the Advanced button.
4. Select Icon Spacing (Horizontal) in the Items list.
5. Increase the spacing.
6. Click OK
7. Right-click the desktop.
8. Choose Arrange Icons By and pick an order (this will cause them to relocate based on the new spacing).

Change The Default Font In Outlook

You can change the default font in Outlook 2003 using the steps listed below:

1. Within Outlook, click Options from the Tools menu.
2. Select the Mail Format tab.
3. Click the Fonts button.
4. Click the Choose Fonts button under “When composing a new message.”
5. Choose the font settings you want to use.
6. Click OK to save your settings.
7. Click OK to close each open dialog box.

Outlook will now use the font you specified when creating a new email message.