A Google Account

The benefits of a Google account are not to be overlooked. It is effectively your gateway to the Internet. You create one simple account and receive over a dozen tools. Google offers mail (gmail), a personalized homepage, online text editor and storage, online spreadsheet editor and storage, simple website creation (googlepages), blogging (as you can see here), advertising solutions, an excellent feed reader, search history, bookmarks, personalized search, online file storage (via gspace), and more...

It is important to note that while Google often does not have the best of these tools (for example, its personalized homepage is considerably weaker than its competitors'), the integration makes it still well worth it. This list will continue to grow (google plans to release an online slideshow creation tool). Google's control of web search suggests a limitless expanse of tools. They do, after all, have the entire Internet as a resource.

So what are you waiting for, go here to get your free Google account now. Many of the later Internet "comfort configurations" will require a Google account.

If you are looking for some immediate things to do with your Google account you can read this article. It has some interesting approaches, but in the next few posts, I'll do things a slightly different way.

Mozilla Firefox

What is Firefox?
Firefox is a free web browser. It has several distinct advantages over Internet Explorer.
Firefox Pros:

• It is more stable. Internet Explorer, especially the new version 7 has many different bugs. For me, it frequently freezes while running. For some others, it doesn't even start, but a select few do claim it works fine on their computer. Firefox freezes rarely and has relatively few bugs that make a difference to the end user when compared with Internet Explorer.
• Firefox has an incredible user community. The browser allows users to add extensions and apply skins that others have created and the collection of add-ons to choose from is nearly overwhelming. This is the main reason why everyone needs firefox.
• There are claims that Firefox is also more secure. I rarely get pop-ups and have never had any security problems with the browser, but Internet Explorer 7 has also never given me any security problems.The benefits of an open source browser ensure that the program will continue improved

There are, however, some disadvantages to the browser, but these should not deter anyone from installing it. After all, the extra functionality is well worth these small negatives.

• Firefox takes longer to load. At worst, I've had to wait 30 seconds for it to load on my slow computer (1.6 gigahertz, 512 Mb RAM)
• Firefox uses more RAM. This only means that you cannot run as many other programs while firefox runs. Firefox itself runs just as quickly as Internet explorer.

However, you still want firefox. Trust me, the extensions themselves make the browser worth it.

How do I install Firefox?
To install Firefox, simply follow this link and click the download button. When a window appears asking you if you want to run or save, just click run and follow the installation instructions, they are pretty straightforward.

What extensions should I get?
To get firefox extensions and skins(themes) go here.

My recommended extensions:

• All-in-one Gestures: if you hate moving the mouse all the way over to the page back or forward button. This extensions allows you to execute Internet commands just by holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse (moving it to the left goes back to the previous page and moving it forward goes to the next page). This extension is highly customizable for those like me who like that sort of thing, but the default setup will work well enough for most people.
• All-in-one Sidebar: not only does this extension add a convenient side bar with links to everything from downloads to history to bookmarks, it also provides extra commands that become especially useful. Example: the ability to install a theme from a .jar file (which we will be doing later in this post).
• Download Statusbar: this extension shows all your downloads at the bottom of your browser so you won't have to open anything to see them. Double-click on the download to open it and right click it for more options.
• Forecasefox: I love having my weather accessible right at the bottom of my browser. It shows current weather and forecasts from accuweather.com . Just click on the extensions for an even more detailed report.
• GooglePreview: shows pictures of the website results of a google search - A small but nice extension.
• Splash: for those who don't like waiting for firefox to load, this extension adds a nice loading scream to the programs startup.
• Stylish: this extension allows you to make some of your websites (like google) look better by applying themes creates by others to them. I will let you know when a website has stylish themes and recommend certain one for you to use throughout this blog. The extension appears as nothing more than a little page&paintbrush icon at the bottom of the browser, but it offers some great looks to the websites you view.
• United States English Dictionary: spell checks your writing when you type on the Internet - very convenient.That is it for my initial recommendations. As we continue modifying your Internet experience, and there is much more to do, I will suggest more extensions, but for now, these should be more than enough.

What skin should I get?
The skin I recommend is not on the Firefox site. From the Firefox site, the Noia skins are fairly popular, but I am fairly satisfied with this skin. This site may take some time to load. This skin, Vista Black, has a slightly irregular installation routine so if you are not comfortable with my instructions, use a different skin.

Instructions (requires the All-in-one sidebar): download (link is on the left side of the page). Save the file to a place on your hard that you will remember (the desktop works well). Open firefox, press Alt+t and choose Add-Ons. When the sidebar opens up you should see an Install... button toward the top with a plus sign next to it. Click that and select the file you downloaded. Restart firefox and there you have my favorite skin. It is still in Beta, so the skin has some bugs, but I still like it and the final version looks very promising. I will let you know when the final version is out.


Sit back and enjoy the new functionality and look. This is the first step toward Internet customization.

Internet Modification

My first topic on this blog is modifying your Internet. Since this blog plans only to add extra functionality and comfort to your computer experience, it does not describe the initial process of creating an Internet connection. This, I will assume, has already been done.

That being said, let us begin. The first step to making the Internet comfortable, and many will agree with me, is installing Mozilla Firefox...

Welcome to PC Comfort

This blog is dedicated to making your computer as comfortable and functional as mine. I will periodically release recommendations on software, wallpapers, firefox extensions/skins, xp visual styles, and more.

This blog will suggest those tools that the general user would be capable of running. No high RAM fast CPU PCs are needed. I am sure that many will find that after following even a few of my articles, their PCs will feel more comfortable and look much cleaner and better than ever before.

I am open to all suggestions and all comments on PC-improving methods. The content of this blog will be accessible by all computer users. I will try to keep away from excessive computer jargon, but yet, the blog will offer/suggest tools and software, which by nature are geared toward the more experienced computer user, but I will provide startup help to those who consider themselves not as experienced. A majority of the software I recommend is free, but the occasional article may refer to something that does have a charge.

To conclude, I hope that this blog will help its readers not only improve their PC experience, but also learn about the PC itself. This blogs long term goal is to have more people understand how the computer works and feel comfortable working with it.