As we all know, when you delete a file in Windows, you get asked to confirm that you wish to delete the file and put it into the Recycle Bin. But, with the Recycle Bin, the confirmation is a bit redundant because if you make a mistake, you just go to the Recycle Bin and get it back again. You can get rid of the confirmation quite easily. To do so, right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and choose Properties. Then, un-check the option which says "Display Delete Confirmation dialog".

Thanks to tip subscriber Mark for sending this one in.

I have a lot of papers and forms which cross my desk. I have to save much of them for later reference, and saving a boatload of paper takes up a lot of space. Well, I happen to have a scanner as well, along with a big hard drive. So, why not go paperless! I installed a program called Paperport, by Scansoft. The program allows you to set up a category structure and scan images and documents right into those categories. You can use it to store receipts, tax forms, letters - whatever. And the good thing is that you can scan them into the computer and pitch the original (that is unless you need the original for legal purposes, of course). But, you can put that scanner to work and turn your computer into your document repository and save yourself file cabinent space.

For more info on Paperport, go to www.paperport.com.

If you dual boot your PC using Windows XP's dual boot process, you can reduce the timeout period your PC uses before booting to the default OS. This can be useful if you use the same OS most of the time and don't like the longer wait. You can always press enter and skip the wait, but why wait? To do it, here's the procedure:

1) Locate and Open the hidden file "boot.ini" in notepad or your favorite text editor. This file will likely be in the root directory on the boot partition of your "master" HD.

2) Locate the line - timeout=30 (default is 30 seconds). Change this value to any time desired. Be careful not to choose too low of a setting or you may not have time to select your other OS's. Also, be careful not to change other lines as this may prevent your PC from booting at all.

3) Save the file. The next time you boot your PC, the changes will take effect.

"There's anotherr way to change the dual boot time, which I find more idiot proof than modifyin the boot.ini file. Go to Control Panel, then System. In System, click on Advanced, then "Startup & Recovery " Settings. There, you find options for changing the amount of time for selecting an Operating System. It also allows you to change the amount of time for choosing Recovery Options. Of course, there is also an option for modifying the boot.ini file itself. So it's kinda like having two options to do the same thing."

Here are some keyboard shortcuts you can use for Windows, sent over by our own Ken Circeo, author of the "Under the Influence" column:

* Minimize all open windows by pressing Windows Key + M
* Display My Documents by pressing Windows Key + E
* If your PC is password protected, you can lock it by pressing Windows Key + L
* Quickly switch between open windows by pressing Alt + Tab
* Ctrl + Z, X, C, V --- Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste Because these are for the most part universal among Windows programs, I tell people to try them out even if their program's interface makes no mention of them. They usually work.
* When selecting files from a list in Explorer, Ctrl + click lets you select multiple files, Shift + click lets you select multiple contiguous files, and Ctrl + Shift + click lets you maintain the noncontiguous selection while you select multiple contiguous files.

On the general subject of powering on and off, it is best to leave your PC on for longer time periods. If you need to use your PC several times throughout the day, leave it on all day rather than turning it on and off each time. This will avoid the cool down/heating of the PC's hardware and prolong the P/C lifespan.