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A healthy diet for your gadgets
Six quick tips to whip your devices back into shape
Many people make New Year resolutions to slim down, but have you considered also putting your gadgets on a well-deserved health diet? A slow, bloated computer can lead to frustration and less time for doing the things you love.
If you have resolved to stress less and spend more time on being productive in the coming year, then here are 6 quick tips to whip your devices back into shape:
1. Remove unused apps
Most people download apps on their mobile phones and then don't use them after a while. Generally speaking, if you have not used an app for about six months, you will not use it again.
Instead, the icons sit there taking up space and making it harder to find the ones you do use. This is not only true of mobile phones -- desktops and tablets can get quite out of hand too.
The writer is communications manager, Opera Software
A healthy diet for your gadgets
2. Beat the tangled mess
Go through all your cables, chargers and other device wiring. Many of us have a tangled mess of these and cannot remember what goes with what -- or even if the device is in the house any longer.
Check first, but if you have a cable for a phone, computer or even camera that you owned four years ago and no longer use, get rid of it.
A healthy diet for your gadgets
3. Tidy up your desktop
A computer desktop screen full of files is messy and makes things difficult to find. Create a new folder for the files and folders on the desktop that you don't frequently access.
This will clear off your desktop, while keeping the files handy until you have time to sort through them.
A healthy diet for your gadgets
4. Move big files to an external hard drive
It’s like giving those extra holiday kilograms to a friend, but without having to deal with any hurt feelings. A hard drive is also a great way to back up your most important photos, work and other important files.
A healthy diet for your gadgets
5. Clean up your temp files
It helps things run smoother and speed up programme start times. Just like slimming down helps you run faster, getting rid of temporary files helps your computer run faster, too.
This might also be a good time to clear out all the stuff your browser stores.
A healthy diet for your gadgets
6. Physically clean your devices
With regular use PCs, laptops and smart phones can accumulate dust making them look crummy. Use a micro-fiber-cloth; it captures dirt and grime while leaving sensitive surfaces clean and safe.
Pick up the right cleaners and get to work making your gadgets look like new again. (No, do not use soapy water!)