Click "Explore", in left window look in "Windows" tree (click if there is a + before Windows). Look for "Start Menu" (click if necessary to expand tree). Look under "Programs" - you should see "StartUp". Click it.

In right window is what is in your group. You can highlight and press "Delete" on your keyboard to get rid of what you don't need. All this is going to your recycle bin in case you change your mind. Unfortunately, when you reboot you will probably see a lot of same junk you deleted back in lower right corner.

This is case with programs such as Real Audio, Printer programs and virus programs. To stop them from starting you usually have to open individual program and look around. Nine out of ten times you can find a box checked under options in that program.

Also in Windows 98, you can click "Start" button, select "Run" and type "msconfig". A window will pop up with upper right tab will be labeled "Startup". There will be programs listed in there with check boxes.

These are programs that automatically start when you start your computer. I had 29 programs listed with check marks. I did not have 29 icons on bottom right of my task bar. I only had 5.

If you recognize a program, you can remove it from automatically starting by removing check mark and selecting "Apply". You will be asked to restart your computer. If you should change your mind, programs will still be on your hard drive. To be on safe side - check with your computer manufacturer.

Step 3: Have a glass of wine, beer or whatever - Delete your Temporary Internet files. In Internet Explorer at top under "View", select "Internet Options"; select "Delete Temporary Files" (your cookies won't be affected). Close IE.

Left click "Start" button (bottom left of screen), select "Find", "Folders", type "*.TMP", choose "Find Now". You can delete anything in your TMP list that pops up. Windows won't let you delete anything that it needs to run. Reboot - If everything is running fine, empty your "Recycle Bin".

Step 4: Have a glass of wine, beer or whatever - Double click "My Computer" (if you can still find it), right click your "C" drive, left click "Properties", Select "Tools",. Perform a thorough "Scan Disk" - (depending on size of your hard drive this could take a while) - make sure "Automatically" fix error" is checked.

Go get something to eat - (you need something to absorb alcohol - don't drive!).

After this has finished - again under "Tools" - select "Defrag". Do a "Thorough" if you haven't defragged in a while. This will definitely take a long time. I suggest you do it before you go to bed - (you'll need to after wine anyway).

Running "Defrag" groups all your data on your computer and helps programs run smoother. If you are in habit of installing and deleting a lot of programs your data will look like a half-empty football stadium with people scattered. One member of your family is on West Side, one on East Side and one in End Zone.

Defragging will group family together - if mother-in-law is there, that may not be such a good idea. I'm rambling again. You're probably wondering if there is a caboose to my train of thought. Oh well, if this helps one person - it was worth it.

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c. Confrontation & Development

Soon Linus faced some confrontation from none other than Andrew Tanenbaum, great teacher who wrote MINIX. In a post to Linus, Tanenbaum commented:

" I still maintain point that designing a monolithic kernel in 1991 is a fundamental error. Be thankful you are not my student. You would not get a high grade for such a design :-)" (Andrew Tanenbaum to Linus Torvalds)

Linus later admitted that it was worst point of his development of Linux. Tanenbaum was certainly famous professor, and anything he said certainly mattered. But he was wrong with Linux, for Linus was one stubborn guy who won't admit defeat. Tanenbaum also remarked that : "Linux is obsolete".

Now was turn for new Linux generation. Backed by strong Linux community, Linus gave a reply to Tanenbaum which seems to be most fitting:

Your job is being a professor and researcher: That's one hell of a good excuse for some of brain-damages of minix. (Linus Torvalds to Andrew Tanenbaum)

And work went on. Soon more than a hundred people joined Linux camp. Then thousands. Then hundreds of thousands. This was no longer a hackers toy. Powered by a plethora of programs from GNU project, Linux was ready for actual showdown. It was licensed under GNU General Public License, thus ensuring that source codes will be free for all to copy, study and to change. Students and computer programmers grabbed it.

Soon, commercial vendors moved in. Linux itself was, and is free. What vendors did was to compile up various software and gather them in a distributable format, more like other operating systems with which people were more familiar. Red Hat , Caldera, Debian, and some other companies gained substantial amount of response from users worldwide. With new Graphical User Interfaces (like X-windows, KDE) Linux distributions became very popular.

Meanwhile, there were amazing things happening with Linux. Engineers have tweaked Linux to run 3Com's handheld PalmPilot computer. Red Hat Software's version of Linux won 1996 award for bestdesktop computer operating system from trade magazine InfoWorld. In April that year researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory used Linux to run 68 PCs as a single parallel processing machine to simulate atomic shock waves.The do-it-yourself supercomputer cost only $152,000, including labor (connecting 68 PCs with cables)-about one tenth price of a comparable commercial machine. It reached a peak speed of 19 billion calculations per second, making it 315th most powerful supercomputer in world. Three months later it still didn't have to be rebooted.

The best thing about Linux today is fanatic following it commands. Whenever a new piece of hardware is out, Linux kernel is tweaked to take advantage of it. For example, within weeks after introduction of Intel Xeon® Microprocessor, Linux kernel was tweaked and was ready for it. It has also been adapted for use in Alpha, Mac, PowerPC, and even for palmtops, a feat which is hardly matched by any other operating system. And it continues its journey into new millenium, with same enthusiasm that started one fine day back in 1991. As for Linus, he remains a simple man. Unlike Bill Gates, he is not a billionaire. Having completed studies, he moved to USA and landed a job at Transmeta Corporation. Recently married, he is proud father of a girl, Patricia Miranda Torvalds. But he remains as world's most favorite and most famous programmer to this date. Revered by Computer communities worldwide, Linus is by far most popular programmer on this planet. He deserves it.

Acknowledgements

The author fully reserve right to portions of this article written solely by himself, under Gnu GPL. However all are requested to distribute this article freely and vigorosly provided my name and email address is given clearly with this article. ( If this legal things bore you, don't blame me. Who knows, Microsoft lawyers might find a way to sue for their Logo or name... :) ).

For all mistakes and suggestions Contact me: Ragib Hasan, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

mail me at ragibhasan@yahoo.com