Clean Up Your Desktop - Speed Up Your Laptop

Here is an easy tip to speed up your Mac, and possibly reduce the frequency of the rainbow beach ball:

Reduce the icons on your Desktop!

Why? Mac OS X treats each desktop icon as its own little window. With only a few icons the result is minimal. But teachers with a habit of using their desktop for storage may be paying a price in speed and stability. This is especially true if your desktop is loaded with picture files.

So clean up the mess and speed up your computer. To do so, follow the folder scheme already established on your mac.  Drag documents to the documents folder, pictures to the pictures folder, music to the music folder, etc.  Add additional folders within those folders to organize your work by subject, year, or whatever makes sense to you.  Start dragging those files off your desktop in to the folders!  You'll notice a big difference in speed!