Mayfield Global Knowledge Center

Use a solid background color instead of wallpaper

1. From the desktop, select System > Preferences > Desktop Background. The Desktop and Background Preferences window will display.
2. Under Desktop Wallpaper, select No Wallpaper.
3. Select Solid Color from the Desktop Colors picklist then use the color selector to pick the desired color.
4. Once you have set the color click Finish.

Disable unnecessary services

1. From the desktop, select System > Administration > Services. The Services settings window will display.
2. Scan the list of services for items that are activated at boot-up (indicated by a check-mark in the box). Disable any services that you do not utilize (i.e. Bluetooth, Printer services, Speech synthesis support, etc.).
    Some services are required for the system to function optimally. DO NOT disable a service unless you are certain that it is not necessary.
3. Once you have made the desired changes click Close. The services will be disabled the next time you boot your computer.

Disable icons in menus and toolbars

1. From the desktop, select System > Preferences > Menus & Toolbars. The Menu and Toolbar Preferences window will display.
2. Under Bahavior and Appearance, uncheck the Show icons in menus option.
3. Select Text only from the Preview section then click Close.

Disable Nautilus file preview

1. From the desktop, select Places > Home Folder. The Nautilus window will appear.
2. Select Edit > Preferences. File Management Preferences will display. Click the Preview tab.
3. Using the picklists, select Never for each option then click Close.

Modify Open Office settings
 Unless you use OpenOffice.org (OO.org) applications frequently, you can skip the Quickstarter section. Quickstarter accelerates launching of OO.org apps by constantly monitoring your system. This monitoring requires system resources.

1. From the desktop, select Applications > Office > OpenOffice.org Word Processor. OpenOffice.org Writer will display.
2. Select Tools > Options. The Options window will display.
3. From the navigation tree on the left, expand the OpenOffice.org category then click Memory.
4. Under Graphics cache, set Use for OpenOffice.org to 2 MB then set Memory per object to 1 MB.
5. Under OpenOffice.org Quickstarter, place a checkmark in the Enable systray quickstarter option then click OK.
6. You can now launch OpenOffice.org applications from the systray icon (located in the upper-left corner of the desktop, near the clock).