I know that there are programs out there that will speed up windows like RAMIdle from tweaknow.com but are there any for linux. When I type using opera web browser writing a question (such as this on a BBS) the computer lags and doesnt keep up with my typing causing me to not see the letters I typed....
Looking for something to run in the background and make the KDE run faster.

there's a kernel patch that will decrease the latency and response time for most apps - it creates a pre-emptible kernel. - in other words, it speeds up a desktop system. if you don't mind recompiling kernels, that's the way to go. check out www.kernel.org for more info.

In addition to isajera's suggestion, you should also look at the processes you currently have running. Depending on what type of installation you did, and how you use your box (server, desktop machine, etc.), you might have a lot of stuff going on in the background that you don't need need. Any of those could be chewing up precious resources.

Regardless of distro, you can run the ps command to view running processes. "man ps" for more specifics on usage/options. How you disable un-needed services/processes/daemons can be distro-specific, but in Mandy much of it can be done by going to Mandrake Control Center->System->Services.

You dont think it would have anythig to do with my swap partition? I wasnt able to configure it during installation. I have no idea what size the default mandrake desktop set up gave it. Actually I think it assigned only two partioins / and /boot. It didnt allow me to configure a seperate swap file.. Is there any way to configure this if I have room without have to reinstall?

And how would I stop the newsticker and dictionary from the panel. I cant seem to get the option wiht a mouse click. I check under panel config/add/applets and it wont let me remove the apps this way either... This may be part of my lag problem...

Funny thing is, is that when I use the konqurer web browser its fast, unlike Opera. I thought Opera was supposed to be the best for speed and such...

Are you sure the install didn't create / and /swap as the two partitions? Check your /etc/fstab file to see what partitions are listed there.

I haven't used a swap file before, so I don't know how to get information on it or modify it, but if you still have room on your drive, you can create a swap partition easily enough with HardDrake. Choose "Disks", highlight your drive, and click the "Run Configuration Tool" bar to view, modify, and create partitions. You'll also have to add an entry for it in /etc/fstab. It would look something like:where "x" is the correct partition number. You might also need to look at the man pages for the "swapon" command.

There are two vertical lines directly to the left of the ticker. Right-click on them and choose remove from the popup menu.

Galeon.

Thanks for the heads up DMR. Im assuming Galeon is a web browser. Never heard of it but Ill definitely check it out.

As for the slowness, Im pretty sure it has to do with opera. When ever I use konquerer (such as now) I dont have any lag time when typing. I didnt have this problem when it was unpacked in my /home dir. Ill have to fiddle with it, see what I come up wiht.

And thank you for the tip on the news ticker etc. I learn something new every day!

psyklops,

Yep, Galeon is a browser, and I've found it to be faster than just about anything else. As to why Opera is acting boggy for you I can't say; I don't experience that when I use it on my system.