Here is a handy tip for Finder column view junkies (like myself). If you double click on a column resize widget, all columns will resize to the width of the longest named item in that column. I find this trick especially useful when looking for items with long names that are similar - like Preferences.
[Editor's note: Thousands of hours with OS X, over a thousand tips published here, a guidebook out the door ... and I had never tried this! Amazing ... thanks Buddha!]
Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20011212154227354