PC Magazine Windows XP Solutions
Chapter One
Giving Windows
a Facelift
When you look at the desktop of most PCs running Windows XP, you see pretty well exactly
the same thing. First to strike the eye is the background image, by default the one labeled
"Bliss" in the Display Properties dialog box. Next you probably notice the icons, sometimes scattered
around the desktop, other times lined up neatly. At the bottom of the screen resides the Taskbar,
with its dark blue background and its somewhat garish green Start button bearing white text and the
famous pastel Windows logo. Nice sky, nice hill, nice icons, nice Taskbar. But what you need is a
desktop and an interface that are all about you.
Of course, nobody is about to suggest there's anything particularly wrong with the default
Windows XP desktop. In fact, the only thing that's really irksome is the sheer lack of individuality
displayed by most of its users. The layout, content, and styles of the desktop are almost infinitely
changeable, to the degree that your desktop can look completely differe ... read full excerpt from PC Magazine Windows XP Solutions ebook