Chapter 2: Personalizing the Desktop

In This Chapter

arrow.png Tricking out your taskbar

arrow.png Taking control of each desktop level

arrow.png Traipsing through themes

arrow.png Controlling the notification area

It’s your desktop. Do with it what you will.

You might think it’d be easy for a computer to slap windows on the screen, but it isn’t. In fact, the Windows desktop uses six separate layers to produce that window, er, vista. However, you can take control of every layer. I show you how in this chapter.

Most importantly, in this chapter, I show you the quibbles and quirks of the Windows 8 taskbar. Now that the old Windows Start Menu has gone the way of the do-do, the taskbar takes on new importance as the most accessible way to control programs on the desktop. The taskbar occupies a key piece of real estate.

I also include a discussion of desktop background, themes, and screen savers. Pretty cool stuff.

Recognizing Desktop Levels

The Windows desktop — that is, the collection of stuff you see on your computer screen — consists of six layers (see Figure 2-1, which shows four of the six layers).

For a quick change ...

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