Losing Support 104 It isn’t a perfect system, but it works pretty well for most users. If you have a machine and an operating system that work properly, and you don’t need each and every new hardware and software advancement, you’ve no need to change your operating system. And, in fact, many users see no point in making a radical change like going from Windows XP to Windows Vista; the newest operating system requires hardware capabilities that weren’t offered when XP was introduced. And as we have already explored, most laptops have only limited areas in which their hardware can be upgraded. More to the point: Although modern laptops are generally very well put together, their useful life is probably somewhere in the range of three to six years. Even if the hardware is in near-perfect shape after that period of time, you’re eventually going to grow weary of lugging around an obsolete model. If you catch yourself casting envious glances at the machine in the aisle seat of row 24, or across the coffee shop at the table with the Dulce de Leche Latte, it’s only a matter of time. Microsoft warns (and it may well be correct) that users who continue work- ing with retired operating systems are at risk of security breaches. However, it’s also true that the bad guys move on: If someone is going to sit down and write a virus, he’s more likely to attack the latest operating system — not one being used by fewer and fewer people every day. 10 140925-bk02ch01.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 104 Chapter 2: Painting Flames on the Operating System: Customizing In This Chapter ߜ Choosing the Windows that match your decorum ߜ Picking a peck of pretty pixels ߜ Pointing with pride I t’s called Microsoft Windows, but for most accomplished users the goal is to make it your very own: My Windows, My Computer, My Colors, My Fonts, and My Sounds. Microsoft does a pretty good job of building a soft machine that you can cus- tomize, adapt, rearrange, and decorate in nearly infinite versions. Just beneath the surface of Windows XP and Windows Vista (as well as older versions of the operating system) lies a full set of tools that give you the Power of Self- Configuration. For your own convenience, and just because you can: Go forth and cus- tomize. I show you how. In this chapter and throughout this book I use Windows Vista as the sample operating system; the basic concepts of customization are the same for all Windows versions. Where needed, I point out Vista-only facilities. Making New Screen Resolutions Your laptop’s screen is a tabula rasa, which is a highfalutin way of saying it’s a blank tablet. Within the laws of physics, you can draw shapes (including letters and numbers) of any size. It comes down to the screen resolution. Pardon me for a brief excursion into the land of technicalities; in computer terms resolution is determined by how many picture elements (or pixels or dots) your screen displays across its width and down its length. The more dots it has, the finer the level of detail; however, some of the details may be so small that they’re hard for you to see. If you want to get real, think of resolution in terms of this page, the one in the book in front of you. You can’t change the width and length of the piece of 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 105 Making New Screen Resolutions 106 paper; the same is true of your laptop’s screen. However, the fine design team who put this book together could have used very large letters to make it big enough to read from across the room. The problem is, though, that only a few words would fit on each line. Or they could have chosen to save a forest full of trees by using eensy-teensy characters that allowed a few thousand words on the page. The problem with that? You might not be able to read these pearls of wisdom. Getting back to computers, there’s one other issue involved: A high-resolution display, one that uses millions of dots, requires a great deal more processing power and a lot more memory. And laptops have one additional issue: LCD screens are less flexible in their ability to work at various resolutions. LCDs generally have one native resolution, and any other selection is created through some fancy electronic footwork, which may or may not yield the best possible picture. The base resolution for what is now an old-fashioned cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor on a desktop computer was 640 × 480 dots (a total of 307,200 pixels), although most users worked at higher resolutions, typically 1,024 × 768 (more than double the number of pixels, at 786,432). Today, most LCDs start at 1,280 × 800, and many can go much higher. And LCDs are now offered in widescreen versions that allow you more real estate to work with. Our example of a current laptop, the Toshiba Satellite P205, has a native resolu- tion of 1,440 × 900 (1,296,000 pixels). If you go to the Control Panel and select the icon for this particular machine’s built-in graphics adapter (an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Mobile), you find that you can downgrade the resolution to 1,280 × 800 or 1,024 × 768 (as well as several intermediary steps). A multimedia or gaming superstar may offer a native resolution of 1,920 × 1,200 on a widescreen version that allows you more real estate. Going away from a laptop’s native resolution usually results in a muddy and unappealing image onscreen — very different from the crisp image you see when you accept the default setting. Picking a pretty palette One setting you can change on your laptop LCD is the number of colors used to construct images. The standard setting for most laptops is 32 bit, which allows for use of colors from a palette of 16,777,216 hues and intensities; in most systems, 32-bit color actually uses 24 bits to define the color and an additional 8 bits of information for other arcane details like transparency and texturing. You might pick up a few milliseconds of speed if you choose to downshift the color setting to 16 bits. Me, I leave this setting the way it came from the factory. 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 106 Book II Chapter 2 Painting Flames on the Operating System: Customizing Making New Screen Resolutions 107 Displaying the graphics control screen Most laptops have two (sometimes complementary, sometimes superfluous) control panels to adjust screen resolution. Every version of Microsoft Windows includes a Display Settings window as part of the Control Panel, and this usually lets you change screen resolution and number of colors. An Advanced Settings tab may open the door to more technical adjustments. The second set of controls is provided by the manufacturer of the graphics adapter or the chipset built into your laptop’s motherboard. You may find that this window offers additional features; at the very least it’s customized to the particular hardware in your machine. To work with the generic graphics control window, click the Start button and choose the Control Panel. For an example, see Figure 2-1. If you’re running Windows Vista, follow these steps: 1. Click Appearance and Personalization ➪ Personalization ➪ Display Settings. 2. Under Resolution, click the slider and move it to a setting of your choice. For an LCD screen, the default is usually the highest resolution. If your machine is using Windows XP, follow these steps: 1. Go to the Control Panel. 2. Click Display Properties and choose the Settings tab. Figure 2-1: The standard set of controls offered by Windows allows you to select resolution and high or medium levels of colors, as well as other settings. 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 107 Making New Screen Resolutions 108 3. Adjust the Screen Resolution slider. To work with the customized control panel provided by the graphics adapter or chipset maker, look for an icon in the Control Panel that has the manufac- turer’s name. It may be Intel or ATI for chipsets, or you may see the name of a graphics card like Radeon or nVidia. Sometimes graphics adapters makers place an icon in the taskbar’s notification area; clicking opens a utility that allows you to adjust settings. See Figure 2-2. Clarifying your view with ClearType Microsoft offers a special technology that enhances the way text looks on an LCD screen; this special form of magic essentially manages to make something out of nothing. When you enable ClearType on an LCD screen, the system can use the individual vertical color stripes that make up each pixel on the screen. It all comes down to adding an almost-invisible extra bit of thickness or thinness to letters onscreen, making use of fragments of pixels. ClearType almost always improves the appearance of text, especially on fonts with serifs. Serifs are the little lines like the shoulder pads on the letter T or the extra horizontal marks on a V; serif fonts also have varying thicknesses of certain parts of letters. The top half circles of the letter C may be thinner than the main part of the letter. Serif Figure 2-2: The LCD Display Settings panel offered by many graphics adapter or chipset makers offers specific and more detailed choices than the generic controls that ship with Windows. 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 108 Book II Chapter 2 Painting Flames on the Operating System: Customizing Making New Screen Resolutions 109 fonts are vestiges of old type styles, and we continue to use them because they’re usually easier to read than sans serifs (without serifs) typefaces, which are considered more modern. In the book you’re reading, the main text uses a serif font while the captions are in sans serifs style. Do you have any reason not to enable ClearType on your laptop? Not as far as I’m concerned, although that’s just my opinion; turn it on and see if text seems sharper and easier to read. If it looks worse to your eyes, turn it off. ClearType is for use with flat-screen LCDs like that on your laptop. It gener- ally doesn’t offer any noticeable improvement when used with a standard CRT monitor, although you can experiment with it turned on. And it has nothing to do with the appearance of type when you send a file to a printer. To enable use of ClearType on your LCD, follow one of the following sets of instructions based on your OS. For Windows Vista systems: 1. Click the Start button. 2. Click Control Panel ➪ Personalization ➪ Click Window Color and Appearance ➪ Open Classic Appearance Properties. 3. Click the Effects tab. 4. Make sure this option ha a check mark: Use the Following Method to Smooth Edges of Screen Fonts. 5. Choose ClearType. See Figure 2-3. Figure 2-3: Enabling ClearType adds a small but noticeable improvement in the quality of characters displayed on an LCD. 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 109 Themes Like New or Old Times 110 For Windows XP systems: 1. Go to the Control Panel and then click the Display icon. 2. Choose the Appearance tab and then click the Effects button. 3. Look for the dialog that asks: Use the Following Method to Smooth Edges of Screen Fonts. 4. Make sure the check mark alongside is enabled and then choose ClearType. Once you install ClearType on your machine, you may be able to kick it up a notch by going to the Microsoft typography web site and following the instructions for tuning the technology to match your particular combination of graphics adapter and LCD. Themes Like New or Old Times Both Windows XP and Windows Vista presented significant changes — some say improvements — over previous versions. Windows XP made a number of major changes compared to Windows 98, while Windows Vista buffed and polished Windows XP. But what may seem new and refreshing to some users is unfamiliar and uncom- fortable to another. And so Microsoft offers users the option to go back to the past — at least in appearance — by selecting the Windows Classic theme, which presents an updated but recognizable version of the Windows 98 Control Panel, settings windows, and other features. You gain all the advantages of the improved engine without having to deal with a new appearance. For Windows Vista users to select a theme, follow these steps: 1. Click the Start button and click Control Panel ➪ Appearance and Personalization ➪ Personalization ➪ Theme. 2. Under Theme, select the design you want and then click OK. Each person who has an account on the computer can choose his or her own theme. For Windows XP users to select a theme, follow these steps: 1. Go to the Control Panel. 2. Click Display and choose the Themes tab. 3. From the Theme drop-down menu, choose one of the available designs. 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 110 Book II Chapter 2 Painting Flames on the Operating System: Customizing Securing a Screen Saver 111 Most laptop manufacturers offer their own themes, usually centered around an obnoxious display of their company name or logo. You may also find themes offered as freeware or for sale; never download or use software or settings from a web site you don’t trust. You can start with someone else’s theme and modify it to your preferences. Or you can create your own theme, with its own desktop background, color selection for windows, and assigned system sounds. Make your changes by following these steps: 1. Go to the Control Panel. 2. Click Display and choose the Appearance tab. 3. Click the Advanced button and select options. 4. Return to the Themes tab. 5. Click Save As. 6. Enter a name for your custom theme. 7. Click Save. Securing a Screen Saver Every screen deserves to be safe; it’s your responsibility as a laptop owner. I’m not talking about protection from ridiculous Nigerian lottery scams that come in by e-mail or the bizarre cow-tipping fetish web sites you visit when no one is watching. No, I mean your screen should be protected against the serious scourge of burn-in. That’s what happens when a program displays the same icon or image in the same place for a long time. The danger is that the display will become permanently etched with that particular symbol. You should note that burn-in is much more of a danger to what is now con- sidered the old-fashioned CRT that desktop computers used. LCDs used on laptops (and increasingly, with desktops) are more resistant to burn-in. However, you can cause a problem to LCDs if you display an unchanging, unmoving image for an extended period. I consider 24 to 48 hours or more to be worthy of concern. Many LCDs are self-repairing; if an image is burned in, try solving the problem by turning off and rebooting. Sometimes it may require several on/off cycles before the liquid crystals return to their original condition. 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 111 Securing a Screen Saver 112 How to protect against burn-in? The simplest solution is to enable a screen saver that comes on after a preset period of time and replaces the unchang- ing image with either a blank screen or moving image. Another advantage to using a screen saver: It keeps others from seeing the data on your screen . . . unless they lean in and press a character on the keyboard to clear the saver. (Some screen savers can be set up to require a password before they go away and the data returns.) Many laptop owners enjoy setting up their machine to display unusual images. For a while, flying toasters were all the rage. Today, many users allow the laptop or OS maker to use the space for floating advertisements. Now here’s the bad news: A screen saver uses power to generate and move the image. It also requires power to illuminate the backlight, an essential ele- ment of an LCD. If your laptop is plugged into an AC electrical source, that’s not an issue (except for your electrical bill and your personal contribution to global warming). However, if you’re traveling, a full-color image of a waltzing cow is going to shorten the time you can run your machine off the battery. It might be a few minutes, but sometimes every minute counts. On my laptops, I set up the screen saver to simply blank the screen to black, which results in a small draw on battery power. I can tell that laptop is still powered up by the little lighted battery icon on the front edge. Never use a screen saver sent to you by someone you don’t know, or down- load one from a source you cannot be certain is legitimate. A screen saver is a piece of active code and could easily be designed to include a virus or other malicious programming. Changing your screen saver To set or change a screen saver, perform one of the following sets of instructions. Follow these steps on a Windows Vista system: 1. Click the Start button. 2. Click Control Panel ➪ Appearance and Personalization ➪ Personalization ➪ Screen Saver. See Figure 2-4. On a Windows XP system, go to Control Panel ➪ Display ➪ Screen Saver tab. Under either operating system, look through the available images (including Blank) in the drop-down list and select one. You can see a preview of the design, and select the period of time of inactivity before the screen saver takes over the screen. Some of the screensavers also offer user-configurable settings. 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 112 Book II Chapter 2 Painting Flames on the Operating System: Customizing Securing a Screen Saver 113 Creating your own screen saver Notwithstanding my recommendation to use a blank screen when you’re run- ning on batteries, you can create your own screen saver using pictures or videos. Follow these instructions if you’re on a Windows Vista machine: 1. Click Control Panel. 2. Click the Personalization icon. 3. Click Screen Savers ➪ Photos. This creates a slideshow from all images in the Photos folder. Follow these instructions if you’re on Windows XP: 1. Click Control Panel. 2. Double-click Display. 3. Choose the Screen Saver tab. The Screen saver drop-down menu appears. Figure 2-4: Windows offers a variety of screen savers, from the demure to the flashy. You can set the time period before the screen saver becomes active and make other adjustments. 11 140925-bk02ch02.qxp 4/8/08 12:36 PM Page 113 . LCD is the number of colors used to construct images. The standard setting for most laptops is 32 bit, which allows for use of colors from a palette of 16,777,216 hues and intensities; in most. danger to what is now con- sidered the old-fashioned CRT that desktop computers used. LCDs used on laptops (and increasingly, with desktops) are more resistant to burn-in. However, you can cause. may not yield the best possible picture. The base resolution for what is now an old-fashioned cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor on a desktop computer was 640 × 480 dots (a total of 307,200 pixels),