geeky tutorials, tips, guides and reviews
Want a more productive menu bar in Windows?
For the past few months now, I’ve gone with the extra thick menu bar at the bottom of my computer. Since my screen size is so big now (1920×1200), I figured I could spare the extra space. Here is how I created mine, just in case you might want to try the same.
Since I have to stare at my desktop for several hours of the day, I like to make sure everything is nice, neat and organized. Taskix is the free and lightweight program I use to sort my Windows taskbar tabs, so that they are exactly in the order I want them in.
Once installed, all you have to do is start the program up, click the check mark box for “Always Start with Windows” and “Drag Tabs” then click the button labeled active. Now you can drag and drop to arrange your Windows taskbar the way you see fit. This program is a blessing for anybody who has multiple windows open throughout the day.
It also comes with several other options such as:
The program is free to use, although the creator would like it if you could register and possibly give a little cash in appreciation. Taskix is simply the best lightweight Windows taskbar tab reordering tool.
Decorating my PC’s desktop with a simple wood-like wallpaper seems to help me clear the clutter, and focus more on the task at hand. Well, that and I just think the wood look and feel just looks awesome on any computer monitor. With that in mind I have collected 25 of my favorite wood-related wallpapers to share with you here.
Darker Wood Have a favorite that didn’t make it onto the list? Be sure to let me know. Also, feel free to spread the list around to see if we can find even more great wood wallpaper.
Since switching to Windows Vista, there haven’t been too many other visual styles I have fallen in love with – especially in comparison with the number of them that are out there for Windows XP. I have found one port though that is well worth your time if you want a simpler (yet, not ugly) Vista theme.
The eno Vista Port visual style for Windows Vista keeps things simple, but doesn’t look awful when doing so. The only thing I miss in comparison with Vista’s default theme is the search box is missing in the start menu.
As a word of warning, switching your Vista visual styles is a ‘bit more tedious of a task than it was in XP. If you are looking for a good guide to hold your hand durring the process, check out: How to Patch Windows Vista to Enable Custom Themes (Visual Styles)
I’m not usually a fan of any wallpaper that looks anything like the default scheme, however this mix of multiple default wallpapers you pick up with your OS of choice was very appealing to me.
Go pickup the Aurora, Leopard vs Vista Wallpaper for yourself over at DeviantArt. Also, I’m all about supporting the artist – so check out more of SixWinged work here too.
Related Shock and Awe: Check out more past wallpaper favorites from Mitchelaneous!
Remember a few posts past, when I asked if anybody had a solution for Windows Vista color coded folders? I had this on Windows XP with the help of programs like Folderico. That is when I decided it might be better off creating my own colorful Vista folder icon pack so I could just do this myself – no extra program needed!
Download the Vista Colorful Folder Pack! (.zip)
All of the icons are in the .ico format, and supports the following sizes:
256 x 256, 128 x 128, 64 x 64, 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16
Why color code your folders? Having color coded folders for certain documents is more than just about “making things pretty”. It is also very helpful when it comes to getting things done. Let’s say you use the green folder for your bills, green is the color of money – hence it makes you jump right to it instead of having to hunt through all those yellow folders.
Depending on how popular these are, I might release more colored folders in the future. Feel free to use them however you like. If you pass it around to a friend, might also mention where you got it and ask them to subscribe to my RSS feed for more!
Playing around with creating desktop icons for my Windows Vista PC, I was using this picture as a kind of test to see what I could do. Looked good to me (come on, it is Maria after all), so I thought I would release it out to all of you. Can you tell which icon stands out more?
It is in the .ico format, and supports the following sizes:
256 x 256, 128 x 128, 64 x 64, 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16
Download the Maria Kanellis Desktop Icon (.zip)
Download it and feel free to do whatever you want with it. If you pass it around, just make sure you give me a link back, or better yet just subscribe to my RSS feed and we will call it even.
I’ve been out searching for a program that will allow me to quickly color code the folders on my Vista machine. The only problem is, I can find a lot of good programs that work with Windows XP but this must be a harder task to accomplish on Vista.
Here are a few of the Windows XP programs I have tried (all good solutions by the way) that just haven’t gotten the job done thus far.
So I am asking you, do you know of a good Vista folder customizer out there? I need something that would allow me to quickly change the colors to kind of help organize things a ‘bit in my PC. Better yet, how do you organize your “My Document” folders?
How does that sound? Personally, I was more of a Ryu fan than a fan of Ken. Ken just never did anything for me. Then again, I think M. Bison could whoop up on both of them. My earliest childhood memories of Street Fighter actually have to do with me thinking the M. in M. Bison stood for Mitch. Why? Well my name is Mitch and I just thought it would be cool… what can I say? I was easily amused at that age. Oh yeah, here are some Street Fighter IV icons!
If you like these, be sure to check out the other video game based icons in Th3-ProphetMan’s collection. From GTA IV to Gears of War I am sure you’ll find a few more to enjoy.
Well yesterday was the big day – got my desktop PC back from HP!
Looks like they replaced my power supply and I should be back up and running as I was in a few days at most. Going to take time to get things synced back over from my laptop to my desktop. Overall I would say I was very impressed with how HP handled the situation. A couple of days ago they even gave me a phone call to see how things were going and if I had gotten it back yet – that was nice.
On a side note, I can also report that Windows Vista’s image based backup service actually works! I made a backup of my PC before I sent it off and I am now back to how I was two weeks ago (even after a few reformats in between). I am almost scared to praise them too much because then the wheels might fall off – but thus far that part of the experience has been the most surprising of all.
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.
Mitch Keeler is nothing more than your average Joe trying to leave his mark on the world though both his professional work and his online projects, articles, podcasts and more.
