In previous articles in this series I have given the
basics on how to change your desktop theme using products such as WindowBlinds,
IconPackager, DesktopX, and more. We have taken our simple, boring desktop
to a whole new level by changing the visual style, icons, cursors, adding
widgets and more to add style and personalize the desktop. You probably thought
after the 3rd installment that I was done, but think again. There still
are things I didn't cover, and I wanted to continue on today.
The ability to change your logon screen in Windows XP is
still very popular and people are still creating and uploading some fantastic
logon screens almost daily. This another simple way to add that style to
your PC, and the way to do that is to use
LogonStudio from
Stardock. LogonStudio will allow you to easily create and apply logon
screens in Windows XP. You can get new logons from the
Logons gallery on
WinCustomize.com.
Once you find a logon you want to use you can simply
double-click the .logonxp file to add it to LogonStudio, or you can load it from
inside the LogonStudio configuration window.
You can select which logon to use and then click "apply",
and your new logon screen should work. It also has the option to use
random logons each time you boot. You can also create your own logons by
clicking "new", and going from there. I'm not
going to go into how to create a logon, but you can find more information at the
LogonStudio site or the forums on WinCustomize.
If you are a user of Windows Vista then don't worry.
Stardock is developing LogonStudio Vista and that will allow you to change and
create logons much in the same way as LogonStudio for XP. Right now it's
in beta and you can find more information about LogonStudio Vista
here.
The next application we will discuss is
ObjectBar. This
is a very powerful program and it really deserves its own article, but for the
purpose of this article I will just stick with the basics and show you what
ObjectBar can do. It allows users to create and use an alternative
interface for Windows XP. You can use ObjectBar to create and apply custom
start bars, menus, program launchers, and much more.
ObjectBar is well known for creating start menus to
emulate the look of OS X, and people have also used it to create Vista-like
interfaces as well. As you can see in the screenshots the ObjectBar
configuration is highly customizable and is even compatible with DesktopX
widgets. If you would like to read more about the features of ObjectBar,
or learn how to create your own then I recommend this great in depth article....Creating
an ObjectBar.
In this 4th installment of this series we have covered the
way you can easily change your logon screen in Windows XP, and how you can use
Stardocks ObjectBar to create an entirely new interface in Windows XP. All
of these will work with the other applications described in previous articles
such as WindowBlinds and IconPackager. With a combination of applications
there's almost an endless variety of ways to personalize your desktop to your
own style. Click the links below for more product information and
downloads.
