50 ways to customise Windows Vista (part 5)

Today marks the last in this series, concentrating on Media and the Internet. No need to be disheartened, though, as on Monday we’ll be kicking off another weekly event! In the mean time though, here’s the final ten.

41. Skin Windows Media Player

When you opt to run Windows Media Player in Skin Mode (press [Ctrl] + [2]), you’re given a limited choice of two cut-down versions of the main player when you select View > Skin Chooser. Click the More Skins button, though, and you’ll see dozens of more striking examples to choose from. Opt to download and open the file directly, and it’ll appear for selection the Skin Chooser as soon as it’s downloaded.

Give Windows Media Player a facelift with a new skin

42. Customise Library View

A collage of album covers accompanies each artist’s entry in Library view

The Windows Media Player Library provides you with a number of different views depending on the information that you want to see. For example, open the program and choose Library. Now select Year to see your albums arranged by year and grouped by decade. If you’re not sure that the album information you have is correct, right click the album art and choose Update Album Info.

43. Add new features to Internet Explorer

Want to improve Internet Explorer even further? You can extend its functionality with the help of handy add-ins. You’ll find a selection of add-ins by choosing Tools > Manage Add-ons > Find More Add-ons. Three favourites include McAfee’s Site Advisor for additional protection against untrustworthy web sites, IE Spell for checking your spelling in web forms and boxes, and Open Last Closed Tab, which enables you to re-open an accidentally closed tab simply by pressing [Alt] + [X]

Internet Explorer can be improved with the help of third-party add-ons

44. More Toolbars

You’ll find plenty of toolbars available that offer additional functionality to Internet Explorer too. If you’ve got your own web site, you can even build a toolbar from scratch for it at Loyalty Toolbar – customise it with the elements you and your site visitors will find most useful. If you don’t have a site, but want to see what all the fuss is about, check out the SupportPCs toolbar for an example of what’s possible.

45. Customise Links Toolbar

Fancy quick access to your favourite web sites in Internet Explorer? Select Tools > Toolbars > Links and then drag web addresses from the main address bar on to the Links bar to add them. Alternatively, move existing favorites to the links bar by choosing Favorites > Organize Favorites (select Tools > Menu Bar if it’s not visible).

The Links bar makes it easy to access your most-used web sites

46. Tweak Windows Live Messenger

If you’re a fan of instant messaging with Windows Live Messenger, read on to discover how to customise it to your tastes.

a) Change Backgrounds

Select Tools > Backgrounds. You can pick an image or dynamic (animated) background from the list and click Set Default to apply it, or click Browse to choose your own image instead.

b) Change Emoticons

Choose Tools > Emoticons, then click Create followed by Find Image. Browse to and select your choice of picture before clicking Open. Pick the keyboard shortcut you’ll use to trigger the emoticon and provide a name. Click OK.

c) Add New Winks

Select Tools > Winks to preview existing winks, or click “Get more winks to download”. Alternatively, visit the Windows Gallery in your web browser. Other third-party winks are available, but make sure you get them from a reputable source.

d) Change Sounds

To change the sound effects used, pick Tools > Options > Alerts and Sounds. Select an event and click Play to hear what it currently sounds like. Click Browse to change it (you can use WMA, WAV or MP3 files), or untick an event to prevent it from playing a sound at all.

47. Chustomise Windows Media Center

You can switch the default blue colour scheme for a high-contrast black or white background by selecting Tasks > Settings, then choosing General > Visual and Sound Effects. While you’re here, you can also change the video background colour’s shade from black to white through various shades of grey.

48. Expand Windows Media Center

Add new features to Windows Media Center

If you spend a lot of time with Windows Media Center, you’ll be glad to know you can add additional plug-ins to it so its functionality is extended. Need to check the weather forecast between programs for example? Download mceWeather. Whether it’s useful little tools for the Media Center or some fun games to play within it using your remote control, visit Benshouse for a massive list.

49. Windows Sidebar

The Windows Sidebar offers a collection of useful features at your fingertips, but have you taken the time to set it up exactly the way you want it to work? Start by removing those sidebar gadgets you don’t need and adding those you do – click Add Gadgets followed by Get more gadgets online to track down loads of free add-ons online.

50. Change Sidebar Behaviour

If you right-click the Windows Sidebar and choose Properties you can change where it appears on-screen and what it displays. To prevent it from starting automatically, untick “Start Sidebar when Windows starts”. The Arrangement section enables you to keep the sidebar on top of all other windows (they’ll shrink to accommodate it), position to the left of the screen and even put it on a secondary monitor if you have two displays connected to your PC.

Don’t forget to tweak how the Windows Sidebar itself looks and works

Part One?Part Two?Part Three?Part Four?Part Five

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