Tired of boring desktop themes and a blah ringtone? There are many options available in the Windows operating system to customize your PC and phone. Start with Windows 7 themes, or download free ringtones for your cell phone. You can even find emoticons for instant messaging, backgrounds for your Windows desktop, and clip art and photos to customize your folders.
Make your PC your own
Here are a few of the ways you can make a statement with your PC and phone.
Windows desktop
Make your Windows desktop pop by changing themes, customizing your folder icons, updating the background (sometimes called wallpaper), changing your screen saver, and adding useful gadgets (for Windows 7 and Windows Vista), and changing your screen saver. But what are these things? Here are some definitions:
Theme: A combination of elements that define the Windows background, colors, sounds, and screen on your PC. You can use one of several preexisting themes that come with Windows, or you can create your own.
Here’s how to change your Windows theme:
Select a new theme—or create your own from the Control Panel.
Background: The image (or wallpaper) on your Windows desktop. Your background will automatically change if you select a new Windows theme, but if you’d like to change just the background (and not all the other components that a theme would alter), you can either choose from the many standard backgrounds supplied by the Windows operating system or you can create your own. You can do this with any image—a picture of your latest camping trip, a slide show of your pets, or a stock image from the Clipart, video and sound category of the Microsoft Office Downloads Marketplace.
Here’s how to change your desktop:
The Windows operating system comes with several background choices.
Screen saver: An image that appears when your screen is not in use. All Windows operating systems supply several screen savers that you can choose from. If none of these are what you are looking for, you can also create your own from a photo or download and install a custom screen saver from a trusted source.
Here’s how to change your screen saver:
Only download screen savers from a trusted source.
Gadgets: Desktop tools that provide information, such as clocks, updated news headlines, or calendars. With gadgets, you can get the information you need without closing windows or your browser. Learn more about gadgets and download new gadgets.
The Gadget Gallery in Windows 7 offers many choices.
Learn more about personalizing your Windows desktop:
Learn more about custom options for your desktop:
Quick tip: Change the look of the folders on your desktop. Each folder on your desktop (or in Documents or My Documents) is represented by an icon. You can easily replace them with different icons. Here's how to change the icons and folder views on your desktop:
Windows 7
Right-click the folder or shortcut that needs a new icon, and then click Properties.
Do one of the following:
To change the icon for a shortcut, click the Shortcut tab.
To change the icon for a folder, click the Customize tab.
Click Change Icon, and then choose the new icon that you want to use.
Windows XP
Right-click the folder that you want to change, and go to Properties.
Select the Customize tab.
Under Folder Icons, click Change Icon. You can select from the list of Windows icons that come with your operating system or choose an icon that you have downloaded.
To do the latter, go to Browse, and locate the folder that contains your downloaded icons.
Click the icon that you want, click Open, and then click OK.
This will bring you back to the Site Images Properties box. From here, click Apply, and then click OK.
Windows Media Player
You can personalize your Windows Media Player windows with custom skins, visualizations, and plug-ins. You may wonder what these are. Here are some definitions that might help:
Skins: Provide a distinctive look to Windows Media Player when you’re in skin mode. You can change skins any time by using the Skin chooser. To open the Skin chooser, select the View tab, and then select Skin chooser. Learn more about skins.
You can change Windows Media Player skins at any time with the Skin chooser.
Visualizations: Colorful patterns and shapes that synchronize with the music you’re playing in Windows Media Player. Several visualizations are included with Windows Media Player, but you can download more to suit your mood. Visualizations are only visible when you are listening to music and in the Now playing mode. Learn more about how to view and change visualizations.
Visualizations synchronize colors and shapes with your music.
You can also get plug-ins for Windows Media Player that provide audio effects, such as patented SRS audio technologies to customize your sound or technologies to add features (like three-dimensional surround sound and headphone optimization) or enhanced DVD playback capability. Learn more about plug-ins.
Windows Live Messenger
The next time you're instant messaging, insert an emoticon—a graphic that expresses the way that you really feel. Don't just pick the standard happy face when a bolt of lightning, a hug, or a wilted rose better reflects your mood. There's a comprehensive list of ways to create these emoticons with your keyboard on Messenger.
Quick tip: Add new emoticons to illustrate your Messenger conversations. Create personalized emoticons from your own images to add to your instant messaging conversations. A good place to go for images is the Office Downloads Marketplace Clipart, video and sound category.
Here’s how to add new emoticons:
Windows 7
Open Windows Live Messenger.
Click Tools, and then click Emoticons.
Click Create.
Select Find Image, and then navigate to the folder where you saved your downloaded images (any image you have will work).
Enter a keyboard shortcut/code for this particular emoticon. (Choose a shortcut that will be easy to remember.)
Click OK.
Windows Vista
Open Windows Live Messenger.
Click Tools, and then click Emoticons.
Click Create.
Select Find Image, and then navigate to the folder where you saved your downloaded images (any image you have will work).
Enter a keyboard shortcut/code for this particular emoticon. (Choose a shortcut that will be easy to remember.)
Windows XP
Open Windows Live Messenger.
Click Tools, and then click Emoticons.
Click Create.
Select Find Image, and then navigate to the folder where you saved your downloaded images (any image you have will work).
Enter a keyboard shortcut/code for this particular emoticon. (Choose a shortcut that will be easy to remember.)
You can also find lots of fun animated emoticons on the web at sites like Messenger Freak or Free Smileys.
Personalize your Windows Phone
Now that you’ve done some work to personalize your PC, check out some of the ways you can customize your Windows Phone.
Windows Phone 7
Phone theme and sounds: You can set the accent color background theme and use a photo for your lock screen wallpaper. You can also select from a collection of sound and ringtones and, if you like, create your own ringtones.
Games and apps: To finish personalizing your phone, go to the Marketplace and get the latest games and apps.
Windows Phone Marketplace has many popular games and apps to download.
Windows Phone 6.5
There's also an area on Windows Phone Marketplace for older Windows Mobile phones (like Windows Phone 6.5 or Windows Phone 6). You'll find numerous Windows Mobile downloads, including wallpapers, reference sources, news and information apps, games and entertainment, and, of course, ringtones.
You can find even more downloads for your specific Windows Phone operating system:
