Section 4.1. Aero or Not: Home Premium Business Enterprise Ultimate


4.1. Aero or Not: Home Premium ¢ Business ¢ Enterprise ¢ Ultimate

If you ask Microsoft, the whole Aero thing (the look and the features) is a key benefit of Vista. Indeed, those glassy surfaces and see-through window edges are, in large part, where Vista got its name and its breathless marketing slogan ("Bring clarity to your world").

But there's certain to be someone, somewhere, who doesn't care for the new lookand Microsoft rarely takes a step forward without offering a step back to those who want it. You can not only change Vista's color scheme, you can also completely turn off the Aero look and features, if you so desire . You can substitute any of the three looks depicted in Figure 4-1.

Figure 4-1. Most people with fast enough computers use the Aero Glass look of Windows Vistaand that's why the illustrations in this book show Aero Glass. But your computer may look different, especially if you've deliberately turned on one of the other styles .
Your choices are: Vista Basic (middle), which looks a lot like Aerothe window edges are still rounded, and the Start menu still has the new two-tone design, but the window edges aren't transparent. You lose taskbar thumbnails (page 94) and Flip 3D, too (page 90) .
With Windows Standard (bottom) and the slightly darker Windows Classic, you lose all semblance of 3-D window elements; windows have sharp, square corners, and the Start menu is solidly gray. You're in a weird cross between Windows Vista and Windows Me .



Tip: Aero Glass uses up some of your PC's horsepower, 24 hours a day. Changing your scheme from Aero to Basic (or simply turning off transparency) can give your computer a speed boost, because it no longer has to compute and draw fuzzy images of whatever is behind your window title bars.

Microsoft figures that's not something you'll want to do often, so the controls are a bit buried. But here they are, just in case you're a believer in opaque window edges:

  1. Right-click a blank spot on the desktop. From the shortcut menu, choose Personalize .

    The Personalization control panel opens.

  2. Click the first link, "Window Color and Appearance."

    If you've been using the Aero design, you now arrive at the dialog box shown in Figure 4-2. Here's where you can choose a different accent color for your windows, or adjust (or turn off) the degree of window-edge transparency, which will make your PC slightly faster.

    Figure 4-2. This dialog box, new in Vista, is offered only if Windows deems your computer worthy to run the Aero cosmetic scheme (page 22). Here's where you can adjust the color tint, change (or turn off) the transparency effect, or open the Appearance Settings dialog box (Figure 4-3) .


    If you've been using one of the other themes, you go directly to the dialog box shown in Figure 4-3; skip to step 4.

    Figure 4-3. Left: This box lists canned designs, but for real fun, click Advanced .
    Right: Click a part of the view pane (Desktop, Scrollbar, and so on). Then use the menus to choose colors and type sizes for the chosen interface element .


  3. Click "Open classic appearance properties..." at the bottom of the window .

    The Appearance Settings dialog box opens.

  4. In the Color Scheme list, click the Windows design look you prefer: Windows Vista Aero, Windows Vista Basic, Windows Standard, or Windows Classic .

    With each click, you see a sample at the top of the dialog box. (Figure 4-3 shows the samples more clearly.)

  5. Once you find a design you like, click OK .

    The screen flickers, thunder rolls somewhere, and your screen changes.




Windows Vista. The Missing Manual
Windows Vista: The Missing Manual
ISBN: 0596528272
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 284
Authors: David Pogue

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