You've gotten your hands on Windows XP. You've installed it, activated it, and started using it, but the all-too-cute desktop and icons are driving you loony. There's no need to be a victim of desktop ennui or icon worship. Windows XP provides many ways to customize the look of your new operating system, even reverting back to the old Windows 95/98 desktop should you need to resort to that comfort zone.

Moonstruck

Much has been made of the new operating system's fully revamped interface, code-named Luna. Many have pointed out its similarities to Apple's Macintosh operating system Aqua interface, with its smoothly rounded, almost 3D icons due to anti-aliasing. Whether Luna's borrowed or something new, it's a major update since Microsoft's launch of Windows 95.

One of the most noticeable changes is the Start menu. Clicking on Start on the taskbar now opens a double-paned menu bar. (View software interface.) The left pane contains shortcuts to applications that you use the most or most recently. At the bottom is an item called All Programs. Clicking on this opens the folders to all of the applications on your computer. The right pane contains several links to different folders that Microsoft has deemed the most useful. But to those used to the comfortable, single-paned start menu, there is a way out. By accessing the Taskbar (see it up close) and Start Menu option from the Control Panel folder or by right-clicking on an empty space on the taskbar and clicking on Properties, you gain access to more customization options. (See it up close.) One of them, under the Start Menu tab, contains a radio button to change to the "Classic" windows scheme. Though change is good most of the time, who says you can't be as or more productive using a familiar environment?

For the truly adventurous, however, there's more to explore in the Windows XP desktop jungle. Under the same Start Menu tab, clicking on the Customize button produces a menu for, among other things, changing icon size, reducing or increasing the number of programs on the Start Menu, and displaying folders as links. (See it up close.) You can have as many as 30 items on the Start Menu or even none, should you so choose. You can also change some of the default programs that the OS sets upon installation. For our email program, for instance, we chose to set it to Lotus Notes (our mail program here at work) instead of the default, which was Microsoft Outlook. Indeed, there are so many ways to change the desktop that you can have almost any program you want on the Start Menu, contrary to some assertions that Microsoft will control which programs are going to be on the interface.

Themes have been around since Windows 95, at one time offered as a separate plug-in to the OS. A theme is a set of icons, a set of sounds, a background, and a screensaver. To change the desktop theme, right-click on a blank space on the desktop, choose Properties, and click on the Themes tab. Windows XP RC1 only possesses two themes, plus a link to "More Themes" in the drop-down menu. Although Microsoft will offer more themes on its website once Windows XP launches, currently clicking on More Themes opens the Windows Media page. There are no links to any downloadable themes. (See it up close.)

Pros and icons

Many of the options to change the icons have existed in at least Windows 98, for instance, displaying the desktop as a webpage or changing default icons. Some of the new options on Windows XP include a Desktop Cleanup Wizard that you can schedule to run every 60 days or manually. It places unused desktop icons to a special folder also located on the desktop. The new OS also allows you to "lock" desktop icons so that other users can't recustomize them or move them around by accident.

Summary: Windows XP offers a brand-new look that's pleasing to the eye. But it's not the desktop that you have to live with, should you choose to upgrade to the new Microsoft OS. Customization features abound. You can even opt to work in the classic Windows 95/98 desktop environment while enjoying the new functionalities in Windows XP.