New Technology Reviews!.: interface

Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote

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<img alt="collection1 520x245 Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/0dab4a161e20x245.jpg.jpg" height="245" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/0dab4a161e20x245.jpg.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="collection" width="520" /> 
Searcheeze is a new search curation tool that has just come out of private beta. Co-founded by Stefano Passatadori and Flavio Gambardella, the Italy-based startup was originally unveiled a couple of years ago as Ibrii. 
With two years worth of feedback under their belts, the co-founders took Ibrii and reformatted it to create Searcheeze,  a service which made it as a finalist in European Demo Day in San Franciso this past July. 
Searcheeze allows you to collect images, text and video from around the web, and save them to an online account, much like Evernote does. The difference between Evernote and Searcheeze is the fact that the latter is focused on giving users a collaborative experience when it comes to searching for and saving content from the web. 
After signing up for a free account you can begin to create new topics. You have the choice of making these topics public or private, as well as inviting other users to contribute. Invitations can be sent via email or Facebook. 
To actually populate your topic, you can install the handy bookmarklet which allows you to drag text, images, audio clips and video into the Searcheeze sidebar. 
<img alt="searcheeze2 Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ddcc157888heeze2.png.png" height="238" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ddcc157888heeze2.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="searcheeze2" width="520" /> 
You can also add text of your own through the web interface, as well as add captions to each item you save. 
<img alt="searcheeze3 Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/34e2edc7c9heeze3.png.png" height="492" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/34e2edc7c9heeze3.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="searcheeze3" width="520" /> 
Just as you can drag and drop items into the Searcheeze sidebar, you can also drag and drop them within the sidebar to rearrange their order, as well as in the web interface. 
<img alt="Searcheeze4 Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/f2a29cc543heeze4.png.png" height="520" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/f2a29cc543heeze4.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="Searcheeze4" width="268" /> 
The final page, which you can share publicly or keep private will feature all of your shared items in a sleek, clean grid, which is very easy to read. 
<img alt="searcheeze5 Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/7c064028b1heeze5.png.png" height="500" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/7c064028b1heeze5.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="searcheeze5" width="385" /> 
Each text item will have it’s own box, accompanied by the link where the text came from and the date it was saved. Videos are each displayed in their own box on the page. In our experience YouTube videos didn’t play nice with Searcheeze, but we had no trouble adding Vimeo videos to our collection. 
<img alt="searcheeze6 Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/e83e5eba19heeze6.png.png" height="204" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/e83e5eba19heeze6.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="searcheeze6" width="520" />All photos are displayed in a gallery, which opens up in a lightbox. 
<img alt="searcheeze7 Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/d2e86a1aafheeze7.png.png" height="378" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/d2e86a1aafheeze7.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="searcheeze7" width="461" />Once you’re ready to share your collection to the world you can publish it on Searcheeze and, if you’ve connected your Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and WordPress accounts, you can autopost the collections to these services with the click of a button. 
So why would you use a tool like Searcheeze over Evernote? While Evernote allows you to publicly share your notes, you can only allow others to modify content if you are a premium user. Searcheeze gives you this feature for free. And as far as aesthetics are concerned, Searcheeze definitely sprints ahead of Evernote, as the final product looks far better. 
Needless to say Evernote’s overall features are far more robust than Searcheeze, but the service addresses one issue in particular – making it easy for a team to contribute to any given topic. 
Comparisons to Evernote aside, Searcheeze is an ideal tool for teams working on a project and need to be able to share information from around the web in a quick and easy way. For private users, it can easily be used as an online scrapbook of sorts, or online bookmarking alternative, allowing you to save clippings from all over the web, in neat organized topics. 
<img alt="" data-mce-src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheNextWeb/~4/AJuzN3h3ucs" height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheNextWeb/~4/AJuzN3h3ucs" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="1" /> 
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Searcheeze: A collaborative alternative to Evernote

Searcheeze is a new search curation tool that has just come out of private beta. Co-founded by Stefano Passatadori and Flavio Gambardella...

Apple wins major touchscreen patent

Apple has been granted a patent relating to the capacitive touchscreen it introduced on the original iPhone after three years of deliberation. The patent basically gives Apple rights over the multitouch display and gestures used on its iPhone, iPad and iPod products. That means that manufacturers of rival touchscreen products should probably put their lawyers on speed dial, as Apple is likely to come after them for licensing fees or pursue them on the basis of copyright infringement. Patent bullying Patent commenter and IP law blogger Florian Mueller said, "This patent covers a kind of functionality without which it will be hard to build a competitive smartphone. "Unless this patent becomes invalidated, it would allow Apple to stifle innovation and bully competitors." The ruling could also mean the end of pinch-to-zoom web browsing on any handset but an iDevice, as the patent specifically covers smartphones using finger gestures to manipulate a web page. But it's not all rain clouds and thunderbolts for Apple's competitors – they could be safe unless they've copied the interface entirely, every finger gesture and all. Mueller explains, "The way to read a patent claim is that it's only infringed if the accused technology is implemented in its entirety—all of the characteristics must be matched." What will Apple do with its new found power? Let's hope it uses it for good and not to stifle competition in the smartphone sector.

Apple wins major touchscreen patent

Apple has been granted a patent relating to the capacitive touchscreen it introduced on the original iPhone after three years of deliberatio...

Cambridge developing 'mind reading' computer interface with the countenance of Charles Babbage (video)

<div><img alt="" border="1" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/12/101223-robot-01.jpg" vspace="4" /></div> 
<div>For years now, researchers have been exploring ways to create devices that understand the nonverbal cues that we take for granted in human-human interaction. One of the more interesting projects we've seen of late is led by Professor Peter Robinson at the Computer Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, who is working on what he calls "mind-reading machines," which can infer mental states of people from their body language. By analyzing faces, gestures, and tone of voice, it is hoped that machines could be made to be more helpful (hell, we'd settle for "less frustrating"). Peep the video after the break to see Robinson using a traditional (and annoying) satnav device, versus one that features both the Cambridge "mind-reading" interface and a humanoid head modeled on that of Charles Babbage. "The way that Charles and I can communicate," Robinson says, "shows us the future of how people will interact with machines." Next stop: uncanny valley!</div>

Cambridge developing 'mind reading' computer interface with the countenance of Charles Babbage (video)

For years now, researchers have been exploring ways to create devices that understand the nonverbal cues that we take for granted in human-...

Beta Beat: Kylo Browser featuring 10-foot interface

<DIV class=separator style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGokn0BuCEgSBcCZt0x_zCxJNozec87_9BCeoohSsEvR2in32-ofyUWK84I-QWgXrteZGRtLPCWtBlgakmXIQIYIxc2KYj67hNzObgpuiGnu1_np2NceNq12l7AJkUvyVLEmhbr-2xrA/s1600/2010-12-16kyloat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGokn0BuCEgSBcCZt0x_zCxJNozec87_9BCeoohSsEvR2in32-ofyUWK84I-QWgXrteZGRtLPCWtBlgakmXIQIYIxc2KYj67hNzObgpuiGnu1_np2NceNq12l7AJkUvyVLEmhbr-2xrA/s1600/2010-12-16kyloat.jpg"></A></DIV> Kylo is a free browser you use from your couch that embraces the 10-foot UI philosophy. The idea is that buttons, menus and text are larger than when viewed at your desk. This aids in usability when sitting farther away from the display, as would be the case in a living room environment. It is powered by Mozilla -- which may or may not be a feature depending on your opinion -- and is easy to navigate with little visual clutter. In addition to standard Web browsing, Kylo offers a host of online video options, including YouTube, Netflix and many network offerings. The most notable source that appears to be absent is Hulu; if you browse the Kylo forums you'll find there are workarounds to this, but your mileage may vary. The experience is definitely more pleasurable than using Firefox in full-screen mode. The only issue I really have with Kylo is that, even though it is free, there is an occasional advertisement for its companion product, the Loop. The ads don't seem to be too intrusive, but that could change in the future. If you've got a Mac that you hook up to your TV for online video duty or just general Web surfing from the couch, then Kylo seems to be a real winner. Do you have any other suggestions for couch computing? We'd love to hear from you in the comments about how you're getting the most out of the 10-foot experience with your Mac.

Beta Beat: Kylo Browser featuring 10-foot interface

Kylo is a free browser you use from your couch that embraces the 10-foot UI philosophy. The idea is that buttons, menus and text are larger ...

Breaking: First pictures: Virgin Media's new TiVo user interface

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/home-entertainment/tv/HomeScreen4x3-200-200.jpg"> The first screen shots of Virgin Media's brand new 'powered by TiVo' interface have surfaced, with the long-awaited overhaul to the cable giant's UI bringing massive changes. The decision to partner up with US PVR maker TiVo was huge news for customers of Virgin Media, with its current user interface showing its age. The revamp is based heavily on the latest TiVo interface, boosted hugely by a more graphical look and built around finding content from any source more readily. <img alt="Virgin media powered by tivo: search tile" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/tv/VirginUI_non4x3/SearchTitlesandActors-420-90.jpg" title="Virgin media powered by tivo: search tile" width="420"></IMG> The colours, as you would expect, remain Virgin Media red, black and gold, with the TiVo logo present in the background. TiVo did have a brief foray into UK territory but found itself pushed out by former-partner Sky and its Sky+ technology. There is residual bitterness over this, and the US company will be keen for the Virgin Media tie-up to do well against the latest Sky+ HD boxes. <img alt="Virgin media powered by tivo: series link" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/tv/VirginUI_non4x3/SeriesLinkRecording-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Search will play a major factor in the user interface, and you can rely on the fact that the TiVo 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down' rating, which not only allows you to set your preferences but also to have the box automatically look for viewing patterns across its user base, will be present. The final details on the box are thin on the ground, but expected to arrive in the coming week, with the first boxes set to arrive next month in order to meet the timeframe of a 2010 launch.

Breaking: First pictures: Virgin Media's new TiVo user interface

The first screen shots of Virgin Media's brand new 'powered by TiVo' interface have surfaced, with the long-awaited overhaul to ...

Tutorial: 25 cool Windows 7 interface tweaks

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PC%20Plus/PCP%20300/PCP300.feat1windows.gadgets-200-200.jpg"> Your fresh installation of Windows 7 gives a 'one size fits all' configuration, but there are countless ways in which you can tweak the standard operating system to make it better suit your particular needs. Built-in customisation options include the usual controls over the interface theme and the way in which Windows alerts you to important events. There are also a bevy of free add-ons, which provide an even wider choice of customisation options – from ways to change parts of the OS that Microsoft doesn't cater for, to adding clever new features that make Windows 7 even more capable. Here are 25 of our favourite tweaks. 1. Change the colour of the Aero UI Windows 7's sleek Aero theme is a definite improvement on Windows XP's ugly Luna, but you may not like its default colours. Right-click the desktop, choose 'Personalize', then 'Window Color', and you'll be able to tweak the colours to your heart's content. Shades of red work particularly well for distinguishing between active and inactive windows – unlike the default blue tones. You can turn off transparency here too, should you wish to. 2. Change the Windows theme Customising the colour scheme of Windows 7 is one thing, but how about more drastic changes? Right-click the desktop, then choose 'Personalize', and you can change the entire interface theme – the desktop wallpaper, colour scheme, system sounds and mouse pointers. A handful of themes are installed by default, but click the 'Get more themes online' link and you can download others for free. 3. Change your user account picture <img alt="user account picture" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Plus/PCP%20300/PCP300.feat1windows.pic01-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Customising your user account image is a great way to differentiate quickly between multiple accounts on a single PC. Windows 7 comes with a selection of images to choose from – just go to 'Start | Control Panel | User accounts and family safety | Change your account picture'. The 'Browse for more pictures' link at the bottom of this window also enables you to choose one of your own images and Windows will automatically resize it to suit. 4. Switch system sounds Windows has long been able to make noises to reflect just about anything it does, but not everyone wants to hear a ding, beep, buzz or click for every system event. Go to 'Start | Control Panel | Appearance and Personalization | Change sound effects', and you can selectively change or disable the sounds that Windows 7 assigns to each system event. You can also select from a range of other novel sound schemes, or opt for 'No Sounds' if you prefer to work uninterrupted. 5. Add a taskbar toolbar Windows 7's ability to pin programs to the taskbar has eliminated the need for the Quick launch Toolbar, but you can still add other types of toolbar for quick access to certain tasks. Right-click on an empty part of the taskbar, then select 'Toolbars' and you can an address box for quick-launching URLs, or a desktop button for ready access to desktop shortcuts when your screen is full of windows. Touch-screen PC users can also add a tablet PC input panel for quick onetap access to the on-screen handwriting input. 6. Customise the Start menu Microsoft has removed the 'Classic Start menu' option from Windows 7, but you can still alter its look and feel to make it better suited to the way you work. Right-click the 'Start' button, choose 'Properties' and a dialog box will open with some basic privacy settings. Click the 'Customise' button and you can then make more drastic changes to the Start menu's appearance. 7. Change what the Start menu 'power' button does Thankfully, the excessively complex shutdown option on Windows Vista's Start menu has been streamlined in Windows 7, but Microsoft has also changed the default power button behaviour from 'Sleep' to a full shutdown. If you want to change it back, right-click the Start button, choose 'Properties' and select your preferred option from the 'Power button action' dropdown list. 8. Calm down UAC Microsoft wisely opted to reduce the constant pestering of Windows Vista's User Access Control with the release of Service Pack 2, but Windows 7 brings more granular control over when you're asked to confirm certain system-level actions. Go to 'Start | Control Panel | User Accounts and Family Safety | User Accounts | Change User Account Control Settings' and you'll see a slider. The bottom position disables UAC completely, but the next notch up is the best (and least annoying) option for safe computing. 9. Turn off Notification Area alerts Windows 7 likes to keep you informed about the state of your security settings, but you might not want to know about every single thing that crops up. Go to the Action Center, accessed via 'Start | Control Panel | System and Security' and you can alter what Windows badgers you about – including the fact that UAC is disabled. Just don't think that turning off warnings about inadequate antivirus protection is a good idea… 10. Move the taskbar Don't like the Windows 7 taskbar at the bottom of the screen? Then why not drag and drop it to one of the desktop's three other sides? You might need to unlock it first, though – just right-click on an empty area of the taskbar and deselect the appropriate option. You can also click and drag the edge to the taskbar to make it wider, which is ideal if you've pinned lots of applications to it. 11. Go Gadget crazy Windows Gadgets enable you to add at-a-glance information to the Sidebar at the right of the screen to save you looking it up in the web browser. Right-click the desktop, choose 'Gadgets' and you'll see a list of available tools, with a link to download more at the bottom of the window. To enable a Gadget, right-click it and select 'Add'. Most Gadgets have individual settings – hover the mouse pointer over an active one to show its 'spanner' icon. 12. Stop the screensaver interrupting video playback Disabling the Windows screensaver and setting your monitor to turn off after several minutes' inactivity is a great energy saver, but it's a pain if it kicks in when you're watching an online video. The solution is Mouse Jiggler – a free download from <a href="http://mousejiggler.codeplex.com/">http://mousejiggler.codeplex.com</A>. Run the tiny program and it will make Windows 7 think the mouse is moving imperceptibly, even when you're nowhere near it, thereby preventing power-saving options from activating when you don't want them to. 13. Change the login screen There are various clumsy hacks that enable you to change the Windows 7 user login screen, but the free Logon Changer utility from <a href="http://tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon/">www.tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon</A> does all the hard work for you without fuss. Just point the program at the picture you want to use and it will resize it accordingly, back up the original and then make the change. Simple! 14. Do more with dual monitors If you use two or more monitors with Windows, but want a taskbar on more than just the main display, Ultramon is the software for you. As well as making windows on each monitor easier to manage, Ultramon enables you to assign different wallpapers to each desktop, and enables you move to windows around each display with a mouse click. You can download a 30-day demo from <a href="http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/">www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon</A> – the full program is available for £25. 15. Makes Windows easier to see Ultra high-resolution monitors can make certain parts of the Windows interface tricky to see, particularly if your eyesight is far from perfect. Switching a TFT display to a lower, non-native resolution will only make things worse, but Windows 7 offers a better option. Go to 'Start | Control Panel | Appearance and Personalization | Display | Make text and other items larger and smaller', and you'll see two options for making everything in Windows, from on-screen text to the taskbar, look bigger. 16. Customise the Start button If you don't like the look of the round Windows 7 Start button, you can change it with Start Orb Changer. You can download the program for free <a href="http://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-7-start-button-changer-released">from here</A> and switch to one of 10 ready made Start button images, or use one of your own. 17. Get Rainmeter Rainmeter takes the Windows 7 Sidebar Gadgets idea and extends it to the whole desktop. A free download from <a href="http://rainmeter.net/RainCMS/">www.rainmeter.net</A>, it enables you to integrate all kinds of useful system information, along with RSS feeds and Twitter updates. 18. Add backgrounds to windows If you like your desktop to be busy, Windows 7 Folder Background Changer will probably appeal. It's free <a href="http://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-7-folder-background-changer-released">from here</A>. After downloading, there's no installation – just run it, select a folder, pick an image and re-open the Explorer window. 19. Make Explorer windows more XP friendly To make Windows 7 more familiar, enable the menu bar from 'Organize | Layout | Menu bar', then turn off the bottom 'Details' pane. Go to 'Tools | Folder Options', then enable 'Show all folders' and 'Automatically expand to current folder'. 20. Control window sizes with the keyboard If Windows 7's Aero Snap doesn't offer enough control, try Window Manager. This free <a href="http://www.softsea.com/review/Window-Manager.html">download from here</A> enables you to set window sizes and positions for applications, then activate them with keyboard shortcuts. 21. Turn off combined taskbar buttons You can disable Windows 7's combined buttons. Right-click an empty part of the taskbar and choose 'Properties'. Use the 'Taskbar buttons' dropdown to disable button-combining, or use it only when the taskbar is full. 22. Customise the Notification Area Windows 7 tries to manage the contents of the Notification area at the right of the taskbar, but you may need to lend a hand. Right-click the taskbar, choose 'Properties' and then click the 'Customize' button on the General tab to see options for each Notification area icon. 23. Turbo-charge file transfers TeraCopy, a free download from <a href="http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.php">www.codesector.com/teracopy.php</A>, supplants the Explorer copy function with its own buffered copy. This can be far quicker and enables you to preview file operations before committing to them, and to pause transfers. 24. Change desktop icons Right-click the desktop and choose 'Personalize', then click 'Change desktop icons' and select the icon you want to change. Click 'Change Icon' to see a list of other icons you can use, or hit 'Browse' to use your own – <a href="http://iconfactory.com/home">www.iconfactory.com</A> has a good, free selection. 25. Make Windows look like Mac OS A simple way to make your PC ape Mac OS X is with the free Snow Transformation Pack from <a href="http://www.winxsoft.com/stp/download.html">www.winxsoft.com/stp/download.html</A>. The changes are dramatic, reversible and extremely convincing, with only a handful of compromises.

Tutorial: 25 cool Windows 7 interface tweaks

Your fresh installation of Windows 7 gives a 'one size fits all' configuration, but there are countless ways in which you can tweak...

Tutorial: 25 cool Windows 7 interface tweaks

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PC%20Plus/PCP%20300/PCP300.feat1windows.gadgets-200-200.jpg"> Your fresh installation of Windows 7 gives a 'one size fits all' configuration, but there are countless ways in which you can tweak the standard operating system to make it better suit your particular needs. Built-in customisation options include the usual controls over the interface theme and the way in which Windows alerts you to important events. There are also a bevy of free add-ons, which provide an even wider choice of customisation options – from ways to change parts of the OS that Microsoft doesn't cater for, to adding clever new features that make Windows 7 even more capable. Here are 25 of our favourite tweaks. 1. Change the colour of the Aero UI Windows 7's sleek Aero theme is a definite improvement on Windows XP's ugly Luna, but you may not like its default colours. Right-click the desktop, choose 'Personalize', then 'Window Color', and you'll be able to tweak the colours to your heart's content. Shades of red work particularly well for distinguishing between active and inactive windows – unlike the default blue tones. You can turn off transparency here too, should you wish to. 2. Change the Windows theme Customising the colour scheme of Windows 7 is one thing, but how about more drastic changes? Right-click the desktop, then choose 'Personalize', and you can change the entire interface theme – the desktop wallpaper, colour scheme, system sounds and mouse pointers. A handful of themes are installed by default, but click the 'Get more themes online' link and you can download others for free. 3. Change your user account picture <img alt="user account picture" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Plus/PCP%20300/PCP300.feat1windows.pic01-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Customising your user account image is a great way to differentiate quickly between multiple accounts on a single PC. Windows 7 comes with a selection of images to choose from – just go to 'Start | Control Panel | User accounts and family safety | Change your account picture'. The 'Browse for more pictures' link at the bottom of this window also enables you to choose one of your own images and Windows will automatically resize it to suit. 4. Switch system sounds Windows has long been able to make noises to reflect just about anything it does, but not everyone wants to hear a ding, beep, buzz or click for every system event. Go to 'Start | Control Panel | Appearance and Personalization | Change sound effects', and you can selectively change or disable the sounds that Windows 7 assigns to each system event. You can also select from a range of other novel sound schemes, or opt for 'No Sounds' if you prefer to work uninterrupted. 5. Add a taskbar toolbar Windows 7's ability to pin programs to the taskbar has eliminated the need for the Quick launch Toolbar, but you can still add other types of toolbar for quick access to certain tasks. Right-click on an empty part of the taskbar, then select 'Toolbars' and you can an address box for quick-launching URLs, or a desktop button for ready access to desktop shortcuts when your screen is full of windows. Touch-screen PC users can also add a tablet PC input panel for quick onetap access to the on-screen handwriting input. 6. Customise the Start menu Microsoft has removed the 'Classic Start menu' option from Windows 7, but you can still alter its look and feel to make it better suited to the way you work. Right-click the 'Start' button, choose 'Properties' and a dialog box will open with some basic privacy settings. Click the 'Customise' button and you can then make more drastic changes to the Start menu's appearance. 7. Change what the Start menu 'power' button does Thankfully, the excessively complex shutdown option on Windows Vista's Start menu has been streamlined in Windows 7, but Microsoft has also changed the default power button behaviour from 'Sleep' to a full shutdown. If you want to change it back, right-click the Start button, choose 'Properties' and select your preferred option from the 'Power button action' dropdown list. 8. Calm down UAC Microsoft wisely opted to reduce the constant pestering of Windows Vista's User Access Control with the release of Service Pack 2, but Windows 7 brings more granular control over when you're asked to confirm certain system-level actions. Go to 'Start | Control Panel | User Accounts and Family Safety | User Accounts | Change User Account Control Settings' and you'll see a slider. The bottom position disables UAC completely, but the next notch up is the best (and least annoying) option for safe computing. 9. Turn off Notification Area alerts Windows 7 likes to keep you informed about the state of your security settings, but you might not want to know about every single thing that crops up. Go to the Action Center, accessed via 'Start | Control Panel | System and Security' and you can alter what Windows badgers you about – including the fact that UAC is disabled. Just don't think that turning off warnings about inadequate antivirus protection is a good idea… 10. Move the taskbar Don't like the Windows 7 taskbar at the bottom of the screen? Then why not drag and drop it to one of the desktop's three other sides? You might need to unlock it first, though – just right-click on an empty area of the taskbar and deselect the appropriate option. You can also click and drag the edge to the taskbar to make it wider, which is ideal if you've pinned lots of applications to it. 11. Go Gadget crazy Windows Gadgets enable you to add at-a-glance information to the Sidebar at the right of the screen to save you looking it up in the web browser. Right-click the desktop, choose 'Gadgets' and you'll see a list of available tools, with a link to download more at the bottom of the window. To enable a Gadget, right-click it and select 'Add'. Most Gadgets have individual settings – hover the mouse pointer over an active one to show its 'spanner' icon. 12. Stop the screensaver interrupting video playback Disabling the Windows screensaver and setting your monitor to turn off after several minutes' inactivity is a great energy saver, but it's a pain if it kicks in when you're watching an online video. The solution is Mouse Jiggler – a free download from <a href="http://mousejiggler.codeplex.com/">http://mousejiggler.codeplex.com</A>. Run the tiny program and it will make Windows 7 think the mouse is moving imperceptibly, even when you're nowhere near it, thereby preventing power-saving options from activating when you don't want them to. 13. Change the login screen There are various clumsy hacks that enable you to change the Windows 7 user login screen, but the free Logon Changer utility from <a href="http://tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon/">www.tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon</A> does all the hard work for you without fuss. Just point the program at the picture you want to use and it will resize it accordingly, back up the original and then make the change. Simple! 14. Do more with dual monitors If you use two or more monitors with Windows, but want a taskbar on more than just the main display, Ultramon is the software for you. As well as making windows on each monitor easier to manage, Ultramon enables you to assign different wallpapers to each desktop, and enables you move to windows around each display with a mouse click. You can download a 30-day demo from <a href="http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/">www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon</A> – the full program is available for £25. 15. Makes Windows easier to see Ultra high-resolution monitors can make certain parts of the Windows interface tricky to see, particularly if your eyesight is far from perfect. Switching a TFT display to a lower, non-native resolution will only make things worse, but Windows 7 offers a better option. Go to 'Start | Control Panel | Appearance and Personalization | Display | Make text and other items larger and smaller', and you'll see two options for making everything in Windows, from on-screen text to the taskbar, look bigger. 16. Customise the Start button If you don't like the look of the round Windows 7 Start button, you can change it with Start Orb Changer. You can download the program for free <a href="http://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-7-start-button-changer-released">from here</A> and switch to one of 10 ready made Start button images, or use one of your own. 17. Get Rainmeter Rainmeter takes the Windows 7 Sidebar Gadgets idea and extends it to the whole desktop. A free download from <a href="http://rainmeter.net/RainCMS/">www.rainmeter.net</A>, it enables you to integrate all kinds of useful system information, along with RSS feeds and Twitter updates. 18. Add backgrounds to windows If you like your desktop to be busy, Windows 7 Folder Background Changer will probably appeal. It's free <a href="http://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-7-folder-background-changer-released">from here</A>. After downloading, there's no installation – just run it, select a folder, pick an image and re-open the Explorer window. 19. Make Explorer windows more XP friendly To make Windows 7 more familiar, enable the menu bar from 'Organize | Layout | Menu bar', then turn off the bottom 'Details' pane. Go to 'Tools | Folder Options', then enable 'Show all folders' and 'Automatically expand to current folder'. 20. Control window sizes with the keyboard If Windows 7's Aero Snap doesn't offer enough control, try Window Manager. This free <a href="http://www.softsea.com/review/Window-Manager.html">download from here</A> enables you to set window sizes and positions for applications, then activate them with keyboard shortcuts. 21. Turn off combined taskbar buttons You can disable Windows 7's combined buttons. Right-click an empty part of the taskbar and choose 'Properties'. Use the 'Taskbar buttons' dropdown to disable button-combining, or use it only when the taskbar is full. 22. Customise the Notification Area Windows 7 tries to manage the contents of the Notification area at the right of the taskbar, but you may need to lend a hand. Right-click the taskbar, choose 'Properties' and then click the 'Customize' button on the General tab to see options for each Notification area icon. 23. Turbo-charge file transfers TeraCopy, a free download from <a href="http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.php">www.codesector.com/teracopy.php</A>, supplants the Explorer copy function with its own buffered copy. This can be far quicker and enables you to preview file operations before committing to them, and to pause transfers. 24. Change desktop icons Right-click the desktop and choose 'Personalize', then click 'Change desktop icons' and select the icon you want to change. Click 'Change Icon' to see a list of other icons you can use, or hit 'Browse' to use your own – <a href="http://iconfactory.com/home">www.iconfactory.com</A> has a good, free selection. 25. Make Windows look like Mac OS A simple way to make your PC ape Mac OS X is with the free Snow Transformation Pack from <a href="http://www.winxsoft.com/stp/download.html">www.winxsoft.com/stp/download.html</A>. The changes are dramatic, reversible and extremely convincing, with only a handful of compromises.

Tutorial: 25 cool Windows 7 interface tweaks

Your fresh installation of Windows 7 gives a 'one size fits all' configuration, but there are countless ways in which you can tweak ...