DESKTOP
Your desktop is the window through which you reach the rest of your PC
Here are a few things you can do to it to make or more personalised to you
WallpaperWallpaper
"What is wallpaper?"
On your desktop there may be a picture in the background, behind all your shortcuts and the task bar (that thing at the bottom with the Start menu on it!). That picture (or just plain colour) is your wallpaper.
"How do I change my wallpaper?"
Peice of cake. Click the right mouse button anywhere on the desktop screen. From the menu that appears select 'Properties'. The next screen that appears should have a list of pictures for you to choose from and a preview of what it looks like (this depends on how old a version of Windows you have). Either select one and press OK or click the Browse button and choose one of your own.
Once you've done that the screen might refresh and then, hey-presto, you have new wallpaper!
Any picture file can be set as wallpaper and there are many websites with lots of large, wallpaper sized images on them.
Screensaver
"What's a screensaver?"
Back in the good old days, when computer monitors (screens) were, to be honest, rubbush, there was a problem that arose called 'screen burn in'. When the picture on the screen was left unchanged for long enough it became etched onto the monitor forever, you could see it all the time, only faintly but it was there.
I plan was devised to ensure that the screen would never stay the same for long enough for the picture to 'burn' in. Screensavers are nothing more than nice pictures that continually change to prevent 'burn in'.
On todays modern monitors, screensavers arent really necessary but, hey, they look nice! Like wallpaper they can be easily downloaded and implemented.
"How do I set one up?"
Right click on your desktop. Click properties from the pop-up menu. Select the 'Screensaver' tab at the top. Choose a screensaver from the drop-down list. Next to where it says 'Wait ' enter the number of minutes you want the computer to wait before starting the screensaver. Press 'OK'. Thats all there is to it! Now if you leave your PC long enough the screensaver will start up!
Icons
"What's an icon?"
On your desktop (and possibly your taskbar where the start button is) there will be little pictures that, when you double click them, open up a program or file for you. These little pictures are known as icons and they can be changed...
"How do I change them?"
You can only change the icons for 'My Computer', 'Recycle Bin', or 'Network Neighbourhood' if you have Windows 98© or higher. If you have, right click on your desktop, select Properties, click on the 'Effects' tab and change them there.
To change all the other icons, right-click on them with your mouse and click on 'Properties'. Select the 'Shortcut' tab from the tab and look for the 'Change icon' button.