PCs All-in-One For Dummies®, 5th Edition

Chapter 4. Advanced Windows 7

In This Chapter

• Customizing your desktop background

• Working with the Sidebar and gadgets

• Fine-tuning the windows

• Sharing stuff on your network

• Using a HomeGroup

• Understanding multiuser computing

• Sending and receiving faxes in Windows 7

• Playing MP3 files in Media Player

• Viewing and downloading digital photographs

• Recording your own data CDs in Windows 7

• Watching a DVD movie

If you're following along in this minibook, you've been a slave to the Microsoft default settings. That might be the status quo for novice Windows 7 users, but if you want to mold Windows 7 into your operating system (and thus become a PC power user), you must master the customization features within Windows 7. Just say "No!" to Icons view or that too-familiar desktop background — add your favorite sound effects from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to your Windows 7 experience. (I boot up every morning to the lilting sounds of "The Time Warp," much to the consternation of our family cats.)

This chapter ties together the actions you need to take to transform your PC from a personal computer into a personal tool — which, I might add, should be the goal of every hardware manufacturer and software developer, including the Microsoft crowd. In these pages, I do my part: You discover how to optimize your copy of Windows 7 for productivity, share your computer with others in a multiuser environment, and send and receive faxes with your PC's fax modem. I also introduce you to Windows Media Player, which ...