Chapter 5. Taking Control of the Control Panel
In This Chapter
Configuring the Control Panel the right way
Setting your PC's date and time
Personalizing Windows 7 just so
Configuring AutoPlay options
Fine-tuning power options
Adjusting your keyboard
Changing mouse settings
Setting Internet options
Removing programs the right way
Configuring user accounts
Setting your phone and modem options
Picture this: You're the engineer on the bridge of the starship Enterprise — the first one, the real Enterprise — and Captain James T. Kirk suddenly bellows, "I need more power!" in your direction. Where do you turn? Which panel has the right randomly blinking lights and the right fake switches?
In the Windows 7 galaxy, my friend, you (and Scotty) need go no further than the Control Panel — where all the switches are real! Just about all the check boxes, drop-down lists, and buttons that determine how Windows 7 acts are available from this single menu item. And, in this chapter, I show you how to poke a tiny flashlight into the most commonly used Control Panel dialog boxes to fix your starship's shields — whoops — I mean, customize Windows 7 for your needs.
Sorry — like most other first-generation technonerds, I really enjoy my Star Trek.
First, Put the Control Panel on the Start Menu!
To open the Windows 7 Control Panel the right way — at least in this technowizard's opinion — it should be configured as a pop-up menu on the Start menu. The default Windows 7 category view (which opens in a separate window) is ...
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