Chapter 5
Make It Yours: Personalizing Windows 8
In This Chapter
- Customizing the lock screen
- Customizing the Start screen
- Customizing app tiles and tile groups
- Customizing user account pictures and other settings
- Customizing settings and settings sync
- Customizing the desktop
- Using a multi-monitor setup more efficiently
- Using Libraries with SkyDrive
- Easing the transition between Metro and the desktop
- Booting (almost) directly to the desktop
With its brand-new Metro interface, you won’t be surprised to discover that there are new ways in which to customize Windows 8 to work the way you want it to. Aside from the app-specific tweaks we discuss throughout this book, Windows 8 provides an entirely new PC Settings interface for customizing many Metro- and system-level features; new personalization features for the lock screen, Start screen, and app tiles; and more.
And customizing Windows 8 is not just about Metro. As with previous versions of Windows, this OS also provides a number of ways in which you can customize the Windows desktop, including useful new multi-monitor capabilities that will be valuable in a number of usage scenarios, especially for those who pick up a new Windows 8 (or RT) tablet and decide to dock it to a larger display—and a keyboard and mouse—at home or at work.
Rounding out the Windows 8 customization capabilities are a handful of ways in which you can make the Metro and desktop environments interact a bit more seamlessly with each other. Ultimately, the goal ...