Desktops

*Bradley* · 07-09-2003, 10:16 PM

Being the geek I am, I was wondering what everyone's desktops look like? I've got 2 pics of mine (running mandrake 9.1) and will have to upload them to my server shortly.
Anyone make their own backgrounds?

Here's the link http://www.knowthematrix.net/pn/modu...view_album.php

*Wassercrats* · 07-09-2003, 11:06 PM

Mine is pretty boring. For now, I have a plain blue background and I don't use a screensaver because I don't want to bother turning it off every time I want something to download quickly and get installed correctly. I wish all the optimum settings would happen automatically during downloads and installations. My icons are in sort of a triangular arrangement though. From the right to the center, the number of icons per column is 8, 5, 4, 4, 3, and 2, and the icons of each column are sort of related.

*Randall* · 07-10-2003, 07:52 AM

I usually make my own backgrounds, though I'm currently using a closeup of sunspots taken by some space probe. Probably due for a change again.

I love the "Floyd penguins."

Randall

*Syneryder* · 07-10-2003, 09:55 AM

I currently switch between digital photos I have taken around my suburb. We have lots of parkland within walking distance from where I live, and there are some really tranquil, green areas. It provides me with extra incentive to keep icons off my desktop, so I can see the full picture. I have a nasty habit of accumulating icons (I currently have 25, including the Trash, My Computer and Network). I've also made some custom backgrounds, eg dark blue tiling swirls, but I think I prefer the more natural look.

*sigh* Looking at those desktops makes me wish I could grow to love Linux. KDE is one of the things I do like about Linux.

*Bradley* · 07-10-2003, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Randall:

I love the "Floyd penguins."

Randall

Those "Floyd penguins" are available here at KDElook.org I think the Gentoo one is somewhere there too.

I've seen some people modify their desktops to where it didnt even look like the os it was running.

*Randall* · 07-10-2003, 12:42 PM

Quote:

I have a nasty habit of accumulating icons (I currently have 25, including the Trash, My Computer and Network).

I have no icons on my desktops.

I've actually disabled the desktop in Win2K (it's a setting buried somewhere in Group Policies), and in XP I just shut all the system icons off. Everything is in the Start Menu or Quick Launch for fast access -- and unlike the desktop icons, they generally don't move around.

The only way I'd want icons on the desktop would be if they were integrated into the wallpaper.

Randall

*sheila* · 07-10-2003, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Syneryder:
I currently switch between digital photos I have taken around my suburb. We have lots of parkland within walking distance from where I live, and there are some really tranquil, green areas. It provides me with extra incentive to keep icons off my desktop, so I can see the full picture. I have a nasty habit of accumulating icons (I currently have 25, including the Trash, My Computer and Network).

Arrrgh. I just use some of the "peaceful" images that come with Windows (like the tropical island one and such), but unfortunately do have a VERY bad habit of collecting icons on the desktop. I ain't even gonna count them for you right now. My husband and his friend Mike (who comes over twice a week for codefests) make fun of me terribly for all the icons on the desktop. I usually clean it up when I run out of room for new ones.

*Syneryder* · 07-10-2003, 01:46 PM

Quote:

I have no icons on my desktops.... Everything is in the Start Menu or Quick Launch

I have Quick Launch disabled on my machine, but I do have a group of *counts* 9 icons at the top of my Start Menu. Links to Textpad, various browsers, Paint Shop Pro, MySQL and Winamp - all the programs I use daily. I should mention my Start Menu is in small icon mode, so it doesn't take up as much room as it sounds.

There are some icons I like keeping on my desktop, like the dialup link to my ISP, and shortcuts to my website archive (I make archives of every update I make) and a shortcut to my local Apache htdocs directory. There's also the SmartFTP "Stuff" cache directory, that keeps getting recreated

Everything else could disappear, they're just documents I'm currently working on and they're there to remind me to work on them soon. Of course, that's the reason I bought a Palm m100, so they have no excuse to be on the desktop.....

I now have 7 icons on my desktop

*Andilinks* · 07-10-2003, 02:46 PM

I usually take one of the stock windows tile bmp's and darken it with PSP until it doesn't light up the room at night. I find pictures of any kind too distracting. I'm currently using Blue lace 16 dimmed almost to black, I change these from time to time, usually after a system crash. I keep the minimal number of icons at a very small size, plus like Kohan I use the desktop as a "things to do" file of saved websites. I clean it up when the icons light up my room too much at night. I have the monitor shut off after 5 minutes of inactivity.

Occasionally I take a screenshot of my desktop and dump it into a folder in my archives called "Desktop History." I have screenshots going back to 1997. It is interesting to look at this "scrapbook" about once a year.

Like Randall I navigate entirely from the Quick Launch and Start Menu. I also create toolbars on the Task Bar which I keep on the right side "auto-hidden." I currently have 66 icons on my task bar, virtually every program, directory and document I use regularly including Javascript shortcuts, Calculator, Character Map, Freecell, and several notepad docs with miscellaneous notes.

I create custom icons for my quick launch and Task Bar toolbar directory icons which I archive so I can recreate them easily after a system disaster.

More than you wanted to know.

Andi

*Randall* · 07-10-2003, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Syneryder:
I do have a group of *counts* 9 icons at the top of my Start Menu. Links to Textpad, various browsers, Paint Shop Pro, MySQL and Winamp - all the programs I use daily.

Hmmm. I've be resisting any attempt to place icons at the top of the classic Start Menu since my Win95 days, but OTOH I happen to like WinXP's "Pin to Start Menu" feature. They would seem to be pretty similar, other than the fact that my mouse doesn't have to travel as far in XP.

Quote:

I clean it up when the icons light up my room too much at night.

I have this vision of Andi as a cave-dwelling creature, staring at her monitor with huge, pale eyes that never blink...

Randall