Desktop Meme

(From jenett, because these things are fun.)

( 74kb image behind cut-tag )

Why that background?

Because it has always been that way. Well, not really; I took the photo in either '98 or '99, from the window of a classroom where I was taking a class on writing fiction, and made it into a background, and it's sort of been my home background ever since (with occasional edits to a different screen size). Occasionally I change to another one, but it always seems wrong and so I change back.

Why is your toolbar where it is?

Mainly because it's the Windows default so it's what I'm used to, but also because vertical sidebar toolbars take up more space, and a top-bar would be harder to reach with the mouse when I'm leaning back in my chair.

What's on the toolbar, and why:

On the "quickstart" bar (for those unfamiliar with Windows, that's the row of micro-icons to the immediate right of the "Start" button that start programs that aren't running): An icon to switch immediately to the desktop, for times when I've got a dozen windows maximized and want a desktop icon, a "My Computer" icon, the modem dialer, Notepad, Notetab (a full-featured text editor), ExamDiff (a windows graphical diff tool), Acrobat, CygWin tcsh shell, Eudora, Netscape 4.79 (direct to the news window, which is what I use it for), Opera, and PuTTy.

The running programs on the main toolbar: Notetab, Acrobat, Opera (lots of windows), Netscape news, Eudora, a tcsh shell, my calendar, and a couple of MatLab windows. These, aside from MatLab, pretty much stay open all the time. Notetab, Acrobat, and the tcsh shell are involved with writing LaTeX files and other work stuff, and Eudora, Netscape news, and Opera (open to LJ) are involved with things that I read frequently.

In the system tray (far left, next to the clock, things that are mostly background processes) are the antivirus program, the sound volume control, the authentication program for Stanford's internet stuff (mostly needed for the calendar these days), the system monitor (which indicates in its icon how heavily the CPU is loaded, so I can tell if a program is stuck or such), and the indicator for the modem connection (which goes blue when it's transmitting or receiving, so I can tell if things are using the connection unexpectedly, or see if something is done downloading without opening its window).

What the desktop icons are:

Pretty much any program I use at least once a month, although I haven't updated them in a while. The standard "My Computer" and "Recycle Bin" icons, Calendar, Matlab, Zinf (for playing music; it actually works on this machine, unlike the better-known programs), a CD ripper, a time-tracking program that I was using for a while to help me stop procrastinating, DOS prompt, tcsh shell, MS Office, Acrobat, Notetab, Micrografx drawing programs, and a couple of random things.

( Addendum: Office Desktop )

Desktop Meme

(From jenett, because these things are fun.)

( 74kb image behind cut-tag )

Why that background?

Because it has always been that way. Well, not really; I took the photo in either '98 or '99, from the window of a classroom where I was taking a class on writing fiction, and made it into a background, and it's sort of been my home background ever since (with occasional edits to a different screen size). Occasionally I change to another one, but it always seems wrong and so I change back.

Why is your toolbar where it is?

Mainly because it's the Windows default so it's what I'm used to, but also because vertical sidebar toolbars take up more space, and a top-bar would be harder to reach with the mouse when I'm leaning back in my chair.

What's on the toolbar, and why:

On the "quickstart" bar (for those unfamiliar with Windows, that's the row of micro-icons to the immediate right of the "Start" button that start programs that aren't running): An icon to switch immediately to the desktop, for times when I've got a dozen windows maximized and want a desktop icon, a "My Computer" icon, the modem dialer, Notepad, Notetab (a full-featured text editor), ExamDiff (a windows graphical diff tool), Acrobat, CygWin tcsh shell, Eudora, Netscape 4.79 (direct to the news window, which is what I use it for), Opera, and PuTTy.

The running programs on the main toolbar: Notetab, Acrobat, Opera (lots of windows), Netscape news, Eudora, a tcsh shell, my calendar, and a couple of MatLab windows. These, aside from MatLab, pretty much stay open all the time. Notetab, Acrobat, and the tcsh shell are involved with writing LaTeX files and other work stuff, and Eudora, Netscape news, and Opera (open to LJ) are involved with things that I read frequently.

In the system tray (far left, next to the clock, things that are mostly background processes) are the antivirus program, the sound volume control, the authentication program for Stanford's internet stuff (mostly needed for the calendar these days), the system monitor (which indicates in its icon how heavily the CPU is loaded, so I can tell if a program is stuck or such), and the indicator for the modem connection (which goes blue when it's transmitting or receiving, so I can tell if things are using the connection unexpectedly, or see if something is done downloading without opening its window).

What the desktop icons are:

Pretty much any program I use at least once a month, although I haven't updated them in a while. The standard "My Computer" and "Recycle Bin" icons, Calendar, Matlab, Zinf (for playing music; it actually works on this machine, unlike the better-known programs), a CD ripper, a time-tracking program that I was using for a while to help me stop procrastinating, DOS prompt, tcsh shell, MS Office, Acrobat, Notetab, Micrografx drawing programs, and a couple of random things.

( Addendum: Office Desktop )