Win7: More Welcome Screen

In this post from yesterday, I showed you how to change the Welcome Screen in Windows 7. Today I’ll show you how to change the shadowing on the text and buttons on the Welcome Screen to make it look better with your chosen background.

1) Click on Start, and in the search box type REGEDIT and then press ENTER.

2) Navigate to the following key:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI

3) Look for a DWORD value called ButtonSet. If you don’t see it, right-click in the right pane and choose New > DWORD value and give it that name.

4) Change the value of the key to your preference:

0 – Lighter text shadows, darker buttons (default setting)
1 – Darker text shadows, lighter buttons
2 – No text shadows, opaque buttons

No reboot is necessary after making these changes. Just press CTRL+ATL+DEL to see the Welcome Screen after changing the Registry.

Win7: Changing the Welcome Screen

With Windows 7, Microsoft has, for the first time ever, made it easy for end users and OEMs to change the Welcome Screen. Enabling this feature only requires a simple registry tweak and moving an image file to a certain directory on your computer:

1) Click Start, and in the Start Menu’s search box type REGEDIT and then press the ENTER key.

2) Find the following key:

HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System

Look for a DWORD value called UseOEMBackground. Make sure that it’s set to 1. If you don’t see it, right-click in the right pane and choose New > DWORD Value, name it UseOEMBackground and set it to 1.

3) Copy a jpg image to the following directory:

C:\Windows\System32\oobe\info\backgrounds\

Make sure that the file has the name backgroundDefault.jpg, is the same resolution as your monitor, and is less than 256KB.

No reboot is needed; in fact, once you’ve done the above tweak, you should be able to press CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up the Welcome Screen and see your changes immediately. If you do something wrong, Windows will default to the standard Welcome Screen.

Alison Moyet: Lookin’ Good!

Many folks of the 80s Generation will remember Alison Moyet, lead singer of the band Yazoo (Yaz in the US). She was one of those musicians who, at the height of their fame, turned their back on the music industry that brought them such fame and riches. Moyet has begun popping up again in the UK, and she’s looking really good these days:

Allison Moyet

Check out this article for an in-depth interview to find out why the woman who sold 25 million records left fame and fortune behind.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-11

  • @CenterdinCHRLTT Yeah, it's kinda annoying… #
  • "When Brett Favre is playing Brett Favre football, that's just vintage Brett Favre being Brett Favre." #
  • @terrinh73 – 10 years ago? Hell, I was there TWENTY years ago! Now where's my walker? #
  • French minister who defended Polankski went to Thailand for "boy sex": http://ping.fm/xHeSl #
  • Obama… Nobel Prize??? WTF?!?! #
  • @ the Chili Cookoff! #
  • GT = 5-1 UGA = 3-3! GO JACKETS! #

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She Who Is Not Happy

Think I’m the only one unhappy with the overall direction of the Anglican Communion? Think again:

According to informants quoted in The Catholic Herald, the Queen has “grown increasingly sympathetic” to the Catholic Church over the years while being “appalled”, along with the Prince of Wales, at developments in the Church of England.

The usually well-informed newspaper adds that the Queen, who is the Supreme Governor of the C of E, is “also said to have an affinity with the Holy Father, who is of her generation”.

In July, The Sunday Telegraph disclosed that the Queen had told the heads of a traditionalist group, formed in response to the liberal direction of some parts of the Anglican Communion, that she “understood their concerns” about the future of the 80 million-strong global church.

Read the whole article here. It doesn’t contain any bombshells or clues as to what the Queen might do, but you just know that the Archbishop of Canterbury is getting an earful!

Mad Men: “Souvenir”

This episode kicks off with Pete sitting at his desk, reading a copy of Ebony. Hildy comes in to drop off some papers, and only then does he realize that it’s 5:00 and time  for her to go. He asks what she’s getting into that weekend; she replies that she’s gotten a cabin in Saltaire with some friends. Pete mentions mosquitoes’ Hildy says that they don’t bother her. Harry and Paul then walk in the office, and ask her if Pete’s making her work since he’ll be alone this weekend. She says no, then leaves. Pete wonders why a man alone is something to be pitied, while Hildy is really the one you should feel sorry for. Harry says that he doesn’t feel sorry for her, since “those girls” get to do what they want. Ken then walks in, and asks Pete if he’s still working, and if so not to, since none of the senior partners are in town. Pete says that Don isn’t on vacation, that Conrad Hilton sent him to “Dallas or Denver or something… every armpit he has”. Harry wishes he could get out of New York in August just once. Pete says that he likes the quiet. He then offers to take the boys out for a drink.

mad_men_s03_e08_01

At the Draper home, we see Betty going through some Junior League paperwork about saving the reservoir. Don walks by with some dirty laundry, and Betty mentions that she’s poured him a beer. Don stops to have a sip of beer, then looks at all of Betty’s paperwork and says that she should be getting paid for her work. Betty says that there’s a hearing about the reservoir coming up, and that she’s “paid” plenty. Hearing a commotion outside, Don asks what’s going on. Betty says that the kids are catching fireflies and that he should join them. Don puts his beer down and walks outside to play with the kids.

Continue reading “Mad Men: “Souvenir””

Happy Birthday, Pythons!

Forty years ago today – October 5, 1969 – Monty Python’s Flying Circus debuted on Britain’s BBC One!

Monty Python 40th logo

Of course, the Python guys were already known in British comedy circles before Flying Circus. Nevertheless, the show became an icon of TV history, spun-off four hilarious movies, and made worldwide stars of John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Graham Chapman (R.I.P.).

God bless, guys! Thanks for being so funny!

Mad Men recap delayed

Hey folks! I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been slack on the Mad Men recap this week (in fact, I didn’t even watch last night’s episode until this afternoon!)

I hope to get the recap started in the morning and posted late tomorrow night.

Today’s Lesson: Deep Linking

I come across YouTube links all the time in email, instant message chats, Facebook posts, on message boards…  you name it.

I usually don’t mind these links, as I’m always up to hear a new band, laugh at a silly video, or see an awesome play from the world of sports.

What I do mind is people posting links then saying “[the thing I want you to see] is at 4:45 in the video”. So you have to click the link, then scroll through the video.

For over a year now, YouTube has supported deep linking to specific points in a video. To use it, all you have to do is add something like “#t=2m30s” (without quotes) to the end of the YouTube link.

Check it out in action: Pulp Fiction (regular link); Pulp Fiction (deep link).