In the preceding section, you learned how to
personalize your Lock screen by changing the Lock screen picture,
switching out your user image, and adding badges to your Lock screen. In
Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Microsoft has also given us the ability to
change the color scheme of the Start screen, which was a highly
requested feature.
>>>step-by-step: Changing the Look of the Start Screen
Now in Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you
can change the color scheme of the Start screen and select a background
design so that you get just the look and feel you want for the
background of all the colorful app tiles you’ll be displaying. You make
the changes in the Start Screen settings in the Personalize category of
the PC Settings window. Begin by displaying the Windows 8 Charms bar,
tapping or clicking Settings, and choosing More PC Settings.
1. In the Personalize screen, click or tap Start Screen.
2. Drag
the background color bar to a new color to see the effect of the change.
The preview area shows you how the new color will look, along with the
color highlights. The PC Settings title and the Personalize category
also changes to reflect the color choice.
3. When you’ve settled on a color, select the background design you want to apply to the background of the Start screen.
Auto Save
Windows 8 automatically saves the color selection you choose.
>>>step-by-step: Up the Contrast, Baby
All these snazzy colors and the fluid
movement are great, providing your contacts or bifocals are doing the
trick and you don’t have any trouble making out what all these little
notifications on the screen are telling you. But some people have
trouble differentiating colors, and others find it hard to make out
characters on a colored background when the contrast is low.
Anticipating this, Windows 8 includes a
High Contrast option in the Ease of Access settings in your PC Settings
screen so that you can display Windows 8 in a way that heightens the
contrast on the screen, which will hopefully make things easier to read.
1. In the PC Settings, scroll down to the Ease of Access category on the left side of the screen.
2. Drag
the High Contrast slider from the left (Off) to the right (On). The
background of the Control Panel changes from white to black and the text
appears in white and gray.
>>>step-by-step: Magnifying Your Display
Another way you can enhance the readability
of your Windows 8 screen involves magnifying the entire screen. You can
do this by changing one of the settings in the Ease of Access category
in the PC Settings screen.
1. Tap or click Ease of Access in the PC Settings window.
2. On the
right side of the screen, drag the slider in the Make Everything on Your
Screen Bigger setting from Off to On. Your screen magnifies instantly,
and you can navigate as normal (but you may need to do a lot more
scrolling).
Changing the Time
If necessary, you can let Windows 8 know what
time it is where you are so that you’re in sync no matter who you’re
chatting with online and where in the world they may be. Having the time
set to your local time is also helpful when you are scheduling calls
and online meetings with others who may be in different time zones.
1. Display the PC Settings window, and tap or click General.
2. In
the Time Zone area, tap or click the time zone arrow to display a list
of available time zones and choose the zone you want to use.
3.
Leave the Adjust Clock for Daylight Saving Time Automatically turned on
if you want the time to be adjusted for you when Daylight Saving Time
changes.
