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The inner workings of Windows XP reveal themselves inside the mysterious (and somewhat haughtily named) Control Panel. Choose Start --> Control Panel to plug away at the innards (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Control Panel.
The main components of the Control Panel are as follows:
- Appearance and Themes: Change what your desktop looks like — wallpaper, colors, mouse pointers, screen saver, icon size and spacing, and so on. Set screen resolution (for example, 1,024 x 768 or 800 x 600) so that you can pack more information onto your screen — assuming that your eyes (and screen) can handle it. Make the Windows taskbar hide when you're not using it, and change the items on your Start menu. Change what Windows Explorer shows when you're looking at folders.tabmark
- Printers and Other Hardware: Add or remove printers and connect to other printers on your network. Troubleshoot printers. Set up and modify Windows faxing. Install, remove, and set the options for scanners and digital cameras. Control the options on mice, game controllers, joysticks, and keyboards. Set up dialing rules and other modem arcana.
 | If you use a modem for your Internet connection, Windows faxing may not do what you expect. You may have to disconnect from the Internet before you send or receive a fax, for example. Many people use J2 fax — J2.com — because it treats faxes like email. Outbound faxes are converted to email on your PC using J2's programs, and then they are sent to J2, which routes the fax to a local fax machine at your destination, thus bypassing long-distance telephone charges. Inbound faxes get delivered to your email inbox. |
- Network and Internet Connections: Set up a network. Configure Internet Explorer and its startup page, history files, cookies, AutoComplete, and so on. Set up Internet connections, particularly if you're sharing an Internet connection across a network, or if you have a cable modem or DSL.
- User Accounts: Add or remove users from the Windows welcome screen. Enable the Guest account. Change account characteristics, such as the picture, password requirement, direct connection with .NET Passport, and so on.
- Add or Remove Programs: Add and remove specific features in some programs (most notably Windows XP).
- Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options: Set the time and date — although double-clicking the clock on the Windows taskbar is much simpler — or tell Windows to synchronize the clock automatically. Here you can also add support for complex languages (such as Thai) and right-to-left languages, and change how dates, times, currency, and numbers appear.
- Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices: Control volume, muting, and so on, but those functions are usually better performed inside the Windows Media Player. You can also choose a Sound scheme, which is something like a desktop theme, except that it involves the pings and pongs you associate with Windows events (for example, the music that plays when Windows starts, or the cling! you hear when you try to click on something you shouldn't). Speech choices cover only text-to-speech output — the "Danger, Will Robinson!" voice you hear when the computer tries to read something out loud.
- Accessibility Options: Change settings to help you see the screen, use the keyboard or mouse, or have Windows flash part of your screen when the speaker would play a sound.
- Performance and Maintenance: Use an enormous array of tools for troubleshooting and adjusting your PC, and making it work when it doesn't want to. Unfortunately, it also includes all the tools you need to shoot yourself in the foot, consistently and reliably, day in and day out. Use this part of Control Panel with discretion and respect.
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