Microsoft launched the new Operating System – Windows 7 in order to overcome the troubles faced by users in Windows XP and Windows Vista. Microsoft has worked towards providing better and exciting features. One of the great things that Microsoft has incorporated in Windows 7 is the feature that allows you to see all the add-on devices on one screen. This new package of the Operating System is called Device Stage, which takes device management a level higher. Device Stage enables you to interact with any compatible device connected to your PC. With the help of Device Stage you can see the status of your device and run common tasks from a single window. The pictures of the devices make it truly easy to see what exactly is there. You can see exactly what photos are there on your camera, what music is there on your MP3 player, and more.

Microsoft assures Device stage to be a big part of Windows 7. It will change the way you interact with compatible devices and hardware attached to your system. In simple words, it allows you to see exactly what printer, phone, mp3 player and other devices you have installed on the computer. This management site called Device Stage; let you look at the status of the device and let you run tasks. This surely is a great assistance in linking mobile phones, printers or portable media players to your computer. Microsoft team has worked hard in order to achieve maximum range of partners to ensure their devices are fully device stage compatible.

As soon as the device is plugged in, it will load drivers almost instantly. As compared to Vista, the process is much faster. Drivers of printers, USB keys, digital cameras, external HDDs are installed within seconds and are instantly accessible to the users. The waiting time of device driver installation in Windows XP and Vista was much longer. Moreover, if Windows7 is unable to find drivers, it will automatically search on Windows Update.
The overall experience with devices, as compared to the earlier versions, has greatly improved with the help of Device Stage of Windows 7.

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Personalize Windows 7 with a Theme & Change Icons

You can personalize Windows 7 with a theme and change icons by follow these easy steps:

1. Firstly, you need to right-click on the desktop and then select personalize from the shortcut menu. Now the Personalization window will appear.

Note: In many cases, the window stays open as you make choices. If you need to open this window again, repeat Step 1.

2. Now navigate down through the themes displayed in the window. These themes are Windows 7 settings collection, such as desktop background, color, sounds and many more. You may need to explore the themes under these headings:

• My Themes: These are the themes that you can customize and save. If you have not saved a theme then you can see Unsaved Theme, which is your current setup.

• Aero Themes: These themes show beautiful photos as a changing desktop background and set
clear colors for windows. Specially the Landscapes and Nature themes are lovely. The Characters theme is freak.

• Basic and High Contrast Themes: These are easier, plainer themes which mostly have solid-color desktop backgrounds. For someone with a vision disability the high contrast may be useful or it may be handy in low light.

3. Click the Landscapes theme. If you can’t see the desktop, you may not notice a change. You can click the Minimize button or press Q+D on your keyboard to see the new desktop background. Other Personalization settings change with this theme, as well.

4. Now to return to the Personalization window you need to click its icon on the taskbar. Try various themes by clicking on it. Click the Unsaved Theme under My Themes to restore your original settings.

Change Desktop Icons

1. Icons on the desktop are the easy way to access certain files or programs. The Recycle Bin is the only icon on the Windows 7 desktop which is by default. The computer manufacturer may add other icons. The installation process may also add icons to the desktop. You can select a few Windows 7 icons to show on the desktop.

Now click the Change Desktop Icons link in the Navigation pane on the left in the Personalization window. Now the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box will appear.

2. Choose the check boxes next to the icons you want to add or deselect icons you want to remove and then click 'OK' to keep your changes or Cancel to discard changes.

To make it easy to find when you need to undelete files, leave the Recycle Bin check box selected. All the other icons are already displayed on the Start menu and in Windows Explorer also, so you may not need them on the desktop.

3. Now minimize the Personalization window and right-click the desktop to change the size of icons on the desktop. Choose View>Large Icons and repeat for Medium or Small Icons, whichever you prefer.

Some people consider desktop icons to be muddle that obstruct the desktop background. To solve this issue, you can hide all desktop icons by right-clicking the desktop and choosing View>Show Desktop Icons, which deselects and hides those icons. Repeat to bring the icons back.