3.4 Sounds
The
Sounds link in the Personalization window associates Windows events
with sounds. Windows 7 comes with tons of sound files, a big
improvement over the measly assemblage of WAV files supplied with some
earlier versions of Windows. In fact, just as with the color schemes,
you can create and
save sound schemes by using the Sound applet; you can set up and save
personalized schemes to suit your mood. Microsoft supplies a fairly
rich variety of sounds for your auditory pleasure.
Despite
the diverse selection, you can still use sounds you’ve put together
using the Sound Recorder. For example, you could record a sound file
that says “New Mail” and link it to that action if you don’t always
notice the generic “new mail” sound when your messages arrive.
If
you want to get fancy, you can record from a disc or tape recorder
rather than from a microphone. This way, you can sample bits and pieces
from your favorite artists by popping the audio disc into the computer
and tapping directly into it rather than by sticking a microphone up in
front of your boom box and accidentally recording the telephone when it
rings. Just check out the Volume Control applet, and figure out which
slider on the mixer panel controls the input volume of the disc. Then,
use the Sound Recorder applet to make the recording. I have a few good
ones, such as James Brown’s incomparable “Ow!” for an error message
sound.
Tip
Make sure that WAV files you intend for system sounds aren’t too large. Sound files can
be super large, especially if they are recorded in 16-bit stereo. As a
rule, keep the size to a minimum for system sounds because it takes a
few seconds for a larger sound to load and play. |
You assign sounds to specific Windows “events” like this:
1. | Right-click the desktop and choose Personalize.
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2. | Click Sounds. You’ll see the dialog box shown in Figure 8.
The
Program Events section lists the events that can have sounds associated
with them. Several classes of events are listed on a typical computer,
such as New Mail Notification, the Windows User Account Control
warning, Windows Logon, Exit Windows, Low Battery Alarm, and so on. As
you purchase and install new programs in the future, those programs may
add their own events to your list. An event with a speaker icon already
has a sound associated with it. You can click it and then click the
Test button to hear the sound. The sound file associated with the event
appears in the Sounds list at the bottom of the Sound dialog box.
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3. | Click any event in the Program Events list for which you want to assign a sound or change the assigned sound.
Tip The
default folder for sounds is \windows\media. If you have a WAV file
stored in another folder and want to assign it to an event, use the
Browse button in the Sound dialog box to locate it. You don’t have to
move your sound files to the \windows\media folder for it to work.
However, if you reassign sounds regularly, you’ll find that the process
is easier if you move your WAV files into the media folder first. |
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4. | Open
the drop-down Sounds list and choose the WAV file you want to use for
that event. These names are for the various classes of dialog boxes
that Windows displays from time to time. The sounds you’re most likely
to hear often will be Asterisk (Windows error), Critical Stop, Default
Beep, Exclamation, Windows Logon, Windows Logoff, and Windows Explorer
Blocked Pop-up Window. You might want to start by assigning sounds to
them and then add others as you feel like it.
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5. | Repeat these steps for each item you want to assign or reassign a sound to. Then click OK to close the dialog box.
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At
the top of the list of available sounds is an option called (None),
which has the obvious effect: No sound will occur for that event.
Assigning all events to (None) effectively silences your computer for
use in a library or other silent setting. You can also silence all
sounds easily by choosing No Sounds from the Sound Scheme drop-down
list.
In the same way that the Window
Color and Appearance dialog box (non-Aero mode theme) lets you save
color schemes, the Sounds applet lets you save sound schemes. You can
set up goofy sounds for your humorous moods and somber ones for those
gloomy days. The ones supplied with Windows 7 are pretty decent,
actually, and considering the amount of work required to set up your
own schemes, you’ll probably make out best just trying a scheme to see
if you like it. To choose an existing sound scheme, just use the Sound
Scheme drop-down list and select one.
You can set up your own sound schemes by assigning or reassigning individual sounds, as already explained. But unless you save
the scheme with the Save As button, it’ll be lost the next time you
change to a new one. So, the moral is that after you get your favorite
sounds assigned to system events, save the scheme. Then, you can call
it up any time you want.
The Playback and Recording Tabs
In Figure 8,
notice that in addition to the Sounds tab, there are also Playback and
Recording tabs. Here, you can declare the default hardware you want to
use for audio playback and recording. Most systems offer minimal
choices in these departments because typical computers have only a
single sound system.
Both
tabs include Configure and Properties buttons for your sound hardware,
which depend on your sound system’s chipset. Some offer options to
adjust bass and treble; expanded stereo (sort of a wider sound based on
adjustment of the “phase” of the signal going to the amplifier);
sample-rate conversion options; equalization optimization based on the
kind of speakers you have; amplitude gain or reduction; and hardware
acceleration. (Use full acceleration if you’re a gamer because it
affects DirectSound used in some games.)
Clicking
the Recording tab, then on a microphone icon (Mic), and then clicking
Configure opens the Speech Recognition window. From here, you can start
using speech recognition, set up your mic, take a tutorial about how to
use recognition, train your computer to better understand your voice,
and open and print a Speech Reference Card (a cheat sheet of commands).
The Communications Tab
New
to Windows 7 is the Communications tab, which you use to adjust the
volume of system sounds while you’re using the computer as a phone. On
this tab you can select to mute all sounds, reduce the volume by 80% or
50%, or do nothing if Windows detects communication over the PC.
3.5 Screen Savers
We
all know what screen savers are. In the Personalization window, you can
click on Screen Saver, and you’ll see the dialog box shown in Figure 9.
You
can choose from several supplied screen savers and perhaps others you
have installed from other sources. In the old days when phosphors would
“burn,” screen savers prevented a ghost of an image from being burned
into the screen for all time, no matter what was being displayed. Most
modern CRTs don’t actually need a screen saver because the phosphors
are more durable; LCD monitors use liquid crystal cells, not phosphors.
So,
what good is a screen saver nowadays, you ask? Well, some monitor/card
combinations go into low-power states when the screen is blanked, so if
you choose Blank Screen, there could be some advantage.
Tip
Interested
in space exploration? Think life might exist on other planets? If you
want to become part of the largest global experiment in massive
parallel processing, you can download the SETI@home screen saver to
harness your computer’s otherwise wasted CPU cycles to sift through
signals from outer space, searching for signs of intelligent life out
there. |
Because
far too many people leave their computers on all the time (it’s not
really true that they will last longer that way), efforts have been
made by power regulators and electronics manufacturers to devise
computer energy-conservation schemes. Some screen savers will turn off
the video card instead of displaying cute graphics. And, of course,
some screen savers are fun to watch. Windows 7 comes with a handful of
screen savers, such as 3D Text, Blank, Bubbles, Mystify, Photos, and
Ribbons. All but Blank and Photos are in 3D.
Some
screen savers are mindless; others are more interesting. Some, such as
3D Text, have additional options such as font, size, and color. You can
check out each one as the spirit moves you. Just highlight it in the
Screen Saver drop-down list and click Preview, or watch what happens in
the little preview monitor. If you do a full-screen preview, don’t move
the mouse until you’re ready to stop the preview or it will stop even
before it gets started. If a particular screen saver has configuration
elements, click the Settings button.
You
can also create a personalized screen saver by displaying selected
pictures and videos as a slideshow. Here is how to create your own
slideshow as a screen saver for your Windows 7 desktop:
1. | In the Screen Saver Settings dialog box, open the Screen Saver drop-down list and select Photos.
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2. | Click
Settings to choose the pictures and videos you want in your slideshow
and other options. After you make your changes, click Save and then OK.
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Note that there are two more settings in the Screen Saver Settings dialog box:
Wait x minutes—
After the number of minutes you set here, the screen saver will begin.
The smallest value is 1 minute. The largest is 9,999 minutes.
On Resume, Display Logon Screen—
A screen saver often comes on after you leave your desk for a while. As
a safety precaution, in case you forget to log off or lock the computer
(via Start, Lock) before leaving, it is a good idea to require that you
provide your logon password when you return to your desk and touch a
key or move the mouse.
If you’re looking to find the actual screen-saver files on your hard drive, they have an .scr
extension and are stored in the windows\system32 folder. In your
Windows 7 system, they might be hidden. In Windows Explorer, click
Organize, Folder and Search Options, and then click the View tab. In
the Advanced Settings list, select the Show Hidden Files, Folders, and
Drives radio button, and uncheck the Hide Extensions for Known File
Types option. Click OK to close the dialog box. You should be able to
see the SCR files in windows\system32 at this point.
Note
You
must have a video card that’s compatible with Direct3D to use the 3D
screen savers in Windows 7. The OS will display a message to this
effect in the Screen Saver Settings dialog box if you attempt to select
a 3D screen saver without the proper card installed. |
Double-clicking
a screen saver runs it. Right-clicking and choosing Install adds it to
your screen saver list. If you run it, just press a key or click the
mouse to stop it.
The Web is littered with screen savers. The following are some reliable sources:
Between
those two sources alone, you have access to more than 2,500 screen
savers. Plus, many of the screen savers designed for previous versions
of Windows will work on Windows 7.
In
addition to selecting the screen saver du jour, you should also define
the length of time the system must be idle before the screen saver is
launched, as well as whether to display the logon screen or return to
the desktop when the system is resumed (that is, when the keyboard or
mouse is activated by a user).
Tip
You can uninstall screen savers you install, but you cannot uninstall the screen savers that come with Windows 7. |
If
you are working from a portable system or are an energy
conservationist, the Screen Saver Settings dialog box also offers quick
access to the power saving properties of Windows 7
