Change Your Logon Screen Into Vista

Have you ever wondered how to change the default Windows XP logon screen? Today I got the crazy idea to figure out how to make it look like Windows Vista instead, so I'm writing that up for you.

You'll have to download and install the free LogonStudio application and make sure that it is set as the default logon handler, which is easy since it will prompt you when you first open it.

The three default welcome screens aren't very impressive, but there's a ton of great ones on the wincustomize site, including the Vista one you see here.

Next, download and open the Windows Vista Ultimate Logon screen for XP, and select it in LogonStudio as shown above. Once you hit the Apply button, you'll see your Vista-style logon screen for XP:

Note that this will not work if you are logging into a domain, or if you use the classic style logon with Ctrl+Alt+Del. There's a way to customize that background image, which I'll cover in another article.

Download LogonStudio for XP from stardock.com

Download Windows Vista Ultimate Logon Screen for XP

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Happy Birthday Orkut - Orkut's 5th Birthday

Today marks orkut's 5th birthday, and the orkut team is in the mood to party. Since we didn't have quite enough cake to share with all of you, we figured we'd do a special birthday doodle instead. Check it out:



Excited? Send 5th birthday cards to your friends using this Greeting Card application.



Five years is such a milestone for us (and for all of you dedicated orkuteers too), that we didn't think that one day was enough time to celebrate. That's why we've decided to announce today as the kick-off for a year of special announcements.

Recently we've launched several new orkut features in preparation for 2009. Here are a few of our favorites:

• built-in instant messaging: talk to your orkut and Gmail friends on orkut in real time (we're still rolling this out to some of you, so don't worry if you haven't noticed it yet)
• events tool: manage your busy social lives on orkut
• total photo privacy control: share your photos with as few or as many people as you'd like (including your non-orkut friends!)
• mobile orkut: use orkut on your mobile phone; there's even a rich version built especially for the iPhone
  
• OpenSocial applications: play with the thousands of fun apps on orkut, and add your favorites to your profile page
  

We've got a bunch of new stuff planned for the rest of the year that we hope will make orkut an even more fun place for you to hang out with your friends. Be on the lookout for new developments– we promise that these are changes you won't want to miss!

Thanks for sticking with us for all of these years and best wishes for 2009!

Source Orkut Blog.

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