Vista's sidebar can prove a useful tool in many situations, for example when you want to have latest news delivered on your desktop in real time, but there's one problem - the default RSS feeds included by Microsoft in the sidebar gadget may not be exactly what you need... so some changes are needed, of course!

The only problem is that the Common Feed List, Microsoft's innovation that allows more programs to use same feeds without having to import or export using OPML files, isn't as flexible as expected, and removing the default feeds from the gadget is a real challenge. Anyway, this is not a challenge that Windows users won't defeat, so let's see how can we remove the default RSS feeds from the Common Feed List, shall we?


<-234x60 Half Banner - left->While you won't need to edit the registry, write any line of code to use in a script or something like that, the solution that we have for you involves using "a hidden path", and by that I mean that you have to use Internet Explorer to perform the changes. How? Here's your answer...

- Open Internet Explorer.

- Tap Alt+C to bring up the Favorites Center.

- Left click on Feeds to open the Feeds window.

- Expand the Microsoft Feeds folder and delete the ones you don't need.

- Go back to your Vista desktop and check the gadget to see the changes.

As you probably imagine, adding new feeds is done the same way - you open Internet Explorer, add new items in the Common Feeds List, and then you'll be able to select them in the Feed Headlines gadget. Good luck!

To be honest, I hate having icons on my desktop. In fact, I always liked to keep my desktop as clean as possible, and if that means no icons at all, works just fine for me. Since it's not all about me, I must admit that most people like to organize their stuff on the desktop, and the most frequent used icons have always been "My Computer""and "Network Neighbourhood", but Vista comes with a desktop that only has Recycle Bin, so let's talk about how to make things right...

After learning how to bring back the old Start Menu, you'll see that restoring the old icons to your Vista desktop is also a piece of cake. Are you ready? Here it goes...

- Right click somewhere on your desktop to bring up the contextual menu, and choose Personalize.

- From the Personalize appearance and sounds window, left click on Change desktop icons.

- Check the icons you want to have on your desktop in the window that appears.

- Press OK to apply the changes. No restart is needed.

- Go back to your Vista desktop and enjoy your old items with a new look!


As you can see, it was really easy, just as promised! Be sure to check back SoftDistrict tomorrow for some new Tips & Tricks, because we have a lot of new, interesting ones coming up!

While Windows Vista has an interface that looks much better and has higher customization features than the previous Windows versions, a lot of computer users always want to change the look and feel of their operating system down to the smallest detail, and one of them is the picture in the Start Menu. After all, maybe you want to have your own picture there, and not a cat, a dog or a fish...



Fortunately, there's no need for you to resize your pictures to fit in or to edit the registry and restart the computer so that changes are applied. The process of changing your Start Menu picture is pretty straightforward, so here we go...

- Press the Start Orb, and then click Control Panel to open it.

- Here, pick User Accounts and Family Safety.


- In the window that opens, click on Change Your Account Picture.

- Now, pick one image from the list, or click Browse for more pictures... and select the one that you wish.

- Click on Change Picture after selecting the new one, and your changes will be applied in an instant!

This is it. Much easier than expected, don't you think?

Not so long ago, when we talked about some useful keyboard shortcuts for basic Vista usage, I mentioned Flip 3D, the new way of displaying open programs using a tri-dimensional approach. While this looks extremely cool, as you can see in the screenshot below, it can also be a performance issue for some slower computers, and setting a low number of windows to display in this mode would be a good idea...

Unfortunately, this trick involves editing the registry, so if you're not comfortable with this, call a friend, or double check and triple check before saving your changes. Despite the fact we're not tinkering with vital system settings here, it's always better to be safe when changing the registry, so you could back it up first, "just in case". All right, these being said, let's get things moving here, shall we?- Press Windows key+R to open the Run menu.- Now, type in "regedit" and press OK (or tap Enter on the keyboard) to open the Registry Editor.
- Move to the following registry key "HKEY_CURRENT_USERS\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM".

- Open the Edit menu, and choose New>DWORD (32-bit) Value to create a new entry.

- Name this value Max3DWindows.- Set this new value to the maximum amount of windows you want to have open in Flip 3D mode.

- Click OK, exit the Registry Editor and reboot your computer to apply the changes.While having 5 windows displayed in this mode or less can help people with slower computers, this can also come in handy to help you get organized and switch through your open application easier and faster than before. Good luck!

As it happens always with changes in an interface, some people are crazy about Vista's new looks, while others would like to keep at least parts of what they're used to. For example, most people like the Aero interface, but not so many enjoy the new Start menu.

Of course that if you switch back to the Classic Windows theme, you're going to lose all those shiny, rounded and transparent windows, and we don't want that, so let's make a compromise - what about changing only the looks of the Start menu? Here it goes...


- Right click the Start Orb, then choose Properties from the menu that appears.

- In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window, select Classic Start menu in the Start Menu tab .

- Click Apply before closing the window, and the changes will be applied in an instant.

- Enjoy your classic Start menu inside the Aero interface!

If you think the new one looks better, after all, simply go through the same steps again, but select Start Menu instead of Classic Start menu in the second step mentioned above. Good luck!