Windows 7 Logon Screen — Your Photos Here?

When you have a love of photography, you want to see your best images as much as possible. For those, like me, who spend most of their working day in front of a PC or Laptop you can always set your wallpaper to display your favorite image. With Microsoft Windows 7, you can even configure that image to automatically change frequently, or use images from an internet feed.

While this is a big improvement over Vista & XP, there are still some tweaks and adjustments which in my opinion should be built in, and could be done without complicating the overall user experience, such as the Windows Logon Screen, and in the case were you have dual monitors. Thankfully, others have stepped in to fill this gap…

Windows Logon Screen

As seen in the image above, I have set my logon screen to use one of my favorite images using Tweaks.Com Logon Screen Changer.

Tweaks.Com Logon Screen Changer

So simple, but for better looking images, ensure that you crop them to the same aspect ratio of your screen, say 1920 x 1080. Otherwise, the image will look distorted when the screen is locked.

Dual Monitor Support

Two main requirements here:

• Different images on each screen
• Stretch one image across both screens

DisplayFusion from Binary Fortress achieves both of these with ease, and much more besides. It’s a free download with a “Pro” option.

Display Fusion — Dual Monitor Support

Desktop Collage

Sometimes when one photo is not enough, a collage is a great alternative. Google Picasa, which I have mentioned previously, makes the creation of collages very easy. You can see an example of that in the Display Fusion image above.

Why Is Your Laptop Screen Blue?

A little note about the white balance of the photo of my laptop at the top of this post. The image is balanced using an Expodisc for the prevailing light, but the image on the screen of the laptop is still extremely blue. Why is this? The secret is in the top right… I am using a Pantone Huey with Room Light Correction enabled. It is altering the profile, and hence the white balance of the screen for the prevailing light as well. The two white balance corrections together… well, it doesn’t look great! Here is what I see normally:

Will The Real White Balance Please Stand Up?