Windows ricing

MERGE CANDIDATE

Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. This page is a candidate to be merged with: Windows

Natively, Windows is terribly hard to rice on, however software like bblean allow linux-esque window management and is seen on most riced Windows desktops. Outside of this, there are Windows themes, however these are potentially harmful and should be avoided.

That big thing full of info on the desktop is called Rainmeter. See below for more details.

Rainmeter

Rainmeter is one of the handful of tools which make it possible to rice, to a degree. It is a free and open source desktop customization program which uses skins to display information. Various skins can preform tasks such as displaying system resources, showing RSS feeds, launch programs, or controlling a music player. Most people on /g/ avoid using Rainmeter as it puts strain on system resources and is hard to get right, as most of the time it looks too busy and takes up too much desktop real-estate.

• rainmeter site

Running Linux Environments on Windows

The default shell for Windows is quite limited in its potential customization. But think of this not as an inhibiting hurtle; just as you can switch interfaces under Linux, you can use a whole different one on Windows and even make great use out of some of the default interfaces.

Two of the main Linux-esque toolsets you can get for Windows are:

• cygwin
• MinGW

Winaero and other sites

Working within the confines of the Windows interface, one can make many useful changes to the way their computer looks and runs, including getting rid of many resource-wasting effects which are default in Windows, and even bring Windows 8 into a comfortable state free of Metro.

Launchy

Customizable and free search bar for your programs and files on your desktop.

Stardock Fences

Create shaded, customizable "groups" on your desktop for files, folders, and programs. Unfortunately it is proprietary with weak freeware alternatives but cracked versions are available.

Helpful Links

• http://nanami-tan.info/ - A great blog with links and information about ricing on Windows.
• http://developer.berlios.de/projects/bugn/ - Window tiling manager for Windows, based on DWM 5.8 for *Nix.
• http://www.litestep.net/ - A replacement shell for the default Windows shell.
• http://www.windowsxlive.net/
• https://alternativeto.net/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/customization