Rainmeter

How do you customise your desktop? It isn't only Linux users that have this privilege. Though Windows is a proprietary OS and does not allow you much scope for customisation, the open source tool Rainmeter ( www.rainmeter.net) gives you the much-needed freedom. It is not just an application, but a tool-kit that lets you write and extend functionality. It has small windows called skins to display information, which are its basic building blocks. Using these, you can view systems resources, weather forecasts, emails, your FB status, tweets and RSS feeds, as well as make notes, launch applications, control your media player and more.

To get started, visit the site, download the installer and run it. After installation, you will see the default theme with various skins arranged along the screen. (A theme is a file that controls the layout of skins on your desktop.) Right-click the skins for a context menu based on the skin you are using. This lets you manage and even edit the skins. You can even create your own skins—and you needn't master a weird programming language to do so; the tool-kit has its own language that is far easier to comprehend than regular programming languages (more on it at http://goo.gl/yqwpo).

Even if you don’t want to edit or create your own skins, there are already thousands of skins freely available for download. Since Rainmeter is open source, the community backs you up whenever you need assistance. So what are you waiting for? Go grab Rainmeter now and amaze others with your desktop.