Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Open Windows

What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?

The last thing I searched for in Google was the following phrase: "how to change lock screen windows 8.1".


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At the beginning of the year, I had to buy a new laptop.  The lowest priced laptop, which consequently had more storage space, and more features than the alternatives, also came with the Windows 8 operating system.  I really fretted about Windows 8; for touchscreen devices, it is fine, but navigating it with a mouse or touchpad can be a bit tricky.  There are things I like about it, and things I dislike about it.  But mostly, there are a ton of things I do not even know about it.  I know how to do what it takes to accomplish the things I need to, and that is it.  I am perfectly fine with this level of working knowledge regarding Windows 8.

I have been getting prompts that there was a Windows update, so yesterday, I gave in and installed the update.  And it actually did change a few things.  It actually made some things better (like adding a start button at the bottom left corner of the desktop).  It also added the ability to have the same wallpaper on my start screen and my desktop.  This calms my OCD tendencies, and makes things feel consistent.  But the update did something weird.  It changed my lock screen.  My lock screen used to be this colorful drawing of the Space Needle in Seattle.  I loved it, because I dream of going to Seattle, maybe even living there someday, so it always made me smile when I opened the locked laptop and got to see a bit of my dream.  Now, post update, the lock  screen was this mass of swirly rainbow lines.  Pretty, sure, but it just did not make me happy as that brightly colored drawing of the Jet City.

So, I went in search of a site that would, in easily understandable terms, tell me exactly how to get my old lock screen back.  Lo and behold, the first site I tried not only taught me how to do this, but clued me into to some of the other changes included in the update.  I was so thankful for a thorough, clearly written article.  I was easily and quickly able to get my old lock screen back, and all was once again right in my little corner of the world.

While I am still not as comfortable with Windows 8, or the update of Windows 8.1,  as I was with its predecessor, I have to shut the door on that old operating system, and learn to live with what I have.

Because, as we all know, when God closes doors, He opens Windows.

NaBloPoMo November