This is a clip from an email newsletter I get. Just thought I'd share!

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Windows 7, like all powerful operating systems, can seem a bit overwhelming and give you the feeling you've lost control.

Fortunately, there are some great utilities for taming Windows 7.

Some problems are obvious: you've got so many icons on your desktop you've given up trying to keep them organized. Other problems are more obscure — for example, why Windows takes so long to boot. And it's always good to know exactly what hardware and software are residing in your PC.

Here are four free programs that make Windows easier to control. I'm betting you'll find them as useful as I do.

Use Fences to subdivide your desktop

If you're one of those rare people who never ever put anything on their desktops, I applaud your inner neatnik. But if your screen is so packed with file and shortcut icons that you don't remember what your wallpaper looks like, Stardock's Fences (download page) can put some order back into your computing life. (Sorry, it can't do anything about your garage.)

Once installed, this utility lets you create fenced areas on your desktop by double-clicking a blank spot and right-dragging the mouse. After you've created a fence, you give it a name and drag any item on the desktop into it.

You can, for example, create one fence for programs, another for shortcuts to files, and yet another for stuff you plan to delete in the near future. (See Figure 1.) If you put more stuff into a fence than it has room for, it adds a scrollbar. (You can get rid of the scrollbar by removing items from the box or resizing the fence.)


 

 Figure 1. If your desktop is cluttered with dozens of icons, use Fences to corral them into organized groups.

A fenced area can be moved, renamed, or deleted. (The items that were inside the fence remain on your desktop.) Double-click the desktop, and all your fences — plus any unfenced icons — disappear. (Desktop windows remain visible.) Double-click again, and everything comes back.

If you find the double-click-and-hide feature annoying, you can turn it off in Fences' configuration box. You can also control the look of the fences, back up your desktop layout (the backups are misleadingly called "snapshots"), and pick a standardized layout.

Fences is free for personal use, but you can also purchase the U.S. $50 Pro version, which adds default fences for new icons; automatic icon organization by file type, name, and more; icon sorting within fences; plus fence transparency and other powerful features.