Please change my Desktop

[Geek-9pm]

This is about  ease of use  in Windows 8.
It is now apparent that everyone will have to update to either Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 to have any support from Microsoft. Doing otherwise is like trying to have a volunteer fire department  in an area that has a high fire risk.

The analogy is this. Windows XP is now a ghost town on the Internet. One can not keep using a dead OS unless one wants to waste his time.

I want my desktop to look like this:


That is the XP desktop that I am used to. I need a Windows 8 desktop that is close to that. I have to be able to place icons all over with no visual interference.

I have a disability. I have very low-vision. The magnifier and high contrast do not solve the problem. I need to see thugs I am used to. At big part of this kind of vision problem relates to the ability to recognize familiar objects and to isolate the  background trash.

It should be possible to do this without the need to do a re-work on the registry.

But I am wiling to here any ideas. 

[BC_Programmer]

The screenshot uses 16-colors. It is also 640x480.

Are these traits you require?

You can increase the DPI setting of the system and even make the font size for Icons (or other elements) larger or smaller with the personalization control panel. Here's an example I slapped together by fiddling with one of my Windows 8.1 VMs:



I don't know about changing the actual font in use for the desktop. I don't think the advanced display properties dialog is available in Windows 8 and later anymore.That looks like the 'System' font, which is a bitmap font. I'm not sure if you can use that, but truetype fonts scale better when you change the DPI.

[Geek-9pm]

That looks very good.
Yes, I did use system font.  But Thoma Bold is also works.
One of the things found was in the performance settings. You can turn off the puff clod font style and have just a plain font. I thinks it is called visual stye and drop shadow. These effects make the font hard to read.
I set my Font to about a size 12. And yes, the low resolution helps. But when I watch a network movie, I have to adjust the browser so the image fits the screen.

I want to do this in Windows 8 or 10 so I can get used to using a supported OS.
Perhaps less than 2 per cent of Windows users are like me. But I would help a lot of MS would make the options available for t hose that need them.

[BC_Programmer]

In the screenshot I increased the Display DPI to 200%, increased the font size of Icon labels to 12, and made them bold. The background is also a solid colour. Using a larger DPI is considered better than using a lower resolution, particularly if using an LCD monitor, but realistically they have a similar effect for those that require it to see much.

I also tried what you mention regarding  drop shadows by disabling "use drop-shadows for icon labels on the desktop" in the "Performance Options" dialog, but it doesn't seem to actually do anything.

I didn't use any registry thingies. I just fiddled with the available display options.

[Geek-9pm]

Thanks. That is better.  I still need to get the icons  to  have black letters on light background.  I would use a picture background because it is too hard to read.

[strollin]

Have you tried using the magnifier built-in to Windows or a 3rd party magnifier?

What about a screen reader?  Windows has one built-in but there are also 3rd party options.

Here's a link to a company with products for people that have a low vision disability: http://www.freedomscientific.com/Products/LowVision

[Geek-9pm]

Thanks for the link.
I have used some devices, but the magnifier is hard to use unless you have two monitors. I may have to go back to using dual monitors.
It would help a lot ifds the Windows API would favor more variation in font  size, Icon size and background colors.
The High-Contrast t optimums are a disaster. Some websites deliberately select colors that are hard to read. Somehow they think that draws more interest. It makes things tough  for people with low-vision.
I did use a reader at one time. That is good for a large document that has to be carefully read. But it sucks for scanning a page of keywords.

I do appreciate some web sires that  stick with black on white and use of HTML in a way that allows viewing a page with auto-word wrap. 

With Windows 8 and 10, the big problem is tiny titles and the  special effects.
and  titty bitty cursor.

I did not understand Lo-vision until it happened to me. Presently I have to use reading glades that are rated 4X. But I use them at a distance of about 8 inche3s for a20 inch monitor.
I am thankful l for any ideas.

Please look at this:
https://www.microsoft.com/enable/guides/vision.aspx
The site uses the same format MS uses on all their stuff. One can not adjust the text to fill the screen and word-wrap. Plain old HTNL with a single colummn works fine, but MS just can not get it. Lo-vision people need a  universal format that can easily be read. It is called HTNL.

Explanation. A simple web site with HTML and nothing+ else will adjust the test to fit the users monitor or zoom level.
Look here:
http://people.ds.cam.ac.uk/ssb22/css/
Go down to Stylesheets for low vision
On that web site you can use almost any resolution and set the zoom up to
200 % and not loose the word wrap.
BTW: That site makes a point. It takes little effort to have a web site that adapts to the needs of the user. In fact, that is already being done for mobile devices with responsive templates.
Thanks for letting me rank. 

[BC_Programmer]

One can not adjust the text to fill the screen and word-wrap.

Using the control key and scrolling the mouse wheel, and it wraps just fine.

[Computer_Commando]

http://classicshell.net/
Works with Windows 10, 8.1, 8.0, 7.
http://classicshell.net/features/

[Geek-9pm]

Thanks, I will try Classic Shell tomorrow.