Vista user experience - change default font size

I'm using Vista in Transitional Chinese edition. It's cool to see MS releases a better and more "Mac-like" shell. For TC user, the new font "正黑體" is way better, especially the English text doesn’t look like dirty laundries out of dryer anymore. In any case, human resists changes in nature, I'm sure a lot of people will need time to get used to the new things.

As a professional user, I always try to maximum usability, especially on a 15'4 laptop -- space is limited here. With Vista's default theme, the usable area has shrink a lot. One of the main reason I found out, is that the default font size is changed from 8 to 9pt, which take away at least 20% of the usable area compared to the older WinXP shell.

You can still change the font size via Control Panel in 4 simple steps (just like the old way, but one more click). No need to edit registry or stuff like that.

1. Right-click the desktop, choose Personalize, click the first "Windows Color and Appearance" (視窗色彩與外觀) option.

2. Click the "Open classic appearance properties for more color options" (開啟傳統外觀屬性，以使用其他色彩選項) link near the bottom.

3. Click the Advanced button on the "Appearance Settings" dialog.

4. Select each item, and then flip the Size field to 8 pt.Your Vista desktop is now transparently convoluted (at least a little more)...