How would you like your desktop to be?
 

As pretty as possible, or opt for something really basic?
Have everything be conventional, or do it your own way?
The desktop and the window manager can be customized by a large degree on most Windows- and Linux-based systems. So tell us: what are your system's settings when it comes to eye candy and such?

Window style, themes, colours, taskbar locations, amount of them, whether you use virtual desktops or not, font smoothing, the Start menu or launcher options... well, whatever you can think of, feel free to post about it in this thread. XD

I prefer to keep my desktop clean of icons. The only icon visible is Recycle Bin, otherwise, everything is deleted. However, my taskbar has all the software I require; libraries, browsers, media players, Microsoft Office and messengers. Oh, and they are formatted to be small in size.

I usually change the background of my desktop according to the situation; a new movie, a season or a holiday. The main gadgets I use is an alarm clock, calender, weather forecast and Kaspersky monitor.

With one desktop change I decided to clean it up a bit. Deleted all icons and hid the Recycle Bin, hid the daskbar, and not use any gadgets. For the sake of convenience (and awesomeness) I messed with the Aero settings enough to make everything transparent (that is, white with opacity turned all the way down). With a taskbar cleaning, I could also now make the icons large, and that's really a convenience when it's hidden. It has all the things I use regularly, and so I don't have too many yet I don't have to consult the Start menu very much. My wallpaper generally changes when I've decided that I've had one for long enough and I go for whatever my mood brings me to download.

Super super SUPER organized. I want everything to be packed tightly and neatly in to folders so that when I'm looking for a specific thing, it's just a few simple clicks away, and not a search through my large screen. I'd also want more space so I can stare at my background more.
Everything else is a basic Windows 7 default. I don't like change much.

I wish I could say I keep mine organized, but I always end up saving funny or interesting images during random moments to my desktop, and never bother to organize them, even in the My Pictures and My Documents folder. Wallpaper is a must for me. However, since I have trouble removing drop shadows from Windows XP icons and getting it to stay like that, I might just make the transition to Windows 7 soon.

Call me neophobic, but I find the old ways to be the best ways. I've got programs and taskbars separate, so I can distinguish between running a new instance of something and bringing to focus an already running instance. For programs that persistently have to show their activity "in sight" I prefer tray icons and I like to have them all in view, so I can see if one demands an action, or has changed. I hid away all the default tray icons that I find useless. The only customization I've done to my theme is max transparency. I can't say I've played much with the UI, or that I'd like to revamp it. Although I've registry tweaked some things, such as locking the default folder listing scheme.