Windows Clock Not Enough? Try These On for Size

We all look even by instinct at our wrists to check the time. It’s a notion that guided us in everyday activities, and is some sort of a law on which everybody seems to agree upon.

Clocks are everywhere, but probably the most used is the one on your taskbar. It’s with you in everything you do, and can even show time for different locations at once. Albeit, there are only a few customization options provided by Windows, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to be done in this regard.

In our tests, we stumbled upon a large variety of different clocks and skins for the original. However, only a few stand out from the crowd, and with either of the two described above, your desktop can suffer from a powerful makeover, just by changing the clock.

Changing the system tray clock

Step 1: Download, install, and run Atomic Alarm Clock.

Step 2: Check if the tray clock is changed. If it is, click it for more options. If not, access the options from the tray icon.

Step 3: In the All alarms section, click New to set up a reminder.

Step 4: Make it recurrent at a custom period. Pick a sound file either from the provided list or a file. Additionally, add an action when the alarm is due, such as running a file or shutting down the computer.

Step 5: Go to Customizations to Run Atomic Alarm Clock on Windows Startup.

Step 6: Switch to Skins to pick from the large variety of different clock types.

Step 7: Check to Enable tray clock for changes to take effect.

Step 8: Go to Time Zones to add two additional clocks.

Step 9: Right-click the tray clock to enable a desktop Calendar.

Building your own clock

Step 1: Download, install, and run Talking Desktop Clock.

Step 2: Right-click the tray clock, and hit Options to go under the hood.

Step 3: Uncheck the Use the Windows clock option to change the tray display.

Step 4: Scroll through the bottom list to select a default desktop clock.

Step 5: Click on Customize the selected clock style.

Step 6: Go through all its elements to make the clock exactly the way you want it, regarding color, element size, style, and shape, hands movement, and more.

Step 7: Give it a name and save the layout.

Step 8: Close the customization window, and select the option that makes the clock avoid the mouse so that it doesn’t get in your way when using the desktop.

Step 9: Switch to the speech panel to enable announcements at regular intervals and custom voice.