Well, it seems if you have Microsoft Outlook Express and/or Windows Messenger activated in your account, it talks to the Windows log-on screen and tells it about the number of messages in your account. People have complained that this message doesn’t go away even when you read those messages or mark them as read.

But, the good news is – there is a fix. You will need to download TweakUI “PowerToy” from this page. This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more. It lets you do tweak your user interface in a bunch of ways. Read the discussion and instructions on this page too.

Still, if you are among the majority of internet users, most likely your language of computer usage is exclusively English. Do you know if Windows supports your language or not? By the time you finish reading this post, you will, and the answer is more likely to be “yes”. Take a look at the partial list of supported languages in the screenshot below. What’s more, you can keep the default language English, enable writing in another language, or two, and switch seamlessly between them. You can write your emails, blogs, or fill up blog comments or web forms effortlessly in either or both languages. Here is a self-explanatory screenshot, followed by an easy tutorial.

Here’s the quick tutorial:

Step 1: Go to Control Panel.
Step 2: Click “Regional and Language Options”.
Step 3: Choose the “Languages” tab.
Step 4: If the input language you want to add is East Asian, Indic or among other complex scripts, etc. check the relevant box under “Supplemental Language Support”. For Indic languages check the first box. Click “Apply”. You may be prompted to insert Windows installation CD, and may have to reboot your PC. After rebooting, start from step 1.
Step 5: Click on “Details” under “Text services and input languages”.
Step 6: Under “Installed services” click “Add”.
Step 7: Choose the desired language from the drop down menu, and keep clicking “OK” to close open dialog boxes.

Now, this is how the language bar on your Windows status bar should look like.

Just choose the input language and start typing. Default keyboard shortcut to switch between the input methods is Alt+Shift. You can change this by returning to the above dialog boxes. If you have questions, ask in the comments section.