Okay, this is a simple question: can you change the icons for things on your desktop? If this needs any more elaboration, what I mean is that the icons on your desktop all link to that program, IE the fox around the globe is the icon for firefox. Would there be any way to change that?

You have to change the icon file in 'Program Files'. If you do it, make sure you back the original icons incase anything goes wrong.

Right-click the icon, open up the shortcut Properties, click Change Icon, navigate to the icon's location, select the one you want.

Some desktop icons like My Computer, Internet Explorer, My Documents, etc. cannot be changed this way because they're not shortcuts exactly like the others. For these, right-click your desktop, open up Properties, click the Desktop tab, click Customize Desktop, select icon, and yada-yada.

Note: This is the exact directions for Windows XP Pro. Newer operating systems may be different, but you didn't specify which one you're using.