Let's remember what a taskbar looks like in Windows Vista: And what if a little color buttons on it? For example, like this: It will turn out beautifully and conveniently (multi-colored buttons are better visible).
Everything is very easy. You just need to replace the lower part of the background image, and the transparency and blur of the taskbar will do its job. For convenience, I made a blank, which I propose to use ( Blank (1680x1050) .psd, 154 KB and Blank (1280x1024) .psd, 130 KB ). It contains 10 layers: