Explore new desktop backgrounds and themes in Windows 7
No matter how serious a Microsoft Windows user you consider yourself to be, you’ve got to admit that you’ve played around with wallpapering your desktop. In fact, it’s probably a safe bet to say that ever since Windows 95 came out and provided us with the ability to easily change and create desktop wallpaper, we’ve all been enamored with this feature. Chances are also good that when Microsoft Plus! came out for Windows 95 and provided us with the Desktop Themes feature, most of us were happily entertained by the fact that not only could we change the desktop wallpaper but now we could coordinate our entire user interface according to our favorite categorical themes.
Now, even though the Desktop Themes feature was very cool in the beginning, many of us moved on to more serious endeavors, leaving a simple wallpaper in place, a favorite screen saver, and maybe even a few cool sound effects. However, occasionally that old excitement comes back, and we find ourselves toying with the Desktop Themes feature, which has been available in every version of the operating system since Windows 95. Obviously, Microsoft hasn’t moved past the entertainment value of customizing the user interface of their operating system.
When I received the Beta version of Windows 7, I was reminded of the coolness of desktop wallpaper when my daughter came into my office soon after I had completed the installation and immediately recognized that the fish on the desktop wallpaper was a Beta fish, a fact that had up to that point eluded me. It was a very subtle, almost subliminal, message, as well as a cool image.
Ever since that moment, I’ve had an occasional reoccurrence of that entertaining feeling while working with Windows 7 and have explored the available wallpapers, the Desktop Themes feature, and especially the Desktop Background slide show feature. This interest has recently been rekindled by several posts on Microsoft’s The Windows Blog site that revolve around this topic.
In this edition of the Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll explore these Desktop Backgrounds and Themes related posts.
Related posts: