Entries tagged with themes - Channel 10

Wow, Where Did All These Themes Come From?

Sarah Perez — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:46:00 GMT

Rob Margel recently discovered a great March theme for Windows 7 users at download.live.com which features shamrocks and other spring-related imagery. I thought I’d go check out the Windows 7 Personalization gallery to grab it and whatever else was new, too. However, for some reason, the Shamrock theme isn’t there. No matter, since Rob posted the direct link for the download. However, I was surprised to see the gallery had a ton of new themes since my last visit only a couple of months ago. There are now several regional themes like Canada, Australia, Czech Spring, China, Baltic Beaches, France, India, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and a dozen or so others. Plus, there are new animal themes like “dogs in summer,” “cats everywhere,” and “Year of the Tiger.”

But lately, I have to admit that I’ve found myself addicted to Smashing Magazine’s Windows 7 theme collections which they release monthly. They offer themes made up of artistic backgrounds that come packaged as two different options – those with an embedded calendar and those without. I like to grab those without the calendar myself so I can reuse them later on when I’m ready for a change. You can grab the last collection here.

Windows Phone 7 Series Themes for 6.5 Devices

Sarah Perez — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:31:00 GMT

The announcement about the next version of Windows Mobile Phones – Windows Phone 7 Series – has inspired some developers to create (unofficial) themes for their Windows Mobile 6.5 phones. Right now, Jaxbot on the XDA-Developers forum is working on a theme that resembles Windows Phone 7 Series’ new UI. So far, he’s been able to make a homescreen and lock screen with live tiles for SMS, mail, and weather. You can also set phone, text, Outlook, and People to a certain app, see upcoming appointments on the lock screen, and launch programs.

However, this theme is in alpha and has some issues that are still being addressed. The known issues include occasionally sluggish animations, problems with kinetic scrolling, and unlock problems.

Another developer, LeSScro, also from XDA-developers, has been working on a WP7S-inspired theme for WisBar Advance Desktop 2.x, the software program that lets you replace your existing Today screen and more. This theme offers time, data, and notifications on the lock screen, profile settings, transitional animation, hubs for games, media, and Office, and an apps launcher.

You can see a video of the first theme here and the second one here.

(via Engadget)

I'm a Windows 7 PC Themes

Larry Larsen — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:15:00 GMT

If you're looking for a theme and background to replace the Windows 7 Iconic Background that Denise Trabona and team worked so hard on :), WindowsValley has a Windows 7 themepack that includes four wallpapers, color appearance, sound scheme, and screen saver. The wallpapers are set to rotate every 30 minutes and are a very nice addition if you like a clean looking desktop and are a Win7 fan.

New Branded Themes for Windows 7

Sarah Perez — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:03:00 GMT

There’s something new even for those of use who have been running the Windows 7 RC and RTM builds for some time: new themes! Over on Microsoft’s Windows 7 site, several new, branded themes have appeared including those brands like Coca-Cola, Ducati, Porsche, Gears of War and GoW 2, Pepsi, Avatar, Infiniti, and Ferrari. There are even three Zune themes featuring designs from the artists over on the Zune Store's website as well as a theme that shows off some of the best images from the Bing.com search engine (at last!).

To install these themes into Windows 7, all you need to do is click the “Download” button beneath the theme you want. Although these themes are “branded” offerings from the companies, they’re really impressive – not just boring logos on plain backgrounds. They’re truly works of art. In fact, the Coca-Cola theme doesn’t even contain its logo at all – instead its a series of otherworldly images from the “Happiness Factory” which you may remember from their commercials by the same name.

All the themes are completely free – just head over to this page to download them now.

Three New Windows 7 Themes

Sarah Perez — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:36:00 GMT

You know I’m into themes – the new feature of the Windows 7 OS which allows you to customize your background, windows, and sound scheme all with one click. Although Windows 7 has some pretty amazing themes already built in, I’m always on the lookout for more (as you can see).

The latest new themes I’ve come across include themes of Windows 7 box art, Ferraris, and even images from Mac’s Snow Leopard OS.

The Windows 7 box art themes are simple and elegant with a glowing Windows log appearing on a green, blue, or black background. Next, German blogger Christian has posted a droolable theme developed by Ferrari featuring some killer pictures of everyone’s dream car. (Well, one of them, at least). You can read the English translation of the German post here via Rob Margel. Finally, for those of you interested in the desktops of Mac OS X, Redmond Pie has posted a theme pack featuring all the latest Snow Leopard backgrounds.

Get a Live-Updating Bing Wallpaper Windows 7 Theme

Sarah Perez — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:40:00 GMT

Thanks to MakeUseOf.com and Long Zheng of I Started Something, you can now set your Windows 7 desktop wallpaper to a live-updating theme featuring background images from the new search engine Bing.com. Because Windows 7 supports RSS-powered themes, you have the ability to create and use themes whose content comes from feeds - like that of Zheng's Bing Image Archive, where images from the various localized versions of Bing are archived daily.

When Make Use Of blogger Mahendra Palsule asked Zheng to make the Bing Image Archive’s RSS feed work with Windows 7 desktop slideshows, Zheng was happy to oblige. Now all you have to do is create the theme file yourself using the info below.

1. Copy this text into Notepad:

[[Theme]
DisplayName=Bing

[Slideshow]
Interval=1800000
Shuffle=1
RssFeed=http://feeds.feedburner.com/bingimages

[Control Panel\Desktop]
TileWallpaper=0
WallpaperStyle=0
Pattern=

[Control Panel\Cursors]
AppStarting=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_working.ani
Arrow=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_arrow.cur
Crosshair=
Hand=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_link.cur
Help=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_helpsel.cur
IBeam=
No=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_unavail.cur
NWPen=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_pen.cur
SizeAll=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_move.cur
SizeNESW=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_nesw.cur
SizeNS=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_ns.cur
SizeNWSE=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_nwse.cur
SizeWE=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_ew.cur
UpArrow=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_up.cur
Wait=%SystemRoot%\cursors\aero_busy.ani
DefaultValue=Windows Aero
Link=

[VisualStyles]
Path=%SystemRoot%\resources\themes\Aero\Aero.msstyles
ColorStyle=NormalColor
Size=NormalSize
ColorizationColor=0X6B74B8FC
Transparency=1

[MasterThemeSelector]
MTSM=DABJDKT

2. Save the file as “Bing.theme”

3. Activate the theme. Double-click on the Bing.theme file to launch it. In the Subscribe to RSS Feed? prompt, click Download Attachments.

After following the three above steps, you’ll now see the Bing theme appear on your screen. It will also be stored in the “My Themes” section of your personalization options.

If for some reason the theme isn’t working, check the blog post for troubleshooting options. Otherwise, enjoy!

More Windows 7 Theme Packs and Wallpaper

Sarah Perez — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:50:00 GMT

Now that the Windows 7 public release is just around the corner, people are getting into the spirit of celebrating the new OS by releasing their own unofficial but very cool Windows 7 logoed wallpapers and theme packs. Using the Windows 7 box art for inspiration, Zawir Rahim over on DeviantArt created a wallpaper pack featuring the Windows 7 branding in a number of HD images (1920 x 1200) in all colors of the rainbow. Redmond Pie then took those individual wallpapers and packaged them into 15 different theme packs for easy one-click installs. (Download here – zip file).

Next, over on Life Rocks 2.0, they've aggregated 35 of the best Windows 7-inspired wallpapers, also from DeviantArt. This collection includes creations from several different designers and many unique styles. To download those wallpapers, there isn't a single zip file - you'll have to click on the images and then grab them from the DeviantArt site itself.

While you’re at it, you can also head over to The Windows Club forum and grab some unofficial Bing wallpapers, too, created by the community members.

Where to Get New Media Center Themes

Sarah Perez — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:49:00 GMT

The folks over at hack7mc.com have just debuted a new section of their website: a central location for Windows Media Center themes created both by the site’s authors as well as individual contributors like yourselves. The new theme directory is available at Theme7MC.com.

Now, theming your Media Center isn’t an official feature of the software, but it’s a relatively easy hack for those of you who like to tinker and personalize your PC in unconventional ways. (We have some more info on this here. There’s also step-by-step instructions for changing the default blue theme to black here).

There are already some pretty great themes available over on the new site, including this new theme called "Bokeh" which features colorful bubbles and black guides and menus.

Once you have your new theme installed, head back over to hack7mc.com and check out how you can customize your Media Center icons to match.

Windows Mobile 6.5 To Have Themes

Sarah Perez — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:11:00 GMT

A handful of blogs have been giving us a sneak preview at one of the cool, new features that will arrive in the next version of Windows Mobile (Windows Mobile 6.5): themes! As someone who loves to customize everything, this news definitely caught my eye - especially when I saw how attractive these themes are. So far, we’ve seen exclusive themes designed by Isaac Misrahi, Ron Arad, Vera Want, Rock and Republic, and Diane von Fürstenberg. And they look just fabulous. You can check them out in more detail here. Or to see them in live action, PocketNow has posted a video here where they switch through the themes available on a Windows Mobile phone.

Change Your Windows 7 Media Center Background

Sarah Perez — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:53:00 GMT

Did you know you can change your Media Center background? Neither did I until I read this recent post. Although not officially a part of the Media Center software, there is a way to do it. It’s not the easiest thing in the world as it involves applying a new registry file and editing permissions. But if those sorts of things are second nature to you, it’s definitely worth checking out the tutorial on this hack.

If you want to get even crazier, there’s also a guide available on making new, complete themes for Media Center using a software program called Restorator.

However, if all that sounds like way too much geeking out for you, then you can simply download and install this new Media Center theme called “Homeworld” from the Hacking Windows 7 Media Center blog. The download works on Windows 7 Beta1 Build 7000 – both x86 and x64 versions.

Here are some screenshots of what it looks like:

That is just awesome.

Home2: A New UI for Windows Mobile

Sarah Perez — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:39:00 GMT

You don’t have to wait for Windows Mobile 6.5 to get a new UI for your Windows Mobile phone. New interfaces let you skin your phone’s UI on the fly – the trick is finding a good one that you enjoy. One that may be worth a look is Pointui’s new Home2 beta, which is available for download now from http://www.pointui.com/products/home-2. Just look at these gorgeous screenshots!

At the moment, the beta of Home 2 Free is what’s currently available. A Pro version will later be made available for purchase which will further extend the customization and functionality of this theme.

How to Make Your Own Theme Pack for Windows 7

Sarah Perez — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:15:00 GMT

You’ve been hearing a lot about themes in Windows 7 lately, haven’t you? It’s probably because everyone and their brother is out there creating new theme packs for you to download.

The latest one comes from Mike Swanson, a talented macro photographer known to his friends as the “desktop wallpaper” man. For people like Mike, theme packs are a great way to showcase their photography. Do you want to make your own theme pack? It’s actually not that hard to do at all.

Components of a Theme Pack

To get you up to speed, a theme pack is a file that contains the following items:

One or more desktop backgrounds
Optional customizations for Aero glass, sounds, screensavers, icons, cursors, etc.

Creating a Basic Theme

Creating a basic theme is easy – you just customize your desktop the way you want it, then click “Save theme” on the Personalization page in the Control Panel. Just make sure to choose the “theme pack” type in the drop-down list when doing so. That’s really all there is to it.

Getting More Advanced

If you want to edit the themepack file directly or create a file from scratch in a text editor (geek cred goes to you!), you should check out this resource over on MSDN: "Creating and Installing Theme Files." The documentation there provides details on the various sections of a theme file and what sort of syntax should be used.

More Windows 7 Themes from Paul Thorrott

Sarah Perez — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:15:00 GMT

Did you enjoy the Washington D.C. theme from Paul Thorrott that we shared with you last week? If so, then you’ll be happy to hear that Paul has now released four more theme packs like that D.C. one for all us Windows 7 beta testers to enjoy. Three of the new themes focuses on other photogenic locales: Paris, London, and Ireland. And the fourth theme is all about one of my personal addictions: coffee! Yep, the fourth theme pack features lattes and foam-topped cups that make me want to hit up a Starbucks right away. If the above links don’t work, you can download the theme packs from Paul’s SkyDrive folder instead.

A Washington D.C. Windows 7 Theme

Sarah Perez — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:26:00 GMT

Still feeling patriotic? Running Windows 7? Then you have to check out Paul Thurrott’s new Washington D.C. theme pack for Windows 7. The theme was made using several photos he took while on a trip to D.C. back in August 2007. Photos include the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and more.

Want to get the look for your Windows 7 PC? Paul has offered it up as a free download from several different locations including the following:

Download Paul’s D.C. theme (Box.net)
Download Paul’s D.C. theme (SkyDrive)
Download Paul’s D.C. theme (ZIP, SkyDrive)

To install, just click the download link on your Windows 7 computer and then click “open” to run the file. Windows 7 will automatically add the theme to your set of personal themes. It will also immediately be set as your current theme. To configure it further, you can check and uncheck the photos you want used as the desktop background, change the sound scheme, or change screensaver.

Unlock Hidden Themes in Windows 7

Sarah Perez — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:08:00 GMT

In addition to the handful of themes built in to Window 7, there are others which can be downloaded from the Windows 7 web site, and those created by independent third-party designers. But did you know that there are even more themes hidden within the OS itself? According to WinVistaClub, these hidden themes were meant for different regions like Australia, Canada, Great Britain, United States and South Africa. But thanks to their handy instructions, you can unlock these themes easily so you have more options with which to customize your Windows 7 desktop.

To unlock the hidden themes, do the following:

1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Click Organize, and select Folder and Search Options.
3. Go to View tab.
4. Select Show hidden files, folders and drivers and uncheck Hide protected operating system files (Recommended). If prompted with confirmation, click Yes.
5. Click OK.
6. Browse to the following folder:
\Windows\Globalization\MCT\
7. There are five folders in the name with format MCT-XX (where XX is AU, CA, GB, US, or ZA) which represents globalization settings for each region. Go into the folder that you want to activate its theme.
Note: AU, CA and ZA regions have the same themes.
8. Open the Theme folder inside the selected region folder.
9. Double click on the XX.theme file to apply the theme to the Windows 7 desktop system. Once a theme is ran and activated, the theme will be remembered and saved into Personalization options, so that user can change or select the theme again directly from Personalization settings screen.
10. Now to go to Folder Options to reverse the first 5 steps to hide the hidden and protected system files and folders again.

After unlocking, there will be more themes for available for customization.

Windows 7 Themes

Sarah Perez — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:53:00 GMT

Now that you’re running the beta of Windows 7 (you are, aren’t you?), you may have started customizing your desktop in order to make it your own. Maybe you’ve organized your icons and applied your favorite photo as wallpaper, but did you know that there’s a lot more you can do? In Windows 7, the new “Themes” feature lets you match the window glass color to your desktop background. If you don’t like the color, you can choose another from the list of available colors or use the color mixer tool to create a custom color of your own. You can also customize the sound scheme and screensaver and save your whole creation as a theme.

Out of the box, Windows 7 comes with a handful of themes to choose from. Although they are really beautiful, I get bored quickly and am always on the lookout for more options. Luckily for me, some designers have already been busy making more themes for Windows 7. The latest set of themes I’ve come across are these at ithinkdiff.com. There are several different ones to choose from including artistic themes, themes from nature, and even one inspired by the desktops seen at PDC.

And don't forget the official themes you can get from Microsoft's site, too!

To install the themes, you just click on the one you want and then open it when prompted. It will automatically install to your “My Themes” section in Windows 7. Best of all, the themes are completely free. Enjoy!

Add “I’m a PC” To Your Windows Live Messenger

Sarah Perez — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:28:00 GMT

Are you a PC, too? If so, you can now show your PC pride by downloading the new Theme Pack for Windows Live Messenger which features an array of icons from the new commercials, including the guy who plays the PC and various slogans like “I’m a PC” and “I’m a PC and a human being.” (I stuck with the simple “I’m a PC” myself.)

The pack also comes with new Messenger backgrounds, too, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the default background, blue with “I’m a PC” written in fading white text across it. Then again, I’m not a fan of any Messenger background come to think of it. If you want to adjust your background, too, just open a conversation window then go to Tools –> Backgrounds from the menu there. Remember, you won’t see this menu unless you’re in the conversation window itself.

I was going to set my background back to “none,” but then I saw the white background with math equations in light blue which also came with the theme pack. Hmm, I might consider that one since it’s very light in color which I like as it makes conversations easier to read.

If you want the new Messenger pack, you have to be signed into Messenger first. Then open IE and click here. The pack will then automatically install.

PageRage Dresses Up Your Facebook Profile

Sarah Perez — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:08:00 GMT

I’m not sure why you would want this, but a new app called PageRage will let dress up your Facebook profile so it looks more like a profile found on MySpace instead. (Yikes!) That’s too bad because one of the nicest things about Facebook is it’s clean and simple look and feel, without the busy backgrounds and image-heavy designs that are so prevalent throughout MySpace.

With the new Facebook app PageRage, you now can customize your Facebook profile with new themes that change both the background and the color schemes of your Facebook profile page. Some of these themes are basic, solid backgrounds, but others are quite busy.

Before you freak out and think this is the end for Facebook, take comfort in the fact that you can only see the new themed profiles if you have the PageRage application installed yourself. If you don’t want to see themes, just don’t install it.

The app works via a browser plugin which uses something called Yontoo Layers. Yontoo Layers create a virtual layer over your browser window. I’m not sure entirely how that all works, but it sounds a lot like what the Firefox extension Stylish offers.

I know. Facebook themes, ick. I definitely won’t be…oh wait…is that a pink one? Awesome.

Xbox Dashboard Themes

Sarah Perez — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:25:00 GMT

You may have heard about the new Xbox Experience which was announced at this year’s E3 Conference. This refresh will bring with it a bold, new design for the Xbox dashboard. Since some gamers have purchased themes in the past, there was concern that these would no longer work, but that was not the case. The new dashboard will indeed retrofit existing Xbox 360 themes in addition to offering new ones (in fact, using it at all is optional.) Also, the new dashboard has a more detailed download page for Xbox Live Marketplace content. Major Nelson gave everyone a sneak peek at how an existing theme might look on the new dashboard. He has also added a few photos to his flickr stream to show you how things may appear in other areas of the dashboard.

Create Custom Themes With Vista Style Builder

Sarah Perez — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:32:00 GMT

Have you always wanted to build your own theme for Vista? You can with a new application called Vista Style Builder and the How-To-Geek has a great walkthrough to get you started with doing so. The Vista Style Builder application lets you modify the visual style of your Vista theme or even import styles from XP to be used on Vista. Also, if you’ve found a style you liked on the web, like on devianART, for example, you can also open that file up in the program and use it as a starting point. From there, you can completely customize every aspect of the UI and theme, using the software’s easy-to-use built-in tools. The program is not available just yet, so bookmark this download page and check back soon. The program will not be free and pricing info is not available yet, but the How-To-Geek promises it will be reasonable.

Discovering Great XP and Vista Themes

Sarah Perez — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:57:00 GMT

I was recently stumbled across a link to this XP Zune theme when searching for ways to jazz up my older laptop. I had forgotten, but I used to really love this theme! The theme was sort of a take off on the also awesome “lost” XP theme - Royale Noir, but with a few tweaks. It’s sort of funny to look at this today, nearly two years later, as I’m running Vista. I still have a very similar color scheme going on now – a dark taskbar and Start Menu and a simple background that shows off my widgets and icons (I guess I’m not much for desktop cleanliness after all). The only variation is that I have blue/greenish windows now. Of course, this led me down the path of looking for a way to customize Vista's themes even more. I know Stardock has professional software to do so, but what about a simple free theme? I ended up here where I discovered a whole slew of themes, skins, and wallpapers for Vista, including the sleek and simple Chocolate Theme (pictured). Nice!

Stardock Releases MyColors

Sarah Perez — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:23:00 GMT

The team at WinCustomize has just announced that their MyColors skinning suite is now available to the general public. For anyone interested in skinning Windows, running MyColors is going to be a lot of fun. With the application of a MyColors theme, you can completely transform your version of Windows - GUI, icons, gadgets, wallpaper, and all. The MyColors suite will offer many themes that appeal to sports fans - like themes from the NBA, NHL, and NCAA - but there are other themes available as well. For example, Ford and GM are offering themes featuring their vehicles, but Windows geeks will want to check out the "Diamond theme," a theme that is very much like Aero Diamond, one of the concepts floated around before the Vista team settled on Aero Glass. If you're already running Stardock's WindowBlinds or Object Desktop, you can still run MyColors without uninstalling those items. The Diamond theme is free, as is the MyColors app, but the other themes are available for purchase at $20 each.

Free Themes for Messenger

Sarah Perez — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:39:00 GMT

Microsoft site Messenger Cafe is a site dedicated to games and activities for Windows Live Messenger. And right now, you can visit this page to get some free theme packs to add to your Live Messenger. The packs available now include a Winter Theme pack, some Halloween themes, a "funky chicken" pack, a back-to-school pack with unique emoticons, and a Christmas-themed Howard the Elf pack. According to this blog post, there was a Halo 3 theme pack, but that one seems to be MIA. Hey guys, can we have it back now?