Royale Noir may sound like the next Bond film, or maybe a spoof of it (imagine, a spoof of a remake of a spoof), but it's not--it's a quasi-official, but somewhat unfinished, theme for Windows XP. Here's the deal: Last year a theme called Royale surfaced as part of Windows Media Center Edition and was later released on Microsoft New Zealand's web site (you can download it here, if you like). It turns out, though, that there was another version of Royale in the works with a sleek black finish--Royale Noir. Noir was never released, but one dedicated Channel9 member spotted it in a Microsoft commercial and subsequently--though the how is somewhat unclear--dug it up and unleashed it on the world.

Like I said, Royale Noir is somewhat unfinished--it works fine, even with Office 2003, but a few of its edges are a little rough. XP themes are a dime a dozen these days, but if you derive comfort from having a sorta official theme digitally signed by Microsoft, and like the dark look, Royale Noir might be for you. (Insert Royale With Cheese joke here.)