Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft
Microsoft adds 14 cool new themes to Windows 7 gallery for launch day
by Lee Mathews Oct 22nd 2009 at 9:00AM
Windows 7 adds several cool, new desktop personalization features. Whether it's tweaking your Aero Glass color or subscribing to an RSS feed for new wallpaper images, customization is easier than it ever has been on Windows.
A while back I mentioned the arrival of an official Ferrari prototype theme (which will no doubt be appearing on some shiny new Acer laptops very soon). It's now been added to the Microsoft Personalization gallery along with 13 other themes.
Gamers may want to take a look at the Gears of War tandem, and our friends at Autoblog now have two more options: Infiniti and Porsche. There are also three Zune-based themes (a nice companion for your new Zune HD) and packs from Pepsi and Coca Colca.
My favorite is probably the Bing theme, which taps the collection of amazing images you've been seeing on their search page (assuming you've tried Bing, of course).
Installing new themes is easy. Just visit the gallery, download the theme(s) you want, and double-click the .themepack file to install it. Windows 7 will automatically activate your new theme!
Want to make your own theme? Microsoft will show you how to do that, too!
A while back I mentioned the arrival of an official Ferrari prototype theme (which will no doubt be appearing on some shiny new Acer laptops very soon). It's now been added to the Microsoft Personalization gallery along with 13 other themes.
Gamers may want to take a look at the Gears of War tandem, and our friends at Autoblog now have two more options: Infiniti and Porsche. There are also three Zune-based themes (a nice companion for your new Zune HD) and packs from Pepsi and Coca Colca.
My favorite is probably the Bing theme, which taps the collection of amazing images you've been seeing on their search page (assuming you've tried Bing, of course).
Installing new themes is easy. Just visit the gallery, download the theme(s) you want, and double-click the .themepack file to install it. Windows 7 will automatically activate your new theme!
Want to make your own theme? Microsoft will show you how to do that, too!
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Matt said 10:11AM on 10-22-2009
Jesus, even their themes are corporate branding exercises. I'm gonna be sick.
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Lee Mathews said 10:18AM on 10-22-2009
I'm not positive, but I believe the brand themes were developed by the companies themselves, not MS. Anyone know the scoop?
Matt said 10:38AM on 10-22-2009
So it might not be just a branding exercise, but outright advertising. Lovely.
Sorry. The crass commercialism had just sort of suddenly hit me.
Luscious said 5:12PM on 10-22-2009
Who cares? They're free, and some people put cars and video game wallpapers as their backgrounds anyway. And these are made by professionals as opposed to fan/amateur made, so everyone gets a nicer and consistent looking theme.
Why not bash this instead:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/apple-patent-application-reveals-ad-supported-os-armageddon/
Matt said 11:09AM on 10-22-2009
Ouch. Somehow I missed that gem from Apple. Wow, when you look at it from that perspective this isn't so bad...
Jordan said 10:57AM on 10-22-2009
No Modern Warfare 2 theme?
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Restoration said 2:33PM on 10-22-2009
I wish MS would create a theme like Dust for Ubuntu
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moby said 1:04AM on 11-05-2009
Seven forums has a huge plethora of really cool well designed win7 backgrounds as well. Totally worth checking out. http://www.sevenforums.com/customization/11349-custom-windows-7-wallpapers.html
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