Windows 7 Customisation

During the development of Microsoft’s next operating system Windows 7 the development team has focused much on the security, speed and usability; but in this version of Windows they have also worked on personalization. According to Microsoft a huge amount of people customize Windows with desktop wallpapers and theme.

Aero is the Windows 7 theme and has been around since Windows Vista. Aero is basically a set of sounds, themes and wallpapers. The great thing about Aero in Windows 7 is that you can create themes, package themes up and share them online. Furthermore you can also download other themes other people created.

Microsoft is also adding an interesting theme that configures the theme for the region you are in. For example if you live in the United States one of your desktop wallpaper folders would contain images of the United States. If you live in Canada you world get a folder with desktop wallpapers of photos taken in Canada. This feature is currently available in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, the United States, and South Africa.

Aero themes also take also have desktop slideshows. In previous versions of Windows you could only have one desktop wallpaper at a time. Now in Windows 7 you can have several desktop wallpapers that would change periodically, much like a slideshow.

Using Aero Themes

You can access Windows 7 theme personalization by clicking start and searching personalization.

Windows 7 comes with several themes, unlike with Windows Vista that came with Aero, Aero Basic, High Contrast, and Windows Classic.

By default the Aero in Windows 7 is a bluish colour. Like in Vista you can change it to suit your style. If you have used Windows 7 Beta the default desktop background was the beta fish, but this will of course change in the final version of Windows 7.

Architecture. This Aero Theme features a desktop slideshow of six alternating architectural images, the Twilight (deep blue) glass color, the Cityscape sound scheme, and no screensaver.

The Architecture Aero Theme.

Characters. This Aero Theme features a desktop slideshow of six alternating whimsical cartoon-type images, the Taupe (light pink) glass color, the Characters sound scheme, and no screensaver.

The Characters Aero Theme.

Landscapes. This Aero Theme features a desktop slideshow of six alternating landscape images, the Slate (dusty brown) glass color, the Landscape sound scheme, and no screensaver.

The Landscapes Aero Theme.

Nature. This Aero Theme features a desktop slideshow of six alternating plant- and leaf-based images, the Lavender (bright pink) glass color, the Garden sound scheme, and no screensaver.

The Nature 7 Aero Theme.

Scenes. This Aero Theme features a desktop slideshow of six alternating artistic images, the Violet (soft purple) glass color, the Quirky sound scheme, and no screensaver.

The Scenes Aero Theme.

Theme for [your region]. This Aero Theme is customized for the region in which you live. So in my case, it is customized for the United States. It features a desktop slideshow of six alternating country- or region-specific images, a custom glass color (medium tan for the US), a custom sound scheme (Delta for the US), and no screensaver.

The United States Aero Theme.

If you have created a custom made theme press “Save Theme” which is subtly located near the bottom right of the My Themes section. As I said above you can copy themes from one computer to another via. the internet or storage device.

How to create your own slideshow wallpaper

I have been talking allot about desktop slideshows but now I am going to tell you how to do it.

To create a desktop wallpaper go to Choose your desktop background and check all the boxes beside the images you want to have in your slideshow.

When you select more than one image you get more options at the bottom of the screen allowing you to choose how quickly you want your images to change.

I personally think that the Microsoft team has done a wonderful job at personalization at puts OSX to shame. They made it really easy to do so the average user customise, and the online catalogue will satisfy any people that like to hack Windows themes.

Writen By: Louis Mark