Dress Up Your Desktop

A theme is like a matching outfit for your computer's desktop. In addition to wallpaper, you get icons and cursors, and your windows and menus receive a makeover as well. Many desktop themes also come with screen savers. Themes can lighten up a humdrum workday and add a dash of personality to your workspace.

Initially, this article seemed like an easy assignment: Find 15 entertaining desktop themes that work with Windows XP, make sure they're not loaded with malware, and review them for our Downloads library. For most folks, dressing up a desktop isn't mission critical, so these themes had to be simple to install and either free or very inexpensive.

It sounded pretty simple. But au contraire, mes amies. After weeks of scouring the Web and trying dozens of themes, I've learned a few things the hard way:

Since most theme designers offer their wares for free, they can't spend a lot of money on hosting services. Many of them depend on free services--and these sites often bundle the files with adware. Be sure to read any pop-up messages if you choose to install themes from sites like these; you will usually be given a chance to cancel the installation if you don't wish to accept the extra software. I didn't want to hassle with adware, so I didn't download themes from these sites.

Almost all of the theme designers that I encountered insist that a theme management program such as Desktop Architect or (a very old version of) Microsoft Plus is necessary to run their programs. The reality is that Windows XP has a theme manager built in--the trusty Display Properties dialog box--so in many cases you'd need a third-party program only if you're running Windows 2000 or earlier.

Many attractive themes (particularly those that are designed for Windows XP and called "styles") are hosted on sites that offer free downloads but require you to purchase a proprietary theme manager from the developer or to use other third-party software. I stuck with simple themes that didn't require loading extra software.

Although the themes I review here do run well under Windows XP, the OS does not allow certain elements to run. For example, many themes include startup and shutdown screens (also called logo screens) that are not compatible with XP.

All of those caveats aside, a variety of entertaining, high-quality desktop themes are out there--and despite what their developers say, you don't need special software to run them.

Note: I discovered many of these themes on Steve Balogh's ThemeWorld, and I am grateful to him for giving us permission to use them.