Dress Up Your PC

Tired of Windows' looks? No problem--you can dress it up just about any way you want, and these downloads will help. Want to turn your desktop into a virtual 3D space? Go right ahead. Want to give your PC the Mac OS X Dock feature? You can. In fact, you'll be able to tweak how Windows appears and works, with these 15 great downloads.

If you're eager to try the files right now, see our complete collection of the downloads described in this story.

Real Desktop Lite

To make your desktop look completely different, give this program a try. It turns your desktop into a three-dimensional space and transforms your icons into virtual objects that you can move around and even throw. You can rotate them in any way, and when you throw them against one another, they clink as they crash. You can even lift up your icons and twirl them around. The Recycle Bin becomes a three-dimensional trash can, too.

Will this change the way you compute? No--but it's plenty of fun, and it's worth trying just for that. (Note that when you use the program, you won't be able to use wallpaper in combination with it.)

Download Real Desktop Lite (Free)

RocketDock

One of Mac OS X's best features is its Dock, an easily customizable bar of icons at the bottom or side of the screen that lets you run frequently used programs. Inexplicably, a comparable feature is missing from Windows, absent even in Vista.

Until now, that is. RocketDock lets you place a dock at the top, bottom, or side of your screen for quick access to your favorite apps and features. By default it has icons for several Windows features, including My Computer, Recycle Bin, Control Panel, and others, but you can quickly add new icons by dragging and dropping them. The extremely customizable program allows you to change the graphic quality and opacity of the icons, and offers a number of different styles. It's simple to use, it's free, and it makes running oft-used programs and features easier. Given that, it's hard to pass up.

Download RocketDoc (Free)

WindowBlinds

This program may be your best bet for revamping Windows' looks on a grand scale. Using it, you can apply "skins" to the entire operating system to make it appear just about any way you'd like. You can use the skins built into the program, download others, and even make and customize your own. In addition to skinning almost every part of Windows, you can, for example, add buttons to title bars, skin the Windows Vista Sidebar, change the Start menu animation, alter the look of Windows' Start menu shutdown/lock buttons, and even skin Internet Explorer navigation arrows and tabs.

Since the program doesn't alter system files, you're not putting Windows at risk when you use it. Applying and configuring skins is easy, with a simple-to-follow visual interface guiding you through all the steps. And if you're an XP user who wants to make your PC environment look like Windows Vista, you can apply a skin that will do that for you too.

Download WindowBlinds ($20, shareware)

DeskSpace

One great way to dress up Windows is to give your machine virtual 3D desktops. Each desktop stands completely separate from the others, sports its own look and feel, and has its own applications running in it. DeskSpace lets you create four virtual desktops, and places each one on a side of a virtual 3D cube that you can rotate through space to switch among them.

After you run the program, you press Ctrl-Shift-Alt to put it into action. You can then create your desktops, and switch among them and rotate them in space. You can zoom in and out on the virtual cube, immediately switch to any desktop, shift over to any application on any virtual desktop, and even move windows between desktops. DeskSpace is more than a tool to increase your productivity--it's just plain fun.

Download DeskSpace ($20, 14-day trial)

TweakWindow

Are you a Windows XP user who covets Windows Vista's transparent windows? This nifty program gives users of XP and of Windows 2000 all the transparency features of Windows Vista--and more. Though in Vista only window borders are transparent, with TweakWindow you'll be able to make entire windows see-through. You control the degree of transparency, between opaque (not transparent at all) and completely invisible. You do so on a program-by-program basis, too, so you can make some program windows opaque while giving others varying degrees of transparency. You can even turn windows into "ghosts" that stay on top of other windows and let you click through to other windows beneath. The utility also has a nifty "rollup" feature that lets you minimize an entire window into a floating title bar. You control all of this via icons that sit on top of individual windows.

Download TweakWindow ($21, shareware)

Crystal XP

Microsoft makes a big deal about Windows Vista's Aero environment, which includes transparent windows, but in truth that transparency effect is less than overwhelming: Only the window borders are transparent, not all windows have transparency, and you can't easily control the effect.

Crystal XP lets you make entire windows transparent and easily change the level of transparency as well. In addition, you can change the transparency for applications individually, something you can't normally do in Vista. And on top of that, the program has a nice extra, a display of your CPU usage (expressed as a percentage).

Note that this program, contrary to its name, works only in Windows Vista. It is still in beta, too, so if that seems risky to you, don't download.

Download Crystal XP (Free)

Desktop Sidebar

Some Windows XP users might also wish they had Vista's nifty Sidebar, which displays assorted applets that can grab information from the Internet or show other information such as a clock or pictures from your PC. If that sounds like you, suffer Sidebar envy no longer: This program looks and works much as Windows Vista's feature does, and it comes with many preinstalled applets, including a weather watcher, a clock, a performance monitor, a news grabber, a media player, and a quick-launch pad. From the developer's site you can download many more applets, plus different skins to change Desktop Sidebar's looks.

The program works with both XP and Vista. Though there's no real reason to use it instead of Vista's built-in Sidebar, having the option is nice. After all, the program is free, so it may be worth a try even for Vista users.

Download Desktop Sidebar (Free)

Vista Start Menu SE

The Windows Start menu is a mildly useful tool for running programs and accomplishing other tasks. But what if you want something more? This program, which despite its name works with both Windows Vista and XP, puts all of your programs and important folders within easy reach so that you can launch them quickly. It also gives you fast access to turning the machine off, rebooting, logging off, and switching users.

Since it's customizable, you can change the size of the menu, for example, as well as decide which power management buttons (Switch, Logout, Stand By, Reboot, Hibernate, and Turn Off) to display. You can also position the power management buttons at the top or bottom of the screen.

Download Vista Start Menu (Free)