Downloads to Dress Up Your PC
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Don't like having to look at the same desktop day after day? We can't blame you; we feel the same way. Just as some people have an ongoing need to redo their houses, we feel the urge to revamp our PC desktops regularly.
Of course, remodeling your house costs a great deal of money--but renovating your desktop needn't cost much at all, if anything. Here we've rounded up ten great downloads that can give your PC a whole new look. Give them a try, and you won't mind looking at your desktop.
(If you're eager to start downloading a bunch of these programs, see our "Downloads to Dress Up Your PC" collection.)
BumpTop
You can also create picture frames that can cycle through pictures on your hard drive, or that can instead show pictures obtained via RSS feeds. BumpTop gives you a few starter picture frames, but creating more of your own is easy enough.
With this program you also have the ability to fling objects and watch them bounce, as well as to search for desktop objects. Additionally, you get access to an assortment of widgets, including one nifty item that will upload a picture to Facebook when you throw that picture onto the widget.
All of that fun, though, does exact a performance hit: Your PC will run noticeably slower when you use this program. Nevertheless, it's quite entertaining, and useful for anyone tired of their old desktop. BumpTop comes in Free and Pro versions. The Pro version, which costs $29, adds more functions, such as the ability to use your mouse wheel to flip through all of the items in a pile. But you certainly don't need Pro--the Free program works just fine.
Download BumpTop | Price: Free
Fences
You can customize Fences to create your own categories, and you can place any objects inside the fences you want. You can also control the number of fences and where they're located, as well as customize the fences' transparency, brightness, and colors. And a very nice feature lets you dismiss or restore all of your icons with a double-click on the desktop.
Unlike with 3D desktops, with Fences your PC won't suffer slowdown. Though Fences is not quite as nifty-looking as 3D desktops are, it makes organizing your desktop easy, without any detrimental effect on performance. Given that it's free, it's well worth the download.
Download Fences | Price: Free
MagicTweak
Though this utility gives you many options for customizing Windows' appearance, that's only the beginning. Even more powerful is this program's ability to alter how components of Windows work. Among other options, you'll find tweaks for security and for your network connections.
Download MagicTweak | Price: $40
Microangelo Toolset 6
Those with little artistic talent will want to start off by importing a graphic into the program. Just find one you like (such as by searching with Google Images) and then import the graphic--the program automatically converts it into an icon. Afterward, with the program's simple-to-use tools, you can clean it up so that it's suitable for an icon. If do you have artistic skills, all the better: Paint tools, drawing tools, and specific icon-creation tools are all at your disposal. You'll be creating or editing icons in no time.
Beyond the icon-creation tools, Microangelo also lets you manage your icons, browse through your icons, and even make animated icons.
Download Microangelo Toolset 6 | Price: $50
Real Desktop Light
You'll find a lot of playfulness in this program (the Recycle Bin, for instance, becomes a 3D trash can). But you'll like the app not just for its whimsy but also for its usefulness. It makes finding what you want on your PC much easier.
Download Real Desktop Light | Price: Free
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