This is a historic moment in the history of the web. This article is the first Windows XP article (XP users rejoice)! We are going to starting off with a very interesting article on Vista themes for XP. I know you XP users want to get Vista (For more on the Vista vs. XP Showdown see my Windows Vista vs. XP Article), but they just don't like some of the features (UAC usually). Wouldn't it be nice if you could get the Windows Vista look in Windows XP. For as far fetched as it seems, it is possible with some tools, innovation, and time. Read More...
So how can it be done? Well you have a few options, but first is the necessities. What would your Vista look be without authentic wallpapers and screensavers? Not Vista, that's for sure. Anyway here are some great Vista Wallpapers:
If you want to view to full screen version of the wallpaper click on its thumbnail. To download it simply right click and then click save target as (or save link as in Firefox) and select a location to save to. For all of the Windows Vista Wallpapers download my Windows Vista Wallpaper Pack. Though they are not used as much screensavers are still important to a convincing Vista environment. Here are some I found on my computer:
- 3D Text
- Bubbles
- Mistfy
- Ribbons
- Aurora
- Nature
- Space
- Da Vinci
You can install and use all these screen savers with my Windows Vista Screen Saver Pack. If you want a truly unique Vista look you can get all of Vista's wallpapers and screensavers with my Windows Vista Media Pack.
Another key component to your Vista transformation is the Areo features. You know, the cool 3D Flip, the window previews, and the overall cool look of Vista. First let's cover the 3D Flip. This can easily be achieved with WinFlip. WinFlip is a great tool that simulates 3D Flip with even more features such as navigation with the mouse. The other key component is the little window previews that you can view rolling over the program's button on the start bar. A great program for this is Visual Tooltip. Like WinFlip is goes above and beyond the actual feature in Vista with extra's like rotating the preview, skewing the preview, and aligning your previews like books on a bookshelf. This is a great tool even if you aren't looking to make XP look like Vista.
There are other little things that Vista has that are just little conveniences that you wish you had on XP well now you can with these little utilities. One of these is Xentient Thumbnails. It gives you those little previews of images and other media that vista provides. It can be downloaded from the Xentient Thumbnails Website. When you rename a file in XP, the whole filename is selected. In Vista only the name (without the extension) is selected. That would save you a lot of time, wouldn't it? With a cool hack from Lifehacker can fix this. Check out their Renaming article for more.
You've probably been wondering, "What about the Vista look"? There are many of tools out there to do this and I if I said I've tried them all, I'd be lying. There is one those that I favor among the others. It is called Vista Transformation Pack and it can be downloaded from Download.com. Vista Transformation Pack provides you with the complete Vista experience. One note though: If you try Vista Transformation Pack the only way to uninstall it is to create a system restore point before running the installation and restoring to that location. The steps to creating a restore point are:
- Click Stat
- Click All Programs
- Click Accessories
- Click System Tools
- Click System Restore
- Chose the Create a Restore Point Option and Click Next
- Type a Good Name Such as Before Vista Theme Installation and Click Next
- After the Computer Creates the Point you can Click Quit
I hope this information is valuable to those who want a Vista look without investing the money or getting some of the less desired features (UAC). I would also like to take this time to say thank you to all of our readers and subscribers. You are the ones who keep the site running. Don't forget to check back daily for new updates! Thanks!!
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