With Seven Remix you can make Windows XP look like Windows Seven in just a few clicks. This theme includes all the eye-candy featured in Microsoft's new operating system: wallpapers, skins, cursors, system sounds, screensaver and, of course, the boot and logon screens.

Visual themes are usually difficult to install and get running. Seven Remix however can be installed in a breeze. The installation wizard walks you through the whole process and also lets you choose exactly which elements will be installed and which not. For further security, Seven Remix also creates a system restoration point before applying any changes.

On the downside, this theme only includes basic visual changes. That means you won't get Aero effects, window preview or any of the other advanced Windows 7 graphical features.

Seven Remix enables you to give your good old Windows XP a shiny, renewed Windows 7 appearance.

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Windows 7 was released with lots of pomp and circumstance. Those that shelled out for the new OS are probably sitting back and playing with all the cool features as we speak, but what if you can't - or don't want - to upgrade? That's where transformation packs come in.

There are plenty of options for making your system at least look like you have Windows 7 installed, as you can see from this how to tutorial at OnSoftware. One of the programs mentioned is Seven Transformation Pack.

The new, improved Seven Transformation Pack makes a few subtle changes, obviously influenced by the final version of Windows 7. The installation process is a little slow and requires a restart, as does almost any change you make after the program has been installed. Seven Transformation Pack has a welcome screen where you can configure the features yourself, as well as performing a few other tasks, such as repairing system files and joining an online community. Bear in mind that Seven Transformation Pack uses several third party applications to get the full Windows 7 look. There's a certain risk involved in this, but Seven Transformation Pack warns about it and the decision is ultimately yours.

Once installed, Seven Transformation Pack would definitely fool an onlooker into thinking you had the newest Windows operating system installed. The toolbar, desktop and start menu all have a real Windows 7 feel, right down to the Aeropeek function and window style. Obviously once you start to click around, you'll see what's missing, but program features such as WinFlip and ViStart certainly help to get that Windows 7 sparkle.

Seven Transformation Pack still isn't revolutionary, but it will definitely give you a taste of Windows 7

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Some time ago, Microsoft Windows XP was replaced by Vista. The new operating system brought about a bevy of changes, including a revamped desktop environment, designed not only to look good, but also to improve your productivity. One of the key new features was a sidebar, which replicates the dashboard in OS X and allows you easy access to certain tools, such as news, web searching and your digital photos.

If you haven’t got the money (or indeed, the inclination) to upgrade to Vista, then you can recreate the sidebar with Vista Sidebar XP. Despite a rather strange installation process, which fails to provide an auto-run function, the app can be set up and configured pretty quickly and comes with four useful preset ‘widgets’. The Vista Sidebar XP gadgets are a search function, image preview window, RSS feed and elegant analogue clock.

Visually, all the Vista Sidebar XP gadgets are pretty faithful to the Vista sidebar, although they lack the customization options that you get with Vista. For instance, Vista Sidebar XP's image tool doesn’t allow you to set the folder from which to display pictures, merely picking photos at random from your hard drive.

All the Vista Sidebar XP tools are locked within a transparent bar that runs down the right-hand side of your desktop, which gets annoying after a while as there’s no way to minimize it and it ends up squashing any application window you open.

Despite being a bit limited, Vista Sidebar XP represents an accurate taste of the instant-access functions you can expect in Vista.

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Windows 7 Start Button Changer is a simple application, but it can be awkward to start. It must be kept in its own folder, with the EXE file alongside the sample button orbs. If you try to use orb images from elsewhere, it won't work. Windows 7 Start Button Changer also requires the user to have administrator rights, as it makes pretty fundamental changes to Windows 7.

Once it's up and running, Windows 7 Start Button Changer is an easy application to use. A backup is automatically made of the original state, so you can always go back, at the click of a button. Clicking the change Start button icon will open a folder, allowing you to choose the BMP orb you want. 10 are supplied with Windows 7 Start Button Changer, though you could use them to create your own orb buttons if you wanted.

Windows 7 Start Button Changer is annoying to start with, but it does allow you to easily change the start button's appearance once it's running.

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With Free Photo Frame you can have your favorite image right on your desktop, inserted into one of the beautiful 25 frames included in the application. You’ll find all sorts of designs: from traditional wooden frames to the more stylish flowery ones, or even Christmas-themed.

The good thing about Free Photo Frame is that it also lets you display several photos in a slideshow, which comes in handy if you can’t choose just one. The slideshow can be configured to change images according to a certain period of time and sort them in different ways.

Free Photo Frame is not very heavy on system resources and adds a nice touch to your otherwise somewhat boring desktop. The only drawback to it is that you can’t crop the picture or resize the frame.

Free Photo Frame is a nice virtual frame that enables you to show off your digital pictures on the Windows desktop.

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Once a relatively complicated application, Rainmeter developers have increasingly striven to make the meter's interface more user friendly. This trend started with the 1.0 release and continues now that 2.0 is available. In fact, Rainmeter can do some pretty cool things to your windows desktop, and it's easier than ever now to apply new settings.

Rainmeter now comes pre-installed with a theme called "Enigma", which is a great example of how cool your desktop can look. You can add clocks, calendars, and RSS, as well as a whole range of system monitors. And that's just the beginning. Virtually everything on Rainmeter is customizable, and there are scores of other themes you can download for free to give your desktop a really personal feel.

Enigma has been included specifically because it makes your desktop into a really functional space. You can move different meter windows around on a whim, edit their skins relatively easily, tweak the transparency, and even make them disappear completely. As a way of freshening your desktop, Rainmeter is absolutely fantastic.

While Rainmeter has improved its user friendliness substantially, beginners can still easily get lost in the configuration options and settings. There's really not much reason to mess around with them at all though, unless you want to create your own look. Adding new skins is now much easier and doesn't require coding, although if you want a challenge the option to personalize with your own code is still available.

Rainmeter shows how easy it is to personalize Windows and quite effortlessly revolutionize its looks.

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If you've never seen a Rainmeter desktop before, what it does is add various buttons and widgets to your desktop. All of these are skinnable, and many people create packages of skins that will give your desktop a new themed look. It's surprisingly easy to use, and this Left 4 Dead HUD Desktop includes a read-me how to and an introductory set up screen that make it pretty much idiot-proof!

It comes with 10 wallpapers included, featuring various Left 4 Dead scenarios, all in high resolution, although all in the same 1680x1050 resolution - ideally suited to wide-screen monitors. Nevertheless, they look good on most monitors. The Left 4 Dead multiplayer health bars are recreated, but now show your drives, memory and processor usage. There is also a clock, calendar and more, and all of it is configurable, and removable.

The Left 4 Dead HUD Desktop is a really well put together package and recreates the game really well for your desktop.

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The pack includes a booty of Vista features including transparency of the windows, 3D Vista style icons, mouse cursors, boot screen, login screen, and a whole host of Vista themes to name a few. After installing the pack, you’ll be asked to restart, when you’ll find that your system has been through an impressive transformation although the fact that Windows Vista isn’t actually that radically different from XP, shouldn’t be held against this pack.

Amongst the major differences you will notice are some jazzy changes to your systems icons, skins and toolbars as well as new enhancements to your desktop such as a dock bar or if you prefer, a totally different system tray clock. Transfer file progress dialogs are transformed with swanky new 3D graphics and the sounds scheme has been beefed up to blow you out of your chair. Microsoft certainly spent lots of time designing these features. It was recently reported that they spent a year and a half just coming up with the start-up music alone.

Other changes include Windows Media Player which also receives a facelift although nothing worth getting excited about. The colours have been changed to a metallic-blue and the drop down menus have been replaced by an invisible menu which pops up when the mouse is waved over it. However, this feature actually becomes increasingly annoying with regular use and is best deactivated.

Whilst initially impressive, after a while these changes can cause problems. Users have reported that the new schemes not only slows down their PC’s but also cause it to crash randomly. It can also be a pain whenever there’s a problem with your PC. Since you are running a somewhat modified version of XP, normal troubleshooting guides may not work. You’ll subsequently have to uninstall the pack to make sure that it isn’t causing the problem. Fortunately however, the pack comes with an uninstaller that makes reverting back to XP simple although in time honoured Windows style, you’ll have to restart the computer.

For anyone who doesn’t add or remove programs regularly, we’d recommend this pack as it does an impressive job at emulating the $200+ Vista look. However, for those that make regular changes to their PC, the pack can end up being more hassle than its worth as the changes made can conflict with interfaces of other programs.

Download Vista Customization Pack 3.6 in Softonic

If you are sick of the Window's task bar and want to modify your computer's interface a bit, the Winstep Nexus Dock is a great, free way to try out a dock. The Winstep Nexus Dock is feature-packed with tons of themes, widgets, and options to configure behavior and looks. It can even serve as a fully-functional replacement for your task bar if you wish.

The Winstep Nexus Dock is familiar because it shares so many features and looks of ObjectDock, one of our favorite taskbar replacements. While they look similar, we found that ObjectDock is actually more intuitive to use and customize. There's no doubt that the Winstep Nexus Dock is feature-packed but the menus and options are spread all over the place and you really have to learn to use the program.

There is a pro version of the Winstep Nexus Dock available which allows you to create multiple docks, nest docks, create shelves, and much more. We think that the free version will be enough for casual users, though.

Overall, the Winstep Nexus Dock is a great, free dock app that can be as simple as an app launcher or as functional as a Windows taskbar replacement. Check out ObjectDock if you want something with a more intuitive interface.

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If you like the look of Mac OS X's dock and want some Mac flair on your computer, ObjectDock is the perfect application to give you a little taste of OS X. Many docks and desktop customization software that ship with computers are usually nothing more than shortcut launchers, but ObjectDock is different. It actually serves as a fully functional replacement for your Windows taskbar.

Add as many shortcuts to the dock as you want for easy application launching. There's also several widgets you can add to the dock. The weather widget is particularly useful, with auto-updating weather for your location. If you hover over it, the widget will expand with a beautiful animation to reveal a five day forecast.

In use, ObjectDock is incredibly smooth and stable. There are options to optimize for performance or for memory usage. ObjectDock is a viable replacement for your Windows taskbar as it shows minimized windows and shows you which apps are running. You'll have to fork over for the full version to get features like system tray support and the ever useful "Aero peak" feature introduced with Windows 7, though.

Overall, ObjectDock is a great taskbar replacement that's incredibly stable and useful. Highly recommended.

Download ObjectDock 2.0 in Softonic

Vista Rainbar V4 looks very similar to the original sidebar and includes a bunch of very varied gadgets to get you started: analog and digital clocks, post-it notes, calendar, mail checker, CPU meter, RSS feed reader, weather tool and many more. You can also choose between different skins to customize the sidebar appearance and make it suit your desktop wallpaper.

The gadgets in Vista Rainbar V4 are easy to install, though it may not seem that intuitive at first sight. Just open the gadget menu by clicking on the plus sign on top of the toolbar and click on the gadget you want to add. It will open right on the desktop, from where you can drag and drop it on the sidebar. The gadget menu includes a link to download more, but it didn't work for me.

Vista Rainbar V4 is easy to install and uninstall, but unfortunately the configuration of gadgets is generally not that easy. The main sidebar's settings are based on an INI file (which is not the easiest for a novice user), the weather gadget requires the weather.com ZIP code for your city and the email checked configuration simply doesn’t work. All of the other gadgets though work perfectly fine without any configuration requirements.

Vista Rainbar V4 is a very attractive, fully customizable Vista-style sidebar you can use without having to give up Windows XP.

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The data in Magic Desktop is not really included in the program, but downloaded from the Internet. The download can take a while depending on your connection and also on the number of items you’ve selected, and can sometimes delay the program’s startup. Also, bear in mind that the program will automatically restart your computer upon installation – no option for a later restart.

In general terms, Magic Desktop is very easy to use. All you need to do is select whatever you want to install – a theme, a wallpaper, a new set of icons - and the program will download and install them in a few minutes.

Besides customizing your desktop, Magic Desktop also lets you create special personal packs (called “suits”) by combining the different icons, cursors, themes and wallpapers included in the program.

With Magic Desktop you can easily customize your Windows desktop in just a few minutes with new wallpapers, themes and more.

Download Magic Desktop 2.0 in Softonic

Thoosje Vista Sidebar's applications range from clock and calendar to more advanced options, like RSS feeds, network activity monitor and torrent search. These functions are chosen from a menu and then dragged wherever you want them on the sidebar. And don't let the name confuse you - Thoosje Vista Sidebar can be used on XP too.

The Thoosje Vista Sidebar gadgets all work well, but configuration options are limited. You can't choose the size of the icons, for example. It was also difficult to decipher when exactly Thoosje Vista Sidebar does appear, as it seems to minimize and maximize whenever it feels like it. Some of the gadgets can also be further customized, although on the day we tested, many of the links to skins etc. were broken.

Thoosje Vista Sidebar is perfect for sidebar freaks, but really doesn't cut it for the rest of us. All of the functions carried out by the sidebar can be performed more efficiently (and with more configuration options) by other tools, and the overall look of this windows sidebar is clunky and unappealing.

Dedicated sidebar fans will love Thoosje Vista Sidebar, but it will probably leave the rest of us cold.

Download Thoosje Vista Sidebar 3.1.0 in Softonic

Vista OS X is a transformation pack for the 32-bit editions of Windows Vista. The installation is very simple and gives you full control over what elements you want to install, change or modify in Vista. These include features such as the look and style of Vista, the folder and Explorer styles and skins for various applications. Often with these programs, there is a concern that it may change fundamental aspects of Windows Vista that can cause conflicts. We can't guarantee this won't be the case for you but the good thing is that the program creates a restoration point during installation so if you do suffer any problems, you can easily roll back. If you prefer, you can install Vista OS X V3 on a partition so that your original installation of Windows is not affected in any way.

This is a very impressive Vista-Mac transformation pack which gives a realistic Mac feel although there's no guarantee that it may not start to cause conflicts within Vista after prolonged use.

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If you're always trying to find ways to make your computer look as new and impressive as possible, Windows 8 Start Panel is a lightweight app that'll get the job done superbly. It goes along with other programs that try to simulate what Windows 8 is expected to look like, such as Windows 8 Theme.

Windows 8 Start Panel looks very much like what the official video of the Windows 8 interface presented.
The app works on Windows XP, Vista and 7 PCs and offers a lot of stand-out features. It introduces tile organization, where everything on the interface is introduced on a colorful, minimalist Start screen. Some of these tiles in Windows 8 Start Panel include Socialite Tile for Facebook, Tweet@rama for Twitter, News Tile, Weather Tile and more.

Windows 8 Start Panel also includes a tile that lets you play music, and other games like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja.

Unfortunately, there's no way to currently change the green background to another color of your preference.

Windows 8 Start Panel is a fun, lightweight way to give your current Start menu a Windows 8 appearance.

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Zune Skin Pack for Windows 7 is based on the Zune player by Microsoft. This Zune Skin Pack allows you to completely change Windows 7 and comes with an easy to use installer.

The result is a minimalist desktop with various icons, mouse cursors, fonts and windows in Zune style. The pack changes every aspect of Windows 7 giving your machine a complete Zune makeover. It's a bit dark but that's part of the Zune look and there's not much you can do about it.

If you're a Zune fan or just want a change for Windows 7, Zune Skin Pack transforms your desktop.

Download Zune Skin Pack 1.0 in Softonic

Real Desktop turns your Windows desktop into a three-dimensional environment where all your shortcuts look like small pieces that have been dropped on the floor – and they actually behave like that. You can move them, rotate them, lift them a bit from the floor and mix them all around the desktop surface. The only icon that remains in Real Desktop somewhat apart is the Recycle bin, probably to help you find it faster.

This precisely the main drawback in Real Desktop: finding icons. The 3D effect is really amazing, as well as the icon behavior almost as Lego pieces. But having them scattered all over the places doesn't exactly make your PC easier to use – especially if you're anything like me, who likes to have as few icons as possible, and always perfectly organized.

With Real Desktop you can apply an amazing 3D effect to your Windows desktop, although you'll lose a lot of icon usability on the way.

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If you're tired of your Windows desktop and changing the wallpaper doesn't work anymore, try going for the third dimension!

BumpTop is an alternative three-dimensional desktop that lets you manage icons and files in a totally 3D environment that also follows basic physics rules. In this sense, files behave like real-life objects, which you can throw against windows, hang from walls and pile up in stacks according to different criteria.

BumpTop's appearance is simply spectacular. The 3D design is like nothing you've seen so far in desktop management. Managing files and folders like objects is fun. What's more, you can decorate the desktop with post-it notes, photos and also different themes.

That said, the truth is that BumpTop is more beautiful than practical. Despite having some nice usability tricks, like being able to print a document just by dragging and dropping it on the printer's icon, I don't think a 3D environment is the most useful way to manage your desktop – not to mention the app's high system requirements.

Note that BumpTop was bought by Google on May 2010, and is no longer available for download.

If you like original desktop environments and don’t care that much about usability, BumpTop is pretty much the best you can get.

Download BumpTop 2.1.6225 Free in Softonic

Vistapack XP basically changes the Start menu, icons, toolbar, adds transparencies, changes sounds, cursors etc etc up to around 240 file changes according to the developers - not bad. The installation is easy taking you through the process gently and warning you about any changes it is about to make. They've also accounted for the fact that the program is wiped out in the case that you have to reinstall Windows. In which case Vistapack XP comes pre installed with "Vistapack Reloader" which monitors and replaces deleted files and reinstalls them all again when you reboot.

Vistapack XP also must be one of the first to support Windows 2000 as it comes with 32 bit support. The only problem however is that you'll invariably experience either slow downs due to the increased RAM consumption that some of the transparencies and graphics require or you'll find that occasionally, XP just freezes. However, the look is absolutely stunning and is enough to make any Vista users angry that they splashed out on the real thing.

Vistapack XP is a a superb Vista emulator that every XP user with decent RAM should put through it's paces.

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