TUCOWS Desktop Themes

Ok, I admit it, I'm a desktop theme freak. Desktop themes are truly the 'eye candy' of computer desktops. In fact, I have over 700 MB of desktop themes & still counting! I first discovered desktop themes by accident one day when downloading what I thought was a screensaver. Instead, I was confronted by all these odd looking files. Someone told me that these were components of a deskop theme & that I needed the appropriate software to use the theme. I was then introduced to a deskop theme manager called TUCOWS Desktop Themes. Although this software is entitled TUCOWS Desktop Themes it is not actually created by TUCOWS at http://www.tucows.com//. An Australian company called Left-Side Software at http://www.lss.com.au/lss/lss_main.htm has created & distributed their product through the TUCOWS network.

So, what are desktop themes? Desktop themes changes the entire look of your computer desktop including wallpaper, cursors, icons, sounds, colors & even shutdown screens & screensavers as applicable. The majority of desktop themes are free to download & use. Desktop themes are available for purchase on disk from Left-Side Software for $15.00 US. There are over 300 themes per CD. Not a bad deal considering the amount of work that goes into creating each one! Those of you already using desktop themes to brighten your desktop are already familiar with Microsoft's Plus! package. So why use TUCOWS Desktop Themes? In my case Microsoft Plus! had many features that I did not need, also I would have had to purchase Microsoft's Plus! package (which was more than I cared to spend just to support desktop themes) (unless you have Windows 98 (Second Edition) where the themes component of the Plus! package is included). Finally, TUCOWS Desktop Themes offers considerably more features including the ability to edit & create your own desktop themes, a feature completely lacking in Microsoft Plus!. In order to edit and/or create desktop themes you must purchase a license from Left-Side Software for $15.00 US. All other portions of the software are entirely free to use.

A good place to start collectig desktop themes is TUCOWS. Upon entering the TUCOWS website click on the Themes link, you will then be asked to select a mirror closest to your location before entering into the desktop themes portion of the site. Once there you will have a wide selection of desktop themes to choose from. Included in the TUCOWS site are links to the theme authors websites. Most of the desktop themes will be in .zip format so you will need a compression utility like Winzip at http://www.winzip.com//. The latest version of Winzip (Ver 8.0) now allows the user to install desktop themes & screensavers from within the Winzip utility itself.

Unzip the theme into a temporary folder then click on the desktop theme icon. Click on install in TUCOWS Desktop Themes & locate the directory that you placed the theme into then click install. Utilize the new theme by clicking on the theme tab & selecting the theme you want to use then click Apply. A user can specify what components are to be utilized when using a desktop theme by checking or unchecking the boxes available. For example if a user doesn't want the color scheme changed, leave that box unchecked.

Most desktop themes do not have screensavers created for them, so when applying your theme it is a good idea to check your screensaver properties under Start/Settings/Control Panel/Display/Screensaver to ensure one is present. A good idea if you leave your monitor on for extensive periods of time. Also some desktop themes have the screensaver available for installation separate from the theme itself. Check the directory that you installed the theme into to see if the author has made one available.

Some of the desktop themes available on the internet are in .exe format. These themes have been created in another desktop theme manager program. Execute the file & install it into a temporary directory then utilize the TUCOWS Desktop Themes manager to install the theme.

I have tested & ran literally hundreds of programs over the past year & have never had any conflicts with the TUCOWS Desktop Theme software. The reason is that the TUCOWS Desktop Theme manager does not need to be running when themes are applied. The software merely changes the individual components themselves. Change the components back to the Windows default state by selecting the theme tab in the TUCOWS Desktop Themes manager & click default settings then Apply.

There is one problem that I have encountered with the TUCOWS Desktop Themes manager. Upon changing the theme, the icons can get 'stuck' & will not change from theme to theme. I have not determined if this is a problem with the the TUCOWS Desktop Themes manager or with the Windows operating system as the problem seems to be more prevalent in Windows 95 (the icons will not change in Windows 95 & only the My Documents icon gets 'stuck' in Windows 98). A way to remedy this problem is to enter the Effects settings in Windows under Start/Settings/Control Panel/Display/Effects then selecting either the default icon or browsing to the folder of the icon you wish to install. Another remedy is to utilize an Icon manager such as E-Icons at http://www.deepgls.com/eicons/.

I have been asked by many people why bother with desktop themes? Why not just utilize wallpapers or screensavers? Simple, a computer is a integral part of my working day as well as in my off-hours. I wish to make my working environment as pleasing as possible, therefore, enter desktop themes. So, enjoy!

I've given this program my personal rating (5-Best, 4-Very Good, 3-Good, 2-Fair,1-Poor) as well as a brief description of the Pros & Cons.

PROS - Thoroughly manager your desktop themes as well as edit/create your own. CONS - Icons may not change from theme to theme. (NOTE: I cannot determine if this is a problem with the TUCOWS Desktop Themes manager or the Windows 95/98 operating environment). RATING - 5

DISCLAIMER

The above review & rating reflect my personal experience with this software. Other users' experiences may differ. The above-mentioned software was tested using a PC computer with the following criteria: AOpen, AMD-K6(tm-2), 300 MHZ, 64 MB RAM, Windows 98 (Second Edition). Monitor used is a Viewsonic 17", Model A70, screen resolution 1024x768. It should be noted that due to the wide range of systems used, I cannot guarantee how this software will perform on your computer.