Desktop Customisation Software

Microsoft Windows and Mac OS provide a limited number of customisable options. However, the themes packed-in with the operating systems really aren’t that inspiring. Anyone who works on the same computer for may hours a day will almost certainly want to customise the look of it. The easiest option is to simply change the desktop, but there are a whole host of utilities that allow you to customise much more than the wallpaper alone. Many include features that customise the whole look of the desktop using skins, multiple themes, changing cursers and icons, screensavers and more.

These utilities also provide tools for organising data and can add robust features to the user interface. Put the personal back into PC! Consider these applications to give your computer a well-deserved makeover; after all, we spend a lot of time staring at the desktop so it might as well look pretty.

Desktop3D from Yokersoftware is a program that replaces the standard desktop for Windows XP and Vista. It includes a number of features including animated wallpapers, large icons, and skin support. The user-friendly interface allows you to change desktop appearance and behaviour effortlessly using a simple to use drag-and-drop interface. It also includes ‘deeper’ personalisation- and functional features like the ability to hide those annoying arrows on desktop shortcuts or lets you make hotkeys so that regularly used applications can be started-up quicker. Desktop3D costs $19.95 USD, but there is a fully-functional ten day free trial so you can see if the software will work for you, and try out some of its many features. Once the program is installed it is easy to alter the appearance of the desktop or other features using the intuitive right-click menu from an empty space on the desktop. The program comes packed with ready made themes, and clicking the ‘get more themes’ button takes you to the developer’s website with links to new themes to download. Another use for this program is to limit desktop functions, so that children can use the computer without the worry of accessing the machines back-end or changing system settings.

WallpaperSpinner is a free and easy to use application that allows you to change your wallpaper automatically. This software is compatible with all versions of Microsoft Windows and lets you take your favourite images and choose how they are displayed on your desktop. It can also be set to change the background image every few minutes or even randomly to add interest to your machine’s appearance. The program can be downloaded from bluechillies.com, download.com and many other freeware sites.

Widgets are small programs that run on your desktop and can be used for pretty much anything (alarm clocks, local weather forecasts, stock tickers, showing WiFi signal strength etc). These applications are common to newer versions of the Macintosh Operating System but using the Yahoo Widget Engine, these applications can be added to either Macs or PCs and use few system resources to operate. The widgets blend with your desktop theme to integrate seamlessly. For more information or to download for free visit http://widgets.yahoo.com/