New XP Theme

[Clark Gilbert]

A new theme, potentially destined for Windows XP, has leaked out of Microsoft and onto the web. The theme appears to have come out of a beta version of Media Center 2005, currently in testing.

The theme is not a substantially different incarnation of the existing of Luna, the current default theme for Windows XP. You can see the main changes in the screenshots below; one could describe it as being a 'glass mod' of Luna.

As Microsoft knows, it is very hard to please everyone when it comes to themes. However, I think they can be reasonably certain that most people will like this new version of Luna.

It is unknown whether this theme will make it into XP in the near future; Microsoft could potentially sneak it in at the last point with the soon to be released service pack 2 for XP.

Download Here

EDIT: It appears to give XP a more "glass" look, still not sure if I like this better than the Classic Theme.

[Yan Wang]

Saw that today... at least Microsoft is admitting the OS X gui looks better

[dez250]

that looks alot like the longhorn os i have used from msdn. It doesnt change much, kinda like vb2 to vb3 here, mainly just appearances change and a new typr of clock which looks like an analog clock face that you can place on the desktop. Funny though how the screen shot that clark linked to has the firefox icon at the bottom...

[Elgin Clock]

No thank you! I'll stick with running Win XP with "Windows classic" view thank you very much.

[Bharat Nain]

I love this new theme, its pretty good.

[Clark Gilbert]

With the leak of this skin also comes the release of Windows Media Player 10 beta. Weird, they look the same.

This is basically just different colors on the same thing! When is windows going to come out with something cool. If you want different themes, check out themexp.org. They have tons of cool themes, and you can even design your own.

[Ryan F.]

I like this new theme. It's a good change from the normal.

[Ryan M.]

Definetly better than the old Luna theme, but... I'm still a classic person.

[MattK]

I like it but I'll stick to the classic theme.

It does look a bit more OS X like though (and I like that)

This is what one of my Windows installs looks like- Gotta love skinning

[dez250]

Originally Posted by MattK

I like it but I'll stick to the classic theme.

It does look a bit more OS X like though (and I like that)

This is what one of my Windows installs looks like- Gotta love skinning
[insert image]

Hey matt where did you get that mac theme for xp or if you still have the downloaded theme file, would you beable to send it to mdessingue[at]gmail.com, this looks interesting for myself to play with...

[MattK]

Its not a theme for XP, its a whole bunch of diff. apps that skin windows and such. I am off to see Spiderman 2 Right now but when I get back I can post some info on how to do it.

Its fun to look at and play with- but not all that much fun to use (not that stable and such). I have it all set-up on a different account on XP.

[JAH]

I really like it. It's not much different than regular XP, it's just something different than normal. I used to switch around my colors...but now, eh. It's just another "color" in my mind.

[Yan Wang]

dez250, Matt uses a bunch of easily available skinning software such as StyleXP or Windowblinds or ObjectBar or Iconpackager, etc.

You can visit www.wincustomize.com for more information (and lots of skins/icons, etc.) or google the products I named.

The Royale theme isn't far enough along for me to use it. My desktop currently has a silver/gray look to it that I find useable and clean. It's better than Luna at the very least

[Jay H 237]

I will say the new Luna theme is neat but I'm sticking to Classic Windows theme. I only have one computer with XP while the others have 2000 Pro and 98SE. I used the Luna theme for a week or two but changed it to Classic Windows and kept it there. I found it annoying going from the XP computer to the others and vice-versa.