What is the point in a desktop theme if you don't change it at appropriate times of the
year?
Well, scene as it's some kind of Halloweenish season it felt appropriate to update my Windows
'98 desktop to a spookish theme.
Don't tell me you didn't do this, or even that you still don't do it, because I won't
believe you.
If the season was right and there was a cover disk with a season relevant app, wallpaper
or screen saver on it, then you can bet your rear end that it would be on my desktop quicker
than a toilet stop in rattle snake country.
So let's get to it using the standard fare of Microsoft applications.
Here's my Windows '98 desktop.
Rather nice isn't it?
But I tell you what would be nicer?
The Windows '98 Plus!
Pack!
So what do we get with this pack?
Well first we have a few utilities for general maintenance, including McAfee VirusScan 3.0.
We have .ZIP file integration now built into the operating system, which is rather nice.
We also get Microsoft Golf 98 Lite, Lose Your Marbles! and Spider Solitaire.
But what I'm really interested in is Desktop Themes....
ahhh yes, the utility which allowed you to change a whole array of aesthetics and sounds
at a click of a button.
I had lots of fun making my own, but out of the standard fair.
Inside My Computer was always my favourite.
Just listen to those system sounds and that wallpaper...
Ahhhhhhhgggg
Still, with it being the season that it is, The Horror Channel Theme is the most appropriate...
but that wallpaper just doesn't fit.
My preference is the Mystery Wallpaper.
This theme could easily do the spooky job itself, but by deselecting the wallpaper check
box, we can go full horror just with a better wallpaper.
Lovely job.
We've got a variety of delightful sounds with this theme, along with a walking Frankenstein's
monster as the "Busy" Mouse cursor.
Check out the My Documents folder with blood oozing from inside.
Apparently by the way, these Themes will still work with Windows 7 through compatibility
mode, but I'm staying firmly in the 90s for this episode.
Another feature of the Horror Channel theme I'm not too keen on is the screensaver.
The standard fare is just a slide show of old Horror movie stills.
What's better is the MYSTERY screen saver that comes as standard with Windows '98.
Now I know a lot of you remember this.
As screen savers go in the conventional sense, this is pretty rubbish as it consists of a
static house taking up most of your screen, but the likely hood of getting screen burn
on a monitor from this period was unlikely any way.
What we do get are a few bats flying around, the odd cat and this bloke in the front room
who I remember very clearly.
Alrighty then, that's everything pretty much setup.
We are now horrified.
Of course, if we wanted to horrify ourselves even more, then we could always fire up Internet
Explorer 5...
That's pretty horrific.
Ahhhh, look Alone in the Dark, that's rather fitting, I might actually use that as the
wallpaper.
A quick re-size, and yes, I feel thoroughly Halloweened and ready to continue doing whatever
I'd usually do in Windows '98.
Probably a bit of Spider Solitaire I reckon, if I can work out how to play it.
See you at Christmas.