Make XP Look more like OS X (Written by a non Mac Luddite :)
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 3:19 pm
Hi,
I posted this with another thread but felt it was rather apt here actually too.. so this is a cut and paste job.
For the record as I say I am not a Mac user or a luddite of that nature, just a sucker for aesthetics....
Anyway I wrote:
It's amazing what one can do if they really want to. I finished tweaking my desktop today and here is the fruits of my labour.
It is on my T23 I assure you (1.13GHz/1GB/1400 x 1050 x 32)
800x600 Pic: http://www.lilserenity.com/T23_XP_HQ_SM.JPG
Full Size Pic: http://www.lilserenity.com/T23_XP_HQ.JPG
(Nice links for those with slower connections)
The software used:
Windows XP SP 2
UXTHEME.DLL 'modification'
(I'm sure that was the name of it)
Iceman's Jaguar Theme
Y'z Toolbar (Changes Windows Explorer toolbar glyphs)
Y'z Shadow (Creates the funky shadow on the menus and windows)
Y'z Dock (Creates a dock that is just like OS X, discontinued but findable)
Usually to do this you need StyleXP but if you read up on how to erm 'modify' the DLL file above, you can drop these visual styles straight into c:\winnt\resources\themes (or c:\windows or whichever drive, my WinXP install is an upgrade from Win 2000 hence WINNT directory) and you can select them in the Display control panel.
You have to 'modify' this DLL so that Windows XP does not check for the Microsoft Signature that the Luna and Classic visual styles have embedded within them.
If you have SP2 as I do, you will need to search on the net for the information relating specifically to SP2's UXTHEME.DLL modification, as SP2 has funky stack overflow detection etc., which means in essence Win XP with Sp2 is a very different beast under the bonnet to XP w/o SP1 and w/SP1. A google search may help!!
Also see: www.jonmega.com/iceman/
From there you can download UXTHEME.DLL for non SP1 and SP1 systems, but NOT SP2.
If you do not use this, you will need StyleXP from TGTSoft.
As you have guessed this is very much a Windows XP based system, for Windows 2000 etc., I expect you would need to use WindowBlinds or perhaps even that other one that has been around for aaaaages, forget its name now, but its been around forever it seems.
Then apply Iceman's Jaguar visual theme as per the instructions on the above website. Make sure you install the fonts (Lucida Grande and Lucida Grand Bold).
Then search on the Internet for Y'z Toolbar, Dock and Shadow. You can download the toolbar icons also from Iceman's pages.
Finally for the calendar and tasks manager (top right) use Rainlendar.
With all that done and tidying up the desktop, you have a rather awesome looking ThinkPad desktop
If the Apple 'thing' is your thing. I am no Mac enthusiast/evangelist/fanatic/luddite by any means, I don't even own a Mac nor intend to either. But I did always have a soft spot for the Mac (in the System 7.0.1 and 7.5 days! And also the Amiga but there's another story for a very damp soggy rainy day!!)
The reason I like this is because it:
- looks awesome (I like aesthetics, believe me you if you saw my wardrobe you'd see i'm a sucker for good things )
- combines excellent design of the OS X system and associated ergonomics with the more accessible open nature of Windows
- Leaves people totally bemused when I do presentation on projectors as they 'see' a Mac that has just booted with WindowsXP and has IBM ThinkPad on the lid
Ever the antagonist.
I'll post this elsewhere too as there is somewhere else where this is more appropriate as this topic is more about sleeping with your Mac G3 or something else equally odd
Vicky[/img]
I posted this with another thread but felt it was rather apt here actually too.. so this is a cut and paste job.
For the record as I say I am not a Mac user or a luddite of that nature, just a sucker for aesthetics....
Anyway I wrote:
It's amazing what one can do if they really want to. I finished tweaking my desktop today and here is the fruits of my labour.
It is on my T23 I assure you (1.13GHz/1GB/1400 x 1050 x 32)
800x600 Pic: http://www.lilserenity.com/T23_XP_HQ_SM.JPG
Full Size Pic: http://www.lilserenity.com/T23_XP_HQ.JPG
(Nice links for those with slower connections)
The software used:
Windows XP SP 2
UXTHEME.DLL 'modification'
(I'm sure that was the name of it)Iceman's Jaguar Theme
Y'z Toolbar (Changes Windows Explorer toolbar glyphs)
Y'z Shadow (Creates the funky shadow on the menus and windows)
Y'z Dock (Creates a dock that is just like OS X, discontinued but findable)
Usually to do this you need StyleXP but if you read up on how to erm 'modify'
the DLL file above, you can drop these visual styles straight into c:\winnt\resources\themes (or c:\windows or whichever drive, my WinXP install is an upgrade from Win 2000 hence WINNT directory) and you can select them in the Display control panel.You have to 'modify' this DLL so that Windows XP does not check for the Microsoft Signature that the Luna and Classic visual styles have embedded within them.
If you have SP2 as I do, you will need to search on the net for the information relating specifically to SP2's UXTHEME.DLL modification, as SP2 has funky stack overflow detection etc., which means in essence Win XP with Sp2 is a very different beast under the bonnet to XP w/o SP1 and w/SP1. A google search may help!!
Also see: www.jonmega.com/iceman/
From there you can download UXTHEME.DLL for non SP1 and SP1 systems, but NOT SP2.
If you do not use this, you will need StyleXP from TGTSoft.
As you have guessed this is very much a Windows XP based system, for Windows 2000 etc., I expect you would need to use WindowBlinds or perhaps even that other one that has been around for aaaaages, forget its name now, but its been around forever it seems.
Then apply Iceman's Jaguar visual theme as per the instructions on the above website. Make sure you install the fonts (Lucida Grande and Lucida Grand Bold).
Then search on the Internet for Y'z Toolbar, Dock and Shadow. You can download the toolbar icons also from Iceman's pages.
Finally for the calendar and tasks manager (top right) use Rainlendar.
With all that done and tidying up the desktop, you have a rather awesome looking ThinkPad desktop
If the Apple 'thing' is your thing. I am no Mac enthusiast/evangelist/fanatic/luddite by any means, I don't even own a Mac nor intend to either. But I did always have a soft spot for the Mac (in the System 7.0.1 and 7.5 days! And also the Amiga but there's another story for a very damp soggy rainy day!!)The reason I like this is because it:
- looks awesome (I like aesthetics, believe me you if you saw my wardrobe you'd see i'm a sucker for good things
)- combines excellent design of the OS X system and associated ergonomics with the more accessible open nature of Windows
- Leaves people totally bemused when I do presentation on projectors as they 'see' a Mac that has just booted with WindowsXP and has IBM ThinkPad on the lid
Ever the antagonist.
I'll post this elsewhere too as there is somewhere else where this is more appropriate as this topic is more about sleeping with your Mac G3 or something else equally odd
Vicky[/img]
but I do install a different custom theme every now an then, it makes for a much less drab experience). By the way, installing themes this way takes as little resources as the standard windows setup does. However, when you start installing third-party utilities and "theme-switchers" and all that nonsense (since you can do ALL that with the built-in Windows controls) you can eat away your resources pretty quickly.
