14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 7 users that have been keeping an eye on Softpedia already know that Microsoft has been releasing a steady flow of personalization content. The latest Windows 7 theme made available by the Redmond company is titled Life, and comes courtesy of the Discovery channel and BBC. The theme pack in question is available for download, as many others, free of charge via the Windows Personalization Gallery, the company’s central hub for offering themes designed to allow customers to customize their Windows 7 desktops.
“Bizarre, beautiful nature from Discovery Channel,” the short description of the Life theme, which will leave users with a feeling that the images should have been accompanied by more information, reads. Of course, the same is not the case with many themes on the Windows Personalization Gallery, but this specific example feels like it needs the added touch of the Bing wallpaper hotspots.
The images are indeed breathtaking and Microsoft should have worked with its partners to offer users various details on the content displayed, maybe in conjunction with a Windows 7 gadget. The Redmond company is running a pilot designed to allow companies to advertise their brands on the Windows 7 desktops via themes released on the Windows Personalization Gallery, and obviously the Discovery Channel and BBC are taking advantage of the program.
The only shortcoming I see with the Life theme pack might in fact be an advantage for some users. All the images included in this theme, which can be viewed below, are tailored to large-screen monitors, and large-screen monitors only. This implies that customers with older screens will have to be content with a less-than-perfect experience, setting the background images to either stretch to fit the resolution or just fit the screen as best as they can.
Windows 7 Life Theme is available for download here.
