14 DAY TRIAL // What better way to celebrate the year of the tiger, than with a theme pack from Microsoft? Users running the Redmond company’s latest iteration of the Windows client can now download a new theme via the Windows Personalization Gallery. A Windows 7 ‘Year of the Tiger’ theme pack is available from the software giant free of charge, and can be integrated seamlessly into the operating system. [admark=1] The six new background images feature tigers, no big surprise in this regard, obviously, given the leitmotif chosen for the theme.
The year of the tiger draws its origins from the Chinese zodiac involving a total of 12 animals. It is a Chinese tradition to associate years with animal archetypes, in cycles of 12. The tiger is third in row in the enumeration which is repeated once every dozen of years. In addition to the tiger, the Chinese zodiac also contains the following animal symbols: rat, ox, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
Taking into account the dates in the Chinese Zodiac, the year of the tiger has already started as of February 14th, and it will end on February 2nd, 2011. The Chinese believe that people born this year will inherently share the same characteristics as the animal that governs their sign, in this particular case the tiger. With the Windows 7 ‘Year of the Tiger’ Theme, users can at least bring some extra roar to their desktop background images, Chinese Zodiac or no Chinese zodiac.
In addition to the new theme, Windows 7 customers can also download the Zune Tiger wallpaper. Obviously, the standalone background image is also designed to celebrate the year of the tiger. And for users that have more love for pets rather than for wild animals, Microsoft is also offering the Cats Everywhere and Dogs in Summer themes, also for Windows 7.