14 DAY TRIAL // The latest theme pack available for download for Windows 7 users brings to the table a tad more than just a collection of background images and configuration settings for Windows Aero.
The wallpapers included in the Harvest Time theme for Windows 7 come with metadata, allowing end users to gain insight into the images that are swapping on their desktop.
I’ve always said that I felt Microsoft could do so much more in terms of the user experience of its Windows 7 theme packs.
And when I’m saying this, I’m referring to the Silverlight-based UX delivered by the hotspots built into the background images used for the Bing home page.
Something similar should be available for Windows 7 wallpapers, enabling customers to easily check various information on a specific image, from the name of the photographer to the title of the photo, and even to details such as the camera model used to take the snapshot.
“Here’s how you can get more information on many of the pictures in the themes.
Open Personalization by right-clicking the desktop and choosing Personalize from the menu. Click the theme that you want to get more information about. Click Desktop Background.
Hover with your mouse pointer over the image to see a tooltip containing summary information about that image. The last line of the summary shows the title, which often includes location information,” revealed Jennifer Shepherd, site manager for the Windows Personalization Gallery.
“To get even more information, select the one image you want information about (make sure it is the only one selected), right-click on it, and choose Properties.
“Click on the Details tab. To see the full contents of any of the fields on this tab, hover over it with your mouse pointer,” she added.
Not all themes served by Microsoft free of charge through the Windows Personalization Gallery feature additional metadata information from the company.
But some do, and it’s worth to check them out, and see which ones actually do, especially if you want to access some additional information on certain wallpapers.
Apparently, the software giant did consider putting the information into the images themselves, but then thought that it might distract the users, so the details went in the metadata instead.
“November has arrived, which means day after day of gray skies and rain here in the Pacific Northwest. But I have a new theme to beautify and brighten your season – Harvest Time!
“For those of us in the United States, this theme comes just in time for Thanksgiving, but I designed it to celebrate harvests everywhere. Harvest Time has images from across the world and features many different crops, including olives, grapes, rice, wheat, corn, apples, and more,” Shepherd added.
The Windows 7 Harvest Time theme is available for download here.
