theme windows metro ui Special Metro-Like Customizable Desktop Theme Found in Windows 8 Release Pr

[Nazmus Shakib Khandaker]

Windows 8 Release Preview comes with the Aero and Aero light theme. However, what you may not know is that the high contrast themes have been updated to take advantage of the DWM technology. The high contrast themes are more metro like and are fully customizable and also sports the animation and thumbnails from Aero themes. You can color almost any aspects of the Windows desktop using this theme, including the Ribbon and even some Metro Style apps! The only disadvantage is that the Start Screen and many Metro Style apps look like crap.

In the example screenshots below, I used the color combo pink and color combo green; you are free to mix and match any color you want. Here are the screenshots, enjoy!

Metro style Run Dialogue Box

Pink Context Menu

Green Control Panel links

Pink Ribbon

Green Windows Explorer color scheme with white ribbon

Pink Mail Metro Style app (the app is teal by default)

Customizable Window Color changer

[Vice]

This doesn't look very nice to me. Reminds me of Windows 3.11 actually with the bland 2D look of everything with different shades of the same colour on everything.

What is going on at redmond? Where have all the professional designers gone?

Example:

[Dot Matrix]

Sweet find! Trying this out now!

[Xerax]

This doesn't look very nice to me. Reminds me of Windows 3.11 actually with the bland 2D look of everything with different shades of the same colour on everything.

What is going on at redmond? Where have all the professional designers gone?

Example: =

High Contrast mode for people who can't see very well... That's not the default look >.>

[remixedcat]

I wish someone would get the fonts changer back I love using candara instead of segoeUI! I know you can do the whole registry thing witn 7 but that's kinda ehh way to do it.

[mdtaUK]

I believe its the replacement for the Classic theme which has been removed.

[Nazmus Shakib Khandaker]

Here is a screenshot of my Windows 3.1 desktop. The theme does look better than the Windows 8 one, I hate to admit.

[Vice]

Here is a screenshot of my Windows 3.1 desktop. The theme does look better than the Windows 8 one, I hate to admit.

hahahaha

[Raa]

Here is a screenshot of my Windows 3.1 desktop. The theme does look better than the Windows 8 one, I hate to admit.

Are you REALLY only up to Level 11? :p

[Nazmus Shakib Khandaker]

Are you REALLY only up to Level 11? :p

No, I actually finished the entire game, and also passed the fake ending and finished the secret levels! Loved that game!

[Boz]

Oh god that's so terrible I don't even know where to start. So I won't. I'll just silently nod in disgust.

[BajiRav]

This doesn't look very nice to me. Reminds me of Windows 3.11 actually with the bland 2D look of everything with different shades of the same colour on everything.

What is going on at redmond? Where have all the professional designers gone?

I think we need to be patient until they show us the final design. It's premature to go crazy over something clearly W.I.P.

[Osiris]

I could certainly see peoples comparisons to windows 3.11 previously when thats come up time and time again but based on the above I would now agree with them.

[Boz]

I think we need to be patient until they show us the final design. It's premature to go crazy over something clearly W.I.P.

W.I.P? This is consumer release preview. This thing won't change drastically for release. This is pretty much what you can expect.

[Imani]

Just my input before everyone flies past the "high contrast" part. Unless you suffer from eye problems, you will not use this colour scheme and theme. Some individuals are so vehemently against the so-called Metro design that they will jump on anything to justify their stance; the same stance they have made clear a thousand times before, for crying out loud. I'm not saying I like it, but if you are using the high contrast colours and themes, usability will prevail over aesthetics. Currently, this looks much better than the equivalent in Windows 7, which is just a bunch of disjointed colours smacked over the classic theme. And no your Windows 3.1 screenshot does not look like that, so stop it already, it looks like you dropped Windows into an E-boy wallpaper with the only similarity being the colour pink. Seeing that such an overwhelming negative response has come out of the ever self-important "power users" and "tech enthisiasts", and that Redmond has chosen to stick to their set course, vote with your wallet come RTM, and stop sounding like a bunch of whiny drones.

[rfirth]

W.I.P? This is consumer release preview. This thing won't change drastically for release. This is pretty much what you can expect.

No, it's not. Have you COMPLETELY failed to notice that the Developer Preview, Consumer Preview, and Release Preview don't contain the UI that everyone is talking about?

There is a HUGE difference between the UI in the Release Preview and the UI in the latest internal builds at Microsoft... it's silly to say that it won't change drastically for release - it already has! The internal builds are nothing like what was released two weeks ago.

And if you're whining about High Contrast Mode looking ugly, take a look at it in Windows 7 - it's absolutely dreadful. You're not supposed to use High Contrast Mode unless you're nearly blind.

[BajiRav]

W.I.P? This is consumer release preview. This thing won't change drastically for release. This is pretty much what you can expect.

The desktop theme is not done in RP, Microsoft has specifically said as such just before RP came out. ;)