The best Windows 8 theme - It's absolutely amazing

By Boz
in Tips, Tweaks & Customization

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Boz

Posted
Posted

By accident I stumbled upon an amazing theme for Windows 8.

If you were looking to get Windows 8 to suck less visually I've made my installation gorgeous and now everything is even better than Windows 7 I had.

Here's what I have:

Visual theme/style is Snowy 2.0 here http://carborunda.de...ows-8-358919115

EDIT: Theme is updated to Snowy 3.0: http://carborunda.de...ows-8-363931948

snowy_v2_0_final_for_windows_8_by_carborunda-d5xovrf.jpg

You can adjust colors as you would in WIndows normally and it comes with multiple scenarios (with ribbon, without ribbon, with white active window caption, with dark active window caption)

1. Installed UXStyle.com

To get really cool effects, dock and stuff I refreshed my apps from Stardock with latest versions.

A) ObjectDock Plus 2.0 (better than ever right now). It's almost identical to OSX dock.

B) Decor8 for adjusting backgrounds of the lock screen, background on the win8 metro start screen, and a couple of other things. Excellent little utility

C) Start8 (I'm sure people already know what it is)

D) WindowsFX 5.0 (works awesome! with Windows 8 since it's updated)

E) IconPackager 5.1 (works fine with Win8) Scratch that Iron Packager 5.1 messes things up in Windows 8 -> DO NOT USE

F) Since I spent lately most of my time in OSX I couldn't get use to non-antialiased text in Windows. It just looked terrible for me, especially when writing code. It was just so terrible on the eyes.

So I am using this awesome awesome little utility https://code.google.com/p/mactype/ The best font smoothing for Windows. Depending on what presets you set it is 99% the same as OSX. It's amazing.

G) I also got used to using Win key/CMD on OSX instead of CTRL in Windows, so I used one cool app as well called SharpKeys http://sharpkeys.codeplex.com/ that will allow you to reconfigure keys so I did a switch between CTRL and WIN keys in windows so when I switch between OSX and Windows all my software and shortcuts feel the same (it was always an issue when I switch to windows to mentally adjust to hit CTRL keys instead of Win flag key - which is CMD in OSX)

H) If you want to get an excellent OSX like screenshot taking utility I highly highly recommend FastStone http://www.faststone...ptureDetail.htm .. Not only that this utility works even better than default Windows or OSX screen capture shortcuts and ways, but it allows you to upload to your own FTP. So you can hit Win+Print Screen capture rectangular area and you can either have it in clipboard or you can upload it all automatically to your FTP and it will copy to clipboard the URL to your screenshot to share. It's amazing and one of those apps I can't live without.

I am now complete and love Windows again. No issues whatsoever so far. Everything works as advertised, fast, light etc.

I hope you enjoy it too as this is really exactly what I hoped I would be able to do on Windows 8.

My Desktop as it is now

Untitled-1.jpg

Grand Master

Boz

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Can't help but feel ... you shoulda bought a Mac?

I already have a Mac.. 2 in fact Mac Pro tower and Mac Book Air.. and I have OSX installed on this computer as well as Hackintosh.. I boot from one into another and the reason I have these things is to make them look similar when I boot from Windows to OSX and vice versa when I work.

There are things you can't do on OSX and there are things you can't do on Windows. I develop software, build stuff for mobile and I need both.

But this is not about me.. this is about people making their Windows look pretty.. what i posted actually makes it much more useful, easier on the eyes and it actually helps with productivity.. I suggested utilities I use for those who want it.. you don't have to install them at all if you don't want to.

Grand Master

BajiRav

Posted
Posted

It's amazing how some people hate Macs and OSX but yet they want their Windows OS to look like it.

The only thing that bothers me in this case is having two "docks" on the screen. :/ I guess suits his taste.

Veteran

link6155

Posted
Posted

In my opinion, there's better themes then this. To me, this theme feels like cheap plastic. I think "Base" is the best windows 8 theme, although that's a pretty biased statement since I am the creator of Base :p

base_for_windows_8_by_link6155-d5xf3on.png

More info here: http://fav.me/d5xf3on

  • Roxkis, The Devils Killer, AsherGZ and 1 other
  • Like 4
Grand Master

Scorbing

Posted
Posted

In my opinion, there's better themes then this. To me, this theme feels like cheap plastic. I think "Base" is the best windows 8 theme, although that's a pretty biased statement since I am the creator of Base :p

base_for_windows_8_by_link6155-d5xf3on.png

More info here: http://fav.me/d5xf3on

nice!!!!!

Guest

Posted
Posted

I'd like this more minus all of the gradients.

nice!!!!!

In my opinion, there's better themes then this. To me, this theme feels like cheap plastic. I think "Base" is the best windows 8 theme, although that's a pretty biased statement since I am the creator of Base :p

base_for_windows_8_by_link6155-d5xf3on.png

More info here: http://fav.me/d5xf3on

I kinda like this but they were too heavy handed with the contrast of the pixel lines. I also hate the red.

Grand Master

PsYcHoKiLLa

Posted
Posted

Much prefer these :

Nite Smooth

nite_smooth_by_neiio-d5l899f.png

Slan Theme

slan8_by_neiio_d5l38mz.jpg

Work Theme

work_for_windows_8_by_neiio-d5kunrs.png

Of course you'll need the Ultra UX Theme Patcher to install them, then restart, then just copy the files to C:\Windows\Resources\Themes and choose a theme.

Grand Master

Detection

Posted
Posted

I know everyone has different tastes so no offence to OP, but I don't see the amazing part of that theme at all, nor the one above, XP, Vista and 7 all look better themed, but ignoring my personal view of 8, I think visually it is fairly nice as it is

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • OpenAI is rolling out a major upgrade to ChatGPT memory

      By pradeepviswav · Posted

      OpenAI is rolling out a major upgrade to ChatGPT memory by Pradeep Viswanathan OpenAI is rolling out a major upgrade to ChatGPT's memory, making the system more capable, current, and scalable across long-term use. Memory allows ChatGPT to remember useful details about users, including their preferences, projects, and constraints. Instead of starting every conversation from scratch, ChatGPT can use this context to provide more relevant responses in future chats. OpenAI first launched saved memories in February 2024. That feature allowed users to explicitly ask ChatGPT to save information into its memory, such as travel plans or writing preferences. However, this system had limits because it depended heavily on users giving clear instructions to remember something. Additionally, saved memories could become stale over time. In April 2025, OpenAI expanded memory by allowing ChatGPT to reference past chat context outside the saved memories list. This was powered by a background process called “dreaming,” which automatically curates memories from chat history. This made ChatGPT better at learning from natural conversation without requiring users to manually save every detail. Today, OpenAI announced a more capable and compute-efficient memory architecture built on top of dreaming. This new system improves ChatGPT’s ability to carry forward useful context, follow user preferences, and remain accurate as time passes. According to OpenAI’s internal evaluations, the new system improves factual recall from 67.9% in 2025 to 82.8% in 2026. Preference adherence improves from 55.3% to 71.3%, while accuracy over time improves from 52.2% to 75.1%. The best part of this new system is a new memory summary page where users can review ChatGPT's memories. Users can even update details, correct information, or give instructions on what topics ChatGPT should bring up and when. This new, improved memory system is available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users in the US starting today. It will roll out to more countries, as well as Free and Go users, in the coming weeks.
    • Microsoft announces Surface Laptop Ultra with NVIDIA RTX Spark processor

      By matthiew · Posted

      I work for a video production company in Australia. The camera operators shoot footage and then pass the SD card over to the editors. Much easier than handing over the entire camera. Plus, on a busy day you can hand off the SD card and then pop another in for the next shoot. Or, you might have used multiple SD cards because you need the extra space for a long shoot. I also use USB cables and wifi for transferring footage, but in many cases an SD card reader is the easiest method.
    • Microsoft Edge 149.0.4022.52

      By Copernic · Posted

      Microsoft Edge 149.0.4022.52 by Razvan Serea Microsoft Edge is a super fast and secure web browser from Microsoft. It works on almost any device, including PCs, iPhones and Androids. It keeps you safe online, protects your privacy, and lets you browse the web quickly. You can even use it on all your devices and keep your browsing history and favorites synced up. Built on the same technology as Chrome, Microsoft Edge has additional built-in features like Startup boost and Sleeping tabs, which boost your browsing experience with world class performance and speed that are optimized to work best with Windows. Microsoft Edge security and privacy features such as Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Password Monitor, InPrivate search, and Kids Mode help keep you and your loved ones protected and secure online. Microsoft Edge has features to keep both you and your family protected. Enable content filters and access activity reports with your Microsoft Family Safety account and experience a kid-friendly web with Kids Mode. The new Microsoft Edge is now compatible with your favorite extensions, so it’s easy to personalize your browsing experience. Microsoft Edge 149.0.4022.52 changelog: Migration to improved V2 architecture for Workspaces. Workspaces, introduced in Edge in 2022, allows users to create durable sets of tabs that can be saved and shared with others. In order to improve reliability and performance of this feature, the following changes are being made: Migrating data for saved Workspaces from OneDrive/SharePoint to Edge Sync service Removing the collaboration/share functionality of this feature For organizations who have disabled Sync through policy, the existing v1 Workspace data will still be migrated to the new architecture. New v2 Workspaces created after migration won't sync across devices and will remain local to each device. This update occurs on a progressive rollout beginning in Edge Stable v145 and will continue rolling out in Edge v149. For more information, see Getting started with Microsoft Edge Workspaces. Feature Updates Passkey Sync for Enterprise Users. Microsoft Edge is introducing support for passkey synchronization for enterprise users, enabling secure, passwordless authentication across devices. Passkeys created in Edge can now be synced seamlessly, improving sign-in experience while maintaining strong security standards. Note: This is a controlled feature rollout. If you don't see this change, check back as we continue the rollout. Enterprise WebView2 runtime downgrade via DowngradeVersion policy. Administrators can temporarily roll back specific applications to a previous WebView2 Evergreen Runtime version (N-1 or N-2) using the new DowngradeVersion policy in msedgewebview2.admx. The Downgrade Version policy allows enterprises to mitigate critical regressions by specifying per-application exe-to-version mappings. The Edge Updater installs the target version side-by-side, and the WebView2 Loader redirects targeted apps accordingly. Downgrades auto-expire with each new WebView2 release: apps pinned to N-1 remain on the same version (now becoming N-2) and will auto-update in the next release, while apps pinned to N-2 will revert to the current Evergreen version. The policy applies only to enterprise-managed devices (domain-joined or MDM-enrolled). For more information, see Microsoft Edge WebView2 Policy Documentation | Microsoft Learn. Collections retirement. Collections has been removed in this update. Users can no longer access or use the feature. To keep saved content, users can export it, or move all pages to Favorites before updating to Microsoft Edge Stable 149. For more information, see Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge - Microsoft Support. Modern, unified, and updated Look and Feel. Microsoft Edge has updated the Look and Feel to give customers a unified experience across all of Microsoft AI surfaces including Copilot and Bing. This changes multiple elements of the UX such as spacing, corners, fonts, default colors, etc. Clarify choices surrounding third-party cookie settings. Language under Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies are clarified to better describe the choices users have in managing third-party cookies. Custom primary password retirement. Users are no longer able to create a new custom primary password in Edge Settings edge://settings/autofill/passwords/settings. Any users who are still using a custom primary password will be automatically migrated to device authentication. Additionally, the PrimaryPasswordSetting policy will no longer support the WithCustomPrimaryPassword option. For more information, see Keep your saved passwords private in Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Support. Unifying Copilot Chat policy controls. The Microsoft365CopilotChatIconEnabled policy is the standard for configuring Copilot Chat. Previously, this behavior was controlled by blocking the Copilot extension, either explicitly or by using the * wildcard via the ExtensionSettings or ExtensionInstallBlockList policies. Extension and sidebar policies no longer affect the appearance or functionality of Copilot Chat. Copilot address bar suggestions were also tied to extension policy settings. Starting in Microsoft Edge version 149, admins can use the CopilotAddressBarSuggestionsEnabled policy to manage this behavior. Intune MAM Protected Downloads. The protected downloads feature for Intune MAM is now available for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) devices, which aren't managed by a tenant. Policy Updates / New policies CopilotAddressBarSuggestionsEnabled - Enable Copilot address bar suggestions CpuPerformanceTierOverride - Override for the CPU performance tier DataUrlInWebWorkerOpaqueOriginEnabled - Enable opaque origins for data URLs in Web Workers DefaultLocalFontsSetting - Default Local Fonts permission setting ForceForegroundPriorityForUrls - Force foreground priority for specific URLs LocalFontsAllowedForUrls - Allow Local Fonts permission on these sites LocalFontsBlockedForUrls - Block Local Fonts permission on these sites Deprecated policies WalletDonationEnabled - Wallet Donation Enabled (deprecated) EdgeWalletEtreeEnabled - Edge Wallet E-Tree Enabled (deprecated) Additional policy changes ForceForegroundPriorityForUrls - ForceForegroundPriorityForOrigins is renamed to ForceForegroundPriorityForUrls OnSecurityEventEnterpriseConnector - Add macOS platform support ProtectedContentIdentifiersAllowed - Remove macOS platform support Download: Microsoft Edge (64-bit) | 193.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Microsoft Edge (32-bit) | 170.0 MB Download: Microsoft Edge (ARM64) | 188.0 MB View: Microsoft Edge Website | Release History Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Still using Classic Outlook? Microsoft highlights 15 reasons to switch to New Outlook

      By Eric Biran · Posted

      User: "But is it good?" Microsoft: "Well, no. But it is less bad."
    • Media Player Classic - Home Cinema 2.7.2

      By Copernic · Posted

      Media Player Classic - Home Cinema 2.7.2 by Razvan Serea Media Player Classic - Home Cinema (MPC-HC) is a free and open-source video and audio player for Windows. MPC-HC is based on the original Guliverkli project (which is no longer maintained) and contains many additional features and bug fixes. As the continuation of the original Media Player Classic, MPC-HC isn’t flashy but it works with nearly any media format. MPC-HC uses DXVA technology to pass decoding operations to your modern video card, enhancing your viewing experience. And MPC-HC supports both physical and software DVDs with menus, chapter navigation, and subtitles. Overview of features A lot of people seem to be unaware of some of the awesome features that have been added to MPC-HC in the past years. Here is a list of useful options and features that everyone should know about: Dark interface Menu > View > Dark Theme When using dark theme it is also possible to change the height of the seekbar and size of the toolbar buttons. Options > Advanced Video preview on the seekbar Options > Tweaks > Show preview on seek bar Adjust playback speed Menu > Play > Playback rate The buttons in the player that control playback rate take a 2x step by default. This can be customized to smaller values (like 10%): Options > Playback > Speed step Adjusting playback speed works best with the internal audio renderer. This also has automatic pitch correction. Options > Playback > Output > Audio Renderer MPC-HC can remember playback position, so you can resume from that point later Options > Player > History You can quickly seek through a video with Ctrl + Mouse Scrollwheel. You can jump to next/previous file in a folder by pressing PageUp/PageDown. You can perform automatic actions at end of file. For example to go to next file or close player. Options > Playback > After Playback (permanent setting) Menu > Play > After Playback (for current file only) A-B repeat - You can loop a segment of a video. Press [ and ] to set start and stop markers. You can rotate/flip/mirror/stretch/zoom the video Menu > View > Pan&Scan This is also easily done with hotkeys (see below). There are lots of keyboard hotkeys and mouse actions to control the player. They can be customized as well. Options > Player > Keys Tip: there is a search box above the table. You can stream videos directly from Youtube and many other video websites You can stream videos directly from Youtube and many other video websites Put yt-dlp.exe or youtube-dl.exe in the MPC-HC installation folder. Then you can open website URLs in the player: Menu > File > Open File/URL You can even download those videos: Menu > File > Save a copy Tip: to be able to download in best quality with yt-dlp/youtube-dl, it is recommended to also put ffmpeg.exe in the MPC-HC folder. Several YDL configuration options are found here: Options > Advanced This includes an option to specify the location of the .exe in case you don't want to put it in MPC-HC folder. Play HDR video This requires using madVR or MPC Video Renderer. After installation these renderers can be selected here: Options > Playback > Output Ability to search for and download subtitles, either automatically or manually (press D): Options > Subtitles > Misc Besides all these (new) features, there have also been many bugfixes and internal improvements in the player in the past years that give better performance and stability. It also has updated internal codecs. Support was added for CUE sheets, WebVTT subtitles, etc. Media Player Classic - Home Cinema 2.7.2 changelog: Updated LAV Filters to version 0.81-23-g6fadb Updated MPC Video Renderer to version 0.10.2.2540 Updated MediaInfo DLL to version 26.05 Updated MPC Audio Renderer Several crash fixes, bug fixes and small improvements. Download: MPC-HC 2.7.2 (x64) | Standalone | ~20.0 MB (Open Source) Download: MPC-HC 2.7.2 (x86) | Standalone Links: MPC-HC Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Dr Jared Dental Studio earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      RG INVESTMENT GROUP earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Very Popular
      The Norwegian Drone Pilot earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Very Popular
      s0nic69 earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Collaborator
      Asgardi earned a badge
      Collaborator

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      471
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      247
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      80
    4. 4
      FloatingFatMan
      67
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      60
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!