One of about 150 themes available at launch in BlackBerry App World.
(Credit: DreamTheme)Starting Monday, BlackBerry devotees will have an easier time snazzing up their smartphones.
Themes are a new download category in the BlackBerry App World, both on the online catalog and on the App World app you can download to the BlackBerry. There were just shy of 150 free and premium visual themes at launch, including animated themes.
App World took a few extra seconds to update when we launched it this morning to check out the offerings. Otherwise, the minor application update was a smooth transition.
Mariah Carey gets her own Google Chrome theme.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)I'm a little confused. Is Chrome supposed to be a minimally intrusive window to the Web or a splashy showcase for your favorite graphical style?
If you're in the latter camp, the type of person who picks desktop wallpaper carefully and reskins every software that can be reskinned, you'll be pleased with Google's unveiling Monday of artist themes for its Chrome browser. If you're the more utilitarian sort, avoid clicking on the Themes Gallery page.
These two possible attitudes aren't mutually exclusive, but they do live awkwardly together in Chrome. For an artistic canvas, Google's browser has only a minimal menu bar across the top, and it's often obscured by tabs. The best opportunity to show off some graphical pizzazz is the new-tab page, which perhaps someday will become some all-purpose Google portal page but for now is just a means to getting to some other Web page as fast as possible.
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Google lets you use the Gmail's Turf theme with Chrome's Grass theme. Don't.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)Google is clearly proud of its environmental ethos and likes to show it off through its products, but there can be too much of a good thing.
Mostly in an attempt to gross people out, I tried adding the new Turf theme for Gmail while using the Grass theme for Chrome (download Google Chrome).
Nobody ever accused me of having much in the way of taste, but even I can tell it's pretty awful. The eyestrain alone is headache-inducing.
What's the worst combination you can think of? High Score on Legal Pad? And what happens when you add in operating system themes?
The browser wars are heating up again. Microsoft's touting the improved performance and security of Internet Explorer 8, dozens of new Firefox extensions are released every day, and, according to Apple, Safari 4 will be even faster than its speedy predecessor. Meanwhile, Opera just keeps chugging along at version 9.64, with version 10 beta 3 now available.
Just a few weeks ago, Google announced its plans to create an operating system based on Chrome. Considering that the browser itself is barely a year old, such plans may be premature. Then again, maybe not. But for right now, I'll keep looking for ways to make the Chrome browser more useful.
Last June, I described ways to change Chrome's default settings. Here's a look at ways to revamp the browser's interface and access some of its useful hidden features.
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Google now offers a gallery of themes for its Chrome browser.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)Google on Tuesday launched a gallery of 29 themes for Google Chrome (requires Google Chrome 3.0 beta for Windows). But Mozilla, while refraining from sniggering, boasted it's now up to 20,000.
Cosmetic changes are, well, cosmetic, but a lot of people like them as a way to add some flair to their machines. Many had been pestering Google to add themes support even though Chrome employs a Spartan user interface without much acreage for artistry. Last week's developer version of Chrome added a "Get themes" button in the Options dialog box, and now Google has flipped the switch to activate the Web page that button points to.
The collection of themes includes Legal Pad, Star Gazing, Transparent (it's not, on my Windows XP machine), Dots, and Pencil Sketch. One monochromatic theme called Minimal downloads nearly instantly, but Grass, at 1.3MB, takes more time.
Why so large? Themes can come with a background image that shows on Chrome's new-tab page that offers a much greater chance for expressiveness, especially since that page is the default when Chrome launches. That could help Google with its attempt to recruit artists to supply their own themes, as some have done with the iGoogle customizable home page.
Mozilla has its own skinning technology in the works, a plug-in called Personas that launched on Mozilla Labs in March. That head start, coupled with its vastly larger and more engaged external audience, gives it a big lead over Chrome when it comes to getting gussied up.
Mozilla Labs announced Monday that Firefox now has 20,000 Personas, with 10,000 of them arriving in the last 10 weeks.
This theme is called Grass.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)
This view of Chrome's new tab page shows a thumbnail for a 'Google Chrome Themes Gallery.'
(Credit: CNET reader)It looks like Google is nearing release for a gallery showcasing themes to customize Chrome's appearance, judging by one reader's experience.
When a person opens a new empty browser tab in Chrome, the browser shows an array of thumbnails of previously visited sites. One of those sites, the reader said, was labeled "Google Chrome Themes Gallery." The screenshot shows a multicolored array of themes for the browser.
It's a good thing Google apparently is working on the Web site, because already Chrome is ready to be directly connected to it.
The latest developer version of Chrome supports themes more easily for those who want to re-skin the browser. Most notably, there's a "Get themes" button in the Options dialog box that links to what at present is an empty Web page.
Though themes, skins, and the like offer merely cosmetic changes, they're often popular among users. There's even a start-up, Brand Thunder, that re-skins Firefox for sports teams and musicians.
Mozilla is working on a better Firefox personalization system called Personas.
The latest developer version of Chrome can easily be reskinned. This shows the Camo theme. To compare to Snowflake and the default, see below.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)Google's Chrome tries to make a virtue out of its minimally intrusive browser interface, but that doesn't stop people from wanting to change its colors. So customization fans probably will be happy to learn that themes are now activated in the newest developer release of Google's browser.
Themes have been gradually getting simpler to activate in the browser, but they became enabled by default in the newest developer releases this week, version 3.0.195.3 and a hasty bug-fix release Wednesday night, version 3.0.195.4. No longer must you mess with pesky "--enable-extensions" command-line switches or other nitty-gritty options.
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See our favorite themes, skins, and editors for Windows Vista and XP.
(Credit: CNET)If you're glued to your computer, you should make it as inspiring as you can.
That was our goal back in September 2006 when we first put together a collection of top desktop enhancement apps.
Since then, Microsoft's spiced-up graphics have added a charm to Vista that XP out-and-out lacked, but is the blue look you, or can you still do better? We've picked out the best free and free-to-try downloads to give you a brightly colored taskbar, animated wallpaper, and dynamic cursor options for your XP or Vista box. Check out the desktop eye candy in this round-up.
Tonight you're probably going to make some hefty New Year's resolutions, which statistically you're never going to keep. Why not at least make a change you know will make a difference immediately? A Firefox theme can change the feel of your browser and all it takes is a simple download. You can't just waltz into a new year without making a few changes, right?
We've put together a nice slide show of downloadable Firefox themes so you can improve your browsing experience in the New Year.
This Wall-e-themed desktop looks at my system resources with flirtatious eyes.
(Credit: The Skins Factory)I used to be a huge fan of Windows desktop themes. Granted, this was over 10 years ago, when I knew little about computers and was ignorant of the amount of system resources themes consumed. I don't use them today, as I prefer to keep my system clean and optimized, but I still understand the appeal. Customizing your desktop with a new theme makes for a new experience.
The Skins Factory is trying to give its users a new experience when installing desktop themes. It has announced that its Windows desktop-theme software, Hyperdesk, is now DRM-free. According to the company, Hyperdesk had been using third-party software to handle its license key activations. Now however, all Hyperdesk themes sold on its site will no longer require a key.
This means a few things for Hyperdesk users. First, they will be able to install Hyperdesk on their personal systems an unlimited number of times. Second, no longer is an Internet connection required to install Hyperdesk. Third, according to The Skins Factory, "refunds will be more strict due to the lack of ability to deactivate license keys." And finally fourth, the price of all Hyperdesk themes have been increased from $9.95 to $14.95.
Jeff Schader, CEO of the company, states, "I absolutely understand the train of thought that many software publishers have about protecting their investment and products. On the other hand, as a consumer, I personally feel that DRM normally just ends up punishing honest users, while those who would steal the software have far less restrictions than legitimate end-users."
I agree. So, that begs the question: then why are you punishing consumers by raising your prices? Just seems weird to me that the company would talk about looking out for its customers and then turn around and hit them with a 50 percent price increase.
I have no idea what these new costs cover, but talk about having the other shoe dropping with an immediate and hard crash.
