Microsoft targets Windows 7 themes for advertising opportunies

Microsoft has decided to open up the Windows 7 desktop to advertisers, with companies able to put together themes that can be downloaded to users’ computers. I can see many people hating this idea and accusing Microsoft of selling out but, really, what’s the problem? The themes are 100 percent free and 100 percent optional so I really cannot see the issue.

The desktop on your PC is one of those sacrosanct places where you’re able to do exactly what you want to do. If you want hundreds of shortcuts strewn haphazardly about then you can do. If you want a wallpaper showing Pamela Anderson running on a beach in her Baywatch costume then you can do that too. And no one can tell you you’re wrong.

Windows 7 has seen the desktop get a bit of a makeover by the addition of themes, with wallpapers, sounds, screensavers, and background colors all rolled into one easily-applicable set. You can use Microsoft’s pre-installed themes or create your own. And you can now also download new themes, some of which will be from companies using them as a way to advertise directly via your desktop.

Microsoft is stating that the ‘Windows Theme Experience’ and ‘Windows Personalization Gallery’ are on trial between now and October 2010. But I can’t them disappearing now they’ve arrived. In essence, companies will now provide the images and sounds to enliven your Windows 7 desktop, with the only payback being they are pushing a form of direct advertising straight into your cranium every time you boot up your PC.

The first themes to be released on their own dedicated Web site include ones for Microsoft’s own Bing, Zune, and Xbox 360, as well as Coca Cola, Ducati, Ferrari, Infiniti, Pepsi, Porsche, and Twentieth Century Fox. They are all free to download and are (and hopefully will forever remain) opt-in only, with nothing being pushed on unsuspecting Windows 7 users.

According to CNET, Microsoft vice president Darren Huston said:

The new Windows Theme Experience and Windows Personalization Gallery in Windows 7 allow consumers to customize their technology to reflect the things in life they are most passionate about. These are great examples of Microsoft innovation and technology coming together to enable top global brands to reach audiences in new and interesting ways.

I fully expect Microsoft to be battered over this but I fail to see why anyone would have a problem with it. I’m always changing the look of my desktop purely because I spend so long on my PC everyday I get bored of seeing the same thing. And so I embrace this move as it’ll spice things up and avoid me having to search our malware-free wallpaper sites. I highly recommend the ‘Zune Elements’ theme.

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