Make Windows look like MacOS X
I have been using Windows XP on a laptop with 256 MB RAM for a while now and have always thought to myself “Windows XP is killing my RAM, I wish I could have the base OS use less of it”. Uptill now I was tweaking XP by minimizing processes running in the system tray and shutting down unwanted services, but the base OS would take upto 170 MB. This was mostly due to Windows Explorer.
Last week I came across LiteStep, an alternative to Explorer that takes far less resources and can do wonders with the way your desktop looks. I have also installed a bunch of other utilities on my laptop and now when my laptop is booting it shows up a Mac OS X logo during the boot up process, the logon screen has been replaced by a nice Firefox logon screen and the desktop looks almost exactly like that of the Mac OS X. When I showed it to a friend, he thought I had installed MacOS X on my laptop. This is the by far one of the geekiest things I have done on Windows.
Best of all I was able to do all this using free and Open-source software, no need to pay for it.
To change your desktop to act like Mac OS X get the following:
1) LiteStep installer (works with both Win 2k and Win XP)
2) MacOS X theme for LiteStep
Browse on ls-universe and WinCustomize.com for other LiteStep themes.
LiteStep changes the desktop but it does not change the window decoration, ie. the window title, minimize, maximize buttons. To set the window decoration to look like Mac OS X get the following:
1) UXTheme Multi-Patcher (Neowin Edition) 2.0.exe
2) Macintosh Theme for Win XP (you can use this without the need for LiteStep)
Browse on belchfire.net for other Win XP Window Styles.
To change the boot screen and logon screen you will need:
1) LogonUI Boot Randomizer
2) Boot file showing Mac OS X
3) Logon screen with Firefox (I have not found a screen to mimic Mac OS X yet)
Browse on belchfire.net for other Boot and Logon screens.
This is not meantto be a tutorial. I am merely providing direct links to the files needed. When you install, most of it will be straighforward. There are some directions also given within the files. Details of installation can be found at belchfire.net and ls-universe.
