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Appearance & Themes, Advanced
Overview
There's more to appearance than simply setting a desktop picture or changing a few colors. For those who want to do more, each operating system offers advanced customization options.
The following table outlines the advanced customization options of each operating system:
| Mac OS X | Windows XP | Comments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cursors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cursor size | Limited | Yes | OS X has an option to increase cursor size; however, this is meant for those who have trouble seeing. The standard cursor is merely blown up in size and does not render smoothly. XP ships with cursors of multiple sizes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cursor style | No | Yes | OS X users can change the style of their cursor with Mighty Mouse, $10. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Save/load cursor sets | No | Yes | XP includes a variety of cursor sets, and users can create and save additional ones. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Windows | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Folder background image | Yes | No | Windows XP technically supports doing this, though the option is not available through the user interface. However, it can be done. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Folder background color | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General appearance | Limited | Yes | OS X users have two choices for the appearance of buttons, menus, and windows — blue or graphite. XP users have three within the "Luna" appearance — blue, olive green, or silver — plus they can choose from and customize a variety of "Windows Classic" appearances. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Skinning" support | No | Yes | XP users can apply "visual styles" signed by Microsoft to completely alter the appearance of their interface. OS X users will need to use ShapeShifter ($20) or ThemeChanger (free).
| Desktop |
Display web content |
No |
Yes |
XP users can set a webpage as their desktop background. They can also display webpages on their desktop in a window or pane so that they do not span behind icons. |
Desktop background image |
Yes |
Yes |
| Automatically change desktop background image |
Yes |
Yes * |
OS X users have a variety of settings to choose from: |
Desktop background color |
Limited |
Yes |
While both operating systems provide a group of default colors, XP also lets users choose any color they like from a spectrum. |
Type |
Font face |
No |
Yes |
OS X users can change interface fonts with Silk, $10. |
Text color |
No |
Yes |
|
Text size |
Limited |
Yes |
OS X users can change text size only for certain items (such as file icons). XP users can change the size of nearly any text in the user interface. |
Icons |
Custom file/application icon |
Yes |
No |
|
Custom folder icon |
Yes |
Yes |
XP's method is superior in that it will overlay the custom icon on top of a folder icon. OS X simply replaces the folder icon with the custom icon, which makes it difficult to tell that the folder is indeed a folder. |
Custom alias/shortcut icon |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Change filetype icon |
Yes |
Yes |
In XP, Control Panel > Folder Options > File Types tab > Advanced > Change icon.... On OS X, the process is a bit more cryptic — replace the .icns file inside /Contents/Resources of the appropriate application's package (choose Show Package Contents from the Finder's Action menu). |
Sounds |
Set custom interface sounds |
Limited |
Yes |
OS X users can only change their system alert sound. Using a custom sound requires copying the sound file into ~/Library/Sounds, then choosing it from the Sound preference pane. |
Enable/disable individual sounds |
No |
Yes |
OS X users can only turn system sounds on or off as a whole. |
Save/load sound sets |
No |
Yes |
XP includes six sound sets, and the user is free to create and save additional ones. |
Comment: OS X users can add support for the latter two settings with Xounds, $10. |
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If we assume a "Yes" is equivalent to 2 points, a "Limited" equivalent to 1, and a "No" equivalent to 0, OS X scores 21 points while XP scores 38, out of a possible 42 points.
Conclusion
Windows XP's advanced customization options are impressive. The user has near-total control over the appearance of their system, with the freedom to change cursors, fonts, text colors/sizes, and sounds. In addition, Windows XP supports the saving of "themes," which let the user change all of these options simultaneously. Mac OS X's options are weak in comparison, requiring the purchase of multiple pieces of third-party software to even approach the same level of customization. The options OS X does support are generally limited in comparison to XP's offerings — for example, there are only two options for overall appearance, and users cannot turn interface sounds on or off individually.
Mac OS X: 5
Windows XP: 9
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