When I was having my usual haircut at a salon near our house, my hairstylist (well, he just cuts my hair and I guess he doesn’t want to be called a barber), asked me for help on a problem in his laptop. I momentarily glanced at his table and there I saw his newly purchased gadget. I was quite surprised that there was already a problem when it was obviously brand new. He told me he’s been trying to change the wallpaper of his laptop for days and he couldn’t change it.

Now right after my haircut, I checked his laptop and saw that it was in Windows 7. When I checked what version/edition – voila! It was Windows 7 Starter. 

Windows 7 Starter Default Wallpaper

I immediately told him that Windows 7 Starter doesn’t allow the user to change the wallpaper. When I saw the long look of his face when I told him that, I knew I had to help this guy.

Windows 7 Starter: How to Change the Wallpaper

I know of two ways to change the wallpaper in Windows 7. Both methods require that you at least install a program to do it. Make sure you only install one.

1. Stardock MyColors

Stardock MyColors is a program which allows you not only to change the wallpaper but also the overall look of Windows. Stardock MyColors primarily changes the standard Windows 7 Aero theme to another theme.

You need to download and install Stardock MyColors (download it from Stardock MyColors official website)

After successful installation, just launch the application and go to My Themes. By default, there would only be 2 kinds of themes – Windows 7 Aero and Think Green. Choose the Think Green theme.

Now you can download several other themes from the Stardock website itself but the Think Green theme is the only additional theme in the default installation. This step (of choosing a theme other than Windows 7 aero) is important because if you have the Windows 7 Aero theme selected, you won’t be able to change the wallpaper.

After this just go to the Wallpapers tab, and choose any wallpaper which is in your Pictures folder.

Note that Stardock MyColors does not allow you to choose how to layout your wallpaper. By default, it would stretch your picture to fit the screen. So be sure to choose high resolution pictures so that it would not look pixelized in your screen.

2. Starter Background Changer

There are already several programs out there made by helpful people, which can change the background or wallpaper of Windows 7 Starter. Out of these programs, I have a favorite which is the Starter Background Changer by Renaud Gerson which he made available for download in his website renaudgerson.fr. His website and the actual installer are in French so I’ll help you on how to make it work. Once you’ve installed it, it would be in English so don’t worry about it.

You can download it at his official website renaudgerson.fr (just scroll down and click on the image saying Download), or you can use the download link I’ve provided below:

StarterBackgroundChanger v0.8

What’s good about this program is that you don’t have to change the overall theme and you can just change the wallpaper. What’s better is you can choose from a set of different layouts like stretch, tile, center, etc. (unlike Stardock MyColors which has the stretch layout only).

To install, just follow the screenshots below. “Suivant” means “Next”, and “Demarrer” means “To Start”.

Just choose “Suivant” on the following prompts.  

Choose “Yes”.

Then choose “Demarrer”.

Now once you’ve installed the program, just right click on your desktop and select “Personalize”. Notice that it’s not in French. It actually defaults to your language.

A new window would pop-up where you can change the wallpaper. It would have banner ads or advertisements at the bottom but it’s not that bothersome.

Note: If you’re going to upgrade to another version of Windows (i.e. Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, etc.) be sure to uninstall these programs.

There you have it! I hope I’ve helped you change your Windows 7 Starter wallpaper.

Related posts:

1. Web Folders / Web disk / WebDAV problems on Windows 7

We’ve already shown how to play NES or Family Computer games in a Nokia phone. Let’s now show how to play your favorite NES games for PSP like Zelda, Mario, Castlevania, Contra, etc.

You would first need to download NesterJ made by Ruka.

Installing NesterJ – the NES Emulator for PSP

1. Extract NesterJ to your Computer.

When you have downloaded NesterJ, you need to extract it first to your computer. A NesterJ folder should be successfully extracted and directly inside it should be the EBOOT.PBP, famicon.dat, NESTERJ.CFG and the SAVE and STATE folders.

2. Connect your PSP to your Computer

Just plug your PSP to your computer via USB. Power on your PSP and then go to Settings -> USB Connection. You should now be able to browse in your computer the contents of your memory stick.

3. Copy NesterJ to your PSP

Since you are now able to view the contents and folders of your memory stick, just go to the folders PSP -> GAME

Just copy the whole NESTERJ folder into the GAME folder.

4. Download NES ROMs or games

Just download from the Internet NES ROMS or games like Mario brothers, Zelda, Contra, etc. Just do a quick search using Google with the search terms “NES roms” and the top 3 sites would be more than enough for your NES game needs. NES roms have the file extension .NES.

Once you have the games you want, just put it in the same NesterJ folder in your PSP.

5. Play NES games in your PSP

Just go to Game -> Memory Stick and then you would find NesterJ in the list. Once you load NesterJ, you should be able to find the games you have downloaded and put in your PSP.

There you have it! It’s really easy to have NES games or Family Computer games on your PSP!

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I have always viewed Apple as an expert in selling products with an excellent user interface. When I got my first iPod (the iPod Video – 60GB) I was really amazed at the beauty, simplicity, and ease of use of the device. It was all of these without losing its primary purpose – great music.

Undoubtedly, the MAC OS X is also visually compelling, and easy to use like the iPod. One of the reasons for this is the dock feature of the MAC OS X. The dock is not just a great tool because of its many uses (shortcuts for commonly used programs, etc.), but also because of the beautiful user interface (smooth and fast scrolling, zooming feature, great looking icons, etc.).

I was a bit surprised though when I saw that there are already many applications for Windows which emulate the dock feature of MAC OS X. The best I’ve seen are:

1. RocketDock

RocketDock is one of these applications which emulates the dock feature. Besides being a good shortcut tool, minimized windows or applications can appear as icons in the dock.

2. RK Launcher

RK Launcher is another application or program for Windows which emulates the dock feature of MAC OS X. This application closely resembles the dock as its default dock icons are already Mac icons and the zooming is very similar to real dock.

However, from what I’ve read, Apple has already patented the Mac OS X dock last October 2008. Apple reportedly applied for the patent in 1999 but was only granted the patent almost 10 years later. I don’t know how this affects programs that emulate the dock of the Mac OS X like RocketDock and RK launcher but Apple may do something if they feel that these applications infringe their patent.

After testing these two out, I felt that applications like the RocketDock and RK launcher does a good job at emulating the dock of the MAC OS X. With the approved patent of Apple though, the future of applications like these two may be nearing their end.

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As I was waiting for my girl during her visit to the dentist, I was left with no choice but to read magazines which I had little interest of. I then saw a picture of Mario in his old form. This is not the cute big nosed cartoon like Mario we have been accustomed to nowadays, but it is the small, pixelized version of the guy. It’s the Mario which still hasn’t grabbed a mushroom to get bigger. The Mario you get at level 1-1.

It’s always nice to play old school games. They’re pretty simple but they rock! What they lack in graphics, they certainly make up with the other aspects of the game.

What you can play using the Nintendo Entertainment Sytem (NES) console 10 to 15 years ago, can now be played using only your Nokia mobile phone using the vNES emulator!

Nintendo NES by Yannick Croissant

The Nintendo Entertainment System also known as…

Family Computer by Eric I. E.

The Family Computer

You just need to download their emulator at the official vNES site which is made by Vampent. Or you can go directly to their vNes download page. Remember to choose the right version for your phone.

If you’ve got a Nokia s60v3 Nokia phone like the 5700, N73, N80, N91, N93, N95, E50, E60, E61, E71, etc.. then you just need to download the vNes Symbian s60v3 version.

If you’ve got a Nokia Series 60 phone like the 6600, 7610, NGage, 6630, 6680, 6681, 6670, N70, etc… then you just need to download the vNes Symbian version.

(You can view the supported handsets at their supported mobile models page for their official list)

These two NES emulators are free!

However, if your Nokia phone is not the series 60 or s60v3 version, or you don’t have a Nokia phone, then you need to download the vNes J2ME version which is not free.

Once you’ve downloaded the vNes installer for your phone, just transfer it to your memory card and install it from your phone or install it through the PC Suite software of your mobile (connecting it to your PC using the data cable and using PC Suite).

What about the Nintendo (NES) Games?

You can just Google or search for “NES roms” and I’m sure you would be able to find sites where you would be able to download NES games for your mobile. Once you’ve downloaded a game, (make sure it’s unzipped) just put or save it in a folder in your mobile, and load the game using vNes.

Before I download a game though, I make sure that I have a cartridge of that game still stashed in my collection. I make sure I don’t go against any property rights.

Now whenever I’m waiting for my girl, I know I can play some of the vintage Nintendo (NES) games in my mobile phone and not die of boredom even without a PSP.

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For most of us, the good old-fashioned way of spicing up the menus and interface of either our Sony Ericsson or Nokia phone is to download a “Theme” and installing it to our phone. But if you already have a smartphone like the P1i or the e61, downloading a theme just isn’t enough.

With the open source application named GDesk, you could fully customize the menu / interface of your Sony Ericsson (P1i, G900, etc.) or Nokia phone (e61, e71, etc.)

GDesk is an application that is installed in the phone to fully customize the look of your menu. It almost replaces your default menu style which is in your phone. I said “almost” because the default menu is still there and you can access it anytime if you want to. It also doesn’t just replace your menu; it also replaces the desktop or initial view of your phone.

Replace this normal look of our phone with GDesk..

Some examples of phones customized by GDesk can be found at the official GDesk website designs page. Fully customized right?

What phones can use GDesk?

Since GDesk is an application, it relies and only works on certain operating systems (OS) of mobile phones. Simply put, GDesk is for UIQ3 (mainly Sony Ericsson) and S60v3 (mainly Nokia) mobile phones only.

Here is a list of Sony Ericsson phones which I have tested supporting such OS and are thus compatible with GDesk.

Sony Ericsson – P1/P1i/P1c , M600/M600i/M608 , P990/P990i/P990c , W950/W950i/W950c , W960/W960i/W960c , G700, G900

Note that there are other phones out there with the UIQ3 platform like the Motorola Z8 and Motorola Z10 but I haven’t tested them personally. So if you have those kinds of phones and you’ve successfully installed GDesk on them just tell me, and I’ll include them in the list and quote you as the one who personally tested it.

The Nokia version of GDesk however, was just recently made as GDesk was originally for UIQ3 only. Examples of s60v3 handsets are the Nokia E61, E61i, and the E71. You may use this link to view all s60v3 mobile phones.

I had tested GDesk for s60v3 only on the Nokia E61, E61i, and the E71. I have not been able to test the s60v3 version of GDesk on the other handsets (too many of them!)

Note that since the s60v3 version of GDesk is “unsigned”, you have to make sure that before you install GDesk to your phone, that you set Software/Program Installation to “All” or “All Applications” and Online Cetificate Check to “Off”. Both can be found at the Application settings or Program Manager (usually located at Menu, Tools, Settings, Applications then Application Manager). If you don’t do the settings above, when you install GDesk, you’ll get a “Certificate Error” message and you won’t be able to install it.

If your phone doesn’t have this setting you’d need to have it Symbian signed.

(The UIQ3 version doesn’t seem to have this problem as I installed GDesk without any problems.)

UPDATE 3/4/2009: The certificate of GDesk 0.32a expired last 2/25/2009, so when you install GDesk, a certificate error would appear. For you to install it correctly, you need to set the date of your phone before 2/25/2009 (for example 1/5/2009). Once you’ve successfully installed GDesk, just set the date to the correct one.

You can download GDesk in the GDesk Versions page. Just click what type of version you would like to download. Just remember, pick the one that is for your type of phone (UIQ or s60).

You can install GDesk by either using the PC Suite software of your phone (connecting your phone via a USB cable and running PC Suite), or by transferring it to your memory card (transfer the GDesk installation file to your memory card and launch it from your file manager). You only need to install the GDesk core file to make GDesk work (ex. GDesk.0.32a.sis). The other plugins like GDesk Shortcuts and GDesk Taskman are optional only.

How to use GDesk

I’ll be showing you the basic methods on how to operate GDesk. Screenshots shown here are from the UIQ3 version and s60v3 version of GDesk.

After you install GDesk, launch the application. You should now be able to see something like this. 

UIQ	S60v3

By launching GDesk you now have what replaces your Desktop or Menu View. What you get initially is a blank desktop. You haven’t modified anything right?

Now let’s try to design the blank desktop or menu that we have. For the UIQ3 version, tap the background/screen (if you have a touch screen phone), or press the “Ok” button to bring up the menu. For the s60v3 version, press the right menu button (usually the button assigned as “back”) to bring up the menu.

UIQ	S60v3

Tap or use the keypads to choose “Design”. By choosing “Design” you are now in Design mode and again presented with a blank screen.

Just tap the screen again or press the “Ok” button on your keys (or press the right menu button for s60 version) to bring up the menu for the Design mode just like below.

UIQ	S60v3

If you choose “Set Desktop”, you will be presented with options on how to customize the look of your desktop. Here is where you can set an image as the background of your desktop or just set a plain color as your background.

UIQ	S60v3

Be careful though when you set an image as your background. It will display it in your background in its original size and pixels. If it’s too large, your phone won’t be able to display the whole picture and may even hang if the file size is really too big. So it is better that what you set in the background is more or less the same resolution displayed by your phone.

You may use the screenshots I displayed here as a guide when you want to make a background image as they are actual screenshots from a P1i and E71. They may look slightly larger than the screen of your phone but they actually are a perfect fit.

Now comes the bread and butter of GDesk, which is adding an application to the desktop. Go to “Add App”. 

UIQ	S60v3

When you choose “Add App”, you would be able to choose any application like the Call Log, the Camera, Calculator, Messaging, etc. When you choose an application, a shortcut to the application would automatically be placed in the desktop. When you exit design mode (which I will show you later) and click on the shortcut you made, the application would launch/open. So go ahead and add as many applications as you want.

Now by using “Add App” what you just have is the default icon. To replace this icon with an icon that you like, just select the icon and choose “Set Icon” 

UIQ	S60v3

When you choose “Set Icon”, your phone’s file manager would launch and you just need to choose a picture you would want as an icon for your application shortcut.

I’m pretty sure you don’t have any icons right now, so it’s better that you search Google for icons or icon packs as there are a lot of sites there offering them for free.

If for example you run out of space in your desktop and you’d still like to add other items or applications, you can add another page to the Desktop through the “Page” menu. This means that you now have another blank page to work on.

UIQ	S60v3

When you want to switch between pages and design that page, it is also done under the “Page” menu.

UIQ	S60v3

Now if you’ve designed 2 or more pages, you would need a way to switch between these pages when you’ve exited the Design mode. The “Add Other” menu provides a way to add a Page Link.

UIQ	S60v3

You can also add Control Panel shortcuts (which is not available in Add App) to the desktop through the Add Other menu. Note that you can also change the icons of Page Links and Control Panel shortcuts. Just select the shortcut and choose “Set Icon”.

UIQ	S60v3

Notice on my right screenshot that you can assign a shortcut for the Keylock? The Keylock shortcut is only available for the s60v3 version of GDesk and is not available for the UIQ3 version. However, UIQ3 phones usually have a keylock shortcut at their taskbar which is also easily accessible.

On the left screenshot, there is a GDesk Clock, GDesk TaskMan, and GDesk Shortcuts. When you install a GDesk plugin, it shows up in the “Add Other” menu.

Using Another Person’s Design

If you want to use another person’s design to fully customize the menu/interface of your phone you can do so by first downloading any of the designs in the GDesk Designs page. Once you download the design you want (which would have a file extension of .gdd) go to Design mode and choose “Load Design”.

UIQ	S60v3

Your file manager would then launch and you just need to find and then open whatever GDesk design you downloaded.

Note however that some of the designs there are phone specific. Some of the designs even have an application that you don’t have. So when you download a design, you would probably have to modify or edit it a little bit more.

Once you’re done designing, save your design (see the screenshot above on Loading a Design) and just click “Done” and you’ll be ready to use the design you made!

UIQ	S60v3

Now everytime you restart your phone, you just need to open GDesk to use the design you’ve made! It’s pretty easy actually and I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it once you play with it for a while. GDesk still has many features which I haven’t discussed here but I’m sure you will discover it as you use GDesk.

I hope I have helped you understand how to fully customize the menu / interface of your Sony Ericsson (p1i, g900, etc.) or Nokia phone (e61, e71, etc.) If you have any questions, comments, or reactions, please feel free to post it at the comment section below.

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