As Windows users anxiously await the release of Vista, there have been two new themes released for XP that can help to jazz up your desktop. I got both of these themes from notstatic.com which is run by a designer who works for Microsoft. The first theme is called Royale Noir and is an unofficial theme that people within Microsoft have been using for quite some time. This is a nice looking blue/black glass theme. The other theme is an official one created for the release of the Zune media player. This theme is called, not surprisingly, the Zune theme. The Zune theme is the one pictured below.
Gotta love themes!
Lee
Aren’t these two themes just one theme. The Royal Noir was the name for the theme while in development and testing. Then it became Zune when officially released.
Not a problem – but just to let you know they are one in the same!
I have Royale Noir theme
Now I will install the other two
Thanks!
Paul
Thats great, I wish they would have done this all years ago. They had a great market for it, they just didn’t take advantage of it the way they could have. They had that ridiculously stupid Windows Media Pack or whatever it was called., but it was outrageously expensive compared to the things you could have gotten for free on like wincustomize.com or something.
Nice themes, thanks for sharing Lee.
But what are those little arrows next to fe the flash, photoshop icons? How did you do that? Looks quit handy?
The Zune theme is a little different. It uses the orange “Start” menu button for instance. But they are quite similar yes.
Bart, those arrows are from a program called True Launch Bar which allow you to have custom menus in the Quick Launch Bar.
Thanks for sharing Lee.
thanks you.
You are the man Lee.
Gaurav
Thanks Lee! Nice themes
I looked up true launch and you’re right looks extremely handy. But, it costs you $20. :’( http://www.truelaunchbar.com/
i like it super
Well, i clicked that “download now” button on their site, and i got an virus message from antivir :s So i’m not sure if i should install / buy it..
Still loving the royal noir theme btw, my dad even asked me “where i got that cool looking taskbar”
Hey, Lee, an off-topic idea: when you’re done making the MP3 player with flash, you can make the window transparent with zinc:
http://www.multidmedia.com/software/zinc/ (trial is free for personal use, and the limitations are that it’s watermarked)
and then you will have a custom flash media player at your disposal. I reccomend giving it a shot. ^_^
Oh, and thanks for this. Ive been scattering all over the web for a silver royale theme(the real one is blue) but once I saw the zune picture on this blog, I almost fell of my chair (zune looks just like royale, only black), black always beats silver. ^_^
I stumbled upon a very weird problem with the royal noir theme thou
Ever since I installed that, my pc crashes after +- 5 minutes. First i thought it was virus-related etc but after scanning the problem was still there.
Then i changed the theme back to my old one (windows classic) and tadaa problems are fixed. Very very strange. Is there someone else having problems?
Hi! These themes rock!
I have a kind of off topic question about the image you have posted on the theme: in the quick launch the little arrows (pointing down) next to the flash icon, the adobe photoshop icon, ect… i know these are folders, and when you click on them a menu will come up out of them (I have seen this somewhere else), i have been trying to do this for a long(!!!) time, but can’t find out how… Can you tell me how you did it?
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~~-Thanks in Adavance-~~
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Royal Noir is not the same as Zune – and I much prefer Zune.
Cool! An ACCEPTABLE looking theme for WinXP comes from Microsoft … five years too late!
nice,thanks for your help
Shouldnt the Zune theme be dookie brown? :p
Nice themes, I’m so sick of the Lt.Green, Bright Blue, Silver default themes.
Look in the Zune Theme screenshot near Lee’s display picture, in start menu, there is a pink point in the upper left corner, like graphic garbage:
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/6397/fixdu6.png
*After and before
Fixed file:
http://rapidshare.com/files/2432455/ZuneDesktopTheme.rar
have you found an msi installer for royale noir, screwed up my file extentions for msstyles so I cannot install it, I have tried for quite a while
never mind i fixed it, just typed ‘assoc.msstyles=msstylesfile’ in command prompt
I love these themes thier the best
Thanx to share this very nice themes
once again thanx a lot
I am looking for making mp3 player in flash
someone helps me about this…
From what I have read about these themes it seems that the Royale Noir theme is a black version of the Royale theme that is standard in Windows XP Media Centre Edition. MS developed both the black and the blue versions but went for the blue, which is why the Noir is considered by some to be ‘unfinished’. It still uses some standard XP theme colours on some areas (like the start button). The Zune theme however is a completely seperate and newer theme designed to promote the Zune media player.
Nice!
Thank you!
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Be cool…
Hey Nice Work!
Thank you!!!
Its very cool!!!!!!AND THATS RIGHT
Great theme, classy !!
Nice work !
peter
Great theme!
Thanq!
hey those are really nice themes!!!
how do i download it?
thank you very muchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I want this there. tel me how can i download it. i am waiting your reply.
i like this theme it was good but start menus coloyr was not good
i want this theme but how will i down load this. please tell me now
THANKS FOR THEME
very good
I love this theme.
thanks.
awesome Lee..
thank you very much ..nice theme!
yay! I like this theme, thanks!
Thankyou thankyou thankyou, I found this quite by accident. Hated the looks of my old 3 colour, olive, silver and blue xp- with all the other modifications I had to it it was tacky. I was hesitant about 3rd party software ie) vista transformations and even more resistant to moving to vista. Why in the world would there not be a million xp themes on the internet I wonder?? But I came across the zune, which fits nicely with my desktop- mozilla, pictlens, cooliris, object dock (replica mac launcher). And I can see using my Dell 9100 pc for another few years on looks alone.
Hey .. do something for girls … the pink theme .. or purple theme please … cause i already have black .. and i want them pink please can you made for me … if you do email me tiziana_luv_claudio69@hotmail.com 10q
i agree with Tiziana, I really hope for a pink theme, Maybe one of these days! Themes really inspire me a lot on doing computer works! Hope you can help me! please email me also as soon as you release the pink theme. Thanks a lot!
erm were do u download it plz reply FAST
I have been looking for a good program to personlise my desk top. i was looking at windows blinds but dont wanna be disopointed after paying the cash! Does anyon have any suggestions, It would help alot
thankssssssssssss
thanks for this theme i was waiting for this tppe of theme which gives look like windowsvista