Ken's Themes

updated 2002-03-23
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Ken's Themes

Themes is a cool program on Microsoft's Win95 Plus! pack. (With Win98 it's built into the Control Panel, but you have to have the version on the Win98 Plus! pack to make the colors work completely.) It lets you coordinate your computer desktop environment around a theme: The background image, the main desktop icons, the windows color scheme, the mouse pointers, the sounds, and sometimes even the screensaver, will all go together to give a distinct "feel" to your computer. For example, in the 60s theme that comes with Plus!, the background is a tie-dye, the colors are all purples and greens, the sounds are sitar, guitar, organ, etc. (It's very groovy.)

The program lets you put together your own themes, too, so a huge number of them have been created and distributed on the web. This page has my efforts. I hope you like them.

(Actually, there are also shareware and freeware themes programs available at Tucows, and a good free one called Desktop Architect, so really you don't even need Plus! to play along.)

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What else you need to use these themes:

Each theme is packaged as a zip file. You will need a zip program for Win95 or later, such as WinZip, to extract the theme component files. A ReadMe.txt is included in each zip file. Extract it first for complete installation instructions. (If you are using the WinZip Wizard, click the "View Zip Documentation" button.)

Each theme includes a screensaver (written by me) which requires the support file VB40032.DLL, which should be in your Windows or Windows/System folder. If you don't have that file, it's widely available on the net. Here are links to it at annoyances.org and tucows.com and offsitelabs.com and Microsoft. (At the Microsoft site, you want the version 4 file.)

Several of these themes use fonts which Microsoft added to Windows after Win95 came out. If you don't have fonts named Verdana and Copperplate Gothic, you can get them FREE from Microsoft's Font Pack page. (They come with an installation program.)

All these themes look best at high-color or better settings.

The background images should work at any resolution up to 1024 X 768. They will stretch to larger sizes, but it might not look so good. All the themes (except Tekno2) contain startup / shutdown screens. BAT files are included to install these screens, in case your themes program doesn't give you that option.

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the legal stuff:

All the icons, pointers, animations, backgrounds, startup / shutdown screens, sound files, color schemes, and screensavers in these themes are my own work.

Thus, all themes on this page are copyright by Ken Hinds. All rights reserved.

The zip files may be freely distributed so long as:
1) no component file is changed or deleted; and
2) no fee OF ANY KIND is charged (even for distribution media).

Individual pointers, sounds, screensavers, etc may NOT be distributed.

Not abiding by these restrictions will result in bad karma, at the very least.

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Much thanks to ThemeWorld and EZSkins for providing storage space for my themes!

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Newest themes at the top.

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846K

Download from:
site #1

The Wizard of Oz
Based on the book more than the movie.

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1.2M

Download from:
site #1

Check it out! This theme has been awarded the

Theme Doctors' Choice Award

The Psychedelic 60s
Microsoft's 60s theme is groovy, but here's my version.

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759K

Download from:
site #1

New Mexico (USA)
The Land of Enchantment

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990K

Download from:
site #1

Alice in Wonderland
Based on the fabulous book by Lewis Carroll.
(Especially the Queen's croquet game.)

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1050K

Download from:
site #1

Tekno3
My version of a techno music theme.

Fractal images generated with the great program Fractint.

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474K

Download from:
site #1

Check it out! This theme has been awarded the

Theme Doctors' Choice Award

Art Deco
Based on the art form popular in the 1920s - 1930s.

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946K

Download from:
site #1

Miles Davis
The jazz trumpeter

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737K

Download from:
site #1

Check it out! This theme has been awarded the

Theme Doctors' Choice Award

In the Remodeled Kitchen
(still my favorite)

(The background picture is the kitchen that my Dad built for my Mom.)

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659K

Download from:
site #1

Camping
For those of us who love the great outdoors

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948K

Download from:
site #1

Ireland
A green and pleasant land, indeed

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736K

Download from:
site #1

Check it out! This theme has been awarded the

Theme Doctors' Choice Award

Fruits-n-Veggies
Not for vegetarians only!

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1160K

Download from:
site #1

Tangerine Dream - Rubycon
A great electronic album from 1975

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799K

Download from:
site #1

Check it out! This theme has been awarded the

Theme Doctors' Choice Award

Tekno2
My earlier version of a techno music theme. The sounds and cursors are mostly the same as Tekno3, but everything else is different. It doesn't have startup / shutdown screens.

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more to come!

Theme I'm currently working on:
Frank Lloyd Wright -- Stained Glass
It's been a long time since I've updated this page because I've been sidetracked working on my genealogy. I will come back to do some more themes, but it'll be a while still.

Themes I'm vaguely thinking about doing:
Gentle Giant; Skydiving; Picasso; 1985; 30s Movies; Dali; Pogo; D僘 de los Muertos; Erte; San Diego; 1957; MG Midget; The Rite of Spring; King Crimson; Mexico; Duke Ellington; Medieval; Ansel Adams; Led Zeppelin; Mardi Gras; Pink Floyd; Space; Tidepools; Wildlife; Alice Through the Looking Glass; Aquarium

Suggestions welcomed, but no promises made.

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Links to more themes

<== the definitive source

The Theme Doctor
EZ Skins
Galt's Desktop Themes

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Theme Thieves and other scum

Sigh. My themes state clearly that you can't take pieces of them; you can distribute the zip file as is, but that's all. Despite this, there are some low-lifes out there stealing my cursors, sounds, etc and claiming them as their own or trying to make money off them.

There's a webpage called Chayne's Custom Themes. At least one of these so-called "custom" themes uses some of my work. The site owner has no intention of replacing it, and is annoyed that I should want credit for its creation. If you have anything created by raven@klondyke.net, you should know that parts of it may be other people's work, uncredited.

There's a CD called Themes98 that has at least one of my themes. They're making money off my work, but made no effort to get my permission, much less offer any recompense. Thievery, I call it.

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FREE Windows

E-mail Newsletter

has featured 3 of my themes.

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