In an ironic twist of fate for Microsoft, Vista’s biggest competition has turned out to be Windows XP itself. And with good reason. Many are just hesitant to upgrade. Some did upgrade and actually decided to downgrade (like myself). Either way, Windows XP is still super popular and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

However, Windows Vista does sport a new look and feel. Some of it is just eye candy, but some of it is useful. Either way, I definitely agree that Windows Vista looks better. When I downgraded back to XP, I did miss the Aero look. I did not miss the system load it took to run Aero, but I missed the visuals. So, I was interested to see how much I could make Windows XP look like Windows Vista. Here’s what I found.

Windows Themes

Windows XP is a “skinnable” operating system. This means that you can install themes which completely change the face of Windows. You can use the built-in theme capability of Windows or you can use one of the popular third-party utilities for skinning Windows. WindowsBlinds is one such utility from a company called Stardock. WindowsBlinds makes it possible to make all kinds of theme changes to Windows, but it will come with a performance overhead. StyleXP is another popular utility. Most Vista-ish themes for XP are going to be set up to require one of these two popular utilities. From there, you can look around to find a theme you like. This can include:

• DeviantArt. This site has a big library of user-created themes for Windows. VistaMax is one such theme from that site. You might also like Razor Vista.
• VistaStyles. This is a site dedicated to Vista-ish themes for XP.
• ThemesXP

Just keep in mind that no theme for XP is going to match the Aero interface of Vista. You just can’t artificially recreate Aero without running Aero itself. But some of these themes can get close.

Enhanced Alt-Tab

One of the things I liked about Vista is that when I switch between open applications using ALT-TAB, I would get a visual preview of the window rather than just the icon. Well, you can get this in XP by using a free Powertoy by Microsoft. Head on over and get the Alt-Tab Replacement Powertoy from Microsoft. It gives you the window preview in ALT-TAB, although it still looks different than Vista.

Visual Task Tips

Another thing I like about Aero is how you get a preview of the open application when I hover over it in the Windows taskbar. In order to get this into XP, I used the Visual Task Tips utility for XP. For me this is actually working quite well. And you can get it to start up with Windows so that it acts as a normal feature. The footprint in system resources is also nothing to be alarmed at, especially when you compare it to the impact of running actual Aero.

Desktop Search

Windows Vista does have a desktop search function built in. It is embedded right into the start menu, in fact. I found this convenient for quickly starting applications that were not on my list of most common titles. If I needed to quickly start a program that was in my start menu but not listed as a commonly used application, I could simply start typing it’s name in the search box. It would then appear. Press Enter and it launches. Desktop search can also be useful for finding other things as well. The good thing is that Vista is certainly not introducing anything new to Vista with this one. Desktop search is easy to get into XP, and the third-party alternatives arguably work better anyway. Here are a few you might want to check out:

• Copernic Desktop Search
• Google Desktop. This is the one I am using.
• Launchy

Desktop Design

The icons on the Windows Vista desktop look larger. But, the application icons are not any different. They are simply the same icons, spaced a little further apart, and sized up. You can produce the same effect in Windows XP. Here’s how:

1. Right click on your desktop and select Properties.
2. Go to the Appearance tab.
3. Hit the Effects button.
4. Check off “Use large icons” and press OK.
5. Click Advanced.
6. Choose “Icon Spacing (Horizontal)” and set the value to 56. You can set this higher if you want. Do the same thing for “Icon Spacing (Vertical)”. Press OK.
7. Press OK on the main Display Properties box.
8. Windows will pause a moment and then reappear with your new settings active.

Desktop Sidebar

Vista comes with a desktop sidebar where you can put “widgets” like a clock, calendar, news feeds, etc. Personally, I thought it was useless and I turned it off. But, if you like it, you can get one in XP as well. Desktop Sidebar is a utility you can set up that gives you the same thing in XP. Also, the Google Desktop (linked above) also gives you a sidebar if you wish to enable it.

3D Desktop (Beryl for Windows?)

This one is more of a bonus for you. Vista does not have any 3D desktop feature within (unless you consider Flip3D something worth having). This is more like Beryl, which unfortunately is only available in Linux. But, a Beryl-ish option for Windows would be Deskspace, by Otuku Software. It does not operate as slick as Beryl, but it is a start. For me, Deskspace was a little sluggish. But, I have 3 monitors. If you have only one, you can give it a try and see how it performs. You can always uninstall it if you don’t like it.

The Best of Vista

There you have it. This gives you the highlights of Aero for Vista, but without the overhead of running Vista itself. Obviously there is simply no way to duplicate Aero inside of XP. No matter what themes and add-ons you install, it will not clone Aero. For me, though, I would sacrifice a few pretty buttons for an operating systems that works the way I expect it to. I leave that choice to you, though.