The Original Desktop


When we say this is “the original desktop,” it’s not because it’s the first one, or because it’s totally unique, but because Flickr user Bassam Rajput has an inspiring wallpaper that encourages us to be original. The widgets and gadgets he has on his desktop, made with Samurize, Rainmeter and more, don’t hurt either. The whole package looks great.

If you want the same look for your Windows 7 desktop, here are the tools you’ll need:

  • The wallpaper from Wallbase.
  • The Samurize system monitoring and customisation engine for Windows.
  • The Equalizer Spectrum add-on for the equaliser across the bottom of the screen.
  • The Rainmeter system management and configuration tool for Windows for the weather, time, date, and clock widgets around the screen.
  • The Enigma skin for Rainmeter, which comes pre-installed.
  • The Glass2K utility for Windows to make all of the widgets and tools transparent.
  • Stardock’s Fences to keep desktop shortcuts organised and hidden.
  • RocketDock to replace the start menu with app shortcuts (currently hidden.)
  • Start Killer to remove the Start button from the taskbar.
  • MiniLyrics for the persistent player at the bottom of the screen and the scrolling lyrics next to the equaliser.

This one’s definitely a doozy, and takes a lot of utilities and applications running in the background to keep that look intact. Even if you don’t want the whole look for yourself, perhaps there are some elements that you’d like like to borrow for your own desktop.

To that end, if you need a little help with Rainmeter, check out our guide to getting started with it for some tips, or head over to Bassam’s Flickr page to ask him how he did it — he’s been responsive to requests. Don’t forget to let him know how much you like his work!


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