VistaMizer, Turn Windows XP into a Vista Copycat

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 27 Feb 2009

Following the news that Microsoft has already released Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate (Vista SP2 RC) for TechNet and MSDN subscribers, I would like to address the visual needs of all the people that decided not to switch to Vista and stuck with the XP operating system. With VistaMizer, a piece of software that comes free of cost, you can tweak and customize the way your OS looks so that it faithfully (more or less) copies Windows Vista.

More than 380 files in your Windows XP operating system will be modified via VistaMizer. These files contain icons, images and videos; the one thing that is not modified is the language of the operating system. You do not have to modify every little bit and piece of the OS in order to make it a Vista copycat, you get to choose which changes will be applied and which will not.

If the user chooses to apply changes that could potentially cause the operating system to become unstable, VistaMizer will automatically jump them.

To my mind, any user that wants to get the eye candy featured in Vista (3D effects, transparency, shiny icons, and so on) but would rather not abandon XP just yet, is very well advised to get VistaMizer. It will make the transition from XP to Vista and in the future to Windows 7 a bit easier, at least from a visual point of view if not from a functionality one. Alternatively you might want to turn your XP OS into a Windows 7 lookalike with Seven Remix; you could also customize how your OS looks with WinBubble and WindowBlinds.

Speaking of functionality, just because you are using XP does not mean you cannot enjoy some of the functionality featured in Vista or Windows 7. Try out the Windows System Assessment Tool and exFAT file system.

If you would like to get VistaMizer, a download location is available here.


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