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I have used the Windows 8 consumer preview in my computer. In this version of Windows 8, I used the Metro UI menu and I liked it. It was great fun to change the color of background and the tiles to create various patterns. But I think that there should have been some option to insert the custom images in the Metro UI to make it look more beautiful. What do you people think about it?
I too liked the Metro UI in Windows 8 and I think that it is great. The options to change the colors is great and can be used to create various innovative patterns. But I too think that some option to have background image should have been there. It would have given various ways to make the Metro UI more interesting. For example, I was planning to make the gaps between the two tiles as the road and show cars and people from top, something like GTA 2. Maybe a Pac-Man like pattern too would have worked on this menu.
In the developer’s preview of the Windows 8, using the uxtheme.dll we would be able to change the background of the Metro UI, but it was not fun. I mean, many times it would happen successfully, sometimes it would not happen as we expected. But however we had fun modifying it. Let me tell you that other than developer’s preview, this method for editing the background of Metro UI didn’t work. I think the code for unlocking the UI of Metro in Windows 8 must be locked in certain way by Microsoft. After I get the final release version of Windows 8, I will work on this same file and find some way to get custom background in Metro UI of Windows 8.
When I saw this discussion about the changing background of Metro UI in Windows 8, I thought I too should share my idea. If anybody manages to break the code or maybe the lock on the uxtheme.dll file in Windows 8, I want someone to put a blank .png file without any background as image. I think that this will give an illusion of the tiles on Metro UI floating on the desktop. Also this .png picture could have some design patterns on background, like fire or water splashes which will give a cooler look to Windows 8.
Actually I too tried playing with the background of the Metro UI in developer’s preview of the Windows 8 and I think that changing the background of the Metro UI in this operating system will not be easy. The main Metro UI looks like one single frame, but if worked on it deeply you can tell that it is not a single frame but three different frames laid upon each other horizontally. The top and the bottom frame is easy to edit and can have a custom Image on it. But the centre frame is difficult to change. You cannot replace the original frame and thus it gives a weird effect. I think this is what it makes the background change in Metro UI difficult.
I hope that Microsoft will provide us with some patch or upgrade that will help us in editing the background of Metro UI. This will be really helpful and it will be downloaded by many people. If Microsoft cannot provide us then at least some third party developer should provide us with such an add-on. I hope someone breaks the lock or fixation placed over the middle frame. It would be great to have such a good add-on which would give us an extra option for beautification of Windows 8.
I don’t think that having an option to edit the background of the Metro UI in Windows 8 is practical. I mean it might be good for some people who are suggesting various innovative ways to utilize the modifiable background. But just imagine what most of the people will do with it. They will either put a picture of themselves or some landscape or some actor or sports personality. This will completely ruin the Metro UI and make it look ugly. So I think that default Metro UI is the best and it should be kept as it is without any changes brought into it. Also if the tiles do not match with the color of the background image then it will again look bad.
Windows 8 needs a large amount of resources to operate properly. It needs graphic to give the fancy features like the transparency, shine, blur and so on. The interface of this operating system is already so heavy that adding another fancy feature like background for Metro UI will add to this load. I think it will consume more resources which would become harmful for working of Windows 8 on low end computers. I don’t think that any such feature should be added to Windows 8 and it should be kept as it is.