If you’ve been using a static wallpaper for your Windowsdesktop, you’re wasting valuable space that you could be using for eitherentertainment or productivity.
The Windows desktop is where you end up when you’ve closedall your windows, or when you’re using smaller Windows that don’t use up allyour desktop space.
So, why not take advantage of that space with LiveWallpapers that are beautiful, animated, and in many cases could even helpboost your productivity?
Have a look at these 7 live wallpapers and try a few out.Once you start using live wallpapers, you’ll never go back to a static oneagain.
The definition of a “live desktop” is a bit vague. Manysites offering free desktop wallpaper offer nothing more than a videobackground, or a desktop slideshow app.
There’s no need to waste your time installing a slideshowlive wallpaper when you have that feature baked right into Windows 10 already.
To enable a slideshow desktop:
You can also configure the slideshow to change at setintervals, shuffle the photos randomly, and how to place them on the desktop.
Load your vacation photos, beautiful scenery, or any otherimages of interests you have. Using a slideshow wallpaper ensures that you’llnever get bored with your desktop background.
If you’re looking for a highly functional live desktop, youcan’t do any better than Rainmeter. This app is famous for its customizabilityand the many widgets and features you can add.
It’s essentially a toolkit platform that lets you bringimportant information you’d like to see right onto your desktop. This might bea variety of stats about your computer system, social feeds, stock quotes, andmore.
It comes pre-packaged with a number of skins, or you candownload from thousands of other skins created by the massive Rainmeter usercommunity.
A “skin” in Rainmeter is actually a widget or group of widgets.When you find an interesting one to download, it’ll arrive as an .rmskin file.
To install and enable a new Rainmeter widget on yourdesktop:
You’ll see the new widget appear on your desktop.
In many cases, customizing these widgets may have a steep learningcurve. For example, in many cases to add an event to a calendar widget, youneed to edit an XML file to add those recurring events.
Despite the learning curve, Rainmeter widgets are beautiful,functional, and very useful.
Download Rainmeter
People buy fish aquariums because the slow-moving fish andthe gurgling sounds provides a calming environment to any room.
You can have the same thing on your Windows 10 desktop withthe Sim Aquarium 3 app (it’s actually an aquarium screensaver).
When you install the app, it’ll configure your screensaverto use the app. The screensaver isn’t just a small in-home aquarium. It’s morelike standing at a large window at an actual city Aquarium, including all thewater sounds that come along with that experience.
If you want to round out the theme, you could also downloadthe Fish and Corals wallpaper from the Microsoft store. This is a livewallpaper slideshow of real aquarium fish scenes.
Since the Sim Aquarium 3 app is free, expect to seeoccasional upgrade ads.
Download Fish and Corals and Download Sim Aquarium 3
On constant annoyance for Windows users is that it’sdifficult to keep documents, files and shortcuts organized on your desktop.
This is because these icons tend to reorganize themselveswhenever you reboot your computer.
Fences brings a whole new level or organization to yourWindows experience by letting you create boxes, or “fences” where you can groupall your important files and folders.
To customize Fences, just right click anywhere on yourdesktop and click Configure Fences.From there you can customize Fences in the following ways:
Keep in mind that Fences isn’t a free app. However, you cantry it for free for 30 days before deciding whether it will improve yourproductivity enough to justify the cost.
Download Fences
PUSH Video Wallpaper is one of those apps that you’ll onlyrealize how badly you needed it after you start using it.
It’s an impressive application that lets you set live videoas your desktop wallpaper. You can place your own video files (maybe from homevideo from your vacation trips, or landscape videos downloaded off the web)into the PUSH Video Wallpaper app, and then select it to display it as yourwallpaper.
Controls inside the app let you stop, pause, reverse orrewind the video. There are also sound controls to mute the video if you wantit to be silent.
The coolest feature of this app is the ability to streamYouTube videos directly to your video wallpaper. To do this:
It’s amazing how nice it is to have certain videos playingin the background as you’re working.
For example, add the URL link to the 7-hour scenic trainride from Bergen to Oslo (Norway), and play the soothing trip as your livewallpaper while you work.
Like Fences, PUSH Video Wallpaper isn’t free, but you cantry the trial version, so you know it works well on your system before you buy.It’s actually affordable, and one license lets you use the app on up to threecomputers.
Download Push Video Wallpaper
Remember how cool gadgets were in Windows 7? Well you canhave them again if you install Widgets HD from the Microsoft Store.
With this app you have a choice of roughly 20 gadgets youcan place onto your desktop. These include:
Unlike Rainmeter, the gadgets aren’t translucent, so theytend to cover up your wallpaper and if not placed carefully can make yourdesktop feel cluttered.
On the other hand, Widgets HD is far more user friendly thanRainmeter.
Download Widgets HD
Many Windows users go years before realizing that there’s avery useful Sticky Notes desktop feature built right into Windows 10.
To enable Sticky Notes, you need to enable Windows InkWorkspace.
Back in the early days of computers, users used to pastesticky notes all around the edge of their monitors. Many users still do this!
With the integrated Sticky Notes tool, you can attach thosesticky notes to your existing desktop and have them within reach at all times.