Windows XP Plus!

It is October 2002, and I just installed Windows XP Plus! Pack on my computer.

I had got the CD with the desktop’s purchase from HCL. “It’s just themes and screensavers,” they say. But they don’t understand. Windows XP Plus! is not just themes and screensavers.

The Aquarium screensaver alone is worth it. Real fish swimming across the screen. My sister stops by my room just to watch the angelfish and clownfish. The bubbles rise so smoothly. I leave it running even when I’m not using the computer.

Then there’s the Space theme. The blue default Luna theme is nice, but Space makes everything look like you’re working inside a shiny box. Dark blues and silvers everywhere. Very scifi. I keep switching between Space and the default theme. Can’t decide which one I like more.

The Desktop Themes include sounds too. Every click, every window opening, has its own sound effect. My father complains about the noise when he’s trying to read the newspaper. I turn down the volume but keep the themes active.

Plus! also came with some games. 3D Pinball was already in Windows XP, but now there’s HyperBowl and a few other games I haven’t tried yet. The graphics are much better than the old Windows 98 games.

But here’s the thing nobody talks about - the CD has utilities too. A Personal DJ feature that creates playlists based on your mood. I tried it once with my Winamp collection. Didn’t work as well as I hoped, but it’s a nice idea. Maybe because I dont have so much music.

The screensavers use so much RAM though. 128 MB DDR RAM is not enough when the Aquarium is running and you want to quickly alt-tab back to do something.