Windows 95 Microsoft Plus! Desktop Themes

Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 introduced the Desktop Themes feature, allowing users to completely overhaul their operating system's visual and audio aesthetic. This article outlines the custom themes included in the original retail release of the companion pack, detailing how each unique theme bundled coordinated wallpapers, sound effects, mouse pointers, icons, color schemes, and screensavers to personalize the personal computing experience.

Included Themes in Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95

The package featured thematic collections covering science, nature, history, and pop culture:

  • Dangerous Creatures: Designed to tie into Microsoft's multimedia CD-ROM of the same name, this theme featured predatory animals, wild ambient noises, and wildlife imagery.
  • Inside your Computer: A tech-centric aesthetic that transformed the desktop into the interior of a PC, featuring circuit boards, microchips, and synthesized electronic system sounds.
  • Jungle: Focused on deep rainforest environments, incorporating lush foliage backgrounds, exotic animal icons, and ambient bird and wildlife calls for system alerts.
  • Leonardo da Vinci: Styled around the Renaissance polymath's notebooks, this theme used parchment-textured backgrounds, classical sketch icons, and period-inspired acoustic cues.
  • More Windows: A self-referential theme celebrating graphical computing, featuring clean blue palettes and modern geometric icons.
  • Mystery: A gothic, haunted motif complete with creaking door sound effects, spooky ambient audio, cobwebs, and gargoyle icons.
  • Nature: A tranquil outdoor theme utilizing forest scenery, soft earthy color palettes, and birdsong for common Windows events.
  • Science: Centered on laboratory research, showcasing physics formulas, beakers, schematics, and mechanical audio effects.
  • Space: A cosmic theme incorporating astronomical photography, planets, rockets, and futuristic audio chirps.
  • Sports: Aimed at athletics enthusiasts, incorporating baseballs, basketballs, stadium crowd cheers, and referee whistle sound effects.
  • The 60's USA: A retro, counter-culture theme filled with psychedelic color schemes, peace signs, tie-dye textures, and period-appropriate sound bites.
  • The Golden Era: A tribute to the 1920s through the 1940s, utilizing art deco designs, vintage automobiles, gramophone icons, and jazz-era musical cues.
  • Travel: Geared toward global exploration, containing world maps, passports, planes, and transit-themed UI elements.
  • Underwater: An oceanic theme featuring marine life, coral reef wallpapers, animated fish cursors, and bubbling water audio clips.

Components of the Desktop Themes

Each theme within the Microsoft Plus! pack was a coordinated package that modified several system components simultaneously:

  • Desktop Wallpapers: High-color 256-color or 16-bit BMP images scaled for 640x480 or 800x600 resolutions.
  • System Icons: Custom replacements for standard desktop items such as "My Computer," "Recycle Bin," and "Network Neighborhood."
  • Mouse Cursors: Static and animated cursors (.ani) customized to match the chosen motif.
  • Sound Schemes: High-quality WAV audio files mapped to common Windows events, such as starting Windows, errors, question prompts, and emptying the Recycle Bin.
  • Screen Savers: Dynamic 3D or animated savers matching the visual narrative of the selected theme.
  • Window Metrics and Color Palettes: Coordinated title bar colors, highlight shades, and font choices to ensure the entire operating system interface matched the selected subject matter.