Interestingly, Microsoft and most of the popular Linux distributions have taken a very different approach to Artwork. I don’t intend to state an opinion. Instead, this is simply to point out and compare the two styles. I am using Ubuntu 8.04 and Windows 7, since they each stand out as excellent in their own style. If you don’t like either one’s artwork, refrain from voicing your opinion and focus on the difference, not the art.

Ubuntu 8.04

Ubuntu 8.04, while not the current Ubuntu release, featured a wallpaper that was very artistic and impressive to most people. The yellow and red heron was complemented by the simple brown background. This color scheme was supported by Ubuntu’s “Human” theme. Whatever you think of the art, this created a very consistent theme that fits across the entire desktop.

What this theme does not do, however, is allow for any wallpaper to be substituted in. The brown theme is unique to Ubuntu and rarely fits with wallpapers or other elements that were not designed for it. This means that, unless you decide to replace everything, you are pretty much stuck with one look.

(Screenshot by Florian. Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 2.0.)

Windows 7

Windows 7, and most Windows versions, takes a very different approach. All of the theming is almost completely neutral. Clear with a slight tinge of black is just about as neutral as you can get. Plus, you can change the tint color to match any color scheme. Instead of having two wallpaper options like Ubuntu, Windows 7 has many, many choices, almost all of which are just nice photos.

This set up allows the user to pick almost any background and simply supports it with neutral theming around the windows. This means that, for the options the user is allowed to change (without special software), there are almost no restrictions.

(Screenshot by oO XP3ctr0 PhotosOo. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.)

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