Windows 10 vs. Windows 7 Visuals

i never was a super big fan of the windows 10 layout and appearance, as i think it feels pretty lifeless and corporate, so i looked for a way to potentially add some flavor to my desktop i originally settled for windowsblinds11, retrobar, and countless other applications but its a bit of a pain to keep up with them all especially if something breaks and i have to troubleshoot, which is why i dove into transformation packs

Revert8Plus vs. Windows 10to7

i have two computers, my personal and my "backup/portable" computer. my personal computer is running the latest version of revert8plus (full installation) and has been going extremely strong. i was very impressed by the simplistic installation and its compatibility with most windows updates. not to mention nothing seems to be a paid or subscription service for any of it to function, unlike others i will talk about. the only complaint i have is some things i had to edit myself, mostly being the cursor but that was about it. so far it has run exceptionally well, even having a functional windows 7 login screen and shutdown, with rare issues such as lagging/shutting down. i would highly recommend for anyone who wants a safe and easy way to modify your computer while having it easily reversible. on my other computer, i decided to go with the windows 10to7 transformation pack that can be found on deviant art, as i was willing to work with the risks of any issues on this computer. 10to7 shares a very similar instillation process, albeit more customizable, but does take an exceptionally longer time and multiple restarts to function. one thing that is in stark contrast to revert8plus is 10to7 uses startisback, which is a paid software but offers a 30 day free trial. i have not looked too much into the details of startisback, but according to a few forums, its not very expensive and something i may look into. 10to7 is by far more detailed especially with the applications it comes with, compared to revert8plus. the only issue is, some of those features are purely cosmetic and do not have completed functions, which is fine. another large change i appreciate is the branding, as everything is changed to whichever windows 7 version you select, a change i greatly appreciate. there were some issues on the first startup, mostly being command prompts appearing during the windows 7 login (something that is warned in the installation) but is still completely functional and does not ruin the experience too much. i would say though that many of the changes 10t7 has that are different are more minor, but can still be appreciated to increase the "true look" of windows 7. personally, i think either are good, but i will have to pick revert8plus due to it being free, but 10to7 is working on an openshell alternative i believe.

Windows 7 Themed Applications

i also took the liberty to customize things like browsers and apps i frequently use, such as firefox, discord, and steam on my personal computer i use rinfox, a theme for an older version of firefox that replicates windows 7/8. i originally used operagx, but wanted a reason to switch, so i went to firefox. rinfox is very visually appealing, if you can get it to work. on my personal computer it ran fine and is extremely convincing, but on my portable computer its almost as if some features are completely different. for example, on my personal computer, i am able to remove my "firefox extensions" panel, but on my portable computer, i cant. i am also missing the help icon and a few others despite multiple reinstalls. another major issue is on my personal computer i was able to use resourcehacker to change icons and branding, but on my portable computer the files would not update and would corrupt the exe. these most likely are issues with my portable computer, as it is older (came originally packaged with windows 7 home) but i was unable to replicate a worthy internet explorer for my portable computer using rinfox. i eventually went to pale moon, a modified version of firefox, used their default theme, re-arranged the toolbar, and followed the same process of using resourcehacker to change icons and branding and it worked out perfectly. its not ideal, but i am satisfied enough with the results. regarding discord, i downloaded aerochat, a custom client for discord meant to replicate windows live messenger. both my computers use this and i highly recommend it for something to use when calling or sending pictures isnt a need at the moment. there are many features that arent present or working, but considering how visually close it is, i give it heavy praise for the effort put in and cant wait to see it more fleshed out hopefully in the future. regarding steam, on my personal computer i use millennium and the "oldsteam" theme to bring back the old green look, but on my portable computer, pale moon was unable to load the website properly and using chrome was causing an infinite "install" issue for the theme so i had to pass. hopefully i can find a workaround or fix the issue sometime.

My Final Thoughts

i plan to further flesh out both of my computers the more i find and the more i learn, as it has become a new hobby of mine to do stuff like this and research about older computers. im not really a coder or into it to begin with, but i do enjoy learning about the older systems themselves and how they compare to modern systems like windows 10/11. if you have any thoughts or questions feel free to let me know!