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Windows Experience Pack

Jan. 25, 2010 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Microsoft recently delivered the Windows Experience Pack, a free download for users of Windows 7 and Windows Live Messenger:

Customize Windows 7 and Windows Live Messenger -- for free.

Take a journey to the beach, escape to the mountains, explore the city, or go on a safari -- while never leaving your PC. Create your own avatar for your Windows 7-powered desktop, then share it with your friends on Windows Live Messenger. Choose your destination to personalize your PC experience.

Included for Windows 7

Get a Windows 7 theme including a desktop background featuring your avatar and a screensaver.

Included for Windows Live Messenger

Get a Windows Live Messenger personalization pack with display pictures, emoticons, and more.

OK, so this is sort of lame. OK, it's really lame. But if you do install this, beware the borderline-dubious installer, which attempts to make Bing your default search engine and MSN your homepage.

Discuss this Article 8

redunion1940
on Jan 25, 2010
Hey Bing is a great search engine, as for the MSN thing yeah watch it if you have some other news pages as your home page.
EricoF3
on Jan 25, 2010
Bing is the best search engine and Map site and translation site!!
panache1023
on Jan 25, 2010
EricoF3, I can claim, from experience, that Bing is *NOT* the best map site....I happen to like Bing maps and I have had problems with Google maps, however..... This past weekend I did a little experiment. I put the same address into Google Maps and Bing Maps...Google nailed the location, Bing was off by about two blocks. Had I trusted Bing maps, I would have driven right past the restaurant I was looking for.
roteague
on Jan 25, 2010
Agree with the sentiments about changing the users search engine and homepage. While I use Bing as my primary search engine (and homepage), many people will simply click through without realizing it.
techman.merb
on Jan 25, 2010
Big deal. It's no different than Adobe trying to install the Google toolbar or every web browser that tries to set itself as the default browser when you install it. I don't consider MS to borderline dubious for doing what every other company does as default behaviour. That being said, this whole Experience Pack is fun for newbs and kids, but not very useful for any power user. Just like the personas thing in Firefox which is no different than Hotbar from more than 10 years ago.
Waethorn
on Jan 25, 2010
"It's no different than Adobe trying to install the Google toolbar or every web browser that tries to set itself as the default browser when you install it." And why should I have to use Google with Opera Mobile, or Netfront on the PS3 and PSP? I can't even change the damn thing. Where is the antitrust suit against those software devs for forcing the market leader, Google, onto screens with anticompetitive behaviours?
robertsjoe
on Jan 25, 2010
Microsoft is really quite boring, isn't it? A pathetic demo at CES from Ballmer and the rest of the company. And the only interesting things to post about are just a whole lot of nothing. Thank God great companies like Apple and Google are out there innovating.
jecouch66
on Jan 25, 2010
I don't care how good Bing is...there should be no attempt to change my search engine. I'm quite capable of choosing that myself. I hate programs that offer to change my defaults. Grr.

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