PC World - Make your Windows 7 PC a window into the future--without compromising its actual function--with these science fiction themepacks. Whether you want cyberpunk or Cylons, dreamscapes or dystopias, Time Lords or tyrannical computers, you can immerse yourself in these images and sounds. We've combed through decades of sci-fi favorites from the silver screen and the small screen for these Windows 7 themes, and we've even tossed in a few fonts that sparked our imaginations. Each of these downloads is free.
(For links to all of the downloads in one convenient list, see our Electrify Your Windows 7 Desktop with Free Sci-Fi Themepacks and Fonts collection.)
In a genre built on imagination, re-imaginings sometimes are better than the original. Although some have fond memories of the 1978 and 1980 seasons of the first Battlestar Galactica, Sci-Fi Channel's 2003 miniseries earned wider acclaim. Edgy, timely, and drop-dead gorgeous, the relaunch of BSG inspired business tips, games, a geek dating site, and the Battlestar Galactica Theme for Windows 7. Full of artistic wallpapers--and a few wry touches--this themepack will appeal to BSG fans.
Time-traveling, space-jumping TV show Doctor Who quickly found an audience when it made its debut on the BBC in 1963. Its popularity has continued, spanning over thirty seasons (albeit with some long interruptions). Eleven different actors have made their own interpretations of the regenerating Time Lord known as the Doctor. PCWorld's Doctor Who Windows 7 Theme showcases each of the Doctors, from the days of grainy black-and-white to the special-effects saturation of the present season. Fans will recognize many of this theme's sounds, too. The Orbitron font pairs well with the aesthetic of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors' era; more obviously, it tips a hat to gleaming virtual reality adventure Tron, which IMDB dubs the second-most popular movie of 1982.
IMDB names Ridley Scott's cyberpunk thriller Blade Runner as 1982's most popular film. PCWorld's Blade Runner Movie Windows 7 Theme pays homage to the movie's uncanny mix of neon and noir. The DNA-like helixes of the graceful, unsettling, chaos-inspired Tangle font might please Blade Runner's runaway replicants, androids who can also be described as graceful and unsettling.
One of the most influential science fiction films of all time, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is full of indelible moments. Many of them have to do with HAL 9000, the Discovery One's on-board computer. And many of those are featured in the HAL 9000 Windows 7 Theme. Don't worry about spoilers; the only wallpaper is HAL's glowing red camera lens, and the soundbites are already stuff of legend.
2001: A Space Odyssey's sequel 2010 didn't get much respect, but science-fiction heist flick Inception was one of the most-talked-about movies of the real 2010. The Inception Windows 7 Movie Theme shows images of the characters in the movie's off-kilter, often gravity-defying, dream settings. On the face of it, Inception may seem the least tech-heavy of these science-fiction opuses. But PCWorld readers, tell us: Does technology fill your dreams?
Free Insider GuideCopyright © 1994 - 2012 Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited. Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are trademarks of International Data Group Inc.
