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Customize the Start screen in Windows 8 with Decor8

I've been using Windows 8 for some time now, and there has been one thing I wanted to change but couldn't. It's the limited choice of colors and images you could use on the Start screen. Come to find out, the folks over at Stardock have a great product called Decor8 that does just that.

The background settings inside of Decor8
The background settings inside of Decor8

With Decor8, you can change everything on the Start screen. You can use your images for the background and adjust all of the colors: background, accent, standard tile, and text. You can even change the color of the Charms bar with Decor8.

The color settings inside of Decor8
The color settings inside of Decor8

Decor8 also has some cool background effects too: fade, blur, color, and contrast. You can change how the parallax scrolling (where the background scrolls, but slower than tiles) works. You can even create a custom color scheme from the background image. Here's a quote from Stardock's website.

What is Decor8?

Windows 8 limits your start screen customization options to only a few provided background images and a few pre-defined color schemes. Decor8 removes these limitations and provides the freedom to personalize your start screen with your own images and colors.

    Background Images
  • Choose from more background images to personalize your start screen
  • Add your own photos and images
  • Select multiple images to create a custom slideshow
  • Randomize background images in timed intervals for a fresh look
  • Apply effects to scroll, fade, blur, recolor and add contrast to your background images
  • Choose your own image for your lock screen background
    Color Schemes
  • Decor8 will automatically create a color scheme to match each of your background images
  • Or you can customize the color scheme, it's up to you. Custom color schemes can also be applied to your charms bar
  • Choose one of the standard Windows color schemes Create, save and apply your own color scheme
    Customization
  • Control how many rows of tiles are available on your start screen

Decor8 comes from Stardock, makers of ModernMix, and is only $4.99. I found it to be well worth the $5 bucks. For more information on Decor8, follow the link below.

Decor8 - Personalize the Windows 8 Start screen with Decor8

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