How to Pimp Your Windows XP Desktop to Look Like a Cool Mac Desktop

Steps

1. Remove all unused shortcuts and icons. Right click the desktop and go to "Arrange icons by" and uncheck "Show desktop icons". You should now have a completely clean desktop. Don’t be afraid. You can still access the My Computer, My Documents, and Recycle Bin from Windows Explorer.
   
   
2. Install RKLauncher. RKLauncher (also called RKDock) is a free Windows version of the animated Mac taskbar, or "dock". You can download it here. RKLauncher comes with a pretty cool theme. If you want to make your dock look exactly like a Mac though, try RealDock for RKLaucher, a great clone of the Mac Dock appearance. RKLauncher's official build hasn’t been updated lately, so if you would like something more up-to-date, grab a nightly build from Aqua-Soft. The farther down you go, the newer the build. Another good dock program is ObjectDock by Stardock, you can skin it to be anything you want and it does the animations and everything.
3. 
   
   Hide the taskbar. It doesn't make sense to have both RKDock and the Windows taskbar (unless you rely on the notification area a lot). Right click a blank space in RKDock, go to the settings tab, select behavior then on the box with check marks select “Hide the Windows Taskbar”, and hit OK. This makes the taskbar disappear. You can also just move the taskbar to the front of the screen.
4. 
   
   Add Widgets. Widgets are desktop toys to entertain and to inform. Think of them like things you’d put on a real desk: a picture frame, a newspaper to a dancing hula girl! But they’re on your PC desktop, not your real desk. You’ll get it once you see it. They could be a fun addition to your boring computer. Download free widgets from the Yahoo! Widgets page. You'll download a widget machine called Yahoo! Widget Engine, which comes with widgets like a picture frame, analog clock, calendar, and weather display. You can get more widgets like RSS news feeds and a dancing hula girl from the widgets gallery. Yahoo! has also released an engine that can help you make your own widgets and is available here. Kludget Engine is also an option for running widgets. It allows you to run Apple's Dashboard widgets on Windows and Linux. It is free and open sourced. Available here
5. 
   
   Get Safari for Windows Just get the new Safari 5, for Windows here, or get Firefox here.
6. 
   
   Change your wallpaper to look like Mac OS X Leopard or Snow Leopard. Or you can get a high resolution wallpaper here which won't make your computer mimic a mac desktop but will add a sense of style and a unique touch.
7. 
   
   Install Expose from docs.kr. With this program (screen shot shows the 'Windows Vista Flip' move) you can set your Windows to spread out at the stroke of a key! A free download!
8. 
   
   Get cdEjectLoad. This small application lets you eject or insert the cd/dvd tray with a push of a key, similar to the Mac feature (which uses the special Eject key of a Mac keyboard). It even has the same visual feedback as the Mac.
9. 
   
   Move your buttons. ShellWM is a “titlebar-only” shell replacer. It lets you have the maximize, minimize and close buttons on the left for free. You'll want to download this theme.
10. 
    
    Change your mouse pointers. For the full effect, download a new set of mouse pointers. Save these to your computer (preferably in C:\WINDOWS\Cursors). It may be a good idea to make a folder within this for easier setup.) To setup these cursors, choose Mouse from the Control Panel, click the Pointers tab, and set your new pointers appropriately. For a the best OS pointer, use FLyakiteOS. If you don't feel like changing cursors manually, you can install them all with a simple Mac OS X Mouse Cursors Installer
11. 
    
    Get KeyVolume: Adjust Volume with Visual Cue Quickly (Shortcuts) Try the app KeyVolume. This will allow you to adjust your volume with keyboard shortcuts. This app makes volume adjustments look just like on a Mac. If you don't have a keyboard with volume controls you should give it a try. The latest version lets you customize the hotkeys.
12. 
    
    Keep trying, tweaking and playing. Try customizing all of the applications you downloaded.
    
    

• If RKLauncher doesn’t work well, an alternative to try is RocketDock. Rocketdock is updated more often, and has more themes to choose from.
• You can also use the Mac OS X Install DVD
  
  
  • If you have a recent Mac OS X Install DVD (2005 and newer) that uses an x86 architecture, you can install OS X directly on your computer using InsanelyMac, which will circumvent the hardware detection used by the OS X install disc.
  • If you have an older Mac OS X Install DVD (2004 and older) that uses a PowerPC architecture, you can emulate PowerPC's architecture using PearPC. PearPC is a tool which will allow you to run Mac OS X in an x86 environment, without putting in any effort. The emulation method is much slower than the method using InsanelyMac above.
  • Do not resort to using OS X unless you are aware of the legal action Apple can take if they know you are using that software.
• Since installing Mac OS X on a PC is illegal, you could also try installing Linux (Ubuntu Linux is the most popular Linux out there) on your PC. Since Linux is fully customizable you can use this guide to make it look like OS X.
• For the simplest way, install this patch. It lets you access Windows XPs built in skinner. Then go to customize.org and download all the Window’s themes you want. This is a great Mac OS X style theme.
• If you have enough money, an easier way would always be just to buy your own Mac, of course.
  • If you want to bootscreen, sound scheme and whatever, you should try flyakite OS X.

Note

• Widgets could make your computer run slowly.
• Beware of legal issues with installing Mac OS X onto a computer for which is not licensed. Though it is not illegal, it is breaking the EULA.
• Some Mac OSX themes may be spyware or malware. Use caution when downloading.