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Computer wallpaper
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The terms wallpaper, desktop picture and desktop background refer to an image used as a background on a computer screen, usually for the desktop of a graphical user interface. "Wallpaper" is the term used in Microsoft Windows before Windows 7 (where it is called the Desktop "Background"), while Mac OS X calls it a "desktop picture" (previously, the term desktop pattern was used to refer to a small pattern that was repeated to fill the screen).
es used as computer wallpaper are usually raster graphics with the same size as the display resolution (for example 1024×768 pixels, or 1280×1024 pixels) in order to fill the whole background.
screen resolutions are proportional in a 4:3 ratio, so an image scaled to fit in a different-sized screen will still be the correct shape, although that scaling may impact quality.
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Encyclopedia
The terms wallpaper, desktop picture and desktop background refer to an image used as a background on a computer screen, usually for the desktop of a graphical user interface. "Wallpaper" is the term used in Microsoft Windows before Windows 7 (where it is called the Desktop "Background"), while Mac OS X calls it a "desktop picture" (previously, the term desktop pattern was used to refer to a small pattern that was repeated to fill the screen).
Formats
Images used as computer wallpaper are usually raster graphics with the same size as the display resolution (for example 1024×768 pixels, or 1280×1024 pixels) in order to fill the whole background.
Dimensions
Many screen resolutions are proportional in a 4:3 ratio, so an image scaled to fit in a different-sized screen will still be the correct shape, although that scaling may impact quality. Common wallpaper resolutions are 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 and 1600x1200.
Users with widescreen (16:9 or 16:10) monitors have different aspect ratio requirements for wallpaper, although images designed for standard (4:3) monitors can often be scaled or cropped to the correct shape without undue loss of quality.
Wallpapers are sometimes available in double-width versions (e.g. 2560×1024) for displaying on multi-monitor computers, where the image appears to fill two monitors.
Some display systems allow unconventionally-proportioned images (1:1, 2:1, or even 1:3) to be scaled without change of proportion, to fit the screen, whether it be 16:9 or 4:3. The image would be sized just large enough that one pair of edges touch the edges of the screen, but not all four, as this would unduly distort the image. In these cases, the system's "default" background color is visible around the other two sides of the image.
Another common option, particularly for images much smaller than the resolution of the display, is having the image displayed multiple times like a series of tiles. This avoids the distortion of scaling.
Image types
PNG and JPEG format are common. Some desktop systems, such as Mac OS (version 8.6 or later), KDE (version 3.4 or later), and GNOME, support vector wallpapers (PICT in Mac and SVG in KDE and GNOME). This has the advantage that a single file may be used for screens of any size, or stretched across several screens, without loss of quality.
Most display systems are capable of specifying a single colour to use as the background in place of a wallpaper, and some (such as KDE or GNOME) allow colour-gradients to be specified. Early versions of Mac OS and Microsoft Windows allowed for small repeating patterns to tile the desktop.
History
The first use of a distinguishable background in conjunction with overlapping windows was in an experimental office system, Officetalk, developed in 1975 at Xerox PARC on the Alto. Prior to that, the white backgrounds to overlapping windows (for example, in Smalltalk) could be difficult to distinguish from window interiors. The pattern used in Officetalk produced a 25% gray, using dots two pixels high to avoid flicker on the Alto's interlaced screen. The same pattern was adopted for the Xerox Star.
Apple used a similar gray background for their Lisa and Macintosh. However, since these machines had non-interlaced screens it was possible to use a less noticeable background pattern, formed from a simple 2x2 repeating pattern that gave a 50 percent gray. The introduction of color monitors for personal computers led to non-patterned, single-color backgrounds and then to arbitrary 'wallpapers'.
Styles
In Personal Use
Wallpapers used usually fall into one of the following categories: automobiles, models and celebrities, scenery, abstract art, movies, pets, family, symmetry, and personal photos.
In environments such as GNOME and Windows 7, wallpapers may be packaged along with desktop themes.
In Business Use
It is common to corporate logos or plain backgrounds on business computers, as such guidelines are often specified by the company.
It is common to create a wallpaper that displays a computer's name when using rack mounted computers through a KVM switch in order to easily identify to which computer the user is connected.
Dynamic backgrounds
Some operating environments (e.g. KDE, Mac OS X, and Windows 7) allow a number of different wallpapers to be used, and changed from a set of selected images (either in order or shuffled) to display a different wallpaper at different times. In environments where this is not possible off-hand, third-party tools may be able to have this be done.
In Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows 98 through XP allowed webpages to be set as frames on the desktop which may be dynamic pages. Adobe Flash can also be used in these cases to create dynamic (and interactive) wallpapers as well by setting the wallpaper to an HTML file with an embedded Flash image. Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate also has the ability to use a video as a wallpaper. Users can choose to use their own home videos which loop continuously, or use one already installed.
With Video Media
Some media players, like VLC, can redirect video playback to the desktop, allowing any video to be used as a wallpaper. Other such media players on Unix derivatives provide a similar option to output video to the background of X11.
Real-Time
Programs such as Xplanet and EarthDesk use Internet connections and graphics calculations to change the wallpaper with real data, such as a shadowed view of the earth, the latest cloud or weather map, or various events.
External links
See also
- Category:Wikipedia featured desktop backgrounds
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