Microsoft Announces Windows 10 Hero Image

Microsoft Announces Windows 10 Hero Image

While I won’t describe this as the burning issue of our day, it’s fair to say that many of us have been wondering what image Microsoft would use as the default background picture in Windows 10. This image, which the firm is now calling “the hero image,” can set the tone for the release. And sadly, the one they’ve chosen for Windows 10 is pretty terrible.

Granted, it’s about a million times better than the horrific yellow image Microsoft chose for Windows 8, which I have to assume was designed to make people not want to use the desktop. But Windows 7, Vista, and XP all sported pleasant background images. Seems like this one was a no-brainer.

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Nope.

The Windows 10 hero image “blasts lasers, pumping smoke machines, colored filters and falling crystal dust,” Microsoft says. “Not all desktop images are created equal.”

According to a video (over) explaining the new design, a huge team of people built a Windows logo “out of light” and if you can get past the montage of people patting the designer on the back, you’ll find precious little of substance here. “I love the idea of delivering one perfect, pristine still,” that guy says.

I just wish they had found it. What they should have done instead, obviously, is duplicated the Bing Desktop app in Windows 10 and made that the default, starting with 10 images that would ship with the OS. That’s basically what Signature PCs ship with, and it’s far more pleasant looking than this stuff, which looks like it could come from a Tron movie.

This is not a huge deal in the scope of things. But it’s too bad.

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