Microsoft has finally brought one in every of the simpler facets of Home windows into Home windows 11: Home windows Spotlight, which splashes Microsoft’s rather blah new running system with some warmth and charm.
It’s fee shedding any pretense of objectivity for this. I’m keen on nature photography, and Microsoft is too. Take into account how a photo of a pastoral California hillside grew to develop to be the iconic “Bliss” backdrop of Home windows XP, as an instance. Microsoft has quietly amassed a huge sequence of professional photography, making them readily available as Home windows 10 subject matters — one large procedure to personalize your Home windows 10 PC. Genuinely, these subject matters allow you to salvage and seize from tons of photos of a given subject: sea wander scenes, cats, or astrophotography.
Microsoft makes use of these photos to add some coloration and context to other properties that it owns. Bing.com, as an instance, tends to voice their very possess praises photos of structures and cities which will probably be each visually impressive and possess some history that’s fee exploring. Previously, you’ve been ready to automatically load some of these photographs as desktop wallpapers through the downloadable Bing Wallpaper app. You’ve doubtlessly seen that your Home windows lock show mask mask now presentations a consultant photograph, too.
Now, there’s a brand new procedure of together with a bit coloration to your desktop: Home windows Spotlight, which became as soon as added as piece of a cumulative Home windows 11 change, KB5014019. Home windows Spotlight rotates your desktop background on a day-to-day basis, inserting one in every of Microsoft’s nature scenes in the support of your desktop icons. (It’s off by default, so nothing will trade if you already possess a preferred wallpaper.)
Now not like other unique facets we on the total mask, this isn’t piece of the Home windows Insider preview program. It’s readily available to all Home windows 11 users. Because it’s an elective Home windows 11 change, you’ll need to visit the Home windows Update page on your Settings menu to download and set up it. Nonetheless don’t alarm — this may possibly be piece of Home windows 11 in about a weeks as piece of the everyday “Patch Tuesday” change in June.
To flip on Home windows Spotlight, you’ll need to scurry to Settings > Personalization > Background and toggle the dropdown menu to “Home windows highlight.” Your wallpaper ought to level-headed then shift to the background of the day.
Home windows Spotlight may possibly possibly possibly be toggled on and off in the Home windows 11 Settings.Mark Hachman / IDG
Now not like a customary Theme pack, you received’t possess the risk of fixing the background every hour or every minute. You furthermore mght don’t possess the risk of flipping through desktop backgrounds to uncover one you love — but, anyway. It’s imaginable this risk shall be added at some point.
We’ve criticized Home windows 11 for transferring a long way from the warmer atmosphere of Home windows 10 to the extra productiveness-centered Home windows 11 UI. This new change indubitably brings support a bit of the character of Home windows 10, and it’s a step ahead for the running system.
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Creator: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor
As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark specializes in Microsoft files and chip expertise, amongst other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.
