History of desktop wallpaper

Desktop wallpaper is different from the screensaver you use when your computer is idle. This term is used Microsoft Windows whereas as Mac OS calls it a desktop picture. In essence, the desktop wallpaper is what you see when you turn on your computer and are viewing your desktop. Not the files, or other things on your desktop, but the background image.

Every operating system comes with various desktop wallpapers you can use. Of course, the first one you see will of course be an image or colored background with the name of the company or operating system such as Windows Vista, etc… Therefore, when you look at the history of desktop wallpapers you are really looking at the different backgrounds used by each company from the beginning of their development of their operating system.

The first desktop wallpaper, in 1975, was a pattern used in Xerox’s Officetalk and Star. This was the first wallpaper that used a distinguishable background along with overlapping windows. Officetalk was created at Xerox PARC on the Alto. Before this time, the white background that overlapped windows was very hard to notice from windows interior. The pattern used in 1975 created a 25 percent gray, which used dots or two pixels high to stop the flicker on the interlaced screen seen on the Alto. This was the same pattern that was implemented on the Xerox Star.

Shortly, after this Apple began to use gray backgrounds that were similar to the ones used on Officetalk and Xerox Star. This gray background was used on Apple’s Lisa and Macintosh. These computers did not have an interlaced screen therefore; it was easier to have a background pattern that was not as noticeable as it was on Officetalk and Xerox Star. The background used by Apple formed a 2 by 2 pattern which was repeated and gave a 50 percent gray. With the introduction of color monitors to consumers, non-patterned and single color backgrounds became the most popular.

No matter which operating system you purchase you will notice the wallpaper at first will be one with their logo but they often offer other background or wallpapers. Today, you can find all different types of backgrounds for your computer from photos of the stars to scenery to science fiction and more. Computer wallpaper today has taken on a personal touch whereas you can choose almost anything for your background even using some of your own photos, or other you find on the internet. This way you can change the background daily if you would like to set the mood for the day or just have photos of your family or pets as your background image. The fun comes in when you can make the decision based on what you would prefer to use instead of using what came with the computer straight from the factory. However, some people just prefer a solid color background without any images at all. The choice of desktop wallpaper is now up to the end user.