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A screenshot of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, showing Dawn of Ubuntu wallpaper

The terms wallpaper and desktop picture 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, while the Mac OS calls it a 'desktop picture' (prior to Mac OS X, the term desktop pattern was used to refer to a small pattern that was repeated to fill the screen). Image File history File links Information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x1024, 1189 KB) Summary A screenshot of Ubuntu Linux desktop, v6. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x1024, 1189 KB) Summary A screenshot of Ubuntu Linux desktop, v6. ... Ubuntu (official IPA pronunciation (OO-BOON-TOO)) is a predominantly desktop-oriented Linux distribution, based on Debian GNU/Linux but with a stronger focus on usability, regular releases, and ease of installation. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Desktop_environment. ... A graphical user interface (GUI) is a type of user interface which allows people to interact with a computer and computer-controlled devices which employ graphical icons, visual indicators or special graphical elements called widgets, along with text labels or text navigation to represent the information and actions available to... Windows redirects here. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Mac OS X (IPA: ) is a line of graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. ...

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. Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... Display standards comparison The display resolution of a digital television or computer display typically refers to the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. ...

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. In mathematics, two quantities are called proportional if they vary in such a way that one of the quantities is a constant multiple of the other, or equivalently if they have a constant ratio. ...

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. The inner box (green) is the format used in most pre-1952 films and pre-widescreen television. ... The aspect ratio of an image is its displayed width divided by its height (usually expressed as x:y or x×y, with the joining colon or multiplication symbol articulated as the preposition by or sometimes to). Currently, the most popular standard ratios are the anamorphic (2. ... 4:3 is a ratio. ... Scaled Composites (often abbreviated as Scaled) was founded in 1982 in Mojave, California by famous aircraft designer Burt Rutan out of what used to be the Rutan Aircraft Factory. ... Digital image editing is the process of altering digital images, whether they be digital photographs or other types of digitally represented images. ...

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.

Common wallpaper resolutions are 1024x768 and 800x600.

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. PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is a bitmapped image format that employs lossless data compression. ... JPG redirects here. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... KDE (K Desktop Environment) (IPA: ) is a free software project which aims to be a powerful system for an easy-to-use desktop environment. ... This article is about the GNOME project and desktop environment. ... It has been suggested that Vector monitor be merged into this article or section. ... For the ancient tribe that inhabited what is now Scotland, see the Picts. ... Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is an XML specification and file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and animated. ...

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. KDE (K Desktop Environment) (IPA: ) is a free software project which aims to be a powerful system for an easy-to-use desktop environment. ... This article is about the GNOME project and desktop environment. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Windows redirects here. ... A tessellated plane seen in street pavement. ...

History

Original computer wallpaper pattern, as used in Xerox's Officetalk and Star; actual size.

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. Image File history File links Original-wallpaper. ... Image File history File links Original-wallpaper. ... The Star workstation, officially known as the 8010 Star Information System, was introduced by Xerox Corporation in 1981. ... Bold text // Headline text Link title This article is about the computer research center. ... A Xerox Alto Computer System The Xerox Alto, developed at Xerox PARC in 1973, was the first personal computer and the first computer to use the desktop metaphor and graphical user interface (GUI). ... For other uses, see Small talk. ... The Star workstation, officially known as the 8010 Star Information System, was introduced by Xerox Corporation in 1981. ...

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'. Apple Inc. ... The Apple Lisa was a revolutionary personal computer designed at Apple Computer during the early 1980s. ... For other uses, see Macintosh (disambiguation) and Mac. ...

Styles

Wallpaper styles are as varied as people themselves, using photographs, drawings, 3D renders or abstract pattern with complex gradients. It can be useful to have plain areas so that icons can be clearly seen atop the wallpaper. For other uses, see Gradient (disambiguation). ... Nuvola icons for KDE are available as PNG images, which come in six sizes, and SVG images, which are scalable On computer displays, a computer icon is a small pictogram. ...

Typical categories can include cars, models and celebrities, scenery, abstract art, movies, pets, family, symmetry, and personal photos. “Car” and “Cars” redirect here. ... Photograph of the once famous model Dovima A model is a person who poses or displays for purposes of art, fashion, or other products and advertising. ... For other uses, see Celebrity (disambiguation). ... Theatrical scenery is things that are used as setting for a theatrical production. ... Kazimir Malevich, Black square 1915 Abstract art is now generally understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses color and form in a non-representational way. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... It has been suggested that Residential pets be merged into this article or section. ... a family of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 Family is a Western term used to denote a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent (demonstrated or stipulated) from a common ancestor, marriage or adoption. ... Sphere symmetry group o. ...

In business use, corporate logos or plain backgrounds are often specified by the companies' guidelines. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

When using rack mounted computers through a KVM switch, it can often be useful to create a wallpaper with the computer's name on it, to easily identify which computer you're connected to. Equipment mounted in several 19-inch racks A row of 19-inch racks in a modern server farm A 19-inch rack is a standardized (EIA 310-D, IEC 60297 and DIN 41494 SC48D) system for mounting various electronic modules in a stack, or rack, 19 inches (482. ... A diagram of how a KVM switch functions. ...

System themes are often distributed with a background image that fits the style of the theme. Maple Story desktop theme for Windows Server 2003. ...

Dynamic backgrounds

Some operating environments (e.g. KDE and Mac OS X) allow a number of different wallpapers to be used, and "rotated" to display a different wallpaper at different times, to display a random image from a directory. If the facility is not available in the OS' wallpaper settings, it may be possible to get an external program which can change the wallpaper at certain times. Microsoft Windows 98 and higher allow webpages to be set as frames on the desktop which may be dynamic pages. KDE (K Desktop Environment) (IPA: ) is a free software project which aims to be a powerful system for an easy-to-use desktop environment. ... Mac OS X (IPA: ) is a line of graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. ... Random redirects here. ...

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. Some media players can redirect video playback to desktop, allowing any video to be used as a wallpaper. Xplanet-generated rendering Xplanet is a renderer for planetary and solar system images, capable of producing various types of graphics depicting the solar system. ... EarthDesk is an application for Macintosh and Windows computers that uses an internet connection and image processing to display a real-time image of the Earth as a users desktop (wallpaper) background graphic. ...

Macromedia/Adobe Flash animated movies and games can be set a dynamic interactive background as well. Point your desktop background settings to an html file with embedded flash movie instead of an image.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Computer wallpaper

Wikibooks has more on the topic of

Computer wallpaper

• Category:Wikipedia featured desktop backgrounds
• Category:Wikipedia featured widescreen desktop backgrounds
• Bliss
• Caedes
• VRML wallpaper.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ... Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is a wiki for the creation of books. ... Bliss is a JPEG photograph of a landscape in the Napa Valley outside Napa, California, with rolling green hills and a blue sky with stratocumulus and cirrus clouds. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language, usually pronounced vermal, originally known as the Virtual Reality Markup Language) is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional (3D) interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind. ...

External links

• Computer wallpaper at the Open Directory Project