Since nearly the beginning of the Windows Vista launch back in 2007, animated wallpapers were only available for people who opted for the Ultimate Version of Windows Vista.  This was a very exciting announcement, but as time went on it was obvious other editions of Vista such as Home Premium were becoming the choice of most consumers.  Stardock announced the availability of DeskScapes for Vista Ultimate users which was showcased as an enhancement to Windows DreamScene.  DeskScapes offered many more features like dynamically generated wallpapers, triggered wallpapers, and introduced the .dream file format.

Users of non-Ultimate versions of Vista were asking for a way to use animated wallpapers (.dreams) on their desktops, and with that Stardock released DeskScapes 2.0, which allows any version of Windows Vista the ability to have animated wallpapers on the desktop.  Maybe some of you are asking what exactly are the features and advantages of DeskScapes, so let me give a brief overview of the features of DeskScapes 2.0.

• .Dream format.  The .dream format was created to extend the capability of just playing video on the desktop.  It also allows gives artists a way to get credit for their work, and makes it simple to know that a .dream file is specifically designed for DeskScapes, not just guessing if a .wmv or .mpg file will work.
  
  
• Triggers.  An animated wallpaper showing a beautiful nature scene is great, but how about the wallpaper changing to a day and night scene based on the time of day.  That is just a quick example of how triggers enhance a normal animated wallpaper.
  
  
• Dynamic content.  Playing videos is one thing, but how about having dynamically generated content displayed for your animated wallpaper?  Another huge advantage of dynamic content is it uses very little resources, so it's even more efficient than the normal content you can use with DeskScapes.

DeskScapes 2.0 has a free preview available which allows unlimited use of the 3 bundled .dream files.  These are just a small example of the hundreds of .dreams which are available for use with the enhanced version.  Lets take a look at the included .dreams with the free version.

1. Water Dream.  The water dream is an example of a dynamic .dream.  This .dream has you looking down into a pool of water with some beach sand in the background, and water drops falling randomly making a slight disturbance in the water. The cool part about this .dream is since it's dynamic, you can alter the water drip size and frequency, and you can replace the background sand to an image of your own.

2. Grassy Field.  This is a beautiful scene of a field with the grass "blowing" in the wind.  This is a video based .dream, and is a great example of how animated wallpapers can be subtle and now overpower your desktop. 

3. 3D Bouncing Box.  This is another example of a dynamically generated .dream which displays a 3D box rotating on the desktop.  In the dynamic wallpaper settings menu you can alter the size of the box, and the speed at which it rotates.  Once again, this shows how dynamic .dreams are very light on resource usage.

More information and downloads for DeskScapes 2.0 can be found at the links below. 

Download: DeskScapes 2.0 free

Link: DeskScapes 2.0