Second to making the play count for Kalimba or Like Humans Do hit four digits, or making your desktop look totally badass with a new theme, there’s no bigger way to make your mark on your chosen device than by changing the desktop wallpaper. Compare the classical, yet commonplace scene of the below left image, to the personal touch imparted upon the right:

One’s got that je nais se quois to it, that indelible mark of someone who wasn’t satisfied with the default. From the days of Windows 3.0 to the latest smartphone, the ability to change that backdrop seen on a fresh start and before the screen goes black has been a constant. It’s a feature not restricted by payment (yet), nor size, interest or type. You can see glimpses of styles long past with a tasteful image of scene style:

Use your favorite screenshot from a video game:

Or even relive old glory days, with the old default being the new custom:

There’s so much you can tell about someone through a wallpaper. It’s not an automatic selection. Each change has to be approved, even implicitly by the user. Even someone who points the slideshow option to their ‘Pictures’ folder still made that choice, to embrace entropy instead of a constant. It’s what they want to see when things go wrong, the first and last thing lit by LED. Let this scion of computer customization never die, for if it does, the personal computer—be it desktop or handheld—will be a thing of the past.