Want a better looking desktop theme?  Microsoft a while back released a theme called Energy Blue or Royal.  I was first introduced to it via the Experience Pack for Tablet PC.  Well it turns out that theme doesn't just work on a tablet pc but XP as well, here's how:

1. Download : http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/2/9/5295FA0C-575A-4EE6-B186-0A8CF7DDFDE6/WindowsXP-TabletPC-EnergyBlueTheme-x86-ENU.exe
2. Do not run the exe as it will fail but rather unzip it
3. Copy the content to C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes
4. Select the Energy Blue theme from the theme drop down @ "Right Click on Desktop / Select Properties / Themes Tab"

Enjoy!