Microsoft’s ugly sweater for 2023 is Windows XP’s iconic default wallpaper The world's most-recognizable default wallpaper is back, in sweater form.

The photo you see above -- the default wallpaper for Windows XP -- is probably the most recognizable image in the world. What you probably didn't know is that it's a real photo, called Bliss ...

It turns out that Microsoft's design team has rendered an updated 4K version of the default Windows XP wallpaper—you might know it by its name, "Bliss." ...

Windows XP shipped with a version measuring just 800 by 600 pixels. Anywho, Inside History has a series of follow up images taken from the same vantage point in 2006, 2020, 2024 and 2025.

The famous Windows XP 'Bliss' wallpaper, captured in 1996, has seen notable changes over the years. Originally a vibrant green landscape, recent images from 2025 show faded grass and increased ...

The Windows XP wallpaper pictures “Bliss” hill in Sonoma, Calif., as captured by photographer Charles O’Rear. He uploaded the photo, which he took in 1996, to a stock photo agency he helped ...

Windows XP's iconic 'Bliss' wallpaper was clicked on a road trip. What Microsoft paid for it Microsoft paid Charles O'Rear an undisclosed amount of money for the use of 'Bliss' at the time but the ...