April 1st -- 2006.  Stardock is pleased to announce the acquisition of its popular desktop customization program, WindowBlinds by Yahoo.  Yahoo, which recently bought Konfabulator, a popular widget engine, said that adding WindowBlinds to the mix was a natural next step:

"Our goal with Konfabulator, now Yahoo Widgets, was to enable the community to make use of our rich API set in a practical matter.  With Yahoo widgets, users can create mini-applciations that rest on their desktop," said Tony Stein, Vice President of the Yahoo! Developer Network.  "With Yahoo Skins, those same APIs can be integrated into the Windows GUI itself."

WindowBlinds 5.1, originally expected to be released late summer 2006, will be rebranded as Yahoo Skins. It will include a simple SDK in which skinners can incorporate "widget-like" content into title bars, borders, the Start Bar or anywhere else the skinner can imagine.

"We're very excited about this.  Before, users would have to hit a series of hot keys or move their windows, or turn their head to see a picture of their dog or know the latest weather conditions," said Brad Wardell, President of Stardock Corp.  "With Yahoo Skins, your local weather conditions will be part of the title bar itself. Your day planner part of every border. Even the Start menu and Start bar can include a picture of your dog or stocks prices."

For new users, the best news will be that Yahoo Skins will be free.  Existing customers of WindowBlinds, who paid $19.95 won't be receiving their money back. Explained Wardell: "I am really hoping to buy a boat one of these days. I'm actually afraid of water and won't go in it, but I just like the idea of having a boat.  Obviously, that boat won't come cheap so we can't refund people's money.  But I think our customers will be satisfied with Yahoo Skins and that most of them would want me to have a boat."

Yahoo Skins should be available for download by early Summer.

(april fools)