DeskScapes 1.01 Released - Introducing Dynamic Dreams!

Say goodbye to looping video...

http://dream.wincustomize.com
from WinCustomize Forums

DeskScapes 1.01For the past month, Windows Vista Ultimate users have been enjoying the benefits of the Stardock DeskScapes, an extension Microsoft DreamScene (an extra given only to owners of Vista Ultimate Edition).  DeskScapes took basic DreamScenes one step further by allowing authors to retain credit for their work through the use of the .Dream format.  Anyone who made a video could attach their name to it, a brief description, and a link back to their website.  In addition to giving artists the ability to receive credit and recognition for their work, we also launched the community site Dream.WinCustomize.com, the premier site on the web for Dreams on Windows Vista.

However, providing a basic by-line and a link for artists wasn't all DeskScapes would do.  From the beginning we have been working to not only allow users to play videos on their desktop, but also be able to run  triggered content that could change based on time of day, local weather, or other set events, not to mention dynamically generated content, rendered on-the-fly on their system.  A looping video is cool, but what about a rotating planet Earth that accurately shows where it is currently day or night?  Or maybe a lake scene that changes from day to night based on your computer clock? 

Desktop Earth draws the day/night cycle of the planet in real time.

Today, we're ready to unleash DeskScapes 1.01 upon the world!  1.01 includes support for triggers and dynamic dreams.  Users of Object Desktop have been testing dynamic dreams for a week now, and the response has been great.  DeskScapes 1.01 is a free update and comes with an updated DreamMaker so you can start creating your own triggered animated wallpapers!

Head over to Dream.WinCustomize.com now to get the latest version and start experiencing what Stardock has made possible for Windows Vista!

If you're a current Object Desktop Subscriber, you can get the latest update via Stardock Central.  Subscribers also get the Desktop Earth dynamic dream for free!

Digg!
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Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It says a lot about Stardock, but using their new apps are a driver for me upgrading to Vista more than any of the native features of the OS. 
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
These sound like a very cool feature.Bet they work better than the looping videos.  
Groupy 2 - Organize multiple applications into grouped tabs on your Windows desktop
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'm loving it - Gload I have The Vista Ultimate

I have an open question to Frogboy and Zoomba as well

Is it something that will remain free or we might see a Premium version with special features?


QUOTE: DeskScapes 1.01 is a free update


I'm thinking if it's going to always be free - It should!

There can always be Premium .DREAM   


Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
can someone let me know if they had issues with this download.

it installs fine, but is missing the only dream i want to see.....

earth.dream???

is this meant to be in the pack or am i going to have to wait for it to be released?

its definitely not in the dream folder!

cheers
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Only OD customers get the desktop earth dream included.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Keep it up you guys. You are definately on the right track to building the foundation for OD Vista. I haven't bought Vista yet, but when I do I'm going to be kicking around the choices of Home Premium (why doesn't that version include DreamScene?) or ultimate. I only have one PC and it's for home use, what is Microsoft thinking with this limiting decision of DreamScene only in ultimate? They have only added to my resolve to play the waiting game. It is well understood with PCs you get more hardware bang for the buck by waiting. So, since I'm not ready to buy a new PC yet, the soonest would be towards the end of this year, if then, I have no incentive, yet, to go through the work to put Vista on my existing rig, even though it's Vista capable. Microsoft's marketing of Vista, so far, says I can only win by waiting. At least, that is how things are shaping up for me.

Getting back to Stardock. The decisions you're making make sense to me. DeskScapes says very clearly that one Vista application every Vista user should consider is Object Desktop. Good move Stardock.  
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It installed on my computer in C:\Users\Your name\Documents\Stardock\Dreams
Filename: Desktop Earth.dream.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The earth dream is only availabel through Stardock Central to Object Desktop subscribers right now.  
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Is it something that will remain free or we might see a Premium version with special features?

The plan is to keep it free and generate revenue on content.

Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I haven't bought Vista yet, but when I do I'm going to be kicking around the choices of Home Premium (why doesn't that version include DreamScene?) or ultimate. I only have one PC and it's for home use, what is Microsoft thinking with this limiting decision of DreamScene only in ultimate?


Money...it's all about the bottom line. They want people to fork over their hard earned cash for Ultimate to get those extras.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top

It says a lot about Stardock, but using their new apps are a driver for me upgrading to Vista more than any of the native features of the OS.

Sigh.....ditto...

Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
This looks pretty cool, however sad you have to fork out so much money for vista and no current updates for drivers to use it.  
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
There's an issue with the install of 1.01. Yeah, I know, what else is new right? Anyway, the install seems to delete your preexisting dreams that you have installed... even ones you downloaded after installing 1.00. Kinda stupid if you ask me... still can't belive that the testers mis the little stuff like this.
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm no longer happy

Same thing happened to me. I have lost all my previous .Dream files.

While Stardock has some great software I just won't live without, but it seems in order to get some needed extra, you must get Object Desktop. But Object desktop comes with too many things I don't want. Windowblinds and IconPackager are the two best things about Stardock. It almost safe to say that DeskScapes 1.01 is retails. Things that can't be purchased such as Desktop Earth requires Object Desktop and Object Desktop is not free. I'll be buying DeskScapec without buying it technically or I'll be buying Desktop Earth without it being retail. Maybe it’s just about doing smart business forcing sell of Object Desktop. I would not mind Desktop Earth being a Premium .DREAM because it's always up to anyone to buy it and no one is forced to.

I'm going to enter straight into communication with Frogboy.

While Stardock makes the best software in the category of skinning, I often ask myself if they have people inventing new goodies.

Yes, windowblinds is the greatest thing in skinning and make XP looks great with Glass style and all as if it were Vista. Why no one ever came up with that kind of idea first since Windowblinds and SkinStudio do it so well? Now Microsoft comes with the animated wallpaper (I’ve seen animated wallpapers way before though) but Stardock simply make it better. It seems stardock does not invent much, but uses ideas and make them better.
Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Any chance of SD making an XP version of Deskscape/Dreamscene or is there something in your agreement with MS that prevents that? Or is it maybe an OS/hardware issue?
Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Maybe it’s just about doing smart business


  
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
the first build of deskscapes stored the dreams in one location and the newest build stores them in another. i'm betting your installation did not transfer the dreams to the new location. check in c:\programdata\stardocl\deskscapes and see if they're still there. if they are, transfer them to user name\docs\stardock\dreams
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Any chance of SD making an XP version of Deskscape/Dreamscene or is there something in your agreement with MS that prevents that? Or is it maybe an OS/hardware issue?

DeskScapes requires tech that is only in Windows Vista.

Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Elias - You can find your old dreams in this directory:

\programdata\stardock\Deskscapes

off your root drive.

Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top

While Stardock makes the best software in the category of skinning, I often ask myself if they have people inventing new goodies.

Yes, windowblinds is the greatest thing in skinning and make XP looks great with Glass style and all as if it were Vista. Why no one ever came up with that kind of idea first since Windowblinds and SkinStudio do it so well? Now Microsoft comes with the animated wallpaper (I’ve seen animated wallpapers way before though) but Stardock simply make it better. It seems stardock does not invent much, but uses ideas and make them better.

Who says Microsoft invented animated wallpaper?  DeskScapes development precedes animated wallpaper from Microsoft. We simply chose to combine our strengths and work together for mutual benefit.

And dynamic animated wallpaper is quite an achievement.  Load up the cube one and check your CPU use.  Tell me if anyone else could do that.  Those people floating around on the net ttrying to get you to play a screen saver as your wallpaper or some WinXP user saying how you could hack animated wallpapers should try to do it while using less than 5% CPU use the way DeskScapes does it.

We have a number of internal projects but they take time to come out. 

Many of the things we "invent" we rarely get credit for.  We "invent" the concept of widgets and companies like Konfabulator/yahoo Widgets get the credit. 

We were the ones who first introduced ZIP files as folders. Does anyone remember that? Probably not.

And now we have DeskScapes which is a pretty significant innovation.  Even little things like the .dream format will likely be forgotten in time.  Does anyone seriously think animated wallpapers would be taking off like they are if users were forced to scrounge around for .WMV files or .MPEG files? Talk about a search term of doom.  And consider all the development effort necessary to support .DREAM - the tools, the website, the video previews, large scale upload handilng, etc.  These are things that quickly get taken for granted -- we want them to because it should be invisible.

But never confuse seamlessness for resting on ones laurals.

I will say truthfully that we have changed in that we won't develop something new that we can't adequately market.  I can tell you it stings our development team considerably every time we read about how "Konfabulator" "invented" desktop widgets or that Apple/Microsoft were copying them while we get no coverage.

Check out this desktop from the year 2000. That's Windows 2000. SEVEN years ago. Wow, a alpha blended, glass "sidebar" of "widgets" on the right.  Good thing this was invented 3+ years later by other people or that Apple "invtented" it with Dashboard. And that's a theme from this site by a user (there's hundreds of this kind of thing).

Rant aside, the point is that we are as inventive as ever, we simply are more careful to keep things under wraps until they have matured further.  We kept DeskScapes under wraps even as it was running on our Longhorn betas nearly a year ago.  If you saw what we had in development, your eyes would pop out.