Just because it's an app you can't/don't use, doesn't mean the time spent developing it was wasted. I personally only use a fraction of the tools packaged together with Object Desktop. Well over half the apps in my Stardock Central list never get installed. I'm not saying they're not great programs, they're just not of immediate use/interest to me. It's like not every product in Microsoft Office is relevant to me. I need Word and Excel. Things like PowerPoint, Access, even Outlook, are just more than I really need. Do I feel development time on those other applications is wasted? Nope. I recognize that other users have other needs.
You did recognize that we have far from neglected our XP user base, so in a sense I'm not sure what the issue really is outside of maybe envy that something this cool didn't come out for XP too. Well, I'm not one of the app devs, but I do absorb enough knowledge through conversations around to office to know that DeskScapes wasn't something that could be done in XP. Look into any description of how the desktop is almost a DirectX application now in Vista. There are a few articles around here by Brad talking about the technical details. This opens up doors.
Like it or not, Vista represents the "new" and "cool" and it opens up a lot of new possibilities in the world of desktop customization that simply are feasable under XP. We're always going to be pushing forward, always trying to be on the leading edge of the tech curve. It makes no sense to sit and wait for us to wait for Vista (and even Vista Ultimate) to reach critical mass. As people move to Vista, we want to be there with them. Right now it's a small number, but it will grow. As more people come to Vista, we want to be here, ready to greet them. Ready with some really amazing stuff to show them.
We have said many times we have every intention of keeping up with our XP users. But in parallel we have to be moving forward in Vista. It's not a one-or-the-other thing.
Spending time developing a program that no one else has, does things no one else does and looks wicked cool is far from a waste. So the potential audience at this moment is smaller than it will be a year from now. In a year when the audience is bigger, we'll already be in place, with a better product in fact as we add to it and improve. To me, that's a pretty smart expenditure of time and resources, especially when it doesn't detract from everything else we're doing.
Can you still afford to be our customer? Absolutely. Your value has not decreased because we added an application you don't use. You still have all sorts of cool apps that tweak out your OS. Apps that are still being maintained and improved even as we work on Vista in parallel.
WinCustomize Forums
AppScout, a website run by the editors and analysts of PC Magazine, just the other day sat down with Stardock CEO Brad Wardell to talk a bit about Stardock DeskScapes, the software that extends Windows Vista DreamScene beyond simple videos and into the realm of dynamic animated content for your desktop. Describing DeskScapes as "one of the first third-party apps to truly take advantage of the OS's graphical capabilities..." they proceed to grill Brad over what DeskScapes is and how it is different (and better) than the standard DreamScene utility currently available from Microsoft.
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