Winstep Xtreme 7.4 released!

http://www.winstep.net
from WinCustomize Forums

Winstep is proud to announce the final release of Winstep Xtreme 7.4.

Screenshots:

Winstep Xtreme is an out-of-the-box integrated suite of shell enhancement applications focusing on giving users a greater experience through powerful yet convenient control of the Windows desktop. Download it here:

Winstep Xtreme 7.4
(16 MB - Includes NextSTART v4.2, WorkShelf/NeXuS v2.2 and FontBrowser v1.0)

NeXuS is a multi-dock system, which as well as holding traditional bookmarked icons can also hold any combination of widgets, clocks, mail checkers, weather indicators and system performance meters within multiple levels of sub-docks. NeXuS is just perfect for super fast access to your most frequently used applications. WorkShelf is a tabbed dock, better suited for complex organizational duties like organizing documents, URLs, movies, work projects, applications, etc... NextSTART is the menu system - and takes care of all your task management needs as well. FontBrowser is a bare-bones font browsing utility.

A pack of popular desktop widgets are also included in this release which can be displayed on the desktop, featured within the docks, placed within shelves or merged into the taskbar. Featured widgets include a speaking Atomic Clock, Recycle Bin, SSL POP3/IMAP Email Checker, Weather Monitor with 5 day forecast, CPU, Net and RAM Meters, and Wanda, the amazing 'fortune cookie' reader. New modules are constantly under development, add a widget request HERE.

Winstep Xtreme is supported by an active community of themers with hundreds of resolution independent themes readily available for download. Check out the Winstep gallery right here at Wincustomize.

Xtreme raises the usability bar of Windows customization to another level: it adds tremendous functionality to Windows and complete control over every aspect of the user interface. The more you use Winstep Xtreme the more you'll go 'Wow, this rules!' as you discover all the functionality that lies beneath the breathtaking eye candy! No need to edit complicated configuration files or switch shells either - it's all point and click - and going back to 'normal' Windows is as simple as exiting Xtreme.

Xtreme is such a welcomed change of scenery that you’ll sorely miss it where it's not installed.

Winstep Xtreme runs under Win9x/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003 Server/XP64 and Windows Vista and is fully compatible with all Stardock applications.

Change Log and More Information: Winstep Web Site

14,214 views 14 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks for the heads up, jc. I shall wander over there very soon to check it out.
Next to my Stardock apps, Winstep Xtreme is the best piece of customizing/enhancement software I've ever purchased....many thanks for putting it out there.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Didn't have to wander over there....got a very timely update message on screen and all is done with a couple of mouse clicks. Now that's what I call great customer service.
Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
This is a great program.
Works very nice with Windowblinds.

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I tried it and so far all works well
with my OS : Vista Ultimate 64bit , thanks   
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I love it! Updates at every boot...very fast, organized and esthtically pleasing. I only wish more folks would author themes for it, and I'm also hoping for new modules.

The support is also excellent...even when my questions were (shall we be generous and say) "simple".

  
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Great stuff!
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've been using the Winstep suite for years now and it's always been a favourite. Now it's definite requirement for any new installation, with the recent version now up and running on my Vista PC. As a productivity tool it's become irreplaceable, and now it supports alpha transparency it's gorgeous.

It's no-brainer - just buy it.

Good luck Jorge!
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Now if we could only get Tim to make one more theme for us! Make it a Premium - I'll gladly buy it! Thanks again, Jorge.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
As a productivity tool it's become irreplaceable

How so?

I love productivity.  I can't imaging life without ObjectBar.  How does this compare?
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
No comparison. Download the trial and check it out.
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I tried Xtreme a number of years ago and as I recall, it took so long to configure to my style that I finally got tired and uninstalled.  That is not a fault of the app . . it could have just been my mood. 

But before I go forward and try again . . I want the testimonials 
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I was an objectbar user for years - I love this kind of productivity tool. Quite recently I made the switch to winstep. The NextSTART component is very similar to objectbar, but I find it has a few extras, notably the hotspots functionality, that in the end make it more useful to me. Add to that the alpha blending, menu animations, internal command accessibility, etc, etc - well, I'm hooked.

Granted, the configuration as it stands is a bit confusing, but that's probably a function of it's configurability. I know that one of Jorge's next projects includes a big overhaul of the configuration dialogs. Even so, with a bit of initial patience, this has ended up being one of my favourite interface enhancements.

Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Just waht I was looking for tiggz (and from someone I couldn't trust more!).
Zubaz downloads
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yes, I would say Winstep Preferences is a bit the Achilles heel of Xtreme, for two main reasons: first the controls in it emulate those of NeXTSTEP (this was a conscious decision at the time because back in 1998, when NextSTART was first released, the NeXT look was the thing we all aimed for) and second, Winstep applications are so powerful and so full of features that all the settings are kind of crammed together (a bit like the cockpit of a 747   ).

Over time a huge effort was made to organize things better and provide an easy 'out of the box' experience for the first time user. This was accomplished mainly through the use of well thought out defaults and extensive use of context menus. For 90% of users, what is available through the context menus is amply adequate.

It's only when you really go for the extra power provided by Winstep Xtreme that you must master Winstep Preferences. This is where the learning curve gets a bit more steep, because, unless you take the time to read the User Guide, not all settings are self explanatory, and not all of them will be where you expect them to be. It can be a bit confusing at first, although a bit of perseverance will result in a HUGE reward at the end.

Winstep applications can basically do anything you can think of in their field of action, you just have to figure out how. There is a LOT of functionality crammed in there, because Winstep's focus has always been on functionality rather than eye candy.

Let me give an example: you can make as many different menus as you want, you can attach specific menus to specific applications, you can have menus popping up by bumping different screen edges or different spots on your desktop, you can have horizontal menus that turn vertical with a single click (and vice-versa), you can have menus rolled up that unroll when moused over, you can re-order tasks in the tasklist, you can have your quick launch buttons displaying menus or running internal commands, you can have a desktop where NOTHING is visible until you start bumping screen edges or the opposite, where everything is visible at the same time, you can have your tasklist or systray detached from the startbar sitting individually on the desktop (heck, you can even turn off the startbar), you can make Winstep widgets move into the startbar with a single mouse click, every item on menus, shelves, docks, have REAL context menus (i.e.; with all the options provided by Explorer) and can be run with a keyboard hotkey, image and video files can be displayed as thumbnails, you can drag ANY object to and from Winstep applications (and that includes virtual shell items like the Control Panel items, etc...) and etc, etc, etc... I could go on and on, but everybody would have fallen asleep by the time I finished (and this post would be a mile long).

The possibilities are endless and attention to detail is what makes Winstep applications special. As Nelson Mandela once said, "it's enough to make a grown man weep with joy"