Frogboy Frogboy

FrogBlog: June 2007

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FrogBlog: June 2007

Just in a 'nick of time

from WinCustomize Forums

If you've been noticing a dearth of new themes in the past month or so, you're not imagining it. And it's all our fault.  For the past several months, Stardock has been working on a truly massive skinning project called MyColors.  It has already teamed up with hundreds of companies, colleges, franchises, sports teams, etc. to created official, authorized themes that can then be sold to fans and "regular" people as a single install theme.

The idea is to let people buy for $20 a theme for their desktop where both the suite and the software are combined seamlessly. Users just press a button and it's on and press another button to turn it off. There's no configuration, no UI (other than choosing the theme). It's very straight forward.  And so far, we're very pleased with the success it's achieving.  We haven't been pushing MyColors very hard to WinCustomize users because it hasn't played very nice with WindowBlinds and IconPackager (i.e. order of install stuff) but that will soon change with the upcoming self-healing smart Theme Manager that's nearly done.

To give you an idea of the scope, by end of this year, there may be over 200 suites available.  Think about that -- between 1999 and 2006 there might have been a dozen or dozen and a half professional suites created.  But in one year, 200 suites have had to be made from scratch and approved by the partner.

So Stardock Design has been hiring skinners to work on this project.  All of SkinPlant and all of Pixtudio are working with Stardock Design. Alexandrie, Treetog, MikeB, ChaNinja, Hippy, Essorant, Voo, Gef, Danilo0c, Cerebro, ScottT, Mormegil, JJ Ying, and others are either working full time or now at Stardock or a good chunk of their time.  And that's not even a full list (I can't keep up with everything Stardock Design is working on and working with these days, it's the dream team of skinning so if I missed someone please forgive my incomplete knowledge).  But needless to say, it takes a bit of a chunk out of new skins and themes being made.

As an encore, a whole series of new WindowBlinds 6 and DesktopX 4 themes are going to be made by the dream team too and released so and then things will start to get back to normal.  But now you know why so many big skinners have been missing.  It's like the Apollo program of skinning.  Imagine someday being able to buy a PC and choose how you want it to look on the outside and inside (Stardock has teamed up with SkinIt who specializes in making skins for computer cases and laptops (they really are very cool, especially on laptops).  Or imagine going to the university computer lab and all the computers having the university theme instead of plain Windows?  And there's some big announcements coming up that I can't yet talk about but I think users will be extremely excited about some of the things coming up.

Here are some screenshots below of MyColors themes already available:

Another big thing that's been going on is the development of IconDeveloper 2.0. This is a complete rewrite that we think users will be very pleased with.  It should go into beta relatively soon (very close to the beta release of SkinStudio 6 which is a radical departure and also a complete rewrite of SkinStudio).

One of the big things that's resulted from bringing on so many skinners as part of Stardock is that now the software follows more the needs of the skinners. That is, for programs like DesktopX 4 and WindowBlinds 6, the skinners are telling us the things they'd like to create and the software capabilities are being enhanced to suit their needs.  This is in stark contrast to how things have been done previously where the developers came up with features and then tried to get skinners to make use of them. Wait till you see some of the killer stuff that's being made.

Another benefit of all the skinners coming on board is that more "stuff" will be able to be made for subscribers.  WinCustomize subscribers, for instance, will start to see more subscriber-exclusive content being made.  The site will start to have special areas to show off this content so that it's easy to manage and see the benefits of being a WinCustomize subscriber.  Similarly, Object Desktop users will start seeing "content" components that are basically skins and themes made by Stardock Design exclusively for those users.

No worries about lots of free skins and themes continuing to be made by the community. Once we quit hogging all their time, you'll see things get back to normal. In addition, with the arrival of better skinning tools this Fall, skinning will start to get a lot easier.  For instance, in addition to SkinStudio 6, we hope to allow the development of WindowBlinds 6 skins using purely Photoshop layers (no editor required). That won't come until after SkinStudio 6 but it will open the door to skinning to a lot of new skinners. 

25,713 views 51 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hopefully you guys will take this opportunity to fix a major problem with the Object Desktop suite - make sure that all features of this new product run for non-administrator users with UAC switched on.

You'll be really shooting yourself in the foot if you don't because no company, government department or security-conscious computer user will want to run it if it requires you to be a sysadmin. If this is problematic for some features (for example, IconManager does not work for non-admins), then it should degrade its feature set gracefully rather than create a hodge-podge (as currently happens).

Fortunately, the basics of Object Desktop (WindowBlinds, SkinStudio) work fine with non-admin accounts. But certainly you don't want the message 'it was only designed for users with admin privileges' to be stated by accident in a support e-mail 2 years after purchase (as happened recently, Mike ()).

Now that I've read this article, I can see why the talented skinners I am approaching to commission a company logo (and possibly a skin) are too busy to take on new work. Darn. Oh well, it can wait another year (won't be opening the door to the public for another 18 months in any case).

Sorry to nag, but I am already seeing some 'Vista-ready' labelled software out there where it is not even 'Windows 2000-ready', let alone works on XP or Vista properly, and also the odd company advising users to run as administrators with UAC switched off to compensate for their design flaws! It seems that non-Microsoft companies are still the most significant contributor and cause of the massive security problems that have plagued PCs over the years. It's like those websites that still insist on using popups and tell you to turn your popup blocker off - they are just not getting it.

Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I enjoy the suites I have with MyColors. I just don't think with all there terminology you should have to re-boot windows to change a skin. And if I never had system restore I would be Pi$$ed right now! I mean look I lost all my skins! Boot skins Icons And windowblinds if you have this on your PC back up before you uninstall!!!! It even took mt defauld Windows XP theme. I was left with only the grey windows. Like I was looking back at Windows98.
Curtains - Customize Windows with additional styles
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I enjoy the suites I have with MyColors. I just don't think with all there terminology you should have to re-boot windows to change a skin. And if I never had system restore I would be Pi$$ed right now! I mean look I lost all my skins! Boot skins Icons And windowblinds if you have this on your PC back up before you uninstall!!!! It even took mt defauld Windows XP theme. I was left with only the grey windows. Like I was looking back at Windows98.


Your blaming " My Colors " but I do not have a 'My Colors' Theme yet and have had a similar issue of losing themes and I lost the default Windows XP theme Also...So it appears this is a problem from another source. I'd say the problem lies in the Theme manager..not My Colors.

Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Well as far as I know my colours works fine with my laptop.I can easily change one skin to another without rebooting my unit.
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hi,

I,ve been a customer of stardock and a citizen for a long time. I've put up some things here and if I was tallented as some, would like to put up a lot more. Customer service is ok, those guys are extreamly swamped and may be slow at times. All that said and I realy say little on here unless something sets crooked with me and it has!

It seams no one pays attension to what they read. It seems that stardock products are becomming skinner oriented. I have great admaration for the skinners as the have made it more enjoyable for me to use my computer, but what about us regular subscribers? I get this feeling from a direct Quote from Frogboy

" One of the big things that's resulted from bringing on so many skinners as part of Stardock is that now the software follows more the needs of the skinners. That is, for programs like DesktopX 4 and WindowBlinds 6, the skinners are telling us the things they'd like to create and the software capabilities are being enhanced to suit their needs. "



I have no will feelings toward Skinners or Stardock nor wincustomize, over the years I've seen a lot of great ideas from regular users (non skinners) and for what ever reason, not enough money, no time to incorperate them to much programming or what ever these ideas was left on the cutting room floor.



I think I'm going to be a DesktopX user for another year then depend on the way things go here, I might just drop my subscription. Man this world is becomeing more and more greed drivin' as I get older and older.

I'll get off my soap box now, thanks for listining.



Pastor Roger Cale
Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Sorry for the bad grammer and miss spelling, I was up late last night and am not thinking clearly... Pastor Roger Cale
Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Explain how Object Desktop users are suffering? WindowBlinds 6, SkinStudio 6, DesktopX 3.5 is in beta, TweakVista beta just went up, DeskScapes is available with ODNT exlusive content. What "promises" is Stardock not delivering on?

The fact that Stardock now has a lot of skinning talent available is GOOD news for Object Desktop users.


I think the chap is saying it would be nice if you fixed the existing stuff people have paid for before you released new stuff.If he is I AGREE.
IconX is buggy as hell and conflicts with DesktopX yet I see no mention of fixing it.
It's the first time I've ever paid for something where It seems that I am expected to accept that it doesn't work.
The college football skins are about as useful to us Europeans as a chocolate teapot,I can appreciate the time and skill that has gone in to making them but does it have to be to the detriment of looking after your existing customers?.
Please fix IconX.
Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Never did give a link to the new version of MyColors,you said was updated. Talk is cheap. You buy the product and support is nill to non.

You said you redownloaded it. You redownload it by going to the support link on Stardock.com and entering in your email to have it email you the links to the latest versions of all your software.

You only have to reboot when the underlying software has been updated.

I think the chap is saying it would be nice if you fixed the existing stuff people have paid for before you released new stuff.If he is I AGREE.
IconX is buggy as hell and conflicts with DesktopX yet I see no mention of fixing it.
It's the first time I've ever paid for something where It seems that I am expected to accept that it doesn't work.
The college football skins are about as useful to us Europeans as a chocolate teapot,I can appreciate the time and skill that has gone in to making them but does it have to be to the detriment of looking after your existing customers?.
Please fix IconX.

This was discussed in another thread but unfortunately, IconX is at the end of its road in its current incarnation.  We are working on a new rewrite of it that takes a very different direction because it is fundamentally too difficult to make IconX as compatible as it should be given the direction Windows has gone.

That said, I think it's pretty unfair to argue that Stardock hasn't been updating its Object Desktop users.

Consider: DesktopX 3.5 beta just came out which addresses tons of user feedback plus adds support for making Vista gadgets.  We've updated LogonStudio to work on Vista (the first Logon changing program btw for Vista).  We've updated Theme Manager in th epast month or so.  We've updated Keyboard LaunchPad relatively recently. IconPackager 3.2 just came out. And In July, ObjectBar 2.1 arrives as well as RightClick 1.3.

IconX does work pretty well, but you are correct in that because of the way it interacts with the desktop, it will always have compatibility issues with its current implementation with other programs that want to take over the desktop.  That's why it's being rewritten.  But IconX does work. It's not buggy.  Having a conflict with another program doesn't make a program buggy. It's just a limitation of certain types of implementations. 

DesktopX and IconX have a hard time coinciding because they effectively want to do the same kinds of things on the desktop.  The solution is to have IconX work a different way but that will take time since we have to now deal with the changes in Windows Vista.

But don't you think it's a bit unfair to assert that Object Desktop users aren't getting treated fairly because one utility isn't being updated as rapidly as you like when most of the major components are being updated on a regularly basis.  

When creating desktop enhancements (and using them) we always have to deal with the real-world situation in which the OS may change in ways that we have to adapt.  Windows Vista's arrival, for instance, has meant that we have had to do an immense amount of work that many people aren't aware of (the Non-administrator UAC support that Ralph mentions is but one example).

MyColors doesn't take any effort away from Object Desktop.  One is an art-project, the other is a software project.

Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks for the info Frogboy,I look forward to the new stuff,especially Right Click (one of the best bits of software out there bar none).
It's great news that IconX is to be re-written as I don't thing something working 'pretty well' is good enough.It either works or it doesn't as far as I'm concerned.
On the My Colors topic have you considered contacting the English Premier Football League?It's the richest and most popular league in Europe.Football (soccer)is massive here and football themes would go down an absolute storm.
Reply #35 from WinCustomize Forums Top

On the My Colors topic have you considered contacting the English Premier Football League?It's the richest and most popular league in Europe.Football (soccer)is massive here and football themes would go down an absolute storm.

Aussies have their own footy code...but the only football match I have ever seen [live] was the Gunners....1973....so I'd certainly go for an Arsenal 'My Colors' ....

Reply #36 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Ya it's always easy to it can't be MyColors problem. But when you uninstall a software and loose 2.1 Gb of other software because of uninstalling it. There is a problem some where. Oh wait it must be my fault.I had a choise not to buy this buggy software,and I never will again either.
Reply #37 from WinCustomize Forums Top
No offense dwax but you sound like a real jerk.
Reply #38 from WinCustomize Forums Top
No offense taken. But if you have tried to get support on this product for 7 months sent 3 letters to support 3 to one of the owners, and was ignored. Then you see them Advertise this product you may get a little mad to.All I want is some help, And If there support is to dumb to figure it out then they should not advertise faulty products.
Reply #39 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yea. I have emailed Steve Jobs and Bill Gates asking for help before and both ignored me. The bastards.

By contrast, I've seen the CEO of Stardock personally trying to help you in this very article and all you've been is rude and obnoxious in return.

It sounds to me that you didn't like the uninstall of MyColors that you got. Frogboy suggested you redownload your MyColors theme and then you berated him for not telling you how. Did you even try to go to Stardock's home page, click on Support (second link on their home page) and follow the instructions?

For the life of me I never understand why some people think buying a product gives them license to act like a complete jerk in return. I sure wouldn't want you as a customer.
Reply #40 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Each to his own, we thank that it's a free country. You have your opinion and I have mine.
Reply #41 from WinCustomize Forums Top
i like those my colors skin, but no way in hell im paying 20 bucks for a SKIN! it's a SKIN for christ sake, an you are going to charge 20 dollars for it?!
Reply #42 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And people pay twice as much for t-shirts and hats that cost virtually nothing to produce.

http://www.distantreplays.com/distant/product.asp?s_id=0&dept_id=3099&pf_id=10027961&

$35 for a crappy hat that you'll use how often?

it's probably $1 for the skin, $19 for the license to use the official trade marks. lol.
Reply #43 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Thanks for the info Frogboy,I look forward to the new stuff,especially Right Click (one of the best bits of software out there bar none).
It's great news that IconX is to be re-written as I don't thing something working 'pretty well' is good enough.It either works or it doesn't as far as I'm concerned.
On the My Colors topic have you considered contacting the English Premier Football League?It's the richest and most popular league in Europe.Football (soccer)is massive here and football themes would go down an absolute storm.


I will go for Manchester United my colors
Reply #44 from WinCustomize Forums Top

i like those my colors skin, but no way in hell im paying 20 bucks for a SKIN! it's a SKIN for christ sake, an you are going to charge 20 dollars for it?!

As others have mentioned, brand-stuff costs money.  A University T-shirt can cost $30 or more and what's really involved there? T-shirts in bulk are around $3. So you're talking quite a markup with very little effort.  At least with skins, you're using them every day and they're fun.

Moreover, MyColors are more than just skins. They include the technology too integrated in.

dwax: I'm sorry you're not satisfied with the quality of Stardock's service. I don't really know what we could do to satisfy you. I will look into why the uninstall of MyColors would remove your other WindowBlinds skins.

Reply #45 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Im looking forward to DX4, im hoping to be in on the EARLY stages of this upgrade, and that a lot of things we (DX programmers) have asked for in multiple forums are being addressed.

Look forward to Skinable widgets.. and lots more.... any way to get a peek at whats on the plan???????
Reply #46 from WinCustomize Forums Top
some of the skins..like the car ones are pretty cool..im thinking about that chevy one..but 20 dollars doesnt really make the skin fun..no discount even if you are an object desktop subscriber..i'll just wait for the cheaper ones to come by, with vista..i just need the basics..cursorxp,iconpackage,windowblind, maybe a clock or calendar thats about it
Reply #47 from WinCustomize Forums Top

dwax, MyColors is being worked on to be more compatible with OD installs.  It is currently using our "OEM" version of the software programs, which were developed to be preloaded on new machines.  Unfortunately, it wasn't designed to play nicely on a machine that already has OD and other skins installed. 

We are working on a solution to this, but there is not a "fix" yet.  If you could forward me your support ticket numbers (the numbers that are sent in the auto response when support gets an email) I will look into why they did not respond to you.  They should have at least let you know that it is a known issue and that we are working on it. 

Reply #48 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Well… well… well!

I purchased a $2.5 million diamond bracelet for Janet Jackson just moment before I secretly took her to a hotel where Paris Hilton was waiting for us. Because I spend that kind of money on my girls, doesn’t mean I’d spend just about any amount of money on just anything.

I have purchased one of the Mycolor suites that I liked, but the price did not hurt me – I liked it! I don’t go back for another one because they are too similar. There has not been much inspiration – only logos are being changed. Most of them appear to be Treetog’s work and look clean. In my book, I feel the price is too much if you must compare them to fully completed suites; but the author has the right to charge whatever amount they desire for their work. On the other hand, you have Master I.R. selling a masterpiece for under $5 over at maxstyles.com I personally think it’s a steal for under 5$. Vstyler throws a masterpiece on our face for about the same price.

I’m glad to hear new players are getting in the game and will continue to see top skins in the same category as the newly released myColor suites. They seem to be new works by new players. That is good news.
Reply #49 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Roger Cale above mentioned something I didn't see responded to and that was that now the focus was more on what the skinners want vs what the users want. It doesn't mean those of us who don't skin are being left out. What it means is that now the programs will be able to do things that skinners have been wanting to do but couldn't because of limitations in the software. This is a GOOD thing!
It means more variety and perhaps more wow as far as skins go. I think the focus definitely should be on providing the tools for skinners to do all they can do and not limit the possibilities. I'm confident this approach will not limit the ability of users to enjoy skins and even dabble in creating them. Stardock will continue to make the user interface easy to use.
So I think you misunderstood what was meant by being skinner focused. Without the wonderful skinners out there, I would not have a desktop to enjoy.

Also I think Mycolors has been long overdue. Its an attempt to reach the mainstream better than Stardock has ever done before. Now that more people are computer literate they can more easily adapt to different desktops.
Reply #50 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've been reading with interest all of the comments here regarding IconX. I've had my share of quirky incompatibility issues with IconX-DesktopX, but I can sometimes get them to work together harmoniously. I do agree with Frogboy's point that software not working well with other software doesn't necessarily mean it is "buggy" (unless the incompatible program in question is some critical OS component). I've been using IconX for a long time because on my LCD's native resolution of 1280x1024, typical desktop icons look about half the size of a postage stamp. Several solutions exist to this issue, including just going blind a decade or so earlier than I probably will now.

IconX has been my solution of choice for some time. However, after reading how it has ceased to be updated in its present form and is not really a high priority for the Stardock team, I decided to try out a program I downloaded a few months back from the Giveaway of the Day site, Desktop Icon Toy. This program is available from the iDesksoft website (link below).

The first thing that I noticed is that it's completely incompatible with WindowFX 3. I don't understand enough about the inner workings of these programs to say why this is, but if you run WindowFX and Desktop Icon Toy simultaneously, the latter will basically not function. So if you're very fond of WindowFX, that could be a dealbreaker for you. (Oddly enough, it doesn't have the same problem with IconX. I'm guessing that this is because IconX creates a "virtual desktop" to put your resized and animated icons on. DIT sits on your real desktop, but of course, you won't get anything out of running it if you have IconX running too.)

No such compatibility issues seem to exist with DesktopX, as I'm running it along with Natural Desktop right now. DIT will allow you to size your icons up to 128x128; 48x48 works fine for me. It also allows you to use a variety of patterns for your icons on the desktop, some of which are obviously far more utilitarian than others (some are a bit silly). It will also hide the icons when the cursor is not on the desktop, which is nice if you like your wallpaper.

The full version is priced at $19.95, which is a tad pricey (about the same as a Windowblinds license), but if you like what it does, it may be worth it to you. I thought someone might appreciate knowing about this product.

WWW Link