My Late Night with Aston

http://www.astonshell.com
from JoeUser Forums
I try to get over to Giveawayoftheday.com on a daily basis to see whether anything nifty is on offer. I don't always make it, but it's usually worth the few minutes of time invested. Several months ago, the site offered the 1.9.5 version of the Aston Shell. I d/l'd and installed it and watched that "A" icon staring back at me every time I booted, defying me to run it. I was reluctant because some of the posters on the site stated or strongly implied that disastrous consequences would befall those who dared to run Aston--everything from stock prices plummeting to hard drives melting. I made a tentative inquiry at Wincustomize.com, but I didn't get much of a response, so I figured I'd just give it a shot.

I got up at 11:00 last night, after one of my wife and I's favorite shows, Dexter, went off and ran the shell. The first thing I noticed was that the start menu seemed to disappear and be replaced by a series of black bars. I suspected that this was due to Aston's dislike of WindowBlinds, so I restored the Windows XP theme and the start menu returned. The default theme has a lot of built-in functionality with drive meter, clock, left and right sidebar widgets, but the light blue color scheme was a bit bland.

I went to the website and sifted through the 500-odd themes available for download, most of which seem to have been created by the same group of about 10 people (evidently hardcore Aston enthusiasts). I downloaded about 15 themes, including some pretty cool-looking Simpsons, WarCraft III, and Vista-based works. Some of them worked well, but most of them are resolution-dependent and in most cases that resolution is 1024x768. I haven't really used this desktop resolution since I got an LCD monitor in September 2006. My monitor's native resolution is 1280x1024 and the themes designed for 1024x768 obviously look pretty distorted at this resolution.

After fiddling with the themes for a while and performing several switchbacks (the software has a "Shell Swapper" component that allows you to switch between the standard Windows Explorer shell and the Aston shell), I didn't discover any critical system issues resulting from the installation. On the other hand, it didn't perform exactly as advertised. When I moused-over (is that a word?) the "Programs" section of the start menu, Aston consistently generated a "Windows - No Disk" exception, which took several clicks to get rid of. A poorly-performing start menu is a bit of dealbreaker for me. Once when I clicked on the "AstonShell" shortcut from the "Web" dropdown menu, I got a strange error claiming that "http://www.astonshell.com/" could not be found. I tend to attribute that snafu to some incompatibility between Aston and Firefox's relatvely-new ability to restore a session after an improper shutdown. I can't honestly say that I've done a thorough evaluation of the software, as I was back in bed before 1:00, but a few glitches point to a not-quite-ready-for-prime-time piece of software. I didn't notice any real improvement in terms of performance over using the Explorer shell, but I probably didn't evaluate it long enough to accurately assess this.

I uninstalled the shell software but I was intrigued by the Aston2Menu product described on the website. I downloaded and ran it; it's currently in beta 3 pre-release status. Apparently, Gladiators decided to break out several of the AstonShell functions present in the 1.9.x versions into separate programs for the 2.0 release. The Menu software specifically skins and alters the functionality of the start menu. The beta includes several attractive skins, although some are cluttered with seemingly-superfluous widgets; more importantly, the menus are generally cleaner and easier-to-use than the standard menu. Aston intends to enhance the speed of navigation and create an editor when the release version is complete. While the menus override any standard start-menu skinning that a WB skin may do, beyond that it plays well with Stardock software. While ultimately I could get the same functionality that AstonShell offers by running some DX or Yahoo! widgets, I like the standalone Menu application. I would recommend that anyone looking for a good start-menu replacement give it a try.
5,432 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I ran Aston a lot. The main reason I don't use it now is because you can't use IP properly with it. Last time I used it, 1.92 I think, I had no problem with WB, 5.whatever at the time, I was able to use OD, CXP and DX with it, no problem. The thing about Aston is that you have to configure, configure, configure if you are picky which I am. I use 1152x864 now. For Aston I had to use 1024x768. Wasn't too bad to do. warreni's words, I can see why your resolution could be a problem but Aston is highly customizable and I think you could overcome the resolution problem. You would have to learn Aston in depth. Last time I used it, I had not used for quite awhile, I had to refresh myself on a lot of the customization aspects. The thing is that Aston replaces the explorer shell itself. Aston uses less CPU but I noticed that when you loaded up a lot of the plug ins the load increased so it wasn't so light as they say.

Here's from when I used it last:

WWW Link

WWW Link

I think they came out pretty good.

When Aston2 is released I may give it a spin cause' it's been said it will all be new. It's been in the works for a couple of years. You have to remember the there are only 2 or 3 people running the whole thing. Stardock is a lot bigger!

If you want something that's easier to configure and plays nicer with Stardock stuff try Winstep.

WWW Link

Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Chasbo,

Yes, I probably could have tinkered some more, but the resolution wasn't the major issue for me; it was the odd crash generated when I opened the "Programs" section of the start menu. While it's true that I could get the window to close after a few clicks, doing that every single time I used the start menu to locate and execute a program is not my idea of fun.

I suspect the 2.0 version will be substantially better and possibly more stable, but it seems to me that the 2.0 package and the WinStep software you pointed to are largely substitutes for rather than enhancements to or addtions to Stardock software. Even the Aston2Menu software that I've given a somewhat backhanded compliment to attempts to cram widgets into odd places in the start menu. Overall, it seems to me that you have more customization options at your fingertips with the OD package, although some components, like ObjectBar and, to a lesser extent, DesktopX (as well as the non-OD ObjectDock), share more in common with these apps than does WindowBlinds, because these are all only as good as the effort you put into customizing them for the way you use your computer.

I guess my other concern is cluttering my computer with too much software that essentially does the same thing. For now I'll be interested in following the development of the menu software. I'm personally a bit disappointed that the "NeXtStart" component of WinStep Xtreme is not available separately, as I'd certainly give it a try if that were an option.
Object Desktop - Get all of our enhancement utilities in one suite
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm personally a bit disappointed that the "NeXtStart" component of WinStep Xtreme is not available separately, as I'd certainly give it a try if that were an option.
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I have Winstep Xtreme and, though the components can be used individually, I generally use the entire package because each compliments/supports the others. I particularly like using WorkShelf....highly configurable and very useful for program and folder shortcuts, etc...and the accompanying gadgets are most helpful to monitor system resources.

Also, Winstep Xtreme is compatible with all ObjectDesktop apps, CursorXP and ObjectDock, so isn't a bad investment.

Well worth checking out via the 30 or 40 day trial version. WWW Link

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I have Winstep Xtreme and, though the components can be used individually, I generally use the entire package because each compliments/supports the others. I particularly like using WorkShelf....highly configurable and very useful for program and folder shortcuts, etc...and the accompanying gadgets are most helpful to monitor system resources.
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Starkers,

I hate to argue from a standpoint of ignorance, but it seems to me that both WorkShelf and NeXus are programs whose functionality is encompassed in some combination of ObjectDock Plus and ObjectBar. If you've used all of these, perhaps you can clarify how this is not the case. Personally, I haven't tried the Winstep progs, but I have tinkered with OD and OB.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I hate to argue from a standpoint of ignorance, but it seems to me that both WorkShelf and NeXus are programs whose functionality is encompassed in some combination of ObjectDock Plus and ObjectBar
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True, Nexus and Workshelf do duplicate some if not most functions of OB & OD. However, Workshelf sits unobtrusively yet conveniently above the taskbar, and offers a host of options through high configurability. For example, once all your shortcuts and settings have been established, they're permanent, become integrated into explorer and require no adjustment even when changing themes. With OD, however, unless you save the previous theme (just plain forget), you pretty much have to start from scratch when reconfiguring all your shortcuts, etc.

Although I have Objectbar and Nexus installed, I do not use them all the time, though for a change from time to time, I'll swap them over for Objectdock and Workshelf, which is my usual combination, in conjunction with NEXTstart, Iconpackager and Windowblinds, etc. It's like they say, a change is as good as a holiday (when you can't get away), and for $39.90 for the entire package, it's an affordable break away.

I guess the only way to be sure is to try out Winstep Xtreme for 30 days or so and evaluate for yourself whether it suits your needs or not.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I use Object Dock and Winstep at the same time. Great combination. If you are into customizing your PC Winstep is a great addition. Like starkers says it's worth the money.

Originally this post was about Aston. My problem with Aston is that you can't use IP with Aston. Doesn't work right.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks for the clarification, guys.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks for the clarification, guys.
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You're welcome, warreni, and the trial period will fill in the blanks for you....so, go to the link at #3 and give it a whirl.

Oh, and get back to us here with your findings/thoughts/opinion.