Are You Running Impulse? Check Out the Impulse Community Site

It's pretty!

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

If I had to pick three things that Stardock is incredibly good at, of course I'd start off with skinning/desktop experience software like WindowBlinds, IconPackager etc, and then I'd have to say PC strategy games.  But those two sit on top of our third strength; community building.

We've taken the lessons learned from WinCustomize, and Brad's own years of running BBSes "back in the day" and applied them to our gaming communities surrounding Galactic Civilizations, Sins of a Solar Empire and soon Demigod, and now we're getting ready for a completely new community site attached to Impulse, our new digital distribution tool, and our next major step in community services

ImpulseDriven.net is currently in beta along with Impulse itself.  Using the technology we developed initially on JoeUser, we've smoothed out a lot of rough edges, improved the UI and have what we feel is a great community discussion site centered around games, skinning and technology in general.

There are two ways you can access the site, either from the Community tab within Impulse, or by pointing your web browser to ImpulseDriven.net.  It's important to note that you will need IE7 installed to properly view it within Impulse.  IE7/Firefox 2 will work equally well if accessing the site directly.

Let us know what you think!  And remember, this is just the first pass at it.  There are a lot of plans for expanding and improving the site over the next year.

10,647 views 27 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've been using Impulse since the second day it was available. I've enjoyed each enhancement to it that has come out since then.

The Impulse Community Site is something new for the WC and SDC crowd and might take a little getting used to. It has even cause ugly and pretty posts to show up in the forums. Someone even offered up in IRC that whether ugly or pretty it does have a nice personality.  ;) 

One thing you can say about it, keeping in touch or being able to contact others in the community should be a lot easier now with the community site. I think more people with use it than not. How a feature functions is higher on my list than its design. :CONGRAT: 
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
We have a lot of social-interaction features planned for ImpulseDriven.  And you can bet you'll see a lot of the tech from that site make its way over to WinCustomize in the future.
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
when I close my Impulse in the community tab as being in the forum - that is where it starts backup at and makes it the home page SGT :HOT: 
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
well no it does not - just returns to forums again
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I guess it sounds kinda sad but I only use Impulse to update my software. I use the webpage to read the forums.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Last I heard IE7 dosnt skin with windowblinds on XP...so no thanks. If I must go there,I guess it will be Firefox...but it dosnt skin with windowblinds properly either so... In other words,WB has precedence. ;) (maybe while I'm suffering on Vista,IE7 is already there and skinned) X-(  :LOL: 
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'd rather have a more updated, standards-compliant (as far as IE goes), secure browser than worry about it being skinned properly.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Last I heard IE7 dosnt skin with windowblinds on XP...so no thanks. If I must go there,I guess it will be Firefox...but it dosnt skin with windowblinds properly either so... In other words,WB has precedence. (maybe while I'm suffering on Vista,IE7 is already there and skinned)
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Same, but in french  :LOL:  :LOL:  :LOL:  :LOL: 
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yes Bebi...I want that too,tabs are great...not sure why IE7 dosnt skin in WB. :NOTSURE: 
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hate to say it IRB - but my XP Pro here with IE7 is skinned using My Colors Theme of "Cosmos". For that matter any skin I want it to be. I've never had a problem with IE7. Now the tabs in IE8 are not skinned. But So far so good with WB on XP.
Would you like to see a screenie?

As to thread - The only thing I find hard to do with the new Impulse Net is to navigate to places I want to go. Not enough links there for the usual stuff I use in the forums. [ that I'm used too! ] As for what language and such just don't know?? I'm American and use English so it works good in that respects.

I'd rather have a more updated, standards-compliant (as far as IE goes), secure browser than worry about it being skinned properly.
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As for FF being so secure - I think not - as it is I have better security using IE7 than any other browser. But I see that as an opinion only - for some people think with their fingers and not with the way things actually are done. [ fast and receptive - in disguise only ]

But that is just the way I am with stuff. Do not get me wrong I use FF for certain applications and I do believe it can be used in a secure way. But just using it is not all that secure.
I await the final IPV6 net with encryption. With a new mobile chip being now placed on the assembly line at Intel.{The Intel Atom}
WWW Link
There is soon to make way for this to happen drastically. First with total use of the net via cell phones and next the pc with 64 bit only in 2015. Thus Vista will be one of the only OS's able to be upgraded to the new net being drawn out by developers for the next generation to come.

SGT :HOT: 
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Impulse refused to update Icon Packager but SDC allowed me to so I think there's a problem with Impulse and detecting licensing?? :(
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
.....not sure why your clinging to xp ir...its gonna die one of these days.... :NOTSURE: 

I DO look forward to you skinning wb for vista.....you should join the club, the water is warm and
the sun is shining...you cant go wrong......trust me.

plus its more skinnable and pliable than you think.......you can be imaginative with not alot of limits....trust me....
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hate to say it IRB - but my XP Pro here with IE7 is skinned using My Colors Theme of "Cosmos". For that matter any skin I want it to be. I've never had a problem with IE7. Now the tabs in IE8 are not skinned. But So far so good with WB on XP.
Would you like to see a screenie?
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Yes,a screenie of IE7 skinned by WB on XP would be good...tho I suspect most of the my colors blinds are UIS1 frames on XP...which dosnt help me one bit. ;) 
plus its more skinnable and pliable than you think.......you can be imaginative with not alot of limits....trust me....
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No,its not more skinnable than I think.I'm well aware of what you can and cannot do in Vista...correctly.You assume incorrectly,that I havnt looked at all the quirks inherent in taking an XP skin and making it Vista ready.I have gone thru blinds with vStyler(probably the most complete Vista skinner...he's a stickler for accuracy and completeness),and got a lot of precise info on what is required. ;)  I setup a clean install of XP,got IE7,latest WB...none of the 3 Stardock design skins(UIS2 and 1)included skinned IE7(except for mousovers and toolbar background...and the way it breaks that up into 3 sections is terrible). Cant move or remove address bar or search bar.Like you can in XP.This is typical of the entire Vista philosophy. X-( 
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
What the heck is wrong with the line breaks in the forums? :NOTSURE: 

Dragon is the most current skin you can get from Stardock,(Cha ninja and Mike Bryant),and IE7 is not skinned...and these are people who KNOW skinning. ;) 
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
(Cha ninja and Mike Bryant),and IE7 is not skinned...and these are people who KNOW skinning.  
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lets hope then in the future it can be so.............

Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
OK IRB here is Dragon 1st
Cosmos is the next one
They both work just fine here with IE7 in WB

Click the image for larger view...
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Nothing inside IE is skinned.
Compare to IE7 in Vista:

Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Nothing inside IE is skinned.
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Thank you Zubaz...I thought maybe I was going crazy...or worse yet...wrong. :LOL: 
Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hmmm, I thought everyone understood that parts of IE7 in XP were hard coded. They will never be skinnable  ;)
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thank you Zubaz...I thought maybe I was going crazy...or worse yet...wrong.
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I've used your skins . . I think it's clear that you *ARE* crazy (and maybe a little bit wrong) but not in this case.   :SURPRISED:  ;) 
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top
OK IRB then you need to buy Vista and get caught up with the rest of the world. But I still say it is skinned just as much if not more than FF is by any means. Not saying you can't add more stuff to your FF. But it does not compare with the right ways of using the net as with IE or for that matter IE7. Here is what I see with my FF in the same skins being used and or with Vista and FF and IE7...
Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I just checked out Impulse Driven. Sweet. I may never use JoeUser again. I like this set-up much better.
Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hmmm, I thought everyone understood that parts of IE7 in XP were hard coded. They will never be skinnable
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I just do not see why that would be so - seeing that they did so damn much to protect Vista and all that. Why would they do that with XP and not with Vista? Oh I know what it is they figured everyone would buy Vista if it did what XP could not do and such the like. But none the matter - The new update for the Impulse has some really nice stuff in it! Must say I'm gona be using this program a lot more for a lot of good reasons. Hope the line breaks are changed back now... heheeeeheehhee ... SGT :HOT: 
Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top
One little request...

How about an icon for the toolbar? And one for JoeUser, too. I hate seeing that little blank image for Impulse and JoeUser. ;)

Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Check out the latest Impulse update, there are buttons on the bottom of the community page. :SURPRISED: 

They don't work yet, but something is up.  ;)