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DesktopX Pro released!

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DesktopX Pro released!

http://www.desktopx.net
from WinCustomize Forums
For Immediate Release:

DesktopX Pro allows developers to create and distribute desktop objects as stand alone programs
Stardock releases DesktopX 2.0 Professional

LIVONIA, MI (November 19, 2003) — Software developer Stardock Corp. released DesktopX Professional today. DesktopX is a program that allows users and developers to create powerful desktop objects that can perform a variety of tasks. These objects can be combined together to build entire desktops or be used on their own.

DesktopX Professional contains all the features of DesktopX with a single addition: DesktopX Professional can export objects as stand alone applications. These applications are a single .EXE. No support files, no run times, just a single file that will run on Windows 98, ME, 2000, or Windows XP.

This ability can decrease development time on small applications from months to literally minutes. That’s because DesktopX is already designed to make creating desktop “widgets” very easy. Turning these “widgets” into applications takes only a few seconds.

Here are some of the features DesktopX includes:

• Replacement of desktop icons with objects that can be of any size, have shadows and react to mouse events.

• Built in visual system monitoring such as resource usage, CPU monitoring, disk space meters, Internet traffic graphs, and visual graphing of all readouts from Microsoft’s built in performance monitoring APIs (i.e. hundreds of local and network resources can be visually monitored without any programming).

• Full support for animation and alpha blending. Using a strip of .BMP or .PNG files, users can set the frame rate and play animations right on their desktop.

• Integrated support for both VBScript and Javascript which includes a powerful programmer’s editor. Developers can quickly access information and data from their network or via the Internet and display it on screen using industry standard scripting languages.

• Built in security allows users to lock down their desktops incrementally. DesktopX can be used to build kiosks, publicly accessible terminals or secure home family desktops.

• Direct support for COM/Active X controls. Users can access any ActiveX control on the system and use them to create a corporate or home desktop environment. These controls act just like any other DesktopX object and can have scripts attached to them to control their behavior.

These are features in addition to the key feature of DesktopX 2 Professional – application creation. For software developers, exporting DesktopX objects as applications is the feature of focus.

A free version of DesktopX is available at http://www.desktopx.net which allows for objects to be exported as packed objects for distribution (they require DesktopX). DesktopX Professional enables the exporting of objects as stand-alone applications.

See Sample programs and more information on DesktopX Pro at:
https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/pro.asp


More information & video demos at: https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/info.asp

# # #

DesktopX 2.0 Professional
$499
DesktopX home page: http://www.desktopx.net

DesktopX 2 Enhanced
$19.95 (and is also part of Object Desktop)

Free version of DesktopX at: http://www.desktopx.net/downloads.asp

Stardock Corp.
17292 Farmington Rd.
Livonia MI 48152
Phn: (734) 762-0687
Fax: (734) 762-0690
Web: https://www.stardock.com
15,764 views 26 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
$499 is nothing for a business tool like this for marketing, etc. If the feature was in the $20 version, don't you think the bigger companies would just take advangage? - I know I'd would release some objs like a shot. Now I have to do a cost-benefit analysis before deciding (sadly I suspect I won't end up buying as I don't THINK it'll be significant for me - yet).

As far as software:

Brad, don't forget that Photoshop Elements 2.0 does a perfectly good job of editing Photoshop files for lower end users and costs less than $100 (unless I'm missing something - I'm not a HUGE Photoshop user, can't quite justify the cost and therefore use Elements 2.0 instead).

I am really touchy about pirate software, I insist on buying legit software and it is quite frankly galling the way people pirate Windows, Office, Photoshop, etc then use them every day and say they're not worth the price - they're professional tools for business use for gawds sake! Most people could use, for example Windows XP Home, Office XP Small Business or Photoshop Elements 2.0, but they end up using full Photoshop, Windows XP Pro and Office XP Premium - the end result the pirates won't purchase as they would have to buy inferior versions and given the choice of paying for lower versions or keeping pirate software, paying always loses.

Finally, I've encountered the same problem as Vanilla Ice with my apps - in fact I ended up giving the result of about 6-12 months work away as freeware as I suspected making a shareware version would simply put legit users off, whilst the pirates couldn't give a crap and wouldn't pay anyway. Kinda sad, and it impacts the time I can spend maintaining these products as they do not generate revenue. I'd have loved to have used DirectSkin with some of my apps, but as they don't provide revenue I obviously cannot do so.

Phil