Is anybody else confused...

Your best bet is to just get WinStyles.

What WinStyles does is abstract all the myriad of skinning, theming, styling programs out there. You download a WinStyles theme and it will automatically find the program you need to apply it and use that. So you don't have to worry about what does what.

There are competing apps, such as Windowblinds competes with the MS Styles, but most of the other applications you mentionned serve different purposes.
Typically, Desktop X adds pizaz to your desktop, with animation and other cool stuff. Although you can make start bars and other launch bars, Objectbar is really the app that's designed for those.
Winstyles is not really a skinning application itself, but more like a packaging software. It allows you to bundle a bunch of skins and themes in one distributable file.
Of course other applications are more directly or indirectly competing. Such as Desktop X versus NextStart or Hoverdesk. Then again some people use them together.

Paxx...will either Hoverdesk or Winstep run in conjunction with DesktopX and WindowBlinds?

You can use Hoverdesk and Winstep with DesktopX and WindowBlinds. (Heck, for that matter you can run Hoverdesk and Winstep at the same time too).

There's only one small caveat regarding running Hoverdesk and DesktopX. That is, DesktopX runs a program in the background call trayserver.exe (ObjectBar does this as well). If this program is running, it interferes with Hoverdesk's taskbar and systtray management (assuming you want to use Hoverdesk's taskbar and systray).

Argh. I hit submit too soon. To address this, you can either kill the running trayserver.exe task, or just rename it so something else to prevent it from being automaticlally started.

If you decide to no longer use Hoverdesks taskbar and systray and want to use DesktopX's, rename the executable back to trayserver.exe.

I started using WinStyles when it went 1.0 on Object Desktop. It is what I use now to control everything. My only critical remark on it would be that it should have previews more easily accessible.

Thanks for the info Chris...I've downloaded both, but have never played with them...didn't want to destabilize what I have now...I'm using DesktopX and Windowblinds exclusively...I'm very pleased with both as they accomplish all I need....once again, thnks for the info

Thanks all.

Do I understand from this that I can use WinStyles as a stand-alone app to run WindowBlinds themes - without running Windowblinds? I have been using both simultaneously.

WinStyles doesn't 'run' it just applies the skins. So if it were to apply a Windoblinds skin, Windowblinds would be running.

deveza,
As I was trying to say in my previous post, Winstyles is not a skinning application. It's just a packaging application. With it, you can apply with one click a Windowblinds skin, a Desktop X theme, an Iconpackager scheme, etc. But you still need to have Windowblinds, DesktopX, Iconpackager, etc. installed.

Windowblinds and MSStyles skin the basic Windows interface and can be used with any other skinning application.

DesktopX is a Desktop customization tool. It can however be used to create taskbars, finders and the such but, it's intended use is to place productive ( and pretty) things directly to the desktop layer.

Icon packager is simply a program that lets you easily replace all of your system Icons with Icons in packages. (must have)

winstyles simply manages the skins for most of the skinnable programs. you'll have to look at the web site to see what all it manages, I'm not sure...

Object bar is intended to create Lauchbar, finders, warfs etc... and is flexible enough to do most andything. (I really wish that someone would create a Next bar set and skin for OB Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink)

Next STart - is a taskbar replacemet that can do a right click menu like the Next OS along with taskbar and sys tray.

WorkShelf is a tabbed warf type application that gives you a skinnable, Tabbed taskbar/program launcher.

Hoverdesk seems to me to be a more extensive yet not as flexible ( however easier to skin) taskbar replacement along with a right click start menu..

Hang on- is Finder a trademark of Apple?

I doubt it. Sounds like just an English word to me.
Same as I don't think "Start panel", "task bar" or "system tray" are trademarks of Microsoft... But you never know in this crazy world we live in, where a colour can be trademarked...

ObjectBar can do the right click thing as well. Actually that is one of my favorite things about it. It works on the desktop, but not in a program. I kind of wish it would.

Ok. I saw the post for astonshell on the main page. Where does that fit in with all these programs like DesktopX, WindowBlinds, HoverDesk, ObjectBar, etc. I've been using ODNT for a year now. A light user really; all I use is WindowBlinds and the utilities on ODNT. Tried DesktopX but it was early in development and haven't bothered to go back and mess with it.

But I downloaded the Astonshell installed it on an old laptop cause it sounded interesting. I'm pleasently surprised by it, but wary of installing it on my desktop and how it will affect things. Anybody have any experience with it?

The word Finder IS a trademark of Apple.