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Tough love for desktop enhancements is needed

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Tough love for desktop enhancements is needed

from JoeUser Forums

Object_Desktop_2008_Logo It’s time to have a very candid discussion about the future of Windows customization.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been focusing on other parts of the company. Users on WinCustomize.com and related sites have no doubt noticed that my activity has dropped a great deal for awhile. 

Focusing on Stardock’s games unit and the Impulse unit required a lot of the time I used to devote to the desktop enhancements group.  Starting Monday, I’m back – somewhat anyway.

And today I spent time looking over the state of desktop enhancements and in particular Stardock’s desktop enhancements and I don’t like what I see.

First, third-party customization seems totally dead.  For all the grief we used to receive about how “open source” and “freeware” would rule the world (how those uxtheme patches working out these days?) it’s pretty clear that that development crowd has moved on to other things.

Let’s face it, Windows Vista and Windows 7 in particular look awesome. Microsoft has done a great job improving the experience for Windows users.  Why on earth should people pay money for programs that often make Windows look worse? Or make things behave flakey?

Does this mean that customization is dying? No.  It means that desktop enhancements have to adapt to the OS people actually use.  We’re a long ways from the days of Windows 2000 or Windows XP now. 

Sure, lots of people still use Windows XP. But it’s a dying market. It came out 8 years ago. It’s time to move on.  You can’t focus making software for legacy operating systems if your overall audience are cutting edge power users.  I know that might upset some people but it’s true.

In two weeks, Windows 7 comes out.  I’m running it right now. It’s awesome. And if desktop customization is going to move forward, it needs to start looking at customizing the things that today’s users want to customize even if that means starting from scratch.

Keep an eye on Object Desktop starting today and going forward. You’re going to see some pretty rapid changes coming.

269,866 views 141 replies
Reply #101 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting RedneckDude, reply 29

So RightClick, KLP, ObjectBar, etc. will likely not get very much love in their current manifestations.


Shew!! I'm so glad to NOT see DesktopX in that list!!  :grin:

 
End of RedneckDude's quote

Wish I were as relieved. So far, I'm not getting any positive vibes as far as concerns DesktopX/widgets/gadgets.

Reply #102 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting vStyler, reply 89
Honestly as much good feedback as I'm getting in 'support' of improving WB for the better from those that can do something about it or at least reply in this thread, starting to wonder why I bother. Sure I'm griping, trying to get some folks involved for my cause but it is for the betterment of skinning that I do so.. if everyone want's as someone already quoted, galleries full of "generic" looking themes, by all means ignore me.
End of vStyler's quote


You're doing it because some of us don't exactly know how to articulate what you're saying.  I didn't know the generic thing had to do with control in WB.  I was under the impression that generic made a skin more "usable," hence more downloads and a higher rating.  I don't think any of the blinds I've done could be considered generic, but they don't do as well as some of the more generic skins produced by others, and I always assumed that was just because the masses liked things a little less detailed.

Of course I would like more control when designing Windowblinds -- but since I'm still an apprentice, I don't know the limits of what we have now, so it makes it hard for me to visualize more in the future.  Maybe one of the reasons I'm kind of slow at embracing the whole Win 7 and casting off XP, is I'm going to miss some of those things that could be skinned in XP, like the file transfer animations, and the logoff thing.  They were pretty cool parts of a blind, in my opinion, and it's sad to see them go.

BTW, I agree with you on the taskbar size -- I don't like the fat taskbar.  Real estate is important when one is using a laptop.

Siege of Centauri
Reply #103 from WinCustomize Forums Top

BTW, I agree with you on the taskbar size -- I don't like the fat taskbar. Real estate is important when one is using a laptop.
End of quote

 

Shocker     ;)

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Reply #104 from WinCustomize Forums Top

i'm on a 29" wide running at 1440x900

I prefer thin

 

I only use a double bar at work

Reply #105 from Stardock Forums Top

In case anybody is wondering - there is an option in Windows 7 to change the icon size, which changes the bar size . . .

Have you tried a vertical taskbar setup yet on W7?
End of quote

As somebody who normally works with a horizontal bar, the icon-centric approach actually works well vertically. I never really liked vertical in other OSes. But I think I could handle vertical with Windows 7.

Reply #106 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I just hope there is enough ODNT left to have a version called "Ultimate" and still keep a straight face. ;) (Vista Ultimate comes to mind here)

Btw,I prefer the non-fat variety of taskbar also......oops,that makes four of us.

 

Reply #107 from WinCustomize Forums Top

that makes four of us.
End of quote
Five of us. ;)

Reply #108 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Five of us.
End of quote

 

Hmm...... thats 2 more than 3 Pas... after a couple of people weighing in.....

 

...shocker!.  ;)

 

Now multiply that by a hundred thousand or two.. thus far.

 

It is crazy to think that X% only use thin taskbars so lets just concentrate on P H A T  taskbars.

 

I'd roll my eyes if there were a corresponding emote for it.

Reply #109 from WinCustomize Forums Top

K, time for some tough love... THE first thing I checked on Win 7.. the Aero clones, midnight, executive etc. Look great with huge taskbar, as soon as u revert .... broke. Taskbar is too thin, start button is half submerged.
End of quote

That was the first that really got me when Win7 WBs came out. I prefer the thin taskbar also, but the start button just is cut off with all skins. Doesn't happen when You set the bar to be on the top of the screen though. Used to have it there in Win 98/2000 days, but not anymore since XP...

Reply #110 from JoeUser Forums Top

As somebody who normally works with a horizontal bar, the icon-centric approach actually works well vertically. I never really liked vertical in other OSes. But I think I could handle vertical with Windows 7.
End of quote

That helps to know.  Thanks for satisfying my curiosity.  In the course of my workday I have multiple apps, & windows within those apps, open at once on my notebook.  I'm able to see the Window Titles for far more open windows using a (relatively) wide vertical taskbar than a horizontal one & can get much more of a document on-screen vertically that way.  Just a preference that works for me.  I can see how an icon-centric horizontal bar might work with titles in tooltips but my eyes can hunt faster than my mouse.

And, at least in XP, skinning the vertical taskbar so it actually looks good requires a separate set of images for for the bar, taskbar buttons, QL buttons & SysTray, and some ingenuity in designing the Start Button (the one image which must be common to both horizontal & vertical bars).

Reply #111 from WinCustomize Forums Top

So we don't like fat task bars, and we don't like that hideous start menu.

So what we are really saying is we want a brand new, skinnable, highly adaptable, W7 version of Object Bar? Where the skinner can decide how the task bar and start menu looks and performs.

Sounds like a new program is in order. Windowblinds can't do the whole job any more.

Reply #112 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I don't like the phat taskbar, either... or that it's dead flat... if Win 7 took a step backwards, that was it.

Reply #113 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I like the Vista and 7 Startmenu. ;)

Reply #114 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting vStyler, reply 80
K, time for some tough love... THE first thing I checked on Win 7.. the Aero clones, midnight, executive etc. Look great with huge taskbar, as soon as u revert .... broke. Taskbar is too thin, start button is half submerged.

Looks to me that u can skin for either a fat or thin taskbar but not both, just one thing I have already found that needs attn in WB7 ...imo.
End of vStyler's quote

For older skins :

I downloaded the XP/Vista Aero Executive and tried it out on Windows 7 with WB7.  I set the taskbar to small icon mode and took a screenshot and compared it to the screenshot thats in the WC gallery for that skin.

In both the taskbar is 30 pixels tall and there is 5 pixels below the dark bottom part of the windows logo on the startbutton.  I.e. the taskbar is an identical height when on Windows Vista and Windows 7 in small icon mode.  Likewise the application buttons on Windows 7 are the same height as when on Vista.

And the start button is half submerged in an identical fashion to when on Windows Vista.

For the updated Win7 versions of those skins, there does appear to be a problem.  The updates have set the start button to centre themselves in the taskbar and I would agree the taskbar seems to have been set too thin.  The skins just need some tweaking as I guess the skin author who updated them didn't try small icons mode.

For now if you want to use the small icon taskbar in Windows 7, just pick the Vista substyle from the styles tab in WindowBlinds.  The skin should work just fine then.

Reply #115 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting vStyler, reply 94
It's ok to take an opposing view on something John, but you have to be prepared to look at the big picture and not just the 'folks you know"

Like the D2Jbug posted, the older more extravagant themes, the reason people were attracted to skinning to begin with are unlikely to be seen again if the current level of OS control does not improve.

It just is not doable in Vista \ 7
End of vStyler's quote

Actually that skin will work on Windows Vista / 7.  The issue you will have is Office 2007/2010 and Google Chrome both put things in the titlebar and make assumptions that there is nothing on the left of the titlebar.  This is unfortunately mostly outside our control, though there have been some recent tweaks to WB to support titlebar buttons on the left which flip to the right hand end when one of those unusual titlebars is encountered.

The only solution for those apps would be to define a whole new set of frames specifically for those windows.

Reply #117 from WinCustomize Forums Top

And what happens if the 'hobbyists' who play with open source linux decide to...um...drop the OS? Hmmmm. Just a thought.

Reply #118 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting bk13GarbageMan, reply 86
.................Forgot to ask, are any current MyColors Themes going to get a 7 version added ????
End of bk13GarbageMan's quote

I don't think so, i asked zubaz about it but with MyColors, you buy what is already there, so no skin updates, or compataility fixes :( its a real shame for those taht want to use them on 7

Reply #119 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Anakey, reply 118

Quoting bk13GarbageMan, reply 86.................Forgot to ask, are any current MyColors Themes going to get a 7 version added ????
I don't think so, i asked zubaz about it but with MyColors, you buy what is already there, so no skin updates, or compataility fixes its a real shame for those taht want to use them on 7
End of Anakey's quote
Updates are always posssible if the market supports it but when you buy a MyColors theme you should not be buying for the update potential but for what it delivers at that moment.  :)

Reply #120 from WinCustomize Forums Top

very good news move to win 7 now stardock I  like what has been said in the main post :wc: love the win 7 taskbar

Reply #121 from WinCustomize Forums Top
No_Longer

 

I really wish people would stop changing their usernames for no real purpose.

 

Reply #122 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Backing up a bit, my personal opinion on XP.

It's a great OS, but as Brad mentioned, it's time to move on and upgrade.  Don't think you have to buy a new PC either, I have installed Windows 7 on machines that had XP, and the performance of Win7 is amazing.

 

Reply #123 from WinCustomize Forums Top

It's a great OS, but as Brad mentioned, it's time to move on and upgrade. Don't think you have to buy a new PC either, I have installed Windows 7 on machines that had XP, and the performance of Win7 is amazing.
End of quote

As did I......my old xp lappy has gotten a new life by Win7.

 

Of course it didn't hurt that I installed a couple of extra Gigs of memory too........

Reply #124 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'd roll my eyes if there were a corresponding emote for it.
End of quote

There is! :rolleyes:

Reply #125 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Oops.. I meant  good.. corresponding one  :-|

 

Sounds like a new program is in order. Windowblinds can't do the whole job any more.
End of quote

 

The vulcan might actually be onto something there.