DMN Newswire: Stardock lets you pimp out your PC desktop

Stardock marked the 10 millionth download of popular skinning software WindowBlinds by releasing WindowBlinds 5.01. WindowBlinds is a program that enables users to completely change the look and feel of Microsoft Windows. With it, users can apply "skins" that change the existing Windows graphical user interface (GUI) across the entire system. Title bars, push buttons, radio buttons, the Start bar, and nearly every other part of the Windows interface is changed. WindowBlinds 5.01 improves performance on X64 based systems, adds support for wallpaper management, taskbar blurring, IE 7 support, and various tweaks, bug fixes, and performance enhancements.

WindowBlinds is used by companies such as Microsoft, nVidia, ATI, Nintendo, Blizzard, Alienware and many others to create their own custom desktops. The most recent addition to WindowBlinds fans is Xbox 360 Desktop, which uses WindowBlinds to create an xBox themed desktop. Companies also license WindowBlinds-based technology in the form of DirectSkin to make their own applications skinnable. For example, the ATI Catalyst Control Center uses WindowBlinds for its skinning and GE Medical uses it to create skinnable applications.

WindowBlinds has skinning features not thought possible on Windows XP or before. The most popular of which is that WindowBlinds can support alpha blending in skins (glass effects and other visual enhancements in title bars and controls) as well as animation, shadows, sound effects, and more.

It can be downloaded at www.windowblinds.net. WindowBlinds can be registered on its own for $19.95 or as part of Stardock's award-winning suite of desktop utilities Object Desktop (www.stardock.com)