| Ever wanted to change the entire graphical user interface of Windows to one of your own design or at the very least to something that matches your tastes and habits? That's what WindowBlinds does.
WindowBlinds 4 is now available. It is currently only available on Windows XP with version 4 for Windows 98, ME, and 2000 in development.
New in WindowBlinds 4:
1) It is much faster than version 3. In fact, in some cases it is almost as fast as running the "classic" look. That's because of a new drawing technology called "Smart Painting". Integrated into WindowBlinds, Smart Painting makes the drawing of windows much more efficient. As a result, moving and resizing of windows is much faster than before.
2) It skins much more of the Windows user interface including on Windows XP (and in the 2000 version) the command prompt window. It also skins the logoff dialogs, the explorer task panels (on the left of folder windows), and much more.
3) A brand new configuration program that makes it easier to manage and organize all your visual styles.
4) Far greater compatibility than ever before. The WindowBlinds 4 exclusion list is nearly empty. Thanks to a new way of integrating into Windows XP, WindowBlinds 4 works with even the most non-standard of programs in most cases.
To get WindowBlinds version 4 go to: http://www.windowblinds.net It is also part of Stardock's Object Desktop suite http://www.objectdesktop.com |
| Galactic Civilizations Arrives |
Galactic Civilizations is a space based strategy game in which you are in control of humanity's destiny.
The game begins at the dawn of a new age of interstellar travel. The humans and 5 alien civilizations are vying for control of the galaxy. As leader of United Earth, you must research new technologies, build an economy, create a powerful military force, all the while carefully balancing your political, diplomatic and trade skills.
The reviews of Galactic Civilizations have been very positive:
"Addictive, Solid, and Smarter than all its competition combined..." - PC Gamer
"GalCiv is easily the best 4X game right now and the best that we’ll see for years to come...anyone who passes this baby over will feel like those who missed System Shock or Master of Magic." -FiringSquad
"Galactic Civilizations' strong AI, robust diplomacy, and variety of strategic options make it an outstanding turn-based strategy game." -GameSpot
"Rich, diverse, populated universe; keen artificial intelligence that can't be easily fooled; gameplay that somehow combines depth with ease of use. " -GamesDomain
If you like PC strategy games, Galactic Civilizations is the game to get. Before there was a WinCustomize, before there was a WindowBlinds and before there was an Object Desktop, there was Galactic Civilizations. And for Stardock's 10 year anniversary, the company returned to its roots. Galactic Civilizations has been in the top 10 sellers at Amazon.com for the past month and is at a store near you.
Moreover, Galactic Civilizations is the first major retail game that is also available for order and immediate download directly from GalCiv.com.
[Galactic Civilizations Home Page] |
| Rise of the Skinning Studios |
| Most old timers of Windows customization agree that skinning started to take off around 1999. That is when Winamp, WindowBlinds, and Litestep started to really hit their stride. But few would have predicted that "skinning" would become so popular that by 2003, there would be a number of independent skinning studios who were generating a considerable amount of income creating skins and themes for customers ranging from Microsoft, Nintendo, Bell South, nVidia, Dell, and even the movie industry.
The two biggest independent skinning studios so far have been Pixtudio and The Skins Factory. A third company has also arrived, called SkinPlant. SkinPlant has already created skins for eVGA, BFG Technologies, Abit, and even Touchstone Pictures. SkinPlant has specialized in creating WindowBlinds visual styles. Over the past year, the demand for professional quality WindowBlinds format visual styles has increased and been used by even software giants like Microsoft to change the Windows GUI.
Pixtudio has focused primarily on WindowBlinds visual styles as well but has done very well creating professional grade skin suites that support everything from IconPackager to DesktopX to Cool Player. Nintendo and Pixtudio have been working together for a year now on Game Cube related themes that make use of IconPackager icons and WindowBlinds visual styles with more on the way. The Skins Factory has become the premiere provider of both Windows Media Player skins and WindowBlinds visual styles to Microsoft. The Xbox visual style was particularly popular with users.
Stardock has worked closely with Pixtudio in creating such themes as Toon-XP as well as the upcoming WindowBlinds 4 Premium Pack will will be out in the next few weeks.
With more and more users moving to Windows XP with its inherent robustness, customization of the environment becomes more practical. And more and more companies and users are discovering that personalizing their Windows PC is both fun and often quite useful. |
| WinCustomize subscribers have gotten their second premium suite. The second suite, called Kryptonite, combines a DesktopX theme and a WindowBlinds skin along with a wallpaper designed by Stardock's gaming team to create a truly unique looking desktop.
Here's a screenshot:
https://www.stardock.net/people/martin/krypton/krypt2.jpg
WinCustomize subscribers not only get occasional premium skin suites, they also get the WinCustomize skin browser. A program that integrates directly into WinCustomize's database that makes downloading, searching, and applying of skins, themes, wallpapers, and icons a snap.
WinCustomize subscribers are what make it possible for WinCustomize to keep going. With over 1.2 million unique visitors per month, WinCustomize utilizes an immense amount of bandwidth. Thanks to a team of dedicated volunteers from the community who moderate the skins and themes and wallpapers and just generally keep the place going, WinCustomize has become one of the most popular sites on the Internet.
[WinCustomize Subscriber Page]
Already a subscriber? Go here: Subscriber Page. |
| ObjectMedia & Keyboard LaunchPad |
 Object Desktop has gotten a couple of very useful new programs. The first one is called ObjectMedia. ObjectMedia is a media player. What makes it different is that it is very small on its own and is designed to be interacted with via other programs such as DesktopX, ObjectBar, WindowBlinds, and now Keyboard LaunchPad.
Keyboard LaunchPad allows you to assign hot keys to launch any program or website at any time from anywhere. It also supports plugins such as ObjectMedia. So at any time users can control their media player for playing music (see screenshot). Visit Object Desktop's Home Page to find out how to get Object Desktop. |
| The Indie Games Festival 2003 |
| Stardock's Brad Wardell was a judge as this year's Independent Games Festival. Check out his review of this year's finalists. |
| Not only has the CursorXP home page gotten a face lift, courtesy of Pixtudio. It has a brand new version of CursorXP.
 Cursor XP 1.3 has tons of little fixes and tweaks in it. And it supports the upcoming CursorXP Premium suite (see preview on left).
|
 Have you wanted to create your own user interface for Windows? That is, make your own title bar, scrollbars, tool bars, Start bar, push buttons, radio buttons, and so forth?
That's what SkinStudio version 3 can do for you. Moreover, version 3 allows you to work on multiple visual styles at the same.
To download SkinStudio version 3, visit http://www.skinstudio.net.
Read the SkinStudio Information Guide.
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ObjectDock is a freeware program that is part task manager and part program launcher. When you put your mouse over an item, it grows to highlight itself. It is very popular and WinCustomize has a growing library of ObjectDock themes. Version 0.90 supports ObjectDock's new theme format which allows users to put together their dock, just how they like it, and then upload it where it will automatically take care of the associations and other settings. You can download ObjectDock at www.objectdock.com. |
| About WinCustomize Magazine |
| WinCustomize Magazine is a monthly magazine that is sent to WinCustomize users. If for some reason you do not want to continue receiving this magazine, visit https://www.wincustomize.com and in your account settings uncheck the "Receive WinCustomize Magazine" option. |
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