Being a stats junkie, I think it''s a neat idea. Obviously it would have to be a separate program and be an opt-in thing, but that''s already been covered. Having a more accurate idea of what programs and themes people are using would be interesting at a minimum. It seems like it could also help sway the direction of skinning - IOW it would be easier to identify what people liked and make more themes that catered to that. Of course, you wouldn''t want it taken to an extreme so that a lot of skins ended up being mere variations on one another.

The rating system here probably does a pretty good job of getting feedback, but it does have its limitations that a program like this could overcome. Imagine knowing not only which themes I used, but how long I used them for? I might use some of them a few times a month, but there are others that might be racking up 90% of my usage time. That would be an interesting statistic, I think.

I wonder if it could be sold in the same vein as the Neilsen ratings. There are a bunch of people that willingly offer to have their TV viewing habits recorded and don''t mind any ''privacy invasion'' issues. Seems like this is an analog in the computer world.



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Brad maybe a poll will give you better results?

Wow Frogboy what a grump!!!

I got chewed up ripped up spit out shat out and spun around on an unknown finger.....forgive the 'paranoia' but...

I don't have a whole lot of extra system resource left to run a program...but if you could guarantee the safety of it...(that somewhere down the line it wouldn't cause me any more grief) I'd be more than happy to oblige.

No harm intended with the opinion....and yes I trust Stardock and Wincustomize and the quality products that I have purchased...and the service I've gotten to support it...and I Thank You for that....

*sigh

Speaking strictly for myself, I have no problem with this kind of "spyware" when it is upfront about the purpose, states clearly what information is being collected, and we have conrol over whether or not it is installed, enabled, or even, as has been suggested, Selectively enabled.

I see no cause for concern with your proposal. Stardock already has been entrusted with my name, address, credit card number, etc. And if you seriously wanted to bundle spyware onto my system, you have had ample opportunity to do so. The spyware that troubles me is the kind that attempts to sneak on to my system, seriously invade my privacy, steal my resources, and then clings tenaciously to my system when I try to remove it.

My only question about this has been touched on by Xymantix, and that is what type of data will be collected. Knowing what skins are being used at a time of login seems a bit lax to me, and the data would probably be more useful if you somehow could monitor uptime for skins, and send periodic summary reports. It might even be kind of neat if it could collect a user log SO I myself would be able to look back and see what skins I''ve used most or even those I''ve not used at all that I might want to archive and remove.

Another thought occurred to me, as some others mentioned here, how will you collect data on unpublished skins in use? For example, I tweak almost every skin I download and save it under a different name (Original name X2, ___X3, etc) so as to keep the original skin intact for reference purposes. And even though some of those "tweaks" are fairly major, in my mind, they are still the work of the original artist. But should they be counted or even can they be counted? I also have a number of skins I''m creating from scratch that are loaded on a regular basis. How would you take into account those kind of things, or do you think it would even matter?

At any rate, those are the kind of questions in my mind, but if you want a yea or nay, then my answer is that I would support this program.
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I agree that download numbers and ratings don't always indicate what is being used since many of us download and rate skins we don't end up using on a daily basis. However I don't really want another program running in my tray. I would prefer an option for it be included with the WC browser or with SDC. I could turn it on when I wished to report a change.
I think the results should be linked with the skin on WC. So a person can see then now many people are using it now and perhaps how many have used it.
It sounds helpful, but not sure how much it would change my view about using a skin. I primarily go by the screenshot, if I like how it looks then I download it and see. I don't care if a ton of other people like it, it doesn't mean I will.

I want to be able to "Apply Most Popular Theme" from each of the categories.

Cool. Sounds good too me.

I think its a cool thing if it works... not too sure if that data will help in any way for Stardock but...

How about CustomEyes or something?

I'd use it in a heartbeat. I'd like to see how skins are rated according to actual use.

Hey good idea, Tiggz!