Stardock has released DesktopX 2.1 today!

DesktopX is a desktop enhancement utility designed to let users of Microsoft Windows turbo-charge their Windows desktops. DesktopX does this by enhancing the desktop and extending it to natively support objects and widgets These objects and widgets can add all kinds of new features for users as well as be put together to build entire desktops.

DesktopX has been used to create kiosks, create alternative computer interfaces in movies and TV, create simplified, child friendly desktops, and by power users who want to improve their productivity. Simply put, DesktopX can make Windows more useful and more fun to use.

DesktopX has 3 primary features:

1) It can enhance your existing Windows desktop by making desktop icons have shadows, be sized independently from the rest of the system (i.e. have big icons just on the desktop), respond to mouse events (such as grow and shrink when the mouse is over them), play a sound when the mouse is clicked on them, and much more.

2) It allows for additional functionality to be added to the desktop. DesktopX objects can do virtually anything. DesktopX objects include clocks, calendars, stock tickers, news monitors, IRC clients, video games, fish, simulators, color grabbers, timers, CPU meters, network monitors, MP3 players, radio station players, PVR interfaces, and much more. In DesktopX 2.1, these objects can be exported as mini-programs called Widgets that can run on any system that has DesktopX installed.

3) It enables users or administrators to actually build their own unique desktops. These desktops can be used as kiosks, power user desktops, desktop for guests, and much more. DesktopX Pro even includes security features to lock-down the desktop.

DesktopX comes with a host of built in features allowing end users to easily create their own objects and themes. Features such as monitoring virtually any resource on the PC, clocks, email checking, and many other common tasks are built into DesktopX.  But DesktopX allows third parties to easily extend DesktopX through either plugins or using Javascript/VB Script to add new functionality.  DesktopX 2.1 now provides extensive documentation on both its use and how to extend it.

New in DesktopX 2.1:

Full history at: http://sdcentral.stardock.com/public/dx/production/history.htm

• Registered users can now export their objects as programs (.EXE) that can run on any computer that has DesktopX installed. These are called widgets and run like any other program.
• All users of DesktopX (including the free version) can run widgets created with DesktopX.
• DirectGUI 2.1 - much more seamless painting of objects and widgets.
• Objects covered by a window are not drawn saving CPU (this is a big deal - you can now have an animated desktop that uses virtually no CPU when it's covered up by windows).
• User Mode greatly enhanced - objects have a "close" menu item now on them when running in user mode.
• Dragging common images to the desktop creates a thumbnail of that image on your desktop (very cool - you can drag a .JPG file to your IconX enhanced desktop and instead of it having the standard .JPG icon it will be a thumbnail of that image).
• Users can now include custom files to their exported object (in the summary page).
• Can now include custom fonts with an object, DesktopX will auto-install them.
• DesktopX VBScript/Javascript support greatly enhanced with a large number of new DX based APIs to make use of.
• Scripts can control the z-order of an object (you can command your object to go on top at different times)
• DesktopX objects can now act as "Appbars". The Star bar is an example of an appbar. Appbars can be auto-hide, always visible, or normal. See included Longhorn theme example with mode button at top right.
• IconX enhanced desktop icons now respond to same commands as regular icons (such as rename, copy, move, etc.)
• DesktopX objects now use 1/3rd as many GDI objects as DesktopX 2.0 and before.
• Developers can control object visibility from scripts independent from those objects being classified as "pop ups"
• Tons of tweaks and fixes to improve performance, stability, and compatability.

DesktopX is one of the programs that makes up Stardock's Object Desktop suite of desktop enhancements which also includes WindowBlinds, ObjectBar, IconPackager, IconDeveloper, Keyboard LaunchPad, WindowFX and much more.  DesktopX Enhanced comes with Object Desktop or can be purchased on its own for $19.95.  It adds the ability to export widgets, use enhanced objects, make use of additional IconX settings and more. Object Desktop is $49.95 for the entire suite which includes a full year of additional updates and new programs as they become available.

Screenshots:
https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/dx-feb04.jpg
https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/dx-jan04a.jpg
https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/dx-jan04.jpg
https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/dx-dec03a.jpg
https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/dx-dec03.jpg
https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/dx-feb04a.jpg
 

Websites:
DesktopX - http://www.desktopx.net
Object Desktop - http://www.objectdesktop.com
Stardock - https://www.stardock.com