WindowBlinds 5: The Feedback
Wowser
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 by azdruid | Discussion: WindowBlinds
I am sure I am not the only member of JoeUser who has ogled the shiny translucent screenshots of Windows Vista builds, eagerly awaiting the day whenst the same eye-candy would find its way onto our own humble desktops.
Thanks to Stardock, that process has been accelerated considerably. Obviously you know this, as perpixel borders are the Big Feature for WindowBlinds 5. And now, because of some nifty work with 3D acceleration, we can not only enjoy alpha-blended windows, but faster performance. That's not a bad deal. My impressions follow.
Installation went smoothly over a previous 4.6 build, no messy errors or other nonsense. A word to the wise though, if you've removed MDAC from WinXP for whatever the reason, it's time to go poking around in your CD's i386 folder because WBconfig uses the Jet database (a part of MDAC) to store skin manifest data now. You'll get some unpleasant Data Source dialogs without this. Most users won't be troubled by this, the removal of "critical" Windows components is mostly a power-user thing.
Like I mentioned before, one of the great allures of WB5 is getting the Vista look on XP, or something close enough. I achieved this by applying KoL's excellent VistaXP skin, which to my eyes follows the Vista design a little better than MikeB's Arrow. I suppose it is a matter of preference. Anyway, everything worked as advertised, and my system wound up with some very slick looking window borders.
However, looking past the good stuff, I have found my share of little quirks. Understandably these will exist, as this perpixel code is new and has received far less testing than the Ye Olde Rendering Engine. Some of these little annoyances might even be the fault of the skin. One learns by asking questions.
The VistaXP skin offers me some slick new shadows on the glass subskin. My beef here is that the resizing handles for the window act as though the shadow was the edge of the window. Technically, to WindowBlinds, the shadow is the edge of the window, but can a window margin be set in SkinStudio to exclude part of the border from interaction? The behavior of grabbing onto a shadow is just slightly peculiar, and the fact that you can't select desktop icons through the shadow is a minor trouble.
To be honest, this is a great product, and I wholeheartedly recommend purchasing it. Enjoy my biased opinion.
PROS:
- Support for translucency in window borders. Amazing.
- No more wbload! As an added bonus, this means no more uxtheme savages complaining about "extra memory"
- GDI subversal? Now, an application on the bottom doesn't have to redraw when a window on top is moved. MUCH faster and more efficient.
CONS:
- That wbload data got wadded up into a DLL and is still there, just not listed as a process. Not a bad thing, but the "native" claim is misleading.
- The "shadow thing" bugs me. Is there a way to exclude parts of the border from interaction? An parameter in SkinStudio perhaps?
WISHLIST:
- I would love to see that blurring effect for the underneath content on the window borders be implemented in WB5. I really don't know how likely this is, but it sure would be a cool feature.
RATING: 9/10
A quick note about "native integration." The stuff that wbload used to do (aside from .WBA extraction) was just moved to a couple of DLLs that obviously aren't listed as processes. This isn't at all a bad thing, but the claim of total "nativeness" isn't valid. The "native" skin of Windows is "Windows Classic". From this point of view, you can't really say uxtheme is native either, because both WB5 and it both skin in the same way: via DLL. Ignorant people just consider uxtheme "native" because it shipped with Windows. For all purposes other than nitty-gritty technical, WB5 is now native.
Since this is Stardock we are talking about here, I have no doubts that any problems encountered will be rectified, and fast. The updates alone are worth the price. This is a slick piece of work. Become the envy of the non-skinned infidels by getting a copy of WindowBlinds 5 today.
Thanks to Stardock, that process has been accelerated considerably. Obviously you know this, as perpixel borders are the Big Feature for WindowBlinds 5. And now, because of some nifty work with 3D acceleration, we can not only enjoy alpha-blended windows, but faster performance. That's not a bad deal. My impressions follow.
Installation went smoothly over a previous 4.6 build, no messy errors or other nonsense. A word to the wise though, if you've removed MDAC from WinXP for whatever the reason, it's time to go poking around in your CD's i386 folder because WBconfig uses the Jet database (a part of MDAC) to store skin manifest data now. You'll get some unpleasant Data Source dialogs without this. Most users won't be troubled by this, the removal of "critical" Windows components is mostly a power-user thing.
Like I mentioned before, one of the great allures of WB5 is getting the Vista look on XP, or something close enough. I achieved this by applying KoL's excellent VistaXP skin, which to my eyes follows the Vista design a little better than MikeB's Arrow. I suppose it is a matter of preference. Anyway, everything worked as advertised, and my system wound up with some very slick looking window borders.
However, looking past the good stuff, I have found my share of little quirks. Understandably these will exist, as this perpixel code is new and has received far less testing than the Ye Olde Rendering Engine. Some of these little annoyances might even be the fault of the skin. One learns by asking questions.
The VistaXP skin offers me some slick new shadows on the glass subskin. My beef here is that the resizing handles for the window act as though the shadow was the edge of the window. Technically, to WindowBlinds, the shadow is the edge of the window, but can a window margin be set in SkinStudio to exclude part of the border from interaction? The behavior of grabbing onto a shadow is just slightly peculiar, and the fact that you can't select desktop icons through the shadow is a minor trouble.
To be honest, this is a great product, and I wholeheartedly recommend purchasing it. Enjoy my biased opinion.
PROS:
- Support for translucency in window borders. Amazing.
- No more wbload! As an added bonus, this means no more uxtheme savages complaining about "extra memory"
- GDI subversal? Now, an application on the bottom doesn't have to redraw when a window on top is moved. MUCH faster and more efficient.
CONS:
- That wbload data got wadded up into a DLL and is still there, just not listed as a process. Not a bad thing, but the "native" claim is misleading.
- The "shadow thing" bugs me. Is there a way to exclude parts of the border from interaction? An parameter in SkinStudio perhaps?
WISHLIST:
- I would love to see that blurring effect for the underneath content on the window borders be implemented in WB5. I really don't know how likely this is, but it sure would be a cool feature.
RATING: 9/10
A quick note about "native integration." The stuff that wbload used to do (aside from .WBA extraction) was just moved to a couple of DLLs that obviously aren't listed as processes. This isn't at all a bad thing, but the claim of total "nativeness" isn't valid. The "native" skin of Windows is "Windows Classic". From this point of view, you can't really say uxtheme is native either, because both WB5 and it both skin in the same way: via DLL. Ignorant people just consider uxtheme "native" because it shipped with Windows. For all purposes other than nitty-gritty technical, WB5 is now native.
Since this is Stardock we are talking about here, I have no doubts that any problems encountered will be rectified, and fast. The updates alone are worth the price. This is a slick piece of work. Become the envy of the non-skinned infidels by getting a copy of WindowBlinds 5 today.
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Daiwa
Reply #22 Thursday, December 1, 2005 10:08 PM
Reply #22 Thursday, December 1, 2005 10:08 PM
drshdw1 -
Looks like you need to install/reinstall the Jet database.
Cheers,
Daiwa
| A word to the wise though, if you've removed MDAC from WinXP for whatever the reason, it's time to go poking around in your CD's i386 folder because WBconfig uses the Jet database (a part of MDAC) to store skin manifest data now. You'll get some unpleasant Data Source dialogs without this. Most users won't be troubled by this, the removal of "critical" Windows components is mostly a power-user thing. |
Looks like you need to install/reinstall the Jet database.
Cheers,
Daiwa
azdruid
Reply #23 Thursday, December 1, 2005 10:20 PM
First of all, there is nothing I appreciate more than proper English when someone wants assistance. This is not that.
But regardless. Find your Windows XP installation CD. Find the i386 folder on it. Then, find a file named MDAC.IN_. Copy it to your desktop. Use Run to launch "cmd". "cd" to your desktop. type "expand MDAC.IN_ MDAC.INF" (all this without quotes). Right click the new INF file, and hit Install. Point Windows to your i386 folder on the CD. Wait a bit.
That should do the trick. I would reinstall Windowblinds if it still does not work, the initial database creation may be during Setup, I really couldn't say.
Reply #23 Thursday, December 1, 2005 10:20 PM
| i just got wb5 whats this data souce thing and i cant use any skins this keeps showing up dont know how to adjust it what data what source i can find anything plz help |
First of all, there is nothing I appreciate more than proper English when someone wants assistance. This is not that.
But regardless. Find your Windows XP installation CD. Find the i386 folder on it. Then, find a file named MDAC.IN_. Copy it to your desktop. Use Run to launch "cmd". "cd" to your desktop. type "expand MDAC.IN_ MDAC.INF" (all this without quotes). Right click the new INF file, and hit Install. Point Windows to your i386 folder on the CD. Wait a bit.
That should do the trick. I would reinstall Windowblinds if it still does not work, the initial database creation may be during Setup, I really couldn't say.
drkshdw4u
Reply #24 Thursday, December 1, 2005 11:11 PM
Reply #24 Thursday, December 1, 2005 11:11 PM
Daiwa i just try that jet database and itstill doesnt work it still asking for the data source and i cant use any skin i got the lastest verion of it too
iam stuck on what to do this really sucks u know of anything else i can try to get wb5 to work plz
iam stuck on what to do this really sucks u know of anything else i can try to get wb5 to work plz
azdruid
Reply #25 Thursday, December 1, 2005 11:23 PM
Come on man, just look at comment #23!
Reply #25 Thursday, December 1, 2005 11:23 PM
| Daiwa i just try that jet database and itstill doesnt work it still asking for the data source and i cant use any skin i got the lastest verion of it too iam stuck on what to do this really sucks u know of anything else i can try to get wb5 to work plz |
Come on man, just look at comment #23!
CVissie
Reply #27 Friday, December 2, 2005 12:55 AM
Reply #27 Friday, December 2, 2005 12:55 AM
On blurring. This depends on how Stardock implements per-pixel bordering, I know they make use of DirectX, but I don't know if they make use of Hardware shaders. I have little to no experience with DirectX fragment (per-pixel) shaders but quite a bit with OpenGL, and if Stardock could/have extend WindowBlinds to make use of shaders to draw the reflection map, BLURRING could be a infact be a possibility. BUT, the problem still remains that it is gonna take a bit of work/redesign to make sure that WindowBlinds works on the majority of systems. Basicly, unsupported systems should alpha-blend (current style I believe) and supported systems could make use of per-pixel shaders. I know from my experience that blurring with OpenGL fragment programs isn't all that hard, but it might be harder with the Windows Native GUI, since it isn't a normal 3d application.
CVissie
Reply #28 Friday, December 2, 2005 12:55 AM
Reply #28 Friday, December 2, 2005 12:55 AM
On blurring. This depends on how Stardock implements per-pixel bordering, I know they make use of DirectX, but I don't know if they make use of Hardware shaders. I have little to no experience with DirectX fragment (per-pixel) shaders but quite a bit with OpenGL, and if Stardock could/have extend WindowBlinds to make use of shaders to draw the reflection map, BLURRING could be a infact be a possibility. BUT, the problem still remains that it is gonna take a bit of work/redesign to make sure that WindowBlinds works on the majority of systems. Basicly, unsupported systems should alpha-blend (current style I believe) and supported systems could make use of per-pixel shaders. I know from my experience that blurring with OpenGL fragment programs isn't all that hard, but it might be harder with the Windows Native GUI, since it isn't a normal application.
drkshdw4u
Reply #30 Friday, December 2, 2005 1:19 AM
Reply #30 Friday, December 2, 2005 1:19 AM
sorry azdruid iam just not as smart as u r. tryed to install it again and i only have recovery disk could find that on there. didnt mean to upset ya just tring to get alittle help. for the ppl that dont know allot sorry to bother u azdruid
Tom Harmon
Reply #31 Friday, December 2, 2005 2:19 AM
I'm sure you meant "That was not it." Unfortunately, you were quite correct when you said "This is not that."
First, setting aside that you began a sentence with a preposition, "But regardless." is not a complete sentence. If "cmd" is the end of a sentence, which it is, the period should be within the quotes. Also, you cannot begin a sentence without a capital letter, as you did when starting with "cd." You also neglected to capitalize "type" in the next sentence. When you typed (all of this without quotes) you neglected to put the period to the left of the closing parenthetical mark. Continuing, "Point WIndows to your i386 folder on the CD" is a fragmented sentence. Additionally, it is grammatically incorrect. Since the i386 folder is owned by the CD, and not the user of the CD, it would be more proper to say "the" i386 folder rather than "your" i386 folder. Finally, "I would reinstall Window blinds if it still does not work, the initial database creation may be during Setup, I really couldn't say." is a run on sentence that was not cured by breaking it up with commas. More correctly, it would be "If it still does not work, I would reinstall Windowblinds, as the initial database setup may take place during setup." If "be" was your word of choice, it could also have been written as "The initial database setup may be during setup. If it still doesn't work, I would reinstall Windowblinds."
Grammar means nothing in a forum.
tb
Reply #31 Friday, December 2, 2005 2:19 AM
| First of all, there is nothing I appreciate more than proper English when someone wants assistance. This is not that. But regardless. Find your Windows XP installation CD. Find the i386 folder on it. Then, find a file named MDAC.IN_. Copy it to your desktop. Use Run to launch "cmd". "cd" to your desktop. type "expand MDAC.IN_ MDAC.INF" (all this without quotes). Right click the new INF file, and hit Install. Point Windows to your i386 folder on the CD. Wait a bit. That should do the trick. I would reinstall Windowblinds if it still does not work, the initial database creation may be during Setup, I really couldn't say. |
I'm sure you meant "That was not it." Unfortunately, you were quite correct when you said "This is not that."
First, setting aside that you began a sentence with a preposition, "But regardless." is not a complete sentence. If "cmd" is the end of a sentence, which it is, the period should be within the quotes. Also, you cannot begin a sentence without a capital letter, as you did when starting with "cd." You also neglected to capitalize "type" in the next sentence. When you typed (all of this without quotes) you neglected to put the period to the left of the closing parenthetical mark. Continuing, "Point WIndows to your i386 folder on the CD" is a fragmented sentence. Additionally, it is grammatically incorrect. Since the i386 folder is owned by the CD, and not the user of the CD, it would be more proper to say "the" i386 folder rather than "your" i386 folder. Finally, "I would reinstall Window blinds if it still does not work, the initial database creation may be during Setup, I really couldn't say." is a run on sentence that was not cured by breaking it up with commas. More correctly, it would be "If it still does not work, I would reinstall Windowblinds, as the initial database setup may take place during setup." If "be" was your word of choice, it could also have been written as "The initial database setup may be during setup. If it still doesn't work, I would reinstall Windowblinds."
Grammar means nothing in a forum.
tb
scorpio-logic
Reply #33 Friday, December 2, 2005 3:11 AM
Reply #33 Friday, December 2, 2005 3:11 AM
Well spoken Tom. Nothing like putting someone in their place, huh? 
drshdw1, that DSN notice is because Windowblinds wants to use jet databasing, and whether azdruid used proper english or not, his advice is correct. If his english was too much to handle, here it is in American and outlined:
You'll need the Windows XP setup disc, aka installation disc.
1. Insert the Windows XP setup disc.
2. Double-click "My Computer".
3. Double-click on your CD-ROM drive.
4. Double-click on "i386" folder.
5. Scroll through this folder until you find "MDAC.IN_" file.
6. Right-click and select "copy" or you can drag-and-drop it to your desktop.
7. Click on "Start" menu.
8. Click on "Run".
9. Type "cmd", hit enter.
You now have a DOS window:
10. Type "cd desktop".
11. Type "expand MDAC.IN_ MDAC.INF".
A new file will appear on your Desktop.
12. Right-click on the "MDAC.INF" on your desktop.
13. Select "install".
You will have a box appear.
14. Click "Browse".
15. Navigate to your CD-ROM drive with the Windows XP CD still inserted.
16. Double-click the "i386" folder.
17. Double-click the "ADCJAVAS.INC" file.
The file needed has now been chosen.
18. Click "OK" in the Files Needed tool window.
Now you can wait a bit. Make sure to reinstall WB5, as they said, this may help. Good Luck.
drshdw1, that DSN notice is because Windowblinds wants to use jet databasing, and whether azdruid used proper english or not, his advice is correct. If his english was too much to handle, here it is in American and outlined:
You'll need the Windows XP setup disc, aka installation disc.
1. Insert the Windows XP setup disc.
2. Double-click "My Computer".
3. Double-click on your CD-ROM drive.
4. Double-click on "i386" folder.
5. Scroll through this folder until you find "MDAC.IN_" file.
6. Right-click and select "copy" or you can drag-and-drop it to your desktop.
7. Click on "Start" menu.
8. Click on "Run".
9. Type "cmd", hit enter.
You now have a DOS window:
10. Type "cd desktop".
11. Type "expand MDAC.IN_ MDAC.INF".
A new file will appear on your Desktop.
12. Right-click on the "MDAC.INF" on your desktop.
13. Select "install".
You will have a box appear.
14. Click "Browse".
15. Navigate to your CD-ROM drive with the Windows XP CD still inserted.
16. Double-click the "i386" folder.
17. Double-click the "ADCJAVAS.INC" file.
The file needed has now been chosen.
18. Click "OK" in the Files Needed tool window.
Now you can wait a bit. Make sure to reinstall WB5, as they said, this may help. Good Luck.
scorpio-logic
Reply #34 Friday, December 2, 2005 3:12 AM
Reply #34 Friday, December 2, 2005 3:12 AM
oops, I dunno how, but I got doubled. (Content edited for mature audiences only, please send $20 to www.editedforcontent.com for further viewing.) 
sonaris
Reply #35 Friday, December 2, 2005 5:55 AM
Reply #35 Friday, December 2, 2005 5:55 AM
Thank you Developer Green Reaper! Shall try it and get back. 
sonaris
Reply #37 Friday, December 2, 2005 6:33 AM
Reply #37 Friday, December 2, 2005 6:33 AM
Dear Developer Green Reaper, I did as you had recommended but unfortunately there seems to be the same problem. This incidentally did not happen with the previous version. Could you be more specific in your answer. I may be missing out something. I have after removing the 'simple sharing' option even tried to fully share the folders but still no luck. I am sure that there must be something that I am not doing correctly. Please help.
drkshdw4u
Reply #38 Friday, December 2, 2005 11:44 AM
Reply #38 Friday, December 2, 2005 11:44 AM
scorpio-logic thanx allot for this i am hoping this will fix it
and yes its allot easier to understand a bit more i am new at this thanx for the info and help
and yes its allot easier to understand a bit more i am new at this thanx for the info and help
GreenReaper
Reply #39 Friday, December 2, 2005 3:42 PM
Reply #39 Friday, December 2, 2005 3:42 PM
sonaris: The removal of simple file sharing is to actually allow you to access the main Security dialog in the folder properties. If that still doesn't let you get to it, you're probably in XP Home, in which case you'll have to go into safe mode (reboot, keep pressing F8 before the XP boot logo) before it will allow you access.
A picture of the dialog I'm talking about is here: http://www.windowsecurity.com/img/upl/wxpsec041026726482046.gif
Once there, check for an entry for "Power Users" or "Administrators" which should allow writing, and for Users which should allow reading. In fact, you might as well just add or edit the entry for Users to allow Full Control over the whole folder (when asked, you want to apply this to the folder and all subfolders). Make sure there are no "deny" entries - if there are, remove them (if they are inherited, you may have to look at the properties of a higher-level folder - there will be details on the Advanced section of Security).
Security issues have been noted by several people, so I suspect a future WB installer will improve the situation.
A picture of the dialog I'm talking about is here: http://www.windowsecurity.com/img/upl/wxpsec041026726482046.gif
Once there, check for an entry for "Power Users" or "Administrators" which should allow writing, and for Users which should allow reading. In fact, you might as well just add or edit the entry for Users to allow Full Control over the whole folder (when asked, you want to apply this to the folder and all subfolders). Make sure there are no "deny" entries - if there are, remove them (if they are inherited, you may have to look at the properties of a higher-level folder - there will be details on the Advanced section of Security).
Security issues have been noted by several people, so I suspect a future WB installer will improve the situation.
citahellion
Reply #40 Friday, December 2, 2005 6:23 PM
Reply #40 Friday, December 2, 2005 6:23 PM
My problem with Windowblinds 5 lies in Stardock Central, I suspect...
I clicked to download and install WindowBlinds 5 and it said "you have WB 4 installed. You must uninstall it before you can install WB 5."
So I uninstalled WB 4 and rebooted.
Then I went back to download and install WB 5 and it said "You don't have Windows XP, you can't install this." (It's true, I'm still on W2K.)
Well, thank you VERY much for making me waste all that time uninstalling and reinstalling WB 4! You poopyheaded installer program!
Bleah.
I clicked to download and install WindowBlinds 5 and it said "you have WB 4 installed. You must uninstall it before you can install WB 5."
So I uninstalled WB 4 and rebooted.
Then I went back to download and install WB 5 and it said "You don't have Windows XP, you can't install this." (It's true, I'm still on W2K.)
Well, thank you VERY much for making me waste all that time uninstalling and reinstalling WB 4! You poopyheaded installer program!
Bleah.
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Reply #21 Thursday, December 1, 2005 10:05 PM
Sonaris -
In WBConfig, if you select any skin and look at the Preview of the skin you'll see 3 or 4 rows of text displayed inside the sample window, one of which reads "Change skin color" - it's a clickable link which brings up the coloring dialog.
Cheers,
Daiwa