Moving right along towards the end of the year, and since it’s the first week in November it’s time to review the .dreams (animated wallpapers) from the previous month.  The .dream gallery always proves to be an interesting view of creativity, as some of these animated wallpapers are just wild. 

Now for this months video!

To use .dreams (animated wallpaper) you need to have Windows Vista and Stardock's DeskScapes installed. 

The .dreams featured in this months video can be found at the links below.

• matrix_rain_ish by muckyman
• ChaNinja Style SubZero by ChaNinja
• warp by muckyman
• bio_hazard_v2 by muckyman
• Broken Aero: Shatter by TheMasterBaron
• Stardock 2009 by DEVJIT

Long ago, Stardock has the idea to create a program that would combine all the major customization programs into a single entity.  It became known as WinStyles. One program to rule them all and all that. 

Over time, we renamed it to Theme Manager.  The idea was that customization on Windows had become pretty hard for casual users so let's create a new format (.suite) and let people press a button to do it.

WinStyles 1.0

The problem with WinStyles/Theme Manager 1 is that it was still pretty complicated  to use and in our quest to support lots of third party apps, we ended up being a power user tool.

So we made Theme Manager 2.

 
Theme Manager 2

Theme Manager 2 was a big improvement in many respects and made possible for people to create virtual .suite files. That is, suites where the actual files were on WinCustomize.com. This would let people submit their desktops without having to re-distribute other people's skins and icons.

The problem, once again, was that it very complicated and supporting so much "stuff" made it hard to use for casual users.

So then we worked on MyColors, a specialized theme manager that simply applied very specific types of themes.  In that process, the technology really matured.  We also partnered with a lot of companies in creating it and took away a lot of good UI feedback.

This has led to Theme Manager 3:

Theme Manager 3 for Object Desktop 2009

Using the same user interface guidelines established with WindowBlinds 6 and IconPackager 4, Theme Manager presents a much simpler user experience. MyColors themes are supported as well as third-party suites.

It also fulfills the original promise of allowing users to manage all their skins, themes, and icons from a single application:

Lead developer, Brian Harper, who developed WinStyles, Theme Managers 1 and 2 has really outdone himself this time.  His work on IconPackager 4, Stardock Central and WinCustomize browser have really come together here.

Moreover, users can now take a quick and simple snapshot of their desktop:

 
Like your desktop? Save it.

For power users though, the create new theme option is incredibly powerful:

Users can still create virtual suites if they want as well as make use of third-party applications to create your ultimate suite. It integrates into WinCustomize.com to automatically find skins based on your search terms.

Theme Manager 3 is one of the highlights of the upcoming release of Object Desktop 2009. Along with a Vista version of Bootskin and an XP version of DeskScapes (animated wallpaper), we are hoping that this new release will help reacquaint casual users with the fun of desktop customization.

Initially, Theme Manager 3 will only be available to Object Desktop users. 

I was browsing the AMD website today and came across a couple of resources I wanted to share.  Gamers will particularly be interested in this, but it’s a great resource for anyone.

• http://game.amd.com

AMD GAME! is a resource from AMD that gives you the latest news on graphics cards, processors, drivers, and everything else you need to get the most out of your gaming experience.  It also includes resources on where to obtain AMD GAME! systems and components.  They also have a vast community area with downloads, blogs, forums, contests, and much more. 

Don’t forget that there is an AMD branded version of Impulse available for download.  There is much more going on over there, that it’s too much to list, so just take a browse through the site and check out what they have to offer.

Seems like it was only yesterday that we were discussing Longhorn/Windows Vista.  And now here we are talking about Windows 7. There's been some great coverage about Windows 7 on our partner site, Neowin.net which you can get to here:

• Windows 7 GUI
• PDC Round-Up
• Windows 7 Usability
• Windows 7 Demos

I personally wish Microsoft would make Windows 7 64-bit only.  It would make everyone's lives better.  Oh well, another N years of dealing with two different versions of Windows it appears.

One thing I am excited about is the "Super taskbar" in Windows 7:

First, be aware it's super configurable.  But what's a big deal about this is the skinning possibilities for this are substantial. With the extra space, a lot of cool stuff becomes possible to do that we couldn't really do with the existing taskbar.

Object Desktop News

Meanwhile, things are going very well with the upcoming Object Desktop 2009.  Hard to believe it's only 16 days away (November 19). 

Check out these screenshots:

The completely rewritten Theme Manager 3.0 should bring a smile to people's faces.  The .suite format gets revitalized and MyColors support is integrated in as well. 

One of the reasons Theme Manager 3.0 is so important is that it will allow Stardock to release a .suite version of MyColors themes that don't use licensed IP so that skinners can more easily make use of them.  Right now, it's extremely difficult for us to do that which has caused some consternation in the skinning community.

Of course, the other big updates to Object Desktop 2009 include a Vista version of BootSkin and an XP version of DeskScapes.

Mega Games Week

This week there will be a ton of big announcements on the game front.  First, Demigod is heading towards Beta 2 which will introduce a bunch of new elements to the game (the details will show up on Gamespot, IGN, GameSpy, XPlay, GamesRadar, 1Up, and beyond).

The second big announcement happens tomorrow with the much anticipated announcement of Stardock's next major PC title after Demigod, the fantasy strategy game that has been described as a spiritual successor to Master of Magic. 

GUI Champs

The GUI Championships have continued in earnest. There's been some great entries already. This year we've gotten a ton of prizes for the contest (over $15k). If you're an artist or skinner, you should definitely check it out. 

The current deadline to get stuff is still weeks away so there's time to create some cool stuff. It'll be interesting to see how much gets made.  It's always exciting to see skinners from around the world create this stuff.

Sinning...

I don't know about you but I'm waiting on pins and needles for Sins of a Solar Empire v1.1 and the micro-expansion pack, Entrenchment.  I hope to have some news on that shortly.

Happy Halloween!  It’s Friday so the latest edition of This Week in Skinning is here.  TWiS is a great way to catch up on skins from the past week that you might have missed otherwise.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Wraith Rider by hallv5 Really cool design to use as a bootskin for Windows XP.
	The Rain Effect by theAVMAN Put a wet and rain look onto any wallpaper with this DesktopX object.  Really cool!
	Silver Swoon DX by PuterDudeJim A slick and “silver” DesktopX theme.  Looks great so be sure to check it out.
	Jack-O-Lantern by CarGuy1 If you have Vista and Deskscapes, then you need this Halloween animated wallpaper on your desktop.
	His first Halloween by teddybearcholla I really like the look of this wallpaper, perfect wallpaper for Halloween.
	Oreti Beach Sunset by SlimSpaceman This is just a beautiful wallpaper of a beach scene.  Great job!

See you next week!

I wanted to share some videos of Windows 7 that have been coming out of PDC this week.  There are all types of good stuff here.

This last weekend our support email server burped on a few emails then choked. We have cleared the issue but weekend emails might take a small amount of extra time to clear out due to lost time. We will answer things as quickly as possible and get right back on track. In the mean time please do not send in replies asking about your tickets as they will have their time reset and will be forced back to the beginning of the line automatically. For the fastest responses please simply wait for a tech to contact you.

Thank you for your patience!

Many people are familiar with either the stand-alone WindowBlinds application, or the Object Desktop subscription which includes  WindowsBlinds.  However, we also have a couple of WindowBlinds bundles that people might also be interested in.  These are great for people who don’t want an OD subscription, but still offers more than just WindowBlinds and still opens up an upgrade path to Object Desktop later.  WindowBlinds is the best way to change the look and feel of either Windows XP or Vista.

WindowBlinds Bundle

• This includes WindowBlinds and SkinStudio for just $29.95.  This is a great deal for someone who is looking to create skins for WindowBlinds as you will get both applications cheaper than buying separately.

WindowBlinds Extreme

• The WindowBlinds Extreme bundle includes the latest version of WindowBlinds, and a subscription to WinCustomize.com for just $39.95.  With a subscription to WinCustomize you won’t have to worry about ads getting in your way, you get access to free premium skins, and much more. 
  

You can find more information about WindowBlinds at www.windowblinds.net.

You have been hearing quite a bit about Windows 7 lately, and Brad has given his wishlist, so I wanted to follow him and give my early wishlist as well.  Although mine is a bit different in nature, these are things I think will make Windows 7 popular, and distance itself from Vista.

1. No Multiple SKU’s.  Sorry, but I honestly think this was one of the worst marketing mistakes made with Windows Vista.  Just off the top of my head there are about 6 SKU’s for Vista (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, Enterprise, and the Starter Edition).  Can anybody really tell the major differences between these versions?  Most consumers have no idea, and I have never run into a salesperson who did a good upsell of Vista.  Too many editions are confusing, stick to one version, and make the case on why people should use Windows, not the 10 different iterations of it.
   
   
2. Family Pricing.  I have about 5 Windows PC’s in my household, and only two run Vista.  I run two because I received two free licenses by attending Microsoft events, if I wanted to install Vista on all my home PC’s, it would have cost a minimum of around $500 depending on what “versions” I chose.  There is just no incentive for purchasing multiple licenses of Windows.  Why not have a family pack of say 3 or 4 licenses for a fairly reasonable cost? 
   
   
3. 64-bit Only.  I’m going to echo Brad’s statement on this and say now is the time to take the plunge.  The memory limitations are reason enough to go this route, why be so limited when RAM is so inexpensive these days?
   
   
4. Focus on the Cloud.  I have seen some statements from Ballmer about cloud computing, and possibly it’s own OS….no thanks.  Integrate this into Windows 7 and make Windows 7 fully integrated with Live Mesh, or whatever other service they come up with.  Live Mesh is really cool so far, but it’s integration with Windows is flaky, and should be a native integration with it.  I want to see seamless syncing of my contacts, calendar, e-mail, etc. to the “cloud” without having to download additional clients.

That is my quick list for today, and I’m sure once we get more details about Windows 7, I will definitely expand on these.  However, I think Windows 7 can be a huge success if Microsoft rethinks some of the issues stated above.

Friday is here and what a fantastic week it has been in skinning.  The biggest news this week was the launch of the 2008 GUI Championships.  This year we have over $15,000 in cash and prizes from great sponsors such as ATI/AMD, TechSmith, Stardock, Wacom, Corel, DeviantART, WinCustomize, and more!  This competition is international, and is open for pretty much everyone, so feel free to pass around the link and tell your friends about it.

Get the info at www.guichamps.com.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Midnight Boot by RickJP This is a cool and spooky bootskin for Windows XP.
	Target by sAARGe  The cursor has a simple, but well designed look to it, and the animations are sleek and well made.
	Caspers by muckyman Muckyman created this Halloween .dream for kids, and I think it was a great idea.  Anyone can enjoy this, but I like to see something focused for the kids.
	Hell Night_1280 by Stramp This logon is made from the Halloween inspired wallpaper from PuterDudeJim.
	Witch by treetog A wallpaper to go with any Halloween desktop.
	Windows Insomnia Clear Satin by TomRichter This is a good take on the Aero look, and TomRichter does a great job of putting his own style to this.  Great job.

See you next week!