A Simple study in blue,

I have been away for quite some time , with many irons in the fire this summer. But I am back to bore you with some more of my "home decorating" ideas!

For the first day back, I created this very brief , and quite simple theme.

I decided not to include any DesktopX , RightClick, or ObjectDock themes today, as I still have little time to devote to the subject.

Castaway by CasualTraveller , Though still a Vista theme , perked up my desktop nicely, as throughout the summer I had only a plain black theme that didn't change much at all. I was happy to see that there were only a few glitches for the XP OS, one being the misalignment of the username and user pic in the start menu. It is such a small blemish it really doesn't detract from the look on the whole.

The titlebar text is highlighted in such a way as to look like a white neon sign on my desktop, though because of the font size, it tends to be slightly blurry. The green, red, and blue  mouseover highlight on the min,max,close buttons make for a refreshing splash of color  in an otherwise very blue theme.

I chose Aladdins Cave by Ahabkaba to be the backdrop of this theme. Because of the few extras I chose, I could go with something a bit busier than usual, and because I love busy, it worked for me. The blues, greens and subtle hint of brown attracted me , as I liked the color combination in CasualTraveller's screenshot on  the windowblinds download page. The wall is an interesting combination of futuristic design  and arabian nights while feeling more at sea than midair . A definite sense of floating here.

While I have many IconPackages  that would work with this grouping, The Preface by dar0ckx takes on a life of its own in this blind. I added Firefox 2007 by D. Arnaez because I liked it better than the default Firefox icon. I do wish artists would include some of the more popular programs icons in their Iconpackage  iconlibraries, I like to "complete the look" where ever I can.

To finish the look, I used Bluster by Libardo. This CursorFX theme is well made and doesn't mess with the ram use in my computer the way some of the newest vista designed cursor themes do. The color scheme is perfect with this group, and  the styling of the animations really compliments the wall I chose while standing out enough that it's easy to see where the cursor is, when the windows are minimized and only the wall is exposed.

 

I wrote an article showing you how to create and export DesktopX widgets/objects so they will work on the Windows Vista Sidebar.  I personally like using the Vista Sidebar on my Vista PC’s, but what if you are on XP, or just don’t like to use the Vista sidebar?  Well, DesktopX can help you there too.  Not only does DesktopX Pro export to Vista sidebar gadgets, it can also export to stand-alone gadgets.  Stand-alone Gadgets will work on any Windows XP/Vista PC regardless if DesktopX is installed or not.  This exporting feature is only available in the Pro version of DesktopX. 

There are several tutorials and guides available on how to create your own objects and widgets with DesktopX.

• WinCustomize Wiki – DesktopX
• WinCustomize Wiki – Tutorials
• DesktopX Step-by-Step Tutorials
• DesktopX Documentation

I’m going to start at the point where your widget or object is created, and ready to be exported.  Widgets and objects created with DesktopX need to have a version of DesktopX installed to use.  The gadgets we are going to export do not require that, and should run on any Vista/XP PC.

When you are in DX Builder mode, just right-click your widget and click “Export”.  The following screens will guide you through creating your gadget.

After the export is done you should have you gadget that you can now use yourself, or distribute to the community with sites like WinCustomize.com.  For more information visit the DesktopX website.

I will be out of the country for the next week, so I will be putting the Icon-A-Day tutorials on hold until next Thursday. Luckily I had found something good to post that should be able to give everyone something to play with while I am MIA.

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

Bringing LaST up to date Months ago I was asked to update the IO Iconpack for MyColors. Since IO is, at its heart, a modified version of the LaST icons, I ended up doing almost all the work need to update the complete LaST icon pack. So this weekend I was able to go through and polish off the rest of it. The result was a brand new, Vista version of LaST Cobalt. There was quite a bit of work that went into this update, so it is not really possible to do a step-by-step tutorial of the update, rather I decided to go through and show a few of the highlights of what went into the update.

Vista User Folders: One of the biggest charges in Vista is the addition of several new User folders, as well as the new User folder structure. Several of the existing folders still worked; My Pictures, My Music, etc. However, I had to go through and create several new icons that are only used in Vista, such as Downloads, and Contacts.

Live Folders: The Live folders were the biggest obstacle in updated this iconpack, since the folder form factor is so non-traditional. So I had to do some tweaks, and I ended up simply creating a version of the Last folder on its side. With a few more tweaks I was able to make the Live folders work, though they obscure a bit more of the thumbnails than I like, but because the folder is translucent it still worked out ok.

Bringing along the rest of our friends: The original LaST icons we designed for a Mac icon contest, and then brought over to 9x, and XP, so it contains many icons that are not used by default in Windows Vista. But since I have all the original icons saved in nice, clean 384x384 PNGs. I was able to create new Vista style icons of even the most obscure Windows 98 icon. I can say that this new pack includes every LaST icon I was able to fit in it.  Even though I stuffed this iconpack with all the LaST icons I could, I there are still many more miscellaneous icons, that I currently have posted over in the Object Dock Library. I will be updating them to the new Vista standard soon.

Wrap Up: Since I created these icons I have learned a great deal, including ways to automate many of the steps required to create sub-packs. I have always wanted to create some other color versions of these icons; Black, Ruby, and such. I am considering putting these together, but I am going to wait to see if people use these. I know they are a bit dated in style. Let me know weather you would like to see a few more LaST Iconpacks, and if so what colors you would like.  About Me: You can find all my skins, tutorials, and articles, on my Wincustomize Homepage, at http:\\mormegil.Wincustomize.com. Questions on icon use and techniques, can be emailed to mormegil@gmail.com. Twitter users can find me with the user name: Mormegil.

Download the LaST 2.0 Iconpack:  Get today's iconpack from the  IconPackager Library. Find all the Icon-A-Day tutorials, and links to the icons and more at the Icon-A-Day 2.0 Index. All Icon-A-Day artwork, copy, and icons, are copyrighted by Paul Boyer © 2008, and may not be used with out express permission.

Before we get to much further into the 2.0 update of the Icon-A-Day icon package, I want to take a moment to create a new index page so we can keep track of each step in the process.

Day 6 (Monday, August 11th, 2008)

This index will give us a convenient home for the Icon-A-Day 2.0 project. As the project continues I will update this index with links to each of the tutorials. Unlike in 2.0, this index will be organized by day, not by icon.

Day 1, System Folders: Day 2, Basic File Types:   Day 3, Closed Folder   Day 4, Open Folder    Day 5, Live Folder   Day 7, Data Folder Day 8, Wrapper Folder    Day 9, Favorites Folder     Day 10, Pictures Folder      Day 11, Downloads Folder  Day 12, Links Folder       Day 13, Music Folder     Day 14, Videos Folder    Day 15, Search Folder

Wrap Up: This index is for the Icon-A-Day 2.0 updated icons only. For the original Icon-A-Day tutorial Index, click here. For more details on the CorelDRAW techniques used in both the 1.0 and 2.0 tutorials, check out the CorelDRAW for Skinners tutorials here. About Me: You can find all my skins, tutorials, and articles, on my Wincustomize Homepage, at http:\\mormegil.Wincustomize.com. Questions on icon use and techniques, can be emailed to mormegil@gmail.com. Twitter users can find me with the user name: Mormegil.

All Icon-A-Day artwork, copy, and icons, are copyrighted by Paul Boyer © 2008, and may not be used with out express permission.

Last week I was lamenting that we were done with the simple User folders, but wait, I forgot one. I missed it because it did not exist in XP. After digging around in the original icons, I realized that we have pretty much have everything we need to make the new Search folder.

Day 15 (Monday, August 25th, 2008)

The Search Folder. When I started looking around the User folder today, I noticed that the the Search folder would be pretty simple to put together. I also noticed that the existing Search folder seems to have been put together in a rush as well. It looks like they were originally just going to do the glass bits in the Wrapper folder, then decided it was not "search" enough, so they grabbed a magnifying glass and slapped it in front of what they had. The folder has one shadow, the glass has another, and the folder has a perspective 3D look. The glass is flat, and straight out of a Photoshop tutorial. This lack of continuity with the rest of the User folders is kind of sad considering how much time and effort went into the Window Vista icons. The good news is that we should, in very few steps, be able to create something better.

Step 1: Once again we gather our assets together. All we will need is the Wrapper folder, the 1.0 Search icon (#81) and the File icon we created on day 9 for our Favorites folder.   Step 2:   Now as luck would have it we can pretty much just flip our existing search icon, size it and skew it just a bit, and it works pretty much perfectly with our Wrapper folder. Even the shadows and reflections still work with a bit of cropping.  Step 3:  At first I was just going to put the glass in the Wrapper and call it a day, but we can do better. Lets put a few files in the folder. They will be blank, so I remove everything but the top bars from the file. I also tweak the fill just a bit, because I want the color to wrap around the edge of the file.     Step 4:    Now we simply duplicate our file 3 times, and change the color of the bar on each.  Once I am happy with them, I move them into the Wrapper. While we have them together, I go ahead and touch up the gloss on the files. Step 5:   Tonight our classic last step is made much simpler by the fact that most of our shadows and reflections are good to go. All we need to do is give the treatment to the files. Finished Icon:     There we go, a new Search folder, this time with some continuity.

Wrap Up: Tonight's icon, will be the last Icon-A-Day icon until next Thursday, since will be on vacation. I will, however, be back tomorrow with a special Icon-A-Day supplemental. Check in tomorrow night for a special surprise.  About Me: You can find all my skins, tutorials, and articles, on my Wincustomize Homepage, at http:\\mormegil.Wincustomize.com. Questions on icon use and techniques, can be emailed to mormegil@gmail.com. Twitter users can find me with the user name: Mormegil.

Download Search Folder Icon:  Get today's icon from the Miscellaneous Icons Library. Find all the Icon-A-Day tutorials, and links to the icons and more at the Icon-A-Day 2.0 Index. All Icon-A-Day artwork, copy, and icons, are copyrighted by Paul Boyer © 2008, and may not be used with out express permission.

I have a vision for Object Desktop. I have always had an idealized vision for it.  What stops it from becoming a reality is that my vision involves a lot of work that is not economically feasible.

Part of the problem is that what I think is super cool isn't necessarily what other people think are super cool. 

Let me outline things in Object Desktop that bug me today:

1. I want to see Theme Manager massively updated. I'm not talking about MyColors. I don't want to see MyColors replace Theme Manager. I want people to be able to take a snapshot of their desktop and I want to see MyColors themes that don't use licensed IP include a .suite file option.
2. I want a consistent user experience between all the programs.
3. I want to see TweakVista get a LOT more features so that I can do a lot more surgery on my computer.
4. I want to see more productive features integrated into Object Desktop that extend the OS.
5. I'd like to see DriveScan re-introduced,
6. I'd like to features that extend the windows shell to be more useful but without having to get rid of explorer,
7. I'd like to see Object Package (from the OS/2 version) brought back so that I could press a button, get a big giant .package file and take it to a new machine and press unpackage where it reinstalls all my stuff.
8. I'd like to see features that speed up my system. Why isn't anyone doing anything that can speed up perceived performance of Windows anymore? If I have 2 gigs of RAM, why can't Object Desktop have some feature that better manages the swap file or something like make sure all shell related stuff stays in memory or whatever?
9. I'd like to see a feature that better handles my Windows start up. It's crap right now. I'm not talking about something that lets me kill off stuff that loads up, I mean something that lets me get to my desktop quicker and has an explicit loader for all the other crap that can load later in a low priority state?
10. For that matter, why doesn't Object Desktop have features that make Windows use the priority settings for processes better?
11. I want to see DesktopX re-imagined completely so that I can build fantastic shells and user experiences using .NET, WPF, etc.
12. I want to see cloud computing features integrated into the Windows shell.  If I have multiple computers, on a high speed connection, why should I give a crap where a folder physically resides? Let it invisibly sync everything together. I don't even want to know it's doing it (other than at a technical level). Just make sure I have my stuff wherever.

So why don't we do this? This is where the vision and reality collide.  A lot of the coolest features rarely get used and sell terribly.  Keyboard LaunchPad, for instance, is insanely useful but it's not very popular.  Same with RightClick.

A lot of cool features are hard to market and get people to understand or not be afraid of. 

And a lot of cool feature are simply very difficult to develop and there just aren't a lot of developers capable of making this kind of stuff well at any price.

But the above are some of the things I'd love to see make their way into Object Desktop.

My original plan we to do a Video tutorial of today's icon, however after I got all the assets together I realized there was nothing particularly difficult. I realized that we can pretty much do today's icons by just tweaking our existing assets. So it looks like our first Tutorial Video will have to wait for a bit, but some videos will be coming along soon. Promise.

Day 14 (Friday, August 22th, 2008)

The Videos Folder Yesterday I mentioned that the Music folder was one of my favorites from the original series. Today we will do one of the icons I was never happy with: the Videos folder. The thing I did not care for on the original Videos folder was the film reel. Luckily I did create a clapper for the Video file, so we have something else to fall back on. So with that said, we are going to ditch the film real for good.

Step 1: Let us start by getting our assets together, and removing the objects that we don't need.  You can see our original Icon-A-Day 1.0, Video file in the line up. Step 2:   Now, just to make sure our basic composition works I move all our original assets together. If we were in a hurry, we could probably use this as our final icon, but we will be doing some tweaks to sexy things up a bit. Step 3: The first thing I want to do is replace the film images with something a bit more colorful Iin order to do this I'm going move the film strip out on its own for a bit. Then, using the same techniques we used on the photos folder, I bring in a new image, duplicate it 3 times, and skew and crop the images to where they fit in the film.   Step 4:   Now I want to change the copy on the clapper. I do this with the standard Text tool, and the Perspective tool. Step 5: Now we we start fixing some things. It looks like we can re-use the shadow on the video file. But we will need to crop it where it hits the back of the folder. I can also use the shadow, for our drop shadow by skewing it and dropping it behind everything. Then I fade it out with the interactive Transparency tool.   Step 6: Now we use shadow and reflection techniques to polish things off, starting with a few new shadows,  Step 7:  Last we finish off the the reflections, starting with the reflections in the folder front, and finishing up with the traditional floor reflection.   Finished Icon:     Here we have our the last of our classic "My" User folders.

Wrap Up: With the Videos folder we come to the end of week 3 of our Icon-A-Day 2.0 tutorials. I'll be back Monday with another User folder, and since we are just about out of the classics we will need to create something new from scratch. About Me: You can find all my skins, tutorials, and articles, on my Wincustomize Homepage, at http:\\mormegil.Wincustomize.com. Questions on icon use and techniques, can be emailed to mormegil@gmail.com. Twitter users can find me with the user name: Mormegil.

Download Videos Folder Icon:  Get today's icon from the Miscellaneous Icons Library. Find all the Icon-A-Day tutorials, and links to the icons and more at the Icon-A-Day 2.0 Index. All Icon-A-Day artwork, copy, and icons, are copyrighted by Paul Boyer © 2008, and may not be used with out express permission.

Panic Button

The Monthly Stardock Support News Letter

In our continued efforts to improve support for all our customers we have created Panic Button, the support newsletter. This newsletter is designed to update everyone on the top most (top = reoccurring/popular) troubles that people are experiencing, and the solutions or work arounds that we can provide at this time. Please keep in mind that this is a generalized list and that all the info is subject to change due to updates after the date of posting. As always if you have any questions you can always contact us at support@stardock.com. If these solutions do not work for you please do the same.

 

---

-Impulse:

Impulse Phase 2 is due out soon. Many updates to the software are underway. If you didn’t see CEO Brad Wardell’s post on the topic here are the main updates to current issues:

-Fixes issues with Anti-Virus programs causing download failures
-Fixes issues with updates not restarting
-Makes new download mechanism the primary
-Fixes Auto Archiving and Archiving

New Tools and features will include:

-Load time. A new Fast Load option is on by default and allows Impulse to be loaded in about 1 second or less depending how fast the machine is.

 

-Downloads. Downloads are much faster thanks to new clustered server back-end along with Stardock's new digital download framework that comes with Impulse replacing bits by default.

-Logons/Connections/Redownloads. A major back-end update is nearly complete to handle the higher than anticipated user base of Impulse at this stage. This should radically improve the responsiveness of it.

-Processing/Building List. A major improvement in determining which files need to be updated. The existing system literally checks every file against what's on the server. This is fine on say WindowBlinds but on a program like GalCiv or Sins of a Solar Empire, it's a very long process.  The new system should reduce this time to almost nothing.

 

The full article can be read here:   https://forums.wincustomize.com/321533

The following are a few good things to try whenever you have any issues with Impulse.

-Clear your data.

This has been suggested many times but is presented as “Clear your XML data”. There is now a tool in place to do it for you. This is suggested when registrations are giving you errors or account data seems to be having trouble. It is always just a good idea to try when having almost any issue.

-Click the Stardock Orb

-Select Preferences

-Select the Folders tab on the left

-Click Reset Data

 

-Connection issues.

There is a new download mechanism for Impulse. If you are having connection troubles you can always choose to use this one instead.

-Click the blue Stardock logo in the upper left of the Impulse interface and select 'Preferences...'

-Click on the 'Connection' section on the left.

-Uncheck the box that says 'Use new download mechanism'

-Close Impulse and relaunch it.

 

-Changing your directories.

This is more of a FAQ than an issue but we are asked it so often I thought it best to post it again.

-Click on the Stardock Orb in the upper left corner of Impulse, choose 'Preferences'

-Click on the 'Folders' section on the left

Here you can select from the drop down menu where you would like apps from each category to install to.  You can also check the 'Prompt for install directory' to be prompted during install for where you would like the apps to be installed.  You can also from this dialog choose where Impulse's archives and temp directories are stored.

It is important to note that some software that is installed by Impulse has its own installer as well. Applications like Corel Draw for example will have to be told where to install after the download is complete even with these settings in place.

 

-How to archive an application.(note: archiving is disabled temporarily as of this posting but will return shortly)

-Launch Impulse, you must have the game already installed for the Archive to be available.

-Once Impulse is loaded, right click on the software in the tab it is listed under (MyDesktop, MyGames etc..) and from the menu choose

'Archive Application'

-Once you've archived the game and all components you want, copy the archives (located by default in C:\ProgramData\Stardock\Impulse\backup for Vista or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Stardock\Impulse\backup in XP) and the Impulse installer ( http://www.impulsedriven.com/impulse_setup.exe)to a portable media.

 

To restore at a later time

-Copy the saved impulse_setup.exe file onto the computer.

-Run the Impulse installer

-Copy the archived files into C:\ProgramData\Stardock\Impulse\backup for Vista or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Stardock\Impulse\backup in XP

-Click the Blue Stardock logo in the upper left and click 'Restore archive" and select the archive(s) you wish to restore.

 

 

-Deskscapes

Here is a run down of everything you can try if you are having troubles with Deskscapes.

If you previously had the trial version of DeskScapes installed you will want to remove it first.  Installing the full version over the trial will not overwrite all the files from the trial version.  You must uninstall the trial (or any full versions installed over the trial) and reboot the machine before installing the full version.

You will want to first go to Start->Start Search and type services.msc. Once there, be sure the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service is running and the startup type is set to automatic.

If that does not help or it is already running, please make sure that you have the Windows Vista theme enabled.  To do so:

-Right click on your desktop, choose personalize.

-Click on Themes

-From the drop down menu, choose 'Windows Vista", then click apply and ok. (If you have WB themes applied, you can reapply them later)

 

If that still does not allow you to display .dreams, please try the following:

-Click the Start orb

-Right click on Computer, select properties

-In the tasks pane on the left, select 'Advanced system settings'

-Click the 'Settings' button in the 'Performance' section

-Check 'Enable Desktop Composition' from the list

-Click 'Apply', then 'OK'

-Click the 'Settings' button to be sure that is still enabled. If it is not, please go back and make sure that the Vista theme is set by the instructions above.

 

Edit:

If .dreams files will still not play, and you are not getting the Desktop Window Management service not running error, you may need to install a mepg2 codec.

Here is the Microsoft information page about codecs:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/3d0c5a49-8f61-45cc-8a7d-38c4695ba9291033.mspx#EBB

 We recommend if you are unsure about what codecs you have installed using the following tool to find out:

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/installed_codec.html

If you do not have Vista Home Premium or Ultimate installed you likely do not have a codec. There are many third party codecs available. During testing we found that the codecs bundled with Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra, and DX for Windows Vista appeared to be compatible with video dreams.

Here is a link to the Microsoft DvD Mpeg2 decoders:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx

If at this point DeskScapes will still not run, please do the all of following:

 -Hold the Windows key, press R, and then type "eventvwr.msc" into the run dialog. Press enter

 -Once this loads, open 'Windows Logs', right click on Application and go to 'Save events as...'.

 -Ensure 'Save as type:' is set to Event Files *.evtx

 -Please repeat the process for the System section

 -Send support@stardock.com the two log files

 -Follow this link in Internet Explorer (Firefox and other browsers will not handle it correctly, must use IE):

      http://sd.stardock.com/mike/apps/enumerate_startup.bat

  save the file, run it, and attach the log file it generates on the desktop to the return e-mail. 

 -Launch DeskScapes from the Start Menu and click the option 'About Stardock Deskscapes'

 -Click the option, 'Copy information to clipboard', and then paste the information into the email.

 -Also please go to Start->Start Search and type 'dxdiag'. Once everything loads, please click the "Save all information" button and attach the output file in the support email.

 

 

-Windows XP 64bit

As a reminder Stardock no longer develops with XP 64bit in mind, nor does it test for it. I apologize for any inconvenience.

 

-Tip from support (Use of Free Stuff):

If you have played around with the freeware or trial version of our software it is best that you uninstall it before installing the full version. In programs like Object Dock Plus, for example, conflicts will keep most of the full version utilities from launching at all. Be sure to restart after uninstalling a trial to clear your computer cache.

 

-Icon Packager 4.10 BETA

(Note: this is a beta build, should you have troubles with the software please revert back to the last full version of the software. Betas are not officially supported as they are still in the testing phase)

-Fixed drag/drop icons into the Package Builder on Vista.
-Fixed redraw issue when dropping icons into Package Builder.
-Added option to change the Connect To icon on Vista Start Menu.
-Added option to change the Printers icon on Vista Start Menu.
-Fixed applying packages when changing the Control Panel icons in Vista

 

-Stardock Central

Stardock central no longer gets updates for our games section. This is due to Stardock Central using the Legacy pkzip file format. Due to the size of today’s PC games this is not a format that can be used as it’s file size limit is 2 gigs. Many games exceed that limit now which is why Impulse uses 7zip which has a limit of 16 million tera bytes (8 billion times larger than pkzip). Components of Object Desktop and other Stardock software are still being updated through Stardock Central as well as Impulse, but game users should make the switch to Impulse for the latest updates to their purchases.  

 

-Stardock Update: Aquarium Desktop.

Aquarium Desktop is being updated to work fully with Windows Vista. There is no solid time line on the completion of this project but this is a often asked question. Please look to Impulse and Wincustomize.com for further details.

 

-Support Tip: How to obtain account information:

Please use the following link to see a full list of all of your account information.

https://www.wincustomize.com/myaccount.aspx?

You may need to log into your account before using this link.

Your account information is always available through the registration page of Impulse as well

 

How to best use the support system (support@stardock.com) to save time and troubles:

As Stardock grows the traffic for support has greatly increased. Here are some of the best tips and suggestions we can provide to utilize our support system to your advantage. It also highlights a few pitfalls you can avoid.

-Please fully explain what is broken, what steps you have already taken to fix it, and what was happening when the problem occurred. A long and very detailed list of information is not needed but if question or concern is too short or unexplained the resolution could take twice as long.

-Please be certain that you list what account email you hold with us if you are writing in from another email address about your concern (IE a work email address and so on).

-If you have an auto validation software please add ‘@stardock.com’ to the allowed list. Stardock support or sales will not go through a validation process. This is a matter of both security and time.

-Please be certain not to add support or sales @stardock.com to your face book profile. We very often get requests to personal pages due to broadcast emails.

-Make sure that any screen shot sent in be no large than about 1 meg in size. The filters that govern our email server will likely block or strip the message. Embedding pictures into the email will also result in something of the same. You will always want to attach the file.

-Support is not available on the weekends. If you have a problem you are trying to fix though please send in the email as soon as possible. All email is sorted and queued up as a first-come-first-serve system. Thus the emails that were sent in Friday evening will be serviced first. Feel free to post your question in the forums of our websites to ask for help as the community is very accommodating. Support passes through the forums on weekends from time to time so this can also be a big help.

-Do not send in multiple replies to pending tickets as this counts as an “action or update” to the ticket and resets the ticket time. In other words the ticket is forced to the back of the line before a tech can even see it. Also do not start new emails or tickets, but always reply to the message sent to you. This way whomever answers the ticket can see the history of what has been suggested already.

-Please do not write in all capitol letters as this is considered shouting in the online world. Our techs are more than happy to assist you. We understand that you may be frustrated and we will do everything we can to assist you as quickly as possible.

-Please do not curse or swear. In most cases these emails are filtered and receive an auto reply saying so. However if the mail should get through a tech will not answer the email but will ask you to state the question again. The tech is not required to take any verbal abuse.

-If you did not get an auto reply from the support system then the support department did not receive your email. Please try again.

-If you have sent in a request and it has been longer than 48 hours (through the work week) please check your spam filters for our responses. If there are none write to us again in askance about the first ticket.

 

I hope this helps everyone! Thank you for reading and be sure to drop us a line should you need to hit the panic button.

Seabass

 

Stardock Support

Seabass

Shirley

Highlander

Well even though we are on day 4 of non-stop rain, it's still time for This Week in Skinning.  If you missed the news this week, Object Desktop subscribers got their first free MyColors theme, Gloss Burgundy.  Don't forget to post a screenshot of your desktop in our monthly screenshot thread.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Blue Arroy for Bootskins by sAARGe A great looking bootskin with a matching wallpaper in the galleries as well.
	Orbital in DesktopX Themes by gef This Master DX Theme is one of my favorites.  A beautiful design with plenty of functional objects to go with it.
	SD On Screen Display in DesktopX Widgets by Vad_M Another cool gadget from Vad_M, this time showing an on-screen display of your volume control.
	Channel Marker in Dreams by CarGuy1 Nice scene of a channel marker in the ocean.
	Birthday Suit(e): Icons for IconPackager by mommaTee Another addition to the Birthday suite.  This time we have an icon pack for IconPackager.
	Surreal Eclipse in Wallpapers by DEVJIT The colors in this wallpaper really stood out to me.  Looks real good on the desktop.
	New Roof and a Harvest Moon in Wallpapers by kenwas A beautiful scene which is perfect for an ending summer.
	Swimming for WindowBlinds by casualtraveller This is a real nice WindowBlinds skin, and it's also good for everyday use.  Nice job.

Great job to everyone this week.  Be sure to stop by the personal pages of each skinner and drop them a note, and check out their other works.  See you next week! 

Today we will dive back in to the core user folder with the Music folder. We will be basing it on our Original Icon-A-Day My Music Folder, and will be using almost the same exact steps. However, because of the change in folder size, we will need to recreate almost all the assets for our 2.0 version.

Day 13 (Thursday, August 21th, 2008)

The Music folder The original Music Folder was one of my favorite icons in the Icon-A-Day series. It was one of the first special folders we did, #5, and it set the standard for the overall look of the folders in the pack. I want to do pretty much the same type of thing with the 2.0 version. We will do a nice disc or two in the folder, and scatter in some pretty candy-like notes. We might even be able to salvage a few assets, however I am going to take this opportunity to show how we make the notes, as well as the disks. We will be doing this in almost exactly the same way as we did them 3 years ago, so I recommend that if you have any questions I don't cover here that you take a look at the original tutorial.

Step 1:  We can start once again by grabbing our Wrapper folder, and our original Music folder. Then we remove the assets that we will not be able to use.    Step 2:   I keep all the notes and the CDs, though I don't know if we will be able to use them. I mostly want to be able to use them to copy effects and fills from them, while we create our new assets. That said, I quickly create new ones as simple objects, using circles and boxes. When I have the shapes, I weld the notes together. I also combine the circles together, creating an inner and outer ring for our disk. Step 3:  Before I go any further, I group our two disk circles together, so that I can apply a perspective to them. Now I use the Perspective tool to quickly give our new notes new perspectives. I also do the disk at this point.    Now it looks like we won't have enough room to get our green note in without crowding the composition. This frees us up to move on to our fills. We will start with the CD. Step 4:   I give the main body of the CD a nice Conical Fill, copying the colors from our original CD. Then I give the center ring a gray to white liner gradation. I give the same fills to the rear disk, however when I'm done I tint them 2 clicks black, to darken them up. Then I copy both rings one more time, move them behind the originals, and over to the right a bit, to create the illusion of thickness. I also tint these a little darker. Step 5: Now we need to make the inner rings of the disks transparent, which we do using the Interactive Transparency tool, and give them a liner transparency. At this point we need to use our front circle to crop the copy of it we made in step 4, so we can have a lip yet be able to see through the "Glass." We need to do this twice, once for the inner lip, and once for the outer lip.  We do the same thing for the rear disk.   Step 6: Before we give the discs gloss or shadows, we will go ahead and move on to the music notes.   We will be doing them with mesh fills and blend groups. We start with the blend. First I draw a fresh ellipse over the bulbs of our notes. Then I copy that ellipse and make a smaller version, down toward the bottom of the other. We make the larger one the same color as our note, and the smaller one a lighter blue. Now we just blend the two ellipses together. Step 7:  Next we draw two new mesh rectangles to give that glossy look to the rest of the note. When we are done with the blue note we do the same thing on the new red note.   Step 8:   Now we need to go through all of our new shapes and create new gloss, which we do this with our standard gloss technique. We have to be careful to crop some of the gloss on the Wrapper folder where it would be occluded by our new objects. Step 7:  Once again our last step is the Shadows and Reflections. These are a bit more difficult than normal, because we have a lot going on, and several reflective surfaces to keep in mind. See shadow and reflection techniques for more.   Finished Icon: Here we have it, the new Music folder. I think it stands up well when compared to our original.

Wrap Up: With the completion of the Music folder we are over half way through the User folders. Tomorrow we will end the week with a Videos folder. Who knows, we might even be able to do it in a Video. About Me: You can find all my skins, tutorials, and articles, on my Wincustomize Homepage, at http:\\mormegil.Wincustomize.com. Questions on icon use and techniques, can be emailed to mormegil@gmail.com. Twitter users can find me with the user name: Mormegil.

Download The Music Folder Icon:  Get today's icon from the Miscellaneous Icons Library. Find all the Icon-A-Day tutorials, and links to the icons and more at the Icon-A-Day 2.0 Index. All Icon-A-Day artwork, copy, and icons, are copyrighted by Paul Boyer © 2008, and may not be used with out express permission.