When you first get to the desktop of a brand new Vista machine, one of the first things you probably do is start adjusting various settings and installing your software.  That is the moment you will first encounter the UAC (User Account Control), and probably some other "security" features.  UAC is a new feature introduced with Windows Vista that runs many applications and processes at a limited privilege level. 

When a user needs to make a change UAC will popup and allow the user to "elevate" privileges to allow the changes to be made.  The basic intention of this feature is to prevent unauthorized or mistaken changes to be made to the system and applications.  While the UAC aims to do good things, for many users it's just plain annoying.  You can completely disable the UAC, but you can also "fine tune" Vista's security features with Stardock's TweakVista.

Note:  You will need to be a member of the administrators group to make any changes

In the Security section of TweakVista you will find a wide variety of options to change Vista's default security settings.  In the Overview tab you will see where you can select the level of elevation prompts. 

• High security - This will require login details to proceed with elevation
• Medium security - This is the default setting which will prompt users for elevation.
• Medium-low security - Disable all prompts for elevation by selecting this setting.
• Low security - This will allow you to completely remove disable the UAC

Security overview

You are also able to set Login details as well.  You can specify if you need to require Ctrl+Alt+del/password to login, just the normal password prompt, or you can set it to automatically login as a specified user.

Changing the above settings will allow you to control the basic security settings, but if you want more control over them, select the Advanced tab for more options.  In the advanced options you can see a list of the administrators on your PC, and allow users to be prompted for confirmation or their credentials.

Security advanced

For more information and downloads, visit the TweakVista home page.

The new year is kicking off quite well already.  Last we there was some great skins, but some of them were still from December, so lets see what the first full week of skinning in January brought us. 

Now for this weeks picks! 

	Parisienne Cursors for CursorXP by BoXXi This cursor caught my eye with it's "different" look, but that is definitely a good thing.  Great work.
	Optical in DesktopX themes by  gef This new master skin by gef is truly superb.  The theme includes a number of objects and will really change the look of your desktop.
	Butterfly for IconPackager by xinmaker This was an entry in the '06 GUI Champs.  This icon package is colorful to say the least, and very well designed.
	Alpha 3 for IconPackager by mrSkope Last week we saw Alpha 1, and now we have Alpha 3.  Just as great and there is a light version available also.
	Cygnus Dock Backgrounds for ObjectDock by messiah1 Messiah1 has created some great docks this past week, but this one really caught my eye.  Be sure to check his personal page for others.
	OS X Leopard Dock Pack for ObjectDock by TSAElement Another fantastic set of dock background with the "Leopard" look.
	Reptilian Blue in Wallpapers by chu99g The name of this wallpaper suits it well.  Nice work.
	Gadget in WindowBlinds by navigatsio This is a very bright and creative skin.  Very nice work on the details, so be sure to check this one out.

Great job to everyone this week.  The year has started off great and I hope the momentum continues through the rest of the year.  See you next week!

• Avatar =.zip .jpg 50px and .png 50px

• beatnik =.zip .bnSkin

• Bootskin =.zip .bootskin

• CursorXP/FX =.zip .curxptheme

• DesktopX Objects =.zip .dxpack

• DesktopX Themes =.zip .dxtheme .desktop

• DesktopX Widgets =.zip .exe

• Dream =.zip .dream

• Emoticons =.zip

• FireFox =.zip .jar

• Google Gadgets =.zip .gg

• Graphics =.zip .psd .png ... pictures files

• IconPackager =.zip .ip

• IM Goodies =.zip

• LiteStep =.zip .lsz

• Logons =.zip .logonxp

• LogonStudio Vista =.zip .logonvista

• Maxthon =.zip .m2s

• Misc. Icons =.zip .ico
  

• ObjectBar2 =.zip obpack

• ObjectDock =.zip .dockzip

• Progress Anims =.zip .wba

• Rainlendar =.zip

• RightClick =.zip

• Screen Savers =.zip .scr .exe

• ScreenShots =.zip .jpg

• Sidebar Gadgets =.zip .gadget

• Sidebar Styler =.zip .wsstyles

• Sound Schemes =.zip .soundpack

• Suites =.zip .suite

• SysMetrix =.zip .smx

• Toolbar Icons =.zip .wba

• WallPapers =.zip .jpg

• Widgets for SkinStudio =.zip .guiwidget

• WinAmp =.zip .wal .wsz

• WindowBlinds =.zip .wba

• WindowFX =.zip

• WinMedia =.zip .wmz

• Winstep =.zip

• Xion =.zip .xsf

Once upon a time there was a collection of programs called Object Desktop. The most popular of these programs were WindowBlinds, IconPackager and DesktopX.

Millions of people around the world tried these programs and for the most part liked them. But users also often found it difficult to get a consistent look across their desktop since the different programs worked on different parts of the computer.

In time, a number of skinners helped popularize the concept of "Suites". A suite is a collection of skins, themes, and icons that when applied together create a single unified desktop experience.  However, as cool as suites were, it still required users to go out and find the various programs necessary to apply the suite.

Over the past few years, Stardock has worked hard to find ways to simplify the process of applying suites.  This past year, it devised a new product called MyColors.  The theme and the underlying technology would be one in the same. The suite would evolve into being called a MyColors theme. Users would search for MyColors themes instead of the software. MyColors would seamlessly include all the software needed.

Stardock Design

To sell themes to the mass market, Stardock would need to create a lot of themes. In the past, a handful of art houses like Pixtudio, Skins Factory, and SkinPlant had created a handful of themes.  To make the MyColors concept work, hundreds of high quality themes would need to be made. And so Stardock Design was created.

Stardock Design brought in, full-time most of the top talent from the major art shops that were devoted to skinning.  Alexandrie and Treetog now work full time at Stardock Design. So do both MikeB and Hippy. Stardock also brought in ChaNinja as a full time designer (ChaNinja was one of the top msstyles skinners).  Pixel Pirate, Danilo0c, and Essorant also joined up.  And Voo, well known for his icon creations in contract work with the art houses is now full time as well.

Stardock then licensed a number of properties from movie studios, sports teams, car companies, universities, etc.  Already the NBA, NHL, and NCAA teams are made with more coming on-line.

MyColors 2008

This month, Stardock will make available MyColors 2008.

This second-generation version is designed for the mass audience. MyColors 2008 is self-healing -- it automatically repairs itself if one of the components out of date or a problem in a theme is found or a bug in the underlying technology is found.

A number of major OEMs have already signed on to pre-load MyColors in the next year. In the future, users will be able to choose how they want their computers to look like.

Object Desktop 2008

MyColors will be made part of Object Desktop 2008. In this way, Stardock can provide those users premium themes during the course of the year and offer discounts on many others.

Moreover, MyColors allows users two very straight forward choices now:

The user can:

1. Pay $19.95 and have a branded theme with all the software they need for that particular theme. (i.e. they pay for the theme and the software is largely incidental)
   or
2. Get Object Desktop for $49.95 which provides the underlying software and can use the thousands of skins, themes, icons, etc. out there. (they pay for the software and the themes are largely incidental).

Below are some screen shots of what to expect and how it will work.

MyColors Theme Manager in action.

 
Quest MyColors Theme

Boston Celtics MyColors theme

 
Users can see Featured Themes right from MyColors Theme Manager

We're getting ready to head to Las Vegas for CES 2008. There's going to be a number of big announcements this next week in the technology industry.

We'll be live blogging at www.vistablogging.com as well as on www.neowin.net and www.wincustomize.com.

If there's any areas in particular you want us to check out, let us know!

I can't believe this is the first "This Week in Skinning" for 2008.  Last year I featured so many skins, but unfortunately had to leave so many out just because there isn't enough space to feature them all.  I have slightly altered the design of TWiS so it will be easier to feature more skins if necessary, and if you have any suggestions, always feel free to drop me a note.

Now for this weeks picks! 

	EarthFX for CursorXP by J. Aroche  Good to see J. Aroche back doing what he does best....making amazing cursors to share.
	Knot Vista 1280 in DesktopX themes by  BigDogBigFeet The Knot WB skin was incredibly creative, and this DX theme compliments it well.
	World Clock in DesktopX Widgets by Tiggz Also glad to see Tiggz bringing us more great works.  I'm looking forward to much more.
	midnight_sun in Dreams by muckyman  I found this .dream to be very cool looking on my desktop, and it also made it into the December .dreams video as well.
	Alpha 1 for IconPackager by mrSkope The IconPackager section is not as busy as it used to be, but this new addition of over 100 icons will hopefully get it going again.  Vista ready with Live Folders support.
	Leopard Docks for ObjectDock by TSAElement  If you like the Leopard look for your ObjectDock, then here is a great set to check out.
	Shadows of the waves in Wallpapers by Sparkle Design Sometimes simple is the best way to go.  I would like to see some bigger resolutions next time though.  Nice work.
	Elegance for WindowBlinds by Stardock Design The first free WB skin from Stardock Design this year, and a great one it is.  Very clean and usable design, for both XP and Vista.

What a great way to start off the new year, and there is many more good things to come.  Be sure to check the skinners personal pages for more of their works.  See you next week!

You've seen Brad's article on what Stardock needs to do in 2008, and a few of the items touched on WinCustomize and the community specifically.  Now that we're into 2008, I wanted to add my own thoughts on what we accomplished on WinCustomize in 2007, what some of my goals are for '08 and what that means for the community in terms of content, events and opportunities.

Looking Back at 2007:

Vista, Dreams & New Opportunities

2007 was a year of change for Windows customization, there's no doubt about that.  Vista brought with it a completely new set of challenges and opportunities for people looking to tweak their PC to get the most visually and performance-wise.  Stardock brought a lot of new goodies to the table in 2007 specifically for Vista.  WindowBlinds was updated for Vista features, and even brought several Vista visual enhancements to Windows XP.  IconPackager handles Live Folders and the increased image size requirements.  We also updated Skin Studio to take care of all the new WB6 and Vista features.

On top of updating our stable of customization tools, we've added a plethora of new applications that let you further customize and tweak your Windows experience: DeskScapes, SoundPackager, CursorFX.

DeskScapes is without a doubt the biggest new customization tool of 2007.  With Windows Vista Ultimate, animated desktops became much more reasonable and less resource intensive.  On top of the regular DreamScene feature of playing video files, DeskScapes built on that with a new file format to allow authors to retain credit and protect their work, as well as allow for the ability to run dynamic wallpapers.  Animated desktops that weren't pre-rendered video, but dynamically rendered scenes utilizing the graphics card instead of your CPU.

Dreams are our fastest growing content category here at WinCustomize.  In the 11 months since the launch of Windows Vista and DeskScapes, we have received over 400 Dreams from our community.  Every month we've had dozens of outstanding quality dreams, and every month since March, Island Dog has been featuring the best work:

• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007
• June 2007
• May 2007
• April 2007
• March 2007

And in February of 2008, DeskScapes 2.0 comes out, making animated wallpapers available to virtually all Vista users.

Sound Packager also finally saw the light of day, giving users the ability to customize even how their PC sounds.  No more manually changing out system sounds one by one, now you can create packages or theme sets of sounds for your system and share them with your friends or the community at large.  It's one thing to customize the look, now you can customize the sound of your PC just as easily.

2007 was all about new choices in Windows customization, and we kept ahead of the curve here at WinCustomize.com.

WinCustomize 2007

In preparation for what we wanted to do for Windows Vista, our web dev team spent months preparing a completely new version of WinCustomize.com.  After years holding together the old code with chewing gum and twine, they went back to the drawing board and rewrote the site for .NET 2.0.  This time, with the knowledge of running and coding the site for 5 years, they built things with an eye towards expandability and stability.  The single biggest improvement you've probably seen from this rewrite is the fact that the site is actually available and loads quickly 99.9% of the time now.  For those of you around in 2006 or earlier, you'll know how much of an achievement that is.

On top of the functional improvements, stability and speed, we also added the ability for community veterans to sell their skinning work through the Master Skins program.  For years these skinners have helped support WinCustomize with their free work, making us the premier site on the web to get skins and customization content, so it was time to give them something back.  Now, Master Skinners can sell their work to an audience of over 2 million folks every month.

On the news and article front, 2006 was the year we revived the news page with updated Monday through Friday.  Tech news, skinning news, random funny stories etc.  We wanted to make WinCustomize an active site again that gave users a reason to come back every single day.  2007 went like this for most of the year, but starting in late summer, the focus shifted from more generic and wide-reaching technology news to news specific to WinCustomize and the skinning community.  Daily and weekly skin features, moderator and skinner picks.  Interviews with master skinners, developers and more.

This summer we also launched the WinCustomize Wiki, a user-driven documentation project that many of you have taken on as your own.  Huge thanks to sViz, Bebi, CerebroJD, Doctor Nick and others for their tireless efforts to make that project a success!

We've also upped the number of contests.  Maxthon, Dreams, periodic give-aways and more.  Outside of the GUI Champs, 2007 was one of the best years to get your hands on free goodies for your skins.

But perhaps the biggest event of 2007 was the Charity/Subscription Drive we held in November/December.  Thanks to your support, and the generosity of several Master Skinners, we raised over $4,200 for Childs Play, a charity dedicated to donating toys, games and movies to children's hospitals around the globe.  The money we raised went directly to the Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit and will go to purchase much needed toys and games to lighten up what is otherwise a very dark place.  I'm incredibly proud of what we accomplished and count myself very lucky to be able to work every day with such an outstanding group of people.

On top of all that, we crossed a major milestone in December.  We crossed the 3,000,000 (yes, that's 3 MILLION) user line.  It was in 2005 that we crossed 2 million, and we've just been gaining momentum since.  I can't wait for us to hit 4 million!

Looking Forward to 2008

After everything that happened in 2007, it's hard to imagine how we'll top ourselves in 2008.  Plans however are already in motion to make 2008 a year to remember.  We've got events, projects, contests, and big announcements to make.  New efforts to expand the community in new ways, make what we're already doing even better, and overall helping to bring customization back to the forefront.  You've seen how Stardock plans to advance skinning to a wider audience, well, we're going to be playing a key role in that here.

The 2008 GUI Championships

In 2006, we gave away $12,000 in cash, software and prizes.  JJ Ying walked away with a great Alienware laptop, others got XBoxes, and many others got nice fat checks.  And we did all of that on a website originally written in 2004, and with very little advanced planning.  With all that has happened since then, we've got a list of ideas for the 2008 event as long as my arm.  This year the event will be bigger, with more events, more prizes, and a lot more exposure.  Island Dog and I have discussed the event at length and we're confident the 2008 GUIC will be the single biggest event in the customization world period.

Community Skin Projects

Yesterday I talked briefly about the first new Community Skin project in years.  The effort, being organized by Jafo, aims to do a project on the scale and quality of the original Heavy Equipment.  The community hasn't had many events or projects to rally around in recent years.  As time has gone on, skinners have become more insular, and small groups have started to split off to do their own thing.  Community Skins were a great way to bring everyone together, to pool the great talent of the community and make something really great.  It's for this reason, that the WinCustomize staff decided that the Community Skin project needed to make a comeback.  If this first effort takes hold, expect more in the future. 

WinCustomize v6 (or 2k8)

WinCustomize v5 (2k7) was all about making the site stable, fast, and be able to handle a growing community.  We feel we accomplished that and now it's time to focus on making the site more usable, more inviting and easier to navigate.  We've begun (very) early design work on the site and are excited about the changes coming up.  A big focus across all things Stardock the last year has been on improving the user experience when using our tools.  WinCustomize is one of our largest tools, and its time to bring it fully up to date.  Expect more news, previews, screenshots and more as we get nearer completion.  There will probably be a subscriber-only beta test of the site as well, like there was for v5 early this year.

JoeUser 2

JoeUser is being rewritten completely.  Originally coded in 2003 and largely left alone since, this revamp is significant.  We're taking everything we've learned from both JoeUser and WinCustomize to make a community discussion/blogging site that's very special and unique.  For the WinCustomize community, this is important because JoeUser 2 is a test-bed for many changes and improvements we want to bring over to WinCustomize.  JU2 will have features you'll benefit from here, plus it will grow the community and bring more and more people to WinCustomize, which will in turn expose them to skinning.

JoeUser 2 is getting very close to a testing stage now.  You'll be hearing more about that very very soon.

More Galleries, More Content, More Everything!

We're looking to keep expanding what applications we cover here at WinCustomize.  Over the course of 2008, we'll be adding galleries, and reaching out to more in the skinning application community, and to those in the wider customization community.  WinCustomize is the leader in this area, but there are gaps that others have stepped in to fill.  Working more closely with the rest of the community, forming partnerships with developers and other sites is going to be an important aspect of our work this year.  When one of us is prosperous, all of us benefit.

This means more content of all sorts.  Island Dog, myself, Brad, ZubaZ, Jafo and others have been turning out articles, helping with projects, contests, doing interviews and much more to make sure that you never run out of new things to see or read here on WinCustomize.  And we have even more planned.

2007 was a great year... and 2008 is looking to be even better!  I hope everyone sticks around for the fun and helps make 2008 our best year yet!

Elegance is here

About a year ago, Stardock formed a new skinning team called Stardock Design. It brought in many of the top skin authors from around the world into a single place as full time skinners. It also provided a budget to be able to contract some of the part-time skinners as well. 

The work is starting to pay off. And this year you will begin seeing a significant increase in free skins coming from Stardock Design.  The idea is to help provide examples and help to other skinners as well as ensure that users have a steady supply of very high quality skins.

The first skin release of the year is Elegance. Designed by Alexandrie, the co-founder of Pixtudio who now works full-time at Stardock in Plymouth Michigan, Elegance is an attempt to provide an alternative to all the glass-style skins you've seen in recent months but one that is clean and...well elegant.  Having used it for awhile, I believe this is one of the best skins of all time. It combines high polish with high usability.

Subtlety is the rule

You can download it here:

[Download Elegance for WindowBlinds 6]

2007 was an incredible year for .dreams, or as some may know them....animated wallpapers.  We had the release of DeskScapes which enhanced DreamScene in Vista Ultimate to support the .dream format, dynamic .dreams, triggers .dreams, and more.

We also saw the release of DreamMaker in which users have taken their 2D and 3D creations and turned them into phenomenal .dreams which they shared with the community.  2008 will be even stronger with the release of DeskScapes 2.0 which will widen the user base of .dreams to include all versions of Vista that are Aero capable.

With that, here is the final "This Month in Dreams" for 2007, and look for more of this in 2008.

Now for the featured .dreams!

To use these .dreams you will be need Windows Vista Ultimate, and the free download of Stardock Deskscapes.  All the .dreams featured in this video can be found at the links below.

The new year is here, and I'm sure over the last couple of weeks you have seen several people posting their 2008 tech predictions. Not to be left out, I figured I should do my own list and get your opinions as well, and at the end of the year we can see how good we are.

Apple: I don't think many can argue that the iPhone was the top gadget of 2007, so what will 2008 bring for it? I think we will see a minor hardware update, possibly announced at Macworld this month, with the probable addition of 3G and very slight visual changes. There is not going to be a major revision until around the 2 year mark, as that is when the AT&T contracts will be up for renewal.

On the software side, Apple will release the SDK as promised and there will be some truly awesome 3rd party apps made available without the need to hack the iPhone. More news from Macworld will be the announcement of the iTunes rental store, which will launch with great hype, but will fall flat in just a few months.

Microsoft: 2007 was an interesting year for Microsoft, we seen the retail launch of Vista along with a heavy dose of criticism about it. SP1 will be released in a couple of months, and it won't help the criticism much, and it just might add to it. Some have predicted we will see the first betas of "Windows 7" this year, although I doubt this will happen. We will see some updates to Windows Home Server which has been horribly marketed, and hopefully will gain more attention as WHS is a great product.

Towards the end of the year, consumers will start hearing about the next Xbox edition. There won't be much as far as hardware or specifications, but I think Microsoft is going to start the hype early. Also on the Microsoft schedule will be Internet Explorer 8 which has gotten itself in the news lately. Not sure if this will make it out this year, but I think we will see some public previews made available.

Mobile Industry: 2008 will be the year of the iPhone clones. There have been a few attempts already, and most, if not all will not get any attention other than being recognized as cheap knock-offs of the iPhone. There will be some fantastic new phones released this year, but the iPhone will still be the most talked about. Smartphones in general will continue to rise in popularity, and 2008 will be another year where we will see wireless access expand at a rapid rate.

Web 2.0: We have seen a lot of "Web 2.0" this year. Sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Digg, Twiiter, etc. have exploded in popularity, and 2008 will be no different. 2008 will see quite a few acquisitions of some of these companies, and we will see some fade away, but a few new ones will appear to take their place. I was trying to think of some good ideas for sites like these, but came up blank so I'd like to hear what kind of "2.0" sites we will see this year.

Desktop Customization: It just wouldn't be right if I didn't speak a bit about desktop skinning for 2008. I'm going to write more about this later, but I believe 2008 is going to take off especially in the Windows Vista area. Stardock Deskscapes 2.0 will bring .dreams (animated wallpapers) to a much wider audience, and in turn we will see some great .dreams being created.

In the next couple of months, we are going to see many more skins being created, especially in the WindowBlinds area. SkinStudio 6 has made this process much easier, and with the tutorials being written more people will try their hand out at skinning. I'm not going to say too much else in this area, but I can assure you that 2008 will be a great year for skinning.

Well that is my top 5 list, and now it's your turn. Let me know your predictions, and what you think of mine either by leaving a comment or writing your own blog.