It's been great to see some skinners returning to WinCustomize and sharing some new creations. We want to extend a big welcome back to BONEHEADdb! He's been one of the top CursorFX creators on the site, and he has shared two new CFX themes which you need to check out. Can't wait to see more!

Candy Corn FX

As The World Turns

Today we're going to talk a bit about the history and evolution of WindowBlinds, which released all the way back in 1999 (for the mathematically challenged, that's 21 years ago...yikes!). WindowBlinds was the first program that let users customize the look and feel of the Windows GUI and is still widely popular today.

Although the start of WindowBlinds was long before I came to Stardock (I started here in September 2015), I took a dive through the forums and the website to take a look all the way back at the beginning. So, let's start there with version 1.

Version 1
Released September 20, 1999

Version 1 released and rose to immediate popularity with over 1 million downloads on CNET's Download.com before the end of the year. Above, you can see the customized window frames and menu bars, and, if you can say you happened to use version 1, you probably feel a little old right now.

While digging through the WindowBlinds website archives, I found this early Drengin image from the 90's.
The Drengin have also come a long way in the last 20 or so years... but that's another blog.

Our product UI has definitely changed and improved a whole lot in the last 20+ years.

To be honest, I picked the above image mostly because I liked the rainbow spiral. It showcases a good variety for WinCustomize v1.0, though.

Version 2
Released October 11, 2000

Version 2 added per-window skinning, semi-transparent explorer windows, and skin colorizing.

Check out that retail box! Who even remembers a time when you bought PC software in the store anymore? To be honest, I sort of miss it, though it's hard to argue against the convenience and ease of online purchases anymore.

WindowBlinds skins supported adding buttons and other objects into the frames (such as this stock ticker).

Remember AOL? I sure do, I spent WAY too many hours of my youth on Instant Messenger. That said, I've heard it was a pain to skin - but check out that classic Stardock logo!

Version 3
Released November 13, 2001

Designed with Windows XP in mind, Version 3 was the first version that could skin every part of the Windows GUI. This version took advantage of the new API framework at the time and made its skins "native" to Windows XP. 

WindowBlinds 3 loaded a "skin" from the disk and then applied the skin to the Windows GUI. With it, users could customize title bars, borders, push buttons, radio buttons, combo boxes, scrollbars, status bars, properties dialogs, tab controls, header controls, list boxes, and pretty much every other element.

WindowBlinds 3 was more than just aesthetically pleasing! It added a bunch of new usability features, transitioning WindowBlinds from being more of an "eye candy" product into a true productivity tool for Windows users. It could also make Windows look like other OSes...something that received mixed feedback from the community.         

Version 4
Released April 8, 2003

Version 4 was designed almost entirely with Windows XP in mind. 

WindowBlinds 4 skinned virtually every aspect of the Windows GUI, including things that were previously thought to be unskinnable like logon/logoff dialogues, the "please wait" dialogue, backgrounds in the Control Panel, and more.

Man, I miss the GameCube. From what I could find when digging through old website and archives, it seems like some companies partnered with us to create skins for Windows using some of their IPs, which is pretty cool.

Options, options, options...so many of them!

Version 5
Released November 29, 2005

WindowBlinds 5 was designed to support per-pixel alpha blending, toolbar button changing, progress animation improvements, animated per-pixel Start menus, title bars, and tons more.

When Version 5 released, WindowBlinds was the most popular desktop-enhancement utility of all time, according to CNET's Download.com. We had over 8 million users worldwide and had passed the 9 million downloads mark.

Remember how I mentioned skins featuring different IPs? Yep, found one for World of Warcraft!

Version 6
Released October 2, 2007

WindowBlinds 6 added the ability to apply effects like Gaussian blurs to skins in real-time. The new configuration was, perhaps, the biggest change. 

Anyone remember a little game called Elemental? Check out this WindowBlinds 6 skin themed after it.

This version of WindowBlinds also added advanced animation support for skins, which allowed our user base to do some pretty wild things.

Version 7
Released November 17, 2009

I'm told this was a coincidence and not at all intended, but WindowBlinds 7 happened to be ready just in time for the arrival of Windows 7. In this version, we introduced a new type of skinning format called UIS0, which allowed users to just modify the existing Aero skin.  This made WindowBlinds a lot more popular for people who liked Aero, but wanted a bit nicer look and feel to it.

WindowBlinds 7 included a new configuration program that made it easy to access the new features of the program, like adding textures to existing skins. 

Version 8
Released June 19, 2013

 Version 8 was mostly about getting WindowBlinds to work on Windows 8. This version worked on Windows 7 also, and included SkinStudio for free, which would allow users to design their own skins.

SkinStudio made it easy for inexperienced users to create a great skin quickly, while advanced users could still enjoy designing every aspect of the windows interface.

Version 9
Released...never!

Because I was trying to be as thorough as possible with this recap for WindowBlinds,
I spent entirely too long last night digging for the history of Version 9.

Except, there is no Version 9. We skipped 9 and went straight to 10, like Windows.
Don't ask me why the number 9 seems to get no love, I couldn't tell you.

Version 10
Released March 15, 2016

A year after I arrived at Stardock, WindowBlinds 10 made its debut. We needed to make sure we had a product that was fully compatible with Windows 10, and of course it came with a shiny new UI and plenty of never-before-seen skins that offered a broader customization experience for our users. 

As you can see, better looking versions of old OSes are still pretty popular. Re-live the good old Windows 7 days!

WindowBlinds 10 still has plenty of customization options - far more than ever before - so that you can tweak your desktop down to the most minute of details.

I think one of my absolute favorite features of WindowBlinds 10 is the randomization. If I like a bunch of skins, I can use this option to have my computer cycle through them at random intervals, giving me a fresh look and a bit of a surprise every time I boot up. The per-application skinning is great for variety, too - I can use one skin for my word processing software, and use a different skin for something like Premiere.

So, that's the history of WindowBlinds - phew! How long have you been using the program and what are some of your favorite skins?

Don't have WindowBlinds yet? Get it now!
Download thousands of skins and styles for WindowBlinds and
our other customization apps at WinCustomize.com

Fall is right around the corner and with that we have the latest edition of the WinCustomize monthly wrap-up! This is where we'll feature some of the best news, articles, and skins from the past month in case you might have missed them.

Stardock News:

NOW ON STEAM: Curtains - Add New Style Modes to Windows 10

"Stardock released its newest customization tool on Steam today. Curtains™ allows users to apply new styles along the lines of Dark Mode and Light to Windows® 10.

ANNOUNCING: Curtains v1.1 - try the beta today!

Stardock released a v1.1 beta for Curtains today, its popular customization tool that allows users to apply new styles along the lines of Dark and Light Modes to Windows® 10. 

Taking advantage of the groundwork built to support light and dark mode, Curtains includes several new styles including Crystal, Sky, and Midnight mode that enhance the look and feel of the Windows UI along with apps that already support light and dark mode.

Community Posts You Might Have Missed:

Top Wallpaper Downloads for August!

Remember RightClick? I tried it on Windows 10

Have Your Vacation Plans Been Cut Due to COVID?

Make your next video stream seamless with Multiplicity

Important Questions to Consider When Shopping for Home Security Cameras

Your remote working setup

Creative Modifications: Animal Crossing

New Skins, Themes, and Wallpapers:

Sonix Curtains (Curtains)

Base One (WindowBlinds)

Sandera7 (WindowBlinds)

Hud Desktop (Wallpaper)

Sunrise Over Rice Fields (Wallpaper)

4K Earth Night (DeskScapes)

As the World Turns (CursorFX)

Stardock announces v1.1 for Curtains, the popular Windows customization app
The v1.1 beta for all Curtains and Object Desktop users is available now

Stardock released a v1.1 beta for Curtains today, its popular customization tool that allows users to apply new styles along the lines of Dark and Light Modes to Windows® 10. 

Taking advantage of the groundwork built to support light and dark mode, Curtains includes several new styles including Crystal, Sky, and Midnight mode that enhance the look and feel of the Windows UI along with apps that already support light and dark mode. 

Curtains v1.1 Beta Features:

• New options for explorer background transparency and blur effects (see screenshot above!)
• New option to extend title bar into top of ribbon in explorer windows
• Increased style application speed
• Quality of life adjustments

To see a complete beta change log and to participate in our feedback thread, go here. The full release of v1.1 is coming soon. Enjoy the beta!

Don't have Curtains yet? Get it now through Stardock or Steam.
Curtains owners can get directions on how to access the beta below.

 

 

How to Get the Beta:
Object Desktop members can get the beta from within Object Desktop Manager with 'show beta downloads' enabled:

Individual purchases (as well as Object Desktop Members) can also be obtained from your an account page: https://store.stardock.com/myaccount/products

For guest check-out purchase (no account), from this link: http://www.stardock.com/support/productkeyretrieval

Last Friday, Microsoft announced a new Insider Preview build for Windows. Build 20197 focuses primarily on bringing Disk Management into the operating system's Settings panel. 

The build is currently out in the Dev Channel right now and introduces a new Manage Disks and Volumes screen under Settings > System Storage. Users will be able to view disk information, create and format volumes, and assign drive letters this way. In their blog, Microsoft describes the new feature as a "modern experience built from the ground up with accessibility in mind." 

Microsoft also stressed in its blog post that this build was a trial run experience meant to garner feedback and gauge interest. The experience won't show on newer builds, although insiders may see other experiences like it on newer builds coming soon.

There are some other updates included in this build, such as the Your Phone Apps experience, which was highlighted during the Samsung Unpacked event on August 5th. With this new feature, users can instantly access their Android phone's mobile apps directly from their Windows 10 PC. When an app is launched, it opens a separate window outside of the Your Phone app enabling multitasking. 

The feedback on social media regarding the build was mixed. Do you keep up to date on Windows trial builds and have you had a chance to check this one out yet? If so, share your experience with us!

September is just over a week away and we are inching ever so close to the beginning of the autumn season. As we start winding down summer, lets take a look at wallpapers today and what has been popular over the last month.

You can download these here, and many more in our desktop wallpaper gallery here on WinCustomize!

If you have a favorite wallpaper, leave the link in the comments below.

4K Seascape 5pk

Hilltop view at night_4K

Alberta Lake and Mountain

Alien Invasion 4K

Elephant Among the Trees

With many people working out of the office, how are you handling it?

I confess I feel pretty blessed that I get to work daily with my sons up at the lake.  One is a 3D artists and the other a systems engineer.  Here is a picture of our setup.

It’s a little messy and ad-hoc but super comfy and productive.

In one of my last blogs, I downloaded and tried out ObjectBar on my Windows 10 laptop. It was a fun experiment, and I enjoyed reading your comments on whether we should try to bring back ObjectBar. Since that got such a good response, I'd like to take a look at another app that was quite popular many years ago. It's one of my personal favorites: RightClick.

RightClick was first released somewhere around 2005, and was made in order to let Windows XP users greatly enhance the right-click desktop menu. The custom menus would let you add items such as shortcuts, system commands, tasks, and much more. You could even add DesktopX widgets to the menu!

Of course it was also skinnable, and even worked with WindowBlinds. We had a gallery on WinCustomize for RightClick skins.

Unfortunately, Windows 10 did not seem to work very well with RightClick. It took some time to get installed, and then only the menu editor would work - and that was about all I could do with Windows 10. I was a bit disappointed I couldn't get it to work, but it got me thinking about what I could possibly use it for now. 

I used to setup my right-click menu to have quick access to a favorite folder, commonly used apps, and a widget or two. I also would use RightClick to completely replace the start menu for when I wanted a really minimal desktop. 

Did any of you use RightClick back when it was available? What did you use it for, and what would uses do you think it should have for Windows 10?

We definitely want your feedback, so let us know in the comments below!

I noticed we have had some real nice wallpapers with great scenes of animal life of all types, so lets dedicate this weeks news to some. There are some great images here on WinCustomize of a variety of animal types, so be sure to use that search function and find a favorite.

Check out all the desktop wallpapers on WinCustomize here.

Elephant Among the Trees

Swimming Sea Turtle

Leopard 4K

Toucan

Pod of Dolphins

Video streaming and video content creation have risen greatly in popularity over the past few years. Video game streaming alone has turned into a multi-million dollar industry, and even just hobbyists are getting in on the action. Video creators like vloggers and many other channels on YouTube have created an amazing resource of educational and entertainment content.

If you're a streamer or content creator, you can use Multiplicity to help increase your productivity and delegation of your workload to multiple PCs. 

Multiplicity can help by letting you control multiple PCs with one mouse and keyboard. Use those other PCs to do all those other tasks to free up your main computer for your streaming or editing. You won't have to worry about using hardware to control them; just setup Multiplicity on your PCs and you can seamlessly work across multiple devices easily. Here's a quick video on how it works:

If you are streaming a game or doing some serious video editing, then you are most likely using your main PC rig to handle all of that needed power. Of course while you're doing all that, there's still work to be done with another PC (or PCs). For example:

-Managing your online community

-Posting updates and monitoring social media accounts

-Researching and gathering media assets

-Chatting with other players and viewers

-Moving and managing files and documents

With Multiplicity, you'll also be able to copy and paste text and images between computers, drag and drop files and folders (KVM version), listen to audio from multiple PCs through one PC, and much more. Give Multiplicity a try on your next stream or content project, and see what a difference in productivity it can make!

Learn more about Multiplicity here.