Today we have released a new build of the popular Start8 application for Windows 8!

We added a new feature that we think you'll love:

• Automatically load your Windows desktop on login (vs the start screen)

Just a reminder of the other features Start8 includes:

• Adds a start button back to your taskbar
• Adds control over the "Start" menu size on the Explorer desktop
• Adds option for the "WinKey" to show fullscreen "Metro" desktop - Adds Run... option via right-click menu
• Adds Shutdown... option via right-click menu
• Choose a custom Start button image

Start8 requires Windows 8 Consumer or Release Preview.

Download now at - https://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

Stardock Central is here in beta form, but even though it is still being worked on, it’s a great way to download and update your various Stardock software apps (and some games) like WindowBlinds, Fences, DeskScapes, etc.  Stardock Central is very easy to use, but I’m going to give a quick overview in case you aren’t familiar with it.

First, get the free download from here.

https://www.stardock.com/stardockcentral/

As you can see the interface is pretty straightforward.  You can see any available updates for your apps, and the list of available software that you can download.  To download or update an app, just check the box and click the install button.  Very simple!

One question people have always asked is if there’s an easy way to find the expiration date of their subscription to either Object Desktop or WinCustomize.  You can now find that right inside Stardock Central.

If you need to see what software you have installed, and the version number, you can also find that very easily.

If you need additional options for Stardock Central, just click the icon in the screenshot below and you will enter the settings windows.  Here you can set a variety of options like enabling beta downloads, set file locations for downloads, and more.

Again, Stardock Central is a great way to manage your Stardock purchases.  If you need to access your software through the web, just visit download.stardock.com.

Welcome back to another edition of This Week in Skinning!  It’s nice to see that people aren’t slowing down much summer in regards to skinning.  Typically, summer is a slow time for skinning but that doesn’t seem to be the case as the uploads keep rolling in.  Hopefully we’ll have some more GUI Champs 2012 news coming up soon as we are hard at work behind the scenes getting things ready. 

Follow @stardock 

Now for this weeks picks!

This is my first shot at demoing Fences.  It also gives you an idea of just how compelling the new features are.

I’m playing with the latest internal build of Fences 2. I can describe it in one word: WOW.

Let me show you some screenshots that will explain what I mean:

Folder Portals:

At first glance, this looks like Fences 1.  But look closely… See the Videos and My Pictures? Those portals to folders. This is huge. Think of all the people you know that dump every picture and such onto their desktop. With Fences 2, people can put pictures where they belong – in their pictures folder. Then, using Fences, just create a portal fence on the desktop.

Pages:

This screen looks really busy right? Here’s the thing: It’s a Fences page. I got to it by clicking on the edge of the screen and dragging the screen to the next page. I use this page because I often have to interact and/or move stuff between these three folders. I bet I’m not the only one who gets pretty tired of having to open up folders, place them around the screen to drag and drop things between them.

Let me video this to really drive it home:

Fences 2 pages in action

Easier to use

Fences 2 installs as a Control Panel item rather than its own proprietary UI..thing. So you can always get to it through the control panel and the UI works the same as any other control panel.

Also, for people (like me) who just want a clean desktop, Fences is still the world’s best solution for this: Double click on the desktop and your icons go away (double click to bring them back).

More powerful

The power-user features of Fences 2 are presented in a way that they’re easy for power users to make use of but don’t scare off casual users. For instance, in the above screenshot, I’ve got my pictures displayed as details while my videos are showing their items as large video items. I’m also configuring a new fence to be the place that intercepts things trying to add their junk to my desktop.

Besides the obvious addition of being able to have different sized icons on your desktop, it lets you use your desktop as it was originally intended – your portal for all your stuff.  If you’ve used Windows 8, you can really appreciate how important it’s going to be to be able to use your desktop more effectively than ever and for everyone else, it lets you craft your desktop to work the way you want it to.

Fences 1 is, as some know, the world’s most popular desktop enhancement (by far).  Fences 2, is more than a mere evolution of the fences concept. It’s is the realization of two decades of what the desktop can be when given the right tools.  Fences is a simple program that has profound benefits.

As I did for the Consumer Preview, here’s a bunch of screenshots from the Windows 8 Release Preview that was released today.  These are all pretty much default screenshots I took while browsing through Windows 8.

Click View Slide Show for the best display. 

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		Windows 8 Release Preview VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

What used to be called “RC” (Release Candidate) has been spun to “Preview”, but the meaning remains the same.

Apparently, the W8 RC is planned to be released today. This was “accidentally” revealed in an MS hardware and driver blog post (Chuck Chan, Corporate V.P. Windows Development team), yesterday. The blog post has since been taken down.

Owen Williams nailed the screen shot on Neowin though and here it is:

According to Owen Williams, the W8 Driver Kit will also be made available today.

Check out his article for links which aren’t active yet.

Source:

http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-8-release-preview-to-land-may-31

These are 3 quick video demos of the new WindowFX 5.  These show some of the new window animations, how  you can focus windows, and the new icon features.

Good gravy is this cool:

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Hey folks!  Welcome to another edition of This Week in Skinning where we show off some of the coolest desktop skins and themes from the past week.  Lots of good stuff this week so lets get to it!

Now for this weeks picks!