I was reading a couple of articles this week on how telecommuting and working at home is become increasingly popular and more efficient in some cases.  I am part of that group and I wanted to share 3 pieces of software that get daily use on my desktop, and can benefit many others as well. 

1. SnagIt – I have so many uses for SnagIt I couldn’t possibly list them all here, but it provides some features that really can benefit anyone who does work on their PC.  SnagIt at its core is a screenshot tool, but goes way beyond that with its comprehensive image editor, use of stamps and callouts, and sharing features.  You should use this to take screenshots of webpages for research or sharing, or place callouts on images to show co-workers details about something that needs to be addressed.
   
   
   
   
2. TweetDeck – I can only imagine you know what Twitter is and are taking part in it.  The cool thing about Twitter is you can shape it to your own taste.  You don’t have to get involved in social circles of people if you don’t want.  One great Twitter use is just following news outlets to get the latest headlines as they come in, or follow companies that specialize in your area of business.  It’s a fantastic tool and TweetDeck is by far the best client out there.  You can have multiple accounts and it offers other features that nobody else does.
   
   
   
   
3. ObjectDock Plus – The key to running a successful home office is organization.  That is true for both your computer desktop and your physical office space.  While I use multiple desktop tools, ObjectDock Plus has always been the favorite.  I create a tabbed dock bar and create tabs for each software type I commonly use – for instance I have a Office tab that contains shortcuts to all my Microsoft Office applications.  With ObjectDock I don’t have to clutter up my desktop with icons or browse through the start menu to open an application, it is right there is an easy to access dock.
   
   

The last week of January is here and a great day to publish TWiS.  The first month of 2011 has been extremely productive for WinCustomize, and I have been thoroughly impressed with the amount and quality of skins that started off the year.  Just this month we have added two new galleries – one for Rainmeter and the long sought gallery for ObjectDock Backgrounds.  We have also been working on site functionality and tweaks, so I don’t think WinCustomize could have gotten a better start to the new year!

Now for this weeks picks!

	Blowfly by Vampothika No description needed for this CursorFX theme.  Just download it!
	Solstice by theAVMAN There are too many cool things about this gadget to list here.  Design and functionality is fantastic.
	Altuglas Tile by B2R A simple but slick set of tile backgrounds for ObjectDock.  Nice work!
	Mouse Vs Mouse by Sc4rfy I got a kick out of the idea and minimalist design of this.  Fantastic!
	STEEL by TomRichter Some of my favorite WindowBlinds skins are from Tom, and this one doesn’t disappoint.  The mix of dark and “steel” is perfect.

PC World’s Download This has a feature on ObjectDock Plus 2!

“Color me impressed. ObjectDock Plus 2 combines the best of OS X's and Windows launch features into one interface. The free version, ObjectDock, allows only one dock and is missing several features such as tabbed docks, and the aforementioned docked folders, but is still well worth the download. However, it may prove so addictive that you'll want to buy ObjectDock Plus.”

Read the full feature at PCWorld.

In the last article we talked about the Window Animations in WindowFX 4.  The topic for today is going to be Inactive Windows where WindowFX 4 can apply some really cool and useful effects to the windows.

Get WindowFX 4

You will need WindowFX 4 to get started, so if you don’t have it already head over to the website and grab the trial version.  The full version of WindowFX 4 can be purchased for just $9.95 and it is also part of the Object Desktop suite where you get a bunch of cool desktop apps for just one low price.

https://www.stardock.com/products/windowfx/

Inactive Windows

The features and effects we are talking about in this guide can be found in the Inactive Windows tab in WindowFX 4.  What WFX4 does here is makes the active window stand out and apply effects like fading to inactive windows.  We have 3 different areas we can focus and apply here.

Darken Inactive Windows.  This will make everything under the active window darken which gives you absolute focus on the windows you are working on or looking at.  The slider allows you to adjust the darkness, and there are options to blur the windows (Win7/Vista only) and to use a circular darken in stead of a flat effect.

Automatically minimize inactive windows.  If you work with lots of windows open, but like a clean desktop then this might be one of your favorite features of WFX.  Here you can adjust the slider to increase/decrease the amount of time before inactive windows will minimize.

Make inactive windows transparent.  This is a very cool effect, and as the title says this will make inactive windows transparent.  As with the others, you have a slider to adjust the transparency of the inactive windows.

 

Here is a video example of the effects.

It’s been a long but great week here at WinCustomize.  The WindowBlinds gallery is getting slammed with new releases (a good thing), and our newest gallery for ObjectDock Backgrounds and Rainmeter skins are also filling up as well.  WinCustomize is starting the new year off great, and lets keep it going!

Now for this weeks picks!

 

	Poyntia by CountryYokel It might be described as a “simple” cursor, but that is what some people like, and this is a great pick.
	PSP Dock by TriDragon This is a really cool ObjectDock Background based off the design of the PSP.
	Vark by theumad This is an awesome Rainmeter skin perfect for people just getting started with Rainmeter.  Great work!
	Venture by 2of3 A very impressive WindowBlinds skin from 2of3.  The soft colors and clean design is fantastic!
	The Solstice by theAVMAN Another superb skin in the WB gallery this week.  My favorite is the contrasting colors which make this skin stand out.

People have been asking how to backup their settings for ObjectDock Plus 2.0, so here is a quick tutorial on how to do it.

Open ObjectDock settings, and select Troubleshooting Options.

 

The window that opens will have a button that will take you directly to the ObjectDock settings folder.

Now you just need to backup the settings in this folder, and if you ever need to restore just copy these files back over.  Alternatively, you can go directly to this folder in Windows - C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Stardock\ObjectDockPlus.

Did you Valentine’s Day is less than a month away?  I’m sure you didn’t forget though and just in case you might forget here are 5 Valentine’s Day wallpapers to spice up your desktop.

1. My Dirty Valentine by k10w3

2. Happy Valentine’s Day: A Boy In Love by vlad

 

3. vAlentine by vStyler

 

4. Muted Valentine by Frankief

 

5. My Dirty Valentine Wallpack by RedneckDude

WindowFX 4 lets you add some really cool effects to your Windows desktop.  My personal favorite is the custom open/close animations available.  They are subtle animations, but it changes the desktop enough to where people notice it is not the default Windows animations.

Want to do the same?  Keep reading.

Get WindowFX 4

Well obviously you will need WindowFX 4 to get started, so if you don’t have it already head over to the website and grab the trial version.  The full version of WindowFX 4 can be purchased for just $9.95 and it is also part of the Object Desktop suite where you get a bunch of cool desktop apps for just one low price.

https://www.stardock.com/products/windowfx/

 

Change Animations

I don’t think WindowFX could be any easier to use, and to change animations is as simple as a few mouse clicks.

The Animations tab is where you want to be, and from here you have the choice of choosing which Window animations you want.  You can choose from a custom open animation, close animation, minimize animation, and restore animation.  Each action can also have a different animation so they all don’t have to be the same.  Just check which animation you want to enable.

Once you enable the animation you can choose from the different types of animations.  There are several to choose from like swipe from left/right, expand, etc.

After that you are all set, and now you have some custom window animations on your desktop!

Here is a video example.

I’m sure glad it is a Friday, how about you?  This was an exciting week at WinCustomize as some great changes have already been made.  The long awaited ObjectDock Backgrounds gallery is open and is in the processing of building up so you have one gallery dedicated to backgrounds.  We also have launched a Rainmeter gallery which is in private mode right now while we get submissions taken in.  For just a couple of weeks in to 2011, WinCustomize is already off to a fantastic start.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Wrapper by BoXXi This CursorFX theme was made to match a WB skin, but his style can be used with others for a great match.
	ecoLogical Clock Gadget by RedneckDude The ecoLogical skin isn’t exactly new, but the matching skins keep coming and they are just as slick as the WB skin.
	Splendor by Richard Mohler A beautiful scene.  No need to describe it more.  Fantastic job on this.
	Twilight by BoXXi BoXXi has been putting out the skins lately, and this is just one of my personal favorites.  I think the colors are perfect.
	Lucite by Mrrste Skins that make good use of transparency always catch my eye.  This glass-like WindowBlinds skin gets a thumbs up from me.
	Spherical by k10w3 We have been getting some cool WB textures in lately, and I just really liked how this one looks on a darker skin.

With the announcement of Elemental: Fallen Enchantress we had some fans asking for some higher-resolution images that could be used for wallpapers.  You asked for them, so here they are!

These first two releases are available as both a wallpaper and logon for Windows.  To use the logon files you will need LogonStudio which is a free application developed by Stardock.

https://www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/

Wallpapers

Logons

Let me know how you like using these, so we can plan more in the future.