That's right, the 2008 GUI Champs are approaching!  The last event, which wrapped up at the end of 2006, was a big success and we're aiming to top things with this year's edition.  One of the first things we're looking at revamping is the GUIC Website.  If you look back, you'll see that we used the 2004 site again in 2006, and it didn't age well.  For a competition focused on GUI greatness, the site was pretty embarrassing.  It was also very buggy and hard to update with contest results etc.

So this year it's back to the drawing board!

One thing people probably don't realize is how much planning has to go into even a relatively simple site like the GUIC one.  It's not as simple as throwing together an upload page, news page, gallery page and skin page and call it done.  For the 2008 GUIC Site, we have to design and implement over a dozen completely unique pages, each with very different tech requirements.

Here are a few of the big improvements that are currently being talked about.  Keep in mind we're still in the design phase of this, so it's all subject to change.  But I wanted to tease everyone a bit with this to get some interest going in the competition, and to get some feedback on what you'd like to see in the site.

Improved Team System

Previously, all you had was a page with a text list of who was on a team, and how many skins individuals had uploaded to the competition.  For 2008, we want to encourage teams more, we're even debating (again, no promises) the idea of maybe a team event where everyone on a team contributes to a skin.  If we do that, we need the Team System to pull off a lot more.  Here are a few thoughts being kicked around:

• Team logo
• Team leader, members
• Latest skins by all team members
• Awards won by individuals, by team
• Current point total
• Mini-message board limited to that team (very iffy)

Think of it as a personal page like on WC, only with multiple people's content.  The guestbook would be improved/fixed too.

Brand New Upload Tools

We've actually had a completely new upload tool about 60% completed for a while now, but no time to really sit down and finish it up and test it.  So we're using the GUIC hopefully as the trial-run for the tool.  Features that could be included in the new tool:

• Only allows valid file types
  No more uploading something only to have it kicked back hours later by a moderator for not having the right file type.  The tool won't even let you upload files that aren't on the "approved" list.
• Background Uploading
  Type in your skin description and other meta data while your files upload in the background.  Saves a lot of time for the user, lets them know if there are any problems before even hitting "submit"
• Check preview images
  Tired of getting your submission kicked back because your preview was under 1024x768?  This new tool should be able to check the preview file once uploaded and immediately tell you if it's OK or not.
• Better error reporting
  No more "upload failed" universal error messages.  Because we're checking individual files (i.e. the skin for file type, size, the preview image for dimensions etc.) we should be able to pinpoint exactly where something failed.  Of course, if the file transfer itself fails, you'll still see "Upload failed" but in that case, it should actually help us track down the problem.

Basically, the goal with the new upload tool is to make it as idiot-proof as possible and to head off problems before they get into moderation.  Only allowing submissions that meet basic technical requirements will help speed up the submission and moderation process.

A Site that Focuses on Skins First, News Second

The GUIC 2006 site is almost all text.  To get a look at any skins, you have to dig around.  It's not exactly a skin-focused site.  So the 2008 GUIC site is going to be a first pass at a design that puts the emphasis on the user content first.  Sure there will still be news, there will still be forums, but for a skinning site, maybe that needs to take a backseat to showing off what users are creating.  Like I said, parts of the GUIC 2008 site are going to be a dry-run for features and improvements to WinCustomize in the future. 

New Moderation Tools

This point is really of more interest to our moderator staff, but we're going to be taking the opportunity with the 2008 competition site to take a pass at redesigning the moderator tools for skins.  You may not know this, but the tools the moderators have at their disposal haven't really changed much at all since probably 2005.  They were updated code-wise to work on the 2007 site, but from a design or workflow perspective they haven't changed in over 3 years now.  For the GUIC site, we want a robust set of tools for contest moderators to be able to handle skins. 

Ideally, we want to handle everything from moderating submissions to designating event winners and automatically tracking who's winning overall, team totals, even points based on skinner country of origin.

Cleaner overall design, improved navigation

We've been going through sites lately and drastically simplifying their look and feel.  Aiming for something that is easier to use, faster to load, but still pleasing to the eye.  JoeUser was our first major effort in this direction, and we refined it a step or two further with the Impulse Community site.  One of the major criticisms of WC2k7 was that it was a heavy site to navigate.  And as I said above, the GUIC 2006 site wasn't exactly user-friendly.  The watch-word for the GUIC 2008 design is "simple".  The skins and other content should be the overall focus, everything else on the site should work to make it easier to view/download that content.

 

Like I keep saying, this is all stuff we're talking about in the design phase, some of this might not make it to the final site depending on the amount of time we have allocated to actually building it, but we're hopeful.  If the features work well on the GUIC site, you can bet they'll make their way over to WinCustomize in the future.

Is there anything you'd like to see improved/added to the GUIC site for the 2008 competition?  Thoughts on what I outlined above?  I'm looking for all the feedback and additional ideas I can get here.  But please keep it limited to site design and features.  We're not ready to talk about events in the competition or exactly when it will start.   Questions about stuff like that will likely be moderated, I want to keep this discussion on-topic.

It's Thursday afternoon, the mid-afternoon sugar rush is wearing off and we start to get a bit fidgety.  Looking around for something to entertain us for a few minutes we spy an empty desk.  It turns out that T-Man took the day off.  Now, we don't know where he went or why, but we did know that his desertion needed to be punished in some way.

Of course, we can't just hide his chair or PC monitors.  We've done that before (*glares at andrew_*).  We needed something a little bit more creative.  Well, one thing we did have was a pile of toilet paper.  So, being the mature and responsible adults that we are,  we TP'd T-Man's desk.

Now, we didn't just toss toilet paper willy-nilly all over the cube and make a mess.  That lacks style and finesse.  We wanted this prank to show that not only were we thinking of T-Man while he was away, but that we cared enough to really do the job right.  So we wrapped everything on his desk in TP.  Pens, mugs, empty coke cans, action figures, telephone, monitor, mouse, dry erase markers etc. 

We even got the inflatable kangaroo Jafo sent us years ago into the act.

Here are the results:

A wide shot of the whole desk.  Yes, we mummified the kangaroo and wrapped it to the chair.   Oh, and if you look closely at the top right of the photo, you'll see we wrapped the doors to his overhead cabinets too.

Close-up shot of his desk.  Each can was individually wrapped.  The big package in the middle of the screen is T-Man's giant blue mug.

Keyboard, mouse, pens, even his pad of post-it notes.

When I go on vacation next month, I'm taking everything off of my desk and locking it away!

This Friday is even better because it's the start of a long holiday weekend.  I spent a few hours last night going through all the galleries, trying to pick my favorite skins from the week, and skins that have been popular among our members.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Black System for CursorFX by 1MrPAul1 This is another skin to match the Black System WB theme, and this slick cursor theme will go well with any dark theme.
	Cursor FX Tester in DesktopX Objects by AVMAN If you create or use CursorFX themes you can use this tester to check the various states in the cursor theme.
	Political Machine 2008 Countdown in DX Gadgets by Island Dog This will count down the days until the release of The Political Machine 2008.
	Red Giant in Dreams by TheMasterBaron This latest Master .dream is probably my favorite so far.  Great job!
	Liquidox in ObjectDock Backgrounds by PixelPirate This is just one skin from the bunch that PixelPirate released for the Liquidox theme.
	L.O.E.S. RightClick Pack for RightClick by Fairry~ This RightClick pack is part of a community suite at Skinartistry.com.  It has a really sleek design and can go with many themes.
	Maelstrom in Wallpapers by Tiggz Not sure exactly what it is, but that doesn't matter because it's a very cool design.  Great job.
	Igloo for WindowBlinds by kittymalone Kittymalone brings us a new WindowBlinds skin, and slightly different than her usual style, but the result is always great.

Another week of great skins, and thanks to all the skinners for their hard work these week.  Be sure to take a screenshot of your desktop and post it in this months desktop thread for everyone to see.  See you next week!

 

This screencast gives an overview of the WinCustomize Wiki, and how to find resources and help for all things related to customizing your Windows desktop.

For years, PC makers have competed with one another largely on price. PCs, it was said, were nothing more than a commodity. But over the past couple of years, consumers have begun to take the overall experience a lot more seriously.

Last year's successful launch of the Apple iPhone made clear to cell phone makers that yes, the experience a "commodity" provides for the customer matters.  PC makers have begun to take note and leading the way is Dell who began pre-loading the new Dell Dock on consumer PCs yesterday.

The new dock, represents a significant improvement for Windows Vista users over the default experience by seamlessly integrating programs and data into the desktop experience. It's a first step to be sure but it's a pretty bold move for one of the world's leading PC producers to take. 

While at a glance, one might try to argue that the dock looks like the MacOS X dock. But that would be akin to people saying that the dock in MacOS X is like the LaunchPad that came with IBM OS/2. What makes the Dell dock special is its ease of customization, low memory foot print, and raw performance. In addition, as pretty as the Dell Dock is, its focus is on usability rather than flash. Short-cuts get separated from folders, the category view is designed for ease of access, and dozens of small touches make it feel as if it were a natural part of Windows.

Developed by Stardock's ObjectDock team, the Dell Dock is not based on the ObjectDock code but rather a brand-new Stardock technology platform designed to deliver exquisite performance while being incredibly efficient with system resources.

"We've spent years learning how to integrate new technology into Microsoft Windows to improve the user experience," said Kirk Windisch, Director of Stardock Software. "Now the focus is how to deliver this improved experience to consumers with enterprise-level robustness with a minimum use of system resources."

The Dell Dock is expected to be launched on over 11 million PCs this year. For PC users, it is a first step to a brave new world where the PC makers themselves are taking the Windows experience more and more seriously. Dell has clearly made giving their consumer customers a better experience a priority.

This is the screencast to accompany the IconPackager 4 Guided Tour article.

RomandDA (David Roman) is one of my best friends.  He's a just an all around good guy.  He's written a ton of tutorials for DX and has even founded a site to help the DX Community find and write scripts.
In addition to skinning and working he's also involved in Tae Kwon Do and has recently received his black belt.  I couldn't be more proud.  David took some time to answer questions from the community.  You can look for him featured in episode 5 of the Wincustomize Skincast


What parts of your background prepared you to be a skinner?
As a kid (yes I was one, and I have pics to prove it!) I loved to draw things, the problem was I sucked at it. When I was 12 or so I was given this stencil thing and some drafting tools, I loved this. I finally could draw things that look ½ way decent.  I took drafting in school, and I went to a Tech school for Computer-Aided Design.  At the time this meant Intergraph.  I got a job doing what I called "assembly-line drafting" 3 shifts of people working 24hrs a day 5 days a week.  I hated it, but I was really good at it, does that make any sense?  After working in that world for a while I moved on to AutoCAD, and then to I.T. Support.
My last job gave me the opportunity to use all kinds of cool graphics programs for doing things like 3d renderings, and more.  I had to use Corel Draw for a ton of sales things, as well as some other cool programs, this was my first real "IN" into graphics that were not just lines.

Many of your creations seem to fill a 'need' (FileTransporter, TimeCommander, HolidayCoundown, DropInfo). Is that something you strive for?
Yes, I usually look for a need then build something that will fill that need, and make it work easier, or simpler, or just plain cooler.  A lot of times these things come from my own needs. Dropinfo was created for work, we have a proprietary system that used to be solely solaris, and is now running on windows, and one of the main things I missed was having the name of the pc (in our case the DROP NAME) on top of every screen.  I made this as a simple little piece of text that sat on the top of the screen, and it just kept growing.  Can I add the network info, can I put in the DELL Asset tag no, etc.  These kinds of things I LOVE, I get to get into the code and play and play.

How do you balance your vision and what the community might want?
Visions, I had them once when I took.. oh wait.. nevermind.

What would you like to see from the skinning community?
Wow, that’s a tough one.  I think my main problems with skinning and DX (since that’s my area I deal in) is that people confuse widgets/gadgets/objects and what I consider skinning of widgets.  I think having the ability to SKIN DX Widgets/Gadgets would help to solve this.  Coding is a totally different skill than skinning an existing widget.  There are a lot of really cool SKINS of widgets out there, but how many truly innovative widgets are out there?   I think that the community loves these skinned widgets but when you make something that is truly unique, it's gets lost in the shuffle of “skins” and after a few of those you get a little bummed out and start to give up.

Can skinning be a full time job?
If you have the ability to make some great looking graphics and have the speed to get them done, it's possible.  DX as a full time job.. nope, don’t see it.

Does it sometimes disappoint you when people say that selling your skin is wrong?
These would be the same people who buy $4.99 15 second ringtones of a $0.99 song.  So yeah, it pissed me off.  These are normally the people that have no idea what is involved in making something like the Holiday Countdown Pro, or Sport Strip, or any of the really complicated Gadgets I have made.  HC Pro took me somewhere around 100+ hrs, Sport Strip was more than that.  And I'm asking what? $5? My god, at that rate I might be able to pay for those 100 hrs in …. 20 years?  I think if the people that complain would take the time and effort to make a single skin they would see how hard this is and JUMP at the little $ that is charged for this stuff.

How do you react to projects with poor user feedback?
Well, honestly I get bummed out, it's like your baby, you brought it to life, nursed it, then showed it to the world to be told “so what”.  That really takes all the wind out of your sails.  The way I look at things like that, if you don’t like it, just go away, if you have something constructive, let me know, if not, I don’t want to hear “this sucks”.  LOL

Where would you suggest that newbies start if they want to try their hands at DX? What's the best way to develop solid fundamentals without biting off too much at first? What order of progression would you suggest, in terms of degree of project complexity?
I would start by finding some really good tutorials, if only there were some good ones for DX..  Seriously, the tutorials are great, they can guide you step-by-step on making simple widgets, and then work up by learning VB script or Javascript (your choice).  The web is FULL of great scripts out there.  But as always, find something YOU want to do, some project you think would be cool, and just play.  The best thing I can tell you is to BACKUP a LOT and to multiple locations.

Where do you turn for technical advice and support?
For scripting, I always start in the same place… it's a little known resource called google, ever hear of it?  It always amazes me when someone says they can’t find this or that, and I punch in the exact thing they posted about into google and in the first 3 or 4 results is their answer.  The thing I have to laugh at now is that with all the DX posts and Tutorials I have made over the years, when I do a search like “DesktopX Hiding Showing Info” I see my own tutorials show up.  It's a shame when I have to steal code from myself.  When this fails, and I'm stuck I go to the TRUE DX GOD – VAD_M  he makes me look like a noob.  His depth of knowledge and willingness to share, it's unmatched.

Other than yourself, who is your favorite skinner?  Why?
If I stick to just DX, it HAS to be VAD_M, for reasons stated before, he is amazing, not just in coding skills, but in the graphics, and implementation of his ideas.  The other reason is, he is the most giving and caring person I have encountered.  He basically coded all of Time Commander and than told me it's mine, do what you want.  Who else would do that?

What keeps you excited/interested in making DX widgets/gadgets?
The women, yeah the groupies do it for me..  um yeah.. RIGHT
I would say it's the Challenge of something new, something I have never done before, or something someone throws out there and goes “can you do this??”.  I love that stuff.

Any sneak peeks at a current project?
I don’t think I have anything in the works right now.  My “REAL” life has been keeping me incredibly busy.  My TKD testing has been the thing where ALL my energies have been focused for about 6mo.  That and being out of town makes it hard.

The last 2 things I did really went under the radar.  The Wallpaper-Wallpaper for Boxxi was something I thought was really just cool as crap, it did some things I had not seen anyone do in DX before, and it has around 300 in 2 months.  That one held a lot of potential, but alas like I said before people like the same things skinned over and over, not new stuff it seems.  The other is the new QueVue, it's really a niche product, so I figured it wouldn’t get a lot of downloads, even with the Weekend Pick.  It was something I had hoped to do some cool things “with” Netflix on, but they just didn’t seem interested.   

What do you see as the Future of DX:
Glad you asked that.. LOL
DesktopX is without a doubt THE most under-rated program on the market today.  The amount of things it can create is truly limitless.  Just look at some of the things VAD_M and myself have done, as well as sViz, and more (not meaning to leave anyone out).  But I think that is also DX’s downfall, it doesn’t fit neatly into one little market, it's all over the map.  Weather widgets, clocks, to entire desktops, and more.  How do you classify a program like that?
What I would love to see happen is to have happen is to give DX the ability to be skinned via Skin Studio.  This would allow people to make a great widget and then have it “match” whatever the skin is that is installed.  That would be amazing.  I would also love to see some changes in how WC handles DX, but I have mentioned that way to many times.

This has been a really crazy week, and I'm so glad it's Friday!  I'm sure you are to because, as you know, it's time for TWiS.  Remember, if you see skins that you would like to see featured, always feel free to drop me a PM or e-mail.  I'm always interested in what the community likes.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Impulse for CursorFX by Seabass Seabass shares with us a really cool cursor theme based on the Impulse logo.  I really hope to see more stuff like this.
	Impulse in Dreams by Seabass Ok, just one more Impulse thing today.  Seabass is on a roll today, and next up is a .dream based on the Impulse logo.
	Nebulae in Dreams by CarGuy1 This is a really cool animated wallpaper of a space scene in a nebula-type environment.  Great job.
	Midnight Glass Docks for ObjectDock by Mirsguy Here is another great set of dock backgrounds that can easily go with a wide variety of themes.
	USB Sticks in ObjectDock Icons by Winmodify I have quite a few USB drives, and this icons are cool because I can now sort them by color.
	CubeConstructions in Wallpapers by TauRuZ2 This wallpaper immediately caught my eye, it has a beautiful design and looks great on the desktop.
	V!VA for WindowBlinds by JJ Ying JJ Ying took one of his entries from the '06 GUI Champs and updated it for Vista and WindowBlinds 6.  If you missed it at the GUI Champs, now is a great time to check it out again.

There was just a bunch of awesome submissions this week.  I recommend everyone go through the wallpaper gallery, as there were many great wallpapers in there from the past week.  Thanks to everyone who contributed this week, and I look forward to seeing more.  See you next week!

 

IconPackager 4 is here and with this new release comes several new features, some of which will definitely please users of Windows Vista, and XP alike.  If you aren't too familiar with IconPackager, let me first start off with telling you what exactly IP does.  IconPackager is an application that allows you to change the icons in Windows.  The big advantage of using IconPackager is that it changes nearly the entire set of Windows icons at one time, so you don't have to change each icon individually.  This is done using sets of icon "pack", which there are hundreds available for download.

New User Interface

The first thing you will most likely notice is the completely new user interface.  The layout is much more clean and it's way easier to find both common and advanced settings and functions.  At the top of the configuration you have a set of tabs, that when clicked, will give you several more options for that particular section.

New user interface

In the "Look & Feel" section this is where you can browse, preview, and apply all your installed icon packages.  If you have a bunch of icon packs installed, IconPackager will let you sort through those by category type, and there are two different views for you to browse from.

Sort by category

Coloring Icons

There are so many great icon packs available, but what if you find one that just isn't the right color?  IconPackager will allow you to easily recolor the icons in a given set.  Using the various sliders in the Colors section, you can adjust the icon packs to a color more suitable for your skin or theme.

Icon coloring

If changing the color just isn't enough, then IP4 also has several filters that allow you to really change the looks of the icons.

Icon filters

Live Folders

If you use Windows Vista than you might be familiar with the Live Folders feature.  This feature in Vista gives you an icon showing the contents of the folder, not just a static icon.  IconPackager not only supports this, but will also allow users to set Live Folder icons independent of the icon package.  This can be very useful for icon packs that don't have Live Folder icon specified.

Live Folders

Shell Integration

If you are browsing through your files in Windows Explorer and stumble upon one that needs an icon change, there is no need to open the IP configuration.  Right-click the file and select the icon tab from the popup menu.  A new menu will appear and you can simply drag and drop a new icon in its place.  There are also several options available here also such as just changing the icon for the selected file only.  I use this to change the icons of individual files to make sorting and finding them even easier.

Shell integration options

Scale Pre-Vista Icons

Windows Vista has been out for a while now, but there are still many more icon packages made way before Vista was around.  IconPackager 4 introduces a feature that will scale icons to the 256x256 size of Vista icons.  This is great because you can now use those icon packs that had icons that just weren't made for Vista.  This setting can be found in the Settings tab.

IconPackager 4 settings

IconPackager is part of the Object Desktop suite of desktop enhancements, and is also available as a stand-alone application for Windows XP and Vista.  There is a free trial available and the full version is $19.95, with discounts for existing IconPackager users.  More information can be found at the IconPackager website.

Link: IconPackager

 

Windows Vista is here, and regardless of whether you upgraded from XP, or just purchased a new PC with it installed, I'm sure you are ready to customize the way Vista looks.  Now we can go in all sorts of directions in customizing Vista, but I wanted to cover some of the basics as that is enough for most people.

Let me also take this time to cover a few questions about customizing Vista that you might have.

Q. Will it use many resources or "slow" Vista down?

A. By using the tools I will show you, your system performance should not be affected at all.

Q. Will this somehow "hurt" my computer?

A.  Not at all.  The methods used here are not system hacks, and the software I will show here is fully tested on Vista.

Q.  Is this free?

A.  Some applications are free, and some require a purchase after the trial period runs out.  The price of the applications are typically small and well worth the investment.

Changing the Vista Logon

The logon screen is basically the first thing you see when you start your computer.  Windows Vista has a nice default logon screen, but why not personalize it?  To do that, just go and grab yourself a copy of LogonStudio Vista and have at it.  LogonStudio Vista (free) lets you easily change a create the Windows Vista logon to any number of downloadable logons already available.  If you prefer to use an image of your own, it's as simple as drag and drop to create your own.

Changing the Visual Style/Theme

Vista Aero is also somewhat decent to look at, but as usual, it gets old after a while, and if you really want to personalize your desktop, changing the visual style (skin) is the way to go.  WindowBlinds (30 day trial, $20 full version) is the best way to change the skin of Windows Vista.  It includes several high-quality skins, and there are thousands more available to download at the WindowBlinds gallery on WinCustomize.

WindowBlinds will not only change the visual style, it also has advanced features like changing skin colors, adjustable transparency levels, customizable Explorer backgrounds, font customization, and much more.

 

Add a Dock

When people talk about adding a dock to their desktop, many people think it's just to emulate the look of OS X.  Well that can be done, but it really isn't about that anymore.  Docks are a fantastic way to keep your desktop organized  and free of icons.  It's also a great productivity booster has you can have your most common shortcuts right where you need them. 

ObjectDock (free) has many options and what seems like a countless amount of backgrounds and icons to use with it.  If you want more features like multiple docks and tabbed backgrounds, then there is ObjectDock Plus ($20).  Both versions also have the ability to use docklets (mini-applications) that let you check the weather, search Google, etc.

Change the Cursor

The cursor, that little thing you navigate all over the desktop throughout the day.  It's plain, it's boring, why not change it then?  CursorFX (free, Plus version $19.95) is the replacement to the extremely popular CursorXP.  The free version lets you change your Windows cursor, animations, theme editor, and much more.  The Plus version adds special effects, colorization, sizing, transparency, and more. 

Changing the cursor is as simple as double-clicking the one you want, and getting back to the default cursor is just as easy. 

 

Animate your Wallpaper

Regardless of what version of Vista you are running, you can now have animated wallpapers (.dreams) on  your desktop as well.  Having a nice wallpaper is one thing, but having a wallpaper that has subtle movement and can even change depending on the time of day is completely different and just plain cool.  DeskScapes 2.0 goes way beyond just playing videos on the desktop.  It has the ability to display dynamically generated wallpapers, triggered animated wallpapers, and more.

There is a free preview version available which includes 3 .dreams (animated wallpaper), including dynamic ones.  You can read an article about the DeskScapes preview here.  The full version gives you access to hundreds of .dreams of all types, from subtle nature scenes, to wild animations. 

 

Change the Icons

Vista has many new icon types, and it also introduced the Live Folder feature which allows you to see the contents of the folder, not just a static icon.  To change all the Vista icons by hand would take a huge amount of time and resources.  The best way to change the Vista icons is to use icon packs which will change nearly the entire Vista icon set with the specified one.  Icon packs are used by IconPackager (free trial, $20) which offers other features like icon coloring, upscale pre-Vista icons, set Live Folder icons, and more.

Remember, you don't have to use all these tools to get the desktop you desire.  You can pick and choose, try different setups, it's all about personalization and what suits you best.