Stardock Desktop

[WhiteEagle]

Stardock Desktop is a application which allows you to make your computer appear Vista-like or to have special themes. Ever wanted to make your computer look like it was a Mac? Can do. Spiderman fan? Check.

It automatically checks for updates when you are on-line, but I warn you they are big ones, so if you don't have high-speed internet access, then you will be waiting quite a long time for it to upgrade.

Plenty of options and customizability make this a definate recommendation for anyone. It gets a 4/5 because the themes tend to crash.

Stardock Desktop - 4/5
US$49.95 http://www.stardock.com

[Blondie]

Originally Posted by WhiteEagle

Stardock Desktop - 4/5
US$89.95 http://www.stardock.com

Where are you getting the price from? From what I see, they have a lot of products, I think the one you're referencing is Object Desktop - Price: $49.95 US

I've always wanted to order it, but it's too pricey

[WhiteEagle]

thanks Blondie, I was tired last night when I posted it, so I must of forgotten the price when I purchased it.

[Quakindude]

I bought Window Blinds as a stand alone product for $19.95 about two months ago. It allows me to change my desktop themes and modify them to my hearts content. So if all you're looking to do is add modified/custom desktop themes, Window Blinds uses a fairly small footprint and is inexpensive.

[yurimxpxman]

I've used several different Windows skinners, so I'll warn you all right now that I don't recommend them. They're notorious for corrupting Windows installations at the worst and causing numerous errors and crashes at best.

[Quakindude]

Been using Window Blinds for a few years. Used to be buggy at first...but the latest builds have been very stable over two months of use.

Of course, YMMV.

[WhiteEagle]

Yep, same here. I like the ability to make custom icons and themes. Let me bring out my creative side, though at times I do go too far

[polobunny]

Younger people use a hacked uxtheme.dll and custom msstyles. :P
I don't like having more processes running in the background for themes, I have enough running already. Only thing I hate about msstyles is their rarity. Hard to find good ones, so often I end up doing my own.

Here's my theme at the moment.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by yurimxpxman

I've used several different Windows skinners, so I'll warn you all right now that I don't recommend them. They're notorious for corrupting Windows installations at the worst and causing numerous errors and crashes at best.

I have been running Stardock products for years now, and never once had a corrupted Windows installation or where it was causing errors or crashes. The Stardock products I am currently using are:

Object Desktop
Icon Packager
Cursor XP
ObjectDock Plus

I also use StyleXP which is the best skinning utility I've ever used for XP.

[WhiteEagle]

I got the complete set, and I use most of them. I'm tempted to redesign my taskbar and start button, but so far I've managed to resist.