Version 2
Preview Guide
DesktopX is a program that extends Microsoft Windows to support a more object oriented desktop architecture. Most desktops are simply a collection of “icons” on a wallpaper. Or put another way, a bunch of pictures at a hard coded size on top of another picture. DesktopX integrates into the Windows shell to make Microsoft’s object technologies (such as ActiveX controls and other COM technologies) available right on the desktop.
The net result is that users could “build” their own desktops from scratch to make them any way they’d like. They could create fantastically powerful desktops without having to program or create an entirely new paradigm for interacting with their computer using VB Script or any other scripting language they choose to use. All this was available without having to purchase any development tools.
The general goal was to fulfill some of the promise of early desktop technology projects such as Taligent and the OpenDoc based desktop metaphors IBM was working on in the mid-90s. To a large extent, DesktopX succeeded in giving users this ability.
But…
While DesktopX has become the world’s most popular way for individuals and corporations to build their own custom desktops. Even as DesktopX 2 is in development, hundreds of thousands of users use DesktopX to enhance their desktops. Corporations use it to provide kiosk interfaces and branded corporate environments. And movie studios use it to create those faux-next generation computer interfaces people see in the movies. DesktopX 1.x has a number of drawbacks:
1) It’s overwhelming to the new user. It replaces the user’s desktop. This can be a show-stopper to a lot of people. Loading a program and having it put upon you a foreign environment is too much to start out with.
2) Its interface was non-standard and difficult to get into. Creating an object, let alone a theme, required learning an awkward and often confusing interface.
3) It wasn’t obvious why everyone would want to use DesktopX. What if you already like your existing Windows desktop? Many users of DesktopX simply wanted to enhance their existing desktops to be a bit nicer, more personalized, more friendly. DesktopX 1.x required a lot of work to do these kinds of things. And many users simply didn’t have the time or patience to do this.
This is what DesktopX 2 is all about. Resolving those 3 issues.
Look closely at this picture. This isn’t a DesktopX “theme” you see. It is a typical Windows desktop with DesktopX 2 applied.
Rather than “hijacking” your existing desktop, it inherits your desktop and makes it better. Users can then gradually begin to add objects and utilize other themes as they get used to it.
The shadows under those icons are created by DesktopX. DesktopX can create shadows under any sized icon. Which begs the point, with DesktopX 2, you can have any sized icons on your desktop as you want. No longer are you limited to having to have one icon size system wide. Now you can have icons of any size on your desktop and a different size elsewhere. You can control their sizes in different circumstances. For instance, when you put your mouse over an icon that is say 48x48 pixels, you could have it grow to 128x128 pixels. And DesktopX can do this automatically and even allows you to control how many frames it should generate on the fly to provide a smooth transition from 48x48 to 128x128.
You can also mix in other colors for different states. Selected icons, for instance, could have a yellow glow about them. You could make your icons be semi-transparent and then fade into be solid when you select them. DesktopX 2 can also provide sound effects for any icon event.
These new technologies are collectively known as IconX. And as for RAM consumption, the entire desktop you see above which includes several DesktopX objects, the folder view ActiveX object, the CPU, disk, and resources meter, and enhanced icons use a total of less than 9 megabytes. To put that in context, most stand alone resource meters use more than that.
Figure 1 DesktopX 2 treats plugins as "abilities". Users can have objects have as many abilities as they wish. You could, for instance, create a "My computer" object that blinks when you have email waiting and says "You're low on memory" when RAM is low.
The overall goal of DesktopX 2 is to integrate DesktopX so seamlessly into Windows that it feels like a natural part of the desktop. Some have called it “ActiveDesktop Turbo” which is, in a way, what it really is.
Q: Is DesktopX going to be ported to Linux or MacOS?
A: No. DesktopX is married to Microsoft’s COM technologies. It can only exist where COM exists system wide. Namely Windows (or OpenVMS, but that's not going to be happening in this plane of reality anytime soon...).
Q: What is the difference between ObjectBar and DesktopX?
ObjectBar is designed to specifically to create menus and bars and hotkeys to items. It doesn’t and can’t “build” a desktop. While DesktopX is flexible enough that you can create menus and bars and wharfs and finders with it, it’s not really designed for that (i.e. it takes a lot of work by the theme author to do that).
DesktopX should be seen as a way for users to either build truly alternative desktop paradigms, secure desktops, or create interactive objects on the desktop (news feeds, weather monitors, system resources, data centers, etc.).
Q: What is being done so that DesktopX and ObjectBar can work together easier?
The evolution of the Object Desktop Theme Manager aka WinStyles has been to allow people to create .SUITE files that take an ObjectBar theme and a DesktopX theme and apply them both at the same time. Stardock has a new technology currently dubbed MCP that merges the applying of all desktop enhancement themes into a single display so that, to the user, these things are integrated.
That said, it is a goal of DesktopX 2 and eventually ObjectBar 2 that the two can all parts of each other. So that a DesktopX object could make an ObjectBar menu show up in a specific place for instance. DesktopX and ObjectBar already can share plugins. While some have asked that these two different programs be “merged”, one can only imagine the monstrosity of having a program that is designed to build a truly object oriented interactive desktop environment (DesktopX) also having to have a configuration UI that also allows users to easily build menus and bars.
DesktopX 2 is currently available in alpha form on Object Desktop (in Component Manager). If you don’t have Object Desktop, you can get it by going to www.objectdesktop.com and purchasing it. Not only do users get everything already available on it (like WindowBlinds, DesktopX, ObjectBar, WinStyles, IconPackager, ControlCenter, etc.). But they get everything that comes out for it for the following year.
DesktopX 2 is expected to be released sometime in the 1st quarter of 2003.