Visually design applications and desktops, export them for others to use
LIVONIA, MI (February 7, 2005) - Stardock, the world’s leading developer of Windows enhancement software, announced DesktopX 3.0 and DesktopX Pro 3.0 today.
DesktopX is the revolutionary program that first made it possible for end users to easily design their own custom Windows desktops and mini-applications and then export them for others to use.
What’s new about DesktopX 3.0 is that unlike previous versions, the desktop/widget development features have been separated from the end user run-time component. Now, users who simply want to make use of desktops and widgets created by others do not have to interact with the DesktopX developer environment. On the Internet, there are thousands of DesktopX objects, widgets, and desktops freely available to download.
Moreover, DesktopX 3.0 Pro ($69.95) enables users to export their mini-applications as stand-alone programs called “Gadgets”. These gadgets are individual .EXEs that require no other files to run on any system.
“What makes DesktopX special is that users literally design their applications on their Windows desktop,” said Brad Wardell, President & CEO of Stardock Corp. “With DesktopX, users just right click to create a DesktopX object, assign an image that can be any shape or size, and can use some VB Script or JavaScript to put together the programming logic. What would take a developer days or weeks to do in a traditional ‘rapid development environment’ environment can be done in minutes or hours.”
DesktopX 3.0 enables casual users to super-charge their Windows experience by including dozens of high quality widgets and desktops. DesktopX widgets can be shown or hidden with a user-defined hot key. Ambitious developers will be able to quickly design their own slick looking programs using DesktopX Pro to give away or sell.
To that end, Stardock is also announcing a new website called DesktopGadgets.com. This new site will enable users who have created gadgets with DesktopX Pro to upload them, set their price, and then sell them.
“DesktopX Pro lets me create slick, easy to use, stand-alone programs that I can provide to my clients very quickly. It greatly decreases my development time and hence my competitiveness in the market,” said Shae Petersen, founder of Dmense Solutions (Dmense.com), developer of Aimutation and Greybook.
DesktopX 3 will be released on March 1, 2005. It will be available primarily in 3 flavors:
Stardock will also have DesktopX Enterprise 3.0 available later this Spring that will enable companies who want to build branded, secure desktops to export desktops with desktop security features.
Users of DesktopX 2.x will receive a free upgrade to the corresponding version of DesktopX 3. You can find out more about DesktopX 3.0 at www.desktopx.net.
Versions:
DesktopX Client (Run-Time): $14.95
DesktopX Standard: $24.95
DesktopX Pro: $69.95 Introductory Price
Developer:
Stardock Corp. (www.stardock.com)
15090 Beck Rd., Suite #300
Plymouth MI 48170
Requires:
Windows 2000 or Windows XP
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About Stardock:
Stardock is a Midwestern Windows software development company. It is best known for creating software that extends and enhances to functionality of Microsoft Windows. Its principle product is a suite of desktop enhancements called Object Desktop (www.objectdesktop.com) which includes its popular utilities WindowBlinds, DesktopX, ObjectBar, IconPackager, SkinStudio, RightClick, Keyboard LaunchPad, and much more.
It also runs the worlds most popular desktop customization website called WinCustomize.com (www.wincustomize.com) which receives over 3 million unique visitors each month.
Stardock has also developed popular PC strategy games such as the award winning Galactic Civilizations (www.galciv.com) and The Political Machine (www.politicalmachine.com). Its game software is available at retail as well as through its innovative electronic distribution network TotalGaming.net (www.totalgaming.net).