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Sorry we haven't been updating this as much as we should have.  So much discussion and news is occuring on the news group (hit the news tab on the left to see) that we forget that some people might only look here.

Here's what's going on:

WindowBlinds 0.93 will show up on Component Manager on Monday (the 28th).  Also on Monday we hope to make a new version of Component Manager available that is much smaller to download, works on proxy servers and all but the most stringent of fire walls, has descriptions, multiple downloads, and lots of other goodies.  It still needs some work as it cannot dynamically add accounts (which means new users will have to use the existing component manager for now).

IconPackager has gone though a lot of changes over the past couple months and is quickly moving towards a 1.0 release.  We hope for it to hit 1.0 by the end of July.  

Next week we expect to have a 1.0 version of Object DriveScan available. 

With regards to Control Center, we hope in early July to have v1.35 available as a beta, just as a reminder, v1.1 is the offically released version I believe.  Anything after that is "beta".

If all goes well with next week's new version of Component Manager, we hope to announce general availabilty following that.

Here's an area we'd like your input:

Pricing.  Right now Object Desktop costs $49.95 to subscribe to which right now basically would give you Object Desktop 99 plus everything that comes out for the following year.  Sure beats paying for upgrades.  The question then arrises, what do we do after the year is up?  We want the service to be as seamless as possible.  We've gone back and forth on lots of idea and one we were thinking of was that after the first year it would be $2.99 per month.  This way, for the price of a fast food special per month, you'd continually get access to cutting edge stuff.  You should see some of the projects being worked on for the Object Desktop Network for year 2000!  Let us know what you think on the news server.

It's been kinda quiet the last week or two (as far as news goes), because we've been noses to the grindstone (what else is new :-) getting things like the "web based Component Manager" (which uses the web on the back end but has a nice GUI interface rather than a browser) into shape. We've started testing this internally and I think everyone will be very happy with the results. With a little luck, a version will be available for external testing/feedback by the end of the month.

I keep promising that IconPackager update, but it hasn't made it out yet (various reasons). In the interim, additional shell manipulation features have been added (to control various startup items for instance and to help you remove extraneous Add/Remove Programs entries). The IE4+AD+IE5+NT4 issue with rebuilding the icon cache has not been licked yet, but we're getting there. If you haven't noticed previously, be sure to press the globe icon on the IP toolbar to link to a webpage with additional icon packages for download.

Later this week will be a WindowBlinds update for OD and registered WB users.

Control Center is getting some final tucks. There will be at least one interim build before the final 1.35 release. And that will be that for the Control Center until 1.5 (down the road a piece).

We've been able to start some testing of the new Association Wizard (implemented as a Properties tab). I think everyone's going to like this.

So, what's new this week? Control Center 1.21 (yes, we blew right by 1.2 as the final version number :-) beta is up. And that's all I have to say about that.

IconPackager will get an update later this week to take care of the saving themes issue and hopefully the systems that had Active Desktop installed beforehand (not all the icon changes seem to be sticking here in some cases). 5 additional icon packages are available from http://www.stardock.com/products/iconpackager/download.html. More will follow in the coming weeks. The update will require a new version of the Shared Libraries (probably 1.03) to save on downloading all 1.6MB of IP for each update.

Object DriveScan 0.96 is on od.stardock.net. I'm not personally sure whether this resolves some of the problems people were having w/respect to laptops/drivebays, but please give it a shot.

Netscan has had a minor update, but we know there is a lot left to do. There were some bumps along the road with the development for this, but things should be getting back in gear now.

IconPackager went up on od.stardock.net for a brief period last Saturday night, but our final download test showed up a problem registering one of the files that we are still trying to get resolved. It appears to be fixed in the latest test build, but this build contains some debug messages, so we need to build up one more and test it. Sometime on Wednesday, the links in About on IconPackager will be activated with additional icon packages to download.

The final WindowBlinds 0.80 will be available this week, probably on Tuesday. Later in the week, the UIS2Plugin SDK will go up on the website as well. This will enable custom WindowBlinds plugins that can be a bit more complicated than even the current UIS2 ones.

An updated Netscan and hopefully the final Control Center 1.2 should be making an appearence shortly as well.

OK, we're still fighting what we hope is the final issue keeping the IconPackager beta from going out. It's working well except for an issue of icon corruption on NT4+IE4 (for those of you who know, it's the Active Desktop SHELLICONCACHE issue). It's working properly on 95/98, but we need to get this fixed for NT as well. We may finally have a handle on it, more news as it happens. I think everyone's going to be really pleased in general though. We've got a nice bunch of icon packages all ready to go.

Object ZIP is almost ready for another release. I know its been awhile, but this code has wound up being almost completely reworked several times.

WindowBlinds 0.70 has been placed on od.stardock.net. We think it finally eliminates every last vestige of the default Windows buttons showing up on titlebars with UIS2 skins. UIS1 fixes will follow directly. It's possible we've also eliminated most of the flicker, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. :-) Performance has been slightly tweaked yet again. A UIS1/UIS2 ThemeBuilder should be freely available for download from http://www.stardock.com by the end of the week. This will utilize the new WindowBlinds OCX demo control (also should be up by the end of the week).

We are still running around like chickens with our heads cut off, so this is going to be a bit briefer than last week. The IconPackager install.dll is progressing, slowly by surely. Baring any additional problems, IconPackager 0.60 will be up by Friday on the Object Desktop Network. We've got a bunch of icon packages all ready to go with this. In conjunction with WindowBlinds, you may not recognize your desktop anymore! :-)

WindowBlinds 0.60 should be up on od.stardock.net tomorrow. This update contains a ton of fixes, several tweaks to improve performance, and even a couple of new features (including skinnable menu borders and "locked edges" for the desktop).

We hope to have an Object ZIP beta up by the end of the week, but that's subject to change. IShell... on Win32 is not a picnic.

We've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off this week. We got Object DriveScan up onto the servers along with WindowBlinds 0.50.3 which is the same build that will be up publicly this week. We have IconPackager pretty much ready for beta other than writing the install.dll which has to be done for it to go onto the ODNetwork. We don't want this important component to come out to the general public before you, our customers, have had a chance to see it for yourselves.

A couple issues with IconPackager that will probably be in the first public build has to do with Windows NT 4.0 and IE4. There's a bug in this combo in which icons don't always change after apply a theme. The work around is to kill explorer/reload explorer (or reboot) and then rebuild the icon cache from IconPackager.  This is a safe thing to do but a little bit complicated if you're not computer savy.

It'll show up with the same 4 themes that WindowBlinds has - Simple Remix, BePC, MacPC, and Object Desktop.  Though ironically, the Object Desktop theme may be a little late since we haven't found a good way to transfer our OS/2 icons over to Windows yet. If anyone knows of a program that can convert OS/2 icons (.ico) to Windows icons easily, let us Brad know (bwardell@stardock.com).

With the recent additions of DriveScan, NetScan, and now IconPackager and WindowBlinds heading towards 1.0 rapidly, we're starting to near the end of the original Object Desktop component goals.  We would also like to hear from you in our newsgroup on what you think about Object Desktop. At what point should we call this "1.0"?  Since Object Desktop Network always has new components showing up, there will always be components that are in a state of beta. The question then comes down to, "Is what is there now worth $50?".  We think it's pretty close already but we also feel that more components need to be in a post 1.0 state before making it generally available to the public. 

Our current goal is April 1 but admittedly, this will probably slip to May 1 now to coincide with the 1.0 release of WindowBlinds (WindowBlinds is going to be sold as a separate component as well as part of Object Desktop).

I know, I know. Icon Packager's been mentioned the last couple of weeks. Where is it already? It's coming as quickly as we can possibly finish testing everything. We're very pleased internally with the changes that have helped delay it this month, but the wait is going to be worth it. The first beta version will include integrated ZIP/UNZIP support for Icon Packages to make packaging and distributing your custom desktops a piece of cake.

WindowBlinds is looking much improved in the last several go-rounds on the Object Desktop Network. The road is frequently rocky, but we're just trying to take it one step at a time. 0.50 should be available by the end of this week, at which point the public beta will be refreshed as well. Due to additional feature enhancements like optional taskbar bitmaps and skin-definable background images, it is likely that the Betanews.com skins contest will be extended an additional week. Find all the details (including eventual changes, if any) http://www.betanews.com/contest/. It has been a real treat watching the creativity of users around the world.

Object DriveScan 0.95 will be up on od.stardock.net this week if I have to write the install.dll file myself. :-) In this age of 16GB hard drives (yeah, I don't have one of them either, but still...) and 100+MB application installs, there's frequently no easy way to figure out where all the space has gone. That's not going to be as much of an excuse as it once was very shortly...

Icon Packager should be up in beta form by the end of the week. We're trying to nail down some issues relating convenience in managing everything.

Object Netscan should have another update by then as well. Hopefully, this one will clear up some of scaling issues and provide for a slightly more obvious method of changing which interface you want to monitor.

Control Center 1.15 beta is available on od-test.stardock.net. Please note that this build will require the installation of the Shared Libraries (also on that server) to \Windows\System or \WinNT\System32. We are working to correct the error message about install.dll on the Shared Libraries (the files will extract properly).

Here is a screen shot of the upcoming Icon Packager component.

Similar in concept to WindowBlinds, the concept between IconPackager is to change all the icons on your desktop.  Those of you who have OS/2 may be familiar with Stardock's PlusPak:Themes.  This is similar to that except that IconPackager adds features to Windows (that exist natively on OS/2) such as being able to right click on a folder object in windows and change its icon (unlike normally where you can only change short cuts). Before someone thinks "Well, doesn't Plus! do this?" No, Plus only changes a few icons.  IconPackager changes essentially all your icons and it does it in one swoop.  Pick the icon package you want to use and apply it and you're all set.

Are you ready for some new components? Betas of Icon Packager and Object Netscan will be rolled out via the Object Desktop Network this week. Icon Packager is a bit further along, but Object Netscan is no slouch and will be getting lots of improvements over the coming weeks/months.

Control Center, Tab LaunchPad, Object Edit, and Object Archives should all see minor beta updates this week. The plan (code willing) is for staggered updates of each of these (a different one each day) later in the week. There may even be a rough Object Navigator alpha this month (now that the Object Archives shared code it rides upon is stable).

In the continuing sage of WindowBlinds, 0.43 is currently available to Object Desktop customers. This should fix the "it crashes when I shutdown" problem that has plagued 0.40, along with other little bits. Don't forget to enter your skin creations in the Betanews.com skins contest. Cash and prizes... Checkout all the details at http://www.betanews.com/contest/.

It's been quite an eventful little week. In between record traffic for WindowBlinds 0.40 downloads (0.4.1 is currently privately available for Object Desktop customers on od.stardock.net) and a horrendous mail server crash Tuesday/Wednesday, we've been steadily advancing on the components front.

Next week should say updates of a couple of the existing OD components in "beta" form (a new OE, OA, and CC are slated, maybe TLP as well). I think everyone is going to be really impressed with the progress Object Archives is making. With the engine getting more stable, we'll soon be able to turn this over a bit more quickly.

Betas of Icon Packager and Object Netscan should be available by the end of the month. "Object Netscan?" you say? TELL ME MORE!!! We're still settling on the feature list for the first beta, but we've been running early builds internally and I honestly don't understand why this area has been relatively neglected for so long. Object Netscan will (at the most basic level, and believe me we've got more than this in store!) monitor traffic on any network interfaces connected to your computer (dialup/LAN/cable modems/xDSL/etc.). Probable, but not confirmed for the first beta, is monitoring of TCP/UPD traffic to show you who is connected to your computer as well.

In WindowBlinds related news, Stardock and Betanews.com are hosting a WindowBlinds skins contest beginning Saturday, Februrary 6th. You can read the details here. So get those creative juices flowing to win some cold hard cash and some sizzling hot software! [End promotional schtick :-)]

WindowBlinds 0.40 is undergoing a succession of Release Candidate builds in preparation for (we hope) a February 1st release to everyone. However, the interim builds are only available on the Component Manager servers to Object Desktop customers. As of the time of this writing, od-test.stardock.net contained the latest build (0.40.2). Please note that the ".2" is just a way of keeping track of new updates and that the final 0.40 release will be 0.40.0.

WindowBlinds 0.40 is a major leap forward in stability, performance, and features. The enhancements to the new UIS2 format include support for definable buttons, enhanced rollup definition/support, ability for skin authors to replace checkboxes/radio button controls, author configurable settings for titlebar text font colors, additional "action" commands for titlebar buttons (including execute command, always on top, and always on bottom). The release version will also include a new (at least to the general public) SimpleRemix skin by Bryan Sammons (you may have seen his Simple skin) that we think looks pretty stellar. We've also been holding back the release of a couple of the best recently submitted skins to make available in a "skin pack" with the 0.40 release. 0.40 also includes a new "install personality from zip file" option to make installing downloaded skins a little more painless.

Object Archives continues to struggle through the "wonder" that is Explorer as development continues for the next update.

We've returned from the holidays and dug ourselves out from under the snow (only to keep getting more :-).

od.stardock.net and od-test.stardock.net have been "synced" to a large extent with several of the beta releases that were previously only available on od-test (as not everyone knows/remembers od-test).

Object Archives has a second ALPHA release on the servers, with most of the same functional restrictions as the first. There should be an updated build available in the next week that will significantly expand this component.

Tab LaunchPad continues to creep toward release. We are trying to address issues relating to startup positions not saving and we hope to finally have this nailed down shortly.

WindowBlinds continues to grow in power and popularity (and it's getting more stable with every release). A 0.39e update to WindowBlinds 0.39 is available from http://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/download.html. There are also a bunch of skins and previews available off this page, some of which are stellar looking and a testament to the creativity of our users! This update should cure hanging when unloading WB, fixes issues like the Printer Properties dialogs hanging, and a bunch of other fixes and enhancements.

WindowBlinds 0.40 (including a Mac-ish theme) should be available by the end of the month. While 0.40 will be released in beta as both an Object Desktop component and a freely available download, interim updates are going to be available first to our Object Desktop customers (though updates will continue to be made available to the free version as we go through the beta process).

Next week should also bring the initial beta availabiltiy of a previously unannounced component. Anyone who enjoys customizing their desktop is in for a pleasant surprise.

More to come...

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Festive Kwanzaa! (I think that hits all the biggies :-)

WindowBlinds is coming along nicely. Checkout http://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/news.html for little bits of specific news and links to a couple of the new 0.40 UIS v2-based themes. Look for this shortly.

Object Archives has an ALPHA version up on od-test.stardock.net. Shellview/drag-and-drop stuff is not functional (also, no password support, setup from zip file), but all the features from the right mouse button context menus (compress/extract/make self-extracting) should be functional. We'll have a real beta after the first of the year.

Stardock will be closed/on holiday from Thursday, December 24th - Monday, January 4th. While some employees may be checking and responding to e-mail, forum messages, etc., that will be on a case-by-case basis.

We'll see you in 1999.

Happy Holidays!

Lots of switching around going on.  Here's the news right now:

WindowBlinds is now officially part of Object Desktop.  Hopefully that will end some of the confusion.  So after WindowFX 0.37 it will be replaced by WindowBlinds 0.40 in the next couple of weeks.  They are compatible, WindowBlinds just has a few extra features.  We felt this would allow us to better concentrate on both products with a single message instead of having to explain what the difference between WindowFX and WindowBlinds was all the time.

We are starting to look towards the day that Object Desktop (Network Edition) is actually released.  Since it'll always have beta level components (that's one of its selling points ironically) it's a matter of drawing the line of when we perceive it's enough of a value.

  Well, the answer to that is this:

Once WindowBlinds gets pretty solid and we have Object ZIP available in at least useable beta form and Tab LaunchPad is complete we will probably announce Object Desktop (Network Edition) as ready for general availability.  At that point, it'll be way beyond $50 in value not to mention all the stuff we'll come out with a year from then.   We expect this to happen sometime in March of 1999 but we will see, we've been pretty bad at making dates on this project -- one of the downsides of doing stuff that no one has done before I guess.

We still have to update Component Manager before then of course since it's still at 0.90. 

In case you're wondering why the server has been sluggish, it's because the public beta of WindowBlinds has been generating a lot more traffic than we had seen before.  We're pumping out about 200 megabytes of downloads an hour now which is using a good chunk of the T1 dedicated to Object Desktop Network.

WindowFX 0.37 is now available on the test server.  It is the merged WindowFX 0.25 and WindowBlinds 0.36 code base.  We are looking for any problems people might run into with it especially with regards to Netscape 4.5, Outlook Express, and Control Center.  Please report any problems to the news group news://news.stardock.com/stardock.od.windows.general. 

 Next week should see the merged WindowBlinds/WindowFX component available on the Object Desktop Network. It will be called WindowFX 0.37 and it will run the WindowBlinds DIMs (themes).

We will also have ThemeBuilder available for download next week to make the creation of DIMs (themes) easier to make.

Other cool things in the works include ShadowFX which will add shadows to windows -- real shadows and a User Interface Manager.

By the way, Object System Manager now supports replacing your base folder throughout all of Windows.  Andy, the lead developer of that component has said that he believes he can make it so that you'll be able to replace the icons on individual, non-short-cutted folders.

To grab WindowBlinds, click here.

 The release version of Control Center 1.1 has been added to od.stardock.net.

Other additions: an updated Object System Manager, SDS Bitmaps (a selection of additional bitmaps suitable for use with the new texture/gradient features in Control Center 1.1 -- note: these will install to your Windows directory, regardless of where the Component Manager thinks they are going at the moment), and a revised version of the documentation for Control Center 1.1.

The first official Object Edit update should be released next week. Apart from the flyover help not working on the two new buttons (fixed internally) and UNICODE text files (sorry, this won't be addressed until "the next big revision"), I am not aware of any outstanding issues. Let me know if I'm wrong. :-)

TabLaunchPad and Object Archives are next on deck.

There will be a WindowFX/WindowBlinds build(s?) made available later this week. Almost there... 

 WindowFX 0.25 beta has finally been made available. It'll be on od-test for the next two days before being added to the main server. We should have some major news to announce w/regards to WindowFX next week.

Control Center 1.0.1 (minor bug fixes and the addition of gradient fills) will be available on or about October 26. Tab LaunchPad has been updated to 0.35. We hope to have a version of Object DriveScan up in the next week or so. Stay tuned.
  

 Sorry it's been so long since we've updated the news.  So much has been going on.  Control Center has gone 1.0, Object Edit is now 1.0.  Work continues on WindowFX (check out this internal screen shot), and we hope to have Object DriveScan available in a couple of weeks.  Stay tuned.
 
  

  Control Center 1.0 will be officially released later this week. Object Edit (currently at build 93) is basically feature complete. We're working on polishing some of the defaults and expanding the syntax highlighting. 

  Grab the Stardock Chat Client and join us on the Object Desktop Channel on Stardock.Net if you want to talk to the developers in real time.  They are also on EFNET IRC in the #STARDOCK channel. 

  As many of you are aware, Component Manager cannot communicate through all Firewalls. We understand the frustrations of those customers who have unforunately not been able to use Object Desktop Network to its fullest. At this time we do not have any updates to address this issue. But in the mean time we would like to setup up a special service for those customers who cannot get Component Manager to communicate through their firewall. If you are one of these customers please email support@stardock.com and included the following information:

Name, Email Address and Serial Number for ODNT.
And title your Email as "ODNT FIREWALL REQUEST"

At that time we will put you on a special mailing list that will go out every couple of weeks informing you that there are updates to the Object Desktop Network Components and a URL point to where to download these components and instructions on how to install them.

This is only a temporary solution until we can come up with something better. 

   A sampling of Stardock's Issues with Object Desktop as of the 24th... Overview At this stage, Object Desktop makes a pretty powerful and useful utility suite for Windows 95 and NT (and Win98).  Of course, our goal is nothing less than to be the most compelling third party enhancement suite available for Windows and that's what we're working towards. Component Manager It's functional but it does't work with Firewalls and probably won't work with them any time soon.  Therefore, we need to get an FTP site up for those users who have firewalls that can't use Component Manager.  Kris, can you do this?  I know one user, Dennis P. has been waiting a long time to use OD and I'm sure he's not alone.  We need to set up an alternative system ASAP for those users who have firewalls. Another problem, the Component Manager doesn't detect whether multiple copies are running.  This can have disasterous results.  I cannot remove Control Center from my list of components because I had done so with a second copy that was running.  So now I can't download and use Control Center because it thinks I have it installed which I don't. There are various UI issues I have with Component Manager as well but I don't get into that. Control Center I think it's safe to say that this is the component we are all most proud of.  Andy, the development lead on it, has done a great job on it and it's just about done.  I can't evaluate the latest one on this machine for the aforementioned reasons, I'll have to play with them from work (I'm at home right now).  The last build I saw was really impressive though. Tab LaunchPad My only real beef with it is that you can't move it around without turning on the title bar.  The typical windows user is going to have an issue if they can't move the tab launchpad around easily.  The last build I played with didn't resize the icon buttons very well, if I have 20x20 buttons, the icons should go to 20x20 for instance. Object ZIP Well, we haven't publicly released a beta for this.  Ah, a book could be written about the development of this component.  The one normal thing about most developers is the "Oh, that'll only take a week to do" syndrome. Anyone who is curious why software is always late can only look to that phrase.  Some people on Usenet when complaining about games think that the game companies lie about shipdates on purpose.  In actuality, software is late most of the time because developers vastly under estimate the amount of time something will take to get done.  We do have an Object ZIP that sort of works internally but is unacceptable for public consumption still.  In our view, we can't really release something that can't be used in a semi-production environment.  Andy, the guru who's been working on Control Center has taken over Object Zip personally to see to it that it is done right.  Object Desktop for OS/2's project manager, Kurt Westerfeld, is also giving valuable input on these components as well. Text View The text editor that is currently available just doesn't quite cut it yet. It's got some bugs and it's too slow.  When you install Object Edit (what the new version is going to be called) it will automatically associate all non-associated files with it which is a pretty big deal from an ease of use point of view. Object FTP "Heck, after the couple weeks to do Object ZIP is done and we have that done, it'll be trivial to do Object FTP..." 'nuff said. WindowFX This has been quite a firestorm in debate.  We had 0.10 that worked pretty reliably but it could, in function, only draw lines on a title bar and draw new graphics on top of the existing buttons.  Our goal has always been to allow users to totally change the look of Windows, not just tweak it.  To use an analogy, WindowFX 0.10 is like prop planes in 1947 and WindowsFX 0.13 is an early jet in the same time frame.  In order to get further, a new approach had to be taken but as it was with jet propulsion, it's going to be a bumpy ride for a little while.  The goal with it is #1 Stability and #2 more features and #3 cosmetics.  The stability in WindowFX 0.13 is unacceptable right now.  There are just too many programs that randomly crop up that will hang the system.  It seems worse on Win95 where ironically, command prompt windows get the WIndowFX on Win95... Release Date Just so you all know, the subscription deadline doesn't even begin until we ship.  So all this beta time is "free" time so to speak.  Once WindowFX is running satisfactory and Object ZIP is in beta, we'll look at making the Object Desktop Network generally available.  This currently looks like August.  Some time after that, probably September or October, Object Desktop for Windows (the shrink wrapped package) will be ready.  We haven't decided what the shirnk wrapped product's price will be.        

   Phew!  We did manage to get the new WindowFX up there.  Be warned though that it is in still pretty rough shape from a compatibility point of view.  The big change code wise is that we now go much further indepth into the system.  While the new version may not look like it changes the look of Windows drastically, that is only because we're going for trying to make Windows look similar to Object Desktop 2.0 on OS/2. Some suggestions: Go to your Control Panel, open up the display and go to appearance.  If you are running at 1024x768, change the title bar width to 22.  if you are at 800x600 change it to 19.  Eventually we hope for the themes to automatically adjust your title bar widths when you first activate them. There is a definite problem with ICQ still.  If you are having hangy symptoms, we suggest you disable it for now.  We expect to have more updates shortly.      

   WindowFX is still very very close to being updated. Check out the Stardock real-time-CAM to see our development team in action! You can also join us on the #stardock channel to talk to our development team.      

   We're very close to putting up the new WindowFX.  Just throwing in last minute changes in it to try to have multiple themes in the first beta update in months.  Control Center will probably go 1.0 in a matter of days too which will bring us to updating the Tab LaunchPad and we have added doing a "task list" ala the OS/2 version to the Win32 side of things.        

   New Control Center released today, 0.97.  The WindowFX work continues.  We'd really like to hear from you on how you feel about the look we're trying to bring to Windows.  The newest internal version makes NT really look like a cross between Rhapsody and OS/2 Warp 4. Please click here to see it. Object ZIP continues behind schedule. :( Just a clarification, your account start date does not begin until we have made Object Desktop generally available.  So this time in beta is not affecting your renewal date.  It is 1 or 2 years after we become generally available that your subscription will expire, not 1 or 2 years after you were charged.      

   A lot of progress was made last month both in internal releases and external.  Control Center is essentially at a 1.0 level now. Some work has been put on the Tab LaunchPad and we did release Object Sweeper last month as well.  Object ZIP continues to be behind schedule but we expect a beta release of it this month.  Internally, we've continued forward on Enhanced Look (WindowFX), here's an internal screenshot of where we are with that. The Firewall issue continues to be a real problem and this month we're going to have to bite the bullet and present an alternative solution which will be FTP accounts for those who have strict firewalls.  For those people who can't deal with FTP we'll simply have to provide them with a CD instead when Object Desktop Preview Edition is available.  In the longer term, we'll move towards using a secured web server for those who have firewall issues. There are a number of new components that are on the horizon that have to do with making the user interface of Windows more productive. For clarification purposes, Stardock will be offering Object Desktop on Windows in two different flavors: Object Desktop Retail Version.  You buy it at the store or directly from Stardock for a set price and receive a shrink wrapped product.  It will have the major Object Desktop components but probably not all of the minor ones. or The Object Desktop Network.  Where you pay $49.95 for the first  year and get all the Object Desktop components (major or minor) that are available plus everything we come up with for that year.  At the end of the year, you'll automatically be renewed for another year (you'll be sent a letter stating how you can cancel if you don't want to continue your subscription).  We haven't decided how much subsequent years will cost (but it will be something between $3 to $4 per month). We'll be releasing Object Desktop when the following conditions are met: 1) Control Center is 1.0 2) Stardock.Net Client is 1.0 3) Tab LaunchPad is 1.0 4) Object ZIP is 1.0 (or at least very close to it) 5) Enhanced Look is 1.0 6) Association Wizard is 1.0 At that point, those components will be made part of the Object Desktop Retail package and Object Desktop Network will be made generally available (though the network might be officially launched with some of those components in very late beta). Those who subscribed to the Object Desktop Network but have Firewalls that can't get through Component Manager will be given the retail version if they aren't able to use FTP access.  As mentioned earlier, we'll be adding a secure web server this summer to fire wall users as well. Object FTP and Object NetScan are well behind schedule unfortunately since they require technology that is in Object ZIP or require development resources that are assigned to other components to be completed, they've been moved back into 4Q98.          

   We're getting ready to release a new component manager that will allow us to make it so that users can order Object Desktop and start using it immediately.  It also has some recovery features so that if you hose your Windows system, you don't have to redownload the components. We're also working diligently towards a beta of Object ZIP.  The problem with a component like Object ZIP is you can't really do a beta until it's essentially done.  The new Control Center (0.61) is just awesome.  Now it has a "Task Browser" which works just like the Macintosh Finder.  Here's a screen shot of one of our system's desktops using the new Component Manager and an alpha of the next version of WindowsFX and the new beta of Tab LaunchPad: Click here.      

   Everything's moving along nicely and we're proud to announce that two new components are well on their way to version 1.0. The venerable Control Center, is wrapping up with some final changes to make it virtually identical to its OS/2 counterpart. And a new kid on the block, Object Sweeper makes its debut at version 0.95 on the Object Desktop Network test server (just enter od-test.stardock.net in the Configure.. dialog in Component Manager) for anyone who has out-of-date shortcuts stuck in their Start Menu or desktop.      

    Component Manager is now at version 0.85. Please get the update. Here's some information about the latest version of Component Manager.

• FTP support. As components make it to FTP servers, Component Manager will allow you grab it using the standard FTP protocol.
• Limited Firewall Support. We're still investigating a way to make Component Manager work for everyone around a firewall, but for now, we can talk to a proxy and this seems to work for a lot of people. Please let us know if it does or does not work for you. To enable proxy settings, go into Configure and check "Use Proxy".
• User interface enhancements. We've made the interface a little easier and more understandable. Things like install directory saves and changing buttons that reflect actions available depending on which item is selected.

This version contains all of the runtime libraries for Visual C++, Delphi and Visual BASIC. We're doing this so that we don't have to bind to the libraries for every program. The result of that is a much smaller component (which means less to download and less to store on your disk). The archive is 3MB, but once you have all of these files, you'll never need to get them again. After this release, we'll have two archives of Component Manager, one with just the program files and one with the program files and runtime DLLs.  

   We recently released an updated Stardock. client which will allow you to easily chat with Stardock developers on-line.  You'll want to go to the Object Desktop channel once you logon. We expect to release 1.0 versions of Control Center, Stardock.net, and FolderFX this month.  We also intend to release an updated Tab LaunchPad in a few days along with a TaskManager, and possibly a beta of Object NetScan by the end of the month. We're interested in hearing your opinions on when the Object Desktop Network should be made generally available.  Since it's the first of its kind (i.e. pay a flat fee, get a bunch of software for a year without any additional charge), we want to know when you think we have enough components to make the general user happy with its status. Visit us on our news server (news.stardock.com) in the Object Desktop discussion group. We also plan to start up an Object Desktop Magazine which will only go to Object Desktop Network users.  Object Desktop Magazine will not only talk about the Object Desktop components but recommend third party utilities and enhancements that we think you would want to know about.        

   Stardock now has a News server up that you can add to your news reader to discuss the Object Desktop Network and other Stardock issues.  The News Server is called news.stardock.com.  If that doesn't work type in the IP 209.69.142.76.  We encourage all our customers to use this news server for more expedite help and discussion. We also will be adding the Stardock.net client to the Object Desktop Network tonight.  Next week we will have the Tab LaunchPad beta.  We've been using it internally for a few days and it works pretty well but we want to make a few more changes before making it available for general consumption.  We also hope to have another update to the Control Center.      

   In an effort to help speed up transfer time we have been in the process of updating our server and our connection for OD.Stardock.Net. During this process some of you may be experiencing problems connecting to our server. The problem is because we are in the process of getting our DNS switched. Until we get everything finalized you may need to edit the Server Address in the Component Manager to read 209.69.142.76 instead of od.stardock.net. Additionally, those who previous have had our IP address will need to update this information as the IP address has changed as well. We apologize for the inconvenience.      

   We've made a lot of progress on making sure the Object Desktop Network works for users who have a firewall.  If you have not been able to download components due to a firewall, please visit us on the #stardock channel so that we can work directly with you.  We also expect to have a beta version of the Tab LaunchPad available next week      

    There seems to be a bug in Component Manager where users cannot connect to the server without changing the server entry (in 'configure...') to it's IP address (206.249.54.120) - we are not sure why yet but have found that users can change it back to 'od.stardock.net' once it works and it will keep working.  

    If you're ever interested in talking to us live, there is a #stardock channel on EFNet IRC which has, at different times, different members of the development team on there. In December we'll be increasing our bandwidth by a factor of 12 (literally) so downloads should be much smoother.  Right now, it works pretty well but when we first get a update out hundreds of people begin trying to download components at once which of course causes a bandwidth issue.  

    The new Component Manager is now available.  Make sure you run the "CleanReg" utility or else you'll never be able to get new components. The new update has a highly updated Control Center which I think you'll find now is nearly as good as the OS/2 version with some features the OS/2 version doesn't have (mainly because the OS/2 API doesn't have support).  Example, Control Center can now float on the top at all times which is quite handy if you're a virtual desktop junkie. There is a problem on Windows 95 where it does cause a significant performance hit which we're working on.  This is because Windows 95's implementation of threads is... nonoptimal. The Tab LaunchPad is coming along nicely and may show up in one of the next updates.  The next update of Object Look (WindowFX) will include the ability to modify the base Windows folder icon and fix the button going back to normal problem that some people have mentioned. Thanks for your patience.  I think you'll find the increased performance and reliability was worth the wait.  

    We have delayed the release of the updated Component Manager as we are still testing and making changes to the CM. We are not going to announce a specific date for this next release but we are shooting for the end of this week. We're really sorry for this delay.  Here's the issue we're working on: The current version of Component Manager that you've already downloaded has this issue: every time we update the server or component manager you would have to uninstall Object Desktop, reinstall component manager, and redownload the components.  The new version will allow you to actually update Component Manager on the fly which you can imagine is pretty tricky.  Imagine making an upgrade package to an operating system that doesn't require the OS to reboot when it's done.  It's a lot like that.  As the number of subscribers increases over time, we don't want to have people having to worry about coming to the web site to see if they need to download and reinstall Object Desktop.  It'll be worth the wait.  The new Control Center is also much nicer too which will also appear at the same time.  Again, we apologize for the delay, we're literally working around the clock to get the new Component Manager and Component Server up.  

    The update to Component Manager is not quite ready yet.  It looks like it'll be ready for tomorrow.  The delaying factor is in changing it so that if we do future updates to the server you won't have to keep downloading new component managers (like this time).  That will pretty much take care of the download problem.  We also will be quadrupling our bandwidth by the end of the month which should greatly speed up downloads and allow more people to access it at once.  We are pleased to say that the more recent builds of the server can handle dozens of people at once.  By end of the month, we hope to be able to handle hundreds of people at once. Control Center will be getting the most changes that you'll notice.  Much faster repainting, a few new cool features, and better virtual desktop handling. The Enhanced Look won't be updated except to fix the resource problem on Windows 95 but we'll be adding in the next week or so the ability to change what Win 95/NT folders look like! Object ZIP has gotten pushed back a bit since everyone was reassigned to get the server and component manager up to speed at once.  

    Wow!  We had over 1400 visitors to the Object Desktop Network Friday night and needless to say, we quickly found problems in our code.  The server crashed several times almost immediately but by today the server has gone through quite a few changes and is much more reliable than it was. We expect by next Monday to have a new set of component updates available which will update virtually all of the components including Component Manager itself.  The Firewall issue is definitely something for concern and we're working on it right now. BTW, for your interest, here's how the Object Desktop Network works: When you type in your name and serial number and logon to the network (Get Updates) it sends that data to our Component Manager Server which then looks up the data in our Microsoft Access based data base.  It retrieves your subscription information and then looks up the latest version of the components and checks against what you have installed.  Then it displays only the components you don't have installed or newer versions of components you do have installed.  It's quite remarkable. We will be selling the Component Manager Server to interested parties.  The introductory price is $499.  Your corporation or application can easily custom tailor it to work the way you want it to.  For example, your corporation could provide a list of acceptable freeware/shareware programs that your users can use.  The client version of Component Manager would then let them download and install those components.  They would know that those components are the only ones acceptable and it allow them to see what the latest version.  Similarly, corporations could buy large block licenses of the Object Desktop Network and then have their own Component Manager server and provide only the components to their users that they want their users to have.  Component Manager is truly next generation technology and I think we can safely say we are now a leader in on-line software distribution and support. We also hope to have an Object Desktop Network news server up and going soon so that we can interact with you and you can interact with each other in a more intuitive way.  Only Object Desktop Network users will be allowed to use the News Server.  

    Finally!  Component Manager beta is now available.  Once you download that, you will need to enter in your name and serial number into the Component Manger User Info dialog to access the Object Desktop Network. Once you've done that, hit "Get Updates" and it will list all the updates available.  We expect to make quite a few enhancements over the next several days to it so expect an updated Component Manager in about a week that you will need. One annoying issue is that if you have to abort a download (either because of a network error or whatever) you will need to delete the .cab file from your Object Desktop directory (where it is downloading the files to).  Otherwise, you'll get a very obnoxious error dialog that repeats forever and have to find a way to force kill Component Manager (we'll fix this in the first update).  We'll have a problem report form available shortly for you to report any problems you have.  For now, you can email sander@stardock.com with any problems you experience.   Please be aware that this is pretty cutting edge stuff here in that no one that we're aware of has ever tried to create a subscription network like this before so there may be a few bumps in the road.  We expect to have any significant problems with the system ironed out by the end of the month (right now there aren't any significant issues that we know of that aren't mentioned here).  

    We're in the process of putting the final touches on the Component Manager.  Current issue we're resolving is that we want note book pages to show up "on the fly" when you add a component.  For example, let's say you install Enhanced Look.  As soon as that happens, we want the Component Manager to create a page for that new component. The issue that's delaying us until the 22nd has to do with installing the programs themselves via Component Manager.  Component Manager acts as its own installtion/deinstallation program on top of being a client/server manager and on top of being a master setup object.  We decided it was better to delay for a day or two than to release it with flaky behavior. One issue with the 0.10 version of Enhanced Look (window fx) is that it does not run well on Windows 95 presently.  It seems to have some small resource leak that over time will bring Win95 to its knees.  We're looking for the leak but we don't want to hold up the beta program on one issue on one component.  

    We're getting ready to close the Early Experience Program.   The response has been nothing short of phenomenal.  We're very interested in hearing feedback from the beta testers this next week. Here's the way it works:  When you join the Object Desktop Network, you will get a letter in the mail giving you your account number.  Then you'll come to the Object Desktop Network home page and download Component Manager.  Once you have done this, you go to the user info page and enter in your vital information along with the account number you received.  Be careful that your account number doesn't fall into the wrong hands as that number is tied to your customer ID with Stardock. After you've entered in the information, click on "Get Updates" and it will list all of the currently available Object Desktop components in their various states.  We expect by next week to have Control Center 0.70, Text View 0.90, Enhanced Look 0.10, and Association Wizard 0.50 all available for download.  Control Center's in pretty good shape but we'll want to hear any glitches you run into.  Text View is essential done so there's not much to do there.  Enhanced Look is still pretty rough.  In OS/2, each window is made up of a title bar, buttons, and scroll bars that each can be subclassed.  In Windows, the entire thing is one giant thing that isn't easy to control because Windows itself sometimes redraws its windows without notifying the application.  However, the 0.1 version has made pretty good progress and will continue to make progress.  What we'll want ot know from our beta testers is how much priority (development resource wise) we need to put onto this component as opposed to putting more resources onto Object ZIP, Object FTP, and Object NetScan.  The entire concept of The Object Desktop Network is to be the ultimately customer driven software product -- our paying customers decide what we work on. Association Wizard it half-way done.  It already does one thing that OS/2 didn't really do well, it let's you associate programs fairly easily by going to the file type first.  The part we're working on presently is getting it to have an Associations tab when you click on the properties option of a program. Object ZIP 0.20 will hopefully show up in mid November along with Object Netscan.  We'll keep you up to date on those two features.  Tab LaunchPad will probably also show up in November depending on how long the Association Wizard takes to finish up.

The Components...
I want to get on the Object Desktop Network now!!!
 
 

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