2004
2004
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Object Desktop 2004 [electronic] Get all of Object Desktop now and everything created and updated for it for an entire year after! |
$49.95 |
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Object Desktop 2004 CD Get all of Object Desktop now and everything created and updated for it for an entire year after! |
$49.95 |
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Object Desktop Renew Renew your access for an additional year to new Object Desktop updates and new programs. |
$34.95 |
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Object Desktop Upgrade Upgrade from one of the programs that make up Object Desktop to all of Object Desktop. |
$34.95 |
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Object Desktop 2004 is a snapshot of Stardock's premiere suite of Windows extension software. But there is nothing arbitrary in the timing of this snapshot. The major components of Object Desktop have been updated and integrated together to reach a new level of quality and integration. It can be purchased as a CD or electronically.
Over the past year, Stardock has worked to make Object Desktop a robust solution for users looking to take Windows to the next level. Object Desktop is like having the next version of the OS today. Users of Object Desktop back in 1999/2000 gained features such as integrated ZIP functionality as part of the shell, GUI skinning, folder customization, and more long before the first beta of Windows XP even shipped.
Object Desktop 2004 represents Stardock's vision of where operating systems are going next.
WindowBlinds 4.3 is faster, more flexible, and with SkinStudio can use
both WindowBlinds and MSStyle visual styles to change the Windows GUI.
Toolbar icons can now be replaced and progress animations changed. With
those features, the last vestiges of the Windows 95 look can be removed.
DesktopX 2.1 integrates an object framework into Windows in which
users can use VBScript, Javascript, or existing objects to build their own
desktops and desktop widgets. DesktopX delivers the ultimate in productivity
potential to users. It is the closest thing to the "Taligent" and "Cairo"
concepts available in any material form on Windows today.
Keyboard LaunchPad delivers the ability to control virtually every
aspect of Windows from the keyboard. 
IconDeveloper allows users to easily create icons imported in existing
images.
SkinStudio has been totally overhauled in the past year to make
it so that users can literally draw what they want their user interface to
look like and use that as a template for turning their vision into a new
user interface. In addition, SkinStudio will let users create their own
Windows Media Player skins.
IconPackager 2.5 allows users to not just apply packages of icons but
actually change individual icons on a person's computer. Every icon on
Windows XP is now changeable right from the shell with IconPackager 2.5.
Theme Manager has succeeded WinStyles as a way of controlling the
look and feel of Windows from a central point without having to worry about
which program does what.
WindowFX
now allows users to rescale windows on the fly and morph windows during
their transitions.
And finally,
Stardock Central has replaced Component Manager as a way
of quickly updating software on the fly. No longer do users have to
redownload the full program. Stardock Central will send only what has been
updated. It includes support for beta as well as released versions of
programs. Users can easily archive their Object Desktop programs to disk or
CD for safe keeping. Chat and forum support is built in and WinCustomize
subscribers can directly access the skin library right from it.And recently, Microsoft has given a sneak peek at "Longhorn", the next major version of Windows due out in late 2006 (over 2 years from now). It has a host of exciting new technologies. Or at least, new for users who don't have Object Desktop. A composited desktop that can deliver features similar to what you can see in WindowFX. A new mark-up language called XAML that will let developers create mini-applications quickly (much like DesktopX widgets -- and DesktopX will support XAML when the time comes). And by the time Longhorn ships, Object Desktop will have moved into a new generation.
If you have ever had Object Desktop for Windows in any form, you can renew your access to ObjectDesktop.net for only $34.95 and get all these updates plus what Stardock creates for a year for it.
Or, if you have purchased an individual program that makes up Object Desktop such as WindowBlinds or DesktopX, or the other programs that make up Object Desktop, you can upgrade and get the whole thing also for only $34.95.
Stardock Central has been designed to make it much easier to interact with all of Stardock's software.
Integration with WinCustomize allows for quick and easy access to new customization content.
WindowBlinds maintains its ability to change the color of a skin on the fly but can now also change the color of visual styles not previously designed to have their colors changed.
WindowBlinds can now change your Internet Explorer and Explorer toolbar icons. You can mix and match different sets together.
The progress animations on Windows, even Windows XP are from the Windows 95 era. WindowBlinds now allows users to change those easily by selecting different ones.
The new features in WindowBlinds have helped spark a new golden age in skinning.
Object Desktop 2004 waited specifically for the release of DesktopX 2.1 before being considered complete. DesktopX is designed to allow users to add vastly more functionality to Windows without having to jump into the depths of Windows programming.
Part of the goal with DesktopX 2.1 was to allow users themselves the ability to take control of their own destiny. Rather than having to wait for Stardock to come up with some new concept, DesktopX hands users the keys to total control over the Windows environment. Some people may think DesktopX is used largely for eye candy, but that's mainly because it is so good at making things look nice that the screenshots tend to overwhelm the productivity benefits of DesktopX 2.1.
As seen on the popular TechTV show, The Screen Savers, this DesktopX theme built its own Long-horn style dock without any programming whatsoever.
Other users have used it for building their own visions of what the perfect OS is like. DesktopX is largely designed so that users can make their own desktops. But users can also download the desktops (themes) of others and adapt them to their own use.
But DesktopX is much more than just a desktop building program. It can be used to create "mini programs" called widgets that can exist on your desktop or be always on top or dock to some part of the screen.
Of course, even if the user doesn't want to have desktop widgets or customize their Windows environment, they can use the IconX feature of DesktopX to spruce up their desktop icons:
Ultimately, Keyboard LaunchPad has one goal in mind - to make it possible for users to do pretty much anything they want from their keyboard. Launch programs, control programs, go to different URLs, perform various system functions, etc.
IconDeveloper has a fairly straight forward point - to make it easy to turn various kinds of graphics into standard Windows icons.
Theme Manager lets you work with all your customization programs at once from a single interface. You can even go to file->save desktop and make a snapshot of your current Windows desktop.
WindowFX has a lot of features to do interesting things with your video card. This has always provided Stardock somewhat of a challenge because some users are tempted to turn on every last feature which will inevitably slow down their computer. WindowFX gives users the choice of which things they want to do to their video presentation of Windows.
One relatively new and exciting feature is the ability to rescale windows on the fly. In addition to being able to add shadows, morph windows, make desktop icons large, WindowFX can rescale your window by holding down the shift key while resizing it. Rather than just cropping off content, the content is rescaled as seen above.
With SkinStudio 4 installed, making changes to your Windows GUI is easier than ever. You can literally go up and do File->New and start with the default Windows XP user interface and begin modifying it from there. Your finished creation can then be applied to your computer. Add new buttons to your title bar or just give it a new look and feel.
SkinStudio 4.2 adds the ability to automatically import .msstyles files and apply them via WindowBlinds without having to patch any of your system files! SkinStudio + WindowBlinds are the only programs that can do this.
IconPackager is a program that lets users easily create "packages" of icons that can be applied together to create an overall Windows icon theme. But it's much more than that. It can also change virtually any individual icon on Windows.
With IconPackager 2.5, users can now change almost any icon on their computers. Programs, DLLs, folders, file types, etc.
Control Center 2 and ObjectBar 2 have been long in the making. But the light at the end of the tunnel is coming. Remember, when you buy Object Desktop 2004, you get not just all the features listed here. You also get what Stardock creates for it for the subsequent year.
In mid 2004, Stardock expects to release ObjectBar 2 which will also server as the technology basis for ControlCenter 2.
Here are some screenshots so you can see where things are going. In short, ObjectBar 2 is designed to have ControlCenter's simplicity in configuration but ObjectBar's power.
Modifying a given element in ObjectBar is much like changing a Windows icon (or a DesktopX object). Much simpler than before.
Re-organizing a bar is now very similar to setting up Control Center.
The properties of a given bar are now very straight forward and clear.
Object Desktop 2004 represents Stardock's best effort yet to deliver the future technologies one might see as part of the OS today. Virtually every major aspect of the product has been redone.
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|
Object Desktop 2004 [electronic] Get all of Object Desktop now and everything created and updated for it for an entire year after! |
$49.95 |
|
|
|
Object Desktop 2004 CD Get all of Object Desktop now and everything created and updated for it for an entire year after! |
$49.95 |
|
|
|
Object Desktop Renew Renew your access for an additional year to new Object Desktop updates and new programs. |
$34.95 |
|
|
|
Object Desktop Upgrade Upgrade from one of the programs that make up Object Desktop to all of Object Desktop. |
$34.95 |
|