WindowBlinds acquired by Yahoo

To be rebranded as Yahoo Skins!

Saturday, April 1, 2006 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize News

April 1st -- 2006.  Stardock is pleased to announce the acquisition of its popular desktop customization program, WindowBlinds by Yahoo.  Yahoo, which recently bought Konfabulator, a popular widget engine, said that adding WindowBlinds to the mix was a natural next step:

"Our goal with Konfabulator, now Yahoo Widgets, was to enable the community to make use of our rich API set in a practical matter.  With Yahoo widgets, users can create mini-applciations that rest on their desktop," said Tony Stein, Vice President of the Yahoo! Developer Network.  "With Yahoo Skins, those same APIs can be integrated into the Windows GUI itself."

WindowBlinds 5.1, originally expected to be released late summer 2006, will be rebranded as Yahoo Skins. It will include a simple SDK in which skinners can incorporate "widget-like" content into title bars, borders, the Start Bar or anywhere else the skinner can imagine.

"We're very excited about this.  Before, users would have to hit a series of hot keys or move their windows, or turn their head to see a picture of their dog or know the latest weather conditions," said Brad Wardell, President of Stardock Corp.  "With Yahoo Skins, your local weather conditions will be part of the title bar itself. Your day planner part of every border. Even the Start menu and Start bar can include a picture of your dog or stocks prices."

For new users, the best news will be that Yahoo Skins will be free.  Existing customers of WindowBlinds, who paid $19.95 won't be receiving their money back. Explained Wardell: "I am really hoping to buy a boat one of these days. I'm actually afraid of water and won't go in it, but I just like the idea of having a boat.  Obviously, that boat won't come cheap so we can't refund people's money.  But I think our customers will be satisfied with Yahoo Skins and that most of them would want me to have a boat."

Yahoo Skins should be available for download by early Summer.

(april fools)

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WebGizmos
Reply #41 Saturday, April 1, 2006 7:43 PM
Oh man! You mean this was a joke! I should have read the whole article! I just deleted all my skins and apps...went out and got hammered...thrown in jail for drunk and disorderly...had my meds increased...got hooked on crack...had a nervous breakdown...sent a nasty letter to Yahoo who are now suing me for harrasement and stalking...(trial starts next week)...left my wife...(wait...I don't have a wife!)...and kicked my dog...(wait...I don't have a dog!). Damn Brad! You destroyed my life with that joke!
Venom339
Reply #42 Saturday, April 1, 2006 7:43 PM
I was already running the bath water and plugging in the toaster before I read the part about brad & his boat, I always fall for these type of things

I'm extreamely glad that it's a prank
Meltie
Reply #43 Saturday, April 1, 2006 8:41 PM
I was duped!!!Until I read the fine print at the bottom!I especially liked Brad Wardell's "quote" about the boat.(hah)
Meltie
Reply #44 Saturday, April 1, 2006 8:44 PM
Great response,WEBGIZMOS!
XX
Reply #45 Saturday, April 1, 2006 9:07 PM
Fooled me for a short time. I was fourth of way though when I realized that today was that special day.
Badly Drawn Duck
Reply #46 Saturday, April 1, 2006 9:19 PM
That was just wrong on sooooo many different levels. Touche.
Shruthi99
Reply #47 Saturday, April 1, 2006 9:22 PM
I wish this was true. Then it would most likely be free. Like, Konfabulator became free when Yahoo! bought it. Eh, that's ok. I might actually order WIndowBlinds sometime!!
Corky_O
Reply #48 Saturday, April 1, 2006 9:50 PM

Good one, Brad.

You had me spinning there for a second.

houstonian
Reply #49 Saturday, April 1, 2006 10:42 PM
oh mannnnn...that is indeed a good one...cannot imagine a great program like WB turn into turd by a company like Yahoo....Stardock is amazing...let's keep it that way...(oh, and I like the “free WB” joke, lol... I am sure if it were indeed the case, Yahoo would have packed WB with adware – no great, progressive program comes free)
whiterabbit007
Reply #50 Sunday, April 2, 2006 12:45 AM
Very funny stuff, I especially liked the bits about picture of a dog in the start bar and the boat. Though if you gonna make an april's fool joke you gotta go through with it and not put "(april's fool)" at the end of the story. Now, if you'd only published the first two paragraphs, that would've been an awesome april's fool joke.
David_Nick
Reply #51 Sunday, April 2, 2006 1:07 AM
Fu@#%er!!!
BX
Reply #52 Sunday, April 2, 2006 1:13 AM
I never felt my self so happy on being proved a fool ....
lmgppag
Reply #53 Sunday, April 2, 2006 2:06 AM
Brad : "I am really hoping to buy a boat one of these days."
Why not a private JET ...???? My gift: two flight stewardess for you
Yahoo??? And Google buy DesktopX ????
4letterword
Reply #54 Sunday, April 2, 2006 4:30 AM
Brad, I really hope this one is just a joke. If not, I'm off the boat!
c242
Reply #55 Sunday, April 2, 2006 4:33 AM
Hehe.
sleepydawg
Reply #56 Sunday, April 2, 2006 7:49 AM
"sleepydawg, how do you have an icon 72x90? I thought more than 50x50 wouldn't work?"

Apprentice RPGFX , It's pretty easy really. Just hack Brad's main computer and under the registry line :4106> put in
AnydamnsizeIWant. That should do it. Good luck.
Peaceful Optomist
Reply #57 Sunday, April 2, 2006 8:00 AM
that was so mean guys, please do us all a favor and never sell out to Yahoo! one of the things that made this site great was that it was so unknown to everyone. Plus the fact it wasn't owned by a big corporaton. What I'm not sure about is the joke though. Is Yahoo buying out Wincustomize? Or is that a part of the joke with the BOAT and the refund?
Peaceful Optomist
Reply #58 Sunday, April 2, 2006 8:01 AM
Plus I want the owners to keep all my money. No1 else. I like this wincstomize/ stardock relationship thing we have going on here.
Rich
Reply #59 Sunday, April 2, 2006 8:25 AM
OK, who was the idiot that wanted to watch my heart drop in pants?! That was not funny! Yahoo Skins! You had me going!
tcjuice
Reply #60 Sunday, April 2, 2006 10:08 AM
My kids were trying to fool me all day yesterday, didn't work!! I come to this site the day after April Fools and almost have a seizure. Good one I'll go tell the kids they love to see mom get punked.

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