Winstep Releases Winstep Xtreme Beta 2!
Wednesday, May 3, 2006 by JcRabbit | Discussion: WinCustomize News
Winstep Xtreme is a complete integrated Desktop Environment featuring the next generation of award winning Winstep user interface enhancements: NextSTART and WorkShelf. While most Windows customization software focuses on eye candy, Winstep applications raise the usability bar to another level: they give added functionality to Windows and complete control over every aspect of the user interface.
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NextSTART is a complete Start Menu, Taskbar and System Tray replacement, famous for its unmatched flexibility. The number of options you can configure is truly outstanding: configurable menus - via drag and drop or using the built-in Menu Editor - customizable menu behavior, an amazing number of ways to activate menus and run programs using hotspots, taskbar and systray management and more!
WorkShelf is a desktop replacement and tabbed program launcher. Like a dock, but better. It enables you to organize your most often used applications and documents into categorized shelves while taking as little screen space as possible: WorkShelf automatically collapses into a small strip of tabs when not in use. It also gives you access to system folders like My Computer, Control Panel, etc... Throw in it’s task management abilities and built-in modules such as a speaking Atomic Clock, Recycle Bin, POP3/IMAP Email Checker, Weather Monitor, CPU, Net and RAM Meters, and a 'fortune cookie' reader (with many more soon forthcoming) and you have an incredible utility you’ll soon find out you can’t be without.
So what is new in Winstep Xtreme? Here is an highlight of just a few of its new features:
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Per-pixel alpha support: this allows incredible eye candy effects and themes that will blow your mind! Everything can be semi-transparent - or have semi-transparent parts - blending smoothly with the background. You don't have to wait for Windows Vista: the next generation in User Interfaces is already here.
Task Snapshots: the NextSTART tasklist
and WorkShelf's Tasks shelf display snapshots of the actual windows, which are automatically refreshed to keep the contents always up-to-date. Window snapshots make it much easier to identify documents in a taskbar filled with identical icons.Image and Video Thumbnails:
context menus allow you to visualize image and video files. This is extremely useful to help you identify specific pictures when, for instance, using NextSTART menus to browse your hard drives.Send To, Open With, context menu options: NextSTART and WorkShelf context menus were already very powerful, but they lacked support for the important Send To and Open With sub-menus. Context menus now not only provide all the options you would expect to find on Explorer's context menus as they still manage to add a few more!
PNG Icon support: you can now use PNG files to specify object images. This is true for anything that previously only allowed ICO files, including menu items, shelf items, tasklist, module and quick launch icons, etc...
Special FX: lots of new special effects, such as icons zooming on selection, shifting to make room for items about to be dropped onto WorkShelf, plus incredible water ripple effect that makes the shelf behave like a liquid surface whenever you click on it, new sound events for emptying the recycler bin or dropping items into it, a mind warping 'ripple' menu animation, and more!
Proxy Support: transparent proxy support for all functions that depend on the Internet to work, like auto update, online cookie retrieval, and weather and email checking. No need to configure anything since proxy settings are automatically retrieved from Internet Explorer itself.
WorkShelf Hotkeys: You can now open, activate shelves and run programs using nothing but the keyboard! All key combinations are system wide, WorkShelf does not need to have the focus for the hotkeys to work.
Desktop Modules Animation Support: This means that the email module can now display a rotating envelope whenever you have new mail, that the Recycler can light up like a furnace when you move items over it, and that Wanda can be given a new face.
There are literally HUNDREDS of other new features, changes and fixes, too many to list here. Become part of the Xtreme experience now and see for yourself!
Download: Winstep Xtreme (includes NextSTART v4.0, WorkShelf v2.0 and FontBrowser v 1.0)
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Reply #22 Thursday, May 4, 2006 3:35 AM
| Hm, sounds familiar. May I say DesktopX ? |
Not really. Nextstart does a taskbar/start menu far easier than DesktopX and better than ObjectBar. Workshelf does basic tabbing/task/folder management far better then ObjectDock. Plus the general skin customizing and editing is pretty easy.
I suppose it isn't really fair to compare, but it's hard not to.
Reply #23 Thursday, May 4, 2006 4:15 AM
Reply #24 Thursday, May 4, 2006 5:59 AM
Reply #25 Thursday, May 4, 2006 7:25 AM
I think Xtreme is perfectly capable of speaking for itself: download it, try it for a while, don't be afraid to ask questions in the Winstep forums or directly to Winstep support if you run into any problems/doubts and... make up your own mind.
More than anything else, Winstep focus is on usability/functionality.
Reply #26 Thursday, May 4, 2006 8:55 AM
The battle between the Workshelf component and ObjectDock is a tighter one. I'm running ObjectDock right now but each one has advantages in different areas.
I recommend you download the beta and explore. The number of configuration options for both Nextstart and Workshelf border on the insane.
You can, pretty much, tweak things to your heart's content.
Reply #27 Thursday, May 4, 2006 9:14 AM
| The number of configuration options for both Nextstart and Workshelf border on the insane |
That one statement is the key. Back in the day I spent forever getting OS/2 configured (with Object Desktop by some company called Stardock) just the way I wanted it. It took forever and there was always one more tweak possible, one last thing to do. In the end, I got burned out. I ended up going back to Windows because it couldn't be tweaked and I didn't spend all my time "optimizing" the GUI to fit my "needs".
{Of course, years later I am finding myself in the near (but more controlled) situation with ODNT. Maybe it is time for WinStep again }
Reply #28 Thursday, May 4, 2006 9:15 AM
Although you can emulate the Windows behavior in the Mouse Settings section of NextSTART's Global Preferences, by default the right click on a task button behavior in NextSTART is to MINIMIZE a window, not to pop up a task context menu like Windows does. You can get this pop up (with all the Windows options plus quite a few extras) by CTRL+Right clicking the task button. Left clicking restores/brings the window forward and middle clicking closes it.
Although it can be confusing in the begining, once you get used to this you'll find it a much more efficient way to handle tasks - and, even if you don't, you can always change the mouse key settings so that they emulate Windows way of doing things.
Reply #29 Thursday, May 4, 2006 9:16 AM
Reply #30 Thursday, May 4, 2006 11:02 AM
NextStart was the program that made me came in the skins scene. Was the first program that I skinned for and of my favorite applications so far. Other then that, Jorge Coelho aka JcRabbit, gives to his useras a wonderful users support.
For sure I will give a try on Winstep Xtreme!
Reply #31 Thursday, May 4, 2006 11:10 AM
In fact, I still have it here... but I promise I won't show it to anybody. hehe 
Love your work!
Reply #32 Thursday, May 4, 2006 11:32 AM
I have used NextStart for ages and would not be without it although I no longer spend time skinning it.
Thank you Jorge and keep up the good work
Reply #33 Thursday, May 4, 2006 12:12 PM
Reply #34 Thursday, May 4, 2006 12:30 PM
Reply #35 Thursday, May 4, 2006 9:48 PM
Reply #36 Friday, May 5, 2006 5:03 AM
Anyway, ding dong, you've got mail.
Reply #37 Saturday, May 6, 2006 3:35 AM
Reply #39 Saturday, May 6, 2006 8:48 PM
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Reply #21 Thursday, May 4, 2006 2:43 AM