DeskScapes 1.01 Released - Introducing Dynamic Dreams!
Say goodbye to looping video...
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 by Zoomba | Discussion: WinCustomize News
For the past month, Windows Vista Ultimate users have been enjoying the benefits of the Stardock DeskScapes, an extension Microsoft DreamScene (an extra given only to owners of Vista Ultimate Edition). DeskScapes took basic DreamScenes one step further by allowing authors to retain credit for their work through the use of the .Dream format. Anyone who made a video could attach their name to it, a brief description, and a link back to their website. In addition to giving artists the ability to receive credit and recognition for their work, we also launched the community site Dream.WinCustomize.com, the premier site on the web for Dreams on Windows Vista.
However, providing a basic by-line and a link for artists wasn't all DeskScapes would do. From the beginning we have been working to not only allow users to play videos on their desktop, but also be able to run triggered content that could change based on time of day, local weather, or other set events, not to mention dynamically generated content, rendered on-the-fly on their system. A looping video is cool, but what about a rotating planet Earth that accurately shows where it is currently day or night? Or maybe a lake scene that changes from day to night based on your computer clock?
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| Desktop Earth draws the day/night cycle of the planet in real time. | |
Today, we're ready to unleash DeskScapes 1.01 upon the world! 1.01 includes support for triggers and dynamic dreams. Users of Object Desktop have been testing dynamic dreams for a week now, and the response has been great. DeskScapes 1.01 is a free update and comes with an updated DreamMaker so you can start creating your own triggered animated wallpapers!
Head over to Dream.WinCustomize.com now to get the latest version and start experiencing what Stardock has made possible for Windows Vista!
If you're a current Object Desktop Subscriber, you can get the latest update via Stardock Central. Subscribers also get the Desktop Earth dynamic dream for free!
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Reply #42 Friday, March 30, 2007 10:28 AM
By the way, thanks to ChrisNYC on where to get the old .dream files.
Reply #43 Friday, March 30, 2007 10:30 AM
Reply #44 Friday, March 30, 2007 10:35 AM
I was under the impression that such was the case only for beta testing, and that the earth .dream would be released to the general public as a premium dream.
Could someone please clear this up for me?
Thanks
Reply #45 Friday, March 30, 2007 10:37 AM
Replies 7 and 8
Reply #46 Friday, March 30, 2007 10:54 AM
Reply #47 Friday, March 30, 2007 1:59 PM
Reply #48 Friday, March 30, 2007 6:01 PM
I'm glad to hear that. BTW, one last thing. I don't like how your program "extracts and cache's" the animated desktop files to the new "%HOMEPATH%\Documents\Stardock\*" location. I don't have a problem with it caching stuff as it needs it because it obviously needs some working room, but I do have a problem with it leaving the files behind... it's just redundent and takes up room for no reason. Why can't it just use the file from it's original location and not do this "extract/caching" thing. I don't think MS's side of things does this... I couldn't find a place to indicate otherwise.
Reply #49 Friday, March 30, 2007 7:56 PM
Reply #50 Friday, March 30, 2007 7:57 PM
Wouldn't count on it...kinda defeats the purpose of a "premium" dream. Subscribers do get a discount though.
Reply #51 Friday, March 30, 2007 8:22 PM
Please explain. There is nowhere in SDC I see an Earth dream... 
Reply #52 Friday, March 30, 2007 11:20 PM
They get Dynamic Earth already free in Object Desktop. It will cost $8.95 as a premium dream on its own.
Reply #55 Saturday, March 31, 2007 8:23 AM
Reply #56 Saturday, March 31, 2007 9:20 AM
Please read reply 33 in this post.
Great! Thanks. I should have read all the postings I guess.
One more question then. Since the installer has a bug and does not transfer prior dreams to the new install, and it does not cleanup properly after itself do we or can we manually delete the Stardock folder and all its contents from the old location (ProgramData folder)?
Reply #57 Saturday, March 31, 2007 10:08 AM
Please read reply 33 in this post.
Reply #58 Saturday, March 31, 2007 11:41 AM
Reply #59 Saturday, March 31, 2007 3:08 PM
And Desktop Earth is an absolutely brilliant Dream, nothing short of amazing.
Thank you.
Reply #60 Sunday, April 1, 2007 8:37 AM
How do I report a bug with the latest version of DeskCapes? I have been using the previous version of DeskCapes for a while with no problems, but since I installed 1.01 there is a problem.
My wife and I have separate user accounts set up (both as administrator), and are using Vista Ultimate RTM. I installed v1.01 on my account, and all works fine, including the new triggers etc. However, my wife can no longer have files in .dream format as her desktop - the following error is generated:
Windows Dreamscene has encountered an error.
The video file format is not supported, or there was an error decoding this video file.
There was no problem with her using .dream files before the latest version. I have installed version 1.01 on her account too, but made no difference.
FYI - she can still use wmv files as desktop - it is only .dream files which cause an error.
Rowan
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Reply #41 Friday, March 30, 2007 10:20 AM
Open up the run dialog, enter in the following and press enter:
"%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Stardock\DeskScapes\Dreams"
This will take you to the old place Dreams were stored. (That above path is equivalent to your "C:\ProgramData\Stardock\DeskScapes\Dreams" where "C:\" is the drive Vista is installed onto)
Do the same with the following:
"%HOMEPATH%\Documents\Stardock\Dreams"
That will take you to the new place Dreams are stored. (Takes you to the Stardock\Dreams subfolder of your Documents folder)
Move everything from the old to the new, and you'll be all set. There was code in there to do this automatically, but I'm feeling perhaps security dealings got in the way for some users, not sure at this point. If the folder doesn't exist, then chances are your Dreams have already been moved over.
Also to note, we decided to keep dreams inside the Documents folder by default as we felt Dreams were personal files that belonged in the common place for personal files. Makes it easier for backup too. We were thinking a similar place to where Microsoft keeps theirs at first, but then upon thinking further, doesn't seem to make much sense to keep personal data off of a subdirectory of your windows folder. Seems bad practice! hah. Anyways, sorry that the change caused troubles for some... but I hope everyone's enjoying the new dynamic dreams
I like how that basically states that the install not only doesn't work properly, but also leaves old directory/files behind... (i.e. doesn't clean up after itself like a proper install/uninstall program should.)