My Colors a MASSIVE step back.

A vote for a Theme Manager 2008!

Saturday, March 15, 2008 by gardenerstouch | Discussion: Object Desktop

I just downloaded and tested out My Colors and I am positively seething... where are CursorXP/FX, Bootskins, and Logons?

I would prefer to mix and match the various parts of my desktop the way I want them, not the way Stardock wants them.

There is not a single skin on my computer that I haven't tweaked in some way. How would this be possible using My Colors? The free skin that came with My Colors I am just itching to change.... I abhor that wallpaper! And I really don't like the widgets it came with either. How would I disable them from running when I apply the theme? I would have to manually apply and disable them (respectively) each time I apply the theme with My Colors.

In IMHO, My Colors is a massive step back from the whole idea and vision of customizing and making a desktop uniquely your own.

I hope you're planning to come out with a Theme Manager 2008 that supports Cursor FX and Sound Manager.  And as long as I'm making suggestions, please add a command line option, so I can apply a theme from the command line or a batch file.
10 Reply 14 Referrals
Bebi Bulma
Reply #1 Saturday, March 15, 2008 3:49 AM
From what I understand, MyColors is pretty much for the end user who doesn't care about the software involved, and just wants a predefined customized desktop.

It sounds like you'd be more interested in ObjectDesktop where you can pick and choose which software and which pieces you want to use to customize your desktop as you see fit (in case you don't already have it that is).

For that very reason...I really don't know how MyColors works...lol, I'm an ODNT junkie.

HG_Eliminator
Reply #2 Saturday, March 15, 2008 5:00 AM
Bebi hit it on the head. Mycolors is for users who just want the look, with a minimal amount of effort, they will be able to download prepackaged theme sets and apply wth a click of a button.

ODNT will still be available for us Desktop Modders to tweak to our hearts delight. Read here for more details. https://forums.wincustomize.com/post.aspx?postid=303586

SirSmiley
Reply #3 Saturday, March 15, 2008 12:16 PM
Hate to beat a dead horse... okay who am I kidding

From the first two lines of the about section in the FAQ's at MyColors:

MyColors is a safe way to change the look and feel of your Windows desktop. In other words, it is a way to make the graphical part of Windows look the way you want it to.


Nothing in there about customizing, only applying themes.

Daiwa
Reply #4 Saturday, March 15, 2008 1:41 PM
It's a completely different product, targeted to a different customer base, folks who have no interest in installing the individual apps or theme modification software, just load-n-go. The themes themselves are copyrighted & used by permission of the organizations they represent.

MyColors was never intended to duplicate the functions of ThemeManager. As I understand it, the individual WB skins that are part of MyColors themes install to the normal WB folder and can be used by WB (if WB is installed separately) without using other components of the theme (you could use different cursors, for instance) but the MyColors WB themes themselves are not modifiable the way other WB skins are (since they are copyrighted & encrypted). So, in that sense, if you have the relevant OD apps installed, you can still mix & match; use a different wallpaper, for instance, or a different IP theme. You cannot do that from within the MyColors application itself, however, which is designed in a way that permits folks without ODNT or individual OD apps to use them, no fuss no muss.

Hope that helps.

highlander
Reply #5 Wednesday, March 19, 2008 10:36 AM
If you want a bit of control over what gets applied in MyColors, click on the Settings Tab and put a check mark in the box 'I want to see advanced options when applying suites', then you can uncheck things like Wallpaper, gadgets, and so on.


Daiwa
Reply #6 Wednesday, March 19, 2008 4:02 PM
Love that Support logo, highlander.

gardenerstouch
Reply #7 Thursday, March 20, 2008 3:04 AM
Yes I do have Object Dock. I did not see the advanced options option in the program. Still, I would want to tweak everything in the suite. On the My Colors web site, they have a series of suite mockups, some of which I'd really like to have when they come out, but only if I can tweak them. Stardock has promised OD customers four of these things for each year we subscribe, but it's not going to be an incentive for me to resubscribe if I can't tinker with what's under the hood.

Actually, I AM interested in a one click experience, I just want them to look the way I want first.

By the way, am I correct in assuming that Stardock plans to continue developing Theme Manager for the forseeable future?

scorpNZ
Reply #8 Thursday, March 20, 2008 3:32 AM
Not objectdock,they're referring to objectdesktop,use the link in post #2 by HG,once you've looked that over click the HOME button near top left,the column on the right houses all the diff stuff you can dowload & mix n match with the ObjectDesktop suite,umm there's two diff suites the basic & ultimate,go with ultimate is my opinion.

ZubaZ
Reply #9 Thursday, March 20, 2008 8:58 AM
By the way, am I correct in assuming that Stardock plans to continue developing Theme Manager for the forseeable future?
I wouldn't make that assumption . . but I don't know.

Daiwa
Reply #10 Thursday, March 20, 2008 10:37 AM
Sorry, OD = Object Desktop = ODNT in my posts, not ObjectDock. Once again, MyColors themes are not designed or intended for 'tinkering' - they are usable 'as is' (except to the extent that you can 'mix & match' component theme sets if you have Object Desktop) but there is no obligation to use them, and whether you consider them an incentive to subscribe to Object Desktop is a personal issue.

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