NextSTART 3.0 Final Released!
Friday, December 12, 2003 by JcRabbit | Discussion: WinCustomize News
With NextSTART you can conveniently access all your programs and files using a highly structured and completely customisable menu tree system. Menu configuration is a breeze with full support for drag & drop. Tear off sub-menus can be conveniently left open and placed anywhere on your screen while you work on related tasks. Winstep’s hotspot technology allows you to quickly open menus and launch programs by bumping screen edges and corners with the mouse cursor or by clicking anywhere on the desktop and other application windows. Above all, NextSTART is very easy to configure, providing a full-blown GUI Preferences screen. As with earlier versions, NextSTART 3 is fully skinnable. Changing looks is a one-click process, with no need to reconfigure menus and hotspots every time the theme is changed. A wide range of themes are supplied with the package and many hundreds more are freely available online. NextSTART 3 is also fully compatible with all previous NextSTART 2.x themes.
New features in NextSTART 3.0 include:
* Startbar:
An optional floating ‘Startbar’ that can contain the Start button, Quicklaunch Hotspots, the Tasklist, the System Tray and WorkShelf's desktop modules. The ‘Startbar’ is dockable to any screen edge, either at full width or any size to suit the user. It is also collapsible a la KDE/Gnome bar, or optionally just like the normal Windows taskbar.
* Improved Task Management Handling:
Multi-row, re-sizable tasklist - now with optional text labelling. Tasks can be grouped in Windows XP-style, sorted by application or filtered off the tasklist. The new task manager offers keyboard shortcuts to quickly minimize, close and restore similar tasks and all mouse-click actions are fully customisable. The system tray button, used to toggle the system tray between collapsed and un-collapsed states, now features an optional clock. Semi-transparency is also supported in Windows 2000/XP systems.
* Redesigned NextSTART Preferences Panel:
The NextSTART 2.x Preferences panel has been completely redesigned, conveniently separating per user settings from skinning settings and making configuration far more intuitive. Also new to NextSTART 3 is an enhanced theme manager which includes a handy preview function.
* Full multiple monitor support:
Users are now able to position their menus, hotspots and startbar on specific monitors.
* Many more improvements and fixes, ensuring that NextSTART continues to be the most versatile, functional and easy-to-use GUI enhancement product ever conceived.
System Requirements:
NextSTART will run under Win95/98JcRabbit and NT4/2000/XP.
craeonics
Reply #2 Friday, December 12, 2003 7:57 AM
Reply #2 Friday, December 12, 2003 7:57 AM
Wow, this one has been a long time in the making.
chadlachlanross
Reply #3 Friday, December 12, 2003 9:32 AM
Reply #3 Friday, December 12, 2003 9:32 AM
Oh my goodness, it's been well over a year... 
Now I'm going to have to make good on updating my last few themes to Nextstart 3. Hmmmm.... now if I just didn't have this crazy job so I would have more time for skinning..... Wink Wink.
Now I'm going to have to make good on updating my last few themes to Nextstart 3. Hmmmm.... now if I just didn't have this crazy job so I would have more time for skinning..... Wink Wink.
joetheblow
Reply #4 Saturday, December 13, 2003 5:37 AM
Reply #4 Saturday, December 13, 2003 5:37 AM
hint hint
just loose the job!
I'm glad they updated it. It is on my list of purchases.
Object Bar does some of this stuff but its a little harder to configure like NextStart.
Even now I wonder why OB themes authors have not set bar posisions on the desktoop to just sit there. I have on in the works but it won't be out for a long time.
just loose the job!
I'm glad they updated it. It is on my list of purchases.
Object Bar does some of this stuff but its a little harder to configure like NextStart.
Even now I wonder why OB themes authors have not set bar posisions on the desktoop to just sit there. I have on in the works but it won't be out for a long time.
CarpeThis
Reply #5 Saturday, December 13, 2003 2:56 PM
Reply #5 Saturday, December 13, 2003 2:56 PM
I was wondering what happend to this great program. Jorge, it would have been nice to see a post on your website about the status of the program. I paid for Version 3, but I didn't think it was ever going to be finished. I kinda felt like I was tricked into buying an incomplete program.
I'm glad to see it is final now.
What would be great would to be able to use WB skins with NextStart. There are many WB skins I'd like to use, but if there isn't a matching or close NS skin, it just looks too strange. Have you thought about being able to use WB skins or letting Stardock enable SkinStudio to make NS skins from WB skins? If people could use SkinStudio to make NS skins I'm sure there would be quite a bit more NS skins and hence more NS sales... Just a thought...
I'm glad to see it is final now.
What would be great would to be able to use WB skins with NextStart. There are many WB skins I'd like to use, but if there isn't a matching or close NS skin, it just looks too strange. Have you thought about being able to use WB skins or letting Stardock enable SkinStudio to make NS skins from WB skins? If people could use SkinStudio to make NS skins I'm sure there would be quite a bit more NS skins and hence more NS sales... Just a thought...
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Reply #1 Friday, December 12, 2003 5:18 AM