Somewhat aggravated
Saturday, August 21, 2004 by alscwj | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
Back when WindowBlinds first came out I laughed at the thought that people would actually pay money for a "resource hog" that just made the OS look pretty. I swore I'd never do it. Several months ago I downloaded some msstyles and laughed some more. A little while back I read an article that claimed that WB wasn't a "resource hog". I was skeptical. Then I stumbled onto some of the screens of the GUI Championships. I was impressed by the work but was determined that I would not to pay to make Windows look pretty. Somewhere along the way though neOS by danilloOc somehow worked me into some sort of drunken stupor and I went to the Stardock site to buy WindowBlinds. While at the site I was reading about some of the other products and how they would allegedly increase productivity. I laughed, but figured that since I owned a small business I could count it as a tax writeoff so I bought Object Desktop instead of just WB. Strange thing is that it has turned out to be one of the best software purchases that I've ever made, and I'm somewhat aggravated that I didn't do it sooner. I've been so impressed that I went ahead and bought ObjectDock Plus also. The progs have helped me a great deal in my business. I have the free OD at the top of my screen, OD+ and Objectbar at the bottom, and a DesktopX dock on the side. There's times I believe that if I could hook up a second mouse I could hit light speed.
To make a long story short (it's to late for that now ain't it), I'm happy with my purchase. I want to thank Stardock and all of the contributors to Wincustomize for finally making my computer pretty.
Oh and as far as the "resource hog" deal, where did that story start? As I'm typing this I have all of the above mentioned Stardock programs running plus a cad program, winamp, PSP7, and a my web browser. My computer is running smooth as silk.
To make a long story short (it's to late for that now ain't it), I'm happy with my purchase. I want to thank Stardock and all of the contributors to Wincustomize for finally making my computer pretty.
Oh and as far as the "resource hog" deal, where did that story start? As I'm typing this I have all of the above mentioned Stardock programs running plus a cad program, winamp, PSP7, and a my web browser. My computer is running smooth as silk.
Jafo
Reply #4 Saturday, August 21, 2004 8:49 PM
Reply #4 Saturday, August 21, 2004 8:49 PM
| Oh and as far as the "resource hog" deal, where did that story start? |
Combination of things....back in the very early days, long befor WinXP, [or even 2000], WB in its infancy was like any pre-beta sort of thing....would fall over now and then. [I know proggies that have been around for a decade or so in commercial release that still trip up often].
WB moved on from those early days and with the advent of XP went from strength to strength....only problem was that XP's inherent 'skinning engine' enabled a simplistic 'alternative' proggy [for want of a better term] to evolve as 'competition' to the established Stardock product.
Now there's 'competition' and then there's 'competition'....and the one we got was the 'let's spread lies to knobble the established so we get a foot-hold in the marketplace' type.
They were also the 'our alternative will always be free, ergo better' crowd that clearly had a short memory.....albeit nous as a marketing ploy.....suck 'em in with lies and blind them with the price [lack of], then when the fish is hooked...up the fee.
Unfortunately, anyone misguided through apathy or ignorance who chose the wrong 'skinning' option generally did nothing more than to add to the misconceptions to their own detriment and that of those who followed.
The simple reality is that Windowblinds is the only option for real freedom in skin creation.....far more options, ergo far more diversity in styles.
The 'opposition' [their mind-set, not ours] counter that 'minimalism' is the ideal....however that is due to their inability to create anything but minimalism due to the inherent limitations of their 'product'.
Guess that about covers it....
werewolf
Reply #5 Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:04 AM
Reply #5 Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:04 AM
What a great story!! Nice to see some positive impressions posted here. Thanks for sharing your 'conversion' story 
JeffBDVS
Reply #6 Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:12 PM
Reply #6 Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:12 PM
I create and edit videos as a side business. I also read a lot of books about the programs that are my tools, and time after time, the screenshots are of these applications running on Mac OSX. Seminars I attended used Power PCs with OSX. (Sidebar: except for one Adobe dog-and-pony show they ran Windows XP on dual Xeon 2.8s. Pretty impressive demo.) Book after book, show after show: OSX. In one of the forums I frequent, someone posted a screenshot of an XP-only app dressed in OSX colors. Naturally, I asked how he did that. StyleXP was his answer. Someone else chimed in that WB was another program that could do the same thing, but I should stay away from it because it was buggy and would slow my computer to a crawl.
So there I was...envious of computers that looked as good as they performed and headed towards a tool that could make mine pretty, too. I installed, evaluated and purchased StyleXP and proceeded to try to customize my computer. Things went mostly OK until I tried to install my first "boot screen". It locked up my computer on reboot, and things were never just quite right with the skin and icon installations after that. DriveImage saved the day and I went back to Silver Luna. I was frustrated and decided to check out that "known resource hog", WindowBlinds. One of my first visits to WC after installing the demo of WB was the day that Brad (at least I think it was Brad) posted a news brief or forum topic about the TGTSoft vs. Stardock lawsuit. I did a little research,and, despite having spent 20 bucks on StyleXP just a few days earlier, I joined the Stardock camp and bought Object Desktop. My computer's looked pretty darn good ever since! Not just pretty, but it performs, too. I'm still waiting for WB to top 1 MB of RAM usage. It looks like I may be waiting quite a while.
Jeff
So there I was...envious of computers that looked as good as they performed and headed towards a tool that could make mine pretty, too. I installed, evaluated and purchased StyleXP and proceeded to try to customize my computer. Things went mostly OK until I tried to install my first "boot screen". It locked up my computer on reboot, and things were never just quite right with the skin and icon installations after that. DriveImage saved the day and I went back to Silver Luna. I was frustrated and decided to check out that "known resource hog", WindowBlinds. One of my first visits to WC after installing the demo of WB was the day that Brad (at least I think it was Brad) posted a news brief or forum topic about the TGTSoft vs. Stardock lawsuit. I did a little research,and, despite having spent 20 bucks on StyleXP just a few days earlier, I joined the Stardock camp and bought Object Desktop. My computer's looked pretty darn good ever since!
Not just pretty, but it performs, too. I'm still waiting for WB to top 1 MB of RAM usage. It looks like I may be waiting quite a while.Jeff
paxx
Reply #7 Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:33 PM
Reply #7 Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:33 PM
Because of OS limitations, Windowblinds on Windows 95/98 machines did indeed eat a little resources. Not a whole lot, but enough to make a difference on older computers that didn't have a lot of CPU and/or RAM. I remember my old Celeron 333, I was frustrated cause I loved Windowblinds so much but ended up disabling it most of the time cause I needed every little Meg of resource my computer could spare. Things have changed with Windows XP, and now Windowblinds uses almost no resources at all. Maybe that old myth dates back from those old days though.
Maybe that old myth dates back from those old days though.
JamMeister33
Reply #8 Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:54 PM
Reply #8 Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:54 PM
I must say that the 'resource hog' story has been the most pervasive and prevalent thing I've heard since day one and not ever in my own experience has that ever proven to be true..
hangar-8
Reply #9 Monday, August 23, 2004 5:20 PM
Reply #9 Monday, August 23, 2004 5:20 PM
"I have the free OD at the top of my screen, OD+ and Objectbar at the bottom..."
I might add alscwj that you don't need the free OD to place a zoomer at the top of the screen. OD+ can handle more than one tray/dock and you have the advantage of having just the one control panel to adjust them all.
I might add alscwj that you don't need the free OD to place a zoomer at the top of the screen. OD+ can handle more than one tray/dock and you have the advantage of having just the one control panel to adjust them all.
alscwj
Reply #10 Monday, August 23, 2004 6:04 PM
Reply #10 Monday, August 23, 2004 6:04 PM
"I might add alscwj that you don't need the free OD to place a zoomer at the top of the screen. OD+ can handle more than one tray/dock and you have the advantage of having just the one control panel to adjust them all."
Thanks hanger. I actually thought about that this weekend, but although I really hated the free OD when I first downloaded it, I've sort of become quite fond of the little bugger.
I really do think that Stardock should play up the productivity of their stuff more. I would go into details with how its helped me but I'd hate to bore everyone to death. I will say that after using my PC with Stardock's apps installed I despise having to use my wife's Stardockless system.
Thanks hanger. I actually thought about that this weekend, but although I really hated the free OD when I first downloaded it, I've sort of become quite fond of the little bugger.
I really do think that Stardock should play up the productivity of their stuff more. I would go into details with how its helped me but I'd hate to bore everyone to death. I will say that after using my PC with Stardock's apps installed I despise having to use my wife's Stardockless system.
BlueDev
Reply #11 Monday, August 23, 2004 8:19 PM
Have you checked resource usage though? I haven't tried it, but perhaps just using OD+ with an additional zoomer dock would use less resources? Just a thought. And if it was a matter of losing your settings you could probably either save the .ini or just drag and drop.
Anyway, I too recently purchased ODNT and OD+ and really wish I would have done so sooner. Great products (Keyboard Launchpad has become my new best friend!).
Reply #11 Monday, August 23, 2004 8:19 PM
| I actually thought about that this weekend, but although I really hated the free OD when I first downloaded it, I've sort of become quite fond of the little bugger. |
Have you checked resource usage though? I haven't tried it, but perhaps just using OD+ with an additional zoomer dock would use less resources? Just a thought. And if it was a matter of losing your settings you could probably either save the .ini or just drag and drop.
Anyway, I too recently purchased ODNT and OD+ and really wish I would have done so sooner. Great products (Keyboard Launchpad has become my new best friend!).
Kevin_C
Reply #12 Monday, August 23, 2004 8:40 PM
Reply #12 Monday, August 23, 2004 8:40 PM
I gotta say, after that title and the beginning of the message I was starting to get a bit miffed, and then I noticed that this message was from a person who actually did the footwork for themselves instead of buying into the crap that some people still spread all over newsgroups of various other sites.. The main offender is ChiChiGirl who had a disagreement with Brad and instead of handling things like an adult she decided to jump the fence and start spreading the resource hog story with the rest of the zealots. I must say that seeing some of the best MSStyle authors slowly move into creating WB skins is more proof of WB's capabilities than all the FUD in the world can disprove.. Anywho, I've gotten long winded so I'll end my rant with a simple Welcome Aboard alscwj, hope you enjoy your SD apps as long as I have!
BoXXi
Reply #13 Monday, August 23, 2004 11:07 PM
Reply #13 Monday, August 23, 2004 11:07 PM
I've been thinking about this, and I decided that, even if Stardocks programs did slow my computer to a crawl, (which they don't) I would still use them because I just love the way my system looks with all these apps running, and the alternative is just unthinkable. 
When I first started using Stardock programs I was running Win95 on a 233 PII, and still managed to create the majority of my 360+ uploads to this site on that system, so, it can't have been that bad, even back then. My new super-duper computer never misses a beat these days, and I run everything I can get my hands on! But, as I said at the beginning, I would still run all the programs regardless of performance. 
hangar-8
Reply #14 Tuesday, August 24, 2004 5:18 AM
Reply #14 Tuesday, August 24, 2004 5:18 AM
"I really do think that Stardock should play up the productivity of their stuff more."
OD+ has seen me dump the windows taskbar/tray permanently. 1 Drawer at the top and a zoomer at the bottom with a start menu docklet. Not only do I have access to all I need quickly, but I gained a little more screen for doing design work and layout
OD+ has seen me dump the windows taskbar/tray permanently. 1 Drawer at the top and a zoomer at the bottom with a start menu docklet. Not only do I have access to all I need quickly, but I gained a little more screen for doing design work and layout
alscwj
Reply #15 Tuesday, August 24, 2004 3:42 PM
Reply #15 Tuesday, August 24, 2004 3:42 PM
Yeah, I haven't seen my windows taskbar in a while now. I'm a land surveyer and the extra screen space helps when I'm doing my drawings. Since I work in several counties, I have a lot of county road maps in pdf format. Before, being the unorganized redneck that I am, I would always have to go to windows explorer, find the folder I have them in, find the map I'm wanting, then load it. With OD+ I've got all the maps set up in a fly out menu so all I have to do is click the map icon that I made then "BANG"...click the map I want.
And BlueDev, so far resource usage hasn't been a problem. I agree the the Keyboard Launchpad is a nifty toy.
And BlueDev, so far resource usage hasn't been a problem. I agree the the Keyboard Launchpad is a nifty toy.
Rocky Nimda
Reply #16 Tuesday, August 24, 2004 8:15 PM
I too used to be a land surveyor. For about 10 years, I worked in the mining industry as a land surveyor. Mining had so many layoffs, I decided to make a career change. I now am a UNIX Systems Administrator.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but you are the first land surveyor I have seen on this site.
By the way, I too have had about the same experience as you with Stardock. I have been an owner of ObjectDesktop for about 9 months now. I love it.
Reply #16 Tuesday, August 24, 2004 8:15 PM
| I'm a land surveyer |
I too used to be a land surveyor. For about 10 years, I worked in the mining industry as a land surveyor. Mining had so many layoffs, I decided to make a career change. I now am a UNIX Systems Administrator.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but you are the first land surveyor I have seen on this site.
By the way, I too have had about the same experience as you with Stardock. I have been an owner of ObjectDesktop for about 9 months now. I love it.
alscwj
Reply #17 Wednesday, August 25, 2004 3:53 PM
Reply #17 Wednesday, August 25, 2004 3:53 PM
Rocky, there's times that I wish that I could say that I "used" to be a surveyor. Especially lately. My problem is that I've been doing this for so long (about 19 years now) that I don't really know how to do much else. I did take a programming course several years ago, but I can't remember a thing from it. I think I can still spell it though: C+.
A couple of years ago there was an article on mine surveying in one of the trade mags. It looked like some wile stuff. I work in SE Georgia so I get to wade swamps and fight "skeeters", gnats, snakes, gators, and wild hogs.
A couple of years ago there was an article on mine surveying in one of the trade mags. It looked like some wile stuff. I work in SE Georgia so I get to wade swamps and fight "skeeters", gnats, snakes, gators, and wild hogs.
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Reply #1 Saturday, August 21, 2004 6:15 PM
Some of the StyleXP fanboys at another site I'm on like to post about WB being a resource hog and a "bloatware".