Object Dock Plus questions
Wednesday, September 8, 2004 by Stockholm Syndrome | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
The only thing that keeps me from ditching the taskbar in favor of OD is that I need some things in the systray. I see OD Plus has some kind of systray support, will it be able to totally replace it? Will things like, say, pop-up alerts from the systray also work from the dock? And should I buy it should I buy it?
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Reply #2 Wednesday, September 8, 2004 4:22 PM
Reply #3 Wednesday, September 8, 2004 6:57 PM
The other thing that makes me hesitate is that OD has a tendency to cause the CPU to go through the roof. Has that been resolved with Plus?
Another thing - As much as I like OB, I've been eyeing Hoverdesk, or Nextstart. I can't be using all of these things. Sheesh....... All I know is, I love not having to use the MS start menu. It's so limiting, that I just want to kiss it goodbye forever.
If money were no object..........
Reply #4 Wednesday, September 8, 2004 6:59 PM
| I need some things in the systray |
I don't know exactly what kind of thigs you use in your systray so I can only relate my experience.
I have a OD+ systray and on the whole it works well. There are a few drawing issues with the network adapter icons. I have a built-in wireless NIC as well as the internal 100bT (on the laptop) and sometimes I get 'phantom' NIC icons i.e three or more icons instead of two. When you right-click on the phantom ones they will then disappear.
Also the offline synchronisation icon will at times not be displayed - there's just an empty placeholder for it (still fully functional however). Since there are options to customise the tray icons, it may be that I've not configured it correctly.
I run 3 docks: One tabbed (in drawer mode) at the top of screen for app launching, the system tray dock (always visible) bottom left, and an autohiding running tasks (bottom centre).
The windows task bar hasn't seen the light of day on my system for quite a few weeks now.
Reply #5 Wednesday, September 8, 2004 8:36 PM
I haven't had any problems with the OD+ systray (well maybe a couple of trivial issues), I'm loving it!
I have 5 docks........ running tasks, systray, one for weather, clock, and calendar docklets, one for my favorite programs, and a tabbed dock with 8 tabs for most of my other programs.
dabe... for what it's worth, I'm running HoverDesk, Samurize, and OD+ together. 
I haven't used the Windows (dysfunctional) taskbar (other than when skinning it to finish a WB skin), since 1999. But I do have an shortcut that links to a little program called PresStart, that opens the XP startpanel, just in case.
Reply #6 Wednesday, September 8, 2004 9:10 PM
Another thing.... are NS and HD more stable than DX? I really liked DX, but it's not what I'd call crash-proof. Not that anything is, but DX is particularly unstable, in my experience, and on my tired ol' machine (old BX440 board, running at 1.2ghz thanks to a Powerleap processor, and with 512mb RAM). As soon as I get some lousy debts paid off, I'm buying a new computer, maybe within a year.
I just looked at your profile to see your desktop. Is it current? Looks nice. And, it looks like how I'd like to set up my computer - that being customized to my liking, sans MS, and of course, FUNCTIONAL!!
ObjectBar is a great program, and I don't even have to pay more money for it.
Someone mentioned plans for a new version, so I'm really looking forward to that. I'm presently running OB concurrently with OD, and I also want the systray, which some OB themes have, some don't. Bottom line..... I better start skinning soon, because that will be the way I get exactly what I want/need. 
Reply #7 Wednesday, September 8, 2004 11:02 PM
It sounds awesome, being able to have multiple docks with say, different kinds of programs, will be perfect for me. Koasati , have to agree with dabe, that desktop is very nice and a great example of how skinning can enhance function and workspace, not just looks. Sometimes it's hard to get people to understand that I don't run ObjectDesktop just for it "to look pretty"....
[Message Edited]
Reply #8 Wednesday, September 8, 2004 11:53 PM
oH geez........... I really need to update my desktop screenie. That's from January, and other than the WB skin, that's all HvD. But now I have 2 monitors, and I can't decided what to display in the shot.
dabe, I used to run NS, I made several themes for version 2.x, but around the time NS 3 came out, I got hooked on HvD. They both have free 30 day trials, so you should check them out, see for yourself.
There is the problem with HvD updates. version 3 has been in beta for more than a year due to personal matters that has side-tracked the developer. I'm one of the beta testers. He has made lots of improvements, and told me he was working on the finishing touches a couple of months ago. I need to write and ask him wazup.
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Reply #9 Thursday, September 9, 2004 12:56 AM
timbo
Reply #10 Thursday, September 9, 2004 1:00 AM
| I bought it simply for the fact i can now have as many docks as i want |
Me too!
Reply #11 Thursday, September 9, 2004 11:07 AM
Reply #12 Thursday, September 9, 2004 11:21 AM
Reply #13 Thursday, September 9, 2004 11:23 AM
I also suppose that maybe I should be starting another thread. I kinda hijacked this OD+ question thread.
Reply #14 Thursday, September 9, 2004 11:29 AM
Reply #15 Thursday, September 9, 2004 11:35 AM
| So, I still have a question about OD+. Does it affect the CPU in any significant way? No one has yet commented on that. TIA |
Sorry I meant to comment on this earlier. I'm not even getting that problem with OD anymore so I thought it had been resolved. Used to be a problem on my old installations, docklets would spike CPU to 100%.
| I also suppose that maybe I should be starting another thread. I kinda hijacked this OD+ question thread. |
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Reply #16 Thursday, September 9, 2004 11:45 AM
dabe..... as far as CPU useage with OD+ goes, I see the same thing as BlueDev.
LiteStep is a "shell replacement" (it replaces the Explorer shell). Don't even think about using it until you've read everything you can get your hands on, and then read some more. I'm serious....... this is not a desktop enhancement proggie like DX, or HvD that you can just turn off when you decide you don't want it. You have to know how to switch back to the explorer shell. I've seen a lot threads over the years started by people thinking LS has broken their computers, when it's was merely a case of them not understanding what they were doing. )
Reply #17 Thursday, September 9, 2004 11:54 AM
| LiteStep is a "shell replacement" (it replaces the Explorer shell). Don't even think about using it until you've read everything you can get your hands on, and then read some more. |
This cannot be emphasized enough. I've known people who messed up their LS theme, couldn't figure out how to get back to the explorer shell (it's not hard, you just need to know how to do it), and ended up formatting.
Reply #18 Thursday, September 9, 2004 5:52 PM
Reply #20 Thursday, September 9, 2004 10:08 PM
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Reply #1 Wednesday, September 8, 2004 3:34 PM