Where is kol_s Vista XP skin??
Saturday, December 3, 2005 by MADMyKe | Discussion: Personal Computing
 |
|
Page 2 of 5 | |
|
|---|
Reply #22 Monday, December 5, 2005 8:12 AM
Reply #23 Monday, December 5, 2005 8:22 AM
I'm glad I have a copy of it. I was using it before I put my Christmas skin on, but will be using it after the season is over. Keep on making good skins Kol.
Reply #24 Monday, December 5, 2005 12:43 PM
I wondered why it wasn't among the list of skins in the gallery...I must admit, I don't agree with MS's logic in this. 
Reply #25 Monday, December 5, 2005 12:45 PM
People power and all that.
Reply #26 Monday, December 5, 2005 1:09 PM
Reply #27 Monday, December 5, 2005 1:15 PM
Reply #28 Monday, December 5, 2005 1:16 PM
| Same thing happend with XP, and OSX. |
Still happening with OSX....
Reply #29 Monday, December 5, 2005 1:34 PM
Well atleast they didnt take the skin off of DeviantART, i download it there. Keep up the good work KoL
[since we 'cannot' host it, we xannot have links to it, either] - Admin edit.
Reply #30 Monday, December 5, 2005 3:35 PM
Credit to Microsoft for making a popular skin. Shame it's been cloned so many times...
Reply #31 Monday, December 5, 2005 5:55 PM
| Credit to Microsoft for making a popular skin |
Indeed, they do deserve credit for the shell style.......
Not sure they receive many compliments, so this may be a rarity....
Reply #32 Monday, December 5, 2005 6:21 PM
| The theme use images from aero.msstyle and a lot of other images are created by me. |
I don't question KoL_'s skills as a creator of WindowBlinds and Visual Styles--on the contrary, Sustenance http://kol.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SkinID=4769&LibID=1&comments=1 remains an all time favorite of mine.
BUT, if we weren't dealing with Microsoft, and if people weren't so eager to have this look on their own PC's, I think this particular skin would have been labeled a rip, pure and simple, a long time ago. Images, unaltered, were taken, without permission, from someone else's creation. That is ripping, and that is what would normally upset each and every one of you.
Sure there are other skins which have stolen from the same source, and sure they deserve the same banishment. No argument there. Also, if Microsoft is upset, they should enforce their displeasure equally. But that doesn't change the basic facts which seem to have been overlooked by the community somehow.
Reply #33 Monday, December 5, 2005 6:40 PM
rabidrobot ...Kol's skin was an OS Port, in the same manner that OSX ports and BeOS ports are done. All are accepted under the guise of 'fair use', but, and it's a big 'but', when the 'owner' of the OS requests the port's removal we comply.
Apple has requested things be removed [in the past], and, as you see here so has MS.
There IS no problem with that....none at all [provided it's a unilateral removal request....in other words the owner requests ALL sites comply, to be fair for all]...
Reply #34 Monday, December 5, 2005 7:54 PM
I certainly have no argument if this tradition has an exception in the case of OS ports. I can't change, and wouldn't presume to, tradition. But if this is the way things work, I think it is a slippery slope that can only lead to confusion and animosity. If operating systems fall under a community accepted concept of fair use, will GUI's in general also fit that bill? If I wanted to cretae a style using images from Nero's Start Smart interface, which was included with my XP installation, would that also be acceptable until they noticed?
At what point does this exception kick in? Does it depend on the amount of power the entity responsible for the original images wields? It is fair to use MS or Apple owned images because no one is going to run tell them when someone does so, and they should be expected to be able to look out for their own? When someone tries to submit only slightly altered TSF images, as an example, the community polices itself.
I am all for the idea of fair use. I think the potential for great art which wears its influence on its sleeve is huge. I myself used pictures of Nikola Tesla in a (I know, not very good) skin recently. The same applies to music which samples other artists, or the work of William S. Burroghs in the area of prose.
I want only to be clear in my own mind where the line is, or barring that, just how blurry the line is. I may be missing the point entirely. Maybe the only issue here is that MS hasn't strong-armed the skin in question off of deviantArt as it did at WC. Who knows, maybe dA got the same email WC did, but simply decided not to respond; they do have a reputation for being unconcerned about rips. Or maybe MS doesn't care about dA, only WC. That would be their perogative, whether we find it fair or not, no?
Finally, I appreciate your quick, polite, and informative response above. I expected to be flamed quite miserably, and I think you may have prevented just that by keeping this on the level of honest and open discussion.
Reply #35 Monday, December 5, 2005 8:48 PM
Not trying to start something, I'm just saying that when you leave the "fanart", "fair use" area this grey, you are bound to have some people take issue. To me it would be much easier just to say that if you didn't make it, and you didn't ask permission, don't use it.
We have talented enough artists here that we can make something "feel" like a port when it really isn't. Heck, most times when one of the best artists here decide to emulate something, their version is better than the original.
Reply #36 Monday, December 5, 2005 8:50 PM
No...you won't get flamed...[we try to limit that]...
I know it does look like a double standard...and many disagree with our general approach to this issue.
The idea of 'fair-use' is applied also to, for example, creating a Litestep shortcut to launch Photoshop...by using/altering/adjusting an existing Adobe image to adapt it to something that was not thought of as a needed 'launcher' for Photoshop. Ico files, etc are not often even used in a LS GUI. Skinning a GUI is an extension of the existing OS capabilities...eg MS never had a 'rollup' button in mind when they created the min/max/close ones....so people had to 'extend' the MS style to accommodate the added function.
So....a Photoshop/Adobe - derived image used by a skinner to create a new launcher for that proggy within DX or LS, whatever ....is not a 'problem'....but it may be seen as one if it were advertised/intended as a PSP launcher....because the latter would be seen by Adobe as a mis-use of its image....being associated with a rival product.
The only drama associated with OS Ports is that 2 [or more] individuals may end up using the SAME original source and create virtually identical copies of the same 'ported' OS....then both/all are legitimate...[just some are really redundant]...
Wincustomize.com policy is that OS Ports [emulation of an alternate system to MS but on MS] is OK, as is the extension of use of a product image to new interface/launch opportunities [for that product] is fine....unless or until requested to the contrary by the original copyright holder.
The question/issue of ripping then only comes into play in those instances when it can be shown that the work/adaptation/alteration by one skinner has been used in whole or in part by another.....and without consent....
Reply #37 Tuesday, December 6, 2005 6:55 PM
Quote
"To install the horizaontal shellstyle go to SkinStudio. Then on the file menu go to Tools > WindowBlinds > Import shell style file"
i have SkinStidio Professional Version4.0.1, Build 839
and windowblinds 5 Full version
if i open skinstudio and go to tools/windowblinds i see:
1.Open Current Skin
2.Launch Windowblinds
3.Shut Down Windowblinds
4.Reload Current Skin
what am i missing here?? um lost!!
help me if you can PLEASE!! if i could help you i gladly would!
peas
cityboy
P.S. this is the 2nd time Kol's skin has been banned from this site and others......i'm sure it will be back!!!!
Reply #38 Tuesday, December 6, 2005 7:42 PM
| "To install the horizaontal shellstyle go to SkinStudio. Then on the file menu go to Tools > WindowBlinds > Import shell style file" |
You will need to open the VistaXP skin first, then the option will become available in the Tools > WindowBlinds menu - at least it is in SkinStudio Pro version 4.99[b].002, which is the current beta that supports the creation of WB5 (per-pixel blended) skins.
Reply #39 Tuesday, December 6, 2005 7:44 PM
Note - I meant "You need to open the VistaXP skin inside SkinStudio" first. 
Reply #40 Tuesday, December 6, 2005 8:01 PM
Anyone interested in having a copy can email me and I'll send you one (if Kol OK's it). As one of the best skins ever made, it's a must have.
E-mail removed by moderator
Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.
Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
- Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums and downloading skins.
- Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
- Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
- It's simple, and FREE!
|
|
Page 2 of 5 | |
|
|---|
Reply #21 Monday, December 5, 2005 8:09 AM
Because it was the best Kol! All the others are just imitations of your theme..