We're getting the finishing touches on DesktopX 2.1 out there. It's pretty exciting all the new things you can do with it. And finally it's pretty clear what the advantage are the different versions are:

When exporting an object you now have 3 options, two of which are new. 

The first option is to export it as a packaged object. That's been around since day 1 and isn't new. Packaged objects are what people upload to WinCustomize.

The second option is brand new with DesktopX 2.1. You can export your object as a program (.exe) that uses DesktopX as its run time. These are called widgets. You don't have to have DesktopX running to use widgets. You just have to have it installed on your system in order to make use of the DLLs it adds to your system. Loading a widget is just like running any other program except you have to first have DesktopX installed somewhere. This option requires the enhanced version of DesktopX 2.1 though (either via Object Desktop or on its own).

The third option is from DesktopX Pro and is for software developers. It lets you export the object as a stand-alone program. Literally a single EXE is created that you can give to anyone. No support DLLs at all. Just the EXE which does it all. What's really amazing is how small the EXE is. The overhead is only a few hunded K space wise (this is where a huge amount of effort went in -- to make sure that these stand alone programs would be small and tight). DesktopX Pro, however, is $499 ($129 for non-commercial use). If you are thinking "$129? $499 woha that's too much" you're not the target audience then. You would definitely not want to hear about DesktopX Enterprise which we sell for $10k to $30k depending on the licensing options.

I am using DesktopX Pro here and having a blast making goodies with it. Here's one I made tonight:

That's my son Ryan.  It's actually configurable within the object (see the little button in the bottom right?). So I export this as a stand alone program and send it off to the grand parents. I'm so cool.

Here's the DesktopX home page: http://www.desktopx.net

DesktopX 2.1 will be out next week. You can buy it now and you'll get 2.1 next week. The Pro version can be found here: http://www.desktopx.net/pro.asp