From the day we migrated from OS/2 to Windows, every new version of Windows meant Microsoft was going to lift some ideas for the next version of the OS from Object Desktop. And we would have to adapt. 

Think I exaggerate?

Look at Object Desktop for OS/2 (which was developed prior to Windows 95) with its ZIP files that worked as folders, DesktopX with its widgets and gadgets, Control Center with its side bar of “gadgets”, GUI Skins (where uxtheme.dll so blatantly borrowed from that it until Windows 7, it had bugs that were carried over from an early version of WindowBlinds in how it did hooks), Smart File Dialog which allows users to add short-cuts and favorites to their file dialog, Enhanced Folders which added an address line to what we today call Explorer windows, and on and on and on. And that doesn’t begin to touch what they borrowed from MacOS.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re not complaining. When you make successful OS enhancements, it’s natural that some of them will wind up in the next version of the OS.  As some OS/2 users may recall, Stardock designed the OS/2 Warp 4 desktop for IBM even though we knew we’d have to release a new version of Object Desktop since were were obsoleting ourselves.

Based on Windows 8, which no one can doubt is very much pure Microsoft innovation, we’re going to really miss the days of embrace and extend.

Screenshots

Object Desktop for OS/2, first beta release – 1993 and Object Desktop 2.0 in 1996

Microsoft Windows in 1993 and Windows 95 in 1996.

Windows 8 Preview: It’s certainly…original

Object Desktop has evolved greatly over the past two decades.

In its original OS/2 incarnation, it was designed to be a subtle, but important, upgrade to the OS. 

When it migrated to Windows, it helped spark the “skinning” revolution where users used it to radically alter the look and feel of Windows.

Here in 2012, Object Desktop has again begun returning to its roots of providing important but often subtle improvements. Let’s look at the above screenshot:

• WindowFX 5 will provide, amongst many many other features, the ability to hide icon text for those who want to get rid of “screen dirt”
• Fences 2 will let users have folders displayed as Fences on the desktop
• DeskScapes continues to let users have visually more interesting wallpapers that animated, change based on time, or are enhanced visually in other ways
• Tiles takes the concept of “virtual desktops” and merges it with the better design concepts of Metro to allow users to create “pages” of tasks.
• and of course WindowBlinds allows users to change the look and feel of the Windows GUI. You can still make radical changes if you’d like (make Windows look like a Mac, for example) but most users these days use it to simply make Aero a bit more usable and personalized.

Visit www.objectdesktop.com to learn more. When you buy Object Desktop, you get everything that’s in it now plus all the things we make new for it or update for the forthcoming year.

I got my Chevy Volt last year. And 3,000+ miles and 6 gallons of gas later I had to fill it up today. I still had nearly half a tank.

Today, when I went to drive to work, I got a warning that my gas was going stale and that it would burn the remainder of my gas.  This was different from previous alerts that told me it was going to run the engine to keep the gas mixed.  So it turns out that the gas only will stay in there for about a year (it was the gas I got from the dealer when I bought it in April 2011).

Love the car.  It’s so well engineered on the interior, I wish my other cars had interiors as well done as the Volt (other cars being a BWM X5 and Porsche 911 Turbo – 997 edition).  With its seamless iPhone integration, terrific navigation system – colorful map supports both touch and panel control, middle drawer that has a hole sized perfectly to fit an iPod coord through, and a hatchback perfect for taking cargo.

The Volt isn’t a hot rod by any means but it is very peppy, far peppier than most cars in its price range. Great car.

Here are some screenshots of fantasy strategy games that I’ve played over the years (or ones I’m interested in). What is cool is how visually different they all are from one another.

Fallen Enchantress (beta):

War of Magic:

Fall from Heaven:

Warlock: Master of the Arcane (beta):

Heroes of Might and Magic VI:

Conquest of Elysium 3

Disciples 3: Renaissance

Age of Wonders 2: Shadow Magic:

Dominions 3:

Master of Magic:

I’ve spent weeks trying to figure out why I was getting “Error downloading content” messages from Apple TV as well as aborted download attempts on my iPad and even my Mac and PCs.

Eventually, after a lot of effort, I traced it to the IPS feature on my router.  Disabled that feature and all worked well.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion transmits intro cinematic | Joystiq

Sins Of A Solar Empire: Rebellion Cinematic Video - G4tv.com

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Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion Trailer

Stupidest thing ever. - Sharky Forums

Confrontation is now available on Steam, Sins of a Solar Empire ...

Stardock’s Jon Shafer has a great article on game design that has been spreading like wild-fire around the Internet.

With regards to the strategy genre in particular, restrictions on unit movement is one of the best examples of how limitations can make a game better. The inability of land units to enter water is why ships are so valuable – and just plain cool. Gaining access to new units with unique ‘powers’ is a major motivation for many players. Just like in economics, scarcity is what drives value – the fact that most units are unable to perform certain actions is what makes the few which can so much fun.

Movement restrictions also show that there’s a place for even permanent limits. An example from the Civ series is how mountains became impassable for the first time in Civ 4. It’s a subtle change that very few players would point to as a major innovation, but even something small like this helps breathe life into the map. Instead of mountain ranges being just another part of the map with a slight movement penalty, they suddenly transformed into true barriers that now require serious consideration.

Read the whole thing here.

The setup

Ladies…and gentlemen…

I give you the battle of the afternoon…

In this corner, we have the latest incarnation of the Quendar ruler, Mangar. This slave powered Empire seeks to bring the rest of the world under their domination.

And…

In this corner, we have Markin, leader of the Kingdom of Gilden. The blood of the Ironeers make them hardy and enduring. Their love of metal and resistance to magic make them the ideal counter to the dark sorcery of Magnar.

Magar: The world’s only hope for justice, order, security

The propaganda game, War of Magic failed for one simple reason: The good people recognize it for what it was, a slander on the honor of the Quendar, the mightiest, most noble and most far sighted race in the world. Other weak excuses have been given, but these are lies given by Men looking to hide their unearned superiority complex. Wise and perceptive beings can easily recognize the inherent unfairness in labeling other races as “Fallen”.

There is nothing “Fallen” about the Quendar – particularly as they manifest themselves in the Empire of Magnar.  Led by an unbroken chain of Quendar emperors since the time of Curgen, the vigorous enforcement of order in a post-cataclysm world makes the wisdom of the Empire more important than ever.

Today, we will discuss the destruction of the wretched Ironeers who make up the so-called Kingdom of Gilden.

By the 50th season of the war…

Two cities have been founded and Magnar leads his mighty army of champions and slaves across the world.

Tactical battle: Mangar vs. Gilden

A key battle in the war, Magnar’s heroic army against the Ironeer scum.

The leader of the Gilden army has 8 spells but only Flame Wave and Gift of Iron concern Magnar.

By contrast, Magnar has many options available.

And now…

A late game battle…

The Ironeer chiefton himself has come out…

versus Jenna, champion of Magnar.

Some flame wave action..

As powerful as the warriors are, the fate, especially this late, comes in the form of spells and counter-spells.

Unexpectedly, their cowardly three “heroes” were able to combine their spells to overwhelm the the forces of order this time.

It was time to bring up a more powerful army…

Slaves make the best soldiers. Their lives are expendable allowing pure-Quendar to focus on more important things.

To subdue Gilden, Magnar sent his mightiest lieutenant, Vasim.

At last, we will have revenge.

The last Gasp of the Ironeers…

The foolish sovereign of Gilden thinks to attempt a rear action by personally assaulting our magnificent capital.

Little does he know he has walked into a trap.

…

Turn about

To be fair, I turned around and played as Gilden…

bug hunting

I’ve been working a lot on the AI and I re-did the way the monsters target things. People should find the AI in beta 3 quite a bit tougher than in beta 2. The build above was to verify that the new monster AI attacks players. I even found a bug with regards to the AI going after "goodie huts” (which is ironic because the AI is supposed to look at whether there’s danger around it).