We've completed our migration to the new server. Things should be noticeably faster now.

Our next step is to update the forum software which will take a couple of weeks.  These changes affect all of Stardock's sites (not just galciv2.com). Stay tuned.

Spring is here and skinning continues abreast.  The GUI Championships, the multi-website skinning contest has had to be postponed while we improve WinCustomize's infrastructure.  The slow speeds and such are a real headache.  Sometimes it's lightning fast, other times it's incredibly slow.  It's all very frustrating and, as you can imagine, very difficult to debug.

But cool stuff keeps getting made. BootSkin continues to thrive. I haven't tried it on Windows Vista yet to see if it works but if not, it shouldn't be too hard to update it.  Stardock actually had nearly finished a high-resolution, true color BootSkin that could support true animations but Microsoft hired the lead developer in the last weeks of coding. Unfortunately, since it was all written in assembly, it was abandoned.  I think a perpetual beta of it floats around for Object Desktop users. But I'm continually amazed at what people can do with 16 colors on the boot screens.

JJ Ying, one of the world's most popular skinners, continues to expand his gallery. I have to say that people like JJ Ying and many others help bring the world together.  According to our stats, China is home to a significant percentage of the WinCustomize.com population.  JJ Ying's Halo Cursors are particularly cool.

Windows Vista's cursors are pretty much the same as Windows XP.  So expect there to be a "CursorVista" when the time comes.  There may be additional things we'll be able to on Windows Vista thanks to the 3D engine that is part of Vista's desktop.

Have you ever read the Dune series? The first book was great. The second book was good. The third book was..well the first two books were definitely worth reading. NetBadger has been in the process of putting together a Dune based suite. If you're a fan of the series, it's definitely worth checking out on his personal page.

In about a week Galactic Civilizations II v1.2 will be officially released.  Besides having a bunch of cool new UI enhancements, improved computer players, and tons of tweaks and enhancements, the game will include advanced modding features.  As part of this we are including an example mod that changes everything from who you play against, your technology tree, the actual game interface, and more. It's designed to give players an idea of just some of the things that are possible.  Full documentation on the modding will be provided as well as a new library here on GalCiv2.com for people to submit their mods for other people to use.

For users, selecting a mod is very straight forward. From the options area, simply select the one you want. 

And now for the change log..

Changes from 1.2 Beta 2 over Beta 1:

WinCustomize.com has continued to grow in popularity which in turn has resulted in increasing problems with scaling.  The problem is one that long-time users are very familiar with -- income from the site via ads and subscriptions does not grow linearly with traffic.  We don't want to kick people off, we want to instead reward people for supporting us more.

So what are we doing? What do we have in store?

First, let me say that the next 18 months will, in my opinion, be the most significant months in skinning EVER.  A lot of cool stuff is thanks to projects going on with Microsoft that I can't talk about.  But Windows Vista is going to offer a lot of opportunities for skinners.  Stardock itself is working on a bunch of new programs to that end.  We're in the calm before the storm.

And right now is the time for WinCustomize to get its act together.  The pathetic performance, the random error messages, etc. These are all things that are the result of having millions of people visiting but not having the people or infrastructure to handle it.  This summer, we're going all out to solve this.

Phase #1: New Master Database

The first phase will begin next Wednesday. T-man will do a warning announcement about it.  On Wednesday we move to a new master database server. It is the MCP of our system you could say. All mirrors originate from this server.  The one we have is pretty decent but it's become overwhelmed.  The new server is the fastest, most powerful computer I've ever dealt with.  It has 8 cores. 64-bit. 12 gigs of RAM.  And a lot of new code to make the most of it is being put on-line.

So on Wednesday, we expect to switch over.  Such a switch is going to almost certainly have issues so Wednesday and Thursady are likely to be bumpy on all of Stardock's sites and services.

Phase #2: Site Optimizations

The second phase will involve a set of site optimizations. The home page will be redone on the backend. I don't know about you but often I click on my WC link and it takes 10 seconds for the site to show up.  This will go away with a new backend change to how the home page is handled.   It has already been done on GalCiv2.com so you can see how fast that site comes up even though it is actually more complex in some ways.

Phase #3: Site Layout changes

The forums are going to be re-designed to be easier to navigate and use.  This is going to put us on the path of what is called the WC2K7 project which is the next generation version of the site. 

More information will be available via someone's profile such as what they've recently done so you can interact with each other more.

Once this is done, we will take a break and do the GUI Olympics (GUI Championships 2006).  That will take up about a month and a half then we'll get back to the site.

Phase #4: WinCustomize 2K7

The goal (not promise) is to have 2K7 done by the end of this year -- BEFORE Windows Vista.  A lot of new features and skinining types will be added to the new system.

For skinners, a major change will occur.  Skinners who achieve MASTER access will have the right to sell their skins directly on WinCustomize.com.   If you are familiar with DesktopGadgets.com that was essentially an experiment for us to see if we could put together a system to do it on a small scale. This would be done on a large scale.

Of course, to get MASTER access skinners would have to work their way up (Citizen->Apprentice->Master Apprentice->Journeyman->Master).  And to do that will require lots of skins and themes and such.  So don't worry, WC won't suddenly become full of premium skins.  And in fact, as history has shown with Pixtudio and others, commercial skinning has generated a good chunk of the free skins and commercial skinners help build their reputations with free content. 

The skinner will name their price and then split the net income 50/50.  If the user is a WinCustomize subscriber, they will get a 20% discount on the price of that skin.  In this way, skinners can earn some income from their skins and WinCustomize can hopefully generate enough revenue to hire more people to improve the overall quality of service. A true win-win situation (right now WC is a significant drain on Stardock even if you count half its costs as "marketing"). 

At present, WinCustomize only survives because of volunteer admins (like Jafo) and the volunteer moderators.  I think most regulars would agree that it would be good if some people (starting with the volunteers) could have the option to actually work on WinCustomize full-time to help make it a better place.

Phase #5: Windows Vista Era begins

The new programs from Stardock and new features Microsoft is working on that we're either extending or in themselves provide customization opportunities will create whole new sections on WinCustomize and help greatly expand the scope of the site beyond what we have today.

What is it with bad things happening in groups?

The "Foghorn" server died today. That's the main web manager for WinCustomize.com. When it's down, WinCustomize is quasi-down because the DNS has to be set to go to another manager.  So we're up but not really fully up.  The other servers are now taking more load and they're already stressed.

Meanwhile, back at Stardock HQ, the team was barely able to do much about this because its ISP went down (and still is down as I write this) so that no one at Stardock could actually get on from the office. Totally unrelated.

Next Wednesday the new mega server we've been talking about will finally go on line.  Weeks and weeks of prep work has been going on to prepare the way for the monster to come on-line.  It will be interesting to see how much difference it makes.

Anyway, stay tuned. Sorry about the flakeyness today.

Why is it that the group that claims tolerance and open-mindedness as its mantra so intolerant and close minded in practice? What I speak of is the political left's tendency to interject their political beliefs into every venue that they can while at the same time, actively working to prevent those who disagree with them from having the ability to express their beliefs.

If I watch the MTV Music Awards, I can expect to have some left-winger denounce the war in Iraq.  If I was the Oscars, I can expect to be treated to more anti-US policy rhetoric along with some environmentalist ranting from someone who gets around by personal jet. If I watch Comedy Central or go to a concert or buy a music album or even play an on-line game without someone telling me that their point of view (always the left-wing point of view) is the only "correct" view and those who disagree with them are mean or cruel or more commonly "ignorant".

On PowerUser.TV, we recently discussed how an anti-war protester was protesting in the video game "America's Army" (a game made by the US military as a game/recruitment tool).  My response was that that user has every right to do that.  But I did note the irony that the US military allows the protester their say while left-wingers work nation wide to ban military recruiters from publicly funded campuses.  Tolerance, apparently, is a one-way street.

During the segment, I argued that this sort of thing tends to backfire because it is just another example of anti-war opponents trying to shove their views down the throats of everyone else and few people like that. I mentioned that I happen to support US action and that there had been some pretty positive results in Iraq that seem to be forgotten (20 million people no longer living under Saddam, free elections, etc.).  I never implied that I supported US action because I thought we should "liberate" Iraq. 

In response, on the PowerUser.TV comments a number of people complained about my beliefs.  In fact, they universally used the word "ignorant" to describe my views.  Apparently, ones knowledge on a subject is dependent on how closely your opinion matches that of a left-winger.  The more you disagree with a left-winger, the more ignorant you are.

The left loves that word "ignorant". It is their way of smugly dismissing people's opinions without having to really consider them.  The people insulting me on PowerUser.TV don't know me. They have no idea how much I know or don't know.  All they know is that I mentioned, very briefly, that I happen to support US military action in Iraq. That's it.  That was enough for them to decide that I'm "ignorant".

Anyone who has bothered to look into my background, what I've done and written and especially anyone who knows me personally I suspect will conclude that I'm not "ignorant".  The problem with so many on the left is that they cannot accept that intelligent, well educated, well informed people might have seen the same things they've seen and come to different conclusions.

If I discuss that topic with people who disagree with my conclusions about liberals/left-of-center people, I usually get some sort of moral equivalence argument. Someone will point out Fox News or some right-wing whacko.  If you point out Michael Moore you get Ann Coulter thrown in your face.  But the pattern is usually something that can most charitably be described as "Look at these hundreds of examples" with moral equivalence being "Oh  yea, here's a counter example" as if that makes the two things equal. 

You would be hard pressed to find truly equivalent examples of right-of-center people forcing their views on others. A left-winger watching Nascar doesn't have to worry about one of the drivers coming out and saying "And those of you who don't support the war, you are ignorant cowards."  Even during the heated recent election, right-wing celebrities didn't go on and say "Yea, the John Kerry is a fucking idiot." (the way several celebrities did to Bush or Bush supporters). 

And as we see on that PowerUser.TV thread, it's not me or right-wingers going on and saying how ignorant or cowardly or stupid or uneducated left-wingers are.  What's really ironic is that the left's response to the segment proves the point.  Center of right people (such as myself) are regularly subjected to left of center dogma in inappropriate venues. But we don't riot about it. We don't try to shout down those who do it. We get annoyed about it and that's about it.  That I even mentioned my position (not even making a much of a case for or against the war in Iraq) brought out more posts than any show we've had all using the word "ignorant" and some of them saying things like "Well those people protesting the war are just trying to wake you up."

Apparently, some opinions are simply the "correct" opinions. Those who disagree are "ignorant" and need to be educated. Incorrect opinions need to be subverted, buried, hidden and those who have those opinions shouted down and shamed.  The problem with that strategy, in a democracy, is that the voters tend to have the last laugh. Americans don't take kindly to bullies.

Microsoft has embraced gadgets.  Gadgets are essentially the same as widgets.  In Stardock's DesktopX, gadgets are widgets that are "stand alone" (i.e. effectively the same as programs).

One cannot ignore Microsoft's entry onto the stage.  The popular widget-enabling program, Konfabulator, was bought up by Yahoo and turned into Yahoo Widgets.

Stardock isn't terribly interested in being bought up, but we will be embracing and extending Microsoft's gadget platform.  Microsoft's gadget platform currently allows its content to run on the Windows Vista sidebar as well as be able to be placed on web pages.  Their gallery of gadgets shows some of the content already. On a website such as Live.com you can then add those gadgets to your website.

Personally, having gadgets on a web page reminds me of The Simpsons episode where Homer discovers the Internet and ends up making a home page full of flying toasters, dancing babies, and other junk.  By making Microsoft gadgets be able to run on both the desktop and on the web I fear you'll end up with the least common demonitator in gadgets being created. 

Stardock's plans for DesktopX make use of Microsoft's gadgets but go in a different direction.  The biggest problem we have with Microsoft's gadgets is that they are a pain to create, even with the SDK.  The problem isn't so much the tools but rather the same kinds of problems DesktopX anbd Konfabulator users have discovered over the years -- making a widget or gadget requires re-inventing the wheel each time.

What Stardock will be doing is creating software and technologies that act as libraries for gadgets. That is, make it so that gadget makers (or even entire desktop makers) can plug into their creations modules that already contain the necessary code for some function that they can then send inputs into. So making a clock or an RSS feed or some other common gadget would be the starting point rather than the end point.

Stay tuned...

Windows Vista is still a ways off and while we are all excited to upgrade to it when it comes out, to satisfy your Windows Vista appetite for now, Gamespot has an article up that talks about many cool ways (including WindowBlinds and ObjectDock) to turbo-charge your Windows XP experience.

When we said you could mod Galactic Civilizations II, we meant it.  And one of the features of 1.2 will be the example mod.  The first beta has an early stab at it but it will be in beta 2 (this week) that more meat comes into play for the mod.  One might argue that we went overboard with our example mod as it is arguably a mini-expansion pack unto itself.  These mods could be done by anyone mind you. There is no coding involved.  Below are two screenshots of alternative game interfaces that will be with th emod so you can get an idea of what is possible.

v1.2 will be FREE to all Galactic Civilizations II players.