Check out this relatively new site: SkinEdge!

Neowin (www.neowin.net) has an exclusive sneak look at the latest Longhorn beta. Check it out.

Next week: CursorXP 1.3. Which works on limited user accounts, supports hyperthreaded systems, better, faster shadows, and uses less memory.

Week after: ObjectBar 1.6 which supports the new MCP so that when you boot up your system it's already set up nicely. Uses less memory and is easier to use.

Following week: The next generation version of SkinStudio. Version 3 has a MUCH easier to use interface, supports the new features of WindowBlinds 4, and allows for editing multiple skins at once.

Also in March is the release of the replacement to old Component Manager. Stardock Central.

Screenshots:
https://www.stardock.com/products/sdcentral/sdc-mar03.jpg
https://www.stardock.com/products/sdcentral/sdc-mar03a.jpg

It'll let you keep track of all your stuff from a central location and has chat and eventually message boards built in (And if you have a WC subscription we plan to eventually detect that and integrate skin downloads into it as well).

And then, last week of March, WindowBlinds version 4. Not only does it now skin all of Windows XP, but it now skins various dialogs and the command prompt! But a lot of people are talking about the performance of WindowBlinds 4. On many skins, it approaches classic in speed. In third party benchmarks it's more than twice as fast as WindowBlinds 3 and msstyles in moving and resizing windows and it is much faster than WindowBlinds 3.

All of this for THIS month. And to top it all off, the first episode of Stardock TV should show up this month!

If you don't have Object Desktop or want to renew:
https://www.stardock.com/order.asp?product=objectdesktop

The current issue is being mailed to subscribers but since it IS Feb 28 we thought we better put up the announcement...

In this month's issue:
+ A first look at Stardock Central!
+ The Skin Patching Debate
+ A review of Konfabulator
+ The Commercialization of the Internet
+ Microsoft Longhorn: Skinning the next generation?
+ "The Recruit" uses Object Desktop for its computer screens
and more!

Check it out at:
https://www.wincustomize.com/wcmag/feb2003/

For THREE years now this crazy bird has been attacking our back window. THREE years. I've been posting here about the war between the bird and us during that time.

We've tried everything. I've put up pictures of owls. Closed the shades, chased after the bird in just my shorts in the winter.

The bird has won. Next month we are moving to a new house. Screw you bird!

If you check Object Desktop CM/SDCentral you will see the MCP Core module. (MCP = Master Control Program).

This is a new component that will eventually be integrated into SDCentral when you install it.

What does it do? In a nutshell it manages (or will manage) the running Object Desktop components and eventually be opened up so that third parties can make use of it as well. And it only uses 156K of RAM so it has virtually no overhead.

For example, one part of MCP is called the Startup Manager. A program that supports the MCP will let the MCP control its launch when you boot your machine.

For years now, you boot your machine and if you have DesktopX and ObjectBar (for instance) set to load on start up what happens? You see your explorer desktop and then a bunch "stuff" happening that looks really crummy and confusing as these programs alter your desktop and worse, slow down your boot time.

With MCP, when you logon to your machine it coordiantes your various programs that are trying to load so that they load quicker and when you see your desktop, it is already set up how you want.

The first Object Desktop component to use MCP is ObjectBar 1.6A which is now available for download. You'll need to install the MCP/ObjectBar and then reboot to see its effects.

The MCP has many other capabilities such as managing system hooks. Eventually there will only need to be a couple system hooks total rather than each program having its own (slowing down the system). If third parties make use of this, it will allow users to customize their computers much more thoroughly without a system hook speed hits.

The next beta of DesktopX 2 will also make use of this. And we hope for WinStyles to be able to make use of this so that when you apply a new theme, it can be done without the user having to see a bunch of inelegant desktop switching occuring.

We hope you like it. There's a lot of exciting new technologies about to be released onto Object Desktop this year. This one is one of the more interesting ones we think.

Coolplayer is a small but very good skinnable MP3 player. We have 156 skins for it here. The new version enhances hot key support and more volume options.

http://home.att.net/~slugbutter/evil/

We took a look at Konfabulator, a new program for MacOS X that could be described as DesktopX for MacOS X. This article is one of the many new ones in the works for this month's issue of WinCustomize Magazine which will be out later this week.

You can get WinCustomize Magazine by creating an account here (free) and clicking on the subscribe to WinCustomize Magazine checkbox.

So says an interesting article as NewsForge.com