The good news:
The tadpoles I ordered last summer (leopard frog tadpoles) arrived.

The bad news:
In several weeks they will become frogs. Leopard frogs only eat live food and it will still be Winter outside.

An updated version of WinStyles is now available. WinStyles lets you easily put together skins from various programs into suites. Use it to take a snapshot of your desktop or to upload skin suites (that you've created).

We have discovered that the skin "XP Platinum" DOES NOT FUNCTION correctly on Windows 98/ME. Please avoid using that skin. If you run into problems on it, switch to a different skin or go back to classic.

The title bar and borders are corrupted on Windows 98Frogboy with that particular skin.

The sites at the top are the founding sites of the GUI Olympics. But ANY website can be represented. It is a great way to help your favorite websites via publicity and potentially financially and it's fun.

Just click here: http://www.guiolympics.com/directory.asp

And add the flag and site you would like to represent. Note though that you cannot represent yourself.

Many of us at Stardock are strong believers in social justice. In this case, what I mean is that companies that are doing well have a moral obligation to support the communities that they exist in.

Stardock doesn't exist really in a physical community (I doubt the citizens of Canton Michigan or Livonia Michigan even know we exist). But it does exist in a virtual community that goes by many names and has many definitions based on who you talk to.

WindowBlinds 3 has been a success. A huge success. But its success and Stardock's in general is supported by a great deal of websites that usually run by volutneers who give freely to others with no thought to themselves. So how can a company that exists in such a community give something back and do so in a fun yet productive way?

The 2002 GUI Olympics.

It's not your typical contest. Instead, we created a brand new website called www.guiolympics.com. A neutral site. Then we got together with most of the major skin sites (and I did contact every major one) to have a combined WindowBlinds contest.

In this contest, Stardock is going to give out potentially over $10,000 in cash and prizes. Users who submit skins also choose a website they want to represent. The cash is split between the user and the website they represent. There's enough cash to pay for a lot of bandwidth for the coming year. And enough cash to go on a pretty nice vacation for the author too depending on how well they do (or at the very least, get a few nice things).

Anyone can join and you can represent any site that you don't own EXCEPT for WinCustomize and Stardock since we're involved in running it. Volunteers from WinCustomize (our VOLUNTEER moderators like Alexandrie, Treetog, etc.) are free to enter and represent whatever sites they choose. I don't know who they'll represent but it should be interesting.

Since there are so many awards involved, anyone who enters in a decent skin standsa a pretty good chance of winning SOMETHING. And they stand to help the website in question out.

Good luck and I hope to see as many WinCustomize users participate (representing other sites of course) as possible.

If you have any questions, post them here.

Skin authors from around the world are asked to pick a website to represent and join in on the ultimate WindowBlinds skinning contest. Over $10,000 in cash and prizes are being given out in over 75 different award categories. Pick up a copy of SkinStudio (http://www.skinstudio.net) and WindowBlinds 3.1 (http://www.windowblinds.net). Some of the websites involved will have branded versions of WindowBlinds & SkinStudio shortly. Since there are so many award categories, there is a high chance of winning something by submitting a decent skin.

So what the heck is skinning and why has it become so popular in the past couple of years? Read on to see not just a look at skinning but how far it's come in the past few years.

Let's deal with this as a FAQ:

Q: What websites can I represent?

A: You can represent any website you would like EXCEPT for WinCustomize and Stardock since they are involved in running this contest. Additionally, you may not represent a website that you yourself own. Otherwise, you can represent any site you'd like. By default we have added some of the founding and supporting community sites to choose from (see the community links to the left). To add more, click on the word "Community" and it will take you to the website submission page.

Q: Do I have to create an account here?

A: The account system is shared by WinCustomize. If you have an account with WInCustomize.com just use that. Otherwise, go ahead and create an account.

Q: How do I get started?

A: First decide which website you want to represent. With $10,000 in cash and prizes with half the cash being reserved for the websites, choose the website you wish to support. Note that you can represent multiple site (1 site per skin but if you upload 10 skins you could have each skin represent a different site, you make your choice when you submit your skin). If you've never made a skin before, fear not, it's relatively easy. You'll want to download a copy of SkinStudio and WindowBlinds. A special version of it for the contest will be available shortly ONLY for those who are going to be submitting skins.

Q: When does the contest start?

A: It starts now. But submissions will not be displayed until Feburary 1st and judging won't happen until later in February. There are over a dozen different events so if you submit something decent, there's a good chance you'll win something. Click on the About link on the left side of this page to find out the details.

Q: How are entries going to be judged?

A: In mid Feburary, the first event will be up for juding. Users will get to vote on what their favorite skin for that category (first one is "Most cheerful skin" on February 18). The final decision will rest in the hands of around a dozen judges who will look at the user vote and then decide. These judges are made up of the Admins of the major skin websites and news sites that cover skinning heavily as well as representatives from Stardock.

Q: How many skins can I submit and how many people can represent a website?

A: There are no limits.


Q: I want to support the GUI Olympics! What can I do?

A: Grab this banner https://www.stardock.com/temp/guibanner.gif and have it link to this website.

The popular OS reporting site, OSNews has uncovered some screenshots that apparently show that BeOS 6 was well under way and that BeIA has some promise in the future as a palm OS.

http://susceptor.subnett.no/nils/beos/