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1. 
   Review - XnView for Windows

   1.37 (Jul 2, 2002)

   Let me set the record straight since I work on WindowBlinds. It does NOT install hooks all over the place. Rather it uses a single system hook. Microsoft also installs a system hook. This can be easily proven - when you are running an msstyle theme, open up any process in a profiler and you will find the DLL uxtheme.dll attached to every process. That is because when you run an msstyle, all messages get filtered through uxtheme.dll. In other words, it's very inaccurate to claim that msstyles are some how more native or faster than WindowBlinds. A better description would be to say that they're bundled with XP. Instead of wblind.dll you have uxtheme.dll. So why is WindowBlinds faster? Because WindowBlinds makes use of video card acceleration for drawing whereas msstyles (currently) do not. It has to be remembered that we worked closely with Microsoft during the development of Windows XP. I can assure you, if there'd been no WindowBlinds, there'd be no msstyles, their implementation is nearly identical to WindowBlinds 2.12 (an older version of WB which had no hardware acceleration). There is also the fact that WindowBlinds can skin non-theme aware applications precisely because it isn't tied to Common Controls 6 (which we too can use when available). Ultimately, it boils down to whether the given solution meets the user's needs. Both have their good points. But please do not imply that WindowBlinds is somehow slower or less native because it's not. At its core, they are almost identical in implementation, hooks and all. WindowBlinds EXTENDS visual styles.

2. 
   Review - WebBlinds

   0.50 (Feb 12, 2001)

   Little too much lead in your paint?
   
   First off, not everyone wants to run WindowBlinds. Some people may want to skin just their browser.
   
   Second, WebBlinds changes the toolbar buttons AND the the throbber with a truly alpha blended one (which nobody on any platform has done before). Those of us who run WindowBlinds do not want to have that kind of overhead as part of the base of WindowBlinds.
   
   Third, if you actually ran the program, you would have noticed that it is FREE.
   
   And fourth, according to Stardock's website, WebBlinds eventually plans to add performance features to Internet Explorer to make it faster.

3. 
   Review - DesktopX

   0.60 (Dec 12, 2000)

   Let's make sure we're on the same page. The themes can be system independent but many theme authors don't realize that and hard code paths to programs on their system. The point of the program isn't that you would want to switch your desktop every single day, the point is that you can create a desktop optimized to your specific uses.
   
   A theme is a starting point and it doesn't take "hours" to "tweak it". In fact, what most users do is start out with a clean desktop and slowly add OBJECTS to it. (remember, there are objects and themes). You could use DX, for instance, to simply have a CPU/memory monitor on your desktop and nothing else (and it would use less RAM than a stand alone CPU/Monitor probably). Or as just a email checker or some other basic usage. Or you could use it to design the desktop you want to use for yourself and use a Theme or a collection of objects as a STARTING POINT to building that. Themes are, ultimately, OTHER PEOPLE's desktops that they are sharing and thus are designed for their own use.
   
   If you're happy with just having a Start bar or just the command line or whatever than yea, DX may not be for you. But I think most people would like to improve or change their desktop in some way that makes it easy for them. You can create basically any type of thing with DesktopX with very little effort.

4. 
   Review - CustomEyes

   0.1 (Dec 23, 1999)

   When was the last time you used WindowBlinds? Geez, growing windows, I haven't seen that problem in months. Try using a modern version of it.
   
   As for CustomEyes, what's the point? It's just a rip off of WindowBlinds. Heck, look at its format, it's just the WindowBlinds format with names changed.
   
   Competition is only good if the competition brings in some new ideas. CustomEyes is just a clone, it brings nothing new to the table. So why on Earth would someone use CustomEyes over WindowBlinds? WB already works, is moving forward faster, runs faster, is more stable, has more skin support, etc.
   
   As long as CustomEyes's format is just a clone of WB's, it'll never be anything more than a WB wannabe.

5. Comment - WindowBlinds 5 Brings Vista UI to XP

   0.1 (Nov 30, 2005 - 2:43 PM)

   Microsoft has been borrowing Stardock ideas for over 10 years.
   
   It was Stardock, not Microsoft, that first introduced sidebars. Stardock, in a sense, was the original developer of side-bar programs with Control Center which was released in 1994!
   
   Stardock had ZIP folders in 1994. Stardock was doing visual styles first. Stardock even had an Explorer UI before Windows 95.
   
   WindowBlinds does NOT include any sort of "aero" skin. Users make skins based on the technology WindowBlinds provides.

6. Comment - WindowBlinds 5 Brings Vista UI to XP

   0.1 (Nov 29, 2005 - 4:26 PM)

   Check this screenshot out:
   http://www.stardock.com/...blinds/wb5/index.31.jpg
   
   Animation and other effects without using CPU. It's done through the video card rather than the CPU.

7. Comment - Stardock Reinvents Windows Desktop

   0.1 (Mar 17, 2005 - 10:55 PM)

   DesktopX isn't a shell replacement. You use it with Explorer (or whatever shell you choose) not instead of it.

8. Comment - Stardock Reinvents Windows Desktop

   0.1 (Mar 17, 2005 - 10:54 PM)

   Object Desktop has continued to receive a great deal of meaningful updates. Let's say you stopped getting updates at the end of 2004, then so far you've missed WindowBlinds 4.5 which lets you change toolbar icons, progress animations, change the color of skins via hue/saturation, and a bunch of other features. And it supports alpha blended start menus.
   
   DesktopX 3.0 comes with a bunch of high quality widgets made by our own design team.
   
   There's also been the release of RightClick, a whole new program. And ObjectBar 2 is nearly out which will be able to embed DesktopX 3 widgets in its bars.
   
   As for the quality of the content made, there's been some really outstanding skins, themes, icons, etc. made, particularly recently. The GUI Olympics was last year, for instance, there was a lot of remarkable and innovative content created.
   
   But none of that has to do with DesktopX 3 which is what this article was about.
   
   I can't see how anyone could say that DesktopX 3 isn't extremely innovative. Kapsules (which is developed by someone who works at Stardock btw) is a fine widget enabler. But DesktopX is much more than that.
   
   Check this link out for more info to get a fuller idea of just how much is new in DesktopX 3:
   http://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/tour.asp

9. Comment - Stardock Reinvents Windows Desktop

   0.1 (Mar 17, 2005 - 12:25 PM)

   Windows 3.1 was "buggy" too. Windows XP is much better.
   
   Simiarly, you should try DesktopX 3.0 before saying it's "buggy".