Tells you a lot about the quality of those writing the articals in MPC doesn't it...

Thats kinda how I found skinning. I bought a copy of some PC magazine that had a promotional cd packaged in the wrapper, it had a link to StyleXP on it. I liked it at first until I found out there were alternatives. Not being a computer user for very long I had no idea thee were other programs out there that are similar.

Maybe that is an alternative marketing source Stardock should look into.

Just a thought

i've never thought of Maximum PC to be much of a source for intelligent, reliable info regarding computers, to be honest.

Maybe if Stardock gave some free memberships to some magazine editors they would get more exposure. I found SD by trying the free DesktopX trial I found on Cnet. I also doubt that Style has the same kind of community support you find here.

Yeah. Stardock should launch its products into store like Staples and Wal- Mart where lots of people in the U.S go. I found PC World to be the best PC Magazines, and it's taught me alot. It's a must for me, and even more for you XP Users!!!

Stadock needs to give nothing away for free beyond what they already give freely, trial software...

People who do write up's in Magazines would do better to know what they are talking about before publishing...

StyleXP is a hack, nothing more...

MPC is promoting stupid hacking at that, StyleXP dupes people into thinking it is some kind of serious application when all it is when you get down to the nuts and bolts is a hack anyone can do on their own without paying for it. Excluding the fact that it totally voids the Users right to even use the OS or expect any support from Microsoft.

Be funny if they did a check before allowing updates and refused to update any OS that had that hack applied wouldn't it? Be in their legal right to do it...





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Stardock has a full time media relations team. How Maximum PC managed to not know about WindowBlinds is beyond me.

Let's keep things in perspective. At the same time this Maximum PC article came out...

This week's eWeek mentioned/recommended WindowBlinds to its readers.

Australia PC World reviewed WindowBlinds.

So it's not that we're obscure or something.

 

Yeah one million plus registered users here sounds pretty obscure to me

I heard 1st mention of Window Blinds years ago, it may have been early 90's or so.

Never had much interest in this until I stumbled back onto it a month or 2 ago. I 1st did a free trial of StyleXP and after my XP machine crashing about 2 dozen times, I s**t canned it and proceeded directly to purchase of WindowBlinds and then ( ) full Object Desktop upgrade ( $5 penalty )a week later.

Dang machine hasn't crashed once and noone fooled with my system files.

That's 10 times better to me (not to mention worth paying for) !
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I am very surprised at MaxPC. It is probably the best gaming source PC and it is very informative about new technologies in the world. I don't know why they would snub OD. I haven't seen anything from StyleXP that looks anything close to the great skins we have here by Pixtudio and Adni18, and Mormegil, just to name a few.

Well, I guess this shows that you don't have to really know your business to be successful. You just have to be able to fake it well.

Guess what everyone? This may be the world's best kept secret!!!

Heck, I tried many other Desktop skinning programs. Those 3D world programs looked interesting, Alt Desk seemed interesting, but it kept crashing my system. I even put Style XP on my system for about 2 minutes(I'm serious, I don't believe it was more). I immediately took it off and I thought "there has to be better than that". Then, I stumbled on windowblinds. I liked the lady masters at first. "The Knight" skin by Starone and "XP Corona" by Alexandrie are my classic favorites. But, I was a Win98SE loyal user and I frowned at anything WinXP. I thought something must be wrong with a system that can't run all my old games(Not that I even play the old ones anymore). In comparison, I must say that windowblinds/Object Desktop looked sh**ty on Win98SE. My taskbar buttons got compressed terribly on my desktop in most skins with Object Bar. Skin Studio crashed constantly with it. DesktopX was absolutely unrunnable if I wanted any memory at all.(I later learned it was Win98 that handled memory badly, not DesktopX). Sysmetrix was interesting but some information in it didn't make sense to me. Logons were out of the question with Win98. Still, I could see that Windowblinds was much better than StyleXP, and I stuck with it.

But, I just had to try CursorXP with all its great skins. So, I got WinXP and WOW oh, WOW! Still, I had to keep my Win98SE until I was sure that WinXP was all it seemed to be. So, I created a separate partition for it, just to be safe. It's been months since I've even booted my Win98 partition(I'm actually dreading it, since I got a new graphics card and didn't take the old drivers off it). And all the things that troubled WB/OD in Win98 are gone. Hooray!!! In fact, everything that troubled Win98 is gone. No more Blue screens of death. All I can say to you stanch Win98SE users is, "Come into the light!" WinXP is a whole new world!

WindowBlinds you say? Yes I think I recall hearing something about it.

Isn't WindowBlinds a component of that strange software hawked by that secretive WinCustomize cult. I read that they worship a frog or frogboy or some other bizarre amphibious creature.

ChasUGC recalled all of my Object Desktop problems! I will get XP once I have the money!$$$$$$$$$$$$

I have been a MaximumPC subscriber since their first issue. It was "Boot" then. They know about Stardock. They had an article about SkinStudio about a year ago, but it was pretty basic. Seemed like they spent about thirty minutes with it and then wrote the article.

Those guys are into wringing every ounce of performance from a PC, not customization. Also, there has been some changeover in their editorial staff recently.

Maybe the guys that were familiar with Stardock have moved on now.

Anyway, I like their mag for the tech info, and I know where to go for customizing the desktop.

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jebland, that could be. I work at a commercial printer where we do mostly magazines. The last two or three years have been a free-for-all of major publishers buying each other out. That has caused a lot of duplicate titles, resulting in titles being combined or cancelled, with the extra staff personnel being let go. The publisher is Future Networks USA. I'm not familiar with them. Their website [www.futurenetworksusa.com] gets only a blank page. If any one wants to voice their opinion to the editorial staff their Email is: input@maximumpc.com I still haven't heard anything back on the Email I sent them earlier. I've been off work for two days with a killer head-cold so maybe I'm getting a little grouchy about all this [my kids are finding plenty of things to do away from me, maybe that's a hint!] Anyway, if they want to drive a Yugo instead of a Ferrari that's their business. This place is still the best of it's kind by far.