Computer TnT

Control Freaks! It’s your turn again!

Even after changing my Windows XP Theme, I still feel that there’s something missing.

It’s just like living in a small town, people paint their own house the way they want, they decorate the interior and buy their own different type of furniture.

But the shape of every house is just the same, sizes of the room of my house is no different from his, my living room is in the same location as his.

Fortunately you don’t have to settle for the same house or Computer as the guy in the next office.

There’s this software package call WindowBlinds created by a company called Stardock which is used to “skin” (customise in different aspect) the Windows XP User Interface.

It is sold by itself (for $19.95) or as part of a larger package called Object Desktop (for $49.95).
There is also a free trial available from their Web Site.

After you install WindowBlinds, you will not notice any immediate changes.
Activate the software via Control Panel > Display Properties > Appearance tab.

WindowBlinds allows you to search for and add skins to the "Windows and buttons" popup.

If a skin has more than one "Subdesign", you can choose those from this dialog as well.

A Subdesign of a skin might be the same thing in different colours; a skin might look good in brown, green, and blue, so the author could include all three “subdesigns” in the package.

There’s also a WindowBlinds Advance Configuration Screen which is for me to know and for you to explore =P

So now we got WindowBlinds, where can we find skins?
WinCustomize is a website that users have created to share their ideas and their creations of skins.

Every skin in WinCustomize is totally free.

If you find a skin that you like, you need only click on the Download Link to download it to your computer.

However, if you want to access some of the Advanced Features, you must register with the web site.
There is no cost to register, but there are different levels of access, depending on your level of participation or willingness to pay.

The advantage of registering; you are given better search tools, which is useful, considering that there are over 2,000 custom skins available for download!

WinCustomize is associated with Stardock , the makers of WindowBlinds and Object Desktop , and therefore it has the most skins for their software.

My 2 cent worth:

All Skins downloaded from WinCustomize requires the software WindowBlinds to work and to use WindowBlinds requires you to pay for the software.
I’m not sure about the limitations or evaluation periods of the trial versions.
So if you are unwilling to pay, how about just stay normal like everyone else be happy about the many other things you can do with your Windows XP =)