Submitted by “Stardock released WindowBlinds 5.5 today. WindowBlinds is a program that enables users to customize the look and feel of the graphical user interface of Microsoft Windows. WindowBlinds 5.5 is a major update in that it is the first program to allow users to change the look and feel of Windows Vista. For Windows Vista users, WindowBlinds 5.5 makes use of the new hardware accelerated Desktop Window Manager to ensure the highest level of performance.”
… let you set a theme that looks like windows 2k with full hardware accel? that would be sweet. im on my treo so I can’t really look for myself.
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No, because Windows Classic is already present in Vista. GDI has been hardware accelerated for many, many years.
The problem with the classic theme in Vista is that it’s horrible. The new gui elements in Vista clash with it, large patches of empty or white space, buttons out of alignment. Overall it just looks awful. If someone can write a decent looking classic theme with Windowblinds that would be wonderful to hear.
it has? so wtf is with me seeing redraws still? Even on fast (2.8ghz) machines with a geforce 6600 i still see redraws occasionally. This is with XP and the latest nvidia drivers.
‘eh, never mind that previous comment. I actually did some reading and can see why even with hardware acceleration you would get redraws…
oopsie.
Disabling all that eyecandy should speed tings up.
Windowblinds actually speeds up XP because it offloads the work to the GPU.
Why would disabling the eyecandy speed things up?, the whole idea of the GPU is to do the UI workload.
Let the orgies of tasteless skinning begin again.
Am I the only left that doesn’t like UI eye candy? The first thing I always do when I set up a computer is turn all of it off–it’s KDE 1.x style and Windows Classic for me.
“Am I the only left that doesn’t like UI eye candy?”
————
Yes.
Am I the only left that doesn’t like UI eye candy?
No
Am I the only left that doesn’t like UI eye candy?
Maybe.
Maybe not
When I code, I run a skin called Solaris (it just looks like Open Windows). It is the ultimate in non-eye candy.
But it has a couple extra title bar buttons taht are useful for coding.
Also, since WindowBlinds 5, it has used DirectX to accelerate performance far beyond what the default XP look and feel is.
It doesn’t have to be about eye candy. It can be about performance and productivity.
True enough–a few years ago, I even used to use a NeXT/OpenSTEP-style Windowblinds theme, but I switched to Linux, and when I got homesick for Windows and did a dual boot, I didn’t think about reinstalling Windowblinds.
But, that being said, 95% of users don’t use Windowblinds for minimalist, anti-eye candy themes; they use it for the OMGPRETTY, for a lack of better words.
Edited 2007-03-14 22:34
“But, that being said, 95% of users don’t use Windowblinds for minimalist, anti-eye candy themes; they use it for the OMGPRETTY, for a lack of better words. “
I disagree with that. There are many users who use Windowblinds for clean, minimalistic themes that are perfect for day-to-day use.
I’m figuring what you can actually get from that toy? also, i think it’s nearly useless or even harmful for UI developers