PowerToys for WindowsXP are additional programs that developers work on after a product has been released to manufacturing. They add fun and functionality to the Windows experience and they are indeed a must-have if you run XP. You will find tools ranging from “Super-Fast User Switcher” to “Virtual Desktop Manager” which lets you manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar! The new version, includes two new additional tools: The ISO burner lets you burn ISO using the built-in burning engine of Windows XP, while the Audio Shell Player offers buttons to control the playback of MP3s, WMAs from the Windows taskbar to save valuable screen estate.
New PowerToys for WindowsXP Release with New Tools
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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I just installed them……..the Iso burning is a good Idea….though, with MSs Copy control system, I doubt it will let you copy ISOs of a CD that you have in your drive……I think I will stick with the basic XP stuff……the VDM is a nice add on, but it is slow and kludgy, not to mention, it has a few little bugs that like to keep image artifacts on the screen when ever yo switch desktops.
had this for a while version/build 7.0.224.0
Nothing new here, regarding powerToys. You were slow on this one…sorry.
Release date was Thursday, October 25, 2001
No, you are wrong here my friend. The web page was *never* updated. This is why it says still October 25th, and it does not even have description for the new tools. The *actual binary* (which we are linking) was update recently with the addition of the ISO burner and the shell player.
Linux and Gnome has been doing this for quite some time…This was one of my chief complaints about win9x…Screen realestate was alway so limited; hence the reason I use Linux as my default OS (among other reasons, but I’m not here to start an OS war)
I installed these powertoys about 10 minutes ago… and just finished removing them. They make XP about twice as slow. And the desktop manager option? My god, that is pathetic. I’ve seen my beloved BeOS switch between 36 desktops all at different resolutions and bitrates totally effortlessly.
Like was said earlier, some parts are a good idea such as the ISO burner and shell player… but all the shell add-ons just slow explorer down so much.
What is this whole fascination with virtual desktops anyway? Even when I’m using Linux/XWindows, I still don’t use them.
If I want to switch apps, I’ll just click on the taskbar icon. And if I need to launch an app, I’ll create an icon on a quicklaunch toolbar.
Am I missing something??
same here. i don’t switch desktops. i switch applications. if i want to switch between desktops, i roll my chair over to the next computer.
On BeOS virtual desktops were nice, when programming I used several to look up things, read the mail on one and soundplay on the other.
It’s a way of working which grows on you after a while, you can’t change your behaviour after 10 minutes fiddling with it.
But the WindowsXP version of virtual desktops is pathetic, the animated
switch thing (which can be turned of) is so slow it’s only annoying.
The desktop background don’t work with the standard display preference
program instead you have to use the menu from MSVDM.
Sometimes I get the feeling that only kids work at microsoft, all kind of cool features but no-one to control it and slap some sense in them.
Pondering this looks cool but is it usefull, and why is it so damned slow,
didn’t I see a simular thing years ago that did work ?
On TweakUI just don’t do a “Rebuild Icons” because in my machine many icons just became their older version in 256 colors or less!..and they look so so bad. There’s no way I could replace them so I had to reinstall WXP again!!
All I hear anymore is “aaah, in the good ol’ days of BeOS, then life was good…”
I believe things like some of these powertools, really need to be built into the system. Not be used as some type of addon. That is, i tried a completely different shell for Win9x, however it chewed my mem in several seconds while useing notpade and photoshop… WinXP needs virtual desktops and themeing built in. I believe it has themeing built in which is indeed a step up for it.
Hmm, I have been in love with virtual desktops since I was first introduced to this in CDE quite some time ago. The only place where it worked almost the way I wanted it, was in BeOS though.
What would be the perfect way for this to work, would be to have each and every desktop linked to a configurable button (I like F1-F9, nine desktops should do for most of us!). Each app should be able to be given an attribute of sorts, telling it which desktop to start up in. Each app should also be able to be given an attribute that tells it wheter to take over that desktop or not.
Imagine your primary desktop with some shells and file windows on it, desktop 2 as your browser desktop for Opera (in full screen of course, like when you press F11), desktop 3 as your browser desktop for another browser (also in full screen?), desktop 4 with your preferred mail proggy in full screen (like the opera stuff)… and so forth, all switchable through your keyboard for fast and easy use.
I am almost drooling allready.
Installed it on my 500mhz Laptop this morning and the virtual desktop works great for me. Not slow, no artifacts, etc. I do have 256MB of memory, if that makes any difference.
What is the use of a system with only four “desktops” ?
I normally use 7 or 8 screens on the Amiga OS, often more.
The advantage of having a program open a completely fresh screen when
it starts up is the lack of clutter: all you see on the display is the
program you are using – no icons, task bars, windows belonging to
other programs, etc.
More than one program can share a screen if that is convenient. It is
also possible for different screens to have different resolutions and
depths (8bit, 32bit, etc). You can set this to suit the GUI of each
program.
Egil, we already have exactly what you want. Window Maker, Blackbox, and KDE can all be configured to startup with certain apps on certain desktops, and to use keystrokes to switch desktops.
Window Maker probably has the best support, since it can even be configured so that specific applications display on specific desktops no matter what desktop you launch them from….
People who maximise their windows, then maximise another, will not understand or benefit from multiple desktops. I suspect most users do it like this and do not have need for more screen realestate through ‘multiple desktops’
Pedro Eloy you could fix that with the registry hack that changes the colour depth of icons
“People who maximise their windows, then maximise another, will not understand or benefit from multiple desktops. I suspect most users do it like this and do not have need for more screen realestate through ‘multiple desktops'”
hmm I was thinking the exact opposite. I’ve used a number of VWMs (there are a lot of them available for Windows if you look around), and no matter how long I used them, I really didn’t find myself needing them, or appreciating them. I just use 1280×1024 as my screen resolution and arrange my windows according to my preference on a single desktop, and rarely have any problems with space. I can almost always see at least some portion of my desktop behind my windows, regardless of how many things I’m doing at once, and I rarely maximize anything. I really prefer finding applications that make better use of space rather than adding more space for applications to waste (for instance, the scrolling text on WinAmp’s taskbar button is a very useful feature that makes good use of that space when there aren’t a lot of applications open).