Take control of Windows Vista
Published on August 22, 2007 By Island Dog In WinCustomize News

The ultimate utility for tweaking and getting the most out of Windows Vista performance is here! TweakVista allows users to modify many hard to access or hidden system settings to increase the performance of Windows Vista. The program was designed for both casual and power users to easily, and safely use it without fear of causing damage as the changes are easily reversible.

For the "greener" users, TweakVista includes a new Carbon Footprint feature which shows both the carbon footprint and estimated running costs of your PC. TweakVista also uses the powerful Vista assessment features to give users a thorough benchmark of their systems.

Other features include:

  • Security Handling: Users can now easily and safely adjust the way Windows handles security prompting including the new UAC (User Account Control).
  • Memory Optimization: TweakVista knows which start-up services different types of users will typically use and offers recommendations on what services to disable. Users can easily switch between different profiles (including the default) based on their needs to maximize performance and memory use. 
  • Resource Control: Tweak Vista has several features for keeping an eye on and flagging programs that use excessive amounts of resources (memory, CPU, or system handles) as well as integrating seamlessly with built in hardware diagnostic reports.
  • Start-Up Management: TweakVista not only will display and enable users to control what programs are loading on start-up but will identify in plain English what these programs do. Internet integration in the software allows users to comment on these processes within the program to one another.



TweakVista
$19.95 stand-alone or $49.95 as part of Object Desktop.



Comments
on Aug 22, 2007
Nice too see that Stardock have finally ironed out the kinks
I like TweakVista, lot's of useful features! Is that annual power consumption feature new?
on Aug 22, 2007
One question:

I like the program, lots of good tweaks and options, but why does it have to have it's own specific appearance? Why can't it conform to the current WB skin?

This is pretty odd behaviour from a company that advocates skinning the interface.

on Aug 23, 2007
Aleatoric makes a good point. How do you respond Stardock?
on Aug 23, 2007

Good question Aleatoric.  We are looking to create a more dynamic look and feel for our new products that is also offers a consistant look and feel.  We created a unique "skin" that we feel will compliment the interior design of our applications well moving forward.

What do you think of the skin?

I am open to hear your feedback on this because it is not "easier" for us to make this happen as if we were "turning off" WindowBlinds.  In fact quite the opposite, we are using our own technology (DirectSkin) to make this happen.

You will see a smiliar look and feel to our next release as well.

Thanks for your thoughts!

on Aug 23, 2007
I think the current TweakVista appearance is rather nice. It's a pretty clean skin, and looks well thought out. But it does look different from the rest of my desktop, so it takes away from the overall effect that WB is intended to create.

It would be nice to have an option (like a checkbox or similar) to choose the default skin or to conform to the current WB theme.

It just strikes me as kind of odd that a company that makes applications to change the look and feel of Windows also makes an application whose appearance can't be changed

Granted, TweakVista isn't something I'm going to have up all of the time, or even that often, so it's less of an issue than it might be.