Island Dog's Articles » Page 193
September 24, 2009 by Island Dog
This is wrong on so many levels.  Especially since Obama hasn't accomplished anything good.  
September 23, 2009 by Island Dog
I came across the XP .msstyle convertor tool today, and I was very curious of what an XP visual style would look like on Windows 7 after conversion to a WindowBlinds theme.  To my surprise, it actually looks pretty good. A little work needs to be done in SkinStudio, but overall the conversion worked pretty well.  I’d like to know the interest in wanting to use old XP themes on Windows 7.
September 23, 2009 by Island Dog
The latest beta for WindowBlinds 7 was released a few days ago, and one of the new features was the introduction of textures.  You can now easily apply a variety of textures to any WindowBlinds theme to create a whole new look for that theme. Read more at the link below.
September 23, 2009 by Island Dog

A brand new feature in WindowBlinds 7 , and one of the coolest is the ability to add textures to a WindowBlinds theme.  This opens up a whole new area of desktop customization as it can easily bring a new look to old or new themes.  WindowBlinds current has 20 textures available, and you can easily add your own for even more advanced customization.

Texture files can be found in: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Stardock\WindowBlinds\Textures

A tip for creating textures:

For those of you who want to make .texture files, you should make a copy of an existing .texture file and open it in notepad.  You will then see there are three sections.  One for the taskbar, one for the startmenu and one for the frames.  The images do not have to be the same for all three.

Edit the file pointing to new images (saved as .TGA in the same folder) and you have a new texture.

For skin authors, you can also put .texture files in your skin folder and they will only show for that skin.

The screenshots below show an example of a theme without and with a texture applied. 

September 22, 2009 by Island Dog
HP is releasing a line of netbooks with designs from featured designer Tord Boontje .  The Mini 110 is a netbook that is getting this designers touch, and thanks to a partnership between Stardock and HP, users of this netbook will be able to use MyColors to change to one of the 15 wallpapers included. “The designer edition netbook will also come with 15 custom wallpapers designed by Tord Boontje. Now, here’s the interesting part about that: The laptop will ship with Windows 7 S...
September 22, 2009 by Island Dog

The highly anticipated update for Demigod is here!  The Demigod update v1.19 is now available and users can now download this free update via Impulse .

The changelog for this update includes:

Added replay support. Replays can be :

  • Chosen from Front end
  • Deleted from Front end
  • Created at end of multiplayer or single player skirmish game
  • Slider added to adjust game speed during replays
  • Skills, inventory, HUD, and citadel upgrades visible while in replay
  • Added version matching for replays, will only display valid replays
  • Added observer as a replay choice to remove shroud
September 22, 2009 by Island Dog
Skinning.net has a new feature going on over at their site which is the SDN Spotlight.  This month they spotlight fellow WinCustomize member theAVMAN. “This Spotlight features The A/V Man. The A/V Man (aka Harley Myers) has been a member of SDN for 2 years and has been skinning for about 4 years. The A/V Man is well known for making stunning WindowBlinds skins as well DeskTop X objects and Cursor FX skins. The A/V Man is very active in the community, besides being a member of SDN; ...
September 21, 2009 by Island Dog
Today we are happy to announce an update to the WindowBlinds 7 Beta.  The WindowBlinds 7 beta is currently available for active subscribers to Object Desktop , and can be downloaded via Stardock’s Impulse.  New in this update: XP toolbar & animations settings are back in the UI. They are under Settings now On Vista the sidebar skin settings are back in the UI. Also under Settings. Explorer backgrounds tab has been added to the UI. This will show on XP, Vista...
September 21, 2009 by Island Dog
Today we are happy to announce an update to the WindowBlinds 7 Beta.  The WindowBlinds 7 beta is currently available for active subscribers to Object Desktop , and can be downloaded via Stardock’s Impulse.  New in this update: XP toolbar & animations settings are back in the UI. They are under Settings now On Vista the sidebar skin settings are back in the UI. Also under Settings. Explorer backgrounds tab has been added to the UI. This will show on XP, Vist...
September 21, 2009 by Island Dog
It’s Monday already?  Where did the weekend go so fast?  Well I guess it doesn’t matter, the new work week has begun so lets kick it off right with some featured theme picks from the past few days! Check them out!
September 18, 2009 by Island Dog
The week is done!  It’s Friday, and I hope everyone has a great weekend planned.  A little late today, but This Week in Skinning is now up showcasing some of the popular themes from the past week. Check them out!
September 18, 2009 by Island Dog
Today is a busy day, so lets get right into this weeks featured theme picks.   EcoGlass by B2R This CursorFX theme is unique in its design, and that’s why I like it. The Captain’s Gadget by theAVMAN This is just slick.  No need for more words, just download it. Win7Rayz by Ausvet This is a very cool animated wallpaper.  Bright colors and smooth animation. Four cubes by IdetSneg It’s h...
September 18, 2009 by Island Dog

It’s time once again to wrap up this week, and as is customary we will kick the weekend off with another round of Impulse Weekend Buys!  Aside from these specific deals, I would also recommend checking out the newly released on Impulse, Civilization IV series.  Don’t forget to check out Majesty 2 which was just released this week.

Now for the Impulse Weekend Buys!

Pre-order Tropico 3 for just $32.50 – 10% off
Scavenger is 50% off - $4.99
Droplitz is 50% off - $4.99
Aztaka on sale for $14.95
September 17, 2009 by Island Dog
From reading various blogs around communities it seems one of the popular things to change on Windows 7 is the logon screen.  The best is it can be easily done using LogonStudio for both Vista and Windows 7. Here are some popular logon screens you can use! More logon themes can be found in the gallery on WinCustomize.com .
September 17, 2009 by Island Dog

Gametrailers.com is an awesome site to view videos about all things game-related.  In one of their latest episodes of Gametrailers TV, which is shown on Spike TV,  they spotlight Impulse Phase IV. 

Check it out, it’s around the 10min mark.