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The "Not Quite Amiga but still computer related category" => Alternative Operating Systems => Topic started by: cycloid on April 07, 2004, 01:35:41 AM

Title: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: cycloid on April 07, 2004, 01:35:41 AM
i'm sick of windows being boring looking (no "get another os" answers please i have 4 computers already!) and want to skin it a little. the "appearance" prefs are a bit limiting especially since one can only choose the color of "3d objects" and it auto generates the highlight/shadow color cos i'd like to have a single solid border around stuff generating a chunky feel rather than a same-old pretend 3d feel. thoughts? anyone on windowblinds? (98se) does it really clog the system up? etc.

Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: AmigaPete on April 07, 2004, 03:17:26 AM
I tried WindowBlinds (can't remember which version, if any) on my K62/400 running Win2K (17" monitor @ 1280x1024 16M colours) and I didn't notice a drastic bogging down. But then, I don't do anything too intense like first-person-perspective shoot-em-ups and the like. It does make things look very XPish, but in the end I uninstalled it because I generally prefer a simple looking interface without all the "fluff". The least you could do is try it out first, there should be a demo or you could (rubs hand over mouth saying something about getting it somewhere on the net and trying before buying).

Pete
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: Wolfe on April 07, 2004, 06:13:17 AM
Visualprefs for windows?

No Windows please are my prefs.   :-D
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: StevenJGore on April 07, 2004, 08:39:54 AM
WindowsBlinds (http://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/) doesn't clog up systems, as far as I know. I used it briefly with Windows 2000 and didn't notice any slowdowns or side-effects.

There are hundreds of sites where you can get WindowsBlinds themes, but I've found that by far the best quality ones are at DeviantART (http://skins.deviantart.com/windows/).

Steve.
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: bloodline on April 07, 2004, 02:03:48 PM
There arn't any really good themes for it though :-(

There is a MacOS one which is quite good and Amiga2 is good. But ther are glitches and the bottun dont behve correctly.

I tried to make a theme once but got boged down... and gave up... what was I making? um.. an AOS1.3 theme for my Win2K box...  and?
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: cycloid on April 07, 2004, 10:47:27 PM
ok, found what i was looking for, it's called 3d color changer  (3DCC) and does pretty much what i wanted, i.e. give you full controll over the palette inc higlinght/shadow colors, i've also found something called eppidesktop which lets you replace system gadgets (inc the start button) with bitmaps, but i havent played with that yet
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: Amiga1200PPC on April 08, 2004, 12:09:57 AM
Is this website called windows.org or amiga.org you idiot !?
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: Karlos on April 08, 2004, 11:25:22 AM
Quote

Wishmaster wrote:
Is this website called windows.org or amiga.org you idiot !?


That's a bit harsh. Plenty of us have PCs that run Winblows and given how many of us tend to be into personalising our amiga desktops, I'd say it was as good a place as any to ask.
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: that_punk_guy on April 08, 2004, 11:31:19 AM
Quote
Wishmaster wrote:
Is this website called windows.org or amiga.org you idiot !?


Is this forum called Alternative Operating Systems or bash the Windows user you idiot !?
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: Karlos on April 08, 2004, 11:33:04 AM
Quite.
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: that_punk_guy on April 08, 2004, 11:36:20 AM
Sorry, all my subtlety seems to have gone out of the window. :-?

Regarding themes, I did have WindowBlinds installed for a while. It was nearly impossible to make it look non-crap so I uninstalled it. But I was pleasantly surprised at the performance.
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: cycloid on April 12, 2004, 06:16:12 PM
just to clarify

1. i have an amiga
2. i use viaualprefs + fullpalette on it
3. i wanted to know if anyone knew of anything similar for windows

= where the fork else could i ask such a question!?


anyway, eppiedesktop, which replaces the help,min,max,restore,close,start menu and scroll arrow "gadgets" works a treat, it apparently just patches the image pointer table in memory in a cunning psudeo amigan fashion, unfortunatley it does not support a few other gads, such as the resize gadget,check boxes etc (apparently there are other "patches" that do, though) and i cant figure out if/how to do transparency. but it works and because it's a hack as opposed to a task it doesnt crash, heh!

anyway stuff like this can be found and rated at virtualplastic.net if anyone feels forced to use windows but likes to discuise it :-)


Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: restore2003 on April 12, 2004, 06:44:53 PM
Try stylexp:

http://www.tgtsoft.com/

Its not as memory or cpu hungry as windowblinds, and there are hundreds(maybe thousands) of different themes available

Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: cecilia on April 12, 2004, 07:20:06 PM
windows isn't good enough to bother making it "look" better, but people should do whatever they like with a system they spent money on!

so....here is one thing windows IS good for (http://mirrored.flabber.nl/winnoise/)

this is a flash anim, so some amiga browsers will not like it.

but, for all you musicians out in da house! enjoy the joke!
 :lol:
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: Amiga1200PPC on April 15, 2004, 01:42:00 PM
@punk_guy

you got me.

I guess this forum is called Alternative Operating Systems for idiots ! ;-)

But Windblows is not alternative for me !
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: that_punk_guy on April 15, 2004, 01:53:52 PM
Quote
Wishmaster wrote:
But Windblows is not alternative for me !


Good for you.
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: hobpedlar on April 18, 2004, 12:42:25 PM
Try "StyleXP".
It is heaps better than any other "skinning" program I have found on PC windows.
Free trial,heaps of freely available styles and themes available on sites such as Customise.org and ThemeXP.com
If you want any more info PM me.
Cheers
westic
p.s. wouldn't know where I can get a copy of "Amithlon"?
Title: Re: visualprefs type thing for windows?
Post by: hobpedlar on April 18, 2004, 12:46:24 PM
Try "StyleXP".
It is heaps better than any other "skinning" program I have found on PC windows.
Free trial,heaps of freely available styles and themes available on sites such as Customise.org and ThemeXP.com
If you want any more info PM me.
Cheers
westic
p.s. wouldn't know where I can get a copy of "Amithlon"?