Two new apps from Skinux landed in my inbox today: Demo Puzzler, a skinnable puzzle game, and Skin Watch, a skinnable alarm clock, stop watch and what not.

“Skinux releases Demo Puzzler — a free skinned puzzle program. Demo Puzzler can turn any digital image into a desktop puzzle. Enjoy putting the pieces back together again! Control the size of pieces to match your skill level. Play on multiple monitors for maximum effect. Download it today and you will never buy another puzzle again.

Puzzler is powered by Skinux XML skin technology for total user customization.”

Sounds quite slick. There aren't that many skinnable games around, so this should be a welcome additions for those who dig small games like this.

The other app is a bit of everything, time-wise:

“Skinux releases Skin Watch - a free skinned watch and alarm clock program. Skin Watch simulates the workings of an antique time piece with movable gears and hands. Set the alarm and have Skin Watch play your favorite .WAV file to wake you up. But that's not all the Skin Watch also includes a removable stop watch to measure a colleague's performance, and a loupe to magnify pixels with. Download it today and you will never want to use another desktop watch again.”

The contents of the Skinux site always gives me the impression that these apps are mere demos to promote their skinning engine. But hey hey, free tools. || craeonics | comments (2)

Matt Inglot, developer of CustomBar, shot me a message yesterday about that self-same CustomBar, a shareware, skinnable toolbar-esque whatchamacallit. At first I was going to stall it, but then I noticed the date.

“15,000 CustomBar Registrations Being Given Away

In order to rapidly expand the CustomBar community and available user-created downloads, Lizardsoft is giving away 15,000 free copies of CustomBar until May 20, 2005.

CustomBar is a Window utility allows you to run a customizable and skinnable bar above your taskbar. This flexible app allows you to place numerous widgets on the bar. Examples include:

• Winamp info & controls

• System information

• Search

• Address box

• Mini Notepad

• Template copier

• Shorcut menus and buttons

• Recycle bin quick-empty

• Plus much more

The open-ended design allows people to script new additions and to write their own plugins. The program is also fully skinnable. The goal is to give as much control to users as possible, allow people to make their own creations and to put what they want on their bar. The flexibility of the system makes this a toy in addition to a terrific way to add sanity to the Windows UI.

Obtain a free license at http://www.custombar.net”

“The 20th, isn't that…” Yeah, that's tomorrow. Talk about short notice. Grab it while you can. || craeonics | comments (6)

After a year of silence, there's a new release of the excellent freeform skinnable Quintessential Player (QCD), only it's called Quintessential Media Player (QMP) now.

Changelog is short and cryptic:

“qmp100.exe Build 100 (development) (May 11, 2005)

• I couldn't possibly list all the changes since the last release.

• So I'm starting clean at a nice round number - build 100.

• We'll list changes going forward from here.”

This beta build comes with GraceNote MusicID, which tries to recognise the songs you have if they are not tagged. This can produce quite some amusing results. I imported my entire CD collection in MusePack format (had to install the appropriate plugins ofcourse) with APEv2 tags (ID3 is for amateurs), which it didn't recognise, so it went off to look up all 802 tracks.

All of a sudden I found myself owning CD's I never knew I bought. The recognition bit obviously needs some work, but that has little to do with QCD QMP itself, which is quite cool. || craeonics | comments

Move over, oh dull staticness of LogonScreens. FrontMotion Login lets you replace your login, lock, startup and shutdown screens with a Flash-driven alternative.

That's right. Flash. As in: animation, general slickness and a threshold to skinning the size of the Mount Everest.

“FrontMotion Login is the next generation logon interface for Windows NT, 2000 and Windows XP. It goes beyond the normal Microsoft Windows logon and offers more interactivity and functionality through the use of Macromedia Flash and our custom logon implementation (gina). No DLL hacking is needed and no system files are replaced.

1.1.4.344 : 04-05-2004

• Domain enumeration for all domain configurations (Native AD, Mixed AD, NT4, Samba)

• User list on by default except on a domain.

• Login hang fixed.

• RDP autologin works.

• RDP w/ AutoAdminLogin works.

• Password Expiration reminder fixed.

• Chkdsk system drive (FMBtnChkdsk)

• Password Reset Wizard on WinXP. (FMBtnPasswordResetWizard)

• Idle theme states (FMStartup, FMLoggingIn, FMLoggingOut, FMShutdown) are preserved across multiple status messages.

• Major dialog boxes UI make over.

  • Domain dropdown list

  • logon dialog supports reboots, standby, hibernate, chkdsk, and password reset wizard.

• NT4 SP6 compatibility at source code level.

• new FMLogin.adm - added Userlist setting”

Seems they've added auto-login support since the last time I tried this, so I'm currently test driving it. Pretty cool so far, although the themes are a bit barren graphics-wise.

Trouble with skinning this app is that the format is scarcely documented. Basically you'll have to download the source files of the default themes and dig through their internals.

Granted, not much different from skinning the way it used to be, but we're talking Flash here. Flash plus ActionScripting. Considering the fact that the average skinner these days is the type who has trouble programming his VCR, this can be a bit complicated.

Then again, VCR's are so 1980's. || craeonics | comments (9)

As noted on DeskMod, another maintenance release of this media player. Not much of note though. Then again, all sparks of life are welcome.

“What's New:

• New: By popular demand all "hTtP force to 'Now Playing'" support has been removed

• New: Deletes in the Media Library now move files to the Recycle Bin

• New: WMA Playback now works with WaveOut plugin

• New: NSV Subtitles can be disabled on the fly

• Fixed: Authentication for OGG/Vorbis streams

• Fixed: Drag and Drop strange behavior in open file dialogs

• Fixed: Stuttering WMA On Start and Seek

• Fixed: NSV Video stall during buffering

• Fixed: Autosize of video to be accurate to the Video size not snap size

• Fixed: Short NSV Clips audio cutout

• Update: CD Ripping Library

• Update: Online Media tree is now dynamic (More free videos on the way!)

• Update: Sonic Install / Config flag mismatch”

Curious enough, nothing about this on the WinAmp site itself. Slow webmasters? Counterfeit releases? || craeonics | comments

Take a boat load of StarDock apps, squash them together in one package and what do you get? Correct, Object Desktop.

As spoke the frog:

“Object Desktop is a suite of desktop enhancement utilities that enable users to enhance virtually every aspect of the Windows environment. When these programs are put together, it is like having a future version of Windows today.

The programs that make up Object Desktop include:

• WindowBlinds: A customization utility that enables users to change the look and feel of the Windows graphical user interface (GUI) with their own "visual styles".

• IconPackager: A program that allows users to change all of their icons in a single action by applying a "package" of icons.

• DesktopX: A program that extends the Windows desktop to support true objects that can be combined to create mini-applications called widgets or used to create completely new and unique desktops.

• Keyboard LaunchPad: A program that allows users to assign mouse and other actions to hot keys that work system wide. It can assign clipboard contents to a hot key.

• RightClick: A program that allows users to replace their desktop menu with one of their own choosing that can have added functionality to improve productivity.

• Desktop Gadgets: A series of useful mini-applications that can live on the Windows desktop that include a To-Do list organizer, Stock price monitor, CPU meter, memory monitor, RSS reader, and more.

• Theme Manager: A program that integrates the various programs of Object Desktop (and third party ones as well) into a single interface.

• Stardock Central: Allows users to access ObjectDesktop.net, a free service that comes with Object Desktop that allows users to get instant updates to all of the core Object Desktop programs along with over a dozen other Object Desktop programs.

The Object Desktop 2005 CD also includes SkinStudio and IconDeveloper; programs that make it relatively easy for users to create their own skins, icons, and themes.”

This $49 package comes on CD or can be downloaded. Purchasing this is basically a year long subscription to the above apps and all updates they receive during that period.|| craeonics | comments (1)