This scorching weather on this side of the Atlantic does strange things to people. Take this man over here, let's call him ‘plastic’ for now. plastic is a laid back man, who takes things easy. Say that this plastic runs a customisation site and has been doing so for a long, long time now. Now he's been planning to update the site, give it a grand overhaul, but so far nothing has happened.

After all, he takes things easy. No need to rush.

Then one day, when the sun's been warming his skull a wee bit too long, his dark, active other personality suddenly takes over. He quickly assembles a team of elite customisers to continue the redevelopement of his site, shamelessly seduces a man who just got married and *bam* a new site is born.

And it didn't even take nine months.

Enter ModSpots.net, a small hub of low profile customisation sites:

“Mσd-ι-ƒι-ca-ŧιση - the act of making something different. Here referring to desktop customization on the Windows platform. Which can be done as is, for fun and because you want things your way. No need to be charged, for ads, the information is freely available. These are the spots. You might find these people at irc.modspot.podzone.net, in #modspot.”

And when all the dust has settled, the dark side retreats and the lazy persona re-emerges and all is at it was before (plus one site, that is).

Now why the channel is called ‘#ModSpot’ and the site ‘ModSpots’ is beyond me. Too hot to think about that now. || craeonics | comments (9)

A so-called ‘multimedia update’ to sysmeter Samurize. This update primarily adds interfaces to various media players. Mind you: ‘update’, it installs right over any previous installation without asking!

“Here is the update you have all been waited so long for. It includes the screensaver and AMPI plugins for winamp2/3/5, foobar, qcd, itunes and windows media player 9/10. The 3d part of the screensaver has been completely rewritten, now supports realtime bumpmapping and all the bells and wistles. other changes:

Changelog 1.62.1

• Visual plugin fixed so that it works now with changed alpha behaviour in samurize 1.61

• Fixed crashes when two or more players were running

• Added input plugin (works for winamp5, qcd, windows media player currently)

• Fixed amazon album cover download

• Temoved almost all timers - that means instantaneous updates of all info

• Autohide now accepts negative values for the timeout which just deactivate hiding by timeout. Useful if you only want to hide the config if no player is running.

• Player version info is rewritten on track change (fixes problems when using more than one player)

• Album covers are no longer converted to png, they are instead saved as jpg

…and others i forgot of course”

Samurize is an app that can visualise all the things you don't want to know and can be considered as bad for your (mental) health. For instance, in the screenshot above, one of my drives is overheating. That's not the kind of trivia I want to know (especially when it means me having to think over again how to correctly position those damn drives so they remain cool).

News shamelessly ripped from Blizzle. Strange that I didn't see it elsewhere as well. || craeonics | comments

The world of Win32 is not the only place where one can find skinnable apps. Themability has been native to the land of *nix long before fli7e first hacked WinAmp and created the first skin. And the Mac is skinnable too, with this here app, ShapeShifter.

“ShapeShifter is a revolutionary new product that lets you change the overall appearance of your Mac using 'themes'. We're not talking about just desktop backgrounds and icons here, we're talking about everything - the look of windows, menus, apps, buttons, absolutely everything. You don't wear the same clothes everyday, your house doesn't look exactly like your neighbor's - why should the computing interface you use everyday be any different. You personalize your physical workspace to suit your tastes and whims, so why not your Mac?”

So, yes, there's still hope for those cursed with an Aqua interface. What was Apple thinking? The pre-OSX look was way cooler.

New in version 2.2 is a colourising tool, guiTweak.

“So we just released ShapeShifter 2.2 It adds a spiffay new module named guiTweak.

This is groovy for a lot of reasons - first off, it's just plain damned cool (yes, I wrote it). It lets you apply Apple's Core Image filters to your existing themes, opening theme-tweaking up to anybody, not just graphic-design types. That's spiffy. It automatically picks up new Image Units, so if you add one, guiTweak automatically becomes more powerful. That's spiffy too. It's the first big feature change in theming in awhile. That's definitely spiffy. The fact that it exists means that I'm finally out of Tiger compatibility coding mode - that's insanely spiffy, at least for me. :)”

All interesting Mac apps are shareware and this one is no exception ($20). Plug by sryo (ofcourse). || craeonics | comments

BGEye is a sysmeter that acts as your wallpaper. It can display all kinds of information worth noting (memory and disk usage) and info that suits no purpose whatsoever (cpu and graphics card model). Come on, why would you want to display your cpu brand on your desktop?

“BGEye displays system information on your desktop. The information is rendered to a bitmap that is temporarily set as your wallpaper.

BGEye displays your CPU (Make, Model, Manufacturer etc), Grahics Card (Make, Model, Manufacturer etc), RAM (Total and amount free) and Disk Drives (Totals and amount free for both local and remote drives). The information BGEye displays is updated every minute.

The background and elements are all completely configurable by means of text-file input (Look out in the future for an interface to make this simpler).”

It requires DirectX 9.0c, which I apparently don't have, for it failed to run on my system. Grrr… || craeonics | comments (17)

Sryo pointed me to this somewhat skinnable download manager, Librey, which sprung up in the NeoWin forums.

“A long time ago I've started the project called 'Download Manager Plus'… Because of many problems in the developing and in the 'real life', it took so long… A bit too long :blush:. Well, as you may or may not know, the latest name of 'DMP' became 'Librey' and as I told, when I'm going to release it, I will create a new topic.

Today it's so far.

Librey - Beta 1 is available.”

It's written in C#, which translates as all 23 megs of the .NET framework being required and thus me not running this app. || craeonics | comments (3)

Redllar is not as gone as some thought he was. Something the more observant among us found out when he resurfaced at Virtual Plastic whilst looking for beta testers for this here app. fungusClock is a skinnable clock that can handle skins of various other skinnable clock apps, including Tyme, Beatnik, Ghrone and more.

“This is a major update to Ezclock. It's been renamed since it will eventually become a part of the "fungus" suite of desktop customization apps. It still retains the intent of the original, that is to say it is an attempt to make a portal app that would run Tyme, The Clock, Beatnik and QuickClock skins. It has been extended however, to include skins from CustoClock, Ghrone, Rainmeter, and SysMetrix.”

“Notes

• Time server synchronization support.

• Multiple alarms with popup balloon messages.

• Quarter hour, half hour, and hourly chimes.

• Direct use of skin archives (.zip, .bnSkin, .smx).

• Clipboard pasting and drag-and-drop support for skin archives and directories.

• The primary target for this version is 2K and newer, but every attempt has been made to try and make it usable on 9x and NT as well. The testing has been almost exclusively on XP though, so if you try it out on something else, a note as to success or failure would be greatly appreciated.

• There are still a few minor known bugs. These have all been listed in the documentation.”

He also posted two other apps. FGWndGrab, a screen grab tool, and 32ndRipper, an audio ripper (cd to wav to mp3) Tek's very own master slacker Kenray had been nagging him about. || craeonics | comments (1)

Digit Skinnable Clock is a, err, skinnable clock, that packs a bunch of highly esoteric features, which have nothing to do with clocks, like a game of pong in the config (though it would be nice if there was an opponent).

“The Digit Skinnable Clock for Windows XP is a fully customizable digital desktop timepiece. The clock gives you control over the background image, this can be a bitmap or Jpeg of any Dimension and supports freeform shapes by utilising 'magic pink' transparency.”

“The display can be changed to any font you have on your system and repositioned on the clock-face using simple controls in the configuration panel (with no need to manually edit the ini-file). New in version 2.1 you can choose between Time, Date and System Up Time asyour primary display.

Also in the configuration panel you can set the transparency (alpha-blending) level of the clock (the clock will automatically fade in on mouse over) down to 10%.

Many other features can be set in the configuration panel including the 'stay on top' and 'snap to the screen' options.

The Digit Skinnable Clock V2.1 has some new enhanced features, you can now choose to display the time with or without seconds or change the display to show the date or system up time.

The new style menu has a great deal more cusomizability than ever before, with some great new options to choose. Among these choices is the fantastic new Search function which gives you fast access to search the World Wide Web.

Skinning is as simple as ever and a few skins are included with the installer package.”

It's a bit top heavy with the .exe being half a meg and all, and the feature set is a little bit too weird for me, but on the other hand, skinning it is, indeed, a piece of cake. || craeonics | comments (3)

Four days after beta one, here's beta two of the upcoming new NextStart (skinnable app launcher thing).

Short version of the changelog:

“Version 3.4 adds a multitude of enhancements such as Automatic Updates, Tip of the Day, improved drag & drop capability, etc…”

Yes, that is the exact same changelog as last time. Alright, details then:

“The following is a full list of fixes and additions of Beta 2 over Beta 1:

New Features:

• Hotspot buttons now also accept items dragged from NextSTART menus and WorkShelf.

Fixes:

• On themes where sub-menus should open aligned to the parent's titlebar, context menus could be too short when close to the reserved screen area at the bottom of the screen.

• the Single and Double line settings for the startbar section separator were both displaying a double line.

• Context Menus of Hotspot buttons were broken by Beta 1.

• Re-wrote the context menu code which seemed to be causing some Access Violation errors on occasion.

• NextSTART was not executing Internal Commands or applying Themes from menus.

• The 'Tip of the Day' dialog could be resized.

• The 'Disable Sounds' and 'Disable Animations' options in the Global Preferences tab were reversed (checked for on and unchecked for off).

• NextSTART was crashing in the Menu Editor and Item Properties dialog if you selected a URL type item.

• URL items were not displaying the proper icon.”

If you find bugs or have feedback, give the man a shout via email or the Winstep Fora. Once again, kudos to CareBear for the news. || craeonics | comments

I could have sworn I just posted about WinStep's skinnable start menu replacement NextStart a couple of days ago, and here we find dev Jorge again with a brand spanking new build. He's picking up the pace, which is exactly the right way to keep things fresh (even though it might or might not be just appearance).

Short version of the changelog:

“Version 3.4 adds a multitude of enhancements such as Automatic Updates, Tip of the Day, improved drag & drop capability, etc…”

NextStart is fully-functional shareware ($24.95). Thanks to CareBear for the heads up. || craeonics | comments (8)

WindowBlinds. Does it need any further introduction? StarDock released version 4.6 today, featuring alpha-blended glow effects. Excellent, so when can we expect see through titlebars?

“The new version of WindowBlinds adds the ability to have alpha blended "glow" effects for title bar buttons, push buttons, and other controls. When a user mouse-overs a control in a visual style that makes use of this feature, a glow effect appears that can go outside the window (i.e. it's really cool looking). 4.6 also has a number of tweaks to further increase performance and reduce memory use.”

WindowBlinds is shareware. The enhanced version, which has scrollbar skinning (in case you peeked at the trial version and was wondering where that went) is $19.95. || craeonics | comments (5)

SharpE's official cheerleader and mascot, Silentpyjamas, shot me long, long press release for the new SharpE(nvironment) beta release. SharpE being an alternative shell that's been around for years.

“SharpEnvironment: What's in the Blue Box?

The SharpE team is proud to announce the public release of beta build .6 of its popular SharpEnvironment shell replacement for Windows 2000/2003/XP. Since the previous release in January the team has been busy nurturing it and now we invite you to come and play. A visit to the new site (http://sharpe-shell.org) with its colorful menu graphics that mimic the program's component icons, is a good start but there's more fun to be had when you're playing with the blocks.

This ambitious build features transparent components, an improved theme manager, and an integrated documentation system. SharpE's aim has always been to make using Windows a more stable, enjoyable experience and this release is a step closer to desktop nirvana.

SharpE's triple-threat approach: theming, utility, and customization, makes it a dynamic and robust application, and one that works for all levels of users. Not just a theming program, it's a complete operating environment that harmonizes OS and user beautifully. With SharpE's enormous potential, every user's desktop can be as unique as his fingerprint.

Upon loading it closes the explorer process and replaces the Windows desktop though normal Windows operations may be easily restored if necessary. Each component is configurable, from location, to display, to visibility. Everything is managed by SharpCore which also hosts and controls a library of services like hotkeys and a memory manager.

SharpDesk's powerful Theme Manager makes crafting a luxurious desktop a delight. Every pixel of visible space can somehow be personalized, and the export feature makes masterpieces easy to share. A single theme can be customized in dozens of ways with realtime wallpaper effects, icon sets, color schemes, even custom menu content. Dynamic Desktop Objects can be saved and loaded as sets, providing the user with the means to keep their important desktop folders and icons constant between themes.

SharpBar is a package of goodies all to itself, with its array of tools and toys. Included are system monitors, an rss reader, WinAmp controls, and a command line. Plugins can be saved as sets and switched on-the-fly, putting a world of utility behind a few mouse clicks.

Taking up the mantle of the taskbar and system tray are SharpTask and SharpTray, which are immediately recognizable for new users. SharpTray adds a twist to the proceedings with its "Invisible Icons" function and SharpTask makes available a quicklaunch bar and "Shell Folders" button for convenient access to the Control Panel.

It seems a desktop can never have enough space. SharpVWM rectifies this problem by providing up to 8 virtual desktop windows with intuitive switching between desktops.

The feather in SharpE's cap for this release is SharpDocs, the onboard documentation system. SharpDocs is a virtual bible of every component and service contained within SharpE, and is accessible from anywhere within the program. Though this is SharpDocs' first public appearance, it's a firecracker of potential. The hallmark of this component is that the user can create his own documentation which can be shared with and edited by the community at large.

So many surprises in such a small package and there is more still to be had. SharpEnvironment is further extensible with user-created plugins and extensions. With its sleek interface, myriad configuration options, and a battery of extras, this is one new toy that doesn't lose its shine. Come on, open the blue box.”

What more can be said about this? It's coded in Delphi 6 (not so interesting trivia), requires a modern OS: Win 2000/XP/2003 (more interesting trivia) and is released under the LGPL license, which translates as: ‘free app, get it’.

This is so hot off the plate, that it's not even on their own site yet! Now if only it came with a matching screenshot. Ah well. Can't have it all now, can you? || craeonics | comments (4)