ComradeBadger
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The Post Your Desktop Thread inspired me to post this, my WIP guide 
Righty - I shall include screenshots of my own computer running the programs if possible, if not, I shall use the ones provided on various websites :>
Here I go
-(part 1)-
The basics
Firstly, if you're not going for shell replacement, then you will want to patch your Uxtheme.dll to accept 3rd party themes. Then, simply browse www.deviantart.com and www.themexp.org to get what you want - generally themes come in 2 flavours, the .msstyles and .theme extensions.
A screenshot of just a basic theme (KDE), with some new icons for My Computer/the Recyle Bin
Secondly, for more leetness, you'll want the Windows Powertoy TweakUI. This lets you do all sorts of coolness like changing what items appear on the desktop, and what can appear in the 'Most Used' section of the program's menu. Now, Microsoft do a whole set of Powertoys if you're interested, but I haven't used them aside from TweakUI, so I can't really comment on them, but most seem to be not of great use to me!
First catagory Docks
In order of RAM usage, the smallest is RK Launcher - very very Maclike, made to be supposedly compatible with Y'Z Dock docklets and eventually ObjectDock ones, all with a minimum of RAM usage.
In terms of use, it's fairly easy to configure it to how you want it - the basic programs the icons point to weren't the ones I wanted to use, but it was pretty easy to change them, and to add new icons to the Dock. Here's a screenshot of it in action on my PC:
Now I didn't have much sucess getting it to work with other docklets and extensions, so that's a minus, but one that will hopefully be fixed in future releases. The second minus is that the autohide feature of it kept minimising games in loading when my mouse neared that side of the screen. Plus points include ease of setup/maintence, minimising windows sends them to the Dock, represented by their screenshot (a minus point is that tasks don't show up by default in the dock, they HAVE to be minmised), stability and low low RAM usage
(The Mac-ness can be a plus or minus depending on your point of view )
Next up is Y'Z Dock, which has been in the news lately, having been shut down by Apple, for directly emulating their dock - but, as with everything on the net, it's possible to find, and the first result on a google search was this!. So much for lawsuits eh
Slightly higher in RAM usage than RKlauncher, by about 2 or 3mb, it supports a range of plugins, but sadly, as it never made it to a full release, there aren't that many about. Still, it has SysStats [live updating system statistics, email, news etc] capability, (If you can work out how to config it properly ) and has a range of other extensions available Here is a screenshot of it running with the very Mac-like Milky Flavour theme on my PC:
It was very easy to install new plugins for Y'Z Dock, (just put em in the plugins folder) and easier still to use them! (Just add them via properties, or by right-clicking on the Dock itself! ). Another plus point is that it uses around 12mb or RAM at peak, if memory serves correctly, and didn't crash on me once. It's a pity it never made it to a full release, becuase it probably would have been very good. The main minus point is that there aren't a lot of options available to customise it by default, and there isn't a huge variety of docklets available (due to it's destruction). Another disappointment, although minor, was the fact that the icons it came with weren't very good at all, and I had to seek out some good ones!
The final dock worth mentioning is ObjectDock now, the two versions of OD (Plus and the free one) are a bit different, in the sense that the free one is a very limited version of the paid-for. However. It does use less RAM, around 16mb if memory serves. The Plus version, as it contains more features, such as a tabbed dock (more on that later), the ability to monitor the systray, and multiple docks on screen at once. It uses anything from 16mb to 26mb of RAM. I have seen it peak at 35mb - but I'm not sure. An example of multiple docks on my PC:
As you can see, I am not using at as a full taskbar replacement in this screen, merely as something to comlement basic Windows features. In the next screen, I am taking advantage of the tabbed dock and taskbar replacement options:
The tabs in this case, functioned like a start menu replacement, with the dock itself my 'favourite programs' list.
Now, ObjectDock is well supported, with a huge amount of docklets available for download, however, a lot of them are rather buggy and crash OD itself, which is a very bad thing. The fact you have to pay for it is a major downside, but to be honest, it IS worth it if you're going down the route of docks, dispite the heavy RAM usage, the fact that it's by far the easiest to install, and it's far more customizable than the other two, make it a very very attractive choice. Just make sure you have 512mb+ of RAM
Docklets for Y'Z Dock and ObjectDock (And AveDesk which I'll be covering in a future update) are available free at DockEx.com
And icons and docklets are available for free (well, only till you exceed your download imit, and from then on I recommend using a login from www.bugmenot.com ) at www.wincustomize.com (along with extras for other StarDock programs I shall be covering in future updates! )
Docks to avoid AquaDock and MobyDock: Both were just generally rubbish, MobyDock coming with a docklet (present on the dock by default no less) that crashed the dock when used!
-(part x)-
So far, all the programs I have discussed have run under Explorer.exe - this next installment will deal with:
Shell Replacement
Simply put, this replaces the shell of Windows, explorer.exe with that of another program, completely customizing the interface - they can be a blast to use or configure - if they behave properly . Now, I didn't have a chance to test all the Shells out there, but I've cut down to a selection. Also, I don't have screenshots of them all running on my machine.. but I shall endevour to update it till tht is so.
The very first shell replacement I tried was EvilDesk, which runs using around 8mb of RAM while just sitting there, but I have seen it peak at ~18mb - still less than Explorer. Anyway, a major plus to this shell is it's easily accesable documentation.
Comes complete with taskbar and 'flasher' plugin, which makes the icons of programs demanding attention (IM windows for example) bounce and flash in the slit near the systray.
Positives include: low RAM usage, optional window transparency, 4 virtual desktops, and nice minimalist look. The one major gripe is the complete and utter lack of a taskbar.. it's very hard to get used to switching programs using Alt-Tab...
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I shall be adding more later along the lines of:
[more] Shell Replacements
Other Enhancements
File Managers
Plus anything else I can think of
Feedback please :dance:
Righty - I shall include screenshots of my own computer running the programs if possible, if not, I shall use the ones provided on various websites :>
Here I go
-(part 1)-
The basics
Firstly, if you're not going for shell replacement, then you will want to patch your Uxtheme.dll to accept 3rd party themes. Then, simply browse www.deviantart.com and www.themexp.org to get what you want - generally themes come in 2 flavours, the .msstyles and .theme extensions.
A screenshot of just a basic theme (KDE), with some new icons for My Computer/the Recyle Bin
Secondly, for more leetness, you'll want the Windows Powertoy TweakUI. This lets you do all sorts of coolness like changing what items appear on the desktop, and what can appear in the 'Most Used' section of the program's menu. Now, Microsoft do a whole set of Powertoys if you're interested, but I haven't used them aside from TweakUI, so I can't really comment on them, but most seem to be not of great use to me!
First catagory Docks
In order of RAM usage, the smallest is RK Launcher - very very Maclike, made to be supposedly compatible with Y'Z Dock docklets and eventually ObjectDock ones, all with a minimum of RAM usage.
In terms of use, it's fairly easy to configure it to how you want it - the basic programs the icons point to weren't the ones I wanted to use, but it was pretty easy to change them, and to add new icons to the Dock. Here's a screenshot of it in action on my PC:
Now I didn't have much sucess getting it to work with other docklets and extensions, so that's a minus, but one that will hopefully be fixed in future releases. The second minus is that the autohide feature of it kept minimising games in loading when my mouse neared that side of the screen. Plus points include ease of setup/maintence, minimising windows sends them to the Dock, represented by their screenshot (a minus point is that tasks don't show up by default in the dock, they HAVE to be minmised), stability and low low RAM usage
(The Mac-ness can be a plus or minus depending on your point of view
) Next up is Y'Z Dock, which has been in the news lately, having been shut down by Apple, for directly emulating their dock
- but, as with everything on the net, it's possible to find, and the first result on a google search was this!. So much for lawsuits eh Slightly higher in RAM usage than RKlauncher, by about 2 or 3mb, it supports a range of plugins, but sadly, as it never made it to a full release, there aren't that many about. Still, it has SysStats [live updating system statistics, email, news etc] capability, (If you can work out how to config it properly
) and has a range of other extensions available Here is a screenshot of it running with the very Mac-like Milky Flavour theme on my PC:
It was very easy to install new plugins for Y'Z Dock, (just put em in the plugins folder) and easier still to use them! (Just add them via properties, or by right-clicking on the Dock itself! ). Another plus point is that it uses around 12mb or RAM at peak, if memory serves correctly, and didn't crash on me once. It's a pity it never made it to a full release, becuase it probably would have been very good. The main minus point is that there aren't a lot of options available to customise it by default, and there isn't a huge variety of docklets available (due to it's destruction). Another disappointment, although minor, was the fact that the icons it came with weren't very good at all, and I had to seek out some good ones!
The final dock worth mentioning is ObjectDock now, the two versions of OD (Plus and the free one) are a bit different, in the sense that the free one is a very limited version of the paid-for. However. It does use less RAM, around 16mb if memory serves. The Plus version, as it contains more features, such as a tabbed dock (more on that later), the ability to monitor the systray, and multiple docks on screen at once. It uses anything from 16mb to 26mb of RAM. I have seen it peak at 35mb - but I'm not sure. An example of multiple docks on my PC:
As you can see, I am not using at as a full taskbar replacement in this screen, merely as something to comlement basic Windows features. In the next screen, I am taking advantage of the tabbed dock and taskbar replacement options:
The tabs in this case, functioned like a start menu replacement, with the dock itself my 'favourite programs' list.
Now, ObjectDock is well supported, with a huge amount of docklets available for download, however, a lot of them are rather buggy and crash OD itself, which is a very bad thing
. The fact you have to pay for it is a major downside, but to be honest, it IS worth it if you're going down the route of docks, dispite the heavy RAM usage, the fact that it's by far the easiest to install, and it's far more customizable than the other two, make it a very very attractive choice. Just make sure you have 512mb+ of RAM Docklets for Y'Z Dock and ObjectDock (And AveDesk which I'll be covering in a future update) are available free at DockEx.com
And icons and docklets are available for free (well, only till you exceed your download imit, and from then on I recommend using a login from www.bugmenot.com ) at www.wincustomize.com (along with extras for other StarDock programs I shall be covering in future updates! )
Docks to avoid AquaDock and MobyDock: Both were just generally rubbish, MobyDock coming with a docklet (present on the dock by default no less) that crashed the dock when used!
-(part x)-
So far, all the programs I have discussed have run under Explorer.exe - this next installment will deal with:
Shell Replacement
Simply put, this replaces the shell of Windows, explorer.exe with that of another program, completely customizing the interface - they can be a blast to use or configure - if they behave properly
. Now, I didn't have a chance to test all the Shells out there, but I've cut down to a selection. Also, I don't have screenshots of them all running on my machine.. but I shall endevour to update it till tht is so.The very first shell replacement I tried was EvilDesk, which runs using around 8mb of RAM while just sitting there, but I have seen it peak at ~18mb - still less than Explorer. Anyway, a major plus to this shell is it's easily accesable documentation.
Comes complete with taskbar and 'flasher' plugin, which makes the icons of programs demanding attention (IM windows for example) bounce and flash in the slit near the systray.
Positives include: low RAM usage, optional window transparency, 4 virtual desktops, and nice minimalist look. The one major gripe is the complete and utter lack of a taskbar.. it's very hard to get used to switching programs using Alt-Tab...
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I shall be adding more later along the lines of:
[more] Shell Replacements
Other Enhancements
File Managers
Plus anything else I can think of
Feedback please :dance:
