XP Eye Candy

[Heathen]

Vista came out a while back and I think it is sexy as hell. I still have XP, and have no feeling of changing. I do, however, want my XP to be as asthetically sexy as Vista.

Post your eye candy for XP. I will start us off.
(Also, didn't know if this belonged here, or tech place)

Thoosje Sidebar: (http://www.thoosje.com/) Vista-esque sidebar. It currently does not allow downloadable gadgets to be used.
TopDesk: (http://www.otakusoftware.com/topdesk/index.html) Window Manager. Mac Expose and Vista Flip Style. (SilentWind)
Yodm3d: (http://www.modacity.net/forums/www.yodm3d.com) A cubed desktop that allows for 4 seperate desktops.
Madotate: (http://madotate.en.softonic.com/) Minimises windows to a 3d flattened version.(SilentWind)
YzDock: (http://oxyx.oxygen-inc.com/) Mac like dock with sex appeal.
WindowBlinds: (http://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/) Program used to use usermade themes.
UberIcon: (http://www.ubericon.com/)* simple animations when an Icon is clicked.
Real Desktop: (http://www.real-desktop.de/index.php?lang=Language/English.txt)** Makes your desktop 3D in an attempt to stay organized.
ObjectDock (http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/): mac osx style object dock. (SnaFuBAR)
XP Royale Theme: (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/Themes/Royale-Theme-for-WinXP.shtml) Theme for Windows XP.(Polar_bear)
XP Royale Noir Theme: (http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Royale-Noir-Theme-Download-55201.html) Theme for Windows XP. (Limited)
Ultramon: (http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/) Increases Dualscreen Usability (from what I understand) (Reaper Man)


If its asked for enough, I will post videos of each.


*those with a star are new to me. I talked about my others on teh desktop thread.
**two stars....Newer :D



When you post one, include a description and a link.

[Terry]

I tend to avoid using these since my PC is pretty much crap and I dont want to bog it down anymore. The only thing I use now is a slightly better task-switcher that was a power-toy for XP.

But that topdesk looks pretty interesting, however, it not being freeware makes it pointless to me. That real-desktop also looks pretty damn interesting, and I remember seeing a demo of it a while back, so thanks for reminding me about it!

[SnaFuBAR]

ObjectDock (http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/) by Stardock - mac osx style object dock.

[Heathen]

@ Topdesk. Its pretty useful when you like to do multiple things at once without getting confused. I can IM on one, Shoop on the other, forum and myspace in another , etc. Well it has a freeware version somewhere. Or a demo. Something. I have the full version :/

Same goes for Real Desktop. Has a free version but I have the full version. Its really neat, and once you get it down, its actually IS neater and more organized.

[Bastinka]

You stole some of these from me!
Put me in the credits, bitch.

I use:

Windows Blinds Enhanced 6.0v
IconPackager
Google Toolbar
UberIcon
TopDesk
My recommendations :3

[Kalub]

Pfft.... I demand you put Google in the credits.


ololol....kbye sluts

[SnaFuBAR]

might wanna fix your yodm3d link.

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

Get MCE Its the sexiest of all :p

[p0lar_bear]

Moved to Tech Talk.

Royale (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/Themes/Royale-Theme-for-WinXP.shtml) is all I need (http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p119/p0lar_bear/royale.png). :)

[Limited]

Moved to Tech Talk.

Royale (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/Themes/Royale-Theme-for-WinXP.shtml) is all I need (http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p119/p0lar_bear/royale.png). :)
Royale Noir > Royale
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7273/noiryh4.png

[Reaper Man]

RocketDock + Stacks docklet tbh. Also, ultramon for dual screen users. (for the smart taskbar)

[Party_Grunt]

Zune theme, its the sex. Gave up on those eye candy programs because my XPS was getting bogged down by them.

[SnaFuBAR]

This is good stuff, guys. I got both themes.

Reaper, isn't ultramon a shareware program?

[Heathen]

Zune theme, its the sex. Gave up on those eye candy programs because my XPS was getting bogged down by them.
Have an XPS 400 and it rolls fine...

[PlasbianX]

This is good stuff, guys. I got both themes.

Reaper, isn't ultramon a shareware program?

30 day trial, then you gotta buy it.

[Party_Grunt]

Have an XPS 400 and it rolls fine...
My m170 gets raped by those programs (see computer specs), I have no idea why others slower computers can run them and I can't. This was one of the most powerful laptops you could buy back in 06, and even then I couldn't run them very well.

[Heathen]

My comps always been like that. I could run F.E.A.R. all the way up with no problems. Its a pretty sporty game too. Idc. I dont PC game much besides Company of Heroes and Halo. Some HL sprinkled in there too.

[SnaFuBAR]

grunt: single core
heathen: dual core

that's the difference.

also, ugh, need free version of ultramon or something like it.

[Gamerkd16]

XP Royale Noir Theme: (http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Royale-Noir-Theme-Download-55201.html) Theme for Windows XP. (Limited)

Is there a 32 bit version for this?

[Limited]

Is there a 32 bit version for this?
Must be because I'm 32 bit.

The files go into a theme folder, C:\Windows\RESOURCES\Themes

http://www.savefile.com/files/1755446

I recommend you make a backup of your current theme just incase (Theme popup - click save as)
There you go :D

[Party_Grunt]

grunt: single core
heathen: dual core

that's the difference.

also, ugh, need free version of ultramon or something like it.
Not necessarily, they ran poorly when no games were running and only a few browser windows were running. It would take forever for the computer to boot up and almost as long for it to load the desktop.

Its a laptop so maybe that's the problem. They usually run about 70 or 80 processes at a time so it doesn't help.

[Gamerkd16]

Must be because I'm 32 bit.

The files go into a theme folder, C:\Windows\RESOURCES\Themes

http://www.savefile.com/files/1755446

I recommend you make a backup of your current theme just incase (Theme popup - click save as)
There you go :D
Nice dude. Thanks, it worked.

[Cortexian]

I use ObjectDock on my gaming rig, really low resource impact but really handy to access all my common apps, without having to leave Desktop shortcuts.

[Edward Elrich]

The only thing I use is the Zune theme. Tried using a cracked version of WindowBlinds (before knowing how bad cracks can be) and then gave up (took ages to get my theme back to normal...).

As I have Vista now, XP eye candy won't really work anymore, but I may try the mac-esque dock just for fun...

[Gamerkd16]

The only thing I use is the Zune theme. Tried using a cracked version of WindowBlinds (before knowing how bad cracks can be) and then gave up (took ages to get my theme back to normal...).

As I have Vista now, XP eye candy won't really work anymore, but I may try the mac-esque dock just for fun...
Same thing happened with me. After I uninstalled WindowsBlinds all my themes were screwed up. It's best just to stick with themes you can choose through "Properties" in my opinion.

[Reaper Man]

This is good stuff, guys. I got both themes.

Reaper, isn't ultramon a shareware program?
Yeah, but it's real useful.

[Gamerkd16]

I just realized. Real Desktop is not the demonstration of the program I saw before. It's a crappy copycat program. This (http://bumptop.com/) is the one I saw. And it's not released yet. But once it is, that will be a nice piece of eye candy.

http://bumptop.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ODskdEPnQ&feature=related

[Heathen]

Wrongo. This came BEFORE Bumptop. Theirs a heated debate which ripped off which, and the RD guys have documentation that they make theirs before the others.

[Gamerkd16]

Wrongo. This came BEFORE Bumptop. Theirs a heated debate which ripped off which, and the RD guys have documentation that they make theirs before the others.
Ah, ok. Well still, they might have ripped it, but they went above and beyond what the Real Desktop did.

[Heathen]

You are right that they went above and beyond anything RD has. I do like the ability to hang things on the walls and the way they made stacking easier. But something about it seemed.....cluttered. I am not sure what it was. Something about it seemed clunky.

[Gamerkd16]

Well because the walls are there you don't get the entire desktop to work with like you do with a regular desktop. It's shrunk towards the middle to allow wall space.

[Heathen]

But in a regular desktop you cant go out of the square you have. Besides, you can stack icons 1000+ high if you wish, so it makes up for that.

[Heathen]

I have recently checked out ObjectDock and its is MUCH better tahn Y'z Dock.

Srsly.

[SnaFuBAR]

^_^ am winner

[Heathen]

It is truely much better. I love it.

[Edward Elrich]

ObjectDock=win (although I don't want the PLUS version now, since the basic version does enough for me...) I don't know about much of the others, though.

[Kalub]

RAINMETER!

[SnaFuBAR]

an alternative to ultramon...

Display Fusion (http://www.binaryfortress.com/displayfusion/)

[InnerGoat]

wow nice fidn Snaf

[SnaFuBAR]

Oh, and here's an automatic desktop wallpaper changer (thanks to timo for this)

Gaia Wallpaper Desktop (http://www.gaiadreamcreation.com/desktop-applications/gaia-wallpaper-desktop/) (free version at the bottom)

[DaneO'Roo]

uh, that noir theme totally destroyed the icons for my computer, my documents, recycle bin etc etc and now I have no way of getting them back it seems. They have that unkown file thing instead of the image now.

Awesome.

wait nvm, i fixed it.

[kenney001]

http://static3.filefront.com/images/personal/k/kenney001/155150/suiycpfpve.jpg

Awsome theme...

[DaneO'Roo]

if thats the royale/noir theme, I had the same problem, turns out you have to run an extra thing to tell xp to recognise the files.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/UXTheme-MultiPatcher.shtml

Just download and run that, do what I it says.

[PlasbianX]

an alternative to ultramon...

Display Fusion (http://www.binaryfortress.com/displayfusion/)

Except it isnt free and the only thing you can do with the free version is stretch your wallpaper across 2 screens or use 2 diff wallpapers at the same time. But thats all i needed it for anyways. Thanks for the find

[RedBaron]

I'm loving the royale noir remix pack, looks great with steam and windows media player. It was a bitch to crack my uxtheme.dll, I did it manually because I'm paranoid with running user made programs. If you want to do it manually, or the patches aren't working, you can follow these steps:

http://www.belchfire.net/index.php?showtopic=9001

Make sure to follow the precedures for the 4 additional paths near the bottom of the first post. Windows search did not go through C:\Windows\System32\dllcache for me when i did it.

[Bodzilla]

i remember finding a little file that made the backround look like rippling water.

Worked in real tiem and had pretty reflections as well :D

kinda a little broken in some regards but it's nice for a change of scene.
Try looking for it at VisualParadox wallpapers.
you can search for it here

http://visualparadox.com/

[Needles]

Anyone know a good site for REALLY nice wallpapers? I want a colorful picture with really nice looking light effects.

[supersniper]

Double Desktop (http://www.fatfreesoft.com/2desk20.exe)
Why have one when you can have 2. Just switch on and off one for work and the other for ...

What it does is when you install the .exe it well put a red arrow in the bottom left corner of your screen by the time. Then just click the arrow to switch from one to the other. When your done using it just right click and exit and it will combine both desktops back into one so anything open will just be back as one desktop so you don't lose anything. I say it's pretty handy...

Not really an Eye Candy but more of a Special treat.

[Heathen]

Why have 2 when you can have 6?
Deskspace.

[Heathen]

Ripple thingy. (http://visualparadox.com/animated.htm)

[Saggy]

Double Desktop (http://www.fatfreesoft.com/2desk20.exe)
Why have one when you can have 2. Just switch on and off one for work and the other for ...

What it does is when you install the .exe it well put a red arrow in the bottom left corner of your screen by the time. Then just click the arrow to switch from one to the other. When your done using it just right click and exit and it will combine both desktops back into one so anything open will just be back as one desktop so you don't lose anything. I say it's pretty handy...

Not really an Eye Candy but more of a Special treat.
You might want to get rid of that link. As soon as I clicked it a threat was detected.

[supersniper]

really? I've used it for a while and AVG never considered it a thread...

[Rook]

Anyone know a good site for REALLY nice wallpapers?
This one is ok. http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper_beta/downloads/date/any/

[ramis92]

I download something called a Bricopack, which basically was a combination of programs and themes that changed my desktop to a Vista one. http://www.vista-inspirat.net/

[Bodzilla]

Ripple thingy. (http://visualparadox.com/animated.htm)
it's pretty bizzare hey :p

[Heathen]

dunno. Dont need it :3

[Corndogman]

Ripple thingy. (http://visualparadox.com/animated.htm)

Just tried it. Kind of cool but it makes your icons ripple too, which is annoying.

The doubldesktop thing is awesome too, I'm using it now.

E: Holy shit this is awesome, I can hide my porn on one screen if someone walks in have 3ds max on one side and photoshop on the other!

[Saggy]

really? I've used it for a while and AVG never considered it a thread...
Yeah, disregard my other comment. The file is ok, but the site has links to sites with malicious content, so my virus protection was warning me to browse the site at my own discretion. The link itself is fine, but the site is iffy.

Also, the DoubleDesktop is cool, but I couldn't find a way to drag one window to the other desktop. Is that even possible with this? If it isn't, then I'm just going to stick with DeskSpace (Thanks Heathen!) (http://www.otakusoftware.com/deskspace/). 6 desktops and the ability to drag any program to any desktop. Only downside is that it's a trial. But there's ways around that...

[Corndogman]

Just drag the window as far to the right as you can, then when you switch to the rights side it will show up, as if the two sides were connected. (well I guess they actually are, you just cant see it.)

[Saggy]

I can't seem to get my cursor to appear when using the second desktop. I think I'll just stick with DeskSpace.

[Bodzilla]

Just tried it. Kind of cool but it makes your icons ripple too, which is annoying.

The doubldesktop thing is awesome too, I'm using it now.

E: Holy shit this is awesome, I can hide my porn on one screen if someone walks in have 3ds max on one side and photoshop on the other!
you can turn off it rippling your icons from memory :p
i had a picture of a Massive ball of fire.

and it was awesome with it.

SMOKE ON THE WATER!!

[Corndogman]

That's weird, its working perfect for me.

[Bodzilla]

what?

[Saggy]

Think he was replying to my post

[Heathen]

addressing saggy's complaint about the missing cursor.

Also, oops. I think Ima just drop this here. (http://www.modacity.net/forums/showthread.php?t=13715)

[Corndogman]

Yeah I was addressing Saggy's complaint there Bod, forgot I had this page open for a while though. I figured it out though, thanks, just have to use a mask.

[Kalub]

Curious if any of you guys know about a screensaver or something that's like the aurora borealis... google failed me :(

[Jean-Luc]

hmmm. Only aurora screensavers I've seen are cheaply made and boring. I'll keep an eye out though.

[InnerGoat]

Curious if any of you guys know about a screensaver or something that's like the aurora borealis... google failed me :(I used to have one. It was in a pack with other 3d screensavers that were ported from Linux I think :confused:

[SnaFuBAR]

http://www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/

Allows you to customize your logon screen. Works for vista, too. Thanks to Jean Luc for finding this.

[RobertGraham]

Here is a Windows XP to Mac OS X Leopard Tutorial (http://anoos.deviantart.com/art/XP-Leopard-Tutorial-67207472)
NOTE: READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE DESCRIPTION, THERE IS NO DOWNLOAD FROM THAT TUTORIAL, EVERYTHING IS IN THE DESCRIPTION.

[ThePlague]

Going to Leopard from XP is like going from Linux to Vista, it's retarded.

[Heathen]

Wincustomize.com has great stuff for windows and vista.

[BobtheGreatII]

Going to Leopard from XP is like going from Linux to Vista, it's retarded.

Umm... You like, complemented XP but then bashed Vista? What? Seriously, the whole "Vista sucks" phase has so passed.