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DesktopX
DesktopX was a shareware desktop enhancement program that allowed users to build their own custom desktops. Amongst its features was a complete widget engine for Microsoft Windows, Windows as well as a desktop object system. User creations could be exported as .desktop files or as widgets. The program was distributed with Object Desktop as well as stand-alone. DesktopX was released by Alberto Riccio in 1999 as VDE (Verona Desktop Enhancer), and bought in 2000 by Stardock. Mini-applications created with it were called "object packs" but later rebranded as "widgets" to standardize the term. Most users used DesktopX to build alternative desktop environments. The mini-application creation ability was there from the start but did not gain widespread use until the release of ''DesktopX 2'' in 2003. Current versions run on Windows 2000 and above. DesktopX is no longer for sale by its author and is not actively supported. Overview DesktopX supports the creation of three different typ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Object Desktop
Object Desktop (OD; previously the Object Desktop Network or ODNT) is an online software subscription service created by Stardock for OS/2 and relaunched for Microsoft Windows, Windows in 1997. Object Desktop includes most graphical user interface customization and productivity products offered by Stardock, including ''WindowBlinds'', ''Fences (software), Fences'', ''DesktopX'', ''Tweak7'', ''IconPackager'' and ''ObjectBar''. History OS/2 (1993 to 2001) Object Desktop — initially entitled ''The Workplace Toolset/2'' — was developed over three years by Brad Wardell and Kurt Westerfeld subsequent to Stardock's ''OS/2 Essentials'', a pre-registered set of OS/2 shareware. Object Desktop 1.0 was followed by 1.5 and Professional' versions following in short order. By 1997 the OS/2 independent software vendor, ISV market was flagging, and many customers were switching to Windows NT 4. 1997 OS/2 revenues were 33% of those in 1996, and they fell to 25% of 1996 levels in 1998. This le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stardock
Stardock Corporation is an American software development Company (law), company founded in 1991 and incorporation (business), incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch to Microsoft Windows due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998. The company is best known for computer programs that allow a user to modify or extend a graphical user interface as well as personal computer games, particularly Strategy video game, strategy games such as the ''Galactic Civilizations'' series, ''Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion'', ''Elemental: Fallen Enchantress'', and ''Ashes of the Singularity''. Stardock created and maintains WinCustomize, a graphical user interface customization community, and developed the Impulse (content delivery), Impulse content delivery system before its sale to GameStop. Many of the Skin (computing), skins and Theme (computer), themes featured on its site are for softwar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WinCustomize
WinCustomize is a website that provides content for users to customize Microsoft Windows. The site hosts thousands of skins, themes, icons, wallpapers, and other graphical content to modify the Windows graphical user interface. There is some premium or paid content, however, the vast majority of the content is free for users to download. Site history WinCustomize was launched in March 2001 by Brad Wardell and Pat Ford, both of whom work at Stardock. After the dot-com recession had taken down many popular skin sites, WinCustomize quickly grew in popularity due to a combination of wide variety of content, uptime reliability, and being the preferred content destination by Stardock customers. The site has grown at a far greater pace than its founders had anticipated. It has managed to avoid having to put many limitations on users or having to resort to pop-up advertising because of its corporate patron Stardock subsidizing its costs. This growth has prompted several site red ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yahoo! Widget Engine
Yahoo Widgets is a discontinued free application platform for macOS, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, specifically Windows XP, Windows Vista, Vista and Windows 7. The software was previously called Konfabulator, but after being acquired by computer services company Yahoo on July 25, 2005, it was rebranded. The name Konfabulator was subsequently reinstated as the name of the underlying rendering engine. The engine uses a JavaScript run-time system, runtime environment combined with an XML interpreter to run small applications referred to as GUI widget, widgets, and hence is part of a class of Computer software, software applications called widget engines. On February 27, 2012, Yahoo updated the License agreement stating that as of April 3, 2012 Yahoo! Widgets will continue to be available for download but support and development would stop. Features Yahoo Widget Engine includes some default widgets to get users started, including a weather widget, a digital clock, and a calendar amon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plug-in (computing)
In computing, a plug-in (also spelled plugin) or add-in (also addin, add-on, or addon) is a software component that extends the functionality of an existing software system without requiring the system to be software build, re-built. A plug-in software feature, feature is one way that a system can be customizable. Applications support plug-ins for a variety of reasons including: * Enable third-party developers to extend an application * Support easily adding new features * Reduce the size of an application by not loading unused features * Separate source code from an application because of incompatible software licenses Examples Examples of plug-in use for various categories of applications: * Digital audio workstations and audio editing software use audio plug-ins to generate, process or analyze sound. Ardour (software), Ardour, Audacity (audio editor), Audacity, Cubase, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Logic Pro X and Pro Tools are examples of such systems. * Email clients use plug-i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utilities For Windows
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to statewide government monopolies. Public utilities are meant to supply goods and services that are considered essential; water, gas, electricity, telephone, waste disposal, and other communication systems represent much of the public utility market. The transmission lines used in the transportation of electricity, or natural gas pipelines, have natural monopoly characteristics. A monopoly can occur when it finds the best way to minimize its costs through economies of scale to the point where other companies cannot compete with it. For example, if many companies are already offering electricity, the additional installation of a power plant will only disadvantage the consumer as price ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows Desktop Gadgets
Windows Desktop Gadgets (called Windows Sidebar in Windows Vista) is a discontinued widget engine for Microsoft Gadgets. Desktop Gadgets have been replaced by Windows 10 Taskbar Widgets. It was introduced with Windows Vista, in which it features a sidebar anchored to the side of the desktop. Its widgets can perform various tasks, such as displaying the time and date. In Windows Vista, the widgets are restricted to a sidebar but in Windows 7, they can be freely moved anywhere on the desktop. Windows Desktop Gadgets was discontinued in Windows 8. The Windows 8 Live Tiles can perform a similar function, but they are only visible when the Start menu is visible. They run in a more restrictive environment, making them less risky, but also less useful for some purposes, like system monitoring. History Windows Sidebar originated in a Microsoft Research project called ''Sideshow'' (not to be confused with Windows SideShow). It was developed in the summer of 2000, and was used inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on November 8, 2006, and over the following two months, it was released in stages to business customers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released internationally and was made available for purchase and download from the Windows Marketplace; it is the first release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform. Development of Windows Vista began in 2001 under the codename "Longhorn"; originally envisioned as a minor successor to Windows XP, it feature creep, gradually included numerous new features from the then-next major release of Windows codenamed "Blackc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
