As DeskScapes 2.0 draws nearer (it's been available as a beta to Object Desktop subscribers for a little while now), I thought this would be a good time to highlight some of the great Dreams the community has been creating and uploading lately.

It's almost that time again, time for a refresh and a new snapshot of Object Desktop for 2008.  This year, in addition to the regular refresh to the suite of customization tools, we're splitting it up into two separate groups: Object Desktop and Object Desktop Ultimate. The Guided Tour explains exactly what that split means, and talks about new tools such as Impulse, an updated DesktopX, the new MyColors and more. It's a great read and should give you a good idea of what to expect ...

Tutorial articles showing you how to use an application through screenshots and blurbs of text can be very helpful in learning your way around a tool, but often even with screens and text, it can be confusing on how exactly to access a given feature or option. To that end, Island Dog has been working on a series of Screencasts, narrated video walkthroughs of several skinning/customization applications, focusing on specific features within the applications His Screencasts so far: Win...

As we've worked on updating the look and feel of the forums, we realized it was finally time for some new emoticons/smileys.  Our previous set, designed by CerebroJD had served us well for many years, but it was time to look to the future for something new.  Since we have a community of incredibly talented visual artists, I turned to you seeking a new smiley set. While it got off to a slow start, you pulled together some terrific smiley sets.  Here's what we had to choose from:...

Last week's poll was a surprise.  People actually voted against the idea of a brand new gallery on the site, and when I've talked about other new galleries in the past the general response seems to either be "meh" or "no" so it raises a question in my mind.  Does the community on the whole want the site to expand in its coverage to cover new types of skinning?  With the advancement of cell phones, PDAs, and web-based applications, the world of skinning has grown drastically pa...

Polls are interesting things.  Sometimes you ask what you think is a no-brainer, a question that could only have one reasonable outcome, but then you're surprised when it turns out to be the exact opposite.  Last week's poll worked just like that. Last week I asked if users would like to see WinCustomize add a cell phone theme gallery to the offering.  My expectation was that everyone would be up for more customizable content on the site.  More skins = more users and that...

Ok, this time change is wreaking havoc on my body.  The alarm going off at what felt like 5am just wasn't the way to start the week.  But my grogginess and lack of sleep won't get in the way of rounding up the best skins from the last weekend.  So while I go for my 5th cup of coffee for the morning, you all can feast your eyes on some great skins...  

Skinning is the focus here.  We're always talking about individual skins or suites.  A cool WB skin here, some great cursors there and so on.  Rarely though do we talk about how great different skins look when they're mixed and matched in combinations even the authors never anticipated.  Our Screenshots gallery exists just for that purpose though. Every now and then it pays to wander through the gallery to see what people are using and how cool it looks. Here are some ...

This week just flew by!  Well, to help you wrap up your work week, Island Dog is here with a fantastic selection of skins uploaded over the last week.  So far this year we've been seeing week after week of great work being submitted, and this week is no exception. Check out the article for the full list of skins, see what you might have missed.

In case you've forgotten, we're running a contest to design a new set of smiley/emoticons for our forums.  So far we only have two entries posted to the thread and there's just one day left to enter.  Remember, on top of having your smileys used across all of our forums for the next few years, you'll get a free Object Desktop subscription (or 1yr extension).  So for a handful of images, you could get a nice prize and some fame on a site that gets millions upon millions of hit...

Originally released in 2004, StealthOS by MikeB314 is one of the most popular WindowBlinds skins on WinCustomize with over 260,000 downloads since being posted 4 years ago. Yesterday, MikeB posted an updated version of StealthOS for WindowBlinds 6/Vista.  Now StealthOS has a new Start button, Start Menu and numerous other improvements and new elements made possible by WB6 and Vista. If you've somehow missed out on this terrific skin, go download it right now and give it a spin!...

Today is a great day for both desktop customizers, and fans of the NBA as Stardock unveils the NBA line of desktop themes under MyColors! Show your team spirit by covering your Windows PC with custom themes, wallpapers, icons and desktop gadgets done up in your team's colors & logo.  Stardock Design has been working around the clock for months to bring you desktop themes for all 30 NBA teams from the Atlanta Hawks all the way to the Washington Wizards. And it's not all just for show,...

February was one of our best months ever when it comes to great Dreams from the community, and that's saying something after the strong showing in January!  This month, TheMasterBaron really dominates with both Solar Flare and Utopia Prime  on the list. Click through to the full article and watch the montage video of all 8 Dreams.

Microsoft has launched UltimatePC.com , a new website where people can go to learn about the best PCs available and the great things that people do with them. UltimatePC.com also provides Windows Vista Ultimate customers with special offers called Ultimate Exclusives which deliver added value. These offers provide unique products and services at special discounts exclusively for Windows Vista Ultimate customers. Stardock is among those partners selected to participate in the initial launch. ...

It's been roughly a year since the last edition, so Brad is back with the 2007 edition of The State of Skinning.  It's an immense article covering everything from Vista to DesktopX, MyColors and beyond.  If you want a look at how 2007 panned out, and what 2008 has in store, this is a must-read. For me, Impluse and MyColors are the most exciting things coming up in 2008, they're going to bring skinning and the work we're doing here to the attention of people all over the world. ...