The 2008 GUI Championships, the latest iteration of the world’s largest GUI customization competition, is quickly approaching.  This fall skinners from all over the globe will compete in one of three main events for their shot at hardware, software and cash prizes totaling near $10,000!

For the last few months we’ve been letting out little teasers here and there about what we’re going to be doing with this year’s event.  Today, I’m happy to reveal some of the contest details to everyone, so skinners can begin to prepare their masterpieces early.  In 2006, there were complaints that there wasn’t enough warning on the contest, so this year we’re giving you all months to prepare!

Departing from our normally cheery news of cool skins, neat programs and new releases, today I wanted to share with everyone some news that could have a very significant impact on copyright law in the United States, specifically in the area of reusing work by other artists.  The US Orphan Works Act of 2008 has two very important aspects that every skinner or digital artist should take heed of: Artists will need to register their works with an entity designated by the US Copyright Of...

It's the start of a new month, so once more I polled the moderators for their favorite skins of the month that was.  It's a short list this month as many mods are taking some time off for vacations, holidays etc. Dracon by Libardo " Libardo's latest Rainlendar (first in two years) is an outstanding skin.  Real art imo.  Hope to see more matching skins. " - Snowman Sunsets Too by OutdoorPictures " A real montage of sunsets.  Each could...

Today's show is just ID and myself.  In episode 12 we talk largely about the loss of SkinArtistry and the (&%@ hackers who ruined a great site.  We get probably 5 or 6 min of ranting out of that.  The second half of the show we talk about what we look for when picking skins to feature on the front page.  Everything from proper previews, to original and enticing designs.  If you've ever wondered what goes through our minds when we pick a skin, then you definitely want to ...

Welcome back from the long holiday weekend everyone!  I hope everyone had a fun, restful few days (I know I did).  Now however, it's back to work, emails, conference calls and meetings.  So to help ease you back into the working world, here are some of my favorite skins from the long weekend.  Enjoy!

To all of our US community members, I'd like to wish you all a happy Independence Day holiday filled with grilling, fireworks and all other sorts of fun.  Be safe, enjoy the time off, and relax! Because of the holiday weekend, Stardock is closed starting today, July 3rd and will reopen on Monday, July 7th.  This means that until Monday, there will be no official support available on these forums, via phone or e-mail.  Everyone here at Stardock is taking a few days of well-earn...

If you've tried to visit SkinArtistry.com in the last day or so, you've found yourself staring at the following notice: "Skinartistry.com is now officially closed due to hackers installing a series of php scripts, to send out spam, and other various malware. I am sorry that it had to come to this, but they say the third time is the charm. To all those that made SA what it is today, I thank you. Especially all Admins, thanks for your hard work! I will be talking to some that may want to rev...

Last month I decided to make the monthly screenshot thread a little bit more interesting by giving away a WinCustomize subscription to the person who posted, what I thought was, the best screenshot.  The only particular rule I had in place was that I would only look at the user's first submitted screenshot in the thread, so folks who posted half a dozen or more only qualified with their first submission.  Sadly there were some great screenshots I wanted to list off here that were 2nd o...

Island Dog is back with yet another helpful and informative screencast.  This time he's showing off how to change windows explorer backgrounds with WindowBlinds 6. It's a quick video, clocking in at nearly 4 minutes, but it covers virtually every feature related to the background changing features.  So if you wanted to see exactly how to change out your explorer backgrounds, give the video a look. On a side note, ID recorded this screencast using his brand new Samson C01U USB M...

It's the 1st of July, so it's time for a new Monthly Desktop Screenshot thread on the forums! Snowman kicks things off with a JJ Ying skin and a killer car wallpaper Share your desktop shots with the community!

As June is now over, it's time for Island Dog to go through the vast number of Dreams uploaded to WinCustomize and pick out some of the best to feature in his monthly video montage.  June had some terrific Dreams to choose from.  This month we have Dreams from G47, Agustsigurdsson, Muckyman, CarGuy, Seabass, and TheMasterBaron. Hit the link to check out the video and links.

Welcome to Monday folks!  If you're in the US, this is a nice short week for you with the Independence Day holiday on Friday.  So to get the week started, I'm back after a week off with my picks for some of the best content uploaded to the site over the weekend.  Enjoy! Yeah, that last one is a CoolPlayer skin...

Tekzilla, a weekly vidcast from Revision3, staring Veronica Belmont & Patrick Norton put out Episode 38 today, where they show off ObjectDock.  ObjectDock is their featured Freebie Download of the Week and they show off how you can use it to jazz up your Windows desktop.  They show a number of shots of the dock in action, and you will probably recognize a few of the wallpapers, dock backgrounds, icons and maybe even a certain website in the video. The Freebie of the Week segment sta...

Rockstar is an upcoming MyColors Theme from Stardock Design.  WinCustomize Subscribers will be able to download the WindowBlinds skin for free!

Wow, it's been a busy week around these parts!  On top of Impulse and The Political Machine, there's been a ton of great skins posted to the site over the last few days.  To help wrap up the busy week, Island Dog once again comes up with his picks for some of the best work submitted over the week.  It's a fantastic selection this week too; DX Theme, Dream, icons, a RightClick skin, phenominal wallpapers and two top-notch WindowBlinds skins. Click through to the full article a...