I generally put the 'normal' buttons in the 'correct' place. But when you add extra buttons, how can they be in the wrong place? They were never in the 'correct' place to start with I guess in that case all you can do is create a substyle that doesn't include the extra buttons for those that fear change

I have to say in my opinion the Christmas theme is ugly

You know, I don't really have a problem with people not liking it. Of course we all have our own different opinions on what we think looks good. However, what pissed me off the most was the total lack of respect for the skill and effort that went into creating the theme. And there was obviously none of that in the Neowin post. Not liking is fine, disrespecting when chances are pretty good you couldn't even come close is another thing entirely.

what happened to skinners supporting each other? i remember when we were a tight knit community that got excited over the new and unusual...now it seems the conformists have taken over...

I haven't been involved in the community long enough to really know about the history. But I can say that I really do still get that feeling of community at Wincustomize. There are so many different types of skins made, and much of the comments and criticism really is constructive to help the skinner make the next project better. That sense of community is always heartening to see.

My point was more related to skins that have the original buttons in nonstandard positions, like on the top left rather than the top right.

I believe a lot of the msstylers, especially the younger ones, see themselves as rebellious rogues living out on the edge of society, and latch on to whatever is the accepted 'leet' paradigm. For the moment, that happens to be minimalistic lookalikes, at least in the msstyle side of the skinning world.

I hadn't thought about that. But it is an excellent observation. Thinking back, it really does sort of have this feeling of rebellion to it, even though they seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are all following along in some blind herd sort of mentality.

"its all about me .. screw the other guy" ..seems to be the common feeling at other sites ....

It is a shame as well. There have been some skinning sites that have popped up (populated by a lot of the regulars from WC) that are working to change that some, at least it seems that way to me. I think a real sense of community is one of the best things that could happen to OS customization. But I suppose the bitter reactions from multiple sides about widget apps is probably indicative of the loss of community out there. Hopefully we can keep above that.

And, yes, I have way too much free time at work today to not only write this article, but respond to all the comments.

I thought this was the point of customization...

You would think so, wouldn't you? You are right, there can be a lot of similarity in the WB skins as well. Gratefully, there is also a lot of originality there as well. Helps to keep things fresh.

You make being a basement dweller sound like a bad thing

I suppose it always isn't. Perhaps I should have taken into consideration who lived on the top floor.

From a technical point of view, uxtheme.dll is essentially the WindowBlinds 2.x engine stripped down and integrated into XP.  So they're essentially using an older "WindowBlinds LITE".

Ah - sorry about that It's just that I've received comments in regards to my extra buttons being in the wrong place.

In that case I think that offering a substyle with the standard buttons in the standard position is a good idea. That way you have offered originality and normality for those that prefer it

Yep,yep,yep-That's why I stopped using styleXp it lacked originality.The only originals seemed to had come from WB. I kept up with windowblinds cause of the lipstick theme( don't ask, I just took to it). Hum it's funny- look at windowblinds now(going somewhere)and look at StyleXp now(going nowhere--I'm speaking only for myself

Not only is stylexp not going anywhere anymore but if you go go tgtsoft's site, the forum is gone and they offer no support for it anymore. So it looks like they have realized that a modified uxtheme has won. It amazes me how people ripped on the unorthodox skinpack at neowin but when someone releases a longhorn clone, everyone is quick to download it. VS in general today lack the originality from when XP 1st appeared and when WB became mainstream. Everything seems to become cookie cutter themes that lack thought and personality.

Not only is stylexp not going anywhere anymore but if you go go tgtsoft's site, the forum is gone and they offer no support for it anymore. So it looks like they have realized that a modified uxtheme has won.

I think it is ridiculous that they thought they could make it by charging for something that was (and always should have been IMO) free. It doesn't surprise me in the least.

And I agree, anything that has some personality is lambasted over there. You don't even need to read the comments, they are always the same, memorized lines of crap.

I like the Luna look, but the .msstyles produced are mostly crap. Perhaps that's why really good ones, such as Reluna, garner so much attention. Meanwhile, literally hundreds of skins on the WindowBlinds side are of that caliber.
People might have had an actual reason to prefer StyleXP and the msstyle format over WindowBlinds before, but considering how much it can do now (even I, somebody who's very anal about the tiniest button, am in awe of how much it skins these days), it's simply denial.

I will not pay for a product which charges for services that are freely provided by artists.

If WB was a one time purchase like any other product, I might be ok with it, but they charge annually for services which are rendered freely by the artists.

Umm...what?!

What you buy, you keep forever. Once the end of the year is up, you just stop getting updates to it. Theres no nagware or anything in there. That means, that if I bought WB now, I'd have the version at the end of the year for as long as I wanted it. Even if I reformat, stardock will still supply me with the latest version I was allowed to have. THAT'S customer service, right there. Thats not like other products where if you lose them, you're screwed. I think that they've got a great customer service setup.

Remember, not ALL the content is free either. You always have to pay for the best stuff. WindowBlinds is better than ANY uxtheme hack, its legal (the hack is not) the quality of work is more diverse, as are the styles. Why you would allow yourself to use substandard software, as well as substandard themes, just because you are too cheap to do it the better way? It's just sad.

I will not pay for a product which charges for services that are freely provided by artists.

Then you obviously have no idea just how much more powerful Windowblinds is versus the uxtheme.dll hack. Good to know there is no shortage of ignoramuses out there.

Now, this is a perfect example. I just don't understand this mentality. The artists aren't providing you the program to skin your computer. Their work is sometimes amazing, but they didn't hack the system files. The fantastic Windowblinds artists aren't asking you to pay for anything. Heck, Stardock isn't asking you to pay for anything. I used the free version of Windowblinds for a long time in favor of the uxtheme hack simply because even the free version was more powerful and worked better than the uxtheme hack.

Of course that is a personal opinion, but refusing to pay for quality software is idiocy. End. Of. Story.

The above post was edited to clarify what was an incomplete thought. I never meant to say the artists aren't "providing you crap". I meant to say the artists are providing the means to skin, rather they are providing the skin itself. I totally respect the artists and all they do, but I meant to point out that none of the artists, for MSStyles or for WB are asking you to pay for thier services (with the exception of some premium suites), so talking about the artists as being the reason to no purchase the software is just plain stupid.

Of course that is a personal opinion, but refusing to pay for quality software is idiocy. End. Of. Story.

That should be the quote of the day.

I have no idea huh? The irony of your ignorant accusation is that it comes right after an ignorant assumption.

The artists are providing you with the REASON you are using WB to begin with so dont give me that 'crap' comment. I'm pretty sure you've just insulted them all anyway.

If WB was a one time purchase like any other product, I might be ok with it, but they charge annually for services which are rendered freely by the artists.