After months of anticipation, Microsoft finally released Windows DreamScene to users of Windows Vista Ultimate as part of the “Ultimate Extras.” DreamScene allows users to have animated wallpapers on their desktop. In conjunction with Stardock, several new, and very cool animated wallpapers were also made available.

“As most of you already know, Windows DreamScene transforms your desktop from a static wallpaper image into a full-motion video. In conjunction with Stardock, we’re pleased to also offer a number of cool, new animated DreamScene desktops, including “Aurora”. Additionally, you can use your own videos as DreamScene desktops or visit Stardock’s Dream.WinCustomize.com website to download Stardock’s DeskScapes (an add-on to DreamScene) as well as a collection of fabulous content created by Stardock and members of the Ultimate community.”

Vista Ultimate users can download the update through Windows Update. Once you have it installed, head over to Dream.WinCustomize.Com and download DeskScapes, which is an enhancement to DreamScene that offers additional features such as dynamic content.

Tags: vista, ultimate extras, microsoft, stardock, dreamscene, deskscapes

The deadline for the Maxthon/WinCustomize skinning contest has been extended to October 31st. This gives plenty of more time for skinners to finish up the skins they have been working on, or start a another if they wish.  The contest is open to pretty much everyone, and the addition of more skins just makes the Maxthon browser even better.

The prizes for the contest are:

• Most Creative: Canon SD800 Digital Camera
• Most Usable: Apple iPod Nano 4GB
• Most Popular: Wacom Graphire 4×5 Tablet

Click here for more information on how to participate.

Tags: maxthon, wincustomize, skins, themes, browsers

I have no shame in admitting I was standing in line at about 6am on launch day for the Nintendo Wii. Besides the console itself, I picked up a few other games with it, but the one game that my family and I played the most was the included Wii Sports. You really couldn’t get too much simpler as far as graphics and game play goes, but it was fun, and that was all that mattered.

Well my hopes of a sequel are slowly fading. Nintendo President, Saturo Iwata, gave an interview with a Japanese gaming blog recently, and said that Wii Sports 2 will not be making an appearance anytime soon, and maybe not at all. Iwata explained that creating a sequel with similar game play would not fit with their plans of expanding the gaming market.

While I am disappointed in this move, I do look forward to what new games are being developed that will go with their plans.

Tags: nintendo, wii, games, gaming

I visit many community forums on a daily basis, and I often see people post screenshots of their Windows desktop, and sometimes I’m just not sure how they get anything done with such cluttered desktop. What do I mean by “cluttered”? Well the perfect example would be someone who has 75 to 100 icons randomly placed on the desktop. I will admit I used to have the same problem, and it was very hard to have any type of productivity going.

I would bet many of the icons on the desktop are simply just shortcuts to commonly used applications such as a web browser, e-mail client, media player, etc. I use a lot of applications during the day and having quick and easy access to them is very important, but launching a program through the Windows start menu is just a hassle.

That is why I use a dock program called ObjectDock. Now some people will automatically assume I’m trying to emulate a Mac desktop (although you could if you want to), but that is not always the case. I use a dock to keep all my frequently used application shortcuts in one organized location. Another benefit is the ability to use “docklets”, or mini-applications, in the dock as well, and if you are not a fan of the Windows taskbar you could easily replace it with a dock for the ultimate minimal desktop.

Take a look at my desktop here.

So if you have a cluttered desktop, give ObjectDock a try. It’s a free download, although there is a Plus version that I would also recommend checking out.

Tags: objectdock, desktop, windows

On Friday users discovered and posted a method to create and use ringtones for the iPhone.  Well apparently Apple didn’t care for this method because it quickly released an update for iTunes that blocks users from syncing those ringtones to their iPhone.

But just a day later, Engadget posted a workaround that will allow users to once again use the ringtones they created.  I’m sure it won’t take long before we see another iTunes update to block this as well.

You can read about the steps to sync your ringtones with the iPhone here.

Tags: apple, iphone, ringtones, itunes

DeskScapes 1.02 was released today. Stardock DeskScapes allows users of Windows Vista Ultimate to have dynamic, animated wallpaper. It works as an extension to the Windows DreamScene Ultimate Extra that is available to all users of Windows Vista Ultimate.

This version includes a new power saving feature that turns off the animations when running on battery power. This will definitely come in handy for laptop users.

DeskScapes is a free download, and you can find more information and additional .dreams (animated wallpapers) at the site linked below.

Dream.WinCustomize.Com

You can also see a video demo here.

Tags: deskscapes, dreamscene, stardock, vista, animated wallpapers

Palm announced today that it is canceling the Foleo, which has been labeled as a “mobile companion” for your smartphone. The cancelation will reportedly cost Palm $10 million, and the announcement was made on the official Palm Blog.

CEO Ed Colligan stated, “In the course of the past several months, it has become clear that the right path for Palm is to offer a single, consistent user experience around this new platform design and a single focus for our platform development efforts.”

While I don’t think too many people will be disappointed by this move, it will be interesting to see the “next generation platform” that Palm is working on.

Tags: palm, foleo, smartphone