There is a free update for existing users of WindowBlinds available. The most notable feature is the addition of the Explorer Background feature which allows you to apply a background, and adjust the opacity of the Explorer background. Other additions include performance tweaks. WindowBlinds is the easiest, and safest way to change the complete look and feel of both Windows Vista and XP by applying one of thousands of visual styles that are available.

WindowBlinds has a free download available for evaluation, and is $19.95 for the full enhanced version.  WindowBlinds is also part of the Object Desktop suite of desktop enhancements.

Link: WindowBlinds

The new version of KeepSafe was released today.  KeepSafe is an application which offers real-time data backup while running virtually unnoticed in the background.  It provides a backup of documents, images, etc. in case of a corrupt file, or even not saving a document you were working on. 

Some of the new features include:

• Improved User Interface to make more user friendly and intuitive.
• Secondary backup location can be an external hard drive or USB drive.
• Configure KeepSafe to save to local storage temporarily, and copy to secondary drive when connected.  Very useful for when working mobile.
• New statistics view to show file counts and disk space usage.

Link: KeepSafe 2.0

Stardock is pleased to announce the “official” public release of MyColors. MyColors makes applying premium suites a snap. A MyColors theme includes everything a user needs to completely and safely transform the Windows experience - a new Windows GUI, a new set of icons, gadgets, wallpaper, etc.

Now available on CNET, MyColors includes the “Diamond theme” which gives Windows XP and Windows Vista users a glimpse at Aero Diamond (one of the concepts Microsoft considered for Windows Vista before going with Aero glass). Diamond supports blurred glass even on Windows XP, a completely new icon set, gadgets and more.

The included Diamond theme is free, and MyColors itself is free as well. Additional suites can be purchased such as themes licensed by the NBA, NCAA, Ford, and others. Even if you don’t purchase additional themes, you still get a phenomenal suite for both Windows Vista and XP.

Download: MyColors

I have been getting quite a few messages lately from people wanting to know how to change their Vista cursors.  Many of them are still using CursorXP, and I guess maybe the CursorFX news just hasn’t reached everyone yet.  No big deal though, lets go through the steps on getting some custom cursors on your Windows desktop.

What is CursorFX?

CursorFX is the successor to the highly popular CursorXP application.  I think it’s safe to say CursorXP was the top choice when needing to apply custom created cursors to your desktop, and with millions of downloads from sites like Download.com, I think many would agree.

CursorXP was great, but it was showing some age and with Vista coming along, it was time to develop a suitable replacement.  In comes CursorFX.  CursorFX is not just an update to CursorXP, it’s a completely new application that works with both Windows Vista and XP. 

Changing Your Cursor Theme

If you downloaded the free version, you just install from the file that was downloaded.  If you purchased CursorFX Plus then you can also download through Stardock Central or Impulse.  So once it’s installed, start the application and you will see the main configuration screen.

CursorFX Main

In the center of the window you see the list of currently installed cursor themes.  CursorFX by default comes with several themes included, but I will also show you where to get more later in the article. You can simply browse the list of cursor themes by scrolling through the list, and when you find one you like, just double-click the selection or hit the Apply button.  That will automatically change your cursor to the selected one.

CursorFX Preview

By clicking the magnifying glass icon on the right of the selection, it will bring up the full preview of all the included cursor states.  It will even preview the animations so you can see exactly what the cursor looks like.

Getting More Themes

CursorFX includes several high quality cursors, but no need to limit yourself to those.  There are hundreds available on WinCustomize.com, and remember that CursorFX cursors are compatible with CursorFX.

There are some really great cursors available in the CursorFX gallery, so be sure to browse through and see all the great works.

Link: CursorFX gallery on WinCustomize

Download: Stardock’s CursorFX (free, Plus version $19.95)

A few months I released the Vista sidebar gadget that count downs the days until the 2008 Presidential Election. With the release of Vista SP1 it caused some compatibility problems, but I’m happy to say those have been resolved and I can release the updated gadget.

Download 

Microsoft released SP1 for Windows Vista this past week and the reviews seem to be mixed.  Some reviewers say SP1 improves various system performance tests, and others say it does the opposite.  I installed Vista SP1 on my main desktop PC last week, and the installation process was flawless.  As far as any “real world” performance issues, I haven’t noticed anything either way.  On my system, I have had no noticeable performance gains or slowdowns as others have reported.

I haven’t installed SP1 as of yet on my HP laptop, as the SP1 betas I have used kept constantly BSODing my machine.  I was never able to narrow down the culprit, but I am a bit wary about installing it again on this computer.  I might fire up Windows Update tomorrow morning and give it another go, so we will see how that works out then.

Otherwise, my question to the community is have you, Vista users, updated to SP1 yet?

Giveawayoftheday.com has a fantastic piece of software up for grabs today.  Evernote (beta), which is an application that allows you to take notes, web clipping, images, etc. and keep them in order.  This new version (still in beta) also allows you to synchronize your notes with other computers that you have Evernote installed on. 

There is a Mac and Windows Mobile version that is currently in private beta, but you can get access to that as well.  I found this via Lifehacker and they say the current beta will allow you to update to other betas and the final application when released.

Features of Evernote:

• Access notes across multiple platforms: Windows, Mac (OS X 10.5), Web, Windows Mobile, Mobile Web Browser;
• Full synchronization across all platforms;
• Powerful image recognition and search for printed and handwritten text in images;
• Email and MMS snapshots and text from your mobile phone to your personalized Evernote email address;
• Windows and Mac clients allow local-only notebooks, which will not synchronize with the Evernote Service.

Remember, this is good for today only, so there is only a few hours left.

Link:  http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/evernote-beta/

I was just browsing through the March issue of PC Magazine and saw that ObjectDock was listed in the "Best Free Software" feature under Application Launchers.

"Windows Organize your application shortcuts in a toolbar that mimics the look and feel of the Macintosh dock, complete with icon animations. It will even mimic Windows Taskbar buttons. Add in extras (docklets) like real-time clock and weather forecasts, even a fully functional Windows Start button and Recycle Bin, to get everything you need."

Link: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2267058,00.asp

Defraggler is a new utility I discovered recently, and it comes from the same folks who make CCleaner. One of the big benefits of this application is that it lets you select files or folders to defrag, not just the entire drive. I have used it on several Vista machines, and the defrag process was fairly quick. It’s free so go check it out.

Link: Defraggler

The DeskScapes 2.0 preview release has arrived! No longer will .dreams be limited to Vista Ultimate only.  If you have Windows Vista you can download the DeskScapes 2.0 preview and check out some of the included animated wallpapers.

Stardock is pleased to announce that the DeskScapes 2.0 preview version is now available. DeskScapes allows users of Windows Vista to have animated wallpapers on their desktop. It runs the Stardock created .DREAM format which can contain videos as animated wallpapers or dynamically generated content. The goal of the preview version is to evaluate the variety of hardware configurations out there running Windows Vista in order to see how well different types of Dreams run. The three included Dreams were especially chosen to check out 3 very different types of capabilities.

Download: DeskScapes 2.0 Preview