Jeffrey Bombard

Reply to WindowBlinds in a Windows 7 world in OS Customization WinCustomize Forums

Wow... can't reply here using chrome... oh well I'm on IE now. I too have used Vista(among other OS) at work and it is clunky, I am sure some people like it but people shouldn't make assumptions. Vista is near to Me unpopularity, some of that is an image problem some of that isn't. The larger memory footprint, and higher requirements hardly seem justified considering what the OS does over previous versions, yes it looks sexier but Stardock has shown us that you can make an OS look sexy w

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

lol 1nsomn1ac, however I'm not so sure bout the quality TYCUS, Okay I was gonna keep quiet, honest... One last time... I am all for a proportionate point reduction for incompleteness, what I am not for is a disproportionate reduction for incompleteness. Things that I would consider fair: Flat reduction amount for anybody that submitted an incomplete entry (20% regardless of what you were missing, as

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

TYCUS... So your argument is because it clearly states "Submissions must contain a minimum of 55 icons" "Icons must be 256x256 to allow for scaling on Windows XP and Vista", all icon packages that meet and go well beyond that criteria should still get a 20% mark down for some requirements that are NOT stated in the rules? Please clarify.

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

For windowblinds, if a skin didn't work correctly on Vista I can understand a big markdown, as "unusable" is definitely closer to the mark in that situation. Not to mention WB skins are much harder for the user to "fix", however with IP if I don't like 1 of the icons I can switch it out with another relatively easily(granted easier for some themes more than others) so it doesn't seem as criticle of an issue to me. I guess to me what seems like a minor issue might be bigger to some

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

If the icon package was in fact completely unusable for those 25% of the users I would agree that 20% would be fair. My argument is that the packages are not unusable, 90% of the package is still used in Vista and only 10% of the package is missing for 25% of the users, thus a 2.5%(10% of 25%) seems more reasonable.

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

Frogboy, I don't really understand how voicing an opinion implies that it is more important than anyone elses, it is one voice that is all. However your response(to 1nsomn1ac) comes off as if you don't make icons/skins we don't care about what you have to say. Now if you were just a member of the community then I would probably just blow it off, but since that is hardly the case it makes it much harder to swallow. My point was simply that a custom

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

Frogboy, Well at least your honest, that's gotta count for something. Also, I think part of the reason people seem to be repeating their comments is that you seem to be repeatedly skipping over the important parts in theirs. For example, people aren't arguing that deducting for not supporting vista is wrong, people are arguing that the amount of the deduction is not balanced. I am not sure if you are saying your 20% mark down is a reflection of the market share o

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

Zoomba I think those are great criteria. I especially agree with the focus on function vs. art. Frogboy, we know you love Vista, we get it, we really do. 25%+? Really? Maybe Stardock customers as I don't have those numbers, but 1 in 10 people I know, if that, are on Vista(and generally that's because they didn't really have a choice) and I work in IT, granted in Japan so my numbers maybe skewed but 25% seems to be pushing it a bit.(web stats show

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

When the vast majority of PC users are still on XP, 20% does seem a bit harsh to me.(seems like Vista is becoming more like an Apple OS in that it's more of a religion than an OS to some people, jeez) Especially with all the comments about the details not being in the rules. I mean with the amount of effort a lot of people have put into these, saying we are going to penalize you 20% because you didn't include a few icons from a version of the OS few people are actually using(espec

Reply to GUI Championships 2008: Icon Packages in Personal Computing Stardock Forums

If points are being deducted for no Vista support, why no mention of points not being deducted for no XP support? I mean if points are being deducted for being incomplete, then wouldn't not supporting XP make them just as incomplete? Or are XP customers less important somehow... Really IMHO judgement should be based on the quality of the skin for the environment it was intended, not on the creator's choice of OS, but that's just me.

Reply to Object Desktop 2008 Guided Tour in OS Customization WinCustomize Forums

Will you be able to choose which 4 MyColors themes you get? Or will there only be 4 per year and those are the ones you get?

Reply to Some thoughts on Piracy in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

That article was a good read. I think there are a lot of factors that are causing the decline of PC gaming, the impact of piracy I think is minute. The console/PC graphics gap is shrinking everyday. MMO games suck up more of our time leaving less time for other games, at least I play fewer games than I used to. PC upgrades to stay current are a constant drain on the pocketbook, while consoles give you far more life for the money. Too many PC games choose style over substance. etc... etc.

Reply to Cairo: A New Desktop Shell Replacement In Development in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

I agree with Zubaz that it has to be better, but really it's too soon to tell exactly what it will do. People use different shells for different reasons. Vista is begging for something lighter, so if it can deliver on that... but who knows it doesn't really say on their site what their specific project goals are. Still I am sure they are not doing it just to do it, but do think that there is a need. Now if they would just release a little more info...

Reply to Cairo: A New Desktop Shell Replacement In Development in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

Is WB/Desktop X a shell replacement program? I would consider those shell enhancement programs, since they run on top of the explorer shell. litestep would be a shell replacement program, only not much big happening there in a while. I personally think it is great to have these guys working on something new. Whether or not it will be super awesome or unusable remains to be seen, but the caliber of the devs is very encouraging. The default visuals are nice and minimalistic but, if it skinn

Reply to Weekly Poll: Wallpaper Moderation in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

I think the system is fine as is... well if changing the standards is the only option then it is fine. However, I don't think the standards are the issue. Yes you should continue to reject rips, broken files etc... but... However I think the better option is to just put everything in the gallery, and add another browse option. If I understand it correctly if you add another browse option to filter out everything below 5 it would be the same as it is now. I personally don't browse wallpa

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

Good points Leo. Still I am not sure how much WC is really costing them now, above and beyond the Stardock website upkeep costs they already pay. If it really is a massive expense, you may very well be right. But I still think it will take a long time for that transition to occur.

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

There definitely seems to be some miscommunication here, so let me clarify. I do not think and was not trying to imply that WC is solely a business asset. In fact I think it is both. Now I think my statement, "They try and play it like it a "community" site not a Stardock site" is what is getting you all riled up so let me explain. I think Stardock often tries to portray this as ONLY a community site, and they paint the picture that they do it entirely out of t

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

Don't take it personally it wasn't meant to be. [quote]Make no mistake it is a community, a few of the community elders,decided to start a business offering a program no other could do,skin the windows. Many of the community jumped on board and offered support to this growing company as well as offered content. We have watched and helped nurture this company anyway we can.[/quote] It might not taste good, but like it or not WC is a Stardock asset. It may be an asset that encompasse

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

Regardless of cost, I can't see how Stardock could drop WC. They try and play it like it a "community" site not a Stardock site, but the truth of the matter is the site is a Stardock asset, and that asset comes with a cost. Like Zubaz said, getting rid of community based support would also require more investment in official support. For any software company today, having a web site is the price of doing business. Stardock's official site doesn't stand on it's own, WC fills in the holes.

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

[quote]I think this is what the article is trying to determine. Somewhat of an informal survey so to speak. If the average user is becoming more of a user than an actual skinner then maybe it's time for Stardock to transition to content focus with a feature limited Theme Application and an increase in price for those interested in the skinning sides of things? [/quote] I would think Stardock would have all the numbers on this already. How many customers, what percentage of those are sk

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

[quote]Informed opinion that opposes your own = fan boy?[/quote] Unless of course your informed opinion is not in agreement with the fan boys in which case you are a whiner. Give me a break... passion is blurring the *informed* on both sides of the argument. But I must say I don't see Jafo posting when the just as derogatory "whiner" gets thrown around. But then again, I guess it's okay when the "good guys" are childishly presumptuous concerning those who disagree with the

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

[quote]Unfortunately that is your problem and not the consumers. See you guys havea ctach 22 that is put you between a rock and a hard place namely: you have SW that is useless w/o content and content that is useless w/o software. When aconsumer buys your program it is useless to him unless there is content to go with it. If there is no content, or it costs money (no matter what the cost to you to produce the content) the consumer will feel robbed.. [/quote] I agree with this comment.<b

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

[quote]it started w/ free vs. pro versions, then came wincustomize subscriptions, then came master skins, then came all the stupid focus on corporate sponsorships. [/quote] Free is easy when your small. Just about all of the things you mentioned pissed me off too... And I am sure as hell not usually one to stand on their side, but... The feature set has grown, the customer base has grown, and the overhead has grown. Now granted I don't know what kind of margin the

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

[quote]Moreover, it seems to me that the time when it could be transformed into the market is irrevocably missed. Too many free skins around and in the internet. So this is hardly probable that someone will pay money for this. [/quote] I agree and disagree. Selling skins by themselves is a tough sell especially with all the free stuff available, but it is hard to say what people will pay for. I don't know if just buying skins is something I would be interested in(probably not), h

Reply to Is skinning a community or a market? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

[quote]As for the buck a download concept. I'd be hard pressed to see anyone actually making money at that price point...maybe (doubtful) if there where millions of actual downloads monthly.[/quote] Right, not at current volumes it is definitely not a money maker. The question is does Stardock want to keep WB a niche tool or bring it to the masses. [quote]WindowBlinds was at retail. But it wasn't worth the effort versus the sales (we sell a lot more copies digitally).[/quot