DesktopX Pro released!

Published on November 19, 2003 By Stardock Central In WinCustomize News

For Immediate Release:

DesktopX Pro allows developers to create and distribute desktop objects as stand alone programs
Stardock releases DesktopX 2.0 Professional

LIVONIA, MI (November 19, 2003) — Software developer Stardock Corp. released DesktopX Professional today. DesktopX is a program that allows users and developers to create powerful desktop objects that can perform a variety of tasks. These objects can be combined together to build entire desktops or be used on their own.

DesktopX Professional contains all the features of DesktopX with a single addition: DesktopX Professional can export objects as stand alone applications. These applications are a single .EXE. No support files, no run times, just a single file that will run on Windows 98, ME, 2000, or Windows XP.

This ability can decrease development time on small applications from months to literally minutes. That’s because DesktopX is already designed to make creating desktop “widgets” very easy. Turning these “widgets” into applications takes only a few seconds.

Here are some of the features DesktopX includes:

• Replacement of desktop icons with objects that can be of any size, have shadows and react to mouse events.

• Built in visual system monitoring such as resource usage, CPU monitoring, disk space meters, Internet traffic graphs, and visual graphing of all readouts from Microsoft’s built in performance monitoring APIs (i.e. hundreds of local and network resources can be visually monitored without any programming).

• Full support for animation and alpha blending. Using a strip of .BMP or .PNG files, users can set the frame rate and play animations right on their desktop.

• Integrated support for both VBScript and Javascript which includes a powerful programmer’s editor. Developers can quickly access information and data from their network or via the Internet and display it on screen using industry standard scripting languages.

• Built in security allows users to lock down their desktops incrementally. DesktopX can be used to build kiosks, publicly accessible terminals or secure home family desktops.

• Direct support for COM/Active X controls. Users can access any ActiveX control on the system and use them to create a corporate or home desktop environment. These controls act just like any other DesktopX object and can have scripts attached to them to control their behavior.

These are features in addition to the key feature of DesktopX 2 Professional – application creation. For software developers, exporting DesktopX objects as applications is the feature of focus.

A free version of DesktopX is available at http://www.desktopx.net which allows for objects to be exported as packed objects for distribution (they require DesktopX). DesktopX Professional enables the exporting of objects as stand-alone applications.

See Sample programs and more information on DesktopX Pro at:
https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/pro.asp

More information & video demos at: https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/info.asp

# # #

DesktopX 2.0 Professional
$499
DesktopX home page: http://www.desktopx.net

DesktopX 2 Enhanced
$19.95 (and is also part of Object Desktop)

Free version of DesktopX at: http://www.desktopx.net/downloads.asp

Stardock Corp.
17292 Farmington Rd.
Livonia MI 48152
Phn: (734) 762-0687
Fax: (734) 762-0690
Web: https://www.stardock.com

Comments (Page 1)

FChestnut

on Nov 19, 2003

Oula... Great product... and probably worth it but...

jardragon901

on Nov 19, 2003

The pro version is that much because its basically a development studio.

Grog

on Nov 19, 2003

"DesktopX Professional enables the exporting of objects as stand-alone applications"

This would let a company create a stand-alone GUI and then distribute it for sale or with a given product as a promotion. Think Nintendo with Pixtudio's skins or Microsoft with the Skins Factory using Windowblinds.

So lwswat54, that means that for the price it is a steal.

mr.bo

on Nov 19, 2003

I wish I could turn a couple of my DX objects into stand alone programs, but I couldn't even begin to think about $500. This is like taunting us users that don't have our own companies. Now I have to try and come up with a business plan, and everything. How unfair is that?

NickOHara

on Nov 19, 2003

Frugus, I do have a company but it's still way too much money for me.
Get me right: I would love to have some of those wonderful desktop objects running without having the whole load of DesktopX weighing down on my CPU. However, skinning, messing with icons and widgets, trying to create new desktop interfaces is *fun*. I seriously doubt if any of the ObjectDesktop fans (and I count myself among them) is going to fork out that kind of money just for 'fun'. To them being locked out of a admittedly great feature like the stand-alone objects is not just 'taunting' but annoying.
Professional developers on the other hand are going to say: oh, yes, nice these widgets, but I got to have an online database running this time tomorrow, so I'll stick with .NET and C#, thank you very much.
And if I'd have a large company, the very last thing I'd do is have everybody's desktop run riot with floating clocks, zipp-ah-dee-doodah icons and what not. I'd like them to do their work, and for that they'd probably just need MS-Word and Outlook (or OpenOffice, of course).
Which leaves the niche of those companies who have to invent exotic GUIs for movies etc. Well, if they're going to help keep Stardock afloat, I suppose we ought to be thankful to them. (Thanks guys.) Although - they could make those interfaces without the stand alone widget feature, so why should they fork out an extra $500 dollar?

I'd just like to ask Stardock if they could stop bothering us ordinary folk (with ordinary wallets) and OD-fans with nice things we'll never going to get anyway *OR* find some middle way - give us stand alone DesktopX objects without having to pay an arm and a foot for it.

BasketWeaver

on Nov 19, 2003

You have got to be kidding $500.00! I guess I am playing baseball in the wrong park OUCH!

TasT

on Nov 19, 2003

DXP isn't designed for the user......

though it would be cool to have some of the objects to share as promo for Object desktop in an exe formatt...

Frogboy

on Nov 19, 2003

You know how much Flash costs? Flash MX Pro is $700. But I mean, who uses Flash right? Flash Authorware is $3000. DesktopX Pro isn't like Flash of course but the ability to create things very quickly is worth quite a bit.

Stardock also sells a product called DirectSkin. For $9,000. All it does is allow developers to make applications skinnable. And we sell quite a bit of them.

Object Desktop users don't need DX Pro -- they have DesktopX. They can use DesktopX objects. But a company looking to provide a quickie application without having to deal with any special DLLs or runtimes or whatever, $500 is nothing.

Some people just don't seem to be aware of how much things cost out there in the real world. Adobe Acrobat is $100. It just creates documents. That's it. Adobe Atmosphere is $400. Photoshop is $649.

Point is, stuff that creates professional content costs real money. It's not meant for personal use, it's meant for professional developers.

Vanilla Ice

on Nov 20, 2003

I think it's a good idea. by that i mean for stardock, i don't think it's too practical. personally I stay away form DesktopX because of the devolopment/object editing environment. I just don't like it. It's too convulted (i think that's the word I want...). i find another destop replacement program much easier to create with. i won't name names tho... plus desktop x is too slow to load and heavy on resources.

I've been thinking of whipping up some performance meters and whatnot in .NET as freeware. it's not hard. you can have alpha blending and all that too if you want it.

Frogboy

on Nov 20, 2003

VI, I kind of suspect you haven't used DesktopX recentlyif you think it's heavy on resources and is convoluted. DesktopX 2 is totally different from DesktopX 1.

Frogboy

on Nov 20, 2003

BTW, how much did Visual Studio.net cost you? It lists for over $1000.

I can make performance meters that are alpha blended with DesktopX Pro in less than 5 minutes. Now, if you bought just Visual Studio C++ you can get that for "only" $109. How long would it take you to create your alpha blended performance meters? Probably more than 5 minutes. Remember, DesktopX Pro doesn't require any compilers.

What if you wanted to put together a Flash game that included other information around the edges of the game? How long would that take to do?

Geeps

on Nov 20, 2003

WHAT A CRAPPY PRICE TAG!!! i'd never pay that much for a desktop customization when theres tonns of freewares out there to use!! totally not worth it... at first i thought it was a typo for 49.95, cuz then i would say, yeah, its worth it, but 500 big ones?? nasty..

mr.bo

on Nov 20, 2003

The reason I'd like the DX stand alone objects is because I run Litestep, and I often try using DX, and Litestep together, but it's just a total pain in the ass with them fighting over right click menus, and z-order issues. I'd assume that those problems wouldn't be an issue if DX wasn't running for the objects.

Actually that is the only reason I'd use DXP (if I had the cash to fork out for it.) I do not dispute that it's a quite powerful bit of software, that would give companies the potential to make some very interesting products, but it's sounds like Stardock is saying "We're charging big money for it because we can. It's just as good as all the other expensive stuff." That's fine and all, but it's just not what us Object Desktop subscribers are used to hearing.

It's kind of disssapointing that such a great feature on a program that many of us have grown to love, is completely out of our reach. Even though the introduction of DesktopX Pro is a reason to celebrate, I think a lot of people will end up being dissapointed with the news.

scratch_pentagon

on Nov 20, 2003

geeps, you missed the point entirely. it's not intended for people to buy for desktop customization. the free version and enhanced version are for desktop customization, and both of those are under your pricetag. the pro version is intended for companies to buy to make professional applications. it's of just about no use to a home user anyway. just run your objects in desktopx and it will be no different.

Frogboy

on Nov 20, 2003

Frugus: You don't have to have DesktopX themes take over your desktop.

You could run DesktopX with just a single object on your desktop. The Pro version would do nothing for you over the free version in fact.

So you coudl have Litestep running and just bring in some DesktopX objects and it would behave the same as if they were stand alone programs. And in fact, DesktopX 2.1 will allow Object Desktop users to run .EXEs that use the existing DesktopX as its run time (i.e. you'll have to have DesktopX installed but you'll be running .exe's).

I've written an article that tries to shed some light on the costs of software:

https://www.joeuser.com/index.asp?AID=1312

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