Windowblinds vs. StylesXp

Windowblinds vs. Style XP = no brainer (you already made the right decision)

I'd prefer to tell you there are a LOT of really good skins out there. I think I have in the neighborhood of 100 on my system. If you want the best your gonna have to make that decision for yourself. Look at the ratings and you'll have a starting point, but don't JUST go by ratings. There are many skins which rec'd a low rating because they weren't blue (most popular by far), grey, black or white. If your able to use per pixel skins I'd recommend looking for skins less than 10 months old.

There program is called StylesXp. So I just wanna know from a experienced point of view which one is better?

Windowblinds vs. Style XP = no brainer (you already made the right decision)

Ditto.

WindowBlinds skins more of Windows than StyleXP does and WB does this without hacking your system like StyleXP does.

If you were to download every single free wb today you'd only take up 1.6GB of space give or take a few mb, tho keeping in mind i've taken a jpeg of the preview for each wb, so don't just sit there you've got a whole lotta download'n to do

It would've been better to save a little more and get object desktop i personally would'nt want to not have and that aint no bull

Lets put it this way...you couldn't pay me enough money to install StyleXp on my pc...unless of course it was enough to buy a new one.   

The big difference is in how the program installs and runs.

StyleXP changes the "uxtheme.dll" file, which is responsible for running the default "XP" theme (A.K.A. "Luna"). This changes the file to a "modified" version and Windows will need you to reinstall the correct file if you uninstall StyleXP for stability.

WindowBlinds does not overwrite system files and uses it's own files to skin the interface.


I agree with the above statements that WindowBlinds is the better choice for a skinning program designed to modify the explorer shell.

As for the 'best' skin, it is really a matter of choice and what works best in the programs you run.

A few skins that seem to be compatible with all programs:

StealthOS
Graf
DogmaX (3 and 4)
5imple alpha
Mako (which you have)
Aerial
Thallos

The new premium suite "Logika" is quite good as well.

As they say though: "There is no accounting for taste". So it is really up to you.

And; only WB allows for translusent windowframes. And glow effects, animations etc. WB add more skinning options while StyleXP simply allows you to add more msstyles to your system. msstyles is Microsoft's skinning format and is which by Window's default appearance is powered by. It's quite limited compared to WB.

I got a skin what uses see through effects like windows vista will use and i wll probalky get bored of it and change skin. so when i get vista i will use windows blind to get a new skin not long aftr

If you were to download every single free wb today you'd only take up 1.6GB of space give or take a few mb

Hehe... that's odd.... all the WB's I've got takes up about 3.6 GB of space....

But then again, I've got just short of twice as many as WinC holds at the moment

Try uninstalling StyleXP with a clean uninstall.. good luck. I love WB more and more each year.

alright so windowblinds is the better program.

I still have a problem with the skins. My computer doesn't support per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins. Can anybody show all the good/great NON-per pixel skins. I know these skins work good for me

5imple Alpha
Aura
DogmaX4

Per-pixel skins tend to show the "Windows 95" look when I minimize a window. Like my Mako Skin.

Can anybody show all the good/great NON-per pixel skins

That is a tall order.

Here are a few good skins:

Graf = WWW Link">Link

Aerial = https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=5705&LibID=1

Rusty Rooster = https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=5341&LibID=1

Anion = https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=5337&LibID=1

Last (Cobalt) = https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=3655&LibID=1

You could also go here http://www.pixtudio.net/library.php  to download the original "Mako", which was made for version 4.6. Note - I suggest removing the Mako5 skin folder to a temporary folder and then install the original "Mako" skin.

There are also a few great skins on that Pixtudio site.

Again, these are just a few, and some were made for version 4.6.

Well, it looks like only one link per comment will work correctly for me.

You can copy the address into the browser address bar if you want - sorry.   

Corky...a bit of editing made them work...

Thanks, Jafo!   

That is a tall order. Here are a few good skins: Graf = WWW Link">Link Aerial = https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=5705&LibID=1 Rusty Rooster = https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=5341&LibID=1 Anion = https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=5337&LibID=1 Last (Cobalt) = https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=3655&LibID=1 You could also go here http://www.pixtudio.net/library.php to download the original "Mako", which was made for version 4.6. Note - I suggest removing the Mako5 skin folder to a temporary folder and then install the original "Mako" skin. There are also a few great skins on that Pixtudio site. Again, these are just a few, and some were made for version 4.6.

thanks man......I especially like the cobalt skin...thanx for the help man.

Last time I checked out the StyleXP theme community website (about a year ago) there was almost no creative work being done - most of the skins were bland copies of the same basic theme or two and about having 'cool' cars and 'bikini chicks' wallpaper rather than a decent skin. On top of this, the website had become riddled with popups and advertisements for 'smilies' type products (which I personally regard as suspect) and was wrapping executables around some of the decent themes (absolutely untrustworthy in my book). I was left with the strong impression that the real artists had cleared out and moved on to WindowBlinds.

I suspect many people, such as myself, only used StyleXP back in the old days when WindowBlinds had some stability issues on our personal systems, which have all been long since fixed thanks to the time effort and talent of the Stardock team and the support of the skinning community (I'm talking pre-XP days, really, and some of those problems were likely limitations of the OSs as well, not a problem with WindowBlinds per se). With these problems solved, it was possible to take full advantage of the ability of WindowBlinds to have radically different themes without being limited to the basic shapes of the Windows XP themes.

There were a few nice skins I found for StyleXP, which will be pretty hard to find among the junk these days if the site has not improved since I was last there, and it was a simple matter to use SkinStudio to convert them to WindowBlinds format (you don't have to be a programmer to do this).

As for recommendations on non-per-pixel themes (WB4 compatible) I would also recommend skins by Tim Dagger, who is refreshingly original and has a large number of free skins available on his website and elsewhere (search for 'Essorant'):

http://www.essorant.com/index.php

I have a large number of his themes on my workstation and enjoy them a lot as they are quirky and different, yet plain enough to be easy on the eyes when working hard for long hours (I'm a software developer so this is very important for me, that and stability). My favorites are: Bazoob, Ketix, Reluctant Genius, The Whole Thing, and Skink.

Also you could try: Denali (David Adams), the WB4 version of DogmaX (Brewman), Rebutz (Brewman), and Tronnix (Mike Bryant).

Also, DivineError on the DeviantArt website has a decent selection of wallpapers which go very well with these skins.

Let's be fair about the way StyleXP changes the way uxtheme works. It changes UXTheme in memory not physically (from what I've read, I could be wrong). WB must also have to do something to give itself priority over UXTheme.

I've used both. I didn't really see much value in StyleXP. But then again, I only change styles, icons and cursors. When I was using plain Visual styles I used an easily found patch on uxtheme, IconTweaker for icon replacement and the free version of CursorXP.

All I have to say is I like WindowBlinds enough that I bought it.

It's subjective which styles are the best. Sort by the number of dowloads in the gallery. The best ones, by selective process, will filter to the top. I prefer aerial, 5imple, Royal Vista and Jadaero/Mod (aero like theme).

It changes UXTheme in memory not physically (from what I've read, I could be wrong)

Yeah, you're wrong. It's a patched .dll file (if not more files) - could call it "hacked/cracked" to get around Microsofts protection, which basically is in violation with their EULA.

Check the GUI Champonships 2004 in advanced search, those are some of my favorite.

Style XP changes uxtheme.dll in memory now. It used to do it on disk. Either way you're hacking out Microsoft's digital signing protection.

I'm biased against Style XP but here are some facts:

1) It changes boot screens by patching your XP kernel.

2) It changes your logon screens by replacing the logonui.exe on your system.

3) It applies msstyles by patching uxtheme.dll in memory to turn off MS digital signing protection.

I also can't think of anything Style XP does that you can't get for free. There are free uxtheme patchers out there. You can get LogonStudio and BootSKin for free which are IMO much safer.

The only thing Style XP does of note that WindowBlinds doesn't is change icons which you can do with IconPackager and IconPackager has a lot more features and support.

Just thought id point this out but, you did post a WB5 vs. StylesXP poll on a WB5 forum...try posting at the StylesXP forum and ask which is better.

Stardock just has alot of bug issues goin on. WB5 has more bugs then ive ever seen so be careful.

WB5 has more bugs then ive ever seen so be careful.

Not in my part of the world.....  

The only good thing about style xp, is that they at least have a boot and logon that x64 can use.

The only good thing about style xp, is that they at least have a boot and logon that x64 can use.

Anyone can do that...it's called 'Reshacker'....

If'n you have or get Object Desktop, you can have the best of both worlds, and get a peek at what Style XP won't do. Using skinstudio to import msstyles...

WB5 has more bugs then ive ever seen so be careful.

You should get out more often.