My x64 experiences

I have been reading about people with x64 OS's having trouble to use certain Stardock tools. Some of those problems are already history. So I would like to share my experiences today trying out some Stardock tools on my system, not only for the developers but also the many x64 users wondering about compatibility.

System info
Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (version 5.2.3790) with Service Pack 2 (genuine, English)
Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.8gHz, 4 GB RAM, Asus P5N32-E SLI, 2x Asus GeForce EN8800GTX
Nvidia XP64 driver v175.16 WHQL, DirectX 9.0c

WindowBlinds 6.02 free version
Installed correctly, seemed to go well. But every time I selected a different theme, it only changed after a reboot. Then I've read about a newer version being available for licensed users, which should be better compatible with x64 systems.

WindowBlinds 6.10 licensed
So I took the gamble, I bought WindowsBlinds on Stardock.com. After updating it with the Stardock Central tool it got me version 6.1 "build 55 x86". First thing I tried was switching themes, and what do you know, it worked perfectly. I have been playing around and could find no glitches whatsoever.

ObjectDock 1.9 free version
Installed smoothly, however some functions did not work. After searching for answers it appeared to be known problems. My biggest annoyance was that no start menu button could be added, giving a message saying it is not supported on x64 systems yet. I uninstalled it, because I would like to have it replace my taskbar entirely, and thats impossible without a start menu button.

ObjectDock Plus 1.9 licensed
I was reading some more on the x64 trouble people had with ObjectDock, and it appeared there would be a beta release of the Plus version where the major x64 issues were fixed. So, I decided to take the gamble again. I bought ObjectDock Plus 1.9 and after updating it with Stardock Central it got me the Plus version 1.90 "build 537u, beta release". First thing I tried, of course, was to add a start menu button. And voila! It worked perfectly. I replaced my taskbar for an ObjectDock dock (with open programs showing on the right side), I moved all my desktop shortcuts to a tabbed dock centered on the top of the screen, and made an additional little dock in the bottom right for system tray icons. All docks are autohiding. It looks really nice. However, I do hope a new version is released sometime soon, because using a beta release just doesn't feel right.

There are three things that I think could use improvement:
1. I let my bottom dock interact with the option "Keep on top, hiding off-screen for maximized applications". When I maximize a window, the dock moves off-screen, and when I de-maximize a window, the dock reappears. Thats good. However, when I close a maximized window, and it was the only window left open, the dock does not reappear.
2. This was enabled: "When a shortcut is added, point to the target not the shortcut". However, for 3 shortcuts, when I copied them to the bar and I removed the old link, the one in the bar died; pointing to the old shortcut. It did work for all the other shortcuts though, quite weird, since these 3 weren't anything special (InfraRecorder, Putty, VPN link).
3. This is not a bug, but just the spoiled me: I would love the ability to display both 'open programs' and 'system tray icons' in the same bar, and to be able to move them not only left or right but anywhere in the bar. I think that would make users who have their regular taskbar removed by ObjectDock very happy.

WindowFX 3.0
I've seen some nice videos of WindowFX 3.0. I really liked the morphing effect, so I thought I should give that a try too. It installed correctly, but I never got the effects to run smoothly. The morphing only worked after another reboot, and the animation did not seem proper (black stripes, not themed, stuttering). I didn't find the fading effect run smooth enough to keep it either. Since I could not find any more information about this, I uninstalled it, and did not get the full version. There was some stuff left in the default folder where I had it installed, I removed that manually. Later I thought: perhaps the combination with WindowBlinds was causing the animation trouble? I would only like them together, so I didn't bother trying it again without WindowBlinds.

In summary
I got WindowBlinds and ObjectDock to work perfectly on my x64 system, and I'm very happy with it. I really hope a new ObjectDock will be released sometime, to get rid of the beta. That latest beta seems stable enough for me! And for WindowFX, I hope there will be an improved beta sometime too, with even more effects. If the dev-team would like me to gather more information or to test other things, just let me know.

Thank you,

Albert Kok

Ps. "Welcome, faithful easter-egg hunter!". Funny puzzle in the about screen of ObjectDock, nice pictures and 10-space comments. Next time, you could make it generate a new color code each time the About screen is entered, to make it harder to find.