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What does it REALLY cost ?

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What does it REALLY cost ?

from Stardock Forums

I am new and have a few questions .  I was thinking of buying Object Desktop .  I know most here say it is a good deal .  First , the price stinks !  The bad thing about this is , from what I can tell , you STILL have to pay for other things that supposedly come in the suite .  I find the site to be confusing at best as it is done so as to hide the fact the other things will cost you .  What I want to do is cut through the crap and get an answer from those that know .  People in this forum .  So , if OD basic or ultimate is purchased , what must one pay for with the add ons .  With MYCOLORS for instance , they claim you get 4 PREMIUM free skins .  Um .  What do they mean by PREMIUM ?  Seems to me the good stuff needs to be bought over and above what was already paid for OD .  I know that a few here are very defensive about people talking bad .  if you pay attention to this post , you might understand I mean no malice here .  I just want to know what you get for your money .  To a newbie here , it seems they want to cover up what will cost you once you purchase OD .  I do not mind spending money but , to pay $ 50 or $ 70 bucks for something to give you the options of buying what you really want is sad at best .  can anyone explainwhat it costs to use what is supposedly given to you when purchased ?  ( OD ) .  Wincustomize is bad too .  In one place you are told it costs $ 19.95 , I think , and in other places it seems confusing .  No where on Stardock's site , that I can find , says Wincustomize  subscription is included .  So is it or is it not ?  And $ 20 to buy a program so you can spend another $ 20 on what you actually want ?  All of this is confusing .  Does anyone know if there is a guarantee on this software ?  They do not offer the OD in trial and I see nothing about a guarantee .  So , I buy it , feel screwed and my computer reacts badly , I am out my money ?

 Honest and objective answers would be very much appreciated .  As a whole , I like this forum .  I have read alot and there seems to be some good folks here that try to help .  I am in need of some as Stardock's site offers little in the way of clear and concise information .

  Many thanks in advance

59,376 views 36 replies
Reply #26 from Stardock Forums Top

No more bug fixes, etc. until Windows 7 RC is available - and the bug fixes will be Win7 specific.
End of quote
Dead wrong.

/me shakes his head

Reply #27 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Zubaz, reply 1

No more bug fixes, etc. until Windows 7 RC is available - and the bug fixes will be Win7 specific.Dead wrong.
Zubaz shakes his head
End of Zubaz's quote

 

True... I was generalizing, but where are the ObjectDock fixes for 64bit Vista? The folks that should be working on this are working on Windows 7 testing, and Impulse and Fences, etc.

You can't tell me that Stardock puts any kind of effort into bug fixes.

SoundPackager - Customize the Windows sound scheme
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top

System Requirements:

  • Windows Vista/XP/2003/2000 (32-bit)
    20MB free drive space
    256MB RAM
    Impulse must be installed in order to download and update software
  • Languages supported:
    English, French, German, Italian, Polski, Russian, Spanish, Serbian (srpski) Note: The interface has been localized for these languages, but the documentation and help (where available) will be in English.
  • Internet access is required to activate copies purchased online. [Details]

 

but where are the ObjectDock fixes for 64bit Vista?
End of quote

Vista did not exist when I purchased Object Dock v1

The fact that Stardock has made the effort to make it work at all with Vista is a "positive" for me because I purchased an XP program. No where is it claimed to work with Vista x64..........so there can't be any Vista x64 bugs.

Reply #29 from Stardock Forums Top

So , could someone step up and tell the truth if they understand it ?  Please .....I just decided to trial Deskscapes as this seems really cool .  Um , No XP version ?  Is this all about people that love Stardock no matter what ?  Is anyone here unbias when it comes to Stardock ?  This , by itself , has turned me away .  Free download but , NOT for XP .  This is funny .  So , can someone tell me what works with XP right now and how long they think XP will be supported ?  I will chill out now and not be back unless I buy .  Right now , no way .  From an outsider looking in , this does not look too cool .  Some things are not available for XP even though you pay the price .  And many things cost extra to add , such as my colors collegiate themes and the like .  Ouch .  Think I will have another look after Window7 has been out awhile .  Glad everyone enjoys this stuff but , it certainly seems people using this ....... stuff are made out of money and do not mind throwing it away .  Yikes .

 

  Thanks for all of the help .

   Take care

Reply #30 from Stardock Forums Top

An XP version of DeskScapes has been available to ODNT subscribers for a while.

And stand-alone versions should be out today.  :)

Reply #31 from Stardock Forums Top

Another stupid question would be , if it has been available , why is it not available as a free trial ?  And thanks for the reply Zubaz !!

Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Another stupid question would be , if it has been available , why is it not available as a free trial ?
End of quote
Mostly because they are not the same.  The free trial doesn't do everything the one for sale does.  Our goal is that you try the free (limited) version and then like it enough to buy the full version.  :)

Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top

https://www.stardock.com/products/odnt/features.asp

this give details as to waht comes with the different ODNT subpackages.

List of what runs ON XP, from the above list:

Windowblinds.

Iconpackager.

Theme manager.

DesktopX.

My Colors themes.

Window FX.

Skinstudio.

Icondeveloper.

Object Bar.

Right click.

Keyboard launch pad.

I know Dream Scapes runs on XP and as Zu metioned has been available to OD subscribers for months.

 

Other items like Object Dock and CursorFX are seperate purchases. Most of the Mycolors themes are spearate purchases as well as master skins.

While one is granted access to WC libraries with a Stardock purchase, it is not a subscription to WC and one does not get the WC subscriber benefits.

If you are really wanting to get in to desktop customization I'd sugest one of the OD subs, if you only want to change certain aspects, try researching what each item does and buy them individually. If you want a "one click and your done" desktop customizing prog  go with MyColors.

 

Reply #34 from Stardock Forums Top

Zubaz .

  Again , why , if you want us to try it , is it NOT available to XP users ????  I went to download it and it says it is not available for XP users .  Yet , it IS available to subscribers ?  I am glad you guys understand it because it is still about as stupid as it can get .  Bottom line : If you have XP , you cannot trial Dreamscapes !  I do not feel like picking and choosing through all the programs only to find out , HEY , this does not work with XP .  It still worries me that Stardock is already ending some things with XP .  I will just watch another year or two .

  Thanks Zubaz

Reply #35 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Again , why , if you want us to try it , is it NOT available to XP users ???? I went to download it and it says it is not available for XP users .
End of quote
Are you sure?  I'd check again.  :)

 

There are benefits to subscribing.  When we make something we want our users to use it; the people hat gave us money.  They are our highest priority.

That doesn't mean we don't want new customers . . so we *do* release trials.  They may have time limits or more limited features or what-have-you but they work; they give a taste.

 

I still don't see anything ending at this point for XP only.

Reply #36 from Stardock Forums Top

yep .  I am POSITIVE !  And now it has been changed .  I think you guys should stay up to date on your site .  the download for Desckscapes specifically stated , before I started writing about it , that it was NOT for XP .  PERIOD !  I am 100 % sure of that .  Makes no difference now .  As long as it can be tried , I will try it .  Thank you for getting it straightened out .