i liked LSDistro´s common modules directory though. kept the themes´ sizes smaller.

Yes, but I prefer to group the 3rd party modules with the theme, since not all the themes will use them all, or may require different versions, eg, if you want to paint the background as the popup and use 9.3 instead of the 'standard' core module....

Besides, harddrives are big and modules aren't...

sure, but to use the "common modules" was never a must. i was more thinking of the space modules use in ZIP files (executables can´t be compressed too much). i heard some sites had problems with the used bandwidth recently

Talisman has PHP ability? Is that the same PHP for website design? I know DEsktopX has VB script and it can, once scripted, log on to the on-line database. I was planning to use that feture for better interaction of themes to a site. The secrurity thing is a problem. I do not want people to be able to get to the code of the DX and hack into the website database.

Anyway, Talisman looks very interesting indeed these days. i wouldn't give up DesktopX though. It has too many features I like and use. AND it doesn't replace the explorer shell, of which some do not want.


I really would love to give LiteStep a shot. Still that will be years away.....

OK so one of my 'full themes' [actually a shell] ended up at 4 meg, and included everything...and in bmp form, being prior to png support...all exe's modules and all docs.
Now, an OTS version will come in at about a meg, and quite a few wall submissions are larger than that...

moshi, Wincustomize may have 'heavy days' with bandwidth access but its accessibility is greater and more constant than any of the dedicated LS sites and any skin site as well, for that matter. Sure it can get a bit clogged when you get 1444 registered users online at the one time [a week or so ago]...just compare that with numbers at other sites...Custo is one order of magnitude smaller and still falls over...

oh, i was not speaking about Wincustomize specifically, all sites have this problem i guess.

btw: i don´t think that wallpapers (that usually use the most space in a zip file) are required for LS themes any longer, now that layercut and shortcut3 (and rainmation & rainlendar) support per-pixel alpha blending. on the other hand one can use a half-naked anime chick as wallpaper and downloads will increase dramatically

PNG BMP does not make too much difference in a ZIP anyways



well, let´s see what OTS2 will bring (Omar is working on that currently). some "common modules" that are used often and don´t get updated too much (as lsxcommand or ckvwm) won´t be that bad.

moshi...sometimes, especially with wall-derived themes, such as my Nijikon Fetchi renditions of Misery's wall work much more nicely when you let miniwall.dll load it and exit from memory...that way when you change your 'theme' you change it all in the one hit, like scripting Windowblinds to autoload/change as well.
The fun of the result is worth the effort [and added size]...

when they first started the OTS thing i was a bit confused and i stuck with LSDistro, but when i upgraded to the latest Indiestep build i changed to OTS and it was really a lot better. But i still hate having all the modules in each themes's directory so i always edited the themes to point ot one common modules folder. it's easier to update modules that way too.

but as far as having LS detect if you don't have ht emodule and load a default, that wouldn't work cause modules that do the same thing don't have the same features or the same syntax in the step.rc.

As a site admin one thing I don't like about Talisman is that LIghtek doesn't have their own skin library but instead links to INDIVIDUAL skins on different sites making it appears as if they have their own skin library but in reality leaching off of the community sites.

I find that very distasteful.

Here's what I mean:
http://www.lighttek.com/themes2/

If you don't want to have your own skin library then point to the various websites that support you. Don't deep link to the actual files on other sites.

Sorry, Brad, but what makes you think that Lightek doesn't have some kind of deal with DeviantArt to do just that? I know we do. They host the Winstep themes page (which they did before anyway) and in return we provide DeviantArt some extra traffic and possibly new Deviants. Not much different from what is happening here, actually.

Jorge Coelho
NextSTART 3.0 - A user interface you can actually use!
http://www.winstep.net - Winstep Software Technologies
IRC Chat: #winstep on AustNet

Frogboy: It was my understanding that they had an agreement with skinz.org when it was the sole storage area for Talisman themes. They also make mention of the sites they use on the 'add theme' section.

joetheblow: No, no built-in ability, but if you have PHP running on your machine, you can execute PHP files, either with a command, or at intervals with 'scheduled tasks' or some such. Theme files for most shells are just text files that can be parsed and altered by PHP scripts like any other file.

You can grab material off the internet and make menus and whatnot out of it, or you can use it to alert you to whatever by swapping out images, etc, like the recycle bin. On my fileserver I have a messageboard-type script, and I have PHP update messages to my desktop, along with the last entries from the ftp/web server logs, etc. Not much different than what Samurize or such apps do, but you aren't limited by using someone else's app.

You could do just as much with LS, or any shell that lets you refresh and pulls its theme info from a regular, parsable text file. I'm sure you could combine it with the scripting mods for LS as well.

I just wish refreshing was more low-key. Automated refreshing can get annoying when the whole thing kind of stutters for a second.

Hum, anilla Ice and Bakerstreet got me curious.
Tried Talisman way back when, it was OK but lacking. I'll give v2 a shot.

Lightteck isn't actually leeching cause they aren't linking to individual files, just the page for that theme (if my memory is right).

paxx: be sure to d/l the 2.5beta instead of the 2.31 version cause if you look at the themes section, most of the new ones require 2.5.

They do have links to the files themselves, but I had assumed they had worked out permission. In my experience Lighttek has always been good-natured. The original situation at Lighttek was more of 'you send an email with a screenshot and a link", and where that link happened to be was the skinner's business. Many hosted their own themes, if I am not mistaken. I don't think there is any kind of concerted effort to covertly leech.

If they don't have it worked out with the sites, one would assume that admins would ALLOW/DENY those files or directories so that they couldn't be sucessfully deep-linked. On file-hosting sites that rely on advertising I had assumed that was a given.