 The WinCustomize logo features a tramp, a reference to changing appearance using skins WinCustomize.com is a website that was launched in March 2001 by Brad Wardell and Pat Ford, both of whom work at Stardock. It is dedicated to providing content for users to customize their Windows experience, most of which is free to download. The site hosts thousands of skins, themes, icons, wallpapers, and other graphical content that can be used to change virtually every aspects of the Windows graphical user interface. Image File history File links The WinCustomize logo, featuring the skin-changing chameleon, from the WinCustomize site. ...
In computing, skins and themes are custom graphical appearances (GUIs) that can be applied to certain software and websites in order to suit the different tastes of different users. ...
Brad Wardell Bradley R. Wardell (born 24 June 1971 in Texas), commonly known as Brad Wardell, is an American residing in Michigan. ...
Stardock Corporation is a software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems, later known as Stardock. ...
Microsoft Windows is a series of popular proprietary operating environments and operating systems created by Microsoft for use on personal computers and servers. ...
In computing, skins and themes are custom graphical appearances (GUIs) that can be applied to certain software and websites in order to suit the different tastes of different users. ...
In computing, a theme is a preset package containing graphical appearance details, used to customise the look and feel of (typically) an operating system, widget set or window manager. ...
Mac OS X Panther allows continuous scaling of icons up to 128x128 pixels A computer icon is a small pictogram, usually ranging from 16 by 16 pixels up to 128 by 128 pixels, which represents a file, folder, application or device on a computer operating system. ...
The terms wallpaper and desktop picture refer to an image used as a background on a computer screen, usually for the desktop of a graphical user interface. ...
A graphical user interface (or GUI, sometimes pronounced gooey) is a method of interacting with a computer through a metaphor of direct manipulation of graphical images and widgets in addition to text. ...
Site history
Originally launched in 2001, after the infamous "Dot-Com Bomb" had taken down many popular skin sites, WinCustomize quickly grew in popularity due to a combination of wide variety of content, uptime reliability, and being the preferred content destination by Stardock customers. Diagram of the layers of human skin In zootomy and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system composed of a layer of tissues that protect underlying muscles and organs. ...
Stardock Corporation is a software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems, later known as Stardock. ...
The site has grown at a far greater pace than its founders had anticipated. It has managed to avoid having to put many limitations on users or having to resort to pop-up advertising because of its corporate patron Stardock subsidizing its costs.
By the end of 2004, WinCustomize's traffic exceeded 10 million visitors per month. Stardock had the site re-designed using ASP.NET to try to decrease the server load and prepare the site to become more self-sufficient. Premium subscriptions have provided a way for users to contribute to supporting the site's continued growth, and have resulted in additional features (including the WinCustomize Browser). ASP.NET is a set of web development technologies marketed by Microsoft. ...
At the end of 2004, WinCustomize "2K5" was launched which provided a whole new interface, personal pages for the new "premium" subscribers, and other features to expand the site's mission to include articles, tutorials, and other information on how users could get the most out of their Windows based PC. Subscriber: In a public switched telecommunications network such as the common telephone system, the ultimate user, customer, of a communications service. ...
At the end of 2005, site traffic had grown to over 20 million visitors each month and is ranked by most third party popularity monitors (such as Alexa) to be in the top 5,000 most popular websites in the world. It has over 3 million registered members and is, by far, the largest skinning site in the world. Alexa refers to: Alexa Internet. ...
Forum Criticisms While nearly all users visit WinCustomize.com to download skins, themes, icons, wallpapers, and other content for their personal computers, WinCustomize does have extensive forums and articles areas. As with most large sites, WinCustomize is not without its critics with regards to how the forums are run and the content in the articles and forums area. Animal Skin Skins - Rolling papers Skin (computing) ...
In music, a theme is the initial or primary melody. ...
The Savior Not Made By Hands (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) An icon (from Greek εικων, eikon, image) is an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine, such as God, saints or deities. ...
This page refers to the material used for interior decoration. ...
Some users feel that the editorial content of WinCustomize.com has an anti-Apple bias. On occasion, editorial articles are written that are critical of Apple's products or the Mac community. Much of this stems from the long rivalry between Windows advocates and Macintosh advocates that often comes to a head on sites that enable users to customize their computing experience to take pieces from other operating systems.
In addition, the forums themselves are moderated by volunteers. Some users feel that the moderators behave as a kind of "clique" in which users are not always treated equally. While this sort of thing is common in on-line forums, particularly ones run by volunteers, it is a perception that the WinCustomize staff say they are trying to rectify.
Other criticisms of WinCustomize include its close association with Stardock which owns the site. Some feel there is a conflict of interest in the world's largest skinning site (over 20 million visitors monthly) being operated by a software developer that sells skinning solutions.
Popular Skinning programs Programs heavily associated with Windows customization include: - WindowBlinds - enables users to customize the look and feel of the Windows GUI.
- WinAmp - A skinnable media player from Nullsoft.
- IconPackager - A program that enables users to change their Windows icons.
- Rainlendar — A skinnable clock program.
- DesktopX — A program that enables users to build their own desktop with objects and widgets.
- Windows Media Player — Microsoft's skinnable media player.
- ObjectDock — provides a dock for Windows similar to that in the Mac OS X Aqua GUI
- CursorXP — replaces existing cursor functionality with animated, resizable cursors and optional click effects
- LogonStudio — alters the Windows XP welcome screen
- BootSkin — alters the Windows 2000 and Windows XP boot screen
WindowBlinds is a computer program that allows users to skin the Windows graphical user interface. ...
Winamp is a multimedia player made by Nullsoft and eventually acquired by America Online. ...
IconPackager changes all icons at once IconPackager is a computer program by Stardock that allows the changing of icons for the Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/2003 graphical user interface. ...
Rainlendar is an open source computer application that displays the date and month on the desktop. ...
DesktopX is a shareware desktop enhancement program that allows users to build their own custom desktops with a friendly GUI. Amongst its features is a complete widget engine for Windows as well as a desktop object system. ...
Windows Media Player is a proprietary freeware software media player used for playing audio, as well as viewing video and images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. ...
ObjectDock is a computer program providing a dock similar to that in the Mac OS X Aqua GUI. It is distributed under the WinCustomize brand by Stardock for Windows 2000, XP and later operating systems, and comes in Free and Plus versions. ...
Mac OS X Dock Window Maker dock, similar to the NeXTSTEP dock The Dock is a graphical user interface feature first introduced in the NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP operating systems, and radically changed and refined in Mac OS X, where it has gained the behaviour of Newtons Newton OS Dock. ...
Microsoft Windows is a series of popular proprietary operating environments and operating systems created by Microsoft for use on personal computers and servers. ...
Mac OS X is a proprietary operating system developed and sold by Apple Computer which is included with all currently shipping Apple Macintosh computers. ...
Mac OS X 10. ...
A graphical user interface (or GUI, sometimes pronounced gooey) is a method of interacting with a computer through a metaphor of direct manipulation of graphical images and widgets in addition to text. ...
Cursors feature in many of the interfaces between computers and their users. ...
Windows XP is a major revision of the Microsoft Windows operating system created for use on desktop and business computer systems. ...
BootSkin is a computer program for Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista that allows users to change the screen displayed while the operating system is booting. ...
Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2K, W2K or Windows NT 5. ...
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