This is my first post here @ CrystalXP. I just wanted to post my thanks to the team behind VI2 and could not find a better place to do so.
For years now I've been tempted to replace the XP Luna theme (silver variety) with no reliable and lasting results. I've been trying products by StarDock since WinME - for me they were never reliable and hard on resources. XP also did not play well with skinning.
Enter Ubuntu Human. Last fall I had a "try all Linux varieties out there" phase, during which I also tried skinning my XP Pro installation with Ubuntu looks among others. There I realized that doing it by patching the system dll's is the right way to go. While checking out a program called Resource Hacker, I came to understand that all those dll's contained icons and bitmaps stored in them and all that any patcher does is to replace embedded icons and bitmaps with new ones. So no problems can come out of it really unless something really screwed up happens. The problem with Ubuntu skinning packages was that some Windows system icons and bitmaps cannot be replaced since by default no Linux distribution contains all the equivalent functions for which icons or bitmaps have been designed. Also I did not like the skins enough to let them replace the Luna theme - well this is a case of taste, I'm sure some people are perfectly happy with their Human skinned XP Pro.
Enter Vista (Native). I do not inted to switch to Vista still unless I will be in dire need of 64 bit memory capacity. Nonetheless, I did check out Vista Aero. I only liked some ideas in the visual design. I did not like the over the top blurring and shadowing. For me, everything looked too smeared visually; the title bar text, the top right window buttons hover effects etc. I found it also odd that Vista Basic did not let me choose skin color. Why would I want to be stuck with a light blue OS skin if I don't want all the shimmer in Aero? Aero seemed like a "niche skin" rather than a good mainstream skin cleverly manipulated in details and sensibly proportioned in terms of effects. It's too in your face. The real show stopper for me though was the fact that I was to be stuck with an "All Programs" menu that had to fit into the left side of the start menu. I keep my XP start menu very clean and organized into sub-categories. Having to click to open and click to close program group menus is a pain; no more hovering and seeing; click-click scroll click-click scroll click-click...
The things that I liked were the new icons, the new taskbar, the new start menu except for the all programs issue.
Enter Vista Inspirat. Pure. The thing with Vista is that a dedicated team of designers have renewed all the Windows icons that are embedded in dll's. So if somebody wishes to replace all embedded icons in XP, they should look no further than Vista. VI2 does exactly that. It takes all the good stuff from Vista and brings them right into XP: icons, bitmaps, taskbar and start menu design, UI main font. But it doesn't only do that. I think VI2 brings in a more sensbile interpretation of the design idea behind the window skin of Vista Aero. It cuts back on all the unnecessary shimmer of Aero IMHO. I love it and don't think that I will ever look back. Make sure to check out MS ClearType control panel for XP. If you already are using it you'll see that Segoe UI plays much better with smoothing than do either Tahoma or Trebuchet.
Thanks for the great effort VI2 team!!!
Krofa.
