Is OS Customization dead?


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I'm noticing that customization now is nothing like it was 10 years ago. Things like ObjectDock are all but extinct.

 

Am I missing something? Windows still has plenty to improve upon with add-ons. Where did they all go?

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Objectdock still exist so does stardock the company behind it.

What do you have in mind? Most things are possible these days.

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It's not dead, but it's fairly inconsequential and time wasting. GUI's are now quite stable and logical, so I just want to work. And this is coming from the one who wrote all of Neowin's customization guides in the past.

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Its crazy. Windows users used to be completely unique. Everyones desktop looked different. My computer at home FELT like a completely different machine than my computer at work. Now... all windows 8 machines feel like the same thing... Sort of how all iPhones are identical.

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Its crazy. Windows users used to be completely unique. Everyones desktop looked different. My computer at home FELT like a completely different machine than my computer at work. Now... all windows 8 machines feel like the same thing... Sort of how all iPhones are identical.

 

It's true and I do feel nostalgic about those days. I suppose that once you start using your computer for real work the GUI takes a step back. Now I'm convinced that a good GUI is the one that feels invisible.

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I believe you can still use Rainmeter on Windows 8 and programs like start8. Plus while you can change the accent color and start screen color on Windows, I seem to recall that OSX won't even let you change the dock's color without an application. iOS won't let you customize icon sizes either.

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Sucks :( We all used to be so... individual. We're becoming the lemmings they wanted us to be. The internet is a ###### place lately.

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I stopped spending a lot of time customizing due to sane defaults and the amount of time I've saved from sticking close to stock. 

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I think the biggest part of the problem was that, for me at least, it resulted in instability. Once the "coolness" wore off, all you're left with is something that is only 90% as stable as it could be.

 

That, and the Start Menu changes in Windows 7 really ended any point for customization. The only real useful accessory these days is Bins, and even its usefulness is questionable.

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I think the biggest part of the problem was that, for me at least, it resulted in instability. Once the "coolness" wore off, all you're left with is something that is only 90% as stable as it could be.

 

That, and the Start Menu changes in Windows 7 really ended any point for customization. The only real useful accessory these days is Bins, and even its usefulness is questionable.

I still customize my desktop. Not for coolness, but for functionality. I want 100% of my screen for my work if possible. So I go with the most minimalist approach possible. Small Icons. Hidden taskbar. 

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Eh it's still totally doable, for me the novelty wore off years ago for the most part. I still use a different visual style and icon set, never happy with the out of the box look from any OS yet, and occasionally a launcher replacement, but that's about it. No more extra bars/docks (taskbar does it all now), RainMeter/Samurize (got an LCD panel for that never mind you can't actually see it while you're working), visual effects (meh, cute for showing off but zero practicality), multiple desktops (multiple monitors are way more useful), Explorer extensions (it's good now, this isn't XP anymore), widgets (is it 2003 again?) etc etc.

Community is still alive and well though, just look on DeviantArt/etc, still plenty of activity.

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i used to be all about customization with XP and Vista. These days, as i get older, i dont care anymore. i just want to use the OS and get the work done.

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I like to customise the OS as much as I like to look at it, as in, I don't. It is all about content, who cares how an OS looks like. If it wasn't there to serve me the content, it wouldn't have existed in the first place.

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Sucks :( We all used to be so... individual. We're becoming the lemmings they wanted us to be. The internet is a ###### place lately.

If customization is your thing, try out a Linux distribution, the OS customization crowd is very much alive and well there :). The Linux "Show your desktop" thread here on Neowin is always the best one because everyone's desktop is entirely unique (e.g. July, August).

For actual desktop environments you've got Gnome vs Xfce vs KDE vs i3 vs Pantheon vc many others. Then your wallpapers, then your icon sets, then your Conky configurations, your Window Manager themes, your QT/GTK+ themes. The list goes on :)

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The older theme artists got old and have less time for it. Windows looks acceptable now compared to the XP days. Most themes have an issue with some program, the usual Aero (Win7) fits all.

Then there's this lack of quality, flooding:

 

a5uA.jpg

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If customization is your thing, try out a Linux distribution, the OS customization crowd is very much alive and well there :). The Linux "Show your desktop" thread here on Neowin is always the best one because everyone's desktop is entirely unique (e.g. July, August).

For actual desktop environments you've got Gnome vs Xfce vs KDE vs i3 vs Pantheon vc many others. Then your wallpapers, then your icon sets, then your Conky configurations, your Window Manager themes, your QT/GTK+ themes. The list goes on :)

If I didn't play so many games, I would use Linux in a heartbeat. 

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If I didn't play so many games, I would use Linux in a heartbeat.

Oh I'm not suggesting moving over wholesale, but if you need a good fill of OS customization, try dual booting or setting one up in Virtualbox and playing around :)

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Then there's this lack of quality, flooding:

Eh that's not unique to Windows, you'll find nasty/amateurish themes for any OS. Just as a random example:

uglygtk.png

(And no, the irony of Luna being in there isn't lost on me.. hated that from day one.) 

 

 

If customization is your thing, try out a Linux distribution, the OS customization crowd is very much alive and well there :). The Linux "Show your desktop" thread here on Neowin is always the best one because everyone's desktop is entirely unique (e.g. July, August).

Eh you do all of that on Windows too, and as pointed out already, it's not even remotely dead on Windows, there's still a lot of activity. (Even Windows 8.) Just not everyone feels the need to do so anymore.
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Eh that's not unique to Windows, you'll find nasty/amateurish themes for any OS. Just as a random example:
uglygtk.png
(And no, the irony of Luna being in there isn't lost on me.. hated that from day one.) 
 
 
Eh you do all of that on Windows too, and as pointed out already, it's not even remotely dead on Windows, there's still a lot of activity. (Even Windows 8.) Just not everyone feels the need to do so anymore.

 

It wasn't meant to show that it's a Windows thing. Just that the number of horrid styles has increased tremendously compared to what it was when I was checking out plenty VS' being released right here on Neowin even.

 

 

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In my case, I've been using Win 8 for several days, and I'm still trying to figure out how to make the background color of Windows (or file) explorer grey (both the main and the tree window). (I'd like to use the default explorer rather than alternative ones and the default theme.)

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In my case, I've been using Win 8 for several days, and I'm still trying to figure out how to make the background color of Windows (or file) explorer grey (both the main and the tree window). (I'd like to use the default explorer rather than alternative ones and the default theme.)

 

As far as I'm aware that's not possible. Don't remember ever seeing that option in 7 or Vista either.

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