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The DesktopX 2 public gamma is now available. This should be the final public release before DesktopX 2.0 is officially released.

DesktopX is a the ultimate desktop enhancement program. It lets usres completely customize the look, feel, and function of the actual desktop by extending the Windows shell to support true objects.




Features include:

• Enhanced Desktop Icons: Make your desktop icons any size you choose, put shadows under them, change the label font, have it zoom up when you put your mouse over it or anything else you may want to do to them.
  
  
• Scriptable objects (sometimes called "Widgets"): With VBScript or JAVAScript users can create desktop objects that check the weather, create calendars, move and change color, play games, and much more!
  
  
• System Performance Monitoring: Built in plugins allow users to display virtually any type of information not just on their machine but on PCs that are located on their network that they have access to using Microsoft's integrated performance monitoring APIs. The ultimate system meters can hence be created.
  
  
• Object Media: A light weight media player interface that DesktopX objects can interact with. Create the ultimate skinnable MP3 player that does so in a fraction of the memory and resources.
  
  
• Full Desktop Themes: Build your own desktop by grouping objects together and creating your own desktop user interface.
  
  
• Direct COM/ActiveX integration: Treat the hundreds of ActiveX controls installed on your system as objects. Create web browsers, spread sheet objects, Internet radios, Video windows, and more with just a few lines of VBScript.
  
  
• Desktop Security: Create a desktop that could be used as a kiosk or just a secure home desktop where Ctrl-Alt-Del and other functions are password protected.
  From a visual stand point, what makes DesktopX stand out is its easy support for fully alpha blended animations. Just put together a .PNG file with multiple frames of animation, tell the object how many frames it has and voila, an animated object is created. Multimedia features include support for shadowing, transparency, sound effects, multiple user defined states, and much more.
  

And all of this is done with a relatively small memory foot print. See Screenshot for a an example of DesktopX running with a RAM meter, a clock, a Net In/Out monitor, shadowed folders, and a calendar all together using only 6 megabytes of memory.

Best of all, DesktopX is a free download. An enhanced registered version contains enhanced security and access to additional DesktopX object support but the free version is fully functional and does not time out.

The enhanced version is $19.95 or can be obtained as part of Stardock's Object Desktop suite of desktop enhancements.

[List of Updates]

Download: Download DesktopX Gamma

"We think that wireless is clearly a big deal in mobile computing with 802.11," said Dell.

"In the enterprise market we are very much believers in the scale-out technologies with clusters or grids of servers; two-way and four-way servers.

"The market for larger servers - four-way and eight-way - is going down and the projections for two-way and four-way are going up. In the overall market for servers, about 99 per cent of the volume is for two-way and four-way."

The company is also branching out into new consumer areas, adding an online music service to rival Apple's iTunes, and building flat screen televisions, although there was no indication of whether this would be globally or just for the US market.

Like many of its rivals, Dell is pushing hard into the services sector, with the launch of Dell Managed Services and Dell Professional Services.

Unisys is providing the bulk of the services for Dell, and has to date signed deals with the likes of Axa and Cable & Wireless.

It is targeting those services that are becoming commoditised, such as desktop outsourcing and managing upgrades. Dell confirmed that the company would not be touching the more difficult custom application or development services.

Jon Collins, senior analyst at Quocirca, commented: "Dell has been missing out on this market because it sells direct, so it's an opportunity to have almost a reverse channel arrangement.

"It can use the systems integrators without saying that it is changing its business model."

Using third-party suppliers to provide the services gives Dell more chance of success, added Collins, because it does not have to go through a learning curve in this sector.