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Getting excited for Longhorn? Stardock has released DesktopX 2.0, a program that allows users to completely design their own desktops.

DesktopX 2 gives Windows XP users the ability to turbo charge their Windows desktop. It does this by taking advantage of today's video cards (particularly nVidia and ATI cards) to provide a wealth of visual effects and desktop widget support.

DesktopX is the program that many studios use to create their own futuristic looking computer interfaces seen in movies and TV. For example, the computer screens seen in last year’s “The Recruit” used DesktopX to deliver the thriller’s futuristic CIA computing environment.

DUsers can build desktops or simply to add individual groups of objects (commonly called “widgets”) to their desktop that can do everything from display current weather conditions, stock prices, or even play simple games.


>>Zoom In<<

Key features of DesktopX 2.0 include:

· Replacement of desktop icons with objects that can be of any size, have shadows and react to mouse events.

· Built in visual system monitoring such as resource usage, CPU monitoring, disk space meters, Internet traffic graphs, and visual graphing of all readouts from Microsoft’s built in performance monitoring APIs (i.e. hundreds of local and network resources can be visually monitored without any programming).

· Placement of image files (.BMP, .PNG, .TGA) right onto the desktop. Users could put family photos, create animated wallpapers, or just create their own desktop metaphor.

· Full support for animation and alpha blending. Using a strip of .BMP or .PNG files, users can set the frame rate and play animations right on their desktop.

· Integrated support for both VBScript and Javascript which includes a powerful programmer’s editor. Developers can quickly access information and data from their network or via the Internet and display it on screen using industry standard scripting languages.

· Built in security allows users to lock down their desktops incrementally. DesktopX can be used to build kiosks, publicly accessible terminals or secure home family desktops.

· Direct support for COM/Active X controls. Users can access any ActiveX control on the system and use them to create a corporate or home desktop environment. These controls act just like any other DesktopX object and can have scripts attached to them to control their behavior.

You can get DesktopX as part of Stardock's Object Desktop or purchase it stand alone. A free version is available for download at http://www.desktopx.net

In November, Stardock will be releasing DesktopX 2 Professional which will enable users to export their objects as stand alone executables that won't require any runtime DLLs or other supporting files to use!

DesktopX 2 comes with dozens of objects including a Longhorn side bar, calendars, MP3 players, fish, system meters, network traffic monitors, a guest desktop, and much more.

More information & video demos at: Information Guide

Download: Download DesktopX
Screenshot: >> Click here <<

The UK's music industry also lobbied against the law -- but on the grounds that it was too lenient, and would drive the music industry out of the country.

Brown said that an exemption had been built in allowing cryptographic researchers to circumvent copyright protections, but said the language of this provision was "perhaps less clear than it should be". One of the DMCA-like provisions of the EUCD is the criminalisation of circumventing copyright protections, in other words cracking anti-piracy technology on DVDs, CDs, printer cartridges and the like.

Other observers noted that the new UK law could be used to imprison file-swappers on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks such as Kazaa for up to two years.

One of the law's provisions states that "A person who infringes copyright in a work by communicating the work to the public... to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright... commits an offence."

Struan Robertson, editor of the newsletter Out-Law, produced by UK law firm Masons, noted that this could be used to fine P2P users or send them to prison for up to two years. "By making a music file available for download for any other users of your chosen P2P network, you are communicating the work -- potentially at least -- to millions, i.e. to an extent that the music industry could say is prejudicing its rights," he said in a statement.

FIPR's Brown agreed the UK regulations allowed scope for abuse, but said that on this provision, the UK was bound by the provisions of the EUCD itself.

"It's the directive that's the problem," he said. "The groups who are concerned have to make sure their voices are heard next year when the European Commission reviews [the EUCD], and suggest changes."