Border Skin - Aero Glass on XP

[komalo]

0.2.4 is released

[XmoshiX]

I've been watching this app since it first appeared, GREAT progress, I remember when I could barely run this thing, and now the Aero Glass on XP is really polished, and functional.

[komalo]

0.2.6 Released :)

[Panda X]

0.2.6 Released :)

Changelog.

[threesixtyflip]

Yeah a changelog would be nice please :)

[komalo]

it is in the first page

[LiquidSolstice]

I simply don't get this. If you want Aero, get a machine that can support it. Or more correctly, an operating system that can.

[Panda X]

I simply don't get this. If you want Aero, get a machine that can support it. Or more correctly, an operating system that can.

Yeah because XP has Aero and for those who can't use it in Vista have the money to just go out and get a whole new machine. :rolleyes:

[komalo]

0.2.7 Released, Check First Page for More Info

[Mr. Gibs]

Yeah because XP has Aero and for those who can't use it in Vista have the money to just go out and get a whole new machine. :rolleyes:

Right..because using things like windows blurring and aero on windows xp with no hardware acceleration isn't going to affect your systems performance at all :rolleyes:

Cool program none the less, but I'm pretty sure if you have a computer that can handle it on Windows Vista or Windows 7.

[The Regal Wind]

Great to see this app still in use and development. It's a great program with some definite advantages over using native Aero effects in Windows. I myself like the fact that BorderSkin's got the ability to adjust the blur of the windows, something I've been hoping and praying for one of the coders around here to develop for the DWM.

[komalo]

Right..because using things like windows blurring and aero on windows xp with no hardware acceleration isn't going to affect your systems performance at all :rolleyes:

Cool program none the less, but I'm pretty sure if you have a computer that can handle it on Windows Vista or Windows 7.

thanks, it sure affects performance, but if it is stable enough to work all the time without affecting performance too much then sure it can be used, don't u think ?

( my computer is not aero capable and it runs it fine)

Great to see this app still in use and development. It's a great program with some definite advantages over using native Aero effects in Windows. I myself like the fact that BorderSkin's got the ability to adjust the blur of the windows, something I've been hoping and praying for one of the coders around here to develop for the DWM.

thanks, but i don't think that controlling blur value is possible, vista and seven don't supply any API to change settings in DWM except for showing aero on forms.

[komalo]

0.2.8 is released

[komalo]

0.2.9 released, with new improvements, check first page

[mrp04]

Are people this attached to XP that they spend all this time trying to make it look like 7? Seriously, Windows 7 can be had for $100 or less, why spend all these hours making XP look like it? The OS is nearly a decade old, let it go.

[Jen Smith]

Are people this attached to XP that they spend all this time trying to make it look like 7? Seriously, Windows 7 can be had for $100 or less, why spend all these hours making XP look like it? The OS is nearly a decade old, let it go.

Have to agree with that. Plus I'm tired of hearing the "oh its slow/bloated" excuse.. sorry but I have Win7 running on a tablet that's sporting a Celeron and 512MB, doesn't get much crappier than that, and it's perfectly usable. (Also seems a lot smoother in a low RAM environment that XP did, go figure.)

That aside, I tried the app in a virtual machine that I kept around just for random crapware testing. (Not implying anything, it's just a general dump box for unknown apps.) Seems to do the job fairly well. A couple apps didn't like it, namely the ones that insist on using non-standard frames, but the exclusions took care of it. I wouldn't use it myself if I was still running XP, but if you're the type that needs this sort of thing it's pretty good.

[bogas04]

Hey Komalo! Remember me? :p

First of all , congrats for .2.9 version! Per app configurations seems great , is it possible to bring such a thing to Windows 7? Like make Firefox window bit orange , while Opera bit red , etc etc. I would really love to use such a feature :D

And to those who think its not worth to make apps for Xp now , hello! Almost 50% ppl still use xp and yes , they have about 256~512mb ram , and its not actually apt to run Windows 7 on it , with just basic theme :| See lee-soft.com , he has just updated his ViGlance version which is also used in Vista to mimic Superbar like functionality. Who knows , Komalo might someday add Windows Vista and 7 basic support to Border skin , so that even Home basic ppl can use aero. Anyways , i am , as always , impressed with Komalo's talent :D

[Lazure]

There's really this many people who can't run Aero? The earliest nvidia card to support Aero is FX 5200, and for ATI it's the Radeon 9600 pro. Those two cards are DIRT OLD (think 8+ years old). Are there seriously this many people still using computers at home that have AGP video cards even worse than those? Even then, you can probably obtain an aero-capable AGP video card for such systems dirt cheap and quite easily, or maybe you can cannibalize one from an old system a buddy of yours isn't using anymore.

Even the onboard intel GPUs beyond the GMA945 can use Aero just fine. And they often lack shaders and dedicated video memory! Aero does not require very many resources, as many seem to believe it does. Even if your onboard video isn't up to snuff, refer above about getting a cheap and easy AGP card.

And just how many people still use (as their main computer) a system that has less than 512mb of RAM? Corporations and Businesses do not count here, I'm talking your everyday household computer you use as your main (or only) machine!

That said: this program woulda been nice to see years ago, during the whole anti-vista/downgrade-back-to-xp fiasco when most of us were still using XP. Might be useful for XP Mode, or other XP virtual machines tho!

[SaltLife]

That's why I run XP or Linux on my older dell x300, no support for aero thus runs like a dog

[Jen Smith]

And to those who think its not worth to make apps for Xp now , hello! Almost 50% ppl still use xp and yes , they have about 256~512mb ram , and its not actually apt to run Windows 7 on it , with just basic theme :|

7 will run just fine in 512MB. (Granted, not optimal.. neither with XP for that matter.) With 256MB, even XP is going to have horrible performance. You can load the OS itself sure, fire up any modern application though and you'll hear your hard drive thrashing the swap file like mad. This isn't Vista; the footprint between 7 and XP really isn't that much after all is said and done. On my particular system, I'm guesstimating 7 is taking about 3% more memory than XP did with the same background apps running. If I killed off 7's extras like DWM, indexing and whatnot, it'll be aprox identical. Even when XP was new, if you said you had 256MB people would be telling you to 1) Upgrade, or 2) Go back to 98 or Win2K.

That's why I run XP or Linux on my older dell x300, no support for aero thus runs like a dog

Again, that's your choice, but Aero is just accelerating the system by offloading the graphics to the GPU. Yes, without Aero, 7 runs a bit slower... basically, handling it just like XP.

[MtnDewCodeRedFreak]

I agree with the majority about XP and Aero.

I think it's time to stop beating that dead horse, bite the bullet and just upgrade to 7, for God's sake.

[SaltLife]

Again, that's your choice, but Aero is just accelerating the system by offloading the graphics to the GPU. Yes, without Aero, 7 runs a bit slower... basically, handling it just like XP.

This has to do with my machine (maybe others out there as well who have net yet upgraded their PC/Laptop) But because my onboard video does not have a WDDM compatible card (older intel 800/850) I was not able to utilize Aero or other core functionalities of the operating system I lost the ability to play DVDs entirely and other sources media in full screen(which became a huge issue for the kids on trips) any games that we owned were a complete failure. And not having a properly working display driver is not a suitable option for a day to day PC. I have Windows 7 running on a newer machine that I own, but to ask why people do not just upgrade or think it's ridiculous that they haven't is a bit superficial.

I certainly will not purchase a license for an operating system that is not compatible with my hardware, just doesn't make sense, especially when Windows XP runs perfectly fine on it.

[Lazure]

Yeah, sadly, laptops are the one type of system you are SOL on if you lack the video capabilities to use Aero (or even a proper video driver, period) in windows 7. You can't just up and put a video card in a laptop, or even change the GPU out. It's a shame really.

[Uncharted]

why focus on a product which is already out of date and there is so many other products like that out there?

and the market shear is dropping all the time for XP so your user base is going as we speak :p

[komalo]

okay, first of all, i am not a fan of the Windows Aero interface, i don't like it so much that i keep simulate every piece of it, but i do it because I've gained some experience about windows handling, skinning, programming teqs, very etc ... that i wouldn't dream to gain from developing any other software, i didn't actually thought that developing Border Skin would be so useful for my software developing that much, and not to mention, that this kind of software isn't stable on all computers, so that errors could happen on some computers, and don't happen on other, so when i face this kind errors, and fix them, and improve stability on all computers, imagine how that would be great addition in any developing of any software i might develop.

as for Aero, i myself am not against or with windows 7, nor keeping or getting rid of xp, i look at what i need, if windows xp is fine for me, all i need of programs of games is available for me, then i won't upgrade to 7, but if i needed one of the features that is available only on windows 7, i will defintly upgrade, that is my opinion, and i think that most of people think that way, and by features, i mean the ones that i need, not the better features of windows 7, of course windows 7 has so many new and better features than xp, but it doesn't necessarily mean that all of us need them, and we have to upgrade.

Hey Komalo! Remember me? :p

First of all , congrats for .2.9 version! Per app configurations seems great , is it possible to bring such a thing to Windows 7? Like make Firefox window bit orange , while Opera bit red , etc etc. I would really love to use such a feature :D

And to those who think its not worth to make apps for Xp now , hello! Almost 50% ppl still use xp and yes , they have about 256~512mb ram , and its not actually apt to run Windows 7 on it , with just basic theme :| See lee-soft.com , he has just updated his ViGlance version which is also used in Vista to mimic Superbar like functionality. Who knows , Komalo might someday add Windows Vista and 7 basic support to Border skin , so that even Home basic ppl can use aero. Anyways , i am , as always , impressed with Komalo's talent :D

and how exactly can i forget u my friend :), on windows vista & 7, Microsoft didn't add any programming way of controlling aero execpt for enabling and disabling only, which i find very annoying, btw, Border Skin can work on both vista and seven basic ;)