Glassy looking XP?

[LanciaStratos]

OK, so being the techy guy that I am, I've been feeling pretty dumb after looking at some friend's XP machines. They're using a smooth, "glassy" version of the Blue (default) XP skin. The first time I saw it, I thought it was just some skin they had downloaded, but since then I've seen it many times being used by some seriously computer-challenged young girls. What gives? I can only imagine how good the glassy look would be if applied to the silver XP style...mmmm...

[cirisme]

It's the Royale theme AKA the default theme for Windows Media Center. It's actually really quite nice.

[DirectPixel]

OK, so being the techy guy that I am, I've been feeling pretty dumb after looking at some friend's XP machines. They're using a smooth, "glassy" version of the Blue (default) XP skin. The first time I saw it, I thought it was just some skin they had downloaded, but since then I've seen it many times being used by some seriously computer-challenged young girls. What gives? I can only imagine how good the glassy look would be if applied to the silver XP style...mmmm...

No need to imagine. http://bfarber.com/index.php?download=2089

[tgillespie]

No need to imagine. http://bfarber.com/index.php?download=2089

Does this theme require a third party application to use it? The thing I like most about Royale is the DLL change only.

[DirectPixel]

Does this theme require a third party application to use it? The thing I like most about Royale is the DLL change only.

The reason why Royale does not require any modifications is because the style was made (and therefore digitally signed) by Microsoft.

All 3rd-party themes will require either a uxtheme patch or a program such as StyleXP to run.

[filburt1]

It was originally part of the Energy pack for Windows XP Tablet Edition for us cool people with tablet PCs, then Microsoft made it available to all.

I'd go back to WindowBlinds (especially the latest version with alpha support) if it didn't suck so much.

[DirectPixel]

It was originally part of the Energy pack for Windows XP Tablet Edition for us cool people with tablet PCs, then Microsoft made it available to all.

I'd go back to WindowBlinds (especially the latest version with alpha support) if it didn't suck so much.

If WindowBlinds used less memory and CPU and was more stable, it'll totally rock my world.

[Joe Gronlund]

The start menu in Vista is very glassy looking, but thats due to Aero..

[filburt1]

If WindowBlinds used less memory and CPU and was more stable, it'll totally rock my world.

Not that I'm worried about, it's just the buggiest piece of software I've ever used. It screwed up my Windows installation on both my machines so badly that I can't even use Windows themes anymore other than the Classic one, and I don't enjoy the thought of reinstalling XP on one machine that requires imaging over a network and another that requires special Intel RAID drivers to work.

[Wayne Luke]

All 3rd-party themes will require either a uxtheme patch or a program such as StyleXP to run.

Personally I just use the uxtheme patch found on Neowin's site. Has worked fine for me and I can use quite a few Visual Styles without StyleXP or WindowBlinds sucking resources. I currently use Sustanence found on Customize.org as it is a decent style without overbearing graphics, is still distinctively Windows and comes in a variety of colors to suit my moods.