Getting the Vista look...

So I currently have Vista Inpirat 1.1 installed on my computer with ObjectDock and everything, and it looks really nice. But I was skimming through crystalxp.net and saw that there was another Vista theme that had the glass effect for Windows, but I saw that you had to have WindowsBlind to use it.

So long story short, is there a way to get the Aero glass effect without paying for WindowsBlind?

And also, does anyone know the program that makes the Windows taskbar appear at the top of the screen? And just in general, what's your favorite program/software that beautifies your computer?

 

just drag the taskbar to the top of the screen (make sure it's unlocked)

i use samurize. all that other stuff takes up too much overhead.

 

How much processing power does that samurize use, and what cool features does it offer? Does it work for linux?

 

it depends on how many configs you have running at the time. i currently monitor my cpu usage, cpu temp, fan rpm, ram usage, download/upload speed, hd space, ssid and signal strength, battery life, weather (temp and conditions), time/date/year, trillian users online, and it polls my pop server every 3 minutes. all of that takes <3 megs of ram.

it's unbelievably robust and has a great community of users writing plugins for it (avaiable on the website). it beats konfab hands down in terms of configurability. i can't live without it now after using it.

i'd say well worth the download, but i don't think/know if it runs on linux.

 

Hey are there any other programs like samurize that makes windows look like vista?

 

wow. thanks drumfu for sharing samurize. it looks great and it has all the plugins i've been looking for to customize my desktop. it looks like an awesome software. i will download it once i get my new notebook. one question though, does samurize also customize the taskbar? thanks again.

 

Personally, I just hacked the uxtheme.dll (not illegal, mind you) and am able to use unsigned msstyles themes (search google for that). No software necessary. I have had this theme for a while and love it, just beautiful:
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25495627/

 

no. samurize runs on top of the desktop. you can configure it to place things on top of the space the taskbar occupies, but it's not a shell or replacement. if you check out the 'screenshots' on the website, you'll see lots of examples of what it can and can't do.

 

Thanks for the link to the theme! You're right it looks quite nice and I like how it handles the windows (Inspirat did an okay job, but I didn't like how they looked kind of washed out). I think I might be keeping this!

 

I'm using Y'z toolbar for the shell.

 

I downloaded samurize after reading this thread. It looks a little too complicated for me to even try. I will have to read more about it later. I was hoping it was just something I could download and all the info. was on my monitor after. Is there a way that I can do that? It is very cool that you can customize whatever you want...if your smart enough to do it....not like me

 

yeah me too

 

Like I said, I don't have to use any software. The themes I download are in the same format Windows uses. You change your theme in the display properties. How simply can I put it? Absolutely no software!

 

I modified the file, and can't get it to work. I don't know what to do

 

I just modded my uxtheme.dll with the neowin program and installed that theme from deviantart .
Thanks for sharing.

ccbr01 tell me if you want that program

 

sure tell me where to get it

 

Google for "uxtheme patcher". Another site for msstyles is http://winmodify.net/files.php?section=Visualstyles. This is where I originally found Royale Vista. This is my new and current theme. I'll keep it for a while, it is that cool. Here is the background I am using with this theme:

http://tinyurl.com/99o6b

Using the black windows cursor completes the theme for me!

 

how do you download on winmodify.net? i keep clicking on the Download but nothing happens. do you need to be registered to download?

 

It works for me. Are you using Internet Explorer? If so, I'm sorry. To download in IE you need to right-click and "save as".